You can take the Washington State Standard at its word when its veteran Olympia team writes that “(W)hen politicians dole out cash payments to voters around election time it tends to elicit scrutiny.” Or as Republican House Leader Drew Stokesbary better described the Democrat’s latest attempt to buy votes using the taxpayer’s carbon tax money: “Awfully fishy.”

What drew the attention of reporters and the ire of taxpayer advocates were the competing operating budget proposals from the House and Senate Democrats, both of which recklessly spend more of the state’s windfall tax surplus (over $3 billion added since the last budget passed) trying to buy voter approval of their carbon tax – by threatening to take back carbon tax refunds. As the Standard describes the shakedown, low-income residents “who qualify would receive half of their credit this year and the other half in 2025  – unless voters put the kibosh on the Climate Commitment Act. If that happens, the second installment is canceled.”

You can read on to see the fake budget concerns of the Democrat Majority Leader, sounding like a conservative when he claims, “It would not be fair to the voters, it would not be fair to the 2025 Legislature to write a check that can’t be cashed” as he attempts to threaten those very voters here… Washington State Standard.

It’s fitting that the party that claimed its carbon tax would only cost drivers “pennies” (as Shift reported was false at the time) is now promising a refund, providing only pennies on the dollar owed to farmers for the state breaking its promise that farmers would be exempt from the Democrats’ 2021 carbon tax. As Capital Press reports, “$30 million falls well short of the more than $150 million farmers have overpaid since cap-and-trade went into effect at the beginning of 2023, according to an estimate by the Washington Farm Bureau.”

A lawsuit is the only reason the state is even offering pennies now, as the “Inslee administration previously resisted refunds, arguing oil companies have the money, not the state.” Now that the state is overflowing in windfall profits from its carbon tax, the “governor’s office estimated $30 million should be more than enough to give reasonable relief” in hopes the lawsuit will go away. Read on to see why the low-ball offer “does reaffirm why the groups are litigating” here… Shift, Capital Press.

For decades, environmental groups have used environmental lawsuits, many of the frivolous variety, to tie up developments they didn’t like. Now, in a delicious irony, which the Seattle Times writes will ultimately require a Governor Jay Inslee decision, “(W)hat began as the largest wind project ever proposed in Washington — the Horse Heaven Hills wind farm — will likely soon be cut to a fraction of the original vision… (B)ecause more than 100 of the turbines, which could stand taller than the Space Needle, might pose a danger to a little-known and endangered species in the Tri-Cities area: the ferruginous hawk.”

The out-of-state developers of this massive proposed wind farm are squealing like the stuck pigs they are about destroying endangered species habitat just so they can make a buck: “(I)t doesn’t make any sense to eliminate that number of turbines for a twig on the ground.” Ultimately, their executive’s complaints are aimed at an audience of one, as once the bureaucrats have made their final decision based on science, “its recommendation will then pass on to Gov. Jay Inslee, who could either uphold the recommendation or make tweaks of his own.” Read on to see if you think any campaign contributions might have been changing hands here… Seattle Times.

In the latest example of the consequences of a decade of Seattle’s far-Left politicians letting their ideology run amok, KOMO News is reporting that “Criminals are starting to take a toll on an entire commercial district in Seattle. Stolen vehicles are being used to smash through storefronts, and glass doors and windows are common targets for vandals.”

The previously quiet neighborhood in question is Wedgwood, northeast of the University of Washington, and the crime spree “is happening along a 30-block stretch of 35th Ave NE in the city’s Wedgwood neighborhood, and the frustrations for business owners are mounting.” Read on to see how “Seattle police are aware of at least 16 incidents in recent months” here… KOMO News.

Another deadline hits the legislature today, with remaining policy bills needing to be passed out of opposite-house committees. That means more bad bills are moving on, with Century Square highlighting that the “Senate State Government & Elections Committee has voted to advance House Bill 1932, which would allow cities to move all their elections to even-numbered years.”

HB 1932 is the latest attempt by Democrats to make it cheaper for the party to get their less informed/less frequent voters to the polls for local elections, and is being advanced by state Insurance Commissioner candidate Sen. Patty Kuderer, who needs to prove her far-Left leanings to party activists. So, she claims “no one (is) being forced to do anything” as her party prepares to force people to do exactly what Democrats demand.

That’s why “HB 1932 originally cleared the House along party lines in a 52-44 vote.” Read on to see where the Democrats will next try to jam this turkey through next… Center Square.

Shift leaves you today with a glimpse into just how unhinged the Seattle Left is these days. The illuminating piece in question comes from The Stranger, which until last year was the most-sought endorsement in town, and a writer delusional about Mayor Bruce Harrell and “the conservative forces that got him and his new city council elected.”

Read on to see what qualifies as doing bid, bad conservative things in The Stanger’s view – fixing roads, hiring cops, and not going deeper into debt. Because that’s what “big business, corporate landlords, and other monied, conservative power players that got (Harrell) elected” want… The Stranger.

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