Washington
A Washington initiative will let voters decide whether to repeal the state's Climate Commitment Act, which has brought in $1.8 billion so far
Washington has lofty climate goals. And unlike many other states, there’s a clear path to achieve them.
At least for now, that is.
This year’s November ballot will include six statewide initiatives, one of which intends to prevent the state from employing its main plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by half by 2030 and ultimately reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
In 2021, lawmakers passed the Climate Commitment Act (CCA), which established a cap and invest program. The program places an annual cap on emissions and requires large polluters in the state to purchase “allowances” (each representing 1 metric ton of emissions) at state auctions equal to their own emissions. The cap will get smaller each year, and if businesses don’t get enough of the dwindling number of allowances, they’ll need to reduce their emissions another way.
Meanwhile, the money from the auctions will be invested in climate projects, like improving clean transportation options, increasing climate resilience, and addressing issues of environmental justice and health inequity in Washington, according to the state Department of Ecology.
Not everyone in the state supports this program though.
“The CCA created a government market that’s wholly owned by the government,” says state Rep. Mary Dye, R-Pomeroy, who is the ranking minority member on the House Environment and Energy Committee. “It’s just a bunch of people that are convinced that we ‘have to do something.’”
Many people seem to agree with Dye — more than 460,000 registered Washington voters signed onto Initiative 2117, which proposes prohibiting all state agencies “from implementing any type of carbon tax credit trading, also known as ‘cap and trade’ or ‘cap and tax’ scheme, including the Climate Commitment Act.”
Dye says she supports Initiative 2117 because she believes the cap and invest program needlessly intertwines the state’s economy with its energy sector.
“We’ve ended up with public policies that cripple the future economy because we’ve shifted the wealth creating components of our economy over to our government,” she says.
But the two have always been linked, says Lennon Bronsema, vice president of campaigns at Washington Conservation Action, a nonprofit that advocates for environmental progress and justice in Washington.
“It’s always been connected — we’ve allowed the most polluting industries to transfer the cost onto the people,” he explains. “The CCA puts the cost onto those who are actually doing the polluting.”
So far, the state has brought in more than $1.8 billion from the auctions, and more than 100 projects statewide have received some slice of that revenue. Much of that money so far is being dispersed through the state Department of Transportation.
In Spokane County, most of those funds have gone to public transit planning and operations. The county received about $66,000 to help develop a plan to transition to a zero emission fleet, and a $2.5 million transit support grant.
The state also has plans for the next few years. Notably, $25 million is slated to improve air quality and monitoring in communities that are overburdened and highly impacted by air pollution. Spokane is one of the 16 places in the state that will get that air quality investment.
State lawmakers refused to act on Initiative 2117 and adopt it into state law this session, so now it’ll be up to the state’s voters to decide. If it’s approved in November, it would reduce the state’s ability to reach its emission reduction goals.
Because of this, Bronsema thinks that voters are going to reject the initiative.
“[The CCA] really matters to people’s health — you would see people truly harmed,” Bronsema says. “The things that we’re doing to mitigate that harm would be taken away from us.” ♦
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This story contains descriptions of fatal violence against a transgender person.
The Seattle Police Department are searching for a suspect after a 19-year-old University of Washington student was stabbed to death in an off-campus student apartment complex on May 10.
Seattle Police Department Detective Eric Muñoz told NBC News that the victim is “believed to be a 19-year-old transgender female” who was enrolled at the university. The victim has not yet been publicly identified by name. She was found in the housing complex laundry room shortly after 10 p.m. on Sunday night.
The housing complex, Nordheim Court, is privately managed but affiliated with the university, located near an upscale shopping center in Seattle’s U-Village neighborhood. According to NBC News, residents received an official alert from UW to stay inside their homes and lock all windows and doors — an alert that was lifted around 1 a.m. with the acknowledgment that “a death investigation remains ongoing.”
According to SPD detective Eric Muñoz, police and the fire department attempted lifesaving measures but ultimately “pronounced the victim deceased at the scene.”
“Officers are actively searching for the suspect, believed to be a black male with a beard, 5’6-8” tall, wearing a vest with button up shirt, and blue jeans,” Muñoz wrote in a blotter report.
Muñoz noted that the victim would be identified by the medical examiner’s office in “the coming days.” The SPD did not immediately respond to Them’s request for comment.
This is the seventh known trans person to be violently killed in 2026. In mid-April, 39-year-old transmasculine farmer Luca RedBeard was fatally shot in rural New Mexico. Last week, police in Marion County, Florida opened a homicide investigation into the shooting death of a 29-year-old who went by multiple names and referred to “transitioning” on social media. In Kentucky, an investigation into the disappearance of 22-year-old trans college student Murry Foust remains ongoing.
Police are asking anyone with information about the University of Washington case to call the Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000, emphasizing that anonymous tips are accepted.
This is a developing story.
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On a quiet stretch of Des Moines Memorial Drive in South Seattle, the Sea Mar Museum of Chicano/a/Latino/a Culture rises like a long‑overdue acknowledgment. Its brick exterior doesn’t shout; it invites. Inside, the rooms hum with the stories of families who crossed borders, harvested fields, organized classrooms, and built communities across Washington state—often without seeing their histories reflected anywhere on a museum wall.
For Rogelio Riojas, founder and CEO of Sea Mar Community Health Centers, the museum is a promise kept. “We wanted to make sure the contributions of Latinos in Washington state are recognized and preserved for future generations,” he told The Seattle Times when the museum opened in 2019. It was a simple statement, but one that captured decades of work—both visible and invisible—by the region’s Latino communities.
Walking through the galleries feels like stepping into a living archive. One of the most arresting sights is a pair of original farmworker cabins, transported from Eastern Washington. Their narrow wooden frames and sparse interiors speak volumes about the migrant families who once slept inside after long days in the fields. The cabins are not replicas or artistic interpretations; they are the real thing, weathered by sun, dust, and time. They anchor the museum’s narrative in the physical realities of labor that shaped the state’s agricultural economy.
Sea Mar describes the museum as “dedicated to sharing the history, struggles, and successes of the Latino community in Washington state,” a mission that plays out in photographs, letters, student newspapers, and oral histories contributed by community members themselves. These aren’t artifacts chosen from afar—they’re family treasures, personal archives, and memories entrusted to the museum so they can live beyond the kitchen tables and shoeboxes where they were once kept.
The story extends beyond the museum walls. Just steps away is the Sea Mar Community Center, a sweeping, light‑filled gathering space designed for celebrations, performances, workshops, and community events. With room for nearly 500 people, a full stage, a movie‑theater‑sized screen, and a catering kitchen, the center was built with one purpose: to give the community a place to see itself, gather, and grow. Sea Mar describes it as “a welcoming space for families, organizations, and community groups to gather, celebrate, and learn,” and on any given weekend, it lives up to that promise.
Together, the museum and community center form a cultural campus—part historical archive, part living room for the region’s Latino communities. Students come to learn about the Chicano activists who reshaped the University of Washington in the late 1960s. Families come to see their own histories reflected in the exhibits. Visitors come to understand a story that has long been present in Washington, even if it wasn’t always visible.
The Sea Mar Museum is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., offering free admission to anyone who walks through its doors. For many, it’s more than a museum—it’s a recognition, a gathering place, and a testament to the people who helped shape the Pacific Northwest.
Preserving Latino History and Community Life in Washington was first published on Washington Latino News (WALN) and republished with permission.
Celebrate Mothers Day with à la carte brunch at Lady Madison featuring seafood, entrées, desserts, and premium beverage options.
Celebrate Mothers Day in sophisticated style at Lady Madison, located inside Le Méridien Washington, DC, The Madison. Join us on Sunday, May 10, 2026, from 12:003:00 PM for an elevated à la carte brunch experience in downtown Washington, DC.
Enjoy a refined selection of chef-driven brunch classics, fresh seafood, seasonal salads, and elegant entrées. Highlights include a Build Your Own Omelette, Crab Benedict with lime hollandaise, Chilled Seafood Trio, and signature mains such as Roasted Rack of Lamb, Cedar Plank Sea Bass, and Marinated New York Strip Loin.
End on a sweet note with classic desserts including Crème Brûlée Cheesecake, Fruit Tart, Strawberry Shortcake, and Passion Fruit Cake.
Enhance your experience with beverage offerings, including bottomless Mimosas and Bloody Marys for $30 with house selections. Piper-Heidsieck Champagne is also available by the glass for $16 or by the bottle for $49.
Reserve on OpenTable:
https://www.opentable.com/booking/experiences-availability?rid=1426987&restref=1426987&experienceId=695240&utm_source=external&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=shared
À La Carte Menu
Les ufs & Brunch
Egg White Frittata $24
spinach, tomato, mushrooms, green onion
Served with pommes de terre rissolées or seasonal fruit
Build Your Own Omelette $24
ham, smoked salmon, vegetables, cheeses (choose up to 3)
Served with pommes de terre rissolées or seasonal fruit
Crab Benedict $24
lime hollandaise, salsa cruda
Served with pommes de terre rissolées or seasonal fruit
Brioche French Toast $17
berry compote, whipped butter, maple syrup
Les Froids & Salades
Chilled Seafood Trio $28
Jonah crab claws, shrimp, cocktail sauce
Spring Berry Salad $17
brie, berries, champagne vinaigrette
Golden & Crimson Beet Salad $18
red wine vinaigrette
Add protein: shrimp, salmon, skirt steak +18 | chicken +16
Les Plats Principaux
Roasted Rack of Lamb $42
mint sauce, huckleberry reduction, sweet potato purée, asparagus
Cedar Plank Sea Bass $49
saffron rice, spring vegetables
New York Strip Loin $42
mushroom sauce, truffle croquette potatoes, haricots verts
Les Desserts $14
Crème Brûlée Cheesecake
Fruit Tart
Strawberry Shortcake
Passion Fruit Cake
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