Brandi Kruse explained on her [un]Divided podcast why it is bad policy for Governor Jay Inslee to stubbornly refuse to follow the science (as provided by the Centers for Disease Control) and allow unvaccinated state workers to return to their job.  Kruse points out that the CDC recently announced that our country has reached the point in the COVID pandemic where it is acceptable to treat vaccinated and unvaccinated people the same. Yet thus far the governor has obstinately refused to alter his vaccine mandate for state employees even though it continues to cause massive disruptions for the previously reliable Washington State Ferry system due to vessels not having enough certified crew members to sail Puget Sound waters.  And if the vaccine mandate is not lifted soon, we could have a repeat of last year when the mountain passes were closed in the winter due to the governor’s mandate leaving Washington State Department of Transportation snow removal crews severely short staffed.

Kruse points out that some Democrats (unfortunately none in the legislature) have joined Republicans in calling on the governor to end his vaccine mandate which would allow unvaccinated state employees to return to their previous jobs.  Kruse speculated on why the governor is refusing to change course on his mandates despite the obvious benefits in doing so. “Not bringing these workers back is more about saving face (for the governor) than it is about saving lives. That, at this point, is indisputable. And you really have to ask yourself why the governor just won’t go there? Why doesn’t he direct agencies to just go there? Is it fear of a lawsuit? Is it saving face? Or is it out of spite that you had workers who wouldn’t go along with this mandate a year ago?  I would really hate to think it is out of spite, but I generally cannot rule that out.”

Unfortunately Governor Inslee, who has now undemocratically abused his emergency powers for 914 days, has consistently demonstrated that he will do what is best for himself (and his campaign contributors) over the needs of state residents.  Thus there is very little hope that he will take the sound advice being offered by Ms. Kruse.  (YouTube/[un]Divided podcast, Centers for Disease Control advisory, Shift article, and KIRO News Radio)

The Republican Leader of the Washington State Senate stated it is fairer to everyone to reduce tuition costs at state colleges and universities than it is to have taxpayers bailout those who took out reckless college loans.  Senator John Braun (R – Centralia) noted that when a Republican majority controlled the state senate in 2015, he authored the College Affordability Program which reduced college tuition after Republicans froze tuition rates for two years.  Senator Braun noted that the state offers a similar college loan assistance program to the ones offered by the federal government.

President Biden recently proposed forcing taxpayers bailout the outstanding debts (as the President seeks to bribe voters prior to the 2022 elections) of the federal program.  The senator stated that President Biden’s decision was not “fair for working people who couldn’t afford to go to college and those who already paid their own way.”  By reducing tuition, fewer students will need to take out loans and those who do will have to carry less debt. (Republican Senate Caucus media release and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

Many are closely watching enrollment figures as public schools (at least those not facing illegal strikes by teachers) are set to begin their new school year. The past two years have resulted in nearly 50,000 students leaving Washington State public schools. Parents have said they made the switch due to the state school system failing to educate their child during the pandemic or not providing enough options for students whose learning is either ahead of or falling behind their classmates. A strike by the teachers’ union could be the last straw for many families tired of unions placing their financial desires over the education needs of children who have received subpar education from the state during the past two-and-a-half years. Along with the Kent School District strike, teacher unions are threatening illegal walkouts in Seattle, Port Angeles, and Ridgefield (in Clark County).  (KIRO News, Q13 Fox News, KGMI, and The Columbian)

Evan as Governor Inslee and his wealthy urban environmentalist friends continue to push their radical agenda to remove the 3,500 megawatts of clean energy the four lower Snake River dams are capable of providing, and following California’s reckless efforts to ban cars powered by fossil fuels, comes word of an urgent message which has been sent to California residents.  Due to increased power demands caused by the warm weather, officials fear energy blackouts and are encouraging residents to reduce power usage and to not recharge their electric cars.  If Governor Inslee and his reckless environmental friends have their wish, this will soon be our reality as well.  (California ISO news release)

The Kent School Board will conduct public interviews of the four finalists seeking to fill the open seat on the five-member board on Thursday evening.  The selection will likely have a serious impact on the illegal strike being conducted by the Kent teachers’ union, which has thus far caused the cancelation of five school days.  On Monday evening the school board voted 2 – 2 on a district staff proposal to take the union to court to stop its unlawful strike, as was done in 2009 to end that year’s illegal strike. If the new board member supports court action, then the board will vote again and legal action against the union could begin.  The interviews are open to the public and will be held at 5:00 PM at the Kent School District Administration Center.  (Kent Reporter and 2009 King County Superior Court Ruling)

Sadly many Seattle residents are succumbing to the belief that the massive increase in violent crime is not just a pandemic statistical blip, but that it is the new normal.  While most Seattle residents have settled into a post pandemic routine, crime continues to rise. Criminals continue to take advantage of a severely short-staffed police department caused by the anti-law enforcement actions of the liberal members of the Seattle City Council and the inability of officers to pursue suspected criminals due to restrictions passed by Democrat legislators and signed by Governor Inslee.  After multiple shootings and three homicides in North Seattle since last weekend, one local small business owner summed up the neighborhood attitude, “It’s kind of getting normal to me now. It’s Seattle now, the new Seattle right?” He also stated that the failure of city leaders to reduce crime is causing him to consider moving his business to a safer community.  (KOMO News)

A fire at a Vancouver homeless encampment spread into nearby lots before firefighters were able to extinguish the flames.  The fire began Tuesday morning in an encampment alongside Highway 500 and quickly burned the tent structures and also the grass and trees in a neighboring lot before nine fire units took multiple hours to extinguish the blaze. (Vancouver Columbian)

Some pro Snake River dam advocates see the recent report from Governor Inslee and U.S. Senator Murray as a sign that some in the anti-dam movement might be realizing the limitations they have in removing the dams.  The very partisan report provided very little new information and failed to counter the findings of a previous federal report which strongly recommended keeping the dams and the potential 3,500-megawatts of clean energy in place.  A spokesperson for the Columbia Snake River Irrigators Association stated that anti-dam advocates were seeking more structure on next steps for breaching the dams than what the report provided.  Yet, those who depend on the dams must keep fighting and providing the scientific evidence which support keeping the dams in place.  Wealthy urban environmental groups will continue to collect millions in contributions by pushing their false narratives and liberal politicians will continue to cave into their extreme environmental demands as long they keep funding their political campaigns. (Pacific Northwest AG Network)

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