Washington governor, AG and state lawmakers get 7% pay hikes ^9.5%

KUOW - By Jerry Cornfield, Washington State Standard - 7/1/2026, 10:52 PM

Unattributed Quote 10.6% - Representativeness Heuristic 10.2% - Appeal to Emotion 8.9%

Gov. Bob Ferguson received a 7% raise on Wednesday. Combined with a similar-sized pay bump a year ago, his annual salary is $234,275, roughly $30,000 more than when he took the oath as Washington’s 24th governor in January 2025. It’s not his doing. The Washington Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials, a panel established... more

WA employers added jobs in May, but unemployment rate stayed stuck at 5.2% ^33.4%

KUOW - By Jerry Cornfield, Washington State Standard - 6/18/2026, 9:40 PM

Negativity Bias 23.7% - Biased Writer Voice 21.8% - Recency Bias 16.9%

Washington’s unemployment rate held steady at 5.2% in May even as the economy added roughly 10,000 jobs, its highest one-month gain this year. “A strong month of growth is welcome following two consecutive months of employment losses, but it doesn’t signal any meaningful shifts on its own,” Anneliese Vance-Sherman, chief labor economist... more

Initiative to repeal WA income tax would ax revenue, keep added costs ^23.8%

KUOW Public Radio - By Jerry Cornfield, Washington State Standard - 6/17/2026, 6:46 PM

Negativity Bias 21.5% - Begging the Question 13.9% - Appeal to Authority 13.3%

Initiative supporters say they have more than enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. Foes of the measure say its passage would blow another hole in the state budget. Democratic lawmakers in Washington paired their new income tax on high earners with a pledge to use billions of dollars from the annual proceeds to help small... more

WA lawmaker stares down ethics charges ahead of rare public hearing ^2.1%

KUOW - By Jerry Cornfield, Washington State Standard - 5/18/2026, 10:27 PM

Negativity Bias 19.2% - Quote-first Misdirection 11.1% - Confirmation Bias 9.8%

For more than a year, Rep. Tarra Simmons has been dogged by allegations she improperly used her cachet as a lawmaker and cash from her prior campaigns to assist two nonprofit organizations, one of which was her employer. Simmons emphatically denies wrongdoing and calls the charges unsubstantiated. But as the case has dragged on, she said... more

Federal judge asked to ditch WA legislative district maps ^32.8%

KUOW Public Radio - By Jerry Cornfield, Washington State Standard - 5/14/2026, 11:06 PM

Negativity Bias 22.4% - Appeal to Emotion 15.1% - Appeal to Authority 11.7%

A federal judge is weighing whether to toss redrawn political maps for Washington’s Legislature that he approved two years ago, a move that state officials warn would take “a wrecking ball” to the upcoming primary, possibly forcing it to be rescheduled. The legal tussle centers on U.S. District Court Judge Robert Lasnik’s controversial... more

Ferguson violated ethics law by letting ex-staffer travel on state plane ^32.5%

KUOW Public Radio - By Jerry Cornfield, Washington State Standard - 4/30/2026, 10:32 PM

Unattributed Quote 26.6% - Confirmation Bias 22.3% - Negativity Bias 18.8%

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has admitted to violating state ethics law and accepted a $4,000 fine for allowing a former top adviser to travel with him on a state plane to the Tri-Cities last summer. Under an agreement awaiting action by the state Executive Ethics Board, Ferguson would pay half the fine, with the rest suspended if he... more

Top credit rating agency puts Washington on notice ^42.5%

KUOW Public Radio - By Jerry Cornfield, Washington State Standard - 4/24/2026, 7:54 PM

Moody’s has revised its outlook for the state’s finances from stable to negative, pointing out its reliance on reserves and budget gimmicks to make ends meet. Washington got a clear warning this week that its reliance on reserves and one-time maneuvers to balance the budget endangers the state’s strong credit rating, which could worsen... more

Ferguson fills seat on WA campaign watchdog panel as recall effort looms ^62.2%

KUOW Public Radio - By Jerry Cornfield, Washington State Standard - 4/23/2026, 7:37 PM

Negativity Bias 34% - Appeal to Authority 10.9% - Post Hoc (False Cause) 10.8%

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has appointed Matt Segal, a founding partner of the Pacifica Law Group and former King County Superior Court judge, to the commission that enforces state campaign finance laws. Segal, whose firm serves as Ferguson’s private counsel, was appointed April 16 to the state Public Disclosure Commission. His first... more

Dollars flowing into a pair of hotly contested WA congressional races ^4.5%

KUOW Public Radio - By Jerry Cornfield, Washington State Standard - 4/17/2026, 9:09 PM

Halo Effect 10.9% - Anchoring Bias 10.6% - Politically Left Leaning Bias 8.5%

An early fundraising leader has emerged from the crowd of candidates battling to succeed retiring Republican Congressman Dan Newhouse in central Washington. Republican Amanda McKinney, a Yakima County commissioner, hauled in $523,892 through the end of March, far outpacing the other seven people vying for the reliably GOP seat in the 4th... more

Trump backs Braun to unseat WA’s Gluesenkamp Perez in US House race ^52.5%

KUOW - By Jerry Cornfield, Washington State Standard - 4/15/2026, 8:47 PM

Negativity Bias 22.2% - Post Hoc (False Cause) 15% - Biased Writer Voice 13.7%

Republican John Braun on Tuesday snagged President Donald Trump’s endorsement in his bid to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in southwest Washington, a race that could help decide which party controls the U.S. House. Trump, in a midday Truth Social post, lauded Braun’s advocacy for lower taxes and border security and... more