Well, What Do You Know... He Did It Again!

Source:  ShiftWA.org

You did not see this in his campaign ads: Governor Jay Inslee’s Administration has failed at nearly every task required of it during the COVID-19 pandemic.  From numerous failures at the Employment Security Department to catastrophically failing to conduct contract tracing, the Inslee Administration has been a major disappointment, especially to those who are suffering.  Now we find out that, despite have nine months to prepare, the Inslee Administration is failing to dispense the vaccines it has received to front-line health workers.  These administrative and management breakdowns have been compounded by the partisan and divisive decisions made by the governor.  Instead of being a unifying leader during this crisis, many Washington residents have lost confidence in Governor Inslee’s random decisions, and his failures have resulted in prolonged financial insecurity for many Washington residents. (Shift Article)

Governor Inslee’s latest plan to eventually allow restaurants and other small businesses to reopen is being universally criticized by those in the hospitality industry.  The governor’s “Healthy Washington” plan is an attempt to re-brand his confused “Safe Start” plan, and is based on eight regions (instead of 39 counties) – and restarts everyone back to “Phase I”.  Washington Hospitality Association CEO Anthony Anton said, “Today’s announcement is not a roadmap to recovery.  It is a roadmap to a near-complete collapse of main street neighborhood restaurants and hospitality businesses.”  Anton also stated that data shows that the spread of the virus has not been caused by those frequenting commercial establishments, but by those gathering in private locations (often because restaurants and bars are closed) where there are not safety measures in place.  Many restaurant and bar owners are concerned about the governor’s new plan for weekly decisions by state bureaucrats on whether to open or close their businesses.  As the owner of Queen Anne Beer Hall points out, this new process will wreak havoc on ordering and preparing perishable food items, for they cannot afford to order food items on Friday only to be shut down by the state on the following Monday. (Seattle Times and Facebook Group Seattle Restaurant Support)

The Washington Retail Association (WRA) is pleading with state legislators: “Do not harm.  Leave us alone,” and allow small business employers to rebuild their businesses.  WRA Vice President Mark Johnson said there are two simple things state lawmakers can do to help retailers.  The first is to prevent businesses’ unemployment tax rates from skyrocketing, as the state attempts to rebuild the benefits’ account which was decimated by Governor Inslee’s shutdown orders. The second is to delay further the ban of plastic grocery bags until at least July. (The Lens)