The Washington State Building Code Council (SBCC) will be voting this Friday on a liberal environmental measure that, if passed, will be costly and do absolutely nothing to reduce CO2 emissions.  While Governor Jay Inslee and Democrat legislators brag that they passed the nation’s most comprehensive CO2 reduction policy (SB 5126) during last year’s legislative session, the bureaucratic SBCC seeks to justify its existence by passing a costly measure that will effectively ban natural gas heating in commercial buildings.

A new report from the Washington Policy Center states that this inefficient policy) will not reduce CO2 any further than the cap-and-trade measures passed by the 2021 legislature.  The SBCC natural gas measure will simply add more costs to the construction and operation of commercial buildings.  Yet, sadly, in the liberal policy world which dominates Washington State politics, facts take a backseat to the environmental virtue-signaling liberals constantly seek to display. (Washington Policy Center, Washington Legislature Bill Summary, and Washington State Building Code Council)

Nearly 8% of Washington State workers are seeking exemptions from Governor Inslee’s vaccination mandate.  Thus far, about 5,000 state workers in 24 separate agencies have sought exemption from being vaccinated for religious or medical reasons.  Dozens of other state workers have filed a lawsuit against Governor Inslee over the mandates.  While the governor previously stated that those who do not comply with his orders are subject to being fired, it remains unknown whether he is willing to remove such a large percentage of the workforce. (Seattle Times)

If you want to provide state officials with your views on Washington’s tax structure, the upcoming virtual town halls conducted by the Washington State Tax Structure Work Group will provide an excellent opportunity to express your opinion.  The group will be hosting 14 geographically-based virtual meetings in the upcoming weeks (click here for the schedule and registration) and will present the views expressed to state lawmakers. For some worthy tax reform ideas to consider, we suggest reading this brief presented by the Washington Policy Center. (Washington State Tax Structure Work Group and Washington Policy Center)

Senator Curtis King (R – Yakima) states that he doesn’t believe a special legislative session to pass a transportation budget will occur because most Democrats don’t want to deal with correcting seriously flawed legislation passed on other issues during the 2021 session.  Speaking at an Association of Washington Businesses conference, Senator King said his Democrat colleagues know Republicans will want to fix problems with the Long-Term Care tax, police “reform,” and the capital gains income tax.  We believe other Republican legislators would also like to discuss the never-ending emergency powers the governor continues to abuse and the costly farmworkers overtime pay bill. (WPC Center for Government reform Facebook post)

Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat describes the tremendous negative impact the Seattle City Council’s disastrous public policy process has had on many small business owners.  When the spineless councilmembers caved in to the unreasonable demands of violent liberal rioters to defund the police department, they failed in their basic responsibility to provide the necessary public safety for the city’s residents and employers.  The councilmembers instead promised some future untested program (now called “Triage One”) that will be operational at an unknown future date (now promised sometime in 2022).  The result has been skyrocketing violent crime rates, an unsafe downtown “neighborhood,” and employers closing their businesses.

In his column, Westneat reports on a Pioneer Square art gallery that has lost all of its employees because the neighborhood is unsafe and a restaurant owner who has given up calling the police to report the daily disturbances he faces.  The current dangerous condition in Seattle is entirely the creation of liberal public safety policies and the lack of responsibility displayed by the city’s elected officials. (Seattle Times)

Three promised “tiny house villages” constructed to shelter homeless individuals in Seattle have been delayed by bureaucratic processes and repetitive crimes committed by current “occupants.”  The inability to open is yet another example of the city failing to meet stated goals.  Earlier this year, Seattle officials, led by inefficient Councilmember Kshama Sawant, promised that three tiny home villages (fenced properties with heated shed-sized structures) would be operational by this summer to provide shelter for a small portion of the city’s growing homeless population.  Yet because two of the proposed villages (University District and the expansion of the current tiny village under the Magnolia Bridge at Interbay) sit on properties owned by Sound Transit and Port of Seattle, bureaucratic problems have delayed construction. At the third site on Aurora Avenue, homeless individuals set fires and engaged in illegal drug use in an adjacent structure (the former Black Angus Motel). The city has decided to tear it down before constructing the tiny house village.  (Seattle Times)

The good folks at Safe Seattle point out the dramatically failed campaign promises of current Seattle City Councilmember Dan Strauss.  In a mailer for his 2019 campaign, candidate Dan Strauss is seen posing in front of Ballard’s Common Park with the promise that he will “hit the ground running” to reduce the number of homeless in Seattle. The park pictured behind Strauss is beautiful and a welcoming spot for locals to enjoy. Yet, after 18 months of Strauss in office, the Ballard Commons has been overrun by a huge homeless encampment that spreads beyond the park into the nearby neighborhood and commercial district.  Drug use and prostitution are rampant, and the children’s play area is often filled with debris and garbage.  (Safe Seattle Facebook and Downtown Seattle Association)

Former Bremerton High School football coach Joe Kennedy has filed a new petition with the U.S. Supreme Court over his lawsuit regarding praying with players after the game.  Previous federal court rulings stated the school district did not violate Kennedy’s religious or free speech rights when they refused to extend his contract after school district officials warned him against praying with players.  The Supreme Court had previously declined to hear the case. Still, Kennedy’s attorneys believe their new petition has the necessary factual information needed for the court to review the court case. (MyNorthwest)

Bezos Academy (funded by Amazon’s founder) has signed a ten-year lease to operate an educational pre-school in Centralia as part of their effort to open five new “Montessori School style” facilities in western Washington by 2023.  The schools will target young children from lower-income households. The Bezos Academy currently runs a school in des Moines and plans to open two schools in Tacoma, one in Federal Way and one in Pacific Beach (Grays Harbor). (Centralia Chronicle)

It is worth noting that the Seattle Times failed to inform its readers of the serious national news story that over a dozen former and current staff members have accused Seattle’s Democrat Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal of creating “a dysfunctional and volatile workplace.”  While we are certain the Times would have been all over the story if this were a local Republican member of Congress, the paper evidentially believes BuzzFeed’s story is not worth mentioning since it reflects poorly on a Democrat figure. We will keep watch to see if the story makes it into the region’s largest newspaper in the future. (BuzzFeed)

Central Washington Fair officials asset they are “100% confident” the annual 10-day event will occur starting September 24^th despite the recent spike in COVID cases causing local hospitals to begin transporting patients to other locations due to overcrowding.   The Fair president stated that everyone must wear a mask – indoors and outdoors – while on the Yakima fairgrounds.  The president elaborated, “We realize that some of our guests might not agree with this mandate, but it is crucial we adhere to this for us to open our gates to the fair and remain open.” (YakTriNews)

State Department of Natural Resources land in Eastern Washington will reopen on Thursday after closing for nearly two months.  The lands were closed to all visitors on July 23^rd due to the risk of wildfires from high temperatures and dry conditions. There have been 1,750 wildfires this summer. (iFIBER One)

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