Last week when Governor Inslee visited Eastern Washington, he (illegally, it turns out) brought with him apples that contained apple maggot larvae.  The governor unknowingly gave the maggot-infested apples (which were apparently grown on the grounds of the Governor’s Mansion) as a gift to residents impacted by wildfires in Malden, Omak, and Bridgeport.  To eliminate the possible damage the governor’s actions might due to local crops, Douglas County officials posted an urgent message asking if anyone knows the location of the apples that were brought to Bridgeport.  Douglas County’s economy is driven by the tree fruit industry and an outbreak of maggots could be devastating – thus local officials are working hard to find the infected apples.  The Washington State Department of Agriculture has informed Governor Inslee that taking apples from maggot-infested Thurston County to maggot-free zones in Eastern Washington is illegal. Breaking the quarantine laws is punishable up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.  If fined, we can bet the Governor will act as he did with his presidential campaign security team, and make the Washington taxpayers pick up the tab.  (Douglas County Facebook post and KXLY)

The Senate Republican caucus has sent a letter to Governor Inslee asserting that state law requires him to call a special session of the legislature “within thirty days following the inception of the catastrophic incident.”  The letter states the senators’ belief that the economic downturn due to the coronavirus outbreak, the resulting unemployment, the civil unrest in Seattle, and the recent wildfires each constitute a “catastrophic incident,” and thus warrant a special session.  The letter concludes, “we respectfully request to know if you will call a special session of the legislature as directed by chapter 42.14 RCW. If so, when? If not, why?” We’ll publish the governor’s response as soon as he puts one out. (Senate Republican Caucus letter to Governor Inslee)

A new report states that the “focus on climate change is more about politics than science” and that promoting these views is distracting Washington State from working on solutions that will prevent and reduce the impact of future wildfires.  The report asserts that Washington State has more than a million acres of forest land in need of forest health treatment, yet the current political leadership invests its “political capital on aggressive climate policy” which is the primary reason why “Washington State has failed to take the steps to improve forest health.” (Washington Policy Center)

The Seattle Times obtained internal emails from the Washington State Patrol (WSP) which reveal that one of the primary reasons why the state police agency constantly allowed protestors onto I-5 is because its leaders believed if they arrested lawbreakers the King County Prosecutor would not charge them.  The emails also reveal that the WSP did not believe they were provided with the necessary resources from the Inslee administration to conduct mass arrests. Again, we’ll publish the governor’s response to this revelation as soon as he puts one out. (Seattle Times)

Governor Inslee bullies debate commission into his demanded format before accepting one televised debate with his opponent, Sheriff Loren Culp.  The gubernatorial candidates will be in separate studios at the TVW facilities in Olympia.  Previously the Culp campaign wanted the debate to take place with the candidates in the same room, while the Inslee campaign pushed to have both candidates debate remotely from their homes.  Ultimately, Governor Inslee agreed to travel the almost half-mile from his mansion to the TVW studios, where he is defining appropriate political social distancing as separate rooms. The debate will air on major network affiliates across Washington, and will take place on October 7^th, at 8:00 PM, following the Vice-Presidential debate. (AP/Everett Herald)

The Seattle City Council voted 7-1 to force Seattle taxpayers to fund Councilmember Kshama Sawant’s legal defense in the recall effort.  North Seattle Councilmember Debora Juarez was the lone vote against the wasteful proposal.  Council staff estimates the cost will be approximately $75,000, because finding attorneys to defend socialists is evidently expensive.  Previously, the council had supported allowing other councilmembers facing a recall to use taxpayers’ money for their legal defense (most recently in 2011, for then council president Richard Conlin).  Sawant is facing a citizens’ recall campaign for her part in recent violent protests, letting protestors into a closed City Hall, using city resources to promote election activities, and allowing outside groups determine who fills city jobs. (Seattle Times)

The Tacoma School District revealed a best-case scenario schedule for when students will return to classrooms.  If Pierce County is able to maintain a 14-Day new COVID-19 case rate below 75 per 100,000, then Kindergarten through 2^nd grade can resume part-time in-class instruction on September 28^th, grades 3 – 5 would return part-time October 12th, and grade 6 – 12 on November 2^nd.  Currently Pierce County’s 14-day new case average is at 57.8 per 100,000 residents. (News Tribune and Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department)

The Pullman City Council strengthened enforcement activities against large gatherings by allowing police to also fine those attending parties.  Formerly, only party hosts were assessed the fine (previously $150, now $250) for gatherings of 10 or more people, and often the host collected money from guests to pay the fine.  Pullman is currently the #2 metropolitan area in the country for the most new coronavirus cases.  The explosion in cases among college-aged adults coincided with many Washington State University students returning to campus, even though most classes are being taught remotely. (Moscow – Pullman Daily News and The New York Times)

The Yakima City Council refused to alter its current public comment process and will not read email summaries during council meetings.  Like many local governments, the Yakima council suspended verbal public comments while it meets remotely.  Instead, the public is asked to email their opinions on council issues and the emails are forwarded to the councilmembers.  Several councils around Washington State have since altered their process to either allow constituents to submit video testimony or allow the reading of summaries of the public emails during the meetings.  A motion was made at Tuesday’s meeting to allow a summary reading of the emails, but the motion died when it was not seconded. (Yakima Herald)

After defying scientific evidence by promoting climate change as the primary cause for our current wildfires, Governor Inslee sent out a fundraising email attempting to cash in from promoting the party line.  In the email Inslee proclaims, “I, like my fellow governors along the West Coast, am ready to work with federal officials to protect Americans from wildfires caused by the climate crisis.”  Does this mean the governor is willing to return to his first-term policy objective to improve forest management practices? (Remember, after Inslee made forest health a priority, the state failed to meet its goals of improving conditions in 200,000 acres and then took the policy objective down from its website, hoping no one would notice.) (Inslee Campaign fundraising email and Washington Policy Center)

Nearly all political figures make up fictitious deadlines to encourage their supporters to respond to fundraising emails, yet the Inslee campaign has taken the deceiving tactic to a new level.  Among the many recent email appeals from the Inslee campaign comes the false claim that the Republican Governors Association (RGA) plans to spend millions against Inslee in the coming two months (there has been absolutely no indication that the RGA is going to spend any of its resources in Washington State).  Like a shopping channel huckster, Inslee doubles down on his phony assertation by claiming that “tonight’s midnight deadline” requires the supporter to send in their contribution. Of course, the campaign does not reveal what exactly happens at 12:01 AM tomorrow, because there is no actual deadline.  (Inslee Campaign fundraising email)

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