Yakima Police Need Our Help

Over the past few days the city and police department officials, led by Chief Dominic Rizzi, have been responding to the question everyone has been asking: "What do we need to do to get the department the resources it needs to combat the gang war?"

Last night's community meeting at a local church was just the latest dialogue.

We mentioned it on the air this morning, but I think it's worth repeating and visiting the article on the front page of the Yakima Herald-Republic.

The long and short of it is that a program known as the Gang Free Initiative dissolved five years ago when a $105,000 federal grant supporting it didn't get renewed.

That and a number of other things just add up over time, it would appear.

This week we saw some folks begin a bid to change the city and run for City Council and other countywide offices.

That's awesome. But we need to listen to what is being said at these meetings by the department. And hopefully, people running for office are willing to fight to get law enforcement officials the resources they need. Long-term solutions like a statewide gang initiative fund requires a united city demanding them. That's a lot of heavy lifting.

That is going to take some work, but that's where we come in. We need to bug our state legislators and remind them that our tax dollars should be invested in our community. Yes, we also need to write our D.C. representatives about restoring that $105,000 federal grant.

The first place to get started is finding out which legislative district you live in, because that determines who you need to bug. In our area three districts have a number of state representatives. Look at this handy map to find your district.

13th Legislative District
Senator - Judith (Judy) Warnick (R) - 2018
Mailing Address
103 Irv Newhouse Building
Olympia, WA 98501
360-786-7624
Representative Position 1 - Tom Dent (R) - 2018
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
360-786-7932
Representative Position 2 - Matt Manweller (R) - 2018
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
360-786-7808

14th Legislative District
Senator - Curtis King (R) - 2020
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 40414
Olympia, WA 98504-0414
360-786-7626
Representative Position 1 - Norm Johnson (R) - 2018
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
360-786-7810
Representative Position 2 - Gina McCabe (R) - 2018
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
360-786-7856

15th Legislative District
Senator- Jim Honeyford (R) - 2018
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 40415
Olympia, WA 98504-0415
360-786-7684
Representative Position 1 - Bruce Chandler (R) - 2018
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
360-786-7960
Representative Position 2 - David V. Taylor (R) - 2018
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
360-786-7874

Now, we all live in the 4th Congressional District and that means bugging U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse. He has a local office at:
402 E. Yakima Ave
Suite 445
Yakima, WA 98901
Phone: (509) 452-3243

Here are Sen. Maria Cantwell's details:
511 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-3441
Fax: (202) 228-0514

Sen. Patty Murray
154 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-2621
Fax: (202) 224-0238
Toll Free: (866) 481-9186

Yakima Office
402 E. Yakima Ave, Suite 420
Yakima, Washington 98901
Phone: (509) 453-7462

Call them, email them, and don't forget social media. I gave you hard addresses, because it is hard to ignore a pile of mail from Yakima. Be sure to ask specifically for the federal grant to be restored, plus emergency funding for additional and expedited resources. That's what our guys need, so let's make it happen.