Seattle, WA
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.
“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.”
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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.’”
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.
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.”
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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.
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.
CHICAGO (AP) — The struggling New York Mets placed former Seattle Mariners second baseman/designated hitter Jorge Polanco on the 10-day injured list on Saturday with a right wrist contusion.
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The move was made retroactive to Wednesday, a day after Polanco went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts in a 2-1 loss at the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 32-year-old Polanco is batting .179 (10 for 56) with a homer and two RBIs in his first season with New York, which has lost nine straight.
“When doctors first took a look at him, it looked like he got hit by a pitch when he didn’t,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “In talking to him, it was just a couple of swings that he took that night. … He didn’t think much of it, but just got worse the following day.
“So you just got to let it calm down a little bit and then we’ll go from there. But we don’t have a timetable for how long this is going to last.”
Polanco, who signed a two-year, $40 million contract with the Mets in December, also has been dealing with an ankle issue.
“He was trending in the right direction,” Mendoza said of the ankle injury. “It’s definitely going to help, obviously now with him being shut down. But the biggest thing now is that we’ve got to take care of that wrist.”
Polanco spent the previous two seasons with the Mariners, who acquired him in a February 2024 trade with the Minnesota Twins.
Polanco struggled during his first season with Seattle in 2024, hitting just .213 with 16 homers in 118 games while playing through a knee injury that didn’t become public knowledge until after the season.
But after the Mariners somewhat surprisingly brought him back for a one-year contract in 2025, Polanco rebounded to hit .265 with 26 homers and an .821 OPS in 138 games last season. He then added three homers during Seattle’s playoff run, along with a 15th-inning walkoff single in Game 5 of the American League Division Series that sent the Mariners to their first ALCS in 24 years.
Seattle Sports staff made additions to this post.
Mariners RHP Bryce Miller to begin rehab assignment
Seattle, WA
Brandon Nimmo hits leadoff homer, Jacob deGrom works 4 scoreless as Rangers beat Seattle Mariners 5-0
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – APRIL 17: Corey Seager #5 of the Texas Rangers tags out Dominic Canzone #8 of the Seattle Mariners during the fourth inning at T-Mobile Park on April 17, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
SEATTLE – Brandon Nimmo hit a leadoff home run, Jacob deGrom threw four shutout innings and Gavin Collyer earned his first career win as the Texas Rangers beat the Seattle Mariners 5-0 on Friday night.
Seattle lost its fourth straight game, and was shut out for the fourth time in 21 games, falling to 8-13. The Mariners were shut out six times during the 2025 season. Texas won its third straight game.
Nimmo led off the game with a 372-foot shot to right field off Mariners starter Logan Gilbert (1-3). It was Nimmo’s 16th career leadoff homer and second of the season. He also hit a leadoff home run on April 11 in a 6-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
DeGrom effectively maneuvered through Seattle’s lineup, and worked out of a one out, bases-loaded jam in the first inning. The two-time Cy Young Award winner recorded two of his three strikeouts after walking Josh Naylor to load the bases. Randy Arozarena fanned on a curveball, and Luke Raley swung through a fastball.
Texas added to its lead after Nimmo’s homer. Wyatt Langford’s single to left scored Corey Seager, who led off the third inning with a double. The Rangers stretched the lead to 3-0 on an RBI single from Jake Burger in the seventh.
The Mariners’ best scoring chance came in the sixth after Collyer (1-0), who worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings, left the game.
J.P. Crawford singled to left off Tyler Alexander with two out, and Mariners third base coach Carlos Cardoza sent Naylor from second base, but he was thrown out by Langford.
Texas added two more runs in the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Andrew McCutchen and an RBI double by Josh Jung.
Seattle third baseman Brendan Donovan left the game early due to a left hip issue.
Mariners right-hander Bryce Miller, who started the year on the injured list with a left oblique injury, was at T-Mobile Park for the first time this season. He will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma on Saturday.
Up next
Mariners RHP George Kirby (2-2, 3.25) will face Rangers righty Nathan Eovaldi (2-2, 5.40) on Saturday afternoon.
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FIFE, Wash. – A portion of southbound I-5 will be closed overnight in Fife Friday and Saturday night, according to WSDOT.
The Washington State Department of Transportation says the purpose of the closure is to install a new electronic sign and will need two nights to do it.
Crews will close southbound I-5 from 54th Avenue to Port of Tacoma Road starting at 11 p.m. Friday night until 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning. Closures will resume Saturday night starting at 11 p.m. as well, and lanes will reopen Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m.
WSDOT says the closure will include the 54th Avenue ramps to southbound I-5.
Detours for weekend I-5 closure in Fife, WA
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The Source: Information in this story comes from the Washington State Department of Transportation.
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