Maia Espinoza has announced that she is running against hyper-partisan and divisive Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal, and is this week’s Newsmaker Interview in Shift.  Espinoza shares her thoughts on the controversial Sex Education bill that passed the legislature this year (and the subsequent Referendum 90 campaign), the “embarrassment” of our state’s lack of preparedness to use technology to educate our students during the COVID-19 crisis, and the financial impact of teacher pay raises. (Shift)

Governor Jay Inslee provided a non-specific and flimsy excuse as to why Washington is the only Western state to not allow workers to return to private sector construction projects.  Inslee provided the vague statement that he has, “Talked to any number of construction workers who don’t want to go on the job, get infected, and go home and infect their families.” (Workers on government-funded construction projects could say the exact same thing, but Inslee is allowing them to collect full paychecks by keeping them on the job.)  Despite Inslee this week forming a “pact” with the governors of California and Oregon to coordinate returning people to work at the same pace, Washington is not joining the other states in allowing commercial and residential construction projects to resume.  Meanwhile tens of thousands of construction workers are draining our state’s financial resources by collecting unemployment benefits, and the cost of building homes continues to increase. (The Olympian)

The final list of inmates Governor Inslee is releasing early from prison, this time due to the coronavirus crisis, has grown by over 200 names.  The Washington Department of Corrections had previously stated that 950 prisoners would be released from the state’s 12 correctional facilities, yet the current list contains 1,167 names.  Thus, just over 6% of the state’s inmates will be released starting this weekend, courtesy of Gov. Inslee. One wonders if the state will track crimes committed by these early-release inmates, to determine the impact of Inslee’s decision. (Everett Herald)

27,000 Boeing employees will return to work next week in the Puget Sound region and in Moses Lake.  The company announced it will enact several safety features as workers resume production on several airplane programs, while other employees support defense and security missions and the nation’s transportation infrastructure. (News Tribune)

State Senator Randi Becker (R-Yelm) has asked Governor Inslee for more clarification over his ban of elective surgery and procedures.  Sen. Becker says the governor’s ban on non-emergency medical/dental procedures was unclear, and both medical practitioners and patients are confused about what can be treated.  Becker is especially concerned about whether conducting cancer tests is allowed, since early detection is key to most patient’s survival. (MyNorthwest)

The Tulalip Tribes and the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation have joined a lawsuit which has caused division among the country’s Native American groups over the disbursement of federal COVID-19 funds.  The Washington State tribes are among those which oppose for-profit Alaska native corporations receiving the federal funds. (Everett Herald)

The loss of the main West Seattle Bridge means residents will need to alter their commute methods.  Currently, about 2/3rds of West Seattle residents use personal cars to commute to work (58% of the nearly 80,000 daily commuters drive alone in their cars, while another 9% ride in a carpool).  COVID-19 might actually assist in relieving possible commute problems, with more people working from home and, unfortunately, some workers losing their jobs. (Puget Sound Indexer)

The City of Seattle will re-open its parks this weekend, while stressing the need for people to continue practicing social distancing.   Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced in a statement that, “The city will allow major parks to remain open throughout the weekend but will be requiring residents to keep moving and not play sports, picnic or barbecue.’  The city has also posted signs that warn park visitors, “Crowded parks lead to closed parks.” Does that mean tents will be immediately removed from parks, since that would indicate the occupant is not following the “keep moving” order? (Seattle Times)

King County Councilman Reagan Dunn (R-Bellevue) says he is working with the mayor of Renton to attract companies working on a COVID-19 vaccine to locate in the city and help boost the local economy.  Dunn states that the city’s central location, next to two major airports and two large maritime ports, makes it an ideal location to distribute the vaccine from. (Dunn Newsletter)

As Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane, and other major urban area grapple with how to deal with the coronavirus, it is wise to avoid some of the problems San Francisco has created in its approach to the crisis.  As Christopher Rufo points out, San Francisco’s method can best be described as “decarcerate, decriminalize, and depolice.”  The city is reducing its jail population, permitting public camping, and scaling back police presence in low-income neighborhoods.  Rufo warns, “When the coronavirus has passed and the authorities lift the lockdown orders, San Franciscans will find that their city has been transformed, not toward greater equality, but toward greater misery, lawlessness, and disorder.” (City Journal)

Congressman Dan Newhouse had originally scheduled his 2020 re-election campaign kick-off for today, but instead chose to encourage his supporters to donate blood.  Newhouse’s campaign worked with blood banks in Kennewick, Moses Lake, and Yakima, to schedule a block of time this morning for Newhouse supporters to donate blood.  The event was a success, with nearly all available appointment times filled. While some political entities, especially on the Left it seems, are trying to use the COVID-19 crisis to selfishly attempt to benefit themselves, it is good to see political figures encourage the act of helping others.  Blood banks throughout the country are seeing a significant depletion of supply and can use our help. (Dan Newhouse campaign email)

Governor Inslee’s unwarranted ban on commercial home construction is causing unnecessary disruptions in many people’s lives.  While there is an overabundance of life problems created by the COVID-19 crisis, the ban on residential home building (while allowing public-funded low-income housing construction to continue) is adding needless problems and adding to the cost of home ownership. (Tri-City Herald)

Farm worker unions have filed a lawsuit against Washington State, demanding that the Department of Health and the Department of Labor and Industry update the safety and health standards for workers.  The unions say current COVID-19 standards are “garbled and non-mandatory,” and that new regulations are needed to prevent an outbreak of the disease. (Washington AG Network)

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