King County Mobile Injection Service for the Homeless Begins This Month (and they don’t care what you think about it). King County is now hiring specialists to provide “medication assisted treatment (MET) for opioid use disorder” to staff mobile “street-medicine” teams for the homeless. (In layman’s terms, they will provide synthetic opioids used for maintenance to prevent withdrawal.) (Shift WA)

The Seattle Times runs a Sunday front-page puff-piece on Inslee for his “doodles.” Guess they didn’t want to write about how Inslee’s Climate Change campaign is garnering no traction with national liberal voters leaving Inslee stuck at zero percent in nearly all polls.  The Times was also hesitant to talk more about Inslee using taxpayer money to subsidize his campaign.  Maybe the Times no longer has the resources to delve into why Inslee’s Department of Corrections, Department of Transportation, DSHS and other agencies are all bogged down in cost-overruns and lawsuits.  Instead the Times did an in-depth article examining Inslee’s doodles.  (Seattle Times)

While Washington lags far behind the rest of the country in providing education options for families, a poll reveals Americans overwhelmingly support school choice. Recent survey finds 78% of the country supports “school choice” – a broad term that includes private schools, public magnet schools, public charter schools, online schools, homeschools, vouchers, and tax-credits. In Washington, the powerful Washington Education Association keeps tight control on the options available for parents and students. (Washington Policy Center)

University of Washington’s Atmospheric Science Professor Cliff Mass received media attention for stating that climate change is not an “existential threat” (i.e. something that potentially could “undermine the very viability of cavillation”). Mass stated in his blog that global warming is a serious problem and there will be impacts, but “in no way does it seriously threaten our species or human civilization.” (Seattle P-I and Cliff Mass Blog)

Just months after Edmonds School District agreed to an 18.3% pay raise for their teachers, the school board passed their budget filling the $17.7 million deficit the union contract helped to create. The board used district reserves, increased class-size and imposed lay-offs to balance their budget. (Everett Herald)

A great example of innovation solving a problem better than regulation, is the Whooshh Salmon Cannon developed in Bellevue. The Whooshh system can transport fish over dams as they migrate upstream.  As mentioned in previous Morning Briefings, the Colville Tribes plans to use the system to return salmon to the upper Columbia River. (Seattle Times)

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