Week in Review: drugs, guns, and housing

Bill Radke discusses the week’s news with PubliCola’s Erica Barnett, Seattle Channel’s Brian Callanan, and KUOW’s David Hyde.

This weekend, legislators voted to defeat a bill that would have made possession of certain drugs, including fentanyl, a gross misdemeanor. A temporary law expires on July 1st. On Sunday, Governor Jay Inslee suggested that he might push for a special session to avoid the possibility of not having a drug possession law in place. The House Speaker criticized Republicans for, in effect, decriminalizing drugs. Did the no-voting Democrats want to decriminalize drugs?

Last week, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell issued an executive order on drug addiction, which includes a plan that essentially pays people to stop using drugs. Prizes, gift cards, and occasionally cash will be given in exchange for a clean urine sample. Some critics suggest that this is “bribing” drug users. Could some of the gift card money be directed solely to therapy or detox?

In response to Governor Inslee signing into law House Bill 1240, which would ban the sale of AR-15s and other semi-automatic rifles in Washington state, guns rights organizations have sued to stop the law from going into effect. The Second Amendment Foundation, a Bellevue-based organization, is among the groups suing and says Washingtonians have a constitutional right to own these weapons. What should we expect from the US Supreme Court and why?

This week, King County voters approved a measure to fund mental health services with a new tax on property owners. The money will fund five crisis centers that will serve people with a mental or behavioral health crisis. How widespread was the “yes” vote?

This week, a hotel-based homeless shelter program that had run out of money was saved in the final days of the legislative session. Publicola reported that lawmakers were able to use “underspent funds” from another program to help keep this program up and running. Why did this hotel shelter program need a bailout?

Despite a pledge to improve Seattle’s tree canopy, the city has seen a significant loss in acreage since 2016. Hotter and drier summers are listed as a major factor. A new proposal would lower the diameter threshold for trees and would make it harder for private property owners to remove a tree without replacing it. How can we densify and also preserve or increase our tree canopy?