The driving force behind Washington’s effective ban on natural gas was the Climate Commitment Act (CCA), passed in 2021. That bill set benchmarks for reductions in natural gas emissions so urgent and so onerous that it forced the state’s largest utility company, Puget Sound Energy (PSE), to effectively tell lawmakers, “Either let us shut down...
At a recent Everett City Council meeting, Councilmember Mary Fosse introduced legislation which would increase Everett’s minimum wage to up to $20.24/hour for local businesses. The City of Seattle’s current minimum wage is $19.97/hour and Washington State’s is $16.28/hour. Fosse’s proposal, if approved, would send the question of a minimum wage increase to the voters...
The Washington State Auditor’s Office found that 11 different state agencies failed to properly account for at least $1.17 billion in federal funds administered during the COVID-19 pandemic. Watch unDivided with Brandi Kruse five days a week and subscribe to support the show at unDividedPod.com.
“By forcing us to change from gas to electric, we will have to sell our house. And if we sell our house, we’re gonna move out of state, pure and simple. We have natural gas installed in our home. It’s clean and cheap. We run our furnaces, hot water tanks, dryer, and kitchen range all...
The owners of a Seattle coffee shop said in a Facebook post that taxes and regulations are leaving them in a “huge hole.” Brandi Kruse breaks down how the business environment in Washington state got so bad. Watch unDivided four days a week and subscribe to support the show at unDividedPod.com.
Last year, millions of signatures were collected on six, citizen-led initiatives, forcing lawmakers to consider these issues during their legislative session earlier this year. Despite being required to make them a top priority, they wanted nothing more than to pretend they didn’t exist. They went weeks without giving any of them so much as a...
An initiative to restore reasonable police pursuits became law on Thursday, thanks to more than 400,000 Washington voters – from across the political spectrum – who demanded a change. As Brandi Kruse reports on the unDivided Podcast, some of the state’s largest law enforcement agencies say they are expecting the new law to help reduce crime.
Cities around Seattle are being hit with an influx of asylum seekers, but no one seems quite sure where they are supposed to go. The ordeal has placed a strain on an already faltering homelessness response in King County and beyond. Brandi Kruse has more on the unDivided Podcast.
Do you use natural gas? Do you support energy choice? Could you afford the $40,000 to $50,000 to retrofit your entire home or business to a more expensive energy source? If this subject is important to you, we need your help. As we have written previously, Governor Inslee signed the Legislature’s bill, HB 1589, effectively allowing Puget Sound...
Despite crafting a regional response to address the homeless crisis, 23% more people are living on the streets of King County today than in 2022. As Pierce County works to set up its own regional response, leaders would be wise to look to Seattle for a lesson on what not to do.
Do you ever feel like it’s difficult to keep track of local politics? With the busyness of life, it’s hard to volunteer hours in the evening to attend council meetings. Or perhaps you’ve wanted something simple that gives you an overview of what your local leaders voted for to can show to a neighbor. To...
The progressive approaches of “housing first” and “harm reduction” are failing our communities. While taxes increase and hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on these ineffective programs, homelessness, overdose deaths, and drug-associated crime have been on the rise. To counter these harmful progressive approaches, 50+ local elected officials throughout Washington State have signed on...
After gunshots erupted near a youth baseball game in Auburn, Brandi Kruse says state lawmakers are complicit in our worsening crime crisis.