Democrats have long proven that they can’t let a good crisis go to waste – they always use other people’s suffering to obtain something for themselves.  At all levels of government, we are seeing Democrats talk about increasing taxes and enlarging the size of the bureaucracy as discussion has begun to focus on “What comes next?”  The Democrats are currently using the coronavirus crisis to push for more new taxes, yet these are usually the same “new” taxes the Democrats were pushing long before any of us had heard the term “COVID-19.” (Shift)

Responding to an inmate “disturbance,” Governor Jay Inslee announced he was releasing nearly 1,000 inmates in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus within the prison system.  The ACLU approved of the move – of course – while many Republican lawmakers expressed concern.  Senator Mike Padden (R-Spokane Valley) said of the governor’s decision, “This was the most extreme option available to him in order to address the Washington Supreme Court’s order to protect inmates during the COVID-19 outbreak. In addition, it increases society’s risk by not only potentially increasing crime, but also increasing the spread of COVID-19.” House Republican Leader JT Wilcox (R-Yelm) expressed concern that the Governor’s staff had informed him it would only be 350 inmates released. (KOMO News and JT Wilcox Facebook)

Governor Inslee continues to turn a deaf ear to the numerous calls (and the thousands of needlessly unemployed workers) to reverse his ban on commercial and residential construction (while allowing government construction projects to continue).  Even though the governor announced a “pact” with California and Oregon governors to return commercial and social activities at the same pace, Inslee failed to use the occasion to allow private construction to resume (neither California nor Oregon ever banned commercial construction). Maybe contractors need to create a “disturbance” that rallies ACLU support to get the governor’s attention? (NW News Network and Associated Press)

Petitions are now available for the Referendum 90 campaign (to repeal the Democrats’ mandatory sex education law passed by the 2020 legislature).  Parents for Safe Schools worked with the Secretary of State Kim Wyman and the state’s Attorney General Office to develop a legally acceptable petition form.  You can order your petition (20 names per form) by clicking on the link. (Parents for Safe Schools)

Governor Jay Inslee appoints Superior Court Judge Helen Whitener from Tacoma to replace retiring Justice Charles Wiggins on the Washington State Supreme Court.  Many Eastern Washington residents were hoping the governor would select someone from East of the Cascades for the vacancy, since only Chief Justice Debra Stephens is from outside the Puget Sound region on the nine-person court. But the governor was looking for other background attributes to check off with the appointment, none of them seemingly focused on high-quality judicial experience. (News Tribune)

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed his second lawsuit against Facebook for failing to provide legally required information on political advertising purchases.  Following a 2018 lawsuit (in which Facebook paid the state $238,000 in fines), the company said it would no longer accept political advertising from Washington.  Yet, in 2019, Facebook ran more than a half million dollars in Washington State political advertising.  (Seattle Times)

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit against the Greyhound Bus Company for allowing U.S. Immigration on its bus in Spokane to search for people in the country illegally. Ferguson’s lawsuit contends that the bus company violated Washington’s Consumer Protection Act and the state’s Law Against Discrimination. Because allowing the federal government to enforce the law is against Bob Ferguson’s version of the law. (YakTriNews)

Sound Transit is considering several options regarding its construction schedule as COVID-19 is impacting revenue sources for the agencies.  CEO Peter Rogoff stated, “As we move forward in the coming months, we will need to continuously review and update financial projections as they become available to better understand the potential impact on Sound Transit.” Not building out the expensive and inefficient fixed-rail system is not likely one of those options – nor is considering excessive costs on the taxpayers, just the “potential impact” on big government. (Seattle Transit Blog)

King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay joined fellow Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles in asking state and federal governments to enact a freeze on all rent and mortgage payments during coronavirus outbreak.  Zahilay irresponsibly does not mention who would pay landlords and mortgage institutions for their lost revenue. (MyNorthwest)

Snohomish County is currently estimating it will experience a $26 million revenue shortfall (10% of its $260 budget) as the result of COVID-19.  Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers says the county is discussing a hiring freeze and other cost saving measures. (Everett Herald)

Spokane City Councilmember and Spokane Transit Authority (STA) board member Kate Burke wants to use COVID-19 as an opportunity to achieve her long-held desire to eliminate fares on the city’s bus system.  The STA removed fares a couple of weeks ago as a safety measure, when they had passengers enter buses by the rear doors to reduce bus drivers’ exposure opportunities.  Passenger fares account for $12 million of STA’s $111 million annual budget.  Burke believes it is unfair to charge people who use public transportation and provide 11% of the agency’s budget. Will she propose reducing the Council’s own budget by $12 million to cover this cost? (Spokesman-Review)

Agriculture organizations are working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and food banks to streamline delivery methods to help those impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.  A top priority is to redirect products to food banks which were originally intended to go to restaurants and tourist locations. (Washington AG Network)

The Democrat Governors Association put out a poll of their top nine women being considered as Joe Biden’s running mate in November.  It is interesting that Washington State has two women who have spent most of their adult life in the nation’s capital (Senator Patty Murray has been in the U.S. Senate for 28 years and Senator Maria Cantwell has been in Congress 22 years), but neither of them are on anybody’s lists as possible Vice Presidential nominees by the Democrats.  This proves that even Democrats and political pundits agree that Washington’s two current senators are not effective enough to earn a promotion, and command little respect from those who know them best. (Democrat Governors Association email)

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