Due to pressure from the Washington Education Association (WEA), Senator Lisa Wellman (D-Mercer Island) killed a bill that would have assisted special needs and foster children.  It is the latest example of legislative Democrats caving into the will of the WEA at the expense of children.  As committee chair, Senator Wellman refused to hold a hearing or a vote on SB 6520 before her Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee.  The bill would have provided special needs students with the opportunity to seek educational instruction outside of their local schools that better fit their needs. (Shift and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

Governor Inslee labeled moderate Democrats who disagreed with his expensive Low Carbon Fuel Standards (LCFS) bill as “followers of President Donald Trump.” Inslee then said those who don’t support his extreme position to impose his 57 cents per gallon gas tax are killing Dungeness crabs.  Inslee’s LCFS is another expensive “feel-good” environmental measure that (like his previous environmental bills) will do little, if anything, to help the environment (Greenhouse Gas emissions are higher in Washington State today than when Inslee took office) but will make government larger and more powerful. (Shift)

Did you catch our interview last Friday with the Bellevue Chamber’s President and CEO Joe Fain? Fain has an interesting perspective on Amazon bringing 15,000 jobs into Bellevue and the need to not give up on Seattle and its anti-business environment.  As a former state senator from the 47^th legislative district, Fain also has thoughts on the “politics of division.” (Shift)

A bill sponsored by Senator Mona Das (D-Kent) and Senator Patty Kuderer (D-Bellevue) would end single family housing neighborhoods.  SB 6536 would replace local control over zoning and impose state mandated rules to allow duplexes, triplexes, and apartment buildings into neighborhoods currently exclusively zoned for single family housing.  Das, who last summer publicly called fellow members of the Senate Democrat caucus racists and sexists, again employed a racial theme when she said single family housing “is rooted in inequity as a way to keep some families out of certain neighborhoods.” (MyNorthwest and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

The Democrat-controlled Washington Legislature has failed to act on any of the proposed measures aimed to end “title-only” bills.  By failing to stop using title only bills, Democrats ignored the outrage over the practice being expressed by Washington citizens and many state newspapers.  A tax on financial institutions was passed last year via a “title only” bill, which resulted in a lawsuit from the State Banking Association. That court case may decide the constitutionality of title-only bills. (Washington Policy Center)

After more than a half century of liberal education policy and a couple of decades of being politically controlled by the teachers’ union, Seattle schools have one of the worst racial divides between black and white students in the country.  According to new research, Seattle is one of the nation’s 10 worst districts for equality in students being accepted into gifted programs.  Seattle is also ranked in the top 20% for disparities between black and white students being suspended.  Researchers state that the cause of these inequalities is “the result of adult decisions” made by policy makers, administrators, and teachers. (Seattle Times)

The City of Tacoma has been fined over $3 million dollars in the past five years for failing to adequately respond to public records requests. The city was recently fined $36,800 and ordered to provide department heads with training on responding to public records requests, as the penalty for from a recent court hearing. (News Tribune)

As expected, Oregon’s Governor Kate Brown called for the removal of lower Snake River dams despite the economic devastation it would bring to the Eastern Washington and Oregon.  Notwithstanding the fact the Snake River has seen an increase in steelhead population in recent years, Brown called for the dams’ removal to promote salmon recovery.  The Washington Republican Congressional delegation (Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, and Rep. Dan Newhouse) said Governor Brown’s position “is not only misguided, it is shocking and extreme,” and said Brown should show responsible leadership by waiting for a federal court-ordered study on the Columbia and Snake river hydro systems.  Brown provided no indication how the region would replace the clean energy generated by the dams or how Eastern Washington farmers would transport their crops to market without the waterway created by the dams. (Tri-City Herald)

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