Seattle, WA
Rantz: Homelessness agency offers ‘unlimited vacation’ after $11.8 billion budget ask
Because the homelessness disaster in Seattle and King County worsens, a failing company supplied workers “limitless trip” on the taxpayer’s dime. It’s a reminder this company ought to by no means be trusted with taxpayer funds — this coverage will likely be shortly abused as soon as we give in.
The failing King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) mentioned it wants $11.8 billion to resolve homelessness over the following 5 years. It’s an unrealistic quantity meant to supply cowl as they fail to handle the problem. They’ll declare they don’t see outcomes as a result of they didn’t get the funds they knew they’d by no means obtain. On the identical time, company management has the audacity to supply limitless trip to undeserving staffers who did not succeed on the job, as they’re unwilling to endorse sweeps to carry individuals into shelter, as a substitute ready for studio residences for homeless drug addicts and the mentally unwell.
KCRHA is hiring for a number of positions, together with a Deputy Chief Neighborhood Influence Officer and a Co-Director of Peer Navigation Workforce. Each six-figure jobs listing “limitless trip” as a profit, on prime of 96 hours of paid sick go away, 12 official holidays, two private holidays, medical, dental, and imaginative and prescient advantages, and a pension plan. It actually pays to go away homeless individuals on the road to die.
Rantz: Seattle should overcome delusional or naive homeless individuals and their enablers
No outcomes? No drawback. Take 11 or 47 days off.
Although the KCRHA doesn’t worth urgently bringing the homeless inside, it does consider, “trip is necessary to the well being and well-being of our workers and encourages all workers to take paid trip as they want. Due to this fact, the RHA gives full-time workers with limitless trip advantages,” its coverage learn.
That is the homelessness industrial advanced at work. Limitless trip days are hardly ever supplied to staff-level positions, like Program Specialist, however KCRHA is breaking the norm. Even low-level positions like Contract Coordinator and Programs Advocate are eligible. Within the personal sector, these positions would by no means earn a excessive wage or expansive advantages as a result of. However personal sector jobs are salaried primarily based on benefit, in contrast to public sector jobs, that are primarily based on near-guaranteed funding from taxpayers and protections that make it very tough to terminate unhealthy workers. Certainly, these incompetent workers find yourself with promotions and better salaries.
The limitless trip days coverage is topic to supervisor approval — assuming yow will discover one who isn’t taking their limitless trip days. Approval of trip relies on the worker’s workload. KCHRA didn’t have any annual information on the typical trip days utilized by its workers as a result of it switched payroll techniques. A spokesperson mentioned, since August, the typical trip days taken is 8.5.
KCRHA cash pit
The KCRHA elicited groans from elected officers when it requested for $11.8 billion to do a job the place they’ve already seen few outcomes. The funds proposal included $8.4 billion for one-time capital prices over the five-year interval and a further $3.4 billion for working bills.
CEO Marc Dones, who was the county’s backup option to run the company after the preliminary choice unexpectedly dropped out, is perceived by critics as dismissing accountability measures with limitless excuses over a scarcity of outcomes. He despatched a workers member to report on KCRHA’s progress, in lieu of showing himself, at a listening to with the King County Council on March 15. When he does take questions, Dones reveals an alarming ignorance of the homelessness disaster, which he thinks can solely be solved with a “housing first” mannequin, a failed technique that offers the homeless houses with out addressing the underlying causes for his or her homelessness. It’s a cash pit, which explains the unrealistic funds request.
Neither the places of work of King County Govt Dow Constantine nor Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell expressed considerations about providing limitless holidays to its workers. However King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn, a critic of the KCRHA, was beside himself.
Take heed to the Jason Rantz Present on weekday afternoons from 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast. Observe @JasonRantz on Twitter, Instagram, and Fb. Examine again continuously for extra information and evaluation.
Seattle, WA
SPD investigating incident where local resident's dog was shot, killed at Seattle cemetery
A Seattle woman is working with the Seattle Police Department (SPD) and is seeking justice after she claimed her dog was shot and killed at a cemetery in December.
The local resident, Julia Einarsson, was finishing up a walk with her dog, Remy, at Evergreen Washelli Cemetery near Aurora Avenue on Dec. 17. The dog became spooked by a passing coyote and started barking, disrupting a large gathering by a nearby grave.
More local news: 5 taken to hospitals in 3 car crash in Issaquah
“I had him between my knees to hold him back, and he backed out of his harness and then ran around the car and barked at the family,” Einarsson told KIRO 7. “Scared the family.”
According to Einarsson, Remy didn’t bite anyone in the group, but did run up to them and barked at them from a few feet away. Everyone in the group got in their car after Einarsson asked them to, except for one man. The unidentified man tried to make the dog stop barking before walking over to his car and pulling a gun out of his jacket, firing at Remy.
“He repeated several times, ‘I’m very sorry, I’m very sorry. Do you want me to call the police?’” Einarsson said. “I said ‘I don’t even know what to do. I just need to get my dog to the emergency room.’”
She rushed to get her dog help, but Remy died approximately an hour later at a local animal hospital. According to Einarsson, she never saw the man again.
“I talk to (Remy) every day,” she said. “I tell him that I’m sorry that I couldn’t save him.”
According to KIRO 7, Einarsson rescued Remy after he was found on the streets and moved from shelter to shelter. She had him for approximately 2.5 years.
More on local animal shelters: Tacoma animal shelter caring for 264 dogs, highest number in 7 years
Seattle Police confirmed with KIRO 7 that the department is investigating the incident. As of this reporting, the Seattle Police Department (SPD) located a shell casing at the scene. The department is asking for any information regarding the large group that was visiting a grave on the east side of the cemetery on Dec. 17.
Einarsson is hoping the man turns himself in.
“Remy was my world,” she said. “Why did he have to kill him? Why couldn’t he have just joined his family in the car?”
Contributing: KIRO 7
Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here
Seattle, WA
Day and time for Seattle Seahawks' finale vs Rams announced
The day and time for Seattle Seahawks’ Week 18 meeting with the Rams is finally set, although it unfortunately doesn’t come with a chance for the Hawks to sneak into the playoffs.
Seahawks officially eliminated from postseason contention
After the conclusion of Sunday’s slate of NFL games, the league announced that Seattle’s trip to Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium will kick off at 1:25 p.m. next Sunday, Jan. 5.
The game previously had no announced day or time and had the potential to be played next Saturday or in a primetime slot, especially when it remained possible that it could be a de facto NFC West championship game. Any hope of that ended Sunday night when Washington’s overtime win over the Atlanta Falcons officially eliminated the Seahawks from postseason contention.
The Rams (10-6) have clinched the division after winning nine of their last 11 games, while Seattle (9-7) will have to settle for just a winning season in their first year after moving on from Pete Carroll and hiring Mike Macdonald as head coach.
If the Seahawks beat Los Angeles next Sunday, they would become the first team since the NFL instituted a 17-game schedule in 2021 to finish a season with a 10-7 record and miss the playoffs, according to Seattle Sports’ Cameron Van Til.
The radio broadcast of next Sunday’s Seahawks-Rams game will be carried, as always, on Seattle Sports 710 AM, KIRO Newsradio 97.3 FM, and the Seattle Sports, KIRO Newsradio and official Seahawks apps. Coverage will begin at 10 a.m. with the pregame show.
The TV broadcast of the game will air on FOX.
More on the Seattle Seahawks
• After trio of injuries, Seahawks’ Nwosu back in sack column
• Does Seahawks DL Leonard Williams have a case for DPOY?
• ‘Like a torpedo’: Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon continues to wow
• Bump: What Charbonnet, McIntosh add to Seahawks’ run game
• Seattle Seahawks players put in good word for former coach Pete Carroll
Seattle, WA
Baltimore Orioles Considered ‘Best Fit’ Trade Match for Seattle Mariners Ace
Corbin Burnes is back in Arizona preparing for his first season with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He had $210 million reasons sign that six-year contract.
But it also puts the Baltimore Orioles in bit of a pickle.
To date, the only free-agent starter the Orioles have signed is pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano, one of the most accomplished pitchers in Japanese baseball history. But at 35 years old, he’s not seen as an ace at the MLB level.
The O’s still have Grayson Rodriguez, Zach Eflin, Dean Kremer and Albert Suarez. But two other pitchers, Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells, are basically out for most, if not all, of 2025 due to elbow surgeries.
So, the Orioles can look in free agency, where a former Orioles starter, Jack Flaherty, is considered the top second-tier option, or they could try and swing a trade.
That could include Seattle Mariners right-hander Luis Castillo, who has been rumored to be on the trade market. MLB Trade Rumors gauged potential suitors for Castillo and listed the Orioles in the “best fit” category.
Why would the Orioles be a good fit? The Mariners are in need of some help in their infield and the Orioles are lousy with infielders, both at the minor league and Major League level.
MLB Trade Rumors noted that the Orioles have reportedly inquired about Castillo this offseason, but, naturally, nothing has happened — yet.
In the piece, the proposed trade could look something like Ryan Mountcastle, who can play either corner infield position but is more suited for first base, along with a pitching prospect like Cade Povich.
The Orioles have a system that is flush with prospects, so finding a package that could work for both sides may not be that difficult. But a Major League-ready infielder is likely a necessity.
For a starting pitcher of Castillo’s caliber, his cost is controlled through at least 2027, as he makes about $24 million each season. He comes with a vesting option in 2028 through $25 million before he becomes a free agent in 2029.
He may have a losing record for his career (73-76), but he has a solid 3.56 ERA and he strikes out nearly 10 hitters per nine innings. He also has three All-Star appearances.
It’s not as easy as a trade, though. Castillo has a no-trade clause, a result of the long extension he signed with Seattle. So he would have to approve a deal to move cross-country.
But if the Orioles can swing that kind of a deal, it would help both teams next season.
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