If your superpower is having more Benjamins than a sucker could ever spend, then here is just the place for you.
Also: The penthouse on top of Smith Tower is still up for rent. If your superpower is having more Benjamins than "a sucker could ever spend," then here is just the place for you. july7th/gettyimages.com

Not too long ago, March 9, Governor Inslee was peacocking this report from U.S. News & World Report on Twitter and lord knows where else: "Washington state was ranked as the best state in the nation... Washington has held the top ranking since 2019." What made it win this beauty contest? "Washington ranked first for broadband access and GDP growth, as well as tying for first for government credit rating score and ranking in the top ten of five other categories."

The big question today is will Inslee be peacocking this finding, reported by Seattle Times' Sydney Brownstone:
Washington saw one of the biggest estimated increases in people experiencing homelessness in the country between 2019 and 2020, according to new national figures from an annual report to Congress.

Overall homelessness across the U.S. grew by more than 2% that year, according to the report’s estimates, but Washington saw an overall increase of 6.2%, or 1,346 people — the third largest increase in the number of homeless people among all 50 states.

Nope. Nothing of the kind on Inslee’s "News & Media" website.

However, Seattle Times' Jon Talton will certainly report that this state of affairs can be blamed on Seattle, and its Black Lives Matter agenda, and its CHAZ, and its Sawants, its demoralized police department, and what have you.

Who's the man? Well, for now it's certainly Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler. You see, there was this bill to stop insurance companies from using credit scores to determine the price of a policy: if you have bad credit, you pay more; if you have good credit, you pay less. There is, however, no correlation between bad credit and, say, bad driving. It was just a way of making poverty more expensive (the only game in town). This bill started strong, but it soon lost its steam as it went through the democratic processes in Olympia, Washington. So, what did Kreidler do? He just pressed the pause button on the issue (something within his power) and it's done for now.

King 5:

Washington state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has issued an emergency rule prohibiting insurers from using credit scoring to set rates for personal property for three years after the current coronavirus pandemic is declared over.

The emergency rule will apply to insurance for auto, renters and homeowners insurance.

So, there you go. Bell, Biv, DeVoe.

What other buttons can Dems in power push for the poor? And if they can push them, why don’t they just do it right now? This is what’s on my mind as I’m sipping Snoop Dogg’s wine from the Shell gas station down the street from my digs.

My money on my wine and my wine on my money...
My money on my wine and my wine on my money... Charles Mudede

So, Prez Joe Biden is getting some love because he put a little gov cheese in the pockets of the people: And what does the mainstream news have to say about the rise in presidential approval? It's undeserved because of this [white] crisis at the border. People should think about that. The border. Those [brown] people who can’t speak a lick of the language of Jesus, for Chrissake.

Newsweek:

President Joe Biden's approval rating has risen as people receive stimulus checks, despite his administration being under fire over the situation at the southern border.

Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan on March 11, and millions of Economic Impact Payments have since been sent. While he and his allies have welcomed this victory, his adversaries have looked to draw focus to the crisis at the southern border.


But the people are too busy spending the little cheese they got to get worked about something that will ultimately do them no harm.

Want to hear more about that Van Gogh exhibit that's making so much noise? Check out our very own Jasmyne Keimig on KUOW.

When people in Seattle bought tickets to an upcoming Van Gogh exhibit, many thought they were getting a beautiful multi-room experience. Like the one they saw on the Netflix original show, Emily in Paris. The show coming to town is different, but it is one the first ticket events the public can go to since the beginning of the pandemic. Bill Radke spoke with Jasmyne Keimig, a staff writer and art critic at The Stranger.

The penthouse on the top of one of the oldest skyscrapers in the West, the Smith Tower? You can still rent it on a long-term lease for, you know, $17,000 a month. Not the kind of place for those still waiting for that stimmy. It's for the kind of people who can say exactly what Batman said in Zack Snyder's Justice League when asked what superpower made him a hero: "I'm rich."

KOMO:

The penthouse atop Seattle’s iconic Smith Tower, a key feature of Seattle’s skyline for more than 100 years, has hit the market.

Listed by realty expert Moira Holley, the only private residence at the top of the Smith Tower has been renovated Graham Baba Architects and Valor Builds to pair modern touches with the century-old character of the tower’s architecture.

Speaking of Penthouses, have you ever really sat down and just listened to Nat King Cole's "Penthouse Serenade (When We're Alone)"? He was a pianist of the first order. Up there with John Lewis and Oscar Peterson when it came to the essence of the art of the piano, which is all touch.

Back to the news: A white supremacist, who used to patrol the Slog, told me, when I was considering suing Seattle Public Schools for not punishing a white teacher for shaming my daughter's black hair, that I was going after "nigger dollars." Meaning, I would hit the lottery with a race-related lawsuit. It's not hard to imagine how this white supremacist would describe King County Sheriff’s Office's agreement to pay "$5 million dollars for the shooting death of Tommy Le in Burien in 2017."

A few end-of-day blurbs from Stranger writer Rich Smith:

WA State Sen. Ann Rivers drops the R-word: In a public meeting of the Senate health committee this morning, state Sen. Ann Rivers, a Republican representing southwest Washington, expressed her support for the Legislature funding public health by saying, “We would have to be retarded, or idiots, or something, if we didn’t fund that.” While her support for funding public health is pretty cool, her use of the derogatory phrase was not. In an email, Rivers said she "immediately regretted" using the phrase "even though I used those words to refer to members of the Legislature, and no one else." She also apologized and asked for forgiveness from all who took offense.

Everyone over 16 will be eligible for the vaccine on May 1: Last week Gov. Inslee signaled that the state would comply with President Biden's mandate of offering the jab to all by May 1, but today the Department of Health made it official, the Seattle Times reports. But don't expect same-day service on this thing. "Because supply won’t meet demand, it will be more difficult to find a vaccination appointment" Snohomish health officer Dr. Chris Spitters told the Times.


Gun nut, get some full of this ruling: "[For] more than 700 years of English and American legal history reveals a strong theme: government has the power to regulate arms in the public square." What does that sound like? Realizm.

Also, the whole gun rights thing has little to do with the American War of Independence. It's instead deeply rooted in the oppression of black slaves and Native Americans. The gun empowered those who had to keep slaves in their place or move Indigenous people from their place. The private ownership of the gun has its logic not in the hope of starting a revolution or protecting one, but in preventing one from the lower depths.

But let's end with a little black joy: Here is a clip of one of the greatest dancers to ever live in our film-recorded history, Harold Nicholas.