The Democrat-dominated state legislature is more than halfway through its 60-day session, and there is little to show for their “work” so far. The latest Olympia deadline did kill many bills yesterday which had not passed one of the legislative bodies, but rent control  lives on according to the Washington State Standard, as “caps on annual rent increases could take effect in Washington as soon as this year after the state House of Representatives on Tuesday passed” HB 2114.

The Democrats are loathe to admit their rent control bill is rent control, as they realize that rent control is not popular with the public – so they say this rent control law is actually “stabilization”, which is not government control, right? You can read to see the reality offered by one expert that “Rent control doesn’t pencil out for providers or those struggling with our state’s housing affordability crisis. The Senate must stop this bad legislation.” … Washington State Standard.

In the ongoing Washington legislative session, Democrats continue their trend of proposing new taxes, often with misleading information about the actual cost to taxpayers. Notably, Senate Bill 5770, which aimed to triple local property taxes, was abandoned due to public pressure. However, House Bill 2276, a real estate tax, remains alive. In a recent editorial, Scott Walker, Vice President of Rush Residential, criticizes this approach, highlighting the paradox of trying to create affordable housing by increasing housing costs. His piece discussed Washington’s already high real estate excise taxes and the potential consequences of passing HB 2276, emphasizing that it could make Washington’s total taxes on such sales nearly 40 times higher than California’s. Read more here… HB 2776 Opinion Editorial

A low turnout election in February for public school funding does not necessarily predict the public’s mood in November, but the Spokesman-Review provides sobering news (for Democrats) that for “the first time in more than 50 years, Spokane voters chose to fail a Spokane Public Schools bond.”

The anti-tax sentiment was not restricted to the city, as countywide, “none of the five school districts’ bond requests was able to conquer the 60% supermajority approval from voters. Bond proposals failed in the Spokane, Cheney, Deer Park, West Valley and Riverside districts.” Read on to see that economic concerns were not the only reason for the bond failures as “school districts also were up against organized opposition” here… Spokesman-Review.

You can tell what politicians (and their campaign contributors) think is important by what they spend the public’s money on. And if it’s not important to them, they don’t spend the taxpayer’s money with any urgency at all  – as is the case regarding the lack of operational bathrooms in public parks, with Axios Seattle writing that “the city’s 129 public park bathrooms, 68 were closed as of Tuesday, according to city data.”

Seattle’s elected officials have decided to force people to go to the bathroom outside or ask them to hold it for a very long time, as “park officials say dozens of their public restrooms can’t handle cold weather, forcing the city to close them for the season — a problem Seattle doesn’t expect to fully fix until 2028.” Read on to see how all of the city’s top-notch advance planning will mean only five more years of porta-potties, as “(B)y the end of 2028, the city plans to have retrofitted all of its bathrooms ‘with the appropriate protection’ so they can be open year-round” here… Axios Seattle.

Anyone paying attention, unlike Seattle City Councilmember Tammy Morales, as Shift highlighted, knows that stolen cars have become “a gateway crime for teens,” as prosecutors say. Now KUOW brings us the heart-wrenching story of how “stealing cars using a simple trick popularized on TikTok raises questions about how to handle the flood of recent youth car theft cases, especially when they land in adult court.”

The reporter spends a lot of time building up the emotional case for one 18-year-old arrested for “stealing eight cars, which police said were found parked around his grandmother’s house in Seattle’s South Park neighborhood.” It seems that when a crime is involved, 18 is too young for consequences, even though “police said he appeared to be part of a crew who stole Kias and Hyundais, and that he bragged about it on social media. Several of the vehicles he allegedly stole were used in thefts and a robbery”. Read on to learn that one activist believes “Eighteen is really an arbitrary cutoff” for the legal system here… KUOW.

Shift saved you a story from the weekend in case you were too busy with Super Bowl preparations. Here is the rather lengthy list of potential candidates this year in the Fifth Congressional District, compiled by the Spokesman-Review, now that Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers has announced her retirement. Read on to see which one of these 20 Republicans might be the worthy successor of Rep. McMorris Rodgers here… Spokesman-Review.

The team at Shift wants to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to share the love with someone this Valentine’s Day, and what better way than sharing the gift of life with others? So, in honor of our old friend (and Secretary of the Senate), please know that (according to Facebook):

The Hunter Goodman Memorial Blood Drive is underway!

Starting NOW, donate at ANY Bloodworks donation location using the code HGG, and your donation will be credited to Hunter’s Memorial Drive. If you are in the Olympia area on March 6, please make your appointment to donate in person at the State Capitol building. Our goal this year is 100 donors!

One hour of your time will save lives. Please make your appointment today: https://donate.bloodworksnw.org/…/drive_schedule/68576

Please consider making a contribution to ensure Shift continues to provide daily updates on the shenanigans of the liberal establishment.

Forward this to a friend.  It helps us grow our community and serve you better.

You can also follow SHIFTWA on social media by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter.

If you feel we missed something that should be covered, email us at [email protected].