, UW leads the state’s pack of higher education.

Ross: Why we should all embrace cheating for college admissions

The top 10 colleges and universities:

1. University of Washington
2. Gonzaga University
3. Whitman College
4. Washington State University
5. Eastern Washington University
6. Central Washington University
7. Pacific Lutheran University
8. Seattle University
9. Saint Martin’s University
10. Northwest University

At least, those are the top institutions of higher education in the state. WalletHub considered all universities and colleges across the country. Sorry, when compared to the rest of the country, the best we rank is 73rd for UW. Still, with well more than 800 colleges considered, that’s pretty good.

For those who are curious, Massachusetts Institute of Technology is the best in America. And apologies to Kettering University in Michigan — the worst school in the nation (according to this list).

Diving deeper into WalletHub’s data, only one other university from the state made it onto one of its lists. Apparently, Gonzaga University is in the top five schools with the lowest percentage of international students — not sure how boast-worthy that is though.

Opposing University of Washington students debate affirmative action

But to end on a positive note, UW received great news this week from Reuters which ranks it the fifth. The top five most innovative, from the top, are Standford, MIT, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, and UW.

“That is some serious company,” 成人X站 Nights Aaron Mason said. “I don’t think I realized how elite they are.”

“Where do you think Paul Allen and Bill Gates were going?” co-host Gee Scott said. “They were going to the University of Washington to learn.”

This is the third straight year UW has held the innovative title.

Possible solution to Seattle鈥檚 prolific offenders is expensive, but effective

Best noted that people who are arrested for crimes are often released back out onto the street at a quick pace. This is often noticed when officers then pick them up for yet another crime, sometimes on the same day.

Best said “This not only hurts our community, but officer morale as well.”

The association is a group of 78 chiefs, commissioners and sheriffs from the largest communities in the United States. They have met in Chicago this week for the International Association of Chiefs of Police convention.

Not only did Chief Best make her comments at the meeting, she tweeted out the statement.

A business owner reported a property crime, and arrested the suspect. Within hours, the suspect was released from jail and returned to commit a new crime. The same officer re-arrested the suspect. This not only hurts our community, but officer morale as well.

鈥� Chief Carmen Best (@carmenbest)

Seattle area prosecutors have come under scrutiny for “prolific offenders” — people who commit crimes but face little consequence in the criminal justice system.

For example, Uwajimaya CEO Denise Moriguchi told the Candy, Mike, and Todd Show earlier this month that the grocery store has stopped reporting shoplifting and other criminal disturbances at the business.

鈥淭he main reason is we weren鈥檛 seeing a lot of traction with reporting,” Morguchi said. “It takes time. It takes people away from their everyday job. It takes effort, and without a lot of results, you kind of question why you鈥檙e doing it.”

鈥淭ypically, we feel like not a lot happens,鈥� she added. 鈥淲e do see run-ins with people that are stealing or have had confrontations with employees, have been disruptive in the store. And the SPD is called and they鈥檙e great. But the next day or the next afternoon that person is back in the store, so it鈥檚 difficult to see how when we do report things, how it鈥檚 actually contributing to making things better.鈥�

Throughout 2019, a pair of reports have been released, criticizing prosecution in Seattle. The most . It concludes that Seattle鈥檚 city attorney does not prosecute about half of non-traffic arrests, and is slow to file charges on the rest.

The report is a follow-up to another released in February, called which focused on 100 offenders who seem to go in-and-out of a revolving door at the court house. In other words, they spend little time facing consequences for crimes after police arrest them.

Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes has briefly commented on the situation, stating that it would take $2 million more, annually, to be able to adequately prosecute the crimes. City officials have proposed a handful of solutions to the budgeting issue.

“I believe that this referendum is going to create a race war,” Rivers told 成人X站 Radio’s Candy, Mike, and Todd Show. “So we have minorities pitted against minorities in an effort to be the most favored minority or a favored minority.”

Rivers says that I-1000 will create an “open and gaping wound.” The initiative was passed by the Washington State Legislature last session. It ends the state’s ban on affirmative action (a ban that was put in place when voters approved I-200 in 1998).

I-1000 doesn’t completely establish affirmative action in the state. It would allow public employers and schools to use recruitment goals, such as race, gender, disability, age, veteran status, and other attributes. It does not implement quotas for hiring. No single attribute would be a sole factor for hiring.

The man behind Referendum 88

The initiative received well over the number of signatures needed to qualify for the ballot — 395,000. But the Legislature had the option of weighing in first and passed it, preventing it from going further to the ballot. In response, organizations have moved to counter I-1000 with Referendum 88. The referendum put the initiative on the November 2019 ballot, allowing the voting public to have the final say. If I-1000 is voted down, it would reverse the Legislature’s action, and things would go back to the way they were (since 1998).

Rivers told Candy, Mike, and Todd that when the lawmakers addressed I-1000 last session, it was the lowest point of her political career. She said that after lawmakers approved I-1000, different groups erupted in shouting matches across the Senate gallery.

“Where you have people of one race who feel bitterly, angry shouting epithets toward people of another race, both minorities, but fighting against one another,” she said. “That’s what happened on the floor of the Senate. And we were shuffled off, out of the Senate floor and the sergeant at arms had a difficult time removing all of the people. And it was equal — the shouting back and forth at one another, the hate speak. I just think we should tread very lightly here.”

She said lawmakers could hear the shouting continuing for an hour after people were removed from the gallery.

“Really, I think it represents the shape of things to come (if people approve I-1000),” she said.

I-1000 has received considerable support in Washington from various corners. Government officials such as Gov. Jay Inslee, former Governors Christine Gregoire and Gary Locke . Organizations such as the ACLU, NAACP, Microsoft, Vulcan, the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, and the Greater Seattle Business Association also support the initiative.

Sen. Rivers maintains, however, that I-1000 “moves the ball backwards” by creating “different rules for different races.” She objects to the formation of an unelected body that would establish hiring preferences.

“It’s just absolutely unfair and contrary to the principles of equality for all,” Rivers said. “It takes away the … 100-year hiring preference in Washington that our veterans have earned for their service to our country. This looks to me like ‘let’s pick winners and losers.'”

This echoes the arguments made by the man behind R-88, Kan Qui. He previously told 成人X站 Radio’s Dave Ross that I-1000 is “divisive,” but further said that “it is actually targeted as Asian Americans.”

is with the American Coalition for Equality and is also a member of .

鈥淚n this state, there is a dark history with Chinese Americans,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ack in the 1880s, right after Chinese labor was used to finish the transcontinental railroad, back then, Chinese immigrants were the second largest ethnic group, behind white, in the state of Washington.鈥�

鈥淏ecause of that government-sanctioned bigotry, the public was more emboldened,鈥� Qiu said. 鈥淭here were a lot of lynchings and public atrocities committed against Chinese immigrants, right here in Tacoma and Issaquah. There are a lot of incidents like that.鈥�

鈥淕enerally, as a rule of thumb, (bus systems) are about a fifth of the cost of building rail,鈥� Elkind told the Candy, Mike, and Todd Show. 鈥淎nd a fifth of the amount of time it takes to build it.鈥�

is director of the climate program at the at UC Berkeley School of Law. He’s also author of the book .

鈥淭rains definitely play an important role in moving a lot of people, that is what they are designed for 鈥� and I think Seattle does have a lot of the density that makes trains a sensible investment for transit,鈥� he said.

More and more people using foot ferries for Seattle commute

On the other hand, Elkind argues that light rail proponents often jump too quickly to building this very expensive transit option, when there are other options that are far cheaper, just as efficient, and much quicker to build.

鈥淚鈥檓 mainly talking about putting buses on dedicated lanes, getting buses out of traffic, out of waiting at red lights, stuck behind single occupant vehicles,” Elkind said. “If you can start building those, get the political will to build those, and I know Seattle is doing very well on that, then you can provide a lot of the benefits of rail transit at a fraction of the cost and time.鈥�

Future buses: electric and self-driving

Just as modern light rail vehicles are now generations ahead of trains used long ago, modern bus technology is evolving. Battery technology in particular is getting cheaper and more advanced.

鈥淓lectric buses, I think, really are the future of bus travel,鈥� Elkind said. 鈥淵ou want to get off of diesel as a fuel. The experience when you are on an electric-powered bus is far superior to being on a diesel-powered bus.”

The benefits: Acceleration is smooth, like light rail; no engine rumbling; and transit operators save big on fuel costs. There are also savings on maintenance costs, because battery-powered vehicles are cheaper to operate and don鈥檛 break down as much; they don鈥檛 have all the moving parts that an internal combustion engine does.

Still plenty of questions as state mulls replacement for gas tax

鈥淵ou can layer on top of that, autonomous buses,鈥� Elkind said. 鈥淲e have the technology now for self-driving vehicles in some context. It鈥檚 getting better and that can apply to buses as well. Particularly if they are in these dedicated lanes. I would look to that as the future, innovative version of buses, rather than the traditional buses that people are familiar with.鈥�

King County has already made a move toward electric buses, starting in 2017. The county recently tested new battery-powered buses that can go up to 140 miles on a charge.

The future with autonomous electric buses will not be as simple as putting them on the road, however. Commuters should expect a shift in traffic practices. The new system would require a separate right of way for buses and priority at intersections (they always get green lights, cars have to wait). Elkind says that tunneling wouldn鈥檛 be a bad idea either.

鈥淚f you do all that, you get all those benefits of rail,鈥� Elkind said.

鈥淭he other thing you can do with buses to mimic the key features of rail, which is that rail can have maybe 10 cars to carry a lot of people with one driver at the front,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou can do the same thing with autonomous technology. You can even have a driver on a bus up front, and then have other buses without drivers do what鈥檚 called 鈥榩latooning鈥� behind them. They can basically act like they are linked up like a traditional train car system, but just with sensors and computers; those autonomous electric buses can keep pace with the lead car. You could theoretically get the equivalent of a train car … carrying as many people as a high-capacity train line.鈥�

Cost of transit

The futuristic advancement of self-driving electric buses isn鈥檛 the only reason that Elkind favors them. While light rail is viewed as a superior form of transportation in the United States, he notes that it is terribly expensive to build. U.S. cities have not been able to keep costs down, while other advanced countries do much better.

He points to Los Angeles as one example. LA has built its orange line rapid bus transit system with buses running similar to rail (it was constructed on an old freight train line). Building the bus system was 80 percent cheaper than building light rail.

Sound Transit expands parking permit program 鈥� for a price

鈥淚t鈥檚 tragic when you see some of the numbers,鈥� he said. 鈥淪an Francisco has been mired for over a decade just trying to build a mile-long rail extension 鈥� it鈥檚 going to cost over a billion dollars, close to a billion and a half dollars. You wonder where the dollars are going. It鈥檚 way out of wack compared to other advanced nations. You look at Western European countries, some of the East Asian advanced economies and they can build for a fraction of the cost and for a fraction of the time of what it would cost us.鈥�

Side note: Of the 80,000 electric buses built and delivered in 2018, . Some of that country’s cities, such as Shenzhen, have converted to entirely electric bus fleets, saving about 200,000 barrels of oil a day.

鈥淓ven people who love transit, they don鈥檛 want to wait a decade for something to get built,鈥� Elkind added. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 want to see the money essentially evaporate with contractors and labor unions and everyone else making a lot of money off it but the public not getting the benefit that they really deserve.鈥�

Will Seattle parking officers still use chalk on car tires?

They were saving the parking spot. Despite , and on the issue (many lack a conclusion on the matter, though all agree that the person standing in the spot is a total jerk), some people have not received the message.

So let’s get something straight, once and for all — you cannot physically stand in a parking space to save it for a coming car.

Western Washington cops weigh in

Despite what you think about the traffic laws at play — which vary from state-to-state — considering the bigger picture, the laws of physics don’t favor the person going up against a car. But, as it turns out, traffic laws are a bit nuanced.

Take Bellevue for example. According to Sgt. Mike Shovlin, he’s seen instances when spot savers faced off with a parking vehicle. Shovlin says:

I know of no way you could do anything in a parking lot about it because that is private property. In the street, an officer could probably do something because it鈥檚 in the roadway and people are not allowed to stand in the roadway. But the chance that an officer would get there in time would be slim.

Having said that, a person is not allowed to just stand in the street. A person who drives in and hits them because they are going to park there is the one who is going to have a problem because you do not get to assault someone with your car over a parking space.

That’s where it gets nuanced. Sure, a person cannot stand in a street parking space to save it. Though a driver cannot really do anything about it — moving your car into the space with the person there is technically assault.

Another Bellevue parking enforcement officer also weighed in on the issue, addressing one instance when a driver hit a person standing in a parking space.

Adding to Sgt. Shovlin鈥檚 response, I haven鈥檛 seen it in some time. The instances that I recall occurred prior to my employment with the city of Bellevue and on private property.

In those cases, if I recall correctly the drivers involved were arrested for vehicular assault.

Not really sure how smart it is to ‘sacrifice’ one鈥檚 body to hold a parking space.

Washington law and saving parking spaces

Renton police point to the Revised Code of Washington — — which is titled “stopping, standing, or parking prohibited in specific places — reserving portion of highway prohibited.”

The law specifically addresses standing and parking on roads and highways. It states:

It shall be unlawful for any person to reserve or attempt to reserve any portion of a highway for the purpose of stopping, standing, or parking to the exclusion of any other like person, nor shall any person be granted such right.

Of course, some readers are going to linger on that one word — “highway.” To further help, a spokesperson for the Everett Police Department points to which states “No person shall stand on or in proximity to a street or highway for the purpose of soliciting the watching or guarding of any vehicles while parked or about to be parked on a street or highway.”

Study: There is plenty of parking in Seattle

There you have it. The spot saver is technically wrong, and you can point to the RCW to prove it. But at the same time, they’re likely to say “What are you going to do about it?” After all, cops are more inclined to respond to a stabbing or a robbery than your parking spat.

So even if the parking spot skirmishes continue in Washington, we can at least all agree that the one person standing in an open space is in the wrong … and a jerk.

But proving this is not as simple as breath test, or asking if their names are Cheech, Chong, or Lebowski. Washington state has a, which is determined through a blood test. It’s similar to blowing a .08 on a breath test for alcohol.

“We mostly interviewed law enforcement officers, but we also interviewed prosecutors throughout the state,” said . “Some of them, not all of them, but some of them express dismay at the nanogram limit, because now they will go to trial and juries will expect to see this 5 nanogram blood test. But blood tests aren’t ordered for each DUI stop.”

WSU Study: Fewer Washington teens using marijuana post legalization

Not only that, there is a time limit to the test. If a driver refuses to take one, then the cops have to wait for a judge to issue a warrant, and then there’s the trip to the hospital for the blood draw. It all takes time, during which the level of marijuana in the driver’s blood can go down. And who knows if it was high enough for a conviction earlier?

This is why there is a looming snafu with Washington’s DUI laws when it comes to marijuana. Willits uncovered the issue during a , which largely looked at crime rates under legal marijuana.

Washington’s DUI law not only states a 5 nanogram limit. It also cites that “evidence of impairment” can be used in a DUI case.

“What we are hearing is that this nanogram limit is pulling people away from evidence of impairment and people want to simplify it, that they either tested above or below this limit,” Willits said.

“Both the AAA foundation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration … put out reports stating that there really isn’t a scientific basis for this 5 nanogram limit,” he continued. “And yet a lot of states, Washington included, have adopted them as our baseline.”

Willits notes that marijuana is not processed in the body the same way alcohol is. So using methods common for alcohol may not be appropriate for cannabis.

WSU continues to pursue grants to develop a more efficient and accurate roadside test for marijuana DUIs.

Marijuana and crime

The considered Washington and Colorado, as well as control states 鈥� 21 states that did not legalize recreational or medical marijuana.

鈥淲hat we found essentially was that there was really no difference between Washington, Colorado and these states,鈥� Willits said. 鈥淭here are caveats 鈥� we only looked at certain types of crime and marijuana has only been legal for a certain amount of time. But overall, we didn鈥檛 find any consistent pattern of crime increasing or decreasing compared to the control states.鈥�

Of course, there was a decrease in marijuana arrests in the legal states. But WSU’s study focuses on index crimes as defined by the FBI — homicides, aggravated assault, robbery, larceny, and motor vehicle theft.

Willits also points out that one of the arguments for legalizing marijuana was that it would knock down the illegal market for the drug. Why would you use a dealer when you can just go to the store?

“What we’ve heard from law enforcement and what we’ve seen in our data is that this market is still around,” he said. “So we are hoping to secure funding to better understand the black market in the context of legalization.”

Amazon aims to be carbon zero by 2040

Right now, companies dispose of waste for free. Under a system of fines for carbon, the free market kicks in and people vote with their dollars. So why not a carbon fee?

鈥淟ook at Washington鈥檚 carbon fee last year,鈥� Kate Yoder told 成人X站 Radio’s Dave Ross. 鈥淪upporters called it a fee on pollution, but the industry rebranded it as a tax, and it failed.鈥�

Yoder recently explained this distinction in an, Voters like taxing carbon as long as you don鈥檛 say “carbon tax.”

鈥淧eople have been resistant to that term (a tax) since before our country even started,鈥� she added.

She points to a which discovered that more Americans like the idea of a carbon tax, as long as it isn鈥檛 called a 鈥渃arbon tax.鈥� She further notes that polls generally show that people favor climate causes such as clean air and water. And such causes equate to fines on companies that pollute the air and water.

鈥淎ccording to the study, 35% of people supported a carbon tax, but more than half supported the same thing when it was called 鈥榓 fine on corporations that pollute鈥� instead,” Yoder said. “But the one issue is that the fossil fuel industry knows the same information.鈥�

Carbon fee initiatives in Washington

All of this can depend on who the voter trusts and also how the fee is set up. In Washington, that can be difficult to determine.

The last proposal for a carbon fee that Washington voters weighed in on in 2018 — I-1631 — set up a board composed of a series of environmental groups that would decide what to do with the money. That lack of clarity and specifics rubbed some people the wrong way. I-1631 aimed to establish a $15 per metric ton of carbon starting in 2020, increasing by $2 every year after that.

Bill Gates ultimately came out in support of I-1631, basically arguing that something needed to be done and that it would support renewable energies. Other advocates, however, argued that I-1631 was the wrong way to go. Meteorologist Cliff Mass opposed 1631, but favored a previous carbon fee that voters also rejected — I-732. That initiative copied the carbon fee from Canada and made it revenue neutral, so it wouldn’t harm the consumer while putting pressure on polluters. I-732 would eventually have placed a $100 per metric ton fee on carbon polluters.

Cliff Mass: How to make a carbon tax work in Washington

鈥�(Taxpayers) just want the system to be fair,鈥澛� Yoder said. 鈥淭hat means that big corporations and the rich aren鈥檛 getting a free pass. Generally, the proposals I鈥檝e seen for carbon taxes are different from property taxes in that the tax money isn鈥檛 going back to the government, it鈥檚 usually being sent back to the American people in the form of a check to offset the cost of gas prices going up, that sort of thing. Or it鈥檚 being spent directly in the communities that are harmed by climate change and investing in renewable energy.鈥�

Whatever the debate ends up being, Yoder argues that waiting for the perfect proposal for a carbon pollution fee is pointless 鈥� something needs to be done, soon, after so many years of inaction.

鈥淓ven though it is generally, politically unpopular because it would make some of the things we like more expensive,鈥� Yoder said. 鈥淎nother thing we like is having a habitable planet. And it might be time to get our priorities straight in that regard.鈥�

鈥淚 have a social work background, and they basically use the medical model,鈥� said Dr. Lee Bowes. 鈥淭he idea is that you need to fix all the problems the person has before you send them out to go to work. We don鈥檛 need to do that. The best way to socialize people back into society and not a situation where they are living on the streets; it’s to get them working as quickly as possible. That is the approach we take and it鈥檚 been successful in all the populations we鈥檝e worked with. And we鈥檝e been doing this since 1984.鈥�

Bowes is CEO of, an organization dedicated to using employment services as a route out of homelessness. America Works engages a range of populations, including people exiting prison, people experiencing homelessness, homeless veterans, and people on public assistance. The organization works in 27 locations around the United States.

Understanding Seattle’s homeless issue

“The power of being in a work environment, getting a paycheck, changes the way people speak, changes the way they dress, changes the way they give eye contact,” Bowes said. “I just think work is the solution to homelessness. Yes, you have people who are somewhat dysfunctional within every population. If you look at the general working population in the United States, you have people with substance abuse problems, mental health problems, that doesn’t mean that with the right kind of setting and support they can’t go to work.”

This means, according to Bowes, that a person living in a tent, if they really want one, can get a job. She argues it is all about motivation. Employers, she says, basically seek someone who wants to work and will show up.

“Employers are more than willing to provide training and meet that person halfway,” Bowes said.

“We don’t find that the issue is that there is a complete lack of housing,” she said. “There is always something available, like there is with the job market, you just have to know how to look for it”

Seattle homeless families left with few options for housing

While America Works does operate in 27 communities in the country, it does not have a location in Seattle. Bowes said that the organization is open to coming to the Northwest, however. That would be up to city or county officials.

“Everyone who is homeless is not crazy,” she said. “There is a story about someone in Seattle recently, gainfully employed his whole life. But one thing led to another — lost the job, lost the apartment. That person can be employed in two minutes. It has to be done quickly, or they begin to live that life. We put too few resources into getting people employed.”

“We don’t have scenes this large very often, but they do happen,” said Washington State Trooper Johnna Batiste.

The incident occurred shortly after 1 p.m. about 12 miles south of Olympia, near Maytown and milepost 97. The crash scene initially closed both directions of I-5. Half of the southbound lanes opened at 7 p.m. just to let drivers waiting to get around the scene — and ahead of the detour — to get by. But cleanup on the road continued through the evening.

Most of the northbound lanes reopened around 6 p.m. Southbound lanes finally reopened shortly after 11 p.m.

Four semis are stopped at the scene. One semi broke through the center barrier and jackknifed across both directions. The crash has spilled piles of timber across the freeway. No serious injuries were reported.

According to Trooper Batiste:

• The first semi was traveling northbound when it jackknifed into the center barrier.
• A second semi in the northbound lanes then struck the first truck and pushed it further through the center.
• A third semi traveling south then struck the first semi as it stretched into the southbound lanes.
• A fourth southbound semi screeched off the roadway to avoid striking the other trucks.
• No other vehicles on the freeway were involved in the collision.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Are Seattle鈥檚 labor unions are ditching Kshama Sawant?

One activist organization is touting that it is responsible.

“The Washington Federation of State Employees/AFSCME Council 28 (WFSE) was forced to disclose a 27.4 percent decline in financial supporters in its 2019 LM-2 report to the U.S. Department of Labor,” the Freedom Foundation said in a statement. “This drop means that WFSE鈥檚 dues collection declined 11.9 percent, from $27.2 million in 2018 to $24 million in 2019, although state employment remained stable during this same period.”

“As a result, WFSE has been forced to pare back its payroll costs, reducing the number of paid officers and staff from 229 to 200, and take other cost-cutting measures,” the statement continued.

The Freedom Foundation points to a as evidence. A foundation spokesperson said that “there has been a significant change in the number of financial supporters once people learn they do not have to pay the union as a requirement for keeping their job.”

The WFSE is Washington’s largest state employee union. The is the latest in in a battle being waged over Washington state’s unions.

The Washington Federation of State Employees did not respond to requests for comment on this story.

Fighting over the state union

The Freedom Foundation is a right-wing non-profit organization primarily dedicated to free enterprise and limited government. It that reversing the “stranglehold government unions have on our state and local policy making” as one of its driving motivations.

In that spirit, it has been waging a campaign in Washington, targeting state employees, urging them to ditch their union. The campaign was spurred by the 2017 from the United States Supreme Court. In short, the that unions cannot collect dues from non-union state employees.

Since then, the Freedom Foundation has been canvassing, going door-to-door, and even emailing state employees through their work emails encouraging them to opt out. By October 2018, the foundation reported that it convinced 11,250 state employees to opt out of their unions across Washington, Oregon, and California. It is currently reporting that it has helped more than 20,000 Washington employees cease paying union dues.

Washington group pushes back against Freedom Foundation

While the Freedom Foundation is boasting its anti-union success, it is from Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson. Ferguson filed a lawsuit in early October, alleging campaign finance violations. The lawsuit is based on a referral from the state’s Public Disclosure Commission. The lawsuit claims that the foundation paid staff for opposition work on a ballot proposition in Olympia. It is required by law to report such expenditures to the PDC, but reportedly did not.

Boeing 737 MAX crisis could have 鈥榟uge consequences for future of flying鈥�

that it discovered records of in 2016. The messages “suggest the airplane maker may have misled” the FAA about a safety system on the 737 MAX. FAA聽 Administrator Steve Dickson is now demanding that Boeing, and its CEO Dennis Muilenburg, explain the messages.

The pilots reportedly questioned the MCAS system — the system that has been blamed for two fatal MAX crashes within a year. Those crashes led to the model being grounded since March.

At one point in the text messages between the two pilots, Mark Forkner commented on the test simulations of the 737 MAX: “MCAS is now active down to M.2 It’s running rampant in the sim on me at least that’s what Vince thinks is happening.”

Forkner says that the “plane is trimming itself like crazy.” He also remarks “so I basically lied to the regulators (unknowingly).” Pilot Patrik Gustavsson responds: “It wasn’t a lie, no one told us that was the case.” The two also comment that the program was under a lot of pressure.

In response to the news, Boeing released the following statement:

Over the past several months, Boeing has been voluntarily cooperating with the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee鈥檚 investigation into the 737 MAX. As part of that cooperation, today we brought to the Committee鈥檚 attention a document containing statements by a former Boeing employee. We will continue to cooperate with the Committee as it continues its investigation. And we will continue to follow the direction of the FAA and other global regulators, as we work to safely return the 737 MAX to service.

Reuters further reports that Boeing has told the FAA about the internal messages, stating that the company learned about them months ago. The Justice Department is also aware of the messages.聽 that Forkner has recently invoked his Fifth Amendment right when he was asked to turn over documents subpoenaed by the Justice Department.

Even so, that the text messages don’t indicate it had prior knowledge of the 737 MAX’s issues, and that the “comments reflected a reaction to a simulator program that was not functioning properly.”

The news comes shortly after the head of the Federal Aviation Administration visited Renton to test fixes to Boeing’s grounded 737 MAX, and after the aerospace company shifted around its leadership by dropping its chairman. Dennis Muilenburg will longer serve as Boeing鈥檚 chairman. The company鈥檚 board of directors decided to separate the chairman role from the CEO position.

Boeing + Porsche = Flying Cars

Cleats to corks: Mariners catcher brings his wine to the Northwest

鈥淚t shows the long-term viability of the wine industry, it demonstrates the strength of it and the continued growth of the wine industry,鈥� said Steve Warner, president of Washington State Wine, which . “We also passed, in 2018, a milestone of $2.4 billion of revenue, associated with that is roughly estimated about $7 billion of in-state economic impact.鈥�

In the 1980s, there were about 20 wineries in Washington. By 2000, there were 74. More recently, Warner says, the state has been adding roughly about 40 new winery licenses a year. As of October 2019, there are 1,010 active winery licenses in the state.

The honor of number 1,000 goes to Uva Furem, which is owned by Jens Hansen, originally from Wenatchee and is retired from the Air Force. He now produces wine out of Maple Valley.

鈥淚 feel like the Washington wine community is a lot like the Air Force in that everyone looks out for each other,鈥� Hansen said. 鈥淓veryone works together to get the mission done, and the mission here is to make really great wine.鈥�

Along with the rise in wineries has come vineyard space in Washington. Warner notes that just a couple decades ago, there was about 24,000 acres of wine growing operations with 70,000 tons of grapes. In 2018, there were more than 59,000 acres of vineyards producing 260,000 tons of grapes. Washington State Wine estimates that the growing potential in the state can expand to about 200,000 acres in the next few decades.

Seattle orders this drink more than anywhere else

鈥淎s we actually rose in the quality realm, we started gaining not only national notoriety, but global notoriety for the quality of our wines,” Warner said. “I think that sparked the growth of the wine industry. If you look at the growth number since 2012, we鈥檝e nearly doubled the number of active winery licenses. And I think that is directly related to 10 year span in Wine Spectator reviews, for example, where we had the highest average percentage of 90 plus rated wines, compared to some major wine producing regions in the world, including Italy and Spain and California.鈥�

One factor that has helped the region is that Washington has conditions that can grow a diversity of grapes, leading to a range of different wines.

“We can grow up to 70 different varieties in this state because there are so many different, unique wine growing regions across the state, we are a pretty big state,” Warner said.

“About 2/3 of our wine is sold nationally,” he added. “We do quite well selling Washington wine within Washington, except for in the greater Seattle area. We have so many people that aren’t from here living here now that they may not have grown up with Washington state wine. So we are doing our best to spread the love with them.”

Which Seattle candidates made the list of tech company endorsements?

“When billionaires are on the attack, what do we do?” shouted Seattle Councilmember Kshama Sawant.

“Stand up, fight back!” the crowd chanted back.

“If you are fed up that your lives suck so badly, proudly embrace the struggle we are in,” she said to a crowd of supporters in front of the Amazon Spheres in Seattle’s South Lake Union tech hub.

News broke this week that Amazon’s donations to the Civic Alliance for a Sound Economy (CASE) total $1.5 million. CASE is a politically-active arm of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. It endorses Seattle City Council candidates, and is putting its financial resources towards advertisements and other efforts to weigh in on the Nov. 5 election.

CASE responds

Responding to Thursday’s protest, CASE released the following statement:

Today鈥檚 press conference is just another example of the toxic, divisive tactics of the current Seattle City Council. Businesses stepped up on ST3, the Housing Levy renewal, and the Families Education, Preschools and Promise Levy. This year, we are doing the same to defend ST3 and expand economic opportunity in our state.鈥�

However, once the business community highlighted the need for change and a functioning Seattle City Council, our contributions suddenly became an issue. The hypocrisy is disappointing but to be expected from the status quo.

CASE further points to the level of other financial contributions to local politics, which the protesters do not address. For example, labor groups have funneled $2,432,230 toward Seattle elections, . CASE also notes that the business community has also spent millions on causes the protesters support, such as $2,421,682 to the campaign to reject Tim Eyman’s I-976.

Protesting big business

Thursday’s protest in reaction to Amazon and CASE’s involvement was backed by local Democrats and progressives, and even some Amazon workers. Council members and current candidates slammed Amazon’s spending. They accused the company and the PAC it’s donating to of trying to buy the election.

“They are going to spend a pittance of their money to defend their right to not have to be treated fairly and not have to pay fair taxes to this city,” said Councilmember Mike O’Brien. “And that is disgusting.”

Amazon makes case for how it鈥檚 helped Seattle

O’Brien argued that the City Council has created a prosperous city that has only benefited companies like Amazon.

Among other things, the protesters called on voters to reject candidates backed by big business and to support a proposal from Councilmember Lorena Gonz谩les that aims to limit corporate PAC donations.

“We are not selling out the Seattle City Council and our democracy to the highest corporate bidder,” Gonz谩lez said.

The Demonstration was organized by King County Democrats, as well as Democrats from the 43rd, 36th, and 37th legislative districts. Participating speakers at the event included: Scott Alspach, 43rd LD Democrats Chair; Mike O’Brien, Seattle City Council member (D6); Tammy Morales, Seattle City Council candidate for D2; Kshama Sawant, Seattle City Council member and candidate for D3; Shaun Scott, Seattle City Council candidate for D4; and Summer Stinson, 36th LD Democrats Policy Director.

成人X站 Radio reporter Hanna Scott contributed to this article.

Amazon contributes over $1 million to PAC aimed at Seattle council races

This is the first time the has opted to engage in political races and support candidates.

鈥淕enerally speaking, we are an apolitical organization, we鈥檙e neither Republican nor Democrat,” said WTIA CEO Michael Schutzler. “We are involved in local politics now because we want to work with the leadership of cities and the counties in a way that is constructive and productive. So what you are seeing is a reflection of the employee will to actively engage with our local governments so that we build a really successful economy for everybody.鈥�

The WTIA is a consortium of 1,100 technology companies in Washington. Its members include big names such as Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Zillow, and Expedia. But also smaller tech businesses, or companies like Nordstrom which employs a significant tech workforce. It acts as a co-op serving the growth of the local tech industry.

While the WTIA is “apolitical,” it has decided to address the 2019 Seattle City Council race with endorsements for each district. It initially made endorsements before the council primary in August. All but one of its favored candidates made it through — Michael George for District 7. With the , released this week, the WTIA is now backing Jim Pugel for the D7 position.

鈥淗e has a lot more experience in government functions than the other candidate,” Schutzler said. “But it鈥檚 also really clear that Jim understands how to collaborate with multiple organizations and multiple sectors, and the only support of substance for Andrew (Lewis) is just one group, and that is largely one labor group that has driven most of his fundraising. There is just a much wider group of organizations and different sectors of the economy that support Jim.鈥�

WTIA endorsements

Ahead of the 2019 general election, the WTIA is endorsing these Seattle council candidates:

• District 1: Phil Tavel
• District 2: Mark Solomon
• District 3: Egan Orion
• District 4: Alex Pedersen
• District 5: Incumbent Councilmember Debora Juarez
• District 6: Heidi Wills
• District 7: Jim Pugel

Councilmember Debora Juarez is the only incumbent on the list. The other two incumbents, District 1 Lisa Herbold and District 3 Kshama Sawant, are not endorsed.

The WTIA interviewed 18 council candidates, initially. The association promotes that its endorsement priorities are candidates who support cultivating new talent, informed public policies, and a thriving tech community. But if there is one primary theme among its list of endorsed candidates, it’s that they collaborate and work across diverse groups with varying perspectives.

“Crucially, Phil also has experience brokering complex negotiations and bringing people together to solve problems,” the WTIA states about District 1 candidate Phil Tavel.

“Mark also earned high marks for working successfully with groups holding diverse perspectives. His ability to reach agreement on gun safety measures among organizations with disparate views on gun control demonstrated his ability to broker complex聽 negotiations,” it says about District 2 candidate Mark Solomon.

If there is one standout endorsement, it’s Egan Orion for District 3. Orion faces incumbent Kshama Sawant, who the association argues is “hostile” toward tech. WTIA’s full endorsement for Orion reads:

District 3, which includes Capitol Hill, the Central District, and Madison Park, 鈥媔s currently represented by Councilmember Kshama Sawant. Many believe it is time for a change in that district given the council member鈥檚 hostility towards the business community, and the tech industry, specifically. We believe District 3 needs a council member who has deep ties to the community, is able to engage with a broad range of stakeholder groups, and has grit. No other聽 candidate encapsulates that more than Egan Orion.

Egan has been a fixture in his community for over a decade and is perhaps most well known for saving 鈥婸ridefest鈥嬨兗an event that Egan continues to manage and is a banner event聽 for Seattle. We were impressed with Egan鈥檚 strong family and personal ties to his district, tech knowledge, and his strong desire to engage small business. We believe Egan will focus on getting things done for his city and his district, and, unlike the incumbent, focus less on self-branding for higher office. 鈥媁TIA endorses Egan Orion for District 3.

Why is tech interested in the Seattle City Council?

Schutzler says that the WTIA began getting involved with the political world during Seattle’s last election, when now Mayor Jenny Durkan was running for office. It was the first time the association considered evaluating candidates in the city where most of the tech industry operates.

鈥淭he city faces very significant challenges,” Schutzler said. “Probably just shy of 90 percent of the tech companies in the state of Washington are in the Puget Sound, and of those the vast majority are in downtown Seattle. The people who work in tech, live and work in the city. Those really significant challenges the city faces 鈥� homelessness and housing, transportation, and transit 鈥� are of significant interest to the people who live and work in the city. And we just happen to be a much larger percentage of the workforce now than we were 10 years ago.鈥�

鈥淓stablishing reasonable, common sense standards for storing guns and gun locks in the home is just one simple part of the responsibility we have to keep children and families safe,鈥� said Rep. Pramila Jayapal in a statement Wednesday. 鈥淚t is our moral imperative to do all we can to prevent the all-too-frequent occurrence of gun violence, and I鈥檓 proud to partner with Rep. Engel in introducing this important piece of legislation.鈥�

Initial numbers from Seattle鈥檚 safe gun storage law are in 鈥� sort of

Jayapal represents Washington’s 7th congressional district, which covers Edmonds through Seattle and Burien, and Vashon Island. Along with Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), she is the Safe Gun Storage Act in Washington D.C. HR 4691 was introduced Thursday.

They argue that a majority of gun owners (54 percent) do not safely store their firearms, and that 34 percent of homes with guns also have youth ages 18 years and younger. They further argue that 18 percent of all gun injuries happen because of improperly stored guns.

Little is known, yet, about exactly what is in the bill (the representatives did not include a copy in their press releases about it), but a statement about the Safe Gun Storage Act says that it will direct the “Consumer Protection Safety Commission to establish safety standards for firearm safes and firearm locks.”

While gun safety and crime is often cited as a reason for such safe storage regulations, Engel points out that suicide prevention is a primary goal with this legislation.

鈥淥ur nation has been plagued with gun violence. But what too often gets lost in the debate is the suicide rate by firearm,鈥� Rep. Engel said. 鈥淵outh suicide rates are already staggeringly high and have been trending upward. We must decrease them, and we can, by ensuring firearm safes and firearm locks are used in homes. Those safes and locks also must have strong safety standards to prevent unauthorized people, especially children, from gaining access to firearms. This bill will save lives and I鈥檓 proud to introduce it with my colleague Rep. Jayapal. I thank her for joining me in this effort to keep our families and communities safe.鈥�

Majority of gun owners don鈥檛 safely store firearms in Washington

argues that studies have shown that a 10 percent increase in households with guns equates to a 25 percent increase in suicides by firearms. Also, in 2016, the Centers for Disease Control reported that 60 percent of all firearm deaths were from suicides; in 2017, 43 percent of all youth suicides involved guns.

Seattle passed a safe gun storage law in 2018. When it was proposed, city officials cited similar issues with gun storage — that 150,000 adults in King County were estimated to store their guns unlocked. Also, about 250 guns were reported as stolen in 2017.

Seattle’s storage law states that firearms should be stored in a locked container and rendered unusable by any person other than the authorized user. It is a civil infraction if a minor or unauthorized person accesses a gun. Fines are imposed between $500 and $1,000 on the owner. If someone commits a crime with the owner’s gun, fines go up to $10,000 and the owner will be considered negligent.

Today I intro’d the w/.

In the national dialogue surrounding , what is too often lost is the huge role guns play in the majority of suicides.

Instituting safety standards on gun safes & locks will save lives.

鈥� Eliot Engel (@RepEliotEngel)

is bringing its tree-saving activism across the border and into Shoreline where that community is also racing to keep up with the region’s growth and housing needs. This week, the group protested in front of a plot of land where new homes are planned, not far from a yet-to-be-built light rail station.

鈥淲e are very concerned about the development practices that are going on in Seattle right now, there is very little protection for mature, healthy trees,” said Annie Thoe with Don’t Clearcut Seattle, aka Neighborhood Treekeepers. “Large groves of trees are being clearcut. If you look at this recent site on 145th NE and 1st Avenue, an enormous amount, at least 40 big, mature trees, were taken, an entire grove was taken.”

“A dense plan of townhouses are going in there,” she added. “These are not affordable houses. They are expensive townhouses that will go in. As far as I can tell from the site plan, they are supposed to be required to replant trees. But this has been upzoned, so they don鈥檛 have to replant, apparently. And many of the developers that are cutting trees are not replanting.鈥�

TreeSisters vigil for clearcut land for light rail

The issue is not unique to Shoreline. Various communities surrounding Seattle are scrambling to accommodate more people moving in. On top of that, light rail is expected to influence future development, placing more housing near the stations expected over the next decade.

In response to the protest, Eric Bratton, with the city of Shoreline, provided the following statement:

Several years ago, the City upzoned areas around the future light rail stations in Shoreline. The City鈥檚 goal is to prepare for the growth we know is coming by concentrating that growth around transit. This isn鈥檛 just occurring in Shoreline, but across the region. The areas with the highest density in those upzoned areas are MUR 70 zones. These are the areas closest to the future stations. Developments in the MUR 70 zones are exempt from tree retention requirements.

Managing growth is about tradeoffs. While there are definite impacts in the immediate area where the trees come down, by concentrating density in one area instead of having it spread throughout the City, we actually can protect more of our urban forest canopy. Shoreline is dedicated to protecting our urban forest canopy and ensuring that it is not diminished through planting programs and tree retention requirements in most areas of the City.

A note on the particular development where people were protesting. That development is in a MUR 45鈥� zone, which has tree retention and replacement requirements. Thirty-four (34) trees will be replaced onsite that are code standard planting size (1.5鈥� caliper for deciduous and 6 feet tall for conifers) at installation. An additional 54 trees will be planted onsite that are of a smaller size (gallon size). An additional 29 trees will be replaced off-site, in the street planting area which is between the new sidewalk and the street.

Bratton further notes that there are two areas in Shoreline that do not require tree replacement for development — areas zoned for commercial use or MUR-70 districts (which the protesters are addressing). Areas zoned as MUR-70 are located close to light rail stations. And while protesters are pointing to upzoned areas, the land in question is actually zoned MUR-45.

Trees vs growth

Thoe says that Neighborhood Treekeepers is well aware that the region has housing needs as it grows. But she argues that those needs are not balanced.

鈥淲e have to make density livable,鈥� Thoe said. 鈥淎nd so many of these new developments are either large houses that honestly do not need to be so darn big 鈥� they could be smaller and have more space for trees and green spaces. We also need to plan for parks for all these people that are moving in here.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be hotter, noisier, smoggier, and not an emerald, beautiful, green city anymore if we keep cutting our trees down like this,” she said. “Our children will be sicker and people will not really want to live here anymore. Trees make neighborhoods beautiful.”

The Treekeepers promote for Shoreline what they have long argued for in Seattle — a more robust tree ordinance that prioritizes the area’s tree canopy. She notes that trees are one of the simplest tools people can use to deal with the climate crisis. They cool and clean the air, purify water, among other benefits in an urban environment.

Landscape changed by Sound Transit’s light rail clearcutting

鈥淭rees, they are renewable, and yes sometimes we cut them down,” Thoe said. “Sometimes we need to in order to build. But we are not building wisely in Seattle. We need to demand that developers have better ways of developing that incorporate more mature trees 鈥� we are losing them real fast unless we get a stronger tree protection ordinance.鈥�

It seems that cost of living chases high salaries in the Seattle area, and people have noticed.

鈥淭here is something about these nice round numbers, there鈥檚 something about $100,000,鈥� said Aaron Mason said on 成人X站 Nights. 鈥淓ven when I was a kid, thinking about $100,000, the world was your oyster. And for working people, even that is not enough for some cities 鈥� paychecks just don鈥檛 keep up.鈥�

which considers cities where earning $100,000 annually will not cover the basics. In other words, cities were you鈥檒l still be broke while earning those six figures. There are 25 cities on GoBankingRates鈥� list of such cities. Seattle and Bellevue are on it.

Seattle is the best place to live, if you can afford it

Seattle ranks 10th on this list. Bellevue ranks 5th (it gets worse the higher on the list you are). According to the study, for the Seattle area:

• Average monthly rent: $2,238
• Overall annual expenditures: $124,062.60
• Amount left over from $100,000: -$24,062.60

And for Bellevue:

• Average monthly rent: $2,421
• Overall annual expenditures: $140,908.36
• Amount left over from $100,000: -$40,908.36

The culprit seems to be the rise in living costs. Sure, salaries rise, but everyone from landlords to dog walkers seem to notice and prices go up. And despite plenty of people being left behind (about 25,000 Seattle households still earn $50,000), there are plenty of people flooding into the region.

鈥淵ou start talking about the average rents in these towns, I believe Bellevue is at about $2,400, and Seattle is about $2,200,” said co-host Gee Scott. “So you take someone living alone 鈥� and then you probably have a car, car insurance, car tabs, you got all of those things. So I believe this.鈥�

“If you think about some of the things we often talk about … we are either talking about homelessness, traffic, or cost of living,” he added. “Most of our topics are centered around those things and continuously the cost of living is tough.”

Can $105K buy you happiness in the Seattle region?

In another , Seattle, Bellevue, and Tacoma all make the top 100 list of America’s fastest-growing cities. Seattle ranks third for large cities with the highest growth.

A total of 17 of the top 25 cities in GoBankingRates’ results are in California, and include other tech hubs such as San Francisco or LA. Sunnyvale, Calif. tops the list. The average monthly rent there is $3,551. And after earning $100,000, a person would still be short by about $138,000 to make a living. So don’t feel entirely bad Seattle and Bellevue. At least we aren’t Sunnyvale.

Andrews McMeel, the publisher of, describes the book as:

Fueled by faith and powered by a strong work ethic, Tyler Lockett’s debut book of poetry is a reflective and uplifting journey through topics such as identity, sports, race, relationships, and how to live a purposeful life. As an NFL All-Pro wide receiver and return specialist for the Seattle Seahawks, Lockett draws on his unique perspective as a professional athlete to address life’s many challenges, temptations, and rewards. From reminding young people to pursue their dreams, to pleading with a friend not to take his own life, Lockett’s poetry encourages readers to stay positive even when confronting impossible odds. In addition to never-before-published poems, Reflection also includes workshop questions, notes, and inspirational messages that give readers an opportunity to reflect on their own lives as well.

There are certainly religious overtones in book, with several references to Christian themes. Lockett also relates his experiences with dating, or simply being a sports star dealing with sudden fame.

鈥淚 called it Reflection because in the world that we live in today, sometimes it’s hard for us to be able to see ourselves the way that we should see ourselves, or if you’re a believer, the way that God sees us,鈥� Lockett said recently . 鈥�…. we get caught up in money, and fame, and power, and just people wanting to love us and be around us every single day. And all these things kind of cloud our judgment. Because we’re looking for something to make us happy rather than being happy inwardly. And so with this book, it’s me talking about all these other things is clouding up my judgment that is stopping me from being able to see what it is that I’m supposed to see within myself.鈥�

There is also a range of non-poetry content, such as workshop questions and inspirational messages. Readers will find “Note to Self” additions relating words of wisdom. The idea is for readers to then further think upon their own lives.

 

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A post shared by (@tdlockett12) on Oct 10, 2019 at 8:05am PDT

鈥淭he demographic is much different,鈥� Larson told 成人X站 Radio’s Dave Ross. 鈥淔rom what I hear, there is more violence associated with shoplifting. People are more desperate because a lot of folks who are addicted are concerned about their withdrawal. So they are doing everything they can to get that next dollar, so they can buy more drugs, so they don鈥檛 get to that point. So the desperation becomes greater.鈥�

鈥淪ome reticence by some of the retailers is they don鈥檛 want their employees in danger,鈥� he said. 鈥淢y son鈥檚 friend is a loss prevention officer and he got his head ran over by a car. Bottom line is that there is the safety of the workers and the safety of the public.鈥�

Armed citizens shot at shoplifters in Marysville

But that’s on the court’s end of the problem. On the other end are the various legislators in Olympia who make the laws that the courts enforce.

(D-Kirkland) represents the , which includes areas of Sammamish, Woodinville, and Kirkland. He argues that shoplifting has been getting worse and worse in recent years. So much that he is convening groups of state lawmakers to change Washington state’s approach to the crime. Goodman says that shoplifting is really two different types of crimes — organized theft, and “run-of-the-mill shoplifting,” which is simply pocketing an item.

“We鈥檝e tried to amend the law, and I hope we can get it done this year, to take account of intent,” Goodman said. “In other words, if you put something in your pocket, intending to leave the store, our current law doesn鈥檛 allow law enforcement to intervene until you leave the store, until you are outside.鈥�

鈥淪o the loss prevention officers in the stores want to be able to intervene in the store,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o we have to change the theft law to account for concealment, the showing of intent to steal.鈥�

Solving shoplifting

The way Judge Larson sees it, the people in his Federal Way courtroom are either 鈥渁 can鈥檛,鈥� or 鈥渁 飞辞苍鈥檛.鈥�

鈥淵ou have to have a system that, if you are one of the 肠补苍鈥檛蝉, if you are somebody who just can鈥檛 do it and you need help, we need to help,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut if you are a 飞辞苍鈥檛, if you just flat out don鈥檛 want to cooperate, don鈥檛 want to participate, then the punitive system needs to kick in.鈥�

Smile! Cops now using facial Rekognition for shoplifters

鈥淚鈥檝e had a kind comment made, this one woman, it made all the difference in the world. I just said, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e going to get through this.鈥� And it made all the difference in the world,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou got other people; I got a guy who I haven鈥檛 seen in a while, but he鈥檚 got 200 crimes. I put him away for 400 days one time, and he was back within two weeks.鈥�

One solution, in a word, is coordination. Both Goodman and Larson say that law enforcement, courts, and services for addiction treatment are not aligned as well as they could be — and it’s counterproductive.

One typical scenario, Larson lays out, is that a person will go to in-patient treatment, but a lot of facilities don鈥檛 communicate this with the court. Because of their current legal problems that are not being addressed while in treatment, a warrant is issued by the court. Even if they move on with their life, the warrant will catch up with them, which threatens their housing, job, insurance, etc.

鈥淛ust coordination, and communication, and the system itself sometimes will contribute to the failure of these individuals,” Larson said. “So how do we shore those things up? How do we make it so that we on our end, the system itself, aren鈥檛 contributing to it?鈥�

鈥淲ouldn鈥檛 it be great if we had a regional approach to be able to have a hand off by courts to services 鈥� a warm hand off?鈥� he asked.

Goodman says that lawmakers in Olympia are moving in that direction — treating addiction-related offenses as medical issues instead of straight crimes.

鈥淔ifteen years ago, we were locking people up who had addiction, the drug war was raging,鈥� Goodman said. 鈥淲e really are phasing out of that and looking at it as a health problem. So we have to build up the infrastructure now and have the courts coordinating with that.鈥�

One man鈥檚 quest to stop shoplifting in his Seattle neighborhood

鈥淵ou say 鈥榮hoplifter鈥� and what comes into your mind? Someone who is intending to steal something,” he continued. “Maybe it鈥檚 one of those ‘飞辞苍鈥檛s.’ They are flouting the law. But then, probably a larger category, because this is what he hears from retailers, are people who are in crisis. People who don鈥檛 want to go into withdrawal or aren鈥檛 thinking right. That鈥檚 not the same as criminal intent.鈥�

“We had not attempted to deport him (before) because unfortunately we could never get a hold of him,鈥� Nathalie Asher with ICE’s Northwest branch told 成人X站 Radio’s Dave Ross. “In fact, he came to our attention in March of 2019. He had been booked in the South Correctional Entity Jail 鈥� unfortunately our immigration detainers are flatly ignored here in the Pacific Northwest.”

ICE offers rare tour of Tacoma immigration detention to show 鈥榟umane鈥� conditions

According to the , four young men were arrested for the murder. They include: Jesus Ura Stay Gee, 24; Cesar Pareja-Ortega, 21; Carlos Carillo-Lopez, 19; and a 15-year-old male. Bellevue police have stated that the four are involved with gangs locally.

One in this group is in the country illegally, further stoking arguments around the region’s sanctuary policies. Carlos Carillo-Lopez is from Guatemala, and has recently run into the law, multiple times.

“He had originally gone in for some lower-level charges, failure to comply, criminal trespass in the first degree,” Asher said. “… not necessarily violent, but clearly he graduated in his offenses as we know now has he has, pending, charges for homicide.”

鈥淓ach time, ICE lodged a detainer with the jail and of course they were flatly ignored,鈥� she added. 鈥淗e was released only to commit more egregious crimes. He had gone from theft third degree to malicious mischief, drug paraphernalia, and even had been booked in June for robbery. That鈥檚 a lot of activity, criminal activity, in the course of four months.”

Asher argues that the logic behind the region’s sanctuary policies is counter productive — it allows criminal elements to continue to pose a threat to the public. The majority of individuals ICE is focused on are people with criminal histories. Asher says that 90 percent of ICE鈥檚 work involves people with criminal convictions, pending charges, or re-entry after deportation.

But because they no longer receive cooperation with local law enforcement, pertaining strictly to people in the country committing crimes, Asher says ICE officials now have to spend their time in vulnerable communities that politicians often want to protect.

鈥淢ore often than not, when we are conducting those targeted enforcement actions, we will come across those individuals who are associated with these folks who have no lawful authority to be here either,” she said. “Whereas, had we been able to go to jail and do our job for safe transfer, I would not be in the communities nor would I be encountering individuals other than my target.鈥�

The other side of that argument is the fact Bellevue police investigators likely had to talk to people in the immigrant community, many who are not in the country legally, to track down the four suspects in the park murder. And that group is more apt to talk with authorities if they are not going to be asked about their immigration status.

Asher agrees with this.

Snapshot of life locked up at Tacoma鈥檚 Northwest Detention Center

鈥淲hen individuals who are unlawfully in the communities are complying and cooperating with law enforcement, it鈥檚 just not good sense to then threaten these individuals with deportation,鈥� she said. 鈥溾�橶e are going to get that information from you and now we are going to deport you.鈥� That is not how we operate 鈥� I鈥檝e yet to hear of any examples of a case where this actually occurred. I have to remind your audience that more often than not, these criminal aliens prey upon their own communities.鈥�

Even if law enforcement authorities cooperated with ICE, the department would still conduct immigration enforcement at large. But that would be greatly reduced if they could work directly with jails, she said.