Local races dominate the ballots piled up in homes across the state, with the deadline for voting in the primary election next Tuesday at 8 p.m. to determine which candidates will appear on the November general election ballot. And, while summer barbeques and other outdoor fun generally take precedence this time of year over contemplating matters of state (and city), that’s not the case here, as the Everett Herald reminds us that the “Snohomish County Council often votes along party lines, and this election could flip which party comes out on top.”

The paper was referencing the county council’s Position 2 slot, where incumbent Megan Dunn is squarely in the “status quo is good” camp, believing her focus is to “keep working on some environmental issues, but I think the big shift coming up is going to be working on treatment and recovery courts, so we have a process for justice-involved people that are in need of treatment.” In case you don’t speak Far-Left, what she seems to consider the top issue is making sure people getting arrested for drugs don’t actually face any jail time for their actions. You can read more about this one example of why you should remember to vote by next Tuesday here… Everett Herald.

It’s a public relations dance that Eastern Washington residents and elected officials are quite familiar with – whenever Seattle liberals need more money from their environmental friends, they announce a new lawsuit to tear out the region’s economic engines and clean-power-producing Snake River dams, followed by fundraising appeals. That’s the story behind the latest report from public radio that extremists are claiming “the Snake River dams are making the river too hot for sockeye salmon. Now, they’re planning to sue the federal government to remove the dams.”

The activists behind this latest lawsuit must not have a lot of faith in their case, though, as they want the public to get beyond all the science stuff that is usually part of this type of debate. As one lead attorney says, “Big picture, it’s not about (how well salmon do in) one particular year.” You can decide for yourself if, in the “big picture,” it’s all about the survival of Seattle’s extreme environmental organizations, and not salmon, here… Northwest News Network.

File this one under the category “Too Strange To Be True,” as a local judge has sided with the American Civil Liberties Union against the taxpayers of Seattle because city officials are being too tough on the homeless. That’s right, MyNorthwest covers an out-of-touch judge who has ruled the “City of Seattle has been ‘too broad’ in defining when it can clear homeless encampments” and that Seattle “may also be acting ‘unconstitutionally’ by not giving enough notice to people who are in encampments.”

It seems a bit ironic that this latest case against taxpayers hinges on whether the city provides enough time for people to move from their illegal camp, even when they have no intent of moving. And as for not hanging onto abandoned belongings long enough, well, you can read more about how Seattle’s homeless problem will get even worse if a judge and the ACLU have their way here… MyNorthwest.

You can decide whether it’s good news for the public treasury that the latest contract announced between King County Metro and its workers features a minimum raise of more than 15% over the next two years. What stood out to Shift from this Seattle Times story was that this sizeable contract offer allows union members to “earn up to $5,000 in bonuses. The contract includes a $2,500 “appreciation” check as well as a $2,500 retention incentive that anyone can earn if they stay with the agency until the end of 2024.”

That is the cost the public must pay for an agency that “announced in May it would cancel 20 routes in September and reduce service on another 12 as part of an effort to make its schedule more reliable and predictable” even as it was admitted “that more of the agency’s fleet is sidelined for mechanical needs that at any point in memory. Around 35% of all buses are consistently unavailable.” You can read more about how King County taxpayers will be paying much more for much less, if they use Metro at all, here… Seattle Times.

Rampant crime has taken a serious bite out of the operations of not just downtown Seattle businesses but the time of police officers as well, according to a “new report by Seattle City Auditor David Jones (which) outlines ways for the city to address an increase in retail theft that has resulted in $2.7 billion in losses in the state.” The audit, as Center Square highlights, “consists of recommendations for the city to take” to combat the growing problem of organized retail theft.

The size of the problem is significant, as the “city tallied 13,103 calls to the Seattle Police Department from the top 100 retail locations in the city in 2022, with the majority being related to retail theft. According to the auditor’s report, responding to those calls cost police officers 18,615 hours of time, which is equivalent to the annual work performed by nine full-time patrol officers.” You can see more about the magnitude of the problem, which Seattle’s elected officials have been ignoring for years, here… Center Square.

The liberal city council interference in the last re-districting process – aimed at making life easier for a specific liberal member of the council – has evidently come home to roost in the form of an initiative on next February’s ballot.  The Spokesman-Review reports that “Spokane voters will decide early next year whether the City Council should have less power in drawing council districts in the future.”

The stench of the redistricting process (covered here by Shift), which seemingly illegally benefitted Councilman Zack Zappone, resulted in a unanimous vote by the council to send a redistricting reform initiative to the voters next year.  You can read about how some liberals are still trying to defend their unseemly process from last year here… Spokesman-Review, Shift.

Are you attending the 2023 Summer Freedom Fest hosted by Let’s Go Washington? This year’s hosts include KVI 570 Radio’s John Carlson and [un]Divided’s Brandi Kruse. Learn more here.

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