Washington
New Washington governor plans to build an efficient government that helps people
Incoming Washington state Gov. Bob Ferguson outlined his plans Wednesday to help individuals while also making government more responsive and efficient, during his inaugural address as the state Legislature convened for its first week of session.
Ferguson, 59, was the state’s top prosecutor for more than a decade before being elected Washington’s 23rd governor. He replaces Gov. Jay Inslee, a national political figure who has served three consecutive terms — the longest in state history.
Ferguson, a Democrat, takes over at a time when Washington faces a budget shortfall of at least $12 billion over the next four years. His budget proposal calls for reducing state agency spending by at least $4 billion, while protecting K-12 education, public safety and the ferry system.
But he stayed away from the numbers during his 30-minute address. Instead, he delved into his family’s history while calling out to specific lawmakers, both Democratic and Republican, about his desire to work with them to support law enforcement, farmers and young people.
“Let us listen to one another without consideration for party so that the strongest argument prevails,” he said. “That is how we do our best work.”
Ferguson said he supports the Homes for Heroes legislation, which ensures access to low-interest home loans for officers, firefighters and health professionals. He also backs efforts to address the youth mental health crisis and said he wants to adopt reasonable limits on the governor’s emergency powers.
He said he would work with President Donald Trump “where we can,” but added: “We will stand up to him when we must, and that most certainly includes protecting Washingtonians’ reproductive freedom.”
To that end, Ferguson said he would immediately sign an executive order directing the Department of Health to convene a roundtable of experts and policymakers to work on the issue.
He also wants the state to pass a law that prohibits the National Guard from other states from coming into Washington to advance any of the president’s agendas without the state’s permission.
“Texas and Montana have adopted similar policies,” he said. “Washington must join them.”
Washington ranks last in the country for the per capita number of law enforcement officers, he said. His proposed budget plan calls for $100 million every two years to increase the number of law enforcement officers in Washington state. He also wants to invest $600 million in the capital budget to build more housing and spend $240 million every two years to guarantee school lunches for every Washington student.
Free breakfast and lunch should be part of a basic education, he said during his address.
“This will improve learning for kids and save money for working parents,” he said.
Ferguson said government can stand in they way of a state’s fiscal strength and stability, so he wants to speed things up, improve customer service and make sure individuals are at the center of every decision made.
“I’m in politics because I believe in the power of government to improve people’s lives,” he said. “At the same time, we must recognize government does not always meet that promise. So let me be clear — I’m not here to defend government. I’m here to reform it.”
Could one of New York City’s most iconic parks soon be surrounded by gates?
At a Wednesday night meeting of the local Community Board’s Parks Committee, tensions ran high over whether or not to install locked gates at Washington Square Park.
The historic Washington Square Arch welcomes visitors from near and far to the park, but when the clock strikes midnight, the police and Parks Department put up French barricades, cross-chained together, until 6 a.m.
Some residents, however, said the barricades aren’t aesthetically pleasing.
“Now it’s time to replace the unattractive police barricades with appropriate gates that really represent the history of that park,” landscape architect George Vellonakis said.
Others said the barricades aren’t effective at keeping people out. One resident shared a photo of a person sleeping overnight on a mattress in the park.
Opponents, however, argued gates aren’t the answer to that issue, and some longtime residents said they hoped the park would be open 24/7.
“I think that the barricades have to go. I think they’re really, really ugly,” one person said. “They’re really hard for the Parks Department and the police to handle, and they don’t work.”
“Particularly Millennials and Gen Z will have these changes for the rest of their lives,” another person said. “I enjoy traveling other similar parks in Europe where you can walk at all hours of the night.”
Back in 2005, the Parks Department considered installing gates but canceled the plan after fierce opposition from the community. A Community Board member said the idea to install gates resurfaced during COVID when overnight gatherings in the park got out of hand.
“We are not anti-gate. We do believe that they should find more effective ways to support the NYPD,” Washington Square Association President Erica Sumner said.
The committee voted on a resolution to formally ask the Parks Department for its recommendations.
Kent, 28, joins the Nationals after he was claimed off waivers from the Minnesota Twins on
Protester scales Washington DC bridge, stays for days
A demonstrator protesting the war in Iran and the use of artificial intelligence climbed Frederick Douglass Bridge, and stayed for days.
Despite saying he would “soon” come down, a protester has remained on top of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge in Washington, DC since May 1, impacting traffic and extending a dayslong standoff with police.
Guido Reichstadter climbed the 168-foot bridge Friday, then draped a black banner and set up a tent while making the bridge his home for the past four days.
Here’s what to know about Reichstadter’s protest and how it is affecting locals in the nation’s capital.
Why is there a man on top of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge?
After Reichstadter climbed the bridge Friday, he identified himself as a protester, writing on X that he was “calling on the people of the United States to bring an immediate end to the Trump regime’s illegal war on Iran and the removal of the regime power through mass nonviolent direct action and non-cooperation.”
He has posted on X throughout his protest, reminding his followers of his cause as he thwarts attempts from the DC police to bring him down.
“The Trump regime occupying the office of the US executive is prosecuting a criminal war of aggression against the nation of Iran, enabled by the refusal of Congress to assert its constitutional power, and by the continued submission of the majority of the US population to this intolerable state of affairs without effective civil resistance,” he wrote on X, saying it’s the public’s responsibility to nonviolently put an end to Trump’s presidency.
Reichstadter said May 4 he hasn’t eaten for days, but previously told NewsNation he went on a 30-day hunger strike while protesting AI outside the Anthropic headquarters.
He has run out of water, however.
“I’ve got the stamina to stay up here a bit longer,” he told WTOP Monday.
What impact is the protest having in Washington, DC?
Reichstadter’s protest has caused lanes to shut down on the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, but lanes had reopened for traffic late Monday morning.
Tuesday morning, all lanes were open for traffic, but the pedestrian walkway was closed, according to the Metropolitan Area Transportation Operations Coordination (MATOC) Program.
If he stays on top of the bridge into Tuesday night, it’s unclear how his protest could impact people traveling nearby to the Washington Nationals game.
“My efforts here have had impacts on the local community and its people, and it is my desire not to harm but to work in communication, to lift up and to contribute what strength I can to the ongoing struggle for rights and freedom which this community has been engaged in for years,” Reichstadter said Sunday.
Police said Monday that their negotiators will remain on the scene.
Mike Stunson is the DC Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network.
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