This week’s Newsmaker Interview is with Moya Morgan Skillman, a Bellevue mother of two, who is involved with the local School is Essential group, which aims to bring “kids back in the classroom and stop the mental health pandemic and achievement gap that the school shutdown has created.”  Skillman discusses the data which shows it is safe to reopen schools, and the political reasons why this has not occurred much in our state.  Skillman also announces the formation of a new statewide organization, the Washington Alliance 4 Kids, that will be a statewide advocacy group to reopen schools. (Shift’s Newsmaker Interview)

Governor Jay Inslee’s office jumped into damage control mode after the Washington Education Association (WEA) president provided proof that Governor Inslee is basing his COVID-19 related decisions on political considerations and not on science.  WEA President Larry Delaney posted on Facebook that he met with Inslee and that the governor “heard us loud and clear” that the state should not change the COVID-19 data requirements for reopening schools.  Delaney then proclaimed that the governor promised that any easing of restrictions is “off the table.”  This public demonstration of political power the teachers union has over the governor forced the Inslee’s political handlers to scramble to “correct” what occurred in the meeting. The governor’s office immediately sent out emails saying the WEA president “mischaracterized” the meeting.  The purpose of the meeting was for the WEA bosses to inform Inslee that the union does not want the governor to ease up on the restrictions for when school districts could return students to the classroom.  Current state guidelines set a local rate of 75 new daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents before in-person instruction is allowed. Yet, medical professionals and health officials say data indicates that this should be moved to 200 cases per 100,000 people. BTW – this is at least the second time since the election that Governor Inslee has met with his major campaign contributors from the WEA.  Apparently, it is OK for politicians to meet with union bosses, but it is not OK for children to meet with their teachers. (KNKX Public Radio and Larry Delaney’s Facebook post)

It is interesting to see how the state labor unions characterized the Senate Republican Caucus election of Senator John Braun (R – Centralia) to become Senate Republican Leader.  The state labor council publication, The Stand, stated that Braun had previously introduced right-to-work legislation and that this means he opposes “workers’ freedom to join together in unions.”  This is a rather distorted view, since the reality is that “right-to-work” laws provide workers the freedom to choose to not join a union as a requirement for obtaining a job. (The Stand)

The Washington State Gaming Commission reports that non-tribal card rooms have lost $77.6 million in revenue between April and September of 2020, when compared to the same reporting period in 2019.  This is a 65% reduction year over year.  While tribal casinos have reopened their indoor facilities, non-tribal establishments have had to incur the additional expense of setting up outdoor tents, reducing the number of players at a table, and installing plexiglass between the players and dealers. (Washington State Gaming Commission presentation to the legislature)

Proposed amendments to Washington State’s Growth Management Act (GMA) would reduce housing construction and further increase housing costs in the state. A report drawn from a series of meetings with state agencies, environmental groups, local officials, builders, tribes, and farmers was financed by the University of Washington, and was delivered to state legislators last week.  Some contend that the proposed amendments simply compound current problems within the GMA, and may make things even worse. As Jan Himebaugh from the Building Industry Association of Washington stated, the proposed measures would “do more of the same and hope for a different outcome. The tone deafness of this continued process…is really frustrating.” (The Lens)

House Republican Leader JT Wilcox (R – Yelm) stated that every other member of Governor Inslee’s (Democrat only) Western States Pact has held a special legislative session, and that Governor Inslee is alone in not allowing other elected officials to weigh in on the COVID-related issues which have arisen since this legislature adjourned in March. Washington State’s Republican legislative leaders held a virtual press briefing today, where new Senate Republican Leader John Braun said that he supports a proposal to require a special session of the legislature within 30 days of a governor issuing emergency orders. (WPC Center for Government Reform Facebook and TVW)

Because previous expensive climate measures by liberal politicians have failed, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan has proposed to ban natural gas heat in new commercial buildings and multi-unit residential structures.  Durkan’s costly idea follows multiple costly measures at the city, county, regional, and state level which have failed to reduce Seattle’s greenhouse gas emissions in the last decade (likely because nearly all of the past proposals were more concerned about increasing government control over energy costs and giving money to environmental special interest groups). The mayor said she must act because, just as past liberals before her have claimed, “We are facing a climate disaster.” Perhaps liberal politicians should stop focusing primarily on the desires of their political supporters and follow the lead of many private companies, and enact measures which actually reduce emissions and provide realistic benchmarks to measure their effectiveness. (Seattle Times)

A Seattle high school student understands the science and data on reopening schools better than Governor Inslee and the Seattle School Board.  In a Seattle Times op-ed, high school senior Adeline Roza argues that data from across the country shows that in-person education and prep athletics can resume safely. Roza states, “What’s bewildering to me is that our state leaders haven’t yet used this information to revise the guidelines for reopening schools and athletics. It’s been four weeks since Gov. Jay Inslee’s office was briefed on the risk of COVID-19 in schools. It’s been two weeks since he stated publicly that he was learning about the ‘emerging science of schools’ and how ‘on-site education has not resulted in broad-spread communicable transmission.’ Even Dr. Anthony Fauci believes schools should be open. And yet, our state has yet to revise the reopening metrics for schools.” (Seattle Times)

The group behind the recall of Snohomish County Sheriff Adam Fortney admitted it failed to disclose a sizable in-kind contribution to the campaign.  The Washington State Public Disclosure Commission fined the recall committee $300 for failing to report a $16,260 in-kind contribution from the law firm that has performed legal services for the group.  (Everett Herald)

Washington State authorities failed to adhere to the safety and health guidelines that Governor Inslee imposed on the private sector, and thus could be responsible for the deaths of inmates.  Families of people incarcerated in Washington State’s corrections facilities held a virtual town meeting with members of Governor Inslee’s Department of Corrections, where families stated that corrections staff were not tested, wore old masks, and returned from quarantines early, and they are likely responsible for infecting inmates. Some 932 Washington State inmates and 372 corrections staff members have tested positive for COVID-19. (YakTriNews)

Farmers who have lost customers due to state restrictions are working with food banks to help those who are facing “food insecurities.”  Food growers who supply restaurants have been seriously impacted by Governor Inslee’s ongoing “emergency” orders.  They have been working with state authorities and food banks to distribute unsold produce to those who have lost their wages. (Pacific Northwest AG Network)

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