The debate over the value of the Lower Snake River Dams has gone on for decades, with extreme environmentalists demanding the dams be ripped out to restore the river to its 1800’s conditions. However, while the Capital Press reports that “agricultural stakeholders, tribes and environmental groups agree on one thing: The Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative recently signed by the Biden administration, four Northwest tribes and the states of Oregon and Washington is a pathway to breaching the dams”, the Democrats who support that “Initiative” really don’t want to admit they ready to rip out the dams.

That’s because dam breaching could mean many things, and the Capital Press walked through a few of the problems – “irrigation water availability, power supply and transportation. Combined, replacing them or creating work-arounds would cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars.” And that doesn’t even account for “10% of all U.S wheat exports (that will) arrive to Portland/Vancouver on barges that passed through the lower Snake River dams” and the Democrats want to end barging on the river.

Or that irrigation costs would soar, real estate values would plummet, and electricity blackouts would become a thing.  All thanks to Far-Left Democrats demanding we rip out dams producing enough energy to power Seattle every year. Read on for more sad truths… Capital Press.

You must have to be a special type of government program to get the largest newspaper in the state to print for free every single press release you issue.  Turns out that Sound Transit is that agency, so the Seattle Times has a breathless take about four months early that “Sound Transit’s light rail tracks will reach another 8 ½ miles on Aug. 30, when two new stations open in Shoreline and trains finally cross the Snohomish County line into Mountlake Terrace and Lynnwood.”

Left buried by the Times is the incompetence of the government planners, as “local governments spent years negotiating over route nuances and permits, followed by rapid inflation. The initial range of $1.2 billion to $1.7 billion in 2015 has increased to $3.3 billion.” Read on to see how the taxpayers will be on the hook for much more for a train system that doesn’t go where riders actually want to go here… Seattle Times.

The homeless industrial complex Seattle appears to have learned from past protests that blackmail works over the weak-minded folks who get elected in Seattle. That’s why KTTH is reporting that “Seattle activists are using illegal immigrants (or migrants) to hold the Central District’s Garfield Park hostage. And while the city got a temporary reprieve as a private donor reportedly paid ransom to cover their hotel expenses for eleven days, unless officials come up with a plan, Seattle will have the second iteration of the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP).”

This story has evolved from “(D)ozens of migrants, mostly Venezuelan, (who) were reportedly bussed to the Seattle area in 2023 by unidentified nonprofits” into a cause for “progressive housing activists (who) transported the illegal immigrants to Seattle City Hall to demand funds to keep them housed. Mayor Bruce Harrell relented, giving them a month’s worth of funding for motel rooms.”

The Spokane area will lose another veteran elected official this year, adding on to Congresswoman Cathy McMorris-Rodgers’ departure announced in January.  That’s because the Spokesman-Review is reporting that “Eastern Washington lawmaker Mike Padden announced Wednesday that he won’t run for re-election.”

Read on to see how “after a 13-year run in the state Senate, Padden, R-Spokane Valley, is stepping down from his post representing the 4th legislative district.” Senator Padden was first elected to the state house in 1980, and later served as a District Court judge, and as noted by his colleague Senator Mark Schoesler“Mike Padden was the criminal’s worst nightmare, and he was the crime victim’s best friend.” … Spokesman-Review.

This is an early snapshot of what electricity ratepayers around Western Washington can expect in the coming years, as the foreign owners of Puget Sound Energy take advantage of the Democrats’ new law to allow them to end natural gas service in Washiongton.  As the Centralia Daily Chronicle highlights, an “0.73% increase to electricity rates and a 0.68% increase to natural gas rates is being requested to offset energy efficiency program investments available to customers.”

You got that right – because of their “efficiency program investments”, PSE’s foreign owners need more of your money. Read on to see how the Democrats really want to let PSE dig deep into your pockets here… Daily Chronicle.

Just a quick note from MyNorthwest that thanks to the radical environmental agenda of Governor Jay Inslee and his fellow Democrats, “Washington’s gas prices are, on average, up nearly 6% compared to gas prices a year ago. The jump in price is more than 25 cents per gallon, according to AAA.”

You can thank the Democrats even more in the coming weeks, as “Washington remains one of the highest states for gas prices. On average, it is 28% higher to purchase gas in this state compared to the rest of the country.” … MyNorthwest.

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