Todd Myers of the Washington Policy Center provides Shift readers with an important real data update on coronavirus testing and how Washington State is lagging far behind other states.  While Governor Jay Inslee has provided the excuse that the decline in testing is due to federal government failures, other states have been able to increase the number of tests they perform.  The lack of testing by the state is impacting the schedule for when businesses reopen and could lead to the disease spreading. You’d think that’s the type of news that mainstream media outlets might look into. (Shift)

In a clear example of poor planning and execution by government officials under Governor Inslee, the state of Washington has ordered more than $227 million worth of protective equipment (mostly masks) from a Chinese company, yet more than 75% of the orders are delayed.  Even worse for Inslee, many of the items that have been delivered have be found to be defective by federal officials. The state was to have received 24 million masks by now from China’s BYD, Inc., yet only 4.4 million have been delivered.  Medical facilities at first were waiting for the state to deliver the masks, but have since decided to buy the PPE’s themselves.  A nursing home spokesperson said, “We were without the basic tools of preventing the spread of the virus. We’re not sitting around waiting for the state to provide us PPE.”  California, a fellow member of the (Democrat) Western States Pact, bought a $1 billion in PPEs from BYD and is currently seeking refunds from the Chinese company.  We guess this was part of “best practices” Inslee claimed the pact members would share  . (News Tribune)

After weeks of waiting, Governor Inslee has finally released criteria for larger counties to reopen businesses and resume activities.  Despite having full employment of state workers and access to the reopening plans of his fellow (Democrat) Western States Pact governors, Inslee’s office has been criticized for its slow action to provide counties (of over 75,000 residents) with the important criteria.  Larger counties will need to have fewer than 10 new cases per 100,000 residents over a 14-day period to move to Phase II.  Spokane County has been pushing Inslee’s office for these criteria and it appears to meet this standard. (Inlander)

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson is suing the owners of two gyms which have defied Governor Inslee’s orders and have opened their facilities. The businesses are adhering to social distancing guidelines and checking the temperatures of all who enter.  Both gyms plan to fight the state’s actions in court.  It is interesting to note that one of the gyms is in Arlington, near the Angels of the Wind tribal casino which has also defied the governor’s orders.  Yet (because tribal governments are major contributors to Jay Inslee, Bob Ferguson, and the Washington State Democrat Party), Inslee expressed no outrage over the casino’s opening saying, “I hope that they are very, very successful.” (Everett Herald and Seattle Times)

An initiative has been filed to decriminalize personal use of all illicit drugs, including heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine.  Initiative 1715 supporters claim the measure will keep drug users out of jail and thus more likely they will seek treatment.  This argument fails to consider that most habitual drug users are not arrested for drug crimes.  Pierce County Prosecutor Mary Robnett is also skeptical that people will seek treatment. She said, “What is clear is that we need more drug treatment. What isn’t clear is that decriminalizing all hard drugs will be effective at getting more people into treatment.”  The initiative has until July 2^nd to obtain 260,000 verified signatures to appear on the November ballot. (News Tribune)

With the close of filing last week, there are 19 current state legislature who are not running for re-election.  There are 15 incumbents in the House (8 Democrats and 7 Republicans) and four Senators (1 Democrat and 3 Republicans) who have decided not to be part of the 2021 legislative session. (Washington Secretary of State’s Office)

Even though Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant is breaking both Governor Inslee’s orders and Seattle City Council rules, the Socialist publicity seeker will still hold a meeting this Thursday night of her Sustainability & Renters’ Rights committee on her job-killing employer tax on Thursday evening.  She is willfully breaking Inslee’s orders that prohibit local government from holding meetings to discuss any issue that is not routine or does not deal directly with the COVID-19 crisis.  Sawant is also planning to break the council’s quorum rule, since she will likely be the only councilmember present (three are needed for a quorum) in the Zoom meeting.  It will be interesting to see if Governor Inslee throws the state’s full enforcement powers against Sawant the same way the state has harassed an Everett Trump-supporting barber who has defied Inslee’s orders. (The Stranger and Everett Herald)

Puget Sound Indexer has developed some interesting charts regarding those who work from home.  The COVID-19 outbreak will likely result in more people working remotely, not only because of health concerns, but also because the outbreak has forced many employers to develop business practices that accommodate those who would prefer to work from home.  It is too early to tell the impact, but this will likely impact businesses that cater to office complexes and to our transit system.  It is also interesting that low-income workers will likely still need to commute to work more than those who are higher wage earners.  Thus, more evidence that any type of fuel tax will impact low-income workers the most. (Puget Sound Indexer)

The Seattle City Council has voted unanimously to support a resolution that encourages Governor Inslee to give $100,000,000 to liberal community groups so they can give funds to those who are in the country illegally.  Not surprisingly, this measure was proposed and supported by liberal community groups (which like many liberals, see the COVID-19 outbreak as a greedy opportunity to grab public funds and to profit off the misfortune of others). (South Seattle Emerald)

King County Metro was fined $6,600 by the Washington State Department of Labor and Industry for failing to train its drivers on how to handle violent actions.  A spokesman for the drivers’ union said, “It’s just the amount of mentally disturbed people or drunk folks that depend on the bus, and our operators not having the training, in my opinion, that needs to happen.” Read that quote again, and decide if King County Metro is for you going forward. (KIRO News)

More restaurant and bar owners are disobeying Governor Inslee’s orders and are moving ahead with reopening their businesses, while practicing social distancing and limiting patrons. Three Spokane area establishments have opened their doors.  The owner of a pub and pool hall said, “We needed to reopen to be able to sustain our business. Then, also, there’s the aspect of our rights and being able to open and operate without any interference from the government when we aren’t doing anything wrong.”  Inslee’s office said they will first warn the establishments before they remove their business license and prosecute the owners. (Spokesman-Review)

Do you like The Daily Briefing? Forward this to a friend! It helps us grow our community and serve you better.

You can also follow ShiftWA on social media by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter.

If you feel we missed something that should be covered, email us at [email protected]