The nation’s fastest-growing gas prices just are not producing enough pain for the Democrats to inflict on Washington drivers. That’s the takeaway from the Washington State Standard’s overview of the state’s next step in the drive to make fuel more expensive, the “Move Ahead Washington transportation package passed last year (which) set a target that all passenger cars and light-duty vehicles ‘sold, purchased or registered in Washington’ be electric starting with the model year 2030.”

The Standard points out that the math behind banning gas-powered cars just doesn’t add up, writing that in Washington, sales of “electric vehicles, including plug-in hybrids, are climbing but remain a tiny portion of cars on the road. Washington had about 8 million registered vehicles on Aug. 31, of which 150,482, roughly 1.9%, ran fully or partially on battery power.” Liberals from Gov. Inslee on down have refused to be honest about their electric vehicle mandate, and you can read why that “even with the electrification strategy, the state is unlikely to meet the (mandated) goal” here… Washington State Standard.

The recent vandalism of the Wing Luke Museum in Seattle’s Chinatown International District by a man spouting racist rhetoric was no surprise to anyone who has walked the tent-laden streets in that area in recent years. It has seemingly also become a vehicle for government officials to quickly come up with some money to shift attention from their role in creating such squalid conditions. As Center Square reports, “Seattle and the Washington State Department of Commerce are funding $100,000 to clean up vandalism resulting from a hate crime.”

The rapid response by the city and state to one deplorable incident must come as quite a shock to the hundreds of other business owners around the city (and state) who have been subjected to vandalism in recent years as a result of Democrats deciding that property crimes were not really crimes, usually. You can read how quickly the government can act when politics drives the response (and the money is not theirs) here… Center Square.

The team at Shift was looking forward to an editorial this morning that sounded like a recipe for some really tasty education reform in the name of demanding excellence.  Sadly, the op-ed in the Settle Times from local administrators turned out to be like lumpy oatmeal, despite them admitting that “on the Nation’s Report Card, we have recently fallen out of the top half of states when it comes to our students’ ability to read and do math. We’ve fallen to 40th when it comes to the mental health of our students.”

Yet, knowing reality and connecting the dots to the problem – teachers’ unions, which are comfortable with the “mediocrity” dominating the rest of the discussion – is beyond these administrators. You can see how far they are off here… Seattle Times.

Shift takes no comfort in pointing out that perhaps if local elected officials were not so quick to demonize some of their first responders in the name of scoring cheap political points, they might have more of them around. Yet, Q13 was quick to highlight that reality, reporting a “critical shortage of deputies is leaving Thurston County residents dangerously exposed, and the sheriff is issuing an emergency declaration.”

The situation is such that “Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders says they may have to move non-emergency calls and some property crimes to online reporting” to deal with the deputy shortage. You can find out more about how there are “currently 36 active patrol deputies out of a possible 56” available around our state’s capital here… Q13.

Taxpayers in King County are not necessarily getting all the value they should from our county’s vaunted juvenile diversion programs. That’s a question that King County Councilman Reagan Dunn wants answered, with the Bellevue Reporter highlighting his “letter to Washington State Auditor Pat McCarthy requesting state performance and financial audits” of the programs.

Councilman Dunn is hoping that yet another government audit will find yet another path forward for an effort that “allocated $17.5 [million] in public funds to 18 private organizations.” You can read for more on whether that money is being linked to any actual positive outcomes here… Bellevue Reporter.

Last week’s Newsmaker Interview was with Caitlyn Axe, the author of the latest Discovery Institute Fix Homelessness project report. Our interview highlighted the failure of the King County Regional Housing Authority’s collaboration with local companies, costing taxpayers nearly 10 times more to house homeless individuals than non-profits can. The report revealed a lack of accountability in how taxpayer funds were distributed to local homeless organizations. In her interview, Axe discussed the report’s findings, criticized the “housing first” policy, and shared insights on the future of the KCRHA and ways for readers to keep public pressure on the authority. Read more.

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