In a recent op-ed, Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels warns that Washington’s 427-mile northern border has become a major entry point for cartel-driven fentanyl trafficking. Precursor chemicals from China are shipped to Canada—often Vancouver—then smuggled south through Washington by coordinated networks involving Chinese suppliers and Mexican cartels. The state’s history as a cartel hub includes high-profile cases like the Zazueta-Bueno network in the Tri-Cities and recent Jalisco cartel operations in Eastern Washington.

Fentanyl seizures at northern ports in 2023 were enough to kill nearly 9.5 million Americans, and Spokane County’s overdose deaths have more than doubled since 2019. The crisis extends to newborns, with neonatal abstinence syndrome rates in Spokane County skyrocketing to 1 in 50 births in 2022.

Nowels calls for urgent action: strengthening northern border security, cutting the cartel supply chain at its source, funding local enforcement, expanding programs for mothers and NAS-affected children, reversing anti-police legislation, and restoring accountability in narcotics enforcement. Without bold measures, he warns, Washington communities risk being permanently entrenched in the cartels’ deadly business. Read more at the Spokesman Review.

As Shift WA previously reported, for the first time in years, the Pierce County GOP won’t have a booth at the Washington State Fair—not because they couldn’t afford it, but because fair officials suddenly decided long-standing outreach activities like selling GOP merch and gathering initiative signatures were now forbidden in the prime ShowPlex location. The “solution”? Shove them into a “Free Speech area” conveniently located at the back gate, far from the crowds.

Republican Chair Dave McMullan says these activities have always been part of their grassroots engagement, drawing thousands of fairgoers to sign citizen-led initiatives—something Democrats, fresh off seeing 2024’s wildly successful signature drives, would love to make harder. The fair calls it “maintaining the guest experience.” Translation: Democrats are fine with politics at the fair… as long as it’s their politics. Read more at Center Square.

For decades, environmental activists and their political allies have sworn the Lower Snake River dams would wipe out salmon runs unless they were torn down. They even bought a New York Times ad in the ’90s predicting Spring Chinook extinction by 2017. But, as the Washington Policy Center’s Todd Myers points out in a new op-ed, fast-forward to 2025, and more than 53,000 Spring Chinook made the journey this year—nearly double the count when activists claimed they’d be “nearly extinct” by now.

The largest federal scientific review says keep the dams—they provide 75% of Washington’s wind and solar backup power and 98% of young salmon make it past them safely. But instead of addressing bigger threats like seal and sea lion predation or habitat issues across the region, dam opponents cling to a symbolic crusade that would waste $30+ billion in taxpayer dollars. Translation: it’s less about saving salmon and more about scoring political points. Read more at the Tri-City Herald.

Once again, Olympia’s Democrat supermajority proves it can’t tell the difference between a rural saloon and a downtown Amazon campus. The Cattle Prod Saloon in Riverside—once a local hub for community dinners, Republican meet-and-greets, and affordable food—was forced to shutter after relentless state-imposed costs crushed its razor-thin margins. Insurance premiums demanded in full, liquor license fees nearly doubled, and mandates that might work in Seattle slapped onto a rural economy that can’t charge $22 for nachos.

Owners Lori and Ashley did everything they could—working other jobs, cutting costs—but still couldn’t survive under the avalanche of taxes, fees, and “one-size-fits-Seattle” regulations. This isn’t just another business closure; it’s another casualty of policies written by people who think every business owner is Jeff Bezos. The result? Riverside loses not just a restaurant, but a piece of its community fabric, while Olympia pats itself on the back for “supporting small business.” Read more at Seattle Red.

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