This week’s Newsmaker Interview is with the President of Seattle’s own Discovery Institute, Steve Buri.  Discovery recently made national headlines for bringing crucial attention to the progressive movement’s Critical Race Theory.  Buri states this dangerous viewpoint “is a philosophy that replaces personal responsibility with grievances against the ‘system,’ and it has made its way from universities into many of our most sacred institutions, including even the military. Left unchecked, this has dire implications for the nation. The policies also represent a clear and present danger to the millions of residents living in these cities.” (Shift’s Newsmaker Interview) 

In a virtual speech to the Washington State Labor Council, Governor Jay Inslee said the reason why he has stubbornly ignored his legal obligation to call a special legislative session to repair the state’s budget is because Democrat lawmakers would “cut benefits to working people.”  The governor said, “They were going to cut people’s mental health. They were going to cut people’s health care. They were going to cut aid to the homeless. And I just don’t think you ought to do that in the middle of a pandemic.”  Since both the State Senate and House are controlled by Democrats, does this mean the governor believes his fellow Democrats were going to launch these attacks on “working people” by making these cuts? (The Stand)

In what could be labeled, “doing far too little, far too late,” Governor Inslee said the state has asked the Boeing Company what it can do to keep the 787 production operations in Everett.  Last month, the company said that due to sudden changes in the travel industry, it was cutting in half the production output of its latest jetliner, which is currently manufactured in both Washington and South Carolina.  Perhaps Governor Inslee missed that announcement, like he missed out on the CHAZ  . This reduction in production will likely force Boeing to consolidate manufacturing in one location.  Many analysts believe South Carolina has the advantage in this critical decision, due to its more favorable business environment.  It probably doesn’t help Washington’s case that last year Governor Inslee went on national TV (during his failed presidential campaign) and stated that Boeing had previously “blackmailed” him into providing incentives to keeping jobs in Washington, and he compared it to being mugged.  Rarely do companies like to continue operations in a location where the elected leaders equate their business operations to felonious criminal behavior, especially when other locations provide a more friendly environment. (Everett Herald, Rebecca Perry Twitter, and KUOW/Daily Show)

Good News – the state’s major public venues have worked together to bring suggested protocols to Washington State health officials to allow them to resume operations.   This proactive approach has allowed the many large facilities (like convention centers and hotels) to resume business, instead of waiting for the state to randomly determine the rules. Yet, instead of focusing on big social occasions like conventions and large meal events, nearly all near-term bookings are for training and testing sessions where participants can spread out in their large rooms. (News Tribune)

Finally, and as expected, the Pac-12 conference reversed its previous moratorium on resuming sports until next year, and will begin a shortened schedule football season on November 6^th, with men’s and women’s basketball returning on November 25^th.  A major factor in the reversal was an agreement between the conference and the testing company Quidel, which will allow each school to perform daily tests on its players and personnel. (Everett Herald)

Seattle’s political choices have forced Amazon to make the decision to bring thousands of jobs to Bellevue.  Bellevue Chamber of Commerce President Joe Fain said, “There’s no question that the political environment in Seattle plays a role in the choice that a lot of businesses are making right now, especially given the opportunities that are presented by the COVID disruption to think about alternatives.”  A business consultant summed up the divergent attitudes of the two cities which sit on opposite sides of Lake Washington, “The Seattle City Council wants to blame specific businesses for a whole host of problems,” while Bellevue sees business as part of the solution. (Puget Sound Business Journal)

The Tacoma Public School District has delayed the re-opening of its schools, due to the ever-changing health and safety restrictions from the state.  The district was scheduled to resume in-person instruction for kindergarten students next Monday, to begin the process of re-opening its schools.  Yet, due to the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries changing its guidelines on facemasks, the district no longer has enough face coverings to provide to its teachers and other staff members.  A spokesperson for the Tacoma schools said, “We understand that this is extremely difficult for our families, especially those hoping to send their students to school next week.  It has been extremely frustrating to try and follow changing guidance on health and safety issues that we have to put in place.”  The district was unable to provide a timetable of when they will be able to begin in-person instruction. (News Tribune)

Seattle’s “self-inflicted wounds” are destroying a downtown core that was thriving just a decade ago.  The Downtown Seattle Association claims that at least 126 street-level businesses have closed since March.  While the coronavirus pandemic is a significant cause for the closures, Seattle’s policies, especially those related to not prosecuting repeated criminal activities and allowing homeless encampments on city sidewalks, are likewise major contributing factors. The city council (with “thin business experience at best,”) is more concerned about pushing a far-left political agenda than serving the needs of its constituents. “Only in a city made so prosperous by hated capitalism could this intellectual Ponzi scheme be tolerated or seem without consequences.” (Seattle Times)

Ivar’s two Seattle dine-in restaurants, Acres of Clams on Elliot Bay and the Salmon House on Lake Union, will close their doors until the Spring, due to state restrictions on indoor seating.  Ivar’s take-out windows at these restaurants will remain open, but with the change in weather, the restaurants will no longer be able to serve many customers who would enjoy sitting outdoors, and the limits on indoor seating would cause the company to lose even more money than it is under current guidelines.  The company did say that its Ivar’s at the Mukilteo Ferry Dock will remain open.  The selected closures make many people wonder if Seattle’s minimum wage laws and other workplace restrictions are also significant factors in why the company made the unfortunate decision to stop indoor dining, which will bring financial hardship to many of its Seattle employees. (Seattle Times)

A Pullman police officer is recorded telling Washington State University’s women’s basketball coach that if she wants to hold a large gathering, it is best to hold them out of her neighbors’ view and conduct them inside her home or in her backyard.  Coach Kamie Ethridge was ticketed for unlawfully holding a social gathering larger than the allowed 10 people in her front yard, where participants also failed to wear facemasks.  Pullman police officers have been instructed to crack down on illegal social events after WSU students returned to campus last month, causing the city to experience a significant increase in coronavirus cases.  The police officer was informed by his supervisors that his comments to the coach were not in keeping with city policies to eliminate large social gatherings to slow the transmission of the virus.  (YakTriNews)

The city leaders of Wapato continue to face controversies, as a recently elected councilmember resigned due to personal conflicts with city staff members and allegations of police harassment.  Following last year’s controversies among Wapato’s mayor, city administrator, and councilmembers over allegations involving the city’s finances and the harassment of staff members, Judith Owens-Canapo was among those elected to the city council pledging to right the city’s ship.  Yet the councilmember recently resigned, citing false allegations made by city staff and being stopped by a Wapato police officer.  The council is now taking applications to replace Owens-Canapo. (Yakima Herald)

(Note: Today Shift starts a regular Friday feature of highlighting tweets from our friends at the satirical site BabylonBee.com in an attempt to bring a little levity before the weekend.)

Do you like The Daily Briefing?

Please consider making a contribution to ensure Shift continues to provide daily updates on the shenanigans of the liberal establishment.

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]