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Seattle, King County file lawsuit to upend natural gas initiative

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Seattle, King County file lawsuit to upend natural gas initiative


King County and the city of Seattle are among two of several plaintiffs to file a joint lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the newly passed initiative on natural gas.

Initiative 2066 prohibits state and local governments from restricting or “discouraging” Washingtonians’ use of natural gas in their homes and businesses. It was one of four initiatives on November’s general election ballot and it was the only one to pass — by about 3.4%.

Now, it’s set to amend state rules on which kinds of energy buildings should use, reverting a push by state legislators to make heating powered through electricity over natural gas.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in King County Superior Court, asks a judge to block the implementation of I-2066, which its attorneys said misled voters “about its actual provisions” and violated Washington’s single-subject law.

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“This initiative, the way that it’s written, it covers multiple different subjects, not just issues related to natural gas — which is what the initiative supporters focused on and suggested all that was at issue,” Paul Lawrence, an attorney for the plaintiffs and partner with Pacifica Law Group, said. “This has much broader impact on a number of other laws … including energy efficiency, to avoid the disproportionate negative health impacts from air pollution, and these other issues that go far beyond the issue of natural gas.”

Gas clash: Who’s accused of being a ‘pompus turd’ in I-2066 legal threat

The suit claims I-2066 is unconstitutional, citing Article II, Section 9, of the Washington Constitution, which reads, “No bill shall embrace more than one subject, and that shall be expressed in the title.”

VP of External Affairs for Building Industry Association of WA comments

Jan Himebaugh, Vice President of External Affairs for the Building Industry Association of Washington called the claims “bogus”

“I think it’s just really sad that, once again, activists who think that they know what’s best for the people of Washington are trying to sort of undermine democracy,” she told “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio Thursday. “The people of Washington spoke and Seattle and King County think they know better, so they’re going to tell the rest of Washington, ‘No, we think you got this wrong’ and that ‘You’re too dumb to know what you’re talking about.’”

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While Governor Jay Inslee is not signed as one of the lawsuit’s plaintiffs, he raised the same legal argument just one day after the election, telling the press, “I think there is a very good chance the court will find that it was defective by violating the single-subject rule.”

When asked by KIRO Newsradio whether Inslee or his office had any direct or indirect involvement in the lawsuit, a spokesperson responded over email, “I think you’ll find many have voiced that argument. The governor is not party to the lawsuit.”

Founder of Let’s Go Washington releases statement

Brian Heywood, founder of the political action committee Let’s Go Washington — which heavily supported all four ballot initiatives — released a statement in response to the lawsuit, describing the city of Seattle and King County’s participation as shameful.

“Washington voters made their position clear: they want to protect natural gas and energy choice. Instead of spending time and money suing corporations, perhaps the (Attorney General Bob Ferguson), Seattle and King County should focus on enforcing the law and protecting the will of the people,” Heywood’s statement reads in part.

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Despite Ferguson being named multiple times in Heywood’s statement, Ferguson’s office has not taken action to challenge the initiative and, in fact, declined a request to do so from the group bringing the lawsuit. In a letter sent Dec. 6 through their attorneys with Pacifica Law Group, the plaintiffs asked Ferguson’s office to “investigate and promptly institute legal proceedings” on I-2066’s constitutionality. Ferguson’s office replied three days later, rejecting the request and stating that initiatives have a “presumption of constitutionality.”

I-2117 goes down: Washington voters uphold landmark climate law against challenge

Lawrence told KIRO Newsradio the request to Ferguson’s office was merely a procedural necessity to guarantee the plaintiffs had legal standing for such a lawsuit.

“There are dozens, if not more, cases of initiatives that have been declared unconstitutional — like this one,” Lawrence said. “There is a lot of precedence for that, and in fact, we’ll be citing in our brief on the merits a number of Washington state cases that involve this problem of wrongfully combining multiple subjects in the same initiative.”

At the time of publication, no hearing on the lawsuit is currently scheduled. While I-2066 went into effect on Dec. 5, the future of its implementation is uncertain.

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Below is Heywood’s statement in full:

Let’s Go Washington is focused on the fairness and accountability of government organizations – the Governor-elect and Governor Inslee have the highest responsibility to side with the people. Washingtonians have voted to protect natural gas from being banned, now it’s time for AG Ferguson and other statewide organizations to enforce this law. If the SBCC won’t follow the law, the governor should demand their resignations.

Meanwhile, as citizens struggle to afford housing and pay their energy bills, shamefully, the City of Seattle and King County are leading the charge to eliminate energy choice and make living more expensive. Washington voters made their position clear: they want to protect natural gas and energy choice. Instead of spending time and money suing corporations, perhaps the AG, Seattle, and King County should focus on enforcing the law and protecting the will of the people.”

Sam Campbell is a reporter, editor and anchor at KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of Sam’s stories here. Follow Sam on X, or email him here.

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VIDEO: Scream Club Seattle keeps growing, midway through first year

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VIDEO: Scream Club Seattle keeps growing, midway through first year


(Story originally posted 8:22 pm, updated 12:32 am)

By Torin Record-Sand
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

From a distance, they looked like a regular crowd of people enjoying a nice evening walk on the shores of Lincoln Park. But they were gathered here for a singular purpose: to scream. Since September 2025, the Scream Club Seattle has met at Lincoln Park on every third Sunday to scream, led by head organizer Amber Walcker. No explanation, justification, or invitation to scream is needed – come as you are. “There are some harder emotions people come here to deal with, sure, but some people also just come to scream.” head organizer Amber explained.

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Tonight’s crowd showed the club is rapidly growing. From around a dozen or so participants in the first gathering in September, tonight seemed to attract around 40 people gathering to let it all out.

As the sun started to set, and everyone was finally gathered together, the Scream Club was ready to begin.

There are only three screams, organizer Amber explained. The first, she said, is a scream to get used to doing it in public. The second scream is there to ground you. And the final – and longest scream – is there to let you have an emotional catharsis.

She also wanted to make sure people were taking care of their vocal health beforehand. As she told everyone to walk a little bit from the meeting place and start to gather near the shore, she instructed the crowd to hum for a few minutes on the way, to warm up the vocal cords.

With that, the crowd walked towards the shore.

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“On the count of one – two – three – scream!” said organizer Amber.

You can see our video of the proceedings here. After the screaming, we talked to a few participants about why they came out.

“There’s not one thing that’s really making me want to scream. There’s a lot of stuff going on for me, a lot of emotional ups and downs. Screaming into the ocean together gives you a sense of community.” said Jessie.

“This is my third or fourth time coming to scream. With the political climate, with everything that’s happening, getting together with local community to scream feels more productive than screaming into the internet on social media.” said Ursula.

“This is my first time coming out.” said Liz. “I screamed after the Seahawks won the Super Bowl, and I really felt something. I realized I’ve been feeling a lot of frustration recently, and it felt like coming here was a healthy way to get it out rather than screaming at your neighbors.”

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Organizer Amber recognizes much of what they were saying. “Meeting like this can be an important element to have in your mental health toolbox. It’s rare to have scream therapy.” She shared an anecdote about the therapeutic origins of the group, which originally started with a chapter in Chicago. “The founder was a life coach. Their girlfriend was having a bad day, and they encouraged them to go to the Chicago Pier and just let it out. He walked her through the process, and that was that. Eventually they invited more people to come do it.” She hopes to bring that same therapeutic energy to the practice here. “It’s a moment of emotional release more than anything else. Depending on what’s going on in people’s minds, everyone will come here with a different mindset and purpose. We’re providing a safe space to do that.”

Scream Club Seattle meets at Lincoln Park on the first Sunday of every month, and they are also starting to meet on the third Sunday of every month at Golden Gardens in Ballard. Tentatively, the next events will be in Lincoln Park on April 5th around 6 PM, and Golden Gardens on March 15th around 5 PM. If you’d like to know more, you can find them on Instagram here or look at their future events on their Eventbrite page here.





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Detectives Investigating Robbery, Shooting Over $20 Necklace – SPD Blotter

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Detectives Investigating Robbery, Shooting Over  Necklace – SPD Blotter


Seattle police detectives are investigating a robbery and shooting of a 23-year-old man over a $20 necklace in Pioneer Square this morning.

At about 12:40 a.m., patrol officers responded to a shooting in the 500 block of 2nd Avenue. There, they found a victim, bleeding, with a gunshot wound to his right thigh. Police and the Seattle Fire Department treated his injury. Medics took him to Harborview Medical Center (HMC) in stable condition.

Police determined that the victim just left a bar, getting into the passenger seat of his friend’s car, when the suspect, wearing a ski mask and armed with a firearm, approached him and demanded his necklace. They struggled over the item, and the suspect shot the victim in the leg. The shooter fled in a vehicle with the necklace before police arrived. The value of the “chain” is about $20.

Detectives in the Robbery Unit responded to the scene and HMC. Anyone with information is asked to call the SPD Violent Crimes Tip line at 206-233-5000. Anonymous tips are accepted.

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Incident Number: 2026-57536



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Fast Start for Kraken Win, Homestand | Seattle Kraken

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Fast Start for Kraken Win, Homestand | Seattle Kraken


That stretch begins with five more home games: A skilled and successful Carolina squad Monday, followed by St. Louis (for the second time in a week) Wednesday, Ottawa next Saturday, then Nashville (just behind Seattle in the West wild-card race) on March 10 and then finishing with Western Conference leader Colorado March 12.

Stars Shine and Star-Crossed Hat Trick

Vince Dunn opened the scoring in his 600th NHL game. Jordan Eberle topped the best Kraken-season goals mark with his 21st and 22nd goals of the year, with 23 games left to flirt with his first 30-plus goals on the year since his sophomore season in 2011-12. Joey Daccord registered 27 saves on the victorious night, including nine high-danger chances in the first 40 minutes alone.

To the fans’ disappointment, the slick-stickhandling Daccord missed a historic goalie goal by inches. But the sellout crowd was rewarded when Eberle cashed in on the Vancouver empty net. Eberle now has four two-goal games this season.

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In a bizarre twist, when Eberle scored that empty-netter, Kraken fans rightfully cheered and tossed headwear for what was presumed to be a hat-trick score. But after Eberle scored, the scoring change on the Kraken’s power play goal was announced when off-ice officials realized Eberle’s shot had just ever-so-slightly deflected off Matty Beniers’ skate. So no hat trick for the second time this season. Linemate Jared McCann and hat-tossing fans thought the Kraken’s all-time leading scorer had notched a hat trick earlier this season, only to have it reversed when an offside infraction by, wait for it, Beniers, erased the goal.

Eberle joked post-game that maybe fans deserved some hats. The Kraken captain also said when Daccord missed by inches on his goalie goal, he was on the bench saying, “he got it, he got it.” Post-game, Eberle said, “It’s just a matter of time before he gets one” because he greatly admires the goaltender’s puck-handling skills.

The Kraken came out fast Saturday night with two goals, a couple of near-misses, lots of scoring attempts and pucks on net during the first 20 minutes. One near-miss was a hard wrist shot from Jordan Eberle that clanged off the far post. But no matter, Eberle scored a pivotal goal in the second period, getting in front of a Vancouver shot and chasing his own ricochet to create a breakaway with his still-elite speed. The 35-year-old Seattle captain went to his lethal backhand to beat Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen. Eberle’s tally re-upped the two-goal lead.

Good night for Kraken special teams as well. The penalty killer snuffed an early third period Canucks power play to keep the two-score cushion. Later third period, Matty Beniers scored on the power play, deflecting an Eberle shot, to push the score to 4-1. Chandler Stephenson earned his second point of the night with the primary assist. Same for Dunn, who notched the second assist. The Kraken needed just 10 seconds to score the man-advantage marker.

Captaining His Best Kraken Season…

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It is Eberle’s 21st goal of the season. The next one he scores will set a new high as a Kraken for the teammate everyone calls “Ebs.” That makes it three of five seasons that Eberle has scored 20 or more goals. Eberle almost scored again later second period when matching cross-checking penalties on SEA forward Kaapo Kakko and VAN defenseman Filip Hronek. The ensuing 4-on-4 play was dominated by the Kraken quartet of Eberle, Matty Beniers, Brandon Montour and Ryker Evans. Beniers stood with some moves and an improv that had future Hall of Fame play-by-play man John Forslund saying, “Beniers did everything but score.” It was heartening to see Seattle flexing its offensive chops with a 3-1 lead.

The Kraken scored twice in an opening 20 minutes played to order, returning to the hard forechecking game they exhibited on a heater 10-game streak before the Olympic break. The starting goalie did his part, stopping all nine of Vancouver’s shots in the first 20 minutes to bring confidence to the first-intermission home locker room.  

Jumping Out of the Starting Blocks

The Kraken faithful were mega-decibel loud during the announcement of the starting lineups, welcoming back Olympian bronze medalists Kaapo Kakko and Eeli Tolvanen, as well as Seattle teammates. This week’s two road losses forgotten, replaced by rousing cheers for starters and fourth-liners Freddy Gaudreau, centering Jacob Melanson and Ben Meyers (on the wing for the first since a road matchup in LA right before the winter holiday break).

Defenseman Cale Fleury and Ryker Evans rounded out the skaters in front of Joey Daccord. It’s not a stretch to think head coach Lane Lambert was sending a message with his fourth line and third pair getting the first shift after losing two games in the Midwest by a composite score of 9-2.

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Saturday morning, both defenseman Vince Dunn and Lambert both talked about what would be the ideal first 10 to 20 minutes in this Pacific Division showdown with rival Vancouver.

“We need to play simple and hard and direct,” said Dunn, who was playing in his 600th NHL game, 333 with Seattle. “I think we’re very connected when we can get our forecheck going. I think the way we play as a five-man unit is that we slow teams down and don’t get scrambled in our own end. We’re more patient in our own end and letting guys accept their positions and roles and areas that they need to defend in.

“Right away, we need to start shooting pucks … the past two games, the shot count hasn’t been where we wanted it to be in the first 10 minutes. So let’s get some looks and see what happens. Let’s see if we can get the other team scrambling.”



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