Category: Legislation

School District begins tearing down homes, five years before baseball field will replace them

Written by Randy Corman 7 Comments
The historic Renton home at 312 South Tobin Street in its final hour

312 South Tobin Street after demoliton

Please see my previous blog entry on this topic, “School District Plans to tear down neighborhood before they get building approval,” for background and links to documents.

In the midst of a statewide housing crisis, Renton School District has begun tearing down homes for a ballfield that won’t open until 2030.  Ten homes on the block are still in legal dispute, but the residents of these homes will soon be surrounded by weeds and broken concrete where they used to have neighbors. Those opposed to the School District’s actions have suggested this is why the School District is moving so fast– to destroy the neighborhood so the remaining owners feel compelled to move, while lowering their property values.  The school district plans to tear down 32 single-family homes along with eight businesses.

No permits for a new school have been issued, and the Renton City Council has never taken a vote on whether to vacate any of the public streets that would be necessary to complete their plan.  So by tearing down the neighborhood, the School Board has chosen to “force the hand” of city government to grant all of their future requests or else forever live with the blight of a demolished block of houses where a vital neighborhood once stood.

The demolition of the houses is also an end-run around the new Houston Eminent Domain Fairness Act  recently unanimously passed by both houses of the state legislature. The act was named after the Houston family in Renton who lost their property to the Renton School District in the 1960s, and then watched it get sold for a profit.  The act requires the School District to sell back property taken by threat of eminent domain to the previous owners for the original purchase amount if it is not used for its proposed public purpose.  By demolishing the homes on the land before any building permits are issued, the School District has ensured that the owners can not get their homes back even if the district is unable to build, defeating the intent of the State Legislature.

 

Other homes on the right of these signs will soon be getting demolished. The elimination of the neighborhood will put Renton High adjacent to the Renton Airport. (The building at the end of the street is an airport building that will remain.)

 

The project schedule shows the new high school, including the new ballfields where this home is being torn down, will not be complete until late in 2030– over five years from now.

 

Renton crime statistics show devastating impact of 2021-2024 non-pursuit law; legislators must do better

Written by Randy Corman 3 Comments
Renton motor vehicle thefts, burglaries, and robberies all spiked as police pursuits were curtailed in 2021; then declined when police were reauthorized to pursue in 2024. Reckless driving injuries and fatalities are not shown on this chart but they also climbed dramatically with the non-pursuit law.

 

Washington State legislators undertook a deadly experiment in 2021, and residents of our state suffered immeasurable pain and suffering as a result.  The Legislator limited the ability of police to pursue criminals, and consequently increased motor vehicle thefts, burglaries, robberies, and (most tragically of all) reckless driving fatalities.  Their ill-conceived law empowered perpetrators of these dangerous and destructive crimes to simply drive away from police, even in stolen cars if they chose to, without worry about being pursued.  Many of us spoke out vehemently about the harm this was causing our residents, but it took years of heartbreaking tragedies to finally persuade enough of our legislators to undo their foolish law.

Washington legislators were determined to show that they could reduce the  3 to 6 deaths that occur statewide from police chases, and instead of altering that trend, they got hundreds of new fatalities as criminals sped recklessly with abandon through all our streets and highways.  The latest statistics show Renton saw hundreds of additional crimes during this time period, as can be seen in the chart above.  Rates of crimes in these categories finally began falling in 2024, when the police pursuit limitations were repealed.

Currently our legislature is looking at reduced penalties for perpetrators caught in child sex stings, as well as reduced sentences for a large number of other crimes.  They are also considering preventing officers from pulling over cars for broken equipment and/or lapsed registrations (and typically insurance).  I hope they put more analysis and thought into their deliberations this year than they did in 2021, when they effectively sentenced many of our innocent residents to beatings, burglaries, robberies, assaults and even death on our roadways and elsewhere.

State House just passed Initiative 2113 on a 77-20 vote, restoring Police Pursuit Authority!

Written by Randy Corman 24 Comments

Breaking news update! Please see my previous blog entry for background.

The State House just passed the Police Pursuit Initiative 77-20, which will restore police pursuit policy generally back to pre-pandemic levels in 90 days.  This will be a big step forward in preventing reckless driving, car thefts, burglaries, and other crimes.

Renton’s two 11th district House Representatives Bergquist and Hackney voted YES on this initiative, splitting with their 11th district Senatorial Colleague Bob Hasegawa who voted NO.

I appreciate Rep. Bergquist’s and Rep. Hackney’s support of this important safety measure.

 

Here is the story in KOMO.

Washington State Senate votes to restore police pursuit authority to pre-pandemic status

Written by Randy Corman 0 Comments

After three years of severely limiting police pursuit authority amongst skyrocketing car thefts and highway fatalities, Washington Senate has FINALLY voted to restore police pursuit authority. If the State House does the same thing, our police will once again be able to pursue car thieves, reckless drivers, burglars, and others causing increased mayhem in our cities.

The Senate voted to enact Citizens Initiative 2113.  If the Senate and the House both choose to enact the initiative, then it will become law.  The Governor does not need to sign an initiative adopted by both the House and Senate.  If the House chooses to reject it, then it will go to the voters.

The vote was 36 voting yes, to 13 voting no.  Renton’s own 11th district Senator, Bob Hasegawa,  was amongst the 27 percent voting “no”.

Please encourage our State House Representatives to vote “yes” on this important safety bill and make it law.

Representative Steve Bergquist, Steve.Bergquist@leg.wa.gov

Representative David Hackney, David.Hackney@leg.wa.gov

See my previous blog entry for more background on this topic, including the 500% increase in Renton car thefts that has occured after the police pursuit restrictions went into effect.

More information on review of this initiative in the legislature, including voting and hearing records, can be found here.

21 vehicles stolen in Renton in the past 24 hours; State Legislators must act now

Written by Randy Corman 7 Comments
A screenshot of the ValleyCom 911 dispatch log, showing steady Renton Police dispatches for stolen cars this morning

 

Renton cars are being stolen at record rates in Renton. Our Valley Comm dispatch center shows twenty-one vehicles stolen in the past 24 hours.  Many of these cars will be found extensively damaged and abandoned within days, having been used in commission of other crimes. Just one year ago I shared that Renton car thefts had increased 70% from the year prior, reaching 5 per day.  Today’s rate is a 420% increase over that high March 2023 average.

If this rate of vehicle theft were to continue, Renton would see 7665 vehicles stolen in the next year, representing about 10 percent of all our vehicles and $100-150 million dollars in vehicle damages. (This amount of money is approximately three times Renton’s entire annual police budget).  While the victims of the car theft suffer the most in these thefts, all Renton motorists will pay for this damage through higher insurance rates.

Many of these cars will be driven through the doors of local businesses, used in other burglaries and crimes, and driven recklessly through our city.  In most cases, Renton Police have been forbidden to stop them.  Unless officers see certain violent crimes being committed (and burglaries and reckless driving don’t count), the officers can’t pursue these vehicles under the 2021 Washington Police pursuit law.

There are some state legislators that somehow believe that having 21 cars stolen in Renton every night– driven recklessly through our city and crashed into our buildings– has made us safer because we are not put at risk by police chases any more.

As a scientist and engineer, I assure you these legislators are absolutely wrong about this.  Since passing the law in 2021, Washington’s highway fatalities have been skyrocketing to the highest levels in decades, not dropping as these legislators over-simplistically predicted.  Hundreds of additional state residents are being killed annually on our highways since the time the police were banned from pursuing stolen cars.  While other states are getting safer, Washington is getting far more dangerous.

While our fatalities skyrocket, we watch powerlessly as unlicensed juveniles increasingly race stolen cars for fun, and criminals drive any speed they like.  While the limitations on police chases have saved approximately three lives per year in Washington, this small gain is not nearly worth the hundreds of lives lost statewide, and the billions in statewide crime and damages.  Tragically for our next generation, these policies are also teaching some of our youth that crime pays more than going to school and learning job skills, curtailing their opportunities to build the fulfilling, healthy lives we all want for them.

Our State Legislators are reviewing the police pursuit legislation this coming week, and Renton residents are encouraged to let them know how you feel about letting our cars get stolen with impunity.  Also, tell them you want to be safe driving on our roads again, and you are getting tired of seeing the fronts of your favorite business covered in plywood.

You can email your legislators at the following addresses:

Senator Bob Hasegawa, Bob.Hasegawa@leg.wa.gov

Representative Steve Bergquist, Steve.Bergquist@leg.wa.gov

Representative David Hackney, David.Hackney@leg.wa.gov

 

These vehicle thefts all happened within minutes of each other. Valley Comm continuously updates the previous 24-hours of calls on it’s website, in this format.  It’s not possible for readers to sort by call type, so I’ve extracted 24 hours of vehicle theft data in the table below.

 

Below is the extract of auto-theft calls to 911 in the past 24 hours, including the partial address where each vehicle theft was reported.  (Note that there may be others: if a victim filed an online reporting instead of calling 911 to report their car stolen, it would not appear on this list.)

For more information on this topic, including links to additional source data, click here.

City of Renton gets one-tenth of our sales and property tax; State, County, and others get the rest

Written by Randy Corman 3 Comments

As we go into another election season, and local candidates start making their promises, it’s helpful for everyone to understand what a small percentage of property taxes and sales taxes the city really manages.  These percentages are largely set by state law and voter actions.

The City of Renton receives about 9.5 cents of every dollar paid in property tax and sales tax in our city, while the State, County, School District, and other taxing districts get the rest.

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State legislature could eliminate single-family zoning in Renton and many other cities

Written by Randy Corman 10 Comments
Renton single-family zoning would be a thing of the past under House Bill 1110

 

House Bill 1110 would eliminate much of the single family zoning in our state in an effort to create more housing.  It’s the latest in a series of attempts by legislators to supercede zoning by cities because the legislators feel cities have not been aggressive enough in solving the housing crisis.  The bill would allow fourplexes in all single family neighborhoods in cities with more than 75,000 residents like Renton, and allow six-plexes in certain locations near parks and public transit.  Cities between 25,000 and 75,000 population would have to allow duplexes on all single-family lots.

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Disoriented Washington legislators decide it’s safe to drive with no brake lights during the day

Written by Randy Corman 13 Comments
Photo by Erica Fischer

 

House Bill 1513 errantly attempts to improve equity by tossing out almost all automobile equipment safety requirements contained in RCW chapter 46.37

In doing so, the bill attempts to supercede safety standards based on years of scientific automotive testing with new rules that could only have been written by hurried politicians. Here’s just one example from the bill.

“A peace officer may only stop or detain an operator of a vehicle when the primary reason for the stop is an equipment failure violation when necessary to protect against an immediate, serious threat to the safety of the operator or others on the roadway.”

“Immediate, serious threat to the safety of the operator or others on the roadway” means …. Having both taillights, headlights, or brake lights out at nighttime”

“Having both brake lights out at nighttime” is dangerous, but hey…who needs brake lights during the day, right?

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Council split! One Renton council member trying to limit police pursuit authority

Written by Randy Corman 17 Comments
Renton’s 11th District Legislator Steve Bergquist (center, in blue) is co-sponsoring a bill to restore police pursuit authority. Last week he was given encouragement by six Renton Council Members and the Mayor who showed up at his office: from left Council Member Alberson, Mayor Pavone, Council Members Van, Perez, O’Halloran (not shown but participating, CMs Prince, and McIrvin). Renton Council Member Carmen Rivera was lobbying for the other side.

 

The City of Renton has a long, important partnership with the Association of Washington Cities (AWC), a respected professional organization that lobbies on behalf of all 281 cities and towns in our state.  AWC just urgently informed cities that the Police Pursuit bill needs everyone’s help (bolding is theirs):  “AWC is encouraged HB 1363 is continuing to move forward. Cities still need to reach out to legislators and ask them to support this bill because it still faces opposition and a difficult path to full passage”.  Mayor Pavone and six council members are helping as requested.

But one Renton Council Member is doing the opposite, actively lobbying against the bill.  Real Change just published an extensive interview with Council Member Carmen Rivera.

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Please give the state legislature your input about police pursuit using these links

Written by Randy Corman 0 Comments

For those who would like to give the state legislature your input about police pursuit. You have a great chance right now! Police Vehicle Pursuit — HB 1363 — will be heard in the House transportation committee today.

(It takes 30 seconds to comment your support). https://app.leg.wa.gov/pbc/bill/1363 ​​​

Here is the link to Testify in a Committee Hearing: https://leg.wa.gov/legislature/Pages/Participating.aspx

My wife Cathy and I have each done this. It takes no time at all to register your comments. You’re allowed 5000 words, but if you keep them to a few sentences they are more likely to be read, so I encourage everyone to participate. The bill will give more police pursuit options, so if you want to empower police you should “support” the bill. You don’t have to read the bill to express support, but if you want to, here is the bill.