On the third anniversary of the October 7 terrorist attacks, activists marched through Seattle carrying Palestinian flags, including one depicting a masked Hamas fighter, while chanting slogans celebrating the massacre, according to JNS and Frontlines. At the University of Washington, protesters reportedly carried posters honoring Hamas operatives and suicide bombers.

When a counterprotester held a sign urging demonstrators to stop celebrating October 7 and remember the innocent victims, Frontlines reported that the crowd took and destroyed it. Seattle police also reported property damage along the march route and said suspects had been identified.

Yet KING 5, KOMO, The Seattle Times and KUOW provided no substantive coverage of the march, according to the report, leaving audiences with little more than traffic-related information.

The double standard is hard to ignore: Seattle media have covered other small political protests while largely overlooking a demonstration featuring chants celebrating a terrorist massacre. When alleged antisemitism and public expressions of support for Hamas fail to merit serious coverage, Seattle’s newsrooms have some explaining to do.

The King County Council voted 6-3 to impose another sales tax increase, pushing Seattle’s rate to 10.56% on Jan. 1, with the promise of raising up to $10 million annually for homeless families and emergency shelter services.

Apparently, years of massive spending haven’t convinced county leaders to rethink their approach. Instead, they’re reaching deeper into taxpayers’ pockets—this time using authority granted by Olympia Democrats to raise taxes without voter approval. And with county leadership retaining broad discretion over how the money is allocated, taxpayers are being asked to trust the same government that has struggled to demonstrate results.

Councilmember Reagan Dunn put it plainly: families are already being squeezed by housing, groceries and fuel, while the county continues confronting waste and fraud in its spending. Raising taxes won’t make life more affordable.

But in King County, when the government’s promises fall short, the solution seems to be the same every time: spend more, tax more, repeat. Read more at The Center Square.

In Thursday’s televised debate over Initiative 645, former Republican Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler warned that Olympia’s new income tax could eventually expand to more Washingtonians. Labor leader April Sims repeated the nonsensical argument that repealing the tax would jeopardize billions in education and health care funding—even though that future revenue doesn’t currently exist.

Meanwhile, lawmakers repeatedly refused to lock the $1 million threshold into law, and some Democrats are already floating lower thresholds of $750,000 and $250,000. So much for a tax that supposedly only targets millionaires.

The 9.9% tax on household income above $1 million is scheduled to take effect in 2028 and is projected to generate roughly $3 billion annually. Voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to repeal it, while a potential constitutional challenge could leave the courts to settle the tax’s fate. Read more at MyNorthwest.com.

University of Washington atmospheric sciences professor Cliff Mass is blasting a Seattle Times Climate Lab story predicting Skagit River floods could become four to five times more frequent by the 2040s, arguing it ignored observed river-flow data and relied on an extreme climate scenario he says is outdated.

Mass says annual peak flows at gauges near Newhalem and Concrete have actually trended slightly downward, contradicting the story’s alarming framing. He also criticized its reliance on the high-emissions RCP 8.5 scenario, which he argues is unrealistic, and said the coverage overlooked factors including levees, construction and logging.

Mass also questioned the Climate Lab’s donor-funded model, arguing its coverage consistently emphasizes climate change when temperatures are above normal but ignores it during unusually cold periods. The Seattle Times says it maintains editorial control over the project.

Of course, the central question is, why lead with dire climate projections without giving readers a clear picture of what the river’s actual records show? Read more Seattle Red.

Please consider making a contribution to ensure Shift continues to provide daily updates on the shenanigans of the liberal establishment. If you’d rather mail a check, you can send it to: Shift WA | PO Box 956 | Cle Elum, WA 98922

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].