Governor Jay Inslee continues to be oblivious to the fact – or he just does not care – that his proposed income tax on capital gains is unconstitutional.  A Vancouver Columbian story on its interview with the governor states, “Asked by the editorial board about critics who would consider implementing a capital gains tax a roundabout way of getting an income tax — forbidden by the state’s constitution — Inslee said he wasn’t worried. It’s a fundamentally different revenue source, he said. ‘Those critics share something: they’re wrong. This is a constitutional and fair system,’ Inslee said.” It was a typical response for Inslee – make a blanket statement, without regard for fact, as if repeating it makes it so, all while attacking anyone who disagrees with you. The story did not indicate whether the governor was asked to respond to the fact that the consider a capital gains tax an income tax. (Vancouver Columbian and the Washington Policy Center)

Washington State Representative Drew Stokesbary (R-Auburn) says the state’s B&O tax is one of the primary reasons why the current tax structure impacts the poor more than the rich.  Retailers add the cost of the B&O tax in determining the retail price of their products and this gets passed onto the consumer. And since the B&O tax is based on gross receipts (and not net profit) this impacts consumers even more. Stokesbary states, “So that’s one reason why people like the governor say that the working class paid more than their fair share. Well, that’s because when they measure the B&O tax, a lot of these costs get passed on to them because the business has to recoup them somehow.”  Stokesbary suggest the best way to reduce the state’s tax inequity would be to reduce the B&O tax. (KTTH)

A study by the American Medical Association has found that alcohol sales have increased 54% during the pandemic, as consumption has increased in all segments of the population, including teenagers.  An Everett psychiatrist says, “Teens in particular being out of school, being without their friends, being without those essential structures to keep them where they need to be as far as functioning are very vulnerable.”  Elderly individuals have increased alcohol consumption due to loneliness and many workers admit they often drink during the day while they work from home.  Meanwhile, Governor Inslee continues to remain oblivious to the growing substance abuse problem during the pandemic by making it more difficult for people to receive the help that they need.  Effective 12-step programs, like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, continue to experience a rapid decline in attendance since the governor has forced their meetings onto Zoom, where the necessary in-person connection with new attendees is difficult to achieve.  The governor can easily improve access to 12-step meetings by reclassifying them as “faith based”, which would allow AA groups to safely gather while staying under 25% room capacity.  Currently 12-step meetings are categorized as “group counseling”, and state guidelines limits these activities to no more than five participants, which has resulted in nearly all in-person meetings being canceled. (KOMO News and Shift)

While the National Education Association is pushing to have its members prioritized to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, the Washington Education Association (WEA) has decided not to do the same.  This has upset many local parent groups which are frustrated with the consistent roadblocks the state teachers union keeps placing on returning students to in-person instruction.  Union leadership has often stated that it is unsafe for teachers to return to the classroom until there is widespread COVID-19 inoculation. Yet now that there might be an opportunity to vaccinate teachers more quickly, the WEA is showing its true colors about reopening schools. (Seattle Times and School is Essential Facebook)

A New York Times article reports that public schools have experienced a 4% reduction in enrollment, likely due to school districts refusing to safely reopen to in-person instruction.  This decline in enrollment is financially impacting school districts, since state and federal education funds are often tied to enrollment (as they are here).  In September, Washington State reported a 3.7% decline in public school students from the previous year  and the January figures are expected to be much worse, with many students being enrolled in either private schools or home-schooling programs. (New York Times and Washington State enrollment figures by district)

KTTH Radio host Jason Rantz takes an extremely critical look at Edmonds Mayor Mike Nelson and the recent controversy over the hiring of a Black police chief, who was forced to resign before even starting work due to several problems in his past.  Rantz contends Edmonds’ elected officials hired Sherman Pruitt, over interim police chair Jim Lawless, because Pruitt is Black, and that the mayor led this effort because he sees himself as a “white savior singularly focused on protecting people of color from a racist society.”  The hire has since backfired on Mayor Nelson, because it was discovered that Pruitt failed to reveal a couple of serious domestic violence incidents which immediately disqualified him for a position with the police department. (MyNorthwest)

City of Olympia officials are upset with Governor Inslee for closing down the Capitol campus to protestors and forcing the demonstrators into the nearby downtown commercial center, which disrupts retail business during the holiday shopping season.  State officials made the determination to close off the campus due to the threat of violence from both Left-wing and Right-wing protestors.  Yet Olympia leaders are concerned that if violence does occur, it will now happen in the downtown neighborhood. (Seattle Times)

Alaska Airlines announced it will add 23 additional 737-9 MAX airplanes to its agreement with Boeing.  The new aircraft will be used to replace the Airbus fleet the Seattle-based company acquired when it purchased Virgin America in 2016.  Alaska is scheduled to receive 68 of the 737-9 MAX planes before 2023 with an option to purchase 50 more. (KING5 News)

A fond farewell to Bob Newman, who is well remembered by many who grew up in the Seattle area.  Newman played numerous characters, including Gertrude, Boris S. Wort, and Ketchikan the Animal Man, on the daily J.P. Patches show, which aired on weekday mornings on KIRO-TV and was the longest running local kids’ program in America.  (KIRO-7)

Spokane area fitness facilities have formed a coalition in the hope of encouraging Governor Inslee to read the available scientific data, and then allow gyms to reopen in early January.   The coalition, “Stronger Together,” wrote a letter to the governor and other officials claiming, “We have surveyed the national data and there is no conclusive link between responsibly operating small group fitness facilities and the transmission of COVID-19.” (KXLY)

The City of Ellensburg has become the victim of a ransomware attack, causing severe disruption to the city’s computer system.  Files have been encrypted by an outside source, leaving them unavailable to city employees.  A spokesperson said federal authorities have been brought in to investigate and help resolve the issues.  It is not known if Washington State Employment Security Department Commissioner Suzi LeVine has been moonlighting as a computer specialist for the City of Ellensburg, which might explain why the computer system was vulnerable to hacking. (Ellensburg Daily Record)

Over 100 Eastern Washington school administrators and athletic directors signed a letter to Governor Inslee asking that students be allowed to return to school and participate in school-related activities.  The letter states, “we now have data that shows statewide and regionally that enrollment is down overall, D and F lists have never been higher, remote learning continues to prove difficult, students are struggling with their mental health, and the use of illegal substances appears to be on the rise as students grasp for things to help them cope.” The administrators encourage the governor to review the scientific data that shows there is a “very limited transmission of the virus within schools leading to the conclusion that the school campus is one of the safest places a student can be during the pandemic.” (iFIBER One)

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