Tax-hating, initiative-loving Tim Eyman has led the charge to make state lawmakers get a two-thirds majority to pass any new taxes.
Tax-hating, initiative-loving Tim Eyman has led the charge to make state lawmakers get a two-thirds majority to pass any new taxes. Eli Sanders

The State Legislature Just Got Rid of That Two-Thirds Rule for Tax Increases: To be precise, Lieutenant Governor Brad Owen, who presides over the senate, decided it was unenforceable because of a 2013 Washington State Supreme Court ruling that the rule is unconstitutional. A majority of senators could overturn Owen’s decision, but, as Crosscut reports, if it sticks it’ll make it easier for Democrats to get new carbon emissions and capital gains taxes passed.

Speaking of the Legislature, the Senate Passed a Transportation Package: And Democrats are not into it. The deal includes an 11.7 cent gas tax increase and funding for the western side of SR-520, but only limited taxing authority for Sound Transit and a so-called “poison pill” provision preventing the governor from enacting a clean fuels standard.

These Third Graders Started a Petition When Their Lunch and Recess Got Cut Back: And they are amazing.

Another Hindu Temple Has Been Vandalized: Vandals broke windows and painted “FEAR” on the wall of a Hindu temple in Kent, the second vandalism at a Hindu temple in the area in recent weeks. In an e-mailed statement about the incidents, Rajan Zed, president of Universal Society of Hinduism, suggests “that basics of major world religions should be taught in high schools of the country and first responders should be imparted cultural competency training so that we understood each other better in view of increasing diversity of the country.”

More of these could mean, yes, fewer parking spots. But also fewer drivers on the road.
More of these could mean, yes, fewer parking spots. But also fewer drivers on the road. Leonard Zhukovsky/Shutterstock

More Car-Sharing Is Coming to Seattle: The car-sharing company car2go is soon going to add 250 more cars throughout the entire city. And TV news reporters really want you to think about the parking that might be lost because of that.

But they’re leaving out an important detail: Car-sharing also means fewer cars on the road at all.

Did You Read That Underbutt Post on Slog Yesterday? Well, you should have. Because it’s about some really important stuff and also it has politicians’ faces on a butt. Namely, Sydney uses it to explain the lawsuit against the Port of Seattle over its plan to use one of its terminals to moor Shell’s Arctic drilling fleet. Go read it here.

Mayor Launches New Transportation Strategy: I know. This sounds sooo boring, right? But it could actually be a kind of big deal. Yesterday, the mayor introduced “Move Seattle”—basically, a list of transportation projects the city wants to fund over the next 10 years. In the process, he signaled a notable policy shift: Instead of “complete streets” projects, which focus on all modes of travel, Murray now says “not all modes will operate in one street.”

The Woodland Park Zoo wants to send its two elephants to a zoo in Oklahoma. Protesters want them to go to a sanctuary instead.
The Woodland Park Zoo wants to send its two elephants to a zoo in Oklahoma. Protesters want them to go to a sanctuary instead. Kelly O

Activists Do Not Want the Woodland Park Zoo to Send Those Two Elephants to Oklahoma: Protesters who filed into city council chambers yesterday demanded Chai and Bamboo be sent to a sanctuary instead of another zoo that has limited space and a breeding program. The decision wasn’t on the agenda, but five council members and Mayor Ed Murray have signed on to a letter asking the zoo to send the elephants to a sanctuary.

Dan Pissed Off Some Conservatives Because He Mixed Up His Popes: He tweeted a joke about a statue of a pope, saying it was John Paul II when really it was Saint Pius X. That freaked out the people at Newsbusters, who, of course, deal only in facts.

Here’s Reuven Carlyle Talking About Our State’s “Outdated and Unfair” Tax System: The Democratic state representative from Seattle and finance committee chair—who says we have a “morally bankrupt” tax system—thought it would be “super productive and useful” to talk about taxes in Washington State, so he made this video about it.

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Heidi Groover is a staff writer at The Stranger.