A Seattle special interest group is finding out that at least one Spokane businessman will defend himself from a partisan attack. That’s one piece of the news coming from the Spokesman-Review that “one Spokane news station has pulled an election season attack ad criticizing Mayor Nadine Woodward and the city-run Trent Avenue homeless shelter in response to a legal threat from a political ally of the mayor named in the TV spot.’

The commercial in question is funded by a group allegedly acting independently of Lisa Brown’s mayoral campaign. At least one station decided to heed the legal warning about the ad that stations “should be aware that, unlike most political campaigns, which end on election day, Mr. Stone has no intention of going away and allowing this defamation to go unanswered.”

Defending the attack ad was a spokesperson for the far-Left Seattle advocacy group FUSE, which has spent millions of dollars on Democrat campaigns, as Shift has reported on over the last decade, and is a donor to the anti-Woodward PAC. The same spokesperson was caught justifying lying during Mayor Woodward’s 2019 campaign, according to the Spokesman. This time, he whined that FUSE is “not a rich special interest with tons of lawyers on our side,” which might come as a surprise to the many Seattle lawyers who contribute to FUSE’s activities. You can read on to see what defamatory claims are being made here… Spokesman-Review, Shift.

A Democrat who lost the 4th Congressional District race last year learned the lesson that the path to success is to confuse voters about what Democrats stand for. That’s that take from a Crosscut feature on “a $330,000, 14-month public awareness campaign from Rural Americans United,” which starts from the premise “that 80 percent of the Central Washington population has never heard a positive Democratic message.”

That quote from Doug White is the justification for this misinformation effort, which will ignore the policy priorities pushed by Democrats like Jay Inslee – higher gas prices, expanding criminal rights, and creating a state income tax, for starters. You can read on to see if you think this confusion will meet its goal and “increase votes for Democratic candidates by 11% percent, shift more independent voters, and increase Latinx voter turnout by 7%” here…  Crosscut.

A pressure campaign by Governor Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson – along with some Democrat colleagues in neighboring states – has failed to stop a pipeline project that will actually help the environment and consumers. That surprising decision by the federal government, covered by the Seattle Times, will “boost the pipeline’s capacity and reliability largely by improving three compressor stations” despite hysterical claims from the Left that such basic maintenance activities “flies in the face of what is morally and economically necessary” according to Inslee.

The truth is that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission “gave the green light to a pipeline project that would increase the flow of Canadian natural gas through the Pacific Northwest and California, despite opposition from tribes, attorneys general, governors and members of Congress.” You can read on to decide if a few compressors are worth all the outlandish warnings here… Seattle Times.

Shift has provided several updates on the controversial Horse Heaven Hill wind energy project outside the Tri Cities, which extreme environmentalists on the West side of the state are promoting because they won’t have to look at it. The latest challenge, reported by the Capital Press, is that the “project would unavoidably cause significant harm to views, recreation and tribal cultural properties in southeast Washington, an Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council planner said.”

Now that even the state is admitting that the project will cause problems it had previously denied, the sponsor is panicking and willing to reduce its size to save it.  You can read on to see how that might not matter, as the “(T)urbines would still dominate views from many key observation viewpoints, and the landscape will appear strongly altered” here …Capital Press.

It probably doesn’t even qualify as news anymore, but the state of Washington is starting to implement another law that will drive up energy prices while doing little for the environment.  That’s the take from the Washington Policy Center, which highlights that while “much of the attention on Washington’s climate policy has been fixed on the climate tax, another law – the low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) – is also beginning to take effect. The cost is low now, but the results of the first credit sales indicate it will soon go up.”

Not unsurprisingly, there are some people who will benefit from the higher gas prices. Read on to find out how “They make money. Washington consumers pay. And the environment gets nothing.”… Washington Policy Center

This week, we’re looking back at our Newsmaker Interview with Andrea Suarez, Founder and Executive Director of the non-profit volunteer organization We Heart Seattle. In a very short time the group has made a significant impact in cleaning up encampments and helping people get off the streets. Created during the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020 when homeless encampments were filling Seattle’s parks, sidewalks, and other public places, We Heart Seattle challenged the status quo regarding how best to help those struggling with drugs and homelessness. Along the way, they have encountered protest by a small group of extremists as volunteers have cleaned up encampments and attempted to help those who were suffering

In her interview, Suarez described the creation and mission of We Heart Seattle and explained why the group has ruffled the feathers of many in Seattle’s establishment. She stated her appreciation for some of Seattle’s public officials who are finally acknowledging the impact of the group’s efforts, and Suarez encouraged everyone to use their “superpower” of voting. She explained why the devotion to “housing first” philosophy and using the wrong data points are hampering the city’s ability to help those suffering on the streets. Finally, Suarez outlined how Shift readers can help We Heart Seattle in their efforts. Read more…

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