Kitsap Caucus

In March we had a story about the state Department of Corrections program that would be part of a number of changes affecting Kitsap County jail. The program passed the state Senate today. I’ll post the Senate Democrats press release after this little comment.

Kitsap Sun commenters caught the quote from Chad Lewis, state Department of Corrections spokesman, who said Corrections considered the program because it would cost less to implement how it handles parole violators now. What commenters apparently missed was the second part.

Lewis said the new, less expensive, program works better.

Hence the reference to the Pew Center on the States study that reported the same program in Hawaii meant violators were “less likely to be arrested for a new crime, to use drugs and to have their probation revoked.”

Because commenters missed or ignored that part of the story, the ongoing argument was over taxes, budgets and liberal and conservative spending values. That argument was not completely inappropriate, because the state did go into this looking for cost savings, which means the corrections budget is being cut. And it does translate to bad news for the county, because there is less money for the budget.

Still, did the point “It costs less and works better” pass by everyone? Did I write the story that badly? Be honest.

In some ways I thought this was a good news story, though clearly it’s tough for the county jail to be counting on less money. The positive, though, was in someone’s ability to take advantage of a crisis, to find a solution perhaps no one would have sought had there not been a problem.

Apparently the state Senate thought it was a good idea. The bill allowing for the program passed 43-2.

(more…)

Gov. Chris Gregoire’s Chief of Staff Jay Manning, Kitsap-grown, spoke to the Port Orchard Chamber of Commerce Thursday.

Manning didn’t try to sugar coat the upcoming round of budget cuts, but he ended by predicting Washington State is positioned to pull out of the recession faster than most states.

Manning also mentioned a topic that must weigh heavily on the minds of public officials at all levels of government, the shootings in Tucson and incendiary packages in Maryland.

Manning said the atmosphere in Olympia “is really intense right now, and it’s really scary to be in government and to think there’s that level of anger out there.”

Manning said being in government is seen as a disgrace, yet government workers perform essential functions, child protective services for example. The biggest shame, Manning said, is if government became the last place people would go to get a job.

“There’s not a lot of hope or optimism about government right now,” Manning said.

He’s all for free speech, but, “Let’s ease back on the rhetoric a little bit,” he urged. “It should be about issues and ideas.”

Question: If you have ever thought about running for public office, have recent events of violence against politicians discouraged you? (take the poll on the Kitsap Caucus home page).