The story at the top of the KOMO Web site today is a video of an Army Veteran  who was touring Seattle with his wife and children, describing how a “repeat offender” just released from jail threw coffee on his young son in the stroller.  The offender had served eight months of a 12-month sentence for assaulting a random stranger on the street.  So what does he do when he gets released?  Assault another random stranger!  And the worst part of it is, that 74-time offender (yep, he has a record of 74 previous crimes) is not held on felony charges.  The ever-vigilant King County Attorney reduces the charge to a misdemeanor.

Hey, all you happy Seattleites, are you pleased that this 75-time offender is allowed to walk the streets after yet another release from jail?  Have you already screamed bloody murder about repeat criminals not being punished for their crimes, but released back into society to offend again, and again?  And had your concerns ignored, or been called bigoted and insensitive for not having compassion for the poor, Hispanic, offender?  Funny, local law enforcement seems to value his life more than yours.  You, who are paying the taxes to support the jails, prisons, and wimpy prosecutors of King County.  Why does it seem like the KC prosecutor is trying to reduce his own workload, rather than making Seattle safer for the law-abiding citizens who pay his inflated salary?

Instead, King County is “preparing for rising sea levels on Vashon Island“.  They are spending millions of dollars on a “comprehensive plan” for shoreline development in preparation for rising sea levels in the future.  Nowhere in the article does it mention just where the county got the figures for the amount of sea level rise in Puget Sound.  Just  which source predicts sea level rise?  My guess?  Someone’s “climate model” that can tell 50-100 years in advance that the water level will rise and affect the million-dollar beach houses on Vashon.  They would rather respond to predictions of climate doom than protect their own citizens, today, from assaults by repeat offenders.

Seven years later, Seattle’s Plastic Bag Ban has room to grow.  Only 85% of businesses are “in compliance” with the ordinance enacted years ago.  And the most likely offenders?

Leeching Tran, Vice President of View-Wah Supermarket in Seattle said their grocery store had made the transition but understands why other ethnic grocery stores would struggle, due to language barriers and financial hardships.

The city cares not a whit for the financial hardships of small ethnic grocery stores.  Hmmm, does that sound like a city whose values include “diversity”?

And then, there’s the obligatory story of the two cities suffering from a “homeless crisis”, Seattle and San Francisco.  The author speaks to a “homeless” drug addict in SF.  Interesting perspective he has.  The moral of this story? What you subsidize, you get more of.  Seattle and San Francisco both highly subsidize homelessness, and then complain when they count more homeless!

Just more and more reasons to stay the hell out of Seattle.