28th Legislative District Representatives sent a taxpayer funded mailer full of lies. 28^th Legislative District Democrat Representatives Christine Kilduff and Mari Leavitt used taxpayer funds to mail their constituents a newsletter filled with lies and half-truths. (Shift WA)

New Washington state law requires counties to be able to register voters on Election Day, yet the new state voter registration system is not earning confidence from many election officials. The new system, that will flag in “real-time” any individual suspected of receiving multiple ballots, has created many headaches, especially in King County.   As King County’s elections director stated, “We have had to create these workarounds—basically, Band-Aids—and do our best to get through this election.” (Crosscut)

For those of you interested in letting Inslee’s campaign know your opinion of his performance in last week’s debate, they have provided a survey.  The very short (and very biased) questionnaire is a masked attempt to gather email addresses (so provide a fake one if you like). Yet, as a Washington taxpayer, you are a major contributor to his campaign (remember the $4 million WA taxpayer funded security team?), and thus should have a valued opinion to his staff. (Inslee for President)

As Amazon continues to expand their future on the Eastside, there is word that they intend to construct a 43-story tower tentatively named “Bellevue 600.” Between this property and other leases, it is currently estimated that over 11,000 people will be employed by Amazon in downtown Bellevue. (Seattle Times)

An outspoken critic of I-1639 (Washington’s new gun legislation), Lewis County Sheriff Rob Snaza, has stated that he will not join other sheriffs across the state who have stated they will not enforce the controversial initiative.  Yet, Snaza has instructed his officers to not go out of their way in finding violators but “If circumstances create us to be there, then all things are on the table.” (KING 5)

The Washington State Department of Agriculture reminds of the new law that allows the growing of hemp starting in January 2020. WSDA also wants people to know that it will be well-regulated and will require licensing. The 2018 Federal Farm Bill permitted states to impose restrictions on the legal growing of hemp. The 2019 Washington legislature passed a law allowing the WSDA to move forward in developing rules for the new crop. (Washington Ag Network). 

Caterpillars eat pine needles, which kills pine trees, which then become fuel in spreading forest fires. In the past months, caterpillars have infested areas of the National Forest along Blewitt Pass. As part of their prevention process, the US Forest Service is spraying trees with a toxic goop that kills the caterpillar. The “goop” is safe for the environment but the resulting dead larva may cause allergic reactions among humans. (Crosscut)

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