Former state representative warns, “If you push a business to a point it can no longer do business in your municipality or state, it will simply move someplace else.”  Mark Harmsworth, who represented Snohomish County’s 44^th Legislative District for four years, stated in an Everett Herald op-ed that taxes and other policies drive businesses and jobs away.  Harmsworth writes that it is not just big employers like Boeing and Amazon that are relocating jobs, but many smaller companies are also readjusting their Seattle and Washington State operations.  Thus, while there might be an immediate slight rise in revenue from a tax increase, over time, it will cost the local or state government money because other companies will refuse to move into the city or state while current companies are slowly exiting. (Everett Herald)

Many school districts remain nervous about resuming in-person instruction due to the lack of direction from the state’s political and education officials.  Last week state health officials claimed that current data suggests it is safe to re-open schools while using health protocols, particularly elementary schools.  Despite health officials encouraging statements and the small number of new COVID-19 cases in schools that have conducted in-person instruction, local school officials are concerned about liability issues.  Modifying Washington State’s arduous liability laws is one of the many problems Governor Inslee has failed to address by not bringing the legislature back for a special session. The current liability laws force local school districts to be financially liable for actions they did not perform. (Seattle Times, Yakima Herald, and Vancouver Columbian)

The Seattle City Council will likely table the controversial measure from Councilmember Lisa Herbold that will allow courts to dismiss misdemeanor acts if the accused can demonstrate they were committed due to behavioral mental health issues or poverty. Herbold attempted to pass the legislation without a public hearing by introducing it as a budget issue.  While tabling the measure, many councilmembers appear to support the legislation’s impact and will reintroduce it in the next couple of months.  (MyNorthwest and Shift’s Newsmaker Interview)

The Thurston County Commissioners agreed to use some of its federal CARES Act funding to assist the City of Olympia in providing a space for the RVs parked on Ensign Road.  The commissioners approved allocating $530,000 to fund the “Safe Parking” program after Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson informed the City of Olympia that its previous plan to tow the RVs on Ensign Road would be violating Governor Inslee’s eviction ban.  The city succeeded in getting some RVs to leave by giving them a full tank of gas and/or a new battery.  With the county money, Olympia is planning to relocate the RVs to a vacant lot on Martin Way. (The Olympian and Shift’s Quick Take)

Rates for Puget Sound Energy’s (PSE) natural gas consumers will increase by 8.46% due to decreased gas production during the coronavirus pandemic.  PSE serves approximately 800,000 natural gas customers in King, Kittitas, Lewis, Pierce, Snohomish, and Thurston counties.  The rate increase began on November 1.  For the average customer, this increase will raise their monthly bill by $5.46 to $70.44. (Bellevue Reporter)

West Valley School District in Yakima County has been slowly returning students to in-person instruction.  Last Spring, Yakima County had the largest infection rate in the state but then experienced a significant drop in new cases once residents started wearing masks and observing social distancing protocols.  Elementary schools have begun bringing in kindergarten through 2nd-grade students and adhering to strict health and safety procedures.  Nearby Yakima School District continues to wait until the start of their new semester to return students. (Yakima Herald)

Members of Antifa took time away from setting fires to Seattle buildings and attacking police officers to hand out candy on the streets of Ellensburg.  The pro-communist organization said this action symbolizes the notion that everyone deserves free candy. (iFIBER One)

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell pulled a “bait & switch” on people who thought they were donating money to help incumbent Democrat U.S. Senators in tight 2020 contests.  In a fundraising email, Cantwell encouraged people to contribute to the campaigns of Doug Jones in Alabama and Gary Peters in Michigan.  Cantwell states, “we need to commit to protecting our most vulnerable incumbent Democrats.”  The problem is that Cantwell’s email does not provide a link for the recipient to give directly to the Jones or Peters campaign.  Instead, the email only provides a link to an account that gives Cantwell 33.3% of the contributions. It is not unusual for Democrats to benefit by exploiting other individuals (the homeless crisis comes to mind). Still, Cantwell has taken it to a new level by exploiting her fellow Democrat Senate colleagues’ tough situations to benefit her campaign’s bank account. (Cantwell campaign email)

(Click on link to read short blog post)

Seahawk quarterback Russell Wilson and performer Ciara have stepped up where the state’s liberal education establishment has failed – funding educational opportunities for minority students.  Wilson and Ciara’s foundation donated $1.75 million to fund the Why Not You Academy. This is necessary because the Washington Education Association and the state’s Democrat establishment have kept public charter schools (which have a higher proportion of low-income and minority students than other public schools) from receiving full state funding. (Shift’s Quick Takes)

Last week, ChangeWA released a report that revealed Seattle City Councilmember Lisa Herbold attempted to hide from the public her legislation that would “excuse and dismiss almost all misdemeanor crimes committed in Seattle by persons with symptoms of addiction or mental disorder.”  The report also revealed that Herbold tried to pass the controversial legislation in a way that bypassed public comments by proposing it as a budget issue. ChangeWA’s report focused plenty of public attention on the legislation and Herbold’s scheme to stop even pretending to hold criminals accountable in Seattle.  We sat down with ChangeWA’s Executive Director Josh Wilund to discuss the report and other issues important to his organization. (Shift Newsmaker Interview)

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