Governor Jay Inslee, who was already the 6th highest paid governor in the country, will today receive a $6,000+ non-merit based annual pay increase. This is the second pay increase the governor has received in the past 12 months (despite spending much of last year out of the state on his failed presidential campaign).  Inslee, who has never denied that he is seeking a position in a potential Biden Administration (in fact, it appears to be his primary objective), has had his annual salary escalate from $177,107 to $189,186 in the past year.  While so many Washington residents are experiencing severe financial insecurity, the governor did not want to be alone in his opulence and allowed a second 3% pay increase for state employees to commence today as well. He sure is good at spending (and receiving) Other People’s Money! (Patch and Shift)

The I-1776 campaign (to mandate quota laws to Washington) is having difficulties collecting signatures and is demanding the state change its rules to help overcome the campaign’s inadequacies and accept online signatures for the first time. State law says petition signatures must be “handwritten.” The I-1776 campaign believes this allows signatures made via a computer with a stylus or finger. The major problem for the Secretary of State’s office is these types of signatures are often radically different than the pen-written signatures that are on file in election offices.  As opposed to the Referendum 90 campaign (to repeal Superintendent Reykdal’s controversial sex education legislation), which was successful in collecting the necessary signatures during the coronavirus outbreak, the I-1776 campaign says it is unable to gather the required 260,000 signatures to place it on the November ballot. While the I-1776 campaign blames the COVID-19 crisis for this failure, others point to initiative organizer (and ethically challenged) Jesse Wineberry’s history of running up hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and not paying signature collectors.  Thus, no reputable signature gathering firm is willing to work with Wineberry’s I-1776 efforts. (Crosscut, Shift’s Newsmaker Interview, and Seattle Times)

Washington State’s school system was totally unprepared to instruct more than 130,000 English as a second language students when schools were forced into distance learning due to the coronavirus outbreak. This is yet another breakdown in the state’s education system, which has been controlled for decades by the Washington Education Association (WEA) and its handpicked liberal politicians. Despite Washington State being a world technology leader, our schools were woefully unprepared to use innovation when schools were closed. This failure is mostly due to the teachers’ unions refusal to allow educational options that online education provides to students and their families. Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal has refused to learn from these past mistakes when he convened a 123 member “Re-opening of Washington Schools” workgroup that included many WEA and other state employee union members, liberal special interest groups’ representatives, and government employees, but not a single individual who specializes in online and distance learning.  (Yakima Herald and SPI’s Re-opening of Washington Schools work group membership list)

After a string of violence that left two Black teenagers dead and 4 others injured, and a couple of class action lawsuits filed by neighbors against the city, the Seattle Police Department backed up Chief Carmen Best’s statement that “enough is enough” and finally ended the illegal siege of six Seattle blocks by clearing out the CHAZ early Wednesday morning. The Seattle police, along with officers from Bellevue and the FBI, swept through the protest area and arrested 31 people who failed to comply with officers’ orders.  Officers were seen entering the abandoned East Precinct, yet it was not known if the police station will soon resume operations. (Seattle Times)

The prominent Seattle retailer and employer Nordstrom laid off a sizable portion (unconfirmed estimates are between 20%-25%) of its workforce and is closing 19 outlets due the coronavirus outbreak. Some executives will go without pay while others will have their salaries reduced after the retailer posted a $521 million quarter loss.  Meanwhile, members of the Seattle City council are discussing a multi-billion dollar, job-killing tax on Seattle employers.  (Seattle Times and Seattle Business Journal)

A January survey found Pierce County experienced a 28% increase in homeless individuals from the previous year. Data collection methods could contribute to some of the growth, and there are several causes provided by the people who are currently living on the streets, in parks, and encampments. According to the county’s community services manager, one statistic stands out. “The one population that continues to be a staggering number is single males. We just don’t have an answer for that.”  (News Tribune)

Snohomish County officials are strongly encouraging residents to wear face masks to avoid the county returning to Phase I. Currently the county is experiencing an increase in the number of coronavirus cases and in two of the other four data points which determine a county’s Phase placement. Fortunately, even with the slight increase in COVID-19 cases, the county has not experienced an increase in hospital patients or deaths. (Everett Herald)

Collecting rainwater from the Climate Pledge Arena roof to make the ice for the hockey surface is not more environmentally friendly then using water delivered by Seattle utilities. While many people are still scratching their heads over Amazon using its naming rights to put the environmental moniker on the new hockey facility, others agree that businesses nearly always meet their climate objectives while governments almost always fail.  But using cisterns to collect rainwater that falls on the Seattle Center provides no environmental advantage over using water collected from rain and snow melt (at the Cedar and Tolt watersheds) and then piped by Seattle Utilities. (Washington Policy Center)

After local officials have encouraged residents to wear face masks, Yakima County has experienced its third consecutive day of fewer than 100 new coronavirus cases. Tuesday’s 69 new cases was the least since the middle of May.  To provide relief for local hospitals, a few patients each day are moved to Seattle-area hospitals. (Yakima Herald)

The years-long negotiation between the City of Spokane and its police guild will continue after the city council unanimously rejected the latest tentative agreement. The Spokane police have been without a contract since 2016.  The primary sticking point centers on police oversite.  In 2013, the voters overwhelmingly supported a Police Ombudsman, yet the negotiated description of the office does not meet what the voters approved. (Spokesman Review)

Jon DeVaney of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association says this year’s weather will yield a smaller volume of cherries, but the quality will be extremely high. Even though the cherry harvest was less than last year, it is about the average yield for the previous five years. (Washington AG Network)

Back by popular demand! Get your “Governor Zero” face mask today. Only $25 with proceeds going to support Shift and the Northwest Republican Community Fund’s effort to help our neighbors who have lost their wages through supporting Hopelink. (Shift’s “Governor Zero” face mask and Northwest Republican Community Fund/Hopelink)

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