Just in case you were wondering, the Times called upon noted doomsday predictor/environmental “leader” KC Golden to tell you that “If you are standing in the way of policies that allow more homes in our cities, it’s time to turn in your environmentalist bona fides. Seriously. If you’re blocking infill housing, you might as well start burning coal in your yard.”

Glad we cleared that up, because the choice between burning coal in my yard and welcoming a six-plex next door has been vexing. But KC just puts his greenie advocacy so simple, even a liberal can understand it: “Local zoning laws in most of our cities today represent a de facto mandate for harm: More sprawl, more pollution, more driving, and limits on anything but the most expensive and resource-intensive housing.” Thanks Times for giving this loon the space to spew freely. No wonder Jay Inslee gave him an appointment to screw up our state’s Northwest Power Planning and Conservation Council. (Seattle Times)

Shift’s Newsmaker interview is with GOP Representative Dan Griffey, who recently retired as a firefighter and EMT after 30 years of service. The House Republican Whip is currently serving his fifth term representing the 35^th Legislative District (Mason County and parts of Thurston and Kitsap counties).

Representative Griffey describes his response to the state government seeking to move sexual predators into his district in Tenino and his efforts to prevent the same thing from occurring in other communities across the state. As a former first responder, the representative provides his thoughts on police pursuit legislation and the Democrats’ reckless efforts to stop police officers from pulling over vehicles for “non-moving” violations.  He also describes how the Democrats’ 2021 anti-police legislation continues to endanger the lives of firefighters. Representative Griffey explains why he is against the Democrats’ latest drug possession legislation, which he argues “endangers our children and the rest of society.”  Finally, as the budget begins to receive more attention in Olympia, the representative outlines his budget priorities. (Shift)

Let’s face it, after you have doubled the size of state government in a decade, ballooning the two-year budget to north of $60 billion, it’s hard to make more massively big economic mistakes. But Jay Inslee keeps trying.

His latest debacle – on top of his unconstitutional state income tax, insolvent long-term care tax, and gas-price jacking cap-and-tax program – is to stick the state with a $4 billion dollar bill (plus interest) to hire more liberal Democrats to solve the “homelessness” crisis caused by liberal Democrat policies. Allegedly, “Inslee’s ambitious $4 billion housing-construction bond proposal – which if approved would go before voters this November – remains in play, according to Democratic House Speaker Laurie Jinkins of Tacoma.” Just what we need, more Inslee ideas “in play”. (Crosscut)

The dust is still settling from Wednesday’s deadline drama in Olympia, when the State Senate suddenly pulled up for a vote a bill which had not had a public hearing, but had focused plenty of attention on Democrats’ soft-on-crime preferences, police pursuit reform (SB 5352). This bill was supposed to die a quiet death, Senator Manka Dhingra had dumped dirt on it in January, yet here it was passing on the final day policy bills could be heard in their original house. As Senate Republican leader John Braun delicately put it at a press conference, “I think the fact that Sen. Dhingra was involved in that process was only because she is the chair, and they tried to respect their chair. She has been the person – more than any single person – that stood in the way of that. The fact that she – it was her striker, and that’s how it came out, and just the fact that she’s the chair and that’s the way they run their caucus, not because she wanted to.” In other words, the message from her Democrat colleagues was better you walk the plank for us, than we for you. And as the Columbian pointed out, the Democrats in the House have plenty of egg on their collective faces for their failure to advance a bill that would have actually allowed police to pursue people stealing cars. Maybe that will be next, right Speaker Laurie Jinkins?  (Centersquare.com, Columbian)

In case anyone was wondering why failed one-term State Representative Jesse Johnson was not on the ballot again last November, listen to his whining about the State Senate making a very modest effort to repair the damage caused by the police pursuit bill he co-sponsored in 2021: “The main concern I have is that we’re trying to change legislation without solid evidence (Ed. Note: though that is how he wrote the bill, of course). Law enforcement officials have said the pursuit law has made it difficult to do their jobs. Pursuits has been kind of [a] scapegoat for ‘Crime is up.’ I hear that a lot.” Yeah, lots of people are hearing that crime is up, and some of them are actually trying to do something about it. (Crosscut)

Everett Mayor Cassie Jackson had a rapt audience hanging on every word at her state of the city address, and she provided an update on how her personal dating choices are undermining council confidence in her leadership of the city by saying … nothing. As The Herald notes, “With the cloud of an investigation hanging over her due to her relationship with the deputy mayor, Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin” ignored her self-created controversy.  She did lament that “being constantly in the limelight doesn’t allow for much privacy for me and my daughter,” but since she tersely stated last month that “My personal life is my personal life,” voters will be left waiting for an outside consultant report wondering what her “limelight” is like. (The Herald)

We are almost four months removed from the last election, so with a mere 20 months to go before she faces voters again, Congresswoman Kim Schrier is striking all the right tones – HELP ME, I’M MELTING! According to her latest email, the party bosses “just added Kim to their Frontline program for 2024”, the party equivalent of promising buckets of money to save her campaign from peril. Now it’s up to you to “rush a donation.” (Schrier email)

The state’s longest-serving political newspaper reporter, The (Everett) Herald’s Jerry Cornfield, has a wistful piece today on the pending destruction of the “two former press houses, AKA Blue House and White House” on the Capitol grounds in Olympia. They are/soon will be only a reminder of when reporters actually covered state government in-depth and not just during legislative sessions. (The Herald)

Now this is a promising development – a Seattle Council candidate who has signed the front of a paycheck!

This is  called “spinning”…

OK, is this satire, or real?