Washington’s latest five-year plan to tackle homelessness feels like a rerun of Soviet-style planning: a bunch of lofty goals that’ll be quietly forgotten when they inevitably fail. Over 200,000 people experienced homelessness in July 2023, marking a 10% rise over five years. Rural counties like Yakima, Whatcom, and Stevens saw even sharper increases, with no accountability in sight. But don’t worry, the state’s Department of Commerce has yet another five-year plan to “address” the crisis, packed with buzzwords like “equity” and “accountability.”

The plan promises to add 1.1 million housing units in 20 years and create 90,000 emergency beds in the next four—because clearly, spending $5 billion over the past decade wasn’t enough. They’ll also need to “strengthen the homeless services workforce,” a fancy way of saying they need more people to keep this cycle of failure going. The real kicker? Every five years, this same report is required by law, and every five years, nothing actually changes except for the growing number of homeless people. It’s almost like the plan is designed to give politicians something to point to without holding anyone accountable. So here we are again, waiting for the next five-year failure while the problem keeps getting worse. Read more at PBS.

Amazon is teaming up with Energy Northwest to build small modular nuclear reactors in Washington state. This move is part of Amazon’s quest for carbon-free energy, but let’s not kid ourselves—this isn’t about saving the planet, it’s about securing energy for Amazon’s growing data centers while getting a shiny new “green” badge. Sure, nuclear energy can reduce carbon emissions, but watch how fast Democrats—who always demand corporations “pay their fair share”—turn against this plan. Why? Because nuclear power doesn’t feed their addiction to raising taxes or expanding government handouts to their favorite campaign donors. Instead of building more unreliable windmills or solar farms, Amazon’s investing in energy that works and is clean. But will Democrats cheer? Doubtful. They’d rather shut down the last coal plant in the state and then panic when the lights start flickering—because at the end of the day, political points are worth more than real solutions. Read more at the Tri-City Herald.

Governor Inslee’s push to electrify Washington’s ferry fleet could be sunk if voters pass Initiative 2117 in November. As Shift WA readers know, Inslee’s plan involves replacing aging diesel ferries with electric ones – and it comes with a hefty price tag of $4.4 billion. Most of the funding for this transition comes from the state’s cap-and-tax program. Further placing Inslee’s electric dream into jeopardy is that both gubernatorial candidates are backing diesel ferries instead, especially given the unreasonable timeline for electric ferries in the face of an aging, failing fleet. It appears that Inslee may not ever achieve his “green” dream of electric ferries. Read more at Center Square.

The University of Washington is facing a lawsuit for its race-based BIPOC Physicians Directory, which excludes white medical students and physicians. The directory is designed to connect non-white students with non-white physicians for mentorship, networking, and career advice. The group Do No Harm is suing, claiming that this policy discriminates based on race and violates the Equal Protection Clause, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and the Affordable Care Act. The lawsuit, brought on behalf of a white UW alum, argues that the directory unfairly excludes white doctors who could offer valuable guidance to all students. As KTTH’s Jason Rantz points out, UW’s defense of this policy under the guise of “equity” reveals a racially divisive agenda. Not to mention the hypocrisy of advocating for inclusivity while actively segregating students. Read more at KTTH.

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