News from former Councilmember Randy Corman, your Renton City Hall insider. (All views expressed in journal entries are Randy Corman's personal views, and not the official position of the City of Renton or other city employees. Views expressed in reader comments are those of the commenter)

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Reckless drivers still get too much of a pass; those who “endanger the safety of the community” won’t be pursued

Apr19
2023 6 Comments Written by Randy Corman

Crash scene on I-405 in Renton near NE 44th Street exit yesterday afternoon. A stolen car with no plates, NOT being pursued by police, lost control on the freeway. Fortunately no one was seriously hurt in what could easily have been a deadly accident. The driver had been ordered to pull over by Bellevue officers shortly before this accident, but the officers did not pursue because the car was driven recklessly. The crash caused a five-mile long backup in the afternoon commute. (WSP Photo)

 

The legislature has slightly improved their poorly-conceived 2021 police vehicle pursuit law with passage of Senate Bill 5352.  I’m grateful to the state senators and representatives that pushed for these improvements, and have made it a little better.  Many of these legislators tried to do more, but this was the best they could get, and I thank them.  The improvements make it easier to catch dangerous suspects that have committed violent crimes and are seen fleeing in vehicles.

But the 2023 improvement do not reverse the deadly consequences of letting reckless and drunken drivers overrun our highways with impunity.  The 2021 law made it illegal for police to pursue drivers who exhibit dangerous driving behavior, and the 2023 revisions did nothing to fix that.   The data suggests that Washington highway death tolls will continue to march upward at 10-15% per year as a result, making a continued mockery of the state’s “Target Zero” driver safety program.

Target Zero was supposed to get us to zero deaths by 2030. Instead, deaths are rapidly increasing since the police pursuit law went into effect

 

Reckless drivers get too much of a pass. In fact, unless a driver is known to be a suspect in a serious violent crime, the law explicitly tells the officer NOT to pursue if ” the operator of the  moving vehicle appears to be willfully resisting or ignoring the  officer’s attempt to stop the vehicle by increasing vehicle speed,  making evasive maneuvers, or operating the vehicle in a reckless  manner that endangers the safety of the community or the officer.”

In other words, if you drive recklessly enough, you can’t be forced to pull over.  And if you’re in a stolen car and you hide your face, your risk of ever getting caught is near zero…at least unless your reckless driving leads to a crash.

Despite what some legislators may tell you, DUI’s are also unenforceable against the most rebellious drivers even with the updates to the law.  Unless a driver willingly pulls over for an infraction, the police can’t typically establish reasonable suspicion for a DUI— it takes a driver interview.

And under the bill, in order for police to pull over someone who is “a serious risk of harm,”  they must also be wanted for one of the crimes listed in the bill– it’s not enough that their driving itself is a serious risk of harm.  The legislature shows little concern for the rapidly increasing number of devastating car crashes that take hundreds of lives per year in our state, the biggest cause of death for children and young adults.

The legislature has effectively created a new class of drivers, exempt from all the rules. Most of us toil to earn money for a car, and pay for expensive licensing, insurance, tolls, and maintenance in order to drive. But for those that don’t mind breaking laws and driving dangerously, the legislature has created an alluring and widely-known loophole that allows drivers to avoid these costs and still not get pursued by police.  If one steals a car, removes the license plate, and commits to always driving recklessly and endangering the public when they’re on the road, they are essentially exempted from being pursued by police.  It has become so tempting, even local high-school students on TikTok are doing it, sometimes several cars in one night.  This increasingly popular Washington State loophole comes with the added benefit to criminals of being able to commit property crimes and drive away with impunity. Most of us have seen these drivers on the roads and highways, often passing us or running stops signs, and typically bearing no license plates.  I’ve personally had near-misses with at least two of them.

Even the perpetrators are hurt by this. One of the worst consequences of the police pursuit law is that by enabling/incentivising car theft and reckless driving, it entices more young people who love cars into a life of crime and perpetual danger.  I went to high school with some car enthusiasts who loved to modify and occasionally race their vehicles.  Fortunately, they knew they would be pursued by police if they raced on streets, so they found off-road, out-of-the-way locations to race, and kept their in-town driving legal.  They also didn’t steal cars, as no one wanted to be busted for that.  These classmates have enjoyed fulfilling lives pursuing their car hobbies–  thanks in part to the sensible lawmakers back then that did not carelessly incentivise deadly and illegal activities.

6 Comments Posted in Crime

The irreversible environmental cost of lawlessness

Apr18
2023 6 Comments Written by Randy Corman

The ribbons in the before and after photos are in the same place. For background on these photos see my previous blog entry here.

 

Like many in our state, I’m finding it increasingly difficult to reconcile policies I’ve always supported regarding environmental stewardship and clean air and water, with the new trend of enabling offenders of environmental and other crimes.  Our most sensitive wetlands and ecosystems are increasingly polluted and ruined without consequences.  With King County Transfer Stations now charging $181 per ton to dump garbage with a $30 minimum just to empty a waste basket, and seemingly no consequence for littering any more, it’s not just the struggling unhoused putting garbage and pollutants in our environment.

One can not advocate for anarchy and still claim to be protecting the environment.  All the laws protecting air, water, soil, plants and wildlife are meaningless without adequate police staffing and tools to enforce them and meaningful accountability for violators.

And it’s incongruent for anyone to claim to be a “climate activist” while enabling home break-ins, car thefts, and vandalism.  All of these crimes have enormous environmental consequences, adding significantly to carbon in the atmosphere, as essential property is replaced and new protective measures are taken by property owners.

In 2022 my catalytic converter was stolen off my van in my driveway, along with thousands of other catalytic converters stolen from Washington automobiles that year.  State legislators had crafted a law, still in place, that ensures anyone stealing catalytic converters won’t be pursued by police if they drive away.  Our state is now the worst for thefts of catalytic converters, leading to tons of extra mining of rare earth minerals and an unknown number of vehicles driving around without the proper pollution control equipment.  We’re all breathing more unburned hydrocarbon, nitrous oxide, and carbon monoxide because of this legislation.

In 2021 the city of Seattle considered implementing a crime-of-need defense, that would have made it okay for people to steal from a neighbor if they needed money for rent, perhaps taking a contractor’s tools and pawning them for cash.  Fortunately this law did not pass, but the flawed reasoning that brought it to the table is still held by many local lawmakers including some in Olympia.  The obvious way for a compassionate society to help someone trying to cover their rent when they can’t afford it is to extend assistance in the form of a voucher.  If someone can’t afford food, we should give them access to a food bank. Enabling them to steal from a neighbor diminishes their self-esteem, gets them about three cents on the dollar for everything stolen, and puts the theft victim also at risk of needing rental assistance. Furthermore on a large scale it is environmentally disastrous, as the replacement of essential tools and repair of property has enormous costs.

Washington has by far the highest rate of stolen cars in the US, with an overall number of thefts that only trails California and Texas because those states are many times our size.  Renton is seeing up to five auto thefts per day.  The theft of a single car puts 4.2 metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere, so Renton car thefts are currently contributing 21 METRIC TONS per day of carbon to the climate change balance sheet.   Anyone who is okay with this, who enables this by promoting lax law enforcement, is NOT an environmental activist.

The average home break-in dumps about the same amount of carbon into the atmosphere as driving a car 3000 miles after you figure in the replacement of property, the repair work, and criminal justice implications.   A European study published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology estimates the carbon footprint of this and other crimes in one of the few studies on this topic.  While some of the carbon footprint is produced by the criminal justice system itself, most of the criminal justice carbon footprint impacts come from cases of homicide, assault, sex offenses, and robbery; these crimes must be punished meaningfully to prevent vigilante justice (more crimes) and mayhem in society.

Figure from “Addressing the Carbon-Crime Blind Spot: A Carbon Footprint Approach” by Helen Skudder et al

 

In summary, if one cares about the protecting the environment and preventing climate change, they should care about law enforcement– because you can’t accomplish one without the other.

 

6 Comments Posted in Crime, Environment

Springbrook Creek protected natural area either accidentally or intentionally set on fire

Apr17
2023 2 Comments Written by Randy Corman

The environmentally sensitive Springbrook Creek Wetland Mitigation Bank has been set on fire, either intentionally or accidentally. The boardwalk that was installed to keep visitors from stepping on delicate habitat is now in ruins in the fire scene.

 

Cathy and me on a walk in 2019, and the boardwalk and vegetation as it looked before it burned.

There was a fire a few days ago that burned a sensitive environmental area in the valley in Renton.  The fire appears to be human caused.  Thankfully our outstanding Renton Fire Authority limited the damage, or it could have been much worse.

Nearby water quality is spoiled by fire debris from Trex decking and other materials. The Trex was chosen for the boardwalk to avoid the risk of the toxins in pressure-treated lumber leaching into this sensitive area. Trex is hard to light on fire, but unfortunately hard to extinguish once it catches.

 

The red tape of the fire line can be seen behind this sign indicating the sensitivity of the area

 

These signs surround the site, and people are supposed to only walk on the now-burned boardwalk. The red tape in the background is the fire line.

 

From 2003 to 2009 the Renton City Council and Mayor’s office worked closely with the State Department of Ecology, WSDOT,  and other agencies to create a natural wetland habitat to help protect displaced and threatened migratory birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals in the Renton/Kent Valley.  As an engineer and environmentalist, I took great interest in this project, and I participated in many of the meetings prior to construction. The area was to be terraformed and landscaped with only native plants, and complex irrigation systems were installed throughout the planting area to ensure they became well established.  Washington Department of Ecology features the successful project on their website here.

To help the public learn about the delicate ecosystem, a boardwalk was constructed of Trex material that bisected the project, and pedestrians could walk across the native habitat as long as they stayed on the walkway so they would not harm the sensitive nature below.

We dedicated the Springbrook Creek Wetland Mitigation Bank as a new park in May 2009, after millions of dollars were invested and countless hours of paid and volunteer labor were completed.  The new park was called a “Mitigation Bank” because the 129 acres of land  and the improvements were funded by builders and developers who wanted to fill in smaller sections of wetland in the valley.  They could do so if they contributed an equivalent amount of land into the “wetland bank,” replacing their wetland with the new protected, cultivated, larger one on Springbrook Creek.  The State Department of Transportation became a major contributor and partner as they needed to fill wetlands when they were widening I-167.

 

Renton children helped complete the planting.  These pictures are from WSDOT and can be found along with many more here.

READ MORE »

2 Comments Posted in Environment

Hundreds run past Erasmus the rooftop dragon to celebrate his fourth birthday

Apr16
2023 2 Comments Written by Randy Corman

Erasmus the dragon appears to be watching runners queue at the starting line for a fun run that commemorates his fourth birthday

 

Erasmus the rooftop dragon was unveiled four years ago on April 13, and Renton celebrated his fourth birthday yesterday morning with a Dragon Dash fun run and party.  City of Renton Recreation Division and volunteers did a wonderful job organizing the festive event.

If you haven’t heard the story of Erasmus’s creation, it’s covered well in this article.

There were both 5K and 10K runners in yesterday’s birthday run, and the whole event was great fun.  The cool morning weather was perfect for the almost 300 runners and walkers that had signed up.  Dragon theming was abundant, and the organizers kept the event running smoothly.  Participants were given Dragon Dash shirts and snacks at the end of the race, along with a chance to try to pull a sword from a stone and be photographed with dragons, while the children hunted for dragon eggs.

My wife Cathy and I had a delightful time participating.  With wonderful people, lovely nature on the Cedar River trail, exercise, and dragon theming all right here in our own downtown…who could ask for more?

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2 Comments Posted in Art, Downtown

Renton Fire Authority helps socialize puppies-in-training for Guide Dogs for the Blind

Apr15
2023 2 Comments Written by Randy Corman

Renton Firefighter Ryan Northrup gets some puppy kisses in payment for teaching Guide Dog puppies not to be afraid of bunker gear.

 

The Firefighters at Fire Station 12 in Renton Highlands helped socialize puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind this afternoon.

Puppies that are in training to be guide dogs need exposure to many different situations to prepare for being guides.  There’s no telling what circumstances they may find themselves in during their career.  As puppies they’ll often visit airports, theaters, busses, museums, restaurants, shops and other facilities that they may travel to with their partner after they finished training and get assigned.

Renton Fire Authority welcomed them into Fire Station 12 on Saturday, and helped condition them to the sights and sounds that they may see in an emergency.  They climbed aboard an aid car, watched a fire truck drive past them, saw flashing lights, and met a firefighter in full bunker gear including breathing apparatus.

The training was outstanding for the puppies and fun for all participants.  Thanks to Renton Fire Authority for opening the station to the valuable training, and for the warm welcome and assistance they gave to the puppy raisers.

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2 Comments Posted in Community

Renton auto theft rate leaps 70 % from March ’22 to March ’23. Five cars stolen each day.

Apr14
2023 6 Comments Written by Randy Corman

A scene playing out many times per day: a stolen Hyundai is recovered in Renton Highlands with body damage, wrecked ignition, broken glass and crime-related tools and debris inside.

 

Renton Police have released their March crime report, and auto thefts have jumped to a staggering new high.  147 cars were stolen in March in Renton, about five per day.  Each one is another sad story that brings misery and often financial hardship to it’s heartbroken owner.  People are having a hard time getting wrecked cars repaired with auto shops all working at max capacity and parts on backorder. Motorists are even having difficulties getting rental cars right now, and  the extra demand from car theft victims is a factor.

Renton Police and most Renton elected officials have been asking the state to restore some authority for pursuing car thieves.  The state legislature appears to be moving forward with a small improvement to the police pursuit law, but the revisions will still not allow police to pursue stolen vehicles unless the police have evidence of certain violent crimes related to the car’s occupants.  Stolen vehicles continue to be a primary tool for conducting property crime since they can’t be chased, making them just the ticket for any thief to make a clean getaway.

The report shows other types of theft dropping, but unfortunately much of this is likely a result of people giving up on reporting.  For instance, the vast majority of shoplifting cases are now going unreported.  Shoplifting used to account for a large percentage of theft cases.  Car thefts reports are among the most reliable. When a car gets stolen, the owner needs a police report to collect insurance and clear themselves of liability, so car thefts get reported.  But when a lawnmower, power saw, or kids bicycle gets stolen, and they cost less than the deductible on an insurance policy, many increasingly-disheartened residents think reporting the loss is no longer worth their time.

A police forensic specialist dusts for prints and gathers other evidence from a stolen car, but the odds are low that the thief will be found after the car has been abandoned.

 

6 Comments

Renton has been accumulating park land in May Creek watershed; another piece likely on Monday

Apr14
2023 2 Comments Written by Randy Corman

Renton’s May Creek watershed offers gorgeous scenery without leaving town. Here my daughter Katie Jones rides Zeus across tributary Honey Creek, about 1/4 mile from the confluence of May Creek and Honey Creek.

 

I’ve written several posts in the past about the May Creek Basin Plan, and Renton’s work in this beautiful watershed to improve our parks and trails while reducing flood risks.  On Monday night the Renton City Council will have an opportunity to add another puzzle-piece to the accumulated park land.  The 2718 Duvall Acquisition would add another 1.7 acres to Renton’s portfolio.  The action is shown as item 6(d) on this council agenda.

 

Eventually this park land should become more accessible to the public with future trail systems and other amenities.  Renton and Newcastle both have trail systems reaching into this area, and both would  benefit by further expansion and connection with one-another.  Newcastle currently has a unified trail network in May Creek Basin that includes a trail paralleling May Creek along it’s north side. Renton has long-term plans to complete a south-side May Creek Trail, and for many years has been making the property acquisitions necessary to do so.

Renton’s trail map, with trails designated by purple lines. The horse picture above was taken right where it says “Honey Creek Greenway” on the map.

Renton’s full trail map is here

Newcastle’s trail map, with trails designated by green lines

Newcastle’s full trail map is here

Council is expected to forward this agenda bill to Finance Committee at Monday’s meeting. Finance Committee will then review it, and make a recommendation back to full council. It’s a sensible and strategic acquisition under current policy, so unless there is an unexpected surprise, it will most likely be approved.

2 Comments

Michael Christ has been brilliant, dedicated, and persistent in bringing Renton’s economic development plans to fruition

Apr12
2023 1 Comment Written by Randy Corman

Southport’s office plaza, complete with dragon to welcome Wizards of the Coast

 

Two months ago I wrote about an exuberant discussion with Michael Christ,  the visionary developer of Renton’s Southport, as Renton was finally going to extend Park Avenue from the Landing to his office towers.  This project took longer than it should have because of complex railroad negotiations and other issues. The delay in extending Park Avenue slowed the leasing of Southport’s beautiful Class A office towers. The pandemic and work-from-home trend added further delays.  Mr. Christ and I reminisced about how his project had sprung from planning work Renton started in the 1990s, in my early days on Renton Council, when our legendary Economic Development Director Sue Carlson set about diversifying our economic base for the future.  Mr. Christ had embraced Ms. Carlson’s ideas and ran with them, and his results three decades later are stunning.  My February 9 blog entry includes much more detail, and I hope you’ll find time to take a look at it here.

Upon news that lenders are pressing him to sell some of the property, I phoned him yesterday to remind him how much his visionary work meant to the City during my 28 years on Renton City Council, and to me as a resident of Renton enjoying his facilities. His hotel (that he personally helped design) is the first choice for many of my visiting friends and relatives, and his Dock and Brew, with it’s live music and summertime lakeside sunsets, is unmatched anywhere in the area. Southport hosts numerous weddings (sometimes several at a time), conventions, and other wonderful events, and his restaurants are among Renton’s finest. My sons hope to eventually work out of his inviting offices, and not have to commute to Seattle. He’s made an incredible, indelible mark on our city. Bringing Wizards of the Coast to the office complex was a perfect fit.

Negotiations are in the hands of lawyers so Mr. Christ and I didn’t discuss those details.  But I valued the opportunity to remind him how so many of us in Renton appreciate him.  My personal hope is that the lenders and any additional stakeholders will be smart enough to realize that no one–absolutely no one– could do a better job managing or growing Southport than Mr. Christ.  He is the person that could best market the office space, and he’s the one who knows what Renton residents will seek in future amenities. His vision was perfect, but the unforeseeable timing issues were cruel. Mr. Christ and his wife have been the talent that has made Southport possible, and I hope they maintain a lead role in its future.

Former Renton Council Member Marcie Palmer with Southport’s Michael Christ in one of Southport’s office towers, at the 2019 Chamber of Commerce Holiday Gala. (Photo credit Marcie/Gary Palmer)

1 Comment

“Equipment failure” caused unusual power outage in Kennydale, Renton Highlands, and the Landing

Apr10
2023 1 Comment Written by Randy Corman

Video: This security camera video taken from Renton’s West Hill (looking across town toward I-405 and Renton Highlands) shows two cycles of bright flashes as the power goes out for 6,045 customers on April 9, 2023.  While the video is low resolution, the lights can be seen turning on and off in the background (east of I-405), as automatic switching or resetting circuit breaker systems attempt to keep the lights on.  (Thanks to Jay Levias Sr. for this video)

I’m curious whether aging equipment, an overtaxed power grid, an external event, or just bad luck caused last night’s weird power outage.  I’ll try to learn more and share it here if I can.  If any readers know more about this, please add your information in the comments.

Here’s some of what I know so far:

Around 9:10 last night, bright flashes light up the night sky near I-405 and the Landing,  as over 6,045 PSE customers in Renton and Newcastle witnessed their power shutting off, turning back on, then shutting off again, then on again, and then back off.  As one of those customers, my home’s appliances chimed and complained as the surges and low voltages impacted devices from my washing machine to my computers in various ways.  In the 38 years in my home, this was the strangest outage I had ever seen, partly due to the rave put on by the auto-switching stations trying to keep the lights on, partly because of the brilliant flashes many saw in the sky, and partly because there was nothing about the weather that would make an outage seem likely– it was a typical Seattle drizzly evening, with no significant wind or lightning.  The outage had my family dashing through the house unplugging electronics that could be hurt by high power surges.

To the credit of the hard workers at PSE, the power was restored within the hour.

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1 Comment

By council policy, the Police Chief has five business days to respond to council email requests

Apr08
2023 9 Comments Written by Randy Corman

 

Council Policy 800-09 was written and adopted by Council

 

In my previous entry I discussed an incident in which a Council Member emailed the Police Chief at 1:00 AM instead of phoning 911, and then publicly complained about the Chief’s half-day response time, wrongly implying the lack of immediate response to the email was somehow intentional and that it put people in danger.  (Any danger was actually due to not phoning 911.)  This blog describes a council policy that was violated by this Council Member’s action. Running a city is serious business, with 110,000 Renton lives in the hands of the elected leaders and the people working for them.  City employees including Council Members need to make an effort to follow the policies that are put in place to guide them.

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9 Comments

Council Member emailed police chief at 1:00 AM instead of calling 911, then complained about response time

Apr05
2023 36 Comments Written by Randy Corman

Renton City Hall (Photo credit: City of Renton)

Note: 4/7 Update at bottom of page

Council Member Carmen Rivera emailed Renton Police Chief Jon Schuldt’s office at 1:00 AM last Thursday morning, and then complained on Twitter that she didn’t get an immediate response.  Of course Renton’s 911 system would have delivered a fast response, but apparently that’s not good enough for her.

Since this all played out on Twitter, the council has already received at least one email questioning why a council member would expect to get special, privileged treatment from the chief that other residents don’t get.

That resident is correct to question this. Council members shouldn’t expect special treatment.  They are public servants, not royalty, and the systems they put in place for protection of Renton residents, like 911 dispatch, should be good enough for them. If they aren’t, they should fix them.  In 28 years as council member I never asked the police chief for protection, but I called 911 a few times.

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36 Comments

Damaged, burglarized “cluster” mailboxes becoming headache for neighborhoods

Apr03
2023 11 Comments Written by Randy Corman

Over the past few decades the US Postal Service stopped front-porch letter delivery to Renton’s older homes, and installed these cluster mailboxes instead. As crime surges and mailboxes are repeatedly broken into, the US postal service is backing away from responsibility for maintaining them.

 

Every week or so I see a facebook post in which a hapless homeowner is trying to figure out how they can receive their mail after their neighborhood’s “cluster” mailbox has been pried open by thieves.  Often they are being told by the US Postal Service that it is up to their neighborhood to repair or replace the mailbox cluster, even if there is no homeowner’s association, and no individual even has data on who is getting mail there.

The post office has all the information and resources needed to do it themselves of course, but they are looking for ways to shift the burden under this policy on mailboxes which increasingly declares these cluster mailboxes “privately owned”. This makes some sense for an apartment complex or a subdivision where the box maintenance was formally transferred to a home owners’ association.  But in an older neighborhood where no one was ever in charge and homes were originally built with mail slots or porch-mounted boxes, the post office apparently created no plan for this repair or replacement. It takes a resident willing to sleuth out who receives their mail there, find contact information for everyone affected, confer with the postal service, hire a contractor, ensure proper permits are in place, pay for the equipment and the installation in advance, collect funds for reimbursement, and somehow get keys to everyone impacted and to the post office.  If one of the neighbors is a retired contractor, engineer or architect, with good cash reserves, good people skills and no language barriers, they can get this job done in a few months.  If instead the neighborhood is comprised of people with full-time jobs, without extra cash or time on their hands, it can be hard to get this task done.

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11 Comments

US Senate’s failure to adopt a cannabis banking law has added to our region’s crime surge

Apr02
2023 2 Comments Written by Randy Corman

Jordan Brown, a beloved gifted artist, worked at a Tacoma cannabis dispensary, and was tragically killed a year ago in a robbery. Cannabis store robberies have become increasingly frequent due in large part to the large amount of cash on hand. These stores are not allowed to engage in traditional banking and credit card transactions.  Photo: KOMO News

 

Along with our state, the majority of US states allow medical cannabis sales, and a growing number also allow recreational sales. But the US banking systems and credit card companies will not support these businesses, as cannabis sales still conflict with federal laws. On 4/20 a year ago, US Senator Patty Murray responded to a season of particularly deadly cannabis retail store crimes in our area by emailing the Associated Press “It makes absolutely no sense that legal businesses are being forced to operate entirely in cash, and it’s dangerous — and sometimes even fatal — for employees behind the register.”  Polls show that a clear majority of voters and lawmakers support allowing marijuana businesses to engage in commercial banking.

The US House of Representatives has approved bills over a half a dozen times allowing banks to do business with pot shops, but it has stalled in the US senate. Patty Murray tried to help push a senate bill through last year that had support of a majority of senators including at least 9 republicans, but it got blocked at different times by BOTH democrat and republican senate leaders.

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2 Comments

Every three weeks Renton gives Sound Transit the cost of Meadow Crest Inclusive Playground

Mar31
2023 8 Comments Written by Randy Corman

My wife Cathy playing with two of our grandkids at Meadow Crest Playground

 

Almost exactly ten years ago, Renton City Council approved a partnership with Renton School District to build an inclusive playground that all children (and the people who love  them) could happily enjoy regardless of their abilities or mobility challenges.  If you have not seen this playground, it’s wonderful, and my grandchildren love it.  It’s won numerous awards since its completion including a Governor’s Smart Community Award.

Generous Renton organizations came together to fund an inclusive playground for children

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8 Comments

Washington House of Reps approves elimination of “life without parole”; Senate action next

Mar30
2023 2 Comments Written by Randy Corman

The fictional serial killer “Hannibal Lecter” could request a parole hearing under Washington House Bill 1189. He would have to show remorse and that he has changed, which unfortunately psychopaths are very good at faking, in order to be released.

 

Currently forty-nine U.S. states have a “life without parole,” option for the most heinous offences in society.  The only state without one is Alaska, which has a total population less than Pierce County.

Like most states, Washington has treated life without parole as a more-humane alternative to the death penalty in aggravated murder cases, and our state’s residents have largely adjusted to this change even while the capital punishment debate continues.  After “Green River Killer” Gary Ridgway, received life without parole for the unthinkable cold-blooded rapes and murders of dozens of girls and young women, no criminal has yet been found to have committed worse crimes, so life without parole became a new standard for Washington’s most heinous.  The ACLU was an advocate of this change, making the case that Life Without Parole gives victims closure faster than the Death Penalty because it is set following conviction, and survivors can move on without participating in endless appeals. Per the ACLU in the link above: “For these reasons, the survivors of murder victims often feel that the death penalty system only prolongs their pain and does not provide the resolution they need, while the finality of LWOP (life without parole) sentences allows them to move on, knowing justice is being served.”

Life without parole is considered such a definitive sentence in our state that the usual “risk assessment report” often required for other sentences by RCW 9.94A.500 is waived for life without parole cases, and therefore no risk report is part of the court record.

But now the Legislature is embarking on eliminating life without parole in House Bill 1189, and it’s not very well known.  It’s rolled into the creation of a new parole system for lesser sentences, which might be appropriate for lower level crimes, but the two issues should each be considered separately for the benefit of the legislature and the public.  i.e Legislators should be able to vote on whether to create a parole system, and vote separately on whether those who have been sentenced to life without parole should become eligible for parole.  The two issues are entirely different.  There is even a third issue, life without parole in the case of three-strikes offenders who did not murder but committed three serious crimes; this group should be discussed in a specific debate.

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About the author

Hi, I’m Randy Corman. Welcome to my blog!  I served on Renton City Council for 28 years, 1994-2021, with six years as Renton Council President.  I’m also a mechanical engineer and manager, and worked for the Boeing Company for 33 years, from 1984- 2017.  My wife and I have five kids and six grandkids, and we all live in Renton.  I’ve kept this blog for 19 years, and get thousands of readers each month. Please share your feedback, ideas, and opinions in the comments.

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