Thanks to the political control the Washington Education Association (WEA) has purchased over Democrat lawmakers in Olympia, Washington State ranks 47^th in the country in returning public school students to in-person instruction.  According to the independent research site Burbio.com, only 19.2% of Washington’s public-school students are receiving any in-person instruction (while many private school students have been safely back in school for months).  Meanwhile, Chair Lisa Wellman (D – Mercer Island) of the Washington State Senate Education Committee is following orders from the Democrats’ major campaign contributors at the WEA and killing bills which would safely return students to the classroom.  Sen. Wellman has already killed the bi-partisan SB 5037, which would have safely reopened schools, in her committee.  Reportedly Sen. Wellman will also do the same to SB 5464, a bill introduced by Senator John Braun (R – Centralia) and Senator Lynda Wilson (R – Vancouver), which would require school districts to offer in-person instruction unless specifically prohibited by the governor or health officials.  This obedience to the powerful and wealthy teachers union is nothing new for Senator Wellman.  She has a long track record of putting the needs of the adults in the teachers’ unions above the needs of the students.  During her 2016 endorsement interview with the Seattle Times, Wellman was asked about a major education funding issue. Wellman was unaware of the issue and her immediate response was to ask what the WEA’s position was on the topic, since her position would be the same. (Washington Policy Center, Burbio, Washington Legislature Bill Summary, and Seattle Times)

The Democrats are also hypocritically following union orders when it comes to killing legislation which would end the racially discriminatory practice of state-required occupational licenses.  Washington State unions have demanded that legislators require these state-controlled licenses for many jobs which immigrants and low-income workers seek to obtain to improve their lives.  The processes for obtaining these licenses are often very time-consuming and expensive, and thus state requirements are preventing many individuals from working in their chosen profession (which they may have already been doing in their home country).  A report from the Washington Policy Center states, “Washington state is particularly difficult for low- and middle-class workers looking for licenses, which requires licenses for about 77 percent of occupations for those workers. No other state is more restrictive.” The bi-partisan bill HB 1400 was introduced to remove many of these restrictions.  Yet, when it came time to act on the bill, Chair Steve Kirby (D – Tacoma) of the House Consumer Protection and Business Committee followed the instruction of union bosses and killed the bill in his committee (even though Representative Kirby was one of the sponsors of the legislation).  So while Democrats keep proclaiming they are all for “equity”, their actions prove their support for this ideal is limited to items which do not negatively impact the power or bank accounts of their campaign contributors. (Washington Policy Center and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

A report released by the Washington State Department of Health, from the Institute for Disease Modeling, reveals that following health and safety guidelines in schools is a more effective method for minimizing the spread of COVID-19 than vaccinating teachers.  This is the latest research that demonstrates that the Washington Education Association’s demand for full teacher and staff vaccination before returning to in-person instruction is not based on scientific data.  The report also shows that infection rates within schools are nearly identical to the rates within their communities. (Institute for Disease Modeling)

The President of the Association of Washington Business (AWB) wrote an op-ed stating that the recent windstorm, which knocked out power for hundreds of thousands Washington residents, was a good reminder for why natural gas should remain part of the state’s energy mix. AWB’s Kris Johnson responded to the Democrats introducing HB 1084, which will increase costs by banning natural gas in new commercial and apartment construction and impose additional fees on current gas systems, and is another Democrat attempt to impose Seattle’s failed laws on the rest of the state.  Johnson wrote that using natural gas was supported by 70% of Washington residents, and argued that the state must “ensure that natural gas remains affordable and available for our industries that have no other option and for customers who value the ability to choose what energy they use in their homes.” (Wenatchee World)

Despite stating that police reform is a top priority for state lawmakers, Democrats have refused to introduce legislation to help local law enforcement agencies afford body cameras.  Body cameras on officers are a proven solution for helping determine what specifically occurs during interactions between officers and the public.  The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs asked the legislature to “facilitate the implementation and use of body cameras.” Ignoring this request,  Democrat leaders refused to support the necessary legislation prior to the February 15^th legislative cutoff to pass bills out of committee. Representative Roger Goodman (D – Kirkland), Chair of the House Public Safety Committee, stated this was not a priority for him, perhaps because police safety is really not a priority for him. (KING5 News)

Socialist Councilmember Kshama Sawant continues to be the politician which non-Seattleites want to represent them on the Seattle City Council.  In a tweet, KING5 reporter Chris Daniels reveals that 58% of the financial support Sawant has received to defend herself against the latest recall effort against her comes from outside of Seattle.  Going out of town is not a new funding method for the radical Socialist councilmember.  As Shift previously reported, Sawant received more than 40% of her money from outside of Washington State during her 2019 re-election campaign.  In doing a quick review of Sawant’s latest campaign contributors, it again appears that nearly all of the money from outside of Seattle is from outside of Washington State.  It would be interesting to see how many of these non-Seattleites were also financial supporters of the groups that led the riots in Seattle last summer.  By contrast, the group that is behind the grassroots movement to recall Councilmember Sawant only had 11% of its contributions from outside Seattle, and we identified less the 10 small contributions from outside Washington State. (Chris Daniels Twitter and City of Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission)

Bike helmet laws are now under attack by those who are demanding “equity.” Opponents of the laws state that they are often used against people of color and those who are homeless, and that this is unfair because these people cannot afford helmets.  The City of Tacoma last year repealed its helmet laws for people riding bicycles, skateboarders, roller skaters, and scooter riders despite the strong endorsement of helmet laws by medical professionals.  Currently both King County and Pierce County are examining whether or not to follow Tacoma’s lead. (News Tribune)

President Joe Biden showed he has not recently visited the city by removing the designation of Seattle as an “anarchist jurisdiction” which allows “violence and destruction of property,” a label which President Donald Trump imposed last September.  President Trump issued an executive order with this anarchy designation after liberal rioters closed down a police precinct, took over six blocks of the city, and conducted continuous destructive and violent riots throughout the summer, while Democrat elected officials refused to condemn the offenders.  Obviously, President Biden was too busy celebrating his inauguration on January 20^th to see the national news stories of liberal activists continuing their violent actions in Seattle, or to notice the lack of response from the city’s liberal leaders and complete silence from his fellow Democrats holding state offices. (Seattle Times and Wall Street Journal)

Pictures of Wenatchee High School band members practicing in lime green tents are circulating on the internet.  Yet these unique pictures only tell part of the story of students safely returning to in-person instruction.  The isolation that these children had faced in nearly one year of distance learning (and what the Washington Education Association continues to impose on 80% of the state’s students) has had a dramatic impact on them. “The stories I hear from them are dark. It’s disturbing and scary,” said Eastmont High School Principal Lance Noell. “I will say the damage is extensive. When we talk about social-emotional damage. We will be dealing with these scars for many years.” (Wenatchee World)

Dave Ettl of KIT radio in Yakima points out a unique aspect of Governor Inslee’s state coronavirus website.  While the state still has no criteria or plan for how or when regions (or counties) can move to Phase 3 or 4, it does still allow people to anonymously rat on people who are not following the current randomly imposed restrictions. (KIT Radio and Washington State Coronavirus Response website)

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