The New York Times warns Washington is on the brink of a climate-driven inferno; decades of forest mismanagement by Democrats tell a far more inconvenient story.

NYT Predicts “Inevitable” Megafire — Reality Says: Not So Fast

The New York Times splashed a dramatic headline over a smoky photo of I-90, warning that climate change could soon trigger an “inevitable” megafire in rainy Washington. But Cliff Mass, a University of Washington atmospheric sciences professor, says the piece is “blatantly false.” Washington hasn’t had a megafire (100,000+ acres) since 1902, and there’s no upward trend — even with all the “global warming” hype. The giant blazes require strong easterly winds, which climate change actually works against.

Yes, small summer fires happen — they always have — but what’s really fueling the risk isn’t carbon emissions, it’s decades of forest mismanagement by Democrat leaders. Years of neglect, overgrowth, and failed thinning policies have turned Washington’s forests into matchsticks, while politicians in Olympia keep pouring money into climate talking points instead of basic land stewardship.

Even the state’s own forest experts admit climate models don’t show changes in the winds that drive massive burns. Still, the NYT ran with scary hypotheticals, then ignored Mass when he tried to correct the record.

If your “inevitable” disaster might not happen for 100–200 years — and the real accelerant is poor management, not CO₂ — then this isn’t about climate science at all. It’s about keeping the panic narrative burning hot while the forests stay dangerously overgrown. Read more at Center Square.

Seattle’s Homelessness Hustle Meets a Trump-Sized Reality Check

Seattle and its fellow progressive playgrounds have clung to two spectacularly failing homelessness “solutions”: Housing First (no strings attached, no actual recovery required) and Harm Reduction (free drug paraphernalia in the name of “help”). The results? Record overdoses, entrenched street chaos, and a cottage industry of nonprofits cashing in on the crisis.

Enter President Trump’s new executive order—aimed at scrapping these failed policies and replacing them with an approach that actually prioritizes treatment and detox. Discovery Institute’s Jonathan Choe says the backlash from Seattle’s “homeless industrial complex” is proof the policy is hitting the right target: their funding.

In deep-blue Washington, there’s still the risk King County will stubbornly keep pouring money into the same failed strategies, but federal cuts could force a change. The choice is now clear: ditch the enabling and start treating addiction, or pay for it yourself. And judging by the panic from the usual players, they know their free ride might finally be over. Read more at Seattle Red.

Washington’s $100,000 Solar Charger: Saving the Planet, One Overpriced Extension Cord at a Time

Tumwater’s shiny new solar-powered EV charging station was supposed to be a green triumph. Instead, as the Washington Policy Center’s Todd Myers reports, it’s become a $100,000 monument to bad math and worse policy. City leaders claimed it could pump out 300 miles of charge per day. In reality, it’s averaging about 22 miles—a third of even the pessimistic estimates from skeptics. That’s $85,000 more than a standard charger for the climate equivalent of pocket change: about $50 worth of CO₂ reduction per year.

The real kicker? State taxpayers picked up nearly $90,000 of the tab, thanks to Washington’s EV charger grants that reward feel-good waste over measurable results. No one checks if the promised benefits ever materialize, and local officials are happy to overspend when someone else’s checkbook is wide open.

This isn’t just Tumwater’s problem—it’s a statewide pattern. Without cost-benefit tests and grant clawbacks for underperforming projects, Washington’s climate “leadership” will keep producing overpriced PR stunts instead of actual environmental progress. Right now, we’re just paying premium prices for symbolic virtue and microscopic results. Read more at the Washington Policy Center.

Seattle’s Crime Crisis Gets a $6,000 Participation Trophy

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell just rolled out “Back to Business,” a program offering up to $3,000 for vandalism repairs and $6,000 for security upgrades. Sounds nice—until you realize it’s basically a taxpayer-funded apology note for a crime crisis he’s done little to fix.

As Jason Rantz points out, instead of tackling the root problem—emboldened criminals who know the city won’t hold them accountable—Harrell is tossing cash at the aftermath. It’s a political Band-Aid on a bullet wound, timed conveniently as his re-election campaign ramps up. The mayor calls it “economic recovery.” In reality, it’s damage control disguised as compassion.

Small businesses don’t need reimbursement forms; they need cops, consequences, and leadership that actually values public safety. But under Harrell’s watch, the message to criminals is crystal clear: smash, grab, vandalize—all on the city’s dime. The broken glass might get cleaned up, but the broken policies keeping Seattle unsafe remain untouched. Read more at Seattle Red.

Blue Angels Bad, Government Waste Good — The Climate Racket in Action

Seattle activists just tried to ground the Blue Angels by claiming their airshow spews 670 tons of CO₂ — a number they frame as catastrophic, but which is actually one one-thousandth of one percent of Washington’s yearly emissions. The kicker? Offsetting that entire “crisis” would cost about $6,700. Even at Washington’s inflated CO₂ tax rate, it’s under $40,000 — pocket change in the state’s bloated climate budget.

But instead of paying to actually erase those emissions, activists bought a billboard. Why? Because outrage gets headlines, while results don’t. Meanwhile, Olympia is burning through hundreds of millions in CO₂ tax revenue on projects that produce zero measurable emission cuts — including nearly $900,000 for “livestock composting planning” and $456,000 for a battery storage “guidance document.”

The message is clear: in today’s climate politics, CO₂ is less a genuine crisis and more a handy political weapon. When activists start demanding the state deliver real, efficient emission reductions instead of throwing tantrums over an airshow, then maybe we’ll believe they’re serious. Until then, it’s all just noise, posturing, and a whole lot of taxpayer waste. Read more at the Washington Policy Center.

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