Reaction to the news over the weekend that John Kerry is planning to leave his position as President Joe Biden’s climate czar was underwhelming, perhaps because few people beyond his private jet pilot were aware that John Kerry still had a job. However, the news stirred up excitement in Olympia, as it again motivated Gov. Inslee’s political operatives to float his name to the national publication Politico for a high-paying, do-nothing job in D.C., and allowed Washington State Lt. Governor Denny Heck to start his search for the draft of his long-planned first gubernatorial address, since he would be the appointed replacement to our green governor.

The reporters guessing who could possibly replace Kerry were gushing in their assessment that the czar’s “successor will be hard-pressed to replicate his versatility”, evidently meaning his mediocrity at a wide variety of things. However, you can read on to see how it’s now considered a positive that Inslee “ran on a presidential ticket in 2020 that put fighting climate change as a top priority’ before he dropped out with zero percent support, and that not “seeking a fourth term in Washington — (is) freeing him up to take on a new challenge” here… Politico.

The issue of when police should pursue criminal suspects is one continuing to highlight the damage legislative Democrats have inflicted on themselves trying to please their Far Left base at the expense of basic public safety.  Now that the legislature is faced with a citizen initiative to let police pursue criminals again without the approval of Democrat legislators, KUOW provided the police perspective on the debate, that “We don’t want more pursuits. We just want to send a strong message to people who choose to flee that that’s a bad idea and they’re going to get caught.”

Pushing from the pro-criminal side is Senator Manka Dhingra, who is proudly running for Attorney General as the legislator most responsible for limiting police pursuits. She continues singing from the script provided by the same special interests who helped her ban the police pursuits which voters will now be asked to restore, saying Initiative 2113 “would take us backward”, while adding the bizarre comparison that “(E)luding the police is a public danger on our streets, just like illegal racing.”

You can read on to learn more from Sen. Dhingra, someone who just doesn’t think running from cops without consequence is any big deal… KUOW.

Legislative Democrats have been searching for ways to convince the public that they actually care about public safety (spoiler alert, they don’t) after several years of passing laws to make Washington state a more comfortable place to be if you’re a criminal. The latest feeble attempt, covered by KING 5, comes from longtime lefty State Senator Karen Keiser, who is ”proposing a grant program that would help small businesses bolster security at their stores.”

It is evidently lost on Sen. Keiser that if Democrats had not been so busy passing laws making it harder for police to do their jobs – like pursue car thieves – they wouldn’t need to be giving out taxpayer money to cover private security costs. Read on to see how “KING 5 has reported extensively on smash-and-grabs in Western Washington” thanks to the explosion over the last year in stolen cars being used to commit other crimes here… KING 5.

The saga that is the Tukwila church providing sanctuary for migrants claiming asylum just keep getting stranger. The latest twist is from KOMO Newsthat after the church provided free lodging during the current cold snap “50 African migrants who have been staying at a hotel said they do not wish to return to a refugee camp that is located on the grounds of Riverton Park United Methodist Church.”

That’s right, those being given charity are now demanding much more, with the help from an activist in the Homelessness Industrial Complex screaming “King County should’ve provided somewhere for all refugees, all houseless people to stay. I demand more of my government.” Read on to see how Gov. Jay Inslee’s office is stepping right up to avoid accountability for that demand, “claiming they are providing support and guidance when possible” here… KOMO News.

The voters of Washington state have already put Democrat legislators on notice that their anti-police, pro-criminal policies have gone too far in recent years, with the recent qualification of the initiative to restore the ability of police to pursue criminals. So, to avoid having to answer directly for yet another pro-criminal bill, Crosscut reported that this session Democrats brought in “Amanda Knox, a Washingtonian who was wrongly convicted of murder in Italy, (who) shared her firsthand experience with police deception while testifying before a Washington House committee in support of a bill that would target deceptive tactics in police interrogations.”

One can by sympathetic to Ms. Knox’ plight and still call into question what relevance her notorious experience with the Italian legal system has to do with police practices in Washington state, except to provide a celebrity shine to the Olympia proceedings. Read on for the perspective from one police leader that “(S)ometimes we have to lie to people to get them to tell the truth. That’s just an unfortunate reality of law enforcement” before the Democrats pass this bill out of committee this week… Crosscut.

You can tell the city elections must be over, because some homeless are returning to some of their favorite places that politicians had placed off-limits for a little while. That’s the takeaway from a KOMO story that “people are setting up around Ballard Commons Park again after the city cleared out a large-scale encampment two years ago.”

All is not necessarily peaceful however, as some “neighbors told KOMO News they are concerned about the open drug use taking place since the campers returned.” Fortunately “the assaults and violence they saw in the past has not been an issue over the last several weeks.” KOMO News.

Anyone paying attention – or just reading Shift – knows how badly the Washington State Ferries (WSF) fleet is listing, with bureaucrats admitting the system will remain broken the remainder of this decade. That’s why it’s no surprise coming from KUOW that “Bremerton, Wash., residents and businesses are reeling from the news that they won’t get their second state ferry back again until 2028.”

What is surprising is that local voters in Kitsap County had “voted to create their county’s nimble fleet of passenger-only boats” in 2017, and last year “state funds allowed Kitsap’s fleet to add more sailings. Since then, ridership has surged.” You can read on to see how the Bremerton mayor is researching how much more money it will take to expand services and “hopes the state will then kick in what’s needed during this legislative session” here… Shift, KUOW.

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