Rarely is Governor Jay Inslee’s involvement or opinion on legislative matters sought by his fellow Democrats during the legislative session, though he’s not quite aware of that fact.  The current governor’s job is to smile for the cameras and sign the legislation the majority Democrats pass.  All who have worked with Inslee in the past know that heavy lifting is not his strong suit. When complex negotiations are taking place in Olympia, Governor Inslee is generally out of town talking to elementary school kids, making unscientific claims about the environment, or wasting $8 million by taking his 1% of national public support down to 0% in a failed presidential campaign effort.   That is why we found the governor’s quote below, where he implies condescendingly that his fellow Democrats in the legislature are simpletons, to be somewhat amusing.

As reported by the Everett Herald’s Jerry Cornfield, when asked yesterday about legislative remedies to the Washington State Supreme Court’s controversial Blake decision (which legalized possession of hard drugs), the governor explained his non-involvement on the issue by stating, “My role here is to help legislators through a very complex issue and so I will actually say less than I might usually about a subject because I don’t want to make their job more complicated.”  We are certain that many legislators are thankful the governor did not use his superior intellect to confuse them with concepts only he understands.   (Everett Herald/Cornfield Report)

Governor Inslee attempted to distance himself from the possibility that he will be rolling back many counties to Phase 2 next Monday, by stating at yesterday’s media event that that the metrics used to determine the phases are on “auto pilot.”   By claiming the virus determines the phases, the governor wants the public to forget that it has been exclusively his team (without involvement from local health officials or other elected officials) who have unscientifically determined what numbers might matter for each phase and what activities are allowed to take place.

According to the current statistics available on the Washington State Department of Health “data dashboard,” there appear to be seven counties which currently have more than 1) 200 daily COVID cases over a two-week period; OR 2) had more than 5% of its hospital beds occupied by COVID patients, and thus are likely targets to be moved back.  The counties on edge are Chelan, Cowlitz, Douglas, Kittitas, Pierce, Whitman, and Yakima.  There are five more counties (Benton, Franklin, Grant, King, and Spokane) who are currently just below the daily case rate maximum. Moving back to Phase 2 would be another harmful blow to restaurants and bars, for their capacity would be reduced (again!) from 50% to 25%, at a time when more people have received both vaccine shots and are eager to revisit their favorite establishments.

UPDATE: This afternoon the governor AGAIN changed the metrics for determining which counties will be moved back to Phase 2 (didn’t he say, above, that the metrics were on “auto pilot?”). The governor’s office released a statement that stated that BOTH the number of COVID cases (200 per day over two weeks) and the percentage of hospital beds (5%) must be over the limits for a county to be returned to Phase 2.  Previously it was EITHER data point needed to be above the limit.  It is also interesting to note that the data for the percentage of hospital bed space taken in each county by COVID patients is currently not available on the DOH’s dashboard.  Oddly, only yesterday the governor indicated that he would not change the metrics by stating, “We’ve already announced the metrics. I just want to reiterate that this is not sort of a discretionary call by the governor.” Yet today, the governor changes the metrics, almost like it was a “discretionary call” or something. This further goes to prove that politics is guiding all of the governor’s COVID-19 decisions, rather than science or data which could conflict with his political goals.  (MyNorthwest, Washington State Department of Health COVID-19 Data Dashboard, Governor Inslee’s media release, and TVW)

It was an expensive night Thursday for Washington State taxpayers, as the drunk-on-power majority Democrats in the State Senate pushed through two bills that will increase the cost of gas significantly in the coming years.  Estimates are that the cost of gas will increase by as much as 63 cents a gallon if the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS, or HB 1091) and the “Cap and Tax” bill (SB 5126) become law, both of which will negatively impact low-income workers (who the Democrats falsely claim they care about) the most.  The LCFS was previously passed by the House, but since the Senate made some changes to the bill, it must again be approved by House members, or go to a conference committee negotiation between a bunch of Democrats.  SB 5126 must now be heard in the House, which has so far not met a tax it did not like this session and has passed similar bills in previous sessions.

It is interesting/sad to note that local media members followed the script of the Democrats in reporting on the Senate passage of the bills.  It is noteworthy that the Seattle Times does not believe it is worth mentioning the significant impact these Inslee-priority bills will have on the price of gas (and the resulting impact on low-income families) or that biofuel corporations (which are large contributors to Democrats) will profit greatly if the bills become laws. (Seattle Times, Affordable Fuel Washington/Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, Washington Legislature Bill Summary, and Washington Policy Center)

While noting that most of the talk about a “vaccine passport” has come from liberal media pundits, Representative Jim Walsh (R – Grays Harbor) has introduced legislation to make sure it is not something that is instituted by government officials.  Walsh introduced HB 1570 to ban a requirement for an official document to enter any public location or privately owned facilities (stores, theaters, restaurants, hotels, etc.) which are normally open to the public. (MyNorthwest and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

Workers in Amazon’s Alabama facility have overwhelmingly rejected an offer to unionize.  Amazon fulfillment center workers clearly demonstrated, by a 71-29% margin (1,798 to 738), that they did not want to waste money on union dues on by joining the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union.  Not surprisingly, Seattle area labor leaders tried to gloss over what a rousing defeat this election was to their effort to raise prices for Amazon customers.  An official from the local UFCW 21 said, “This organizing (in Alabama) inspired a nation.” It’s only in a pro-union universe that a nation was inspired by this failed blackmail effort, when the few thousand workers actually impacted by the decision were inspired to yell “Union NO”. (Seattle Times)

Meanwhile, Amazon announced that it is the tenant of the new “Project Roxy” development currently under construction near the Arlington Airport in Snohomish County. The $355 million dollar distribution center is expected to open later this year, and will employ more than 1,000 workers. (Everett Herald)

At a time when drive-by shootings have increased 60%, the Tacoma Police Department has been forced to eliminate its Violent Crime Reduction Task Force.  The unit, created in 2006, previously had nine members committed to solving violent criminal cases.  Yet, due to a recent batch of retirements and budget restrictions on hiring more personnel, the department showed its lack of priority on violent crime by dissolving the task force with the transfer of its officers to other divisions. (News Tribune)

Washington State University President Kirk Schulz said he is currently looking into a “vaccine requirement” for students returning to campus next fall.  The WSU campus has consistently been one of the state’s “hot spots” for COVID-19 infections since last August, when students started returning to campus.  As we mentioned above, “vaccine passports” are a very contentious issue among many lawmakers, and a bill has been proposed to ban their use.  Schulz did state that WSU is planning to return nearly all students to campus next fall, with classes of more than 100 students still meeting remotely. (Pullman Radio KQQQ and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

Walla Walla wine growers are hoping tourists will resume travel and take part in their Walla Walla Valley Wine Month.  Many of the wineries are offering specials throughout April, in an attempt to draw customers back to their region.  Some merchants are requiring reservations to ensure they stay within state guidelines.  Click on the link to learn more and to find out which wineries are taking part. (Walla Walla Valley Wine)

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