The city of Kent is a very odd
community, even for being red-right Republican in its identification. For
example, it is opposing the establishment of “pot shops” in the city; according
to local officials and police, they think the aroma of pot emanating from such
establishments will offend tender cilia, and believe that legal pot shops will
attract “crime”—a supposition that proves that the ignorant never learn, or don’t
want to. Yet officials still expect to receive its “share” of pot sales taxes
from the state; if State Attorney General Bob Ferguson was less craven and
concerned less about being painted as “soft” on “crime,” he might also inform
such communities that such bans also mean they will not receive revenue from
pot sales.
Think that is audacious
mendacity? Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke is proposing both a business &
occupation tax and a $20 car license
fee increase to balance the city budget. Wouldn’t this Republican town be
knee-jerk opposed to such tax increases, or taxes at all? Didn’t King County
voters just turn away a proposed car tab increase meant to maintain public bus
service? And now the city wants to raise
revenue through taxation because it can’t keep its books in order? I thought
right-wingers were supposed to be “good” at that. Still, I have to give Cooke
some credit; at least she isn’t trying put the heel down on Kent’s poorest
people—most of them minorities and
generally ignored by elected officials—by proposing a sales tax increase.
Or at least seems not to be; a B&O tax increase may well be taken off a
low-income employee’s paycheck.
I also read with some amusement a
“guest op-ed” in the most recent edition of the Kent Reporter by someone named Marvin Eckfeldt, who claims to be a
retired minister and former chair of the Kent Human Services Commission—an
organization I suspect takes its cues of its responsibilities from the Reagan
administration. Mr. Eckfeldt exhorted Kent residents to approve funding for an
expensive new, and considerably larger, home for its police. “Space is needed
where officers can meet and share information and crime data…Teamwork and
efficiency depend on officers having common space and frequent contact.” I
thought they were supposed to spend most of their time out on the street.
But what do I know? Perhaps it is
better than they stay indoors more often. What are the Kent police doing to
require a space three-times the size of the current facilities? According to
the latest police blotter: A dispute between two roommates over who stole the
other’s food out of their refrigerator; one was arrested when he admitted to
“beating” his roommate’s “ass.” A homeless man was arrested for “malicious
mischief” after removing a gas pump cover and falling asleep on it. A man was
arrested for fourth-degree assault after he allegedly dropped his four-year-old
son on the ground, at least according to his girlfriend. As usual, details are
skimpy and it’s a he-said, she-said situation. And last—but not necessarily
least—a man was arrested while sitting on someone’s front lawn with a barbecue
burner in his possession, which he claimed he “found.” It turned out that he
had warrants for theft in two states.
It’s not all “good” news for
Kent, you can bet your fundament. Boeing’s Kent Space Center facilities (no
wonder nothing ever seems to going on there) will be mostly shut down and jobs
sent to St. Louis and Oklahoma City. This after the craven state legislature—still
in contempt for its refusal to adequately fund public education—approved $8.7
billion more in tax breaks for the state’s aerospace industry, most of which is
slated to benefit Boeing. Although some
of the job loss will be made up when Amazon completes a fulfillment center on
the current site, one can expect that wages—and thus taxes—will be considerably
lower than that which will be lost.
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