When Governor Inslee signed the bill in 2021 to impose Low Carbon Fuel Standards (LCFS) on Washington State residents, he stated, “Don’t let anyone give you that swill that this will increase gas prices.” The governor was referring to the opponents of the bill (HB 1091), who asserted that LCFS would increase gas prices by a couple of cents every year and add 20 cents by 2030. Now Governor Inslee’s Department of Ecology has released a report stating that LCFS will increase the cost of fuel almost identical to the levels outlined by the legislation’s opponents. Thus what the governor labeled “swill” is actually correct. So far, there has not been a member of the state’s complacent media willing to point out that the governor’s own administration has determined that the governor was wrong and the LCFS opponents were correct.

The LCFS bill requires companies to reduce the carbon intensity of gasoline by blending biofuels or funding EV charging stations. This is separate from the state’s Cap and Trade legislation (SB 5126) which is estimated to raise the cost of gas by 46 cents a gallon next year and 80 cents by 2030. Todd Myers of the Washington Policy Center points out that in a little over seven years, Washington State residents will pay 80 cents a gallon more due to Cap and Trade, 20 cents a gallon more due to LCFS, 49.4 cents a gallon state gas tax, and 18.4 cents a gallon for the federal gas tax. This is an added $1.67 a gallon the government is adding to the cost of gas. And remember, the LCFS will not reduce carbon emissions any further than what is required in the Cap and Trade legislation. Thus consumers are being forced to pay 20 cents a gallon more for something that is not reducing carbon. (Washington Policy Center, Washington Legislature Bill Summary, and Washington Research Council)

The Centers for Disease Control has released a new interactive map that provides the counts of the number of people in each state infected with Monkeypox.  Washington is currently in the group of states with the highest per capita infection rate. The CDC list Washington with 134 reported cases, while the Washington State Department of Health has the number at 154. Over 87% of the Washington cases are in King County. (News Tribune)

KTTH Radio Host Jason Rantz describes how progressive activists in Seattle are enabling those suffering the wretched lives of being homeless.  Thus, they keep them from receiving the help they desperately need. First, the activists make it difficult for the city to clean up the encampments. When this is finally done, the activists assist those displaced in setting up a new encampment, often within a few blocks of the just cleaned-up encampment. Then the activists (some in the media) cry foul when residents and business owners take measures to keep a new encampment from developing.

This scenario currently occurs in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood (near Boeing Field). Encampments have slowly been removed, and large concrete blocks have been placed on the street by “anonymous” individuals to keep dilapidated RVs from illegally parking in the street.  The Seattle Times posted a story asking why those responsible are not being fined for placing the concrete blocks on the street. Rantz then points out the reporter never inquired why broken-down RVs are allowed to take over the streets, which increases crime and garbage while keeping away possible customers.  Rantz defends those who put up the concrete blocks and says they are a sign of desperation by those who want to keep the neighborhoods safe. (MyNorthwest)

Amazon has closed its convenience store near Fourth Avenue and Pike Street in downtown Seattle due to safety considerations.  An Amazon spokesperson stated that the shuttering of the Amazon Go market protects the “safety of employees, customers, and third-party vendors.”  Employees have been offered jobs at other locations. The market was near the location where Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell had the Seattle Police Department display an increased presence back in March (which included mobile precincts and a significant increase in police officers) due to rampant violence.  Crime did decrease while the police were there. Yet now that the police have left, crime has increased again.  It is also a block from where Starbucks recently closed one of its locations due to safety concerns. (Puget Sound Business Journal,  Brad Foster Twitter, and Steve Gordon Twitter/Seattle Times)

Violent crime continues to increase in Seattle as the number of shootings in 2022 is on pace to break records set in 2021.  At the end of June, there were 99 shootings in Seattle in 2022. In 2021 there had been 68 shootings by that date and 174 for the year. Also, there were 21 fatal shootings by the start of July this year, which is on pace to far exceed the number in all of 2021 when there were 31 fatal shootings. (CenterSquare)

Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward issued a strongly worded statement aimed at the liberals who control the Spokane City Council and the Democrats who control Olympia regarding their previous passage of anti-police legislation.  Mayor Woodward made these comments on Wednesday afternoon after the second Spokane police officer was shot while on duty during the last few weeks. The mayor said the public is angry over the dramatic rise in crime which has resulted from what she defined as. “legislated lawlessness.”

Mayor Woodward then described the current conditions police officers must face. “Legislation over the past two years has stepped us backwards and created an environment in our community among those who are committing crime that law enforcement lacks the ability to hold them accountable. Our officers hear it every day while patrolling our neighborhoods. It is time for those who make the laws to reestablish an expectation of law and order by bringing back the tools to hold people accountable. It’s what our officers and our community expect and deserve.” (City of Spokane media release)

Crews are battling several wildfires in Central and Eastern Washington, with the largest being near Ellensburg (Cow Canyon), Cheney (Williams Lake), and Vantage.  Thus far, the fires have not been widespread, yet some officials worry about the dry, hot weather coming over the next few weeks.  Several fire officials are concerned that Governor Inslee’s vaccine mandate will hurt efforts if they are required to call up volunteer reserves.  Many of these individuals are not fully vaccinated, and some have said they will not show their proof of vaccination if required by the state. (Q13 Fox News and Wenatchee World)

A little over one million ballots statewide were counted Tuesday, and another 500,000 to one million more ballots are still left to be counted in the 2022 Washington State Primary Election.  There were many interesting stories from the results posted last night and many more will come as county auditors will be counting ballots for the next week or so.  The news at the congressional level is that currently none of the Trump-supported candidates have made it onto the general election ballot, as they are currently behind Democrat contenders for the second spot in the state’s “top-two” primary.  Across the state there were many interesting developments (and still some undecided races) at the legislative level, as the primary whittled the number of candidates down to just two for November’s general election.

Shift’s recap provides some of the interesting stories that took place in the primary and what races are still yet to be decided. (Click to view full Primary Election Recap)

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