Keeping an eye on Covid restrictions, primary elections, and the Olympics, this week

Ross Reynolds reviews the week's news with staff writer at The Stranger, Jasmyne Keimig, publisher of the Washington State Wire, DJ Wilson, and contributing writer at Seattle Gay News, Tacoma Weekly, and Unite Seattle Magazine, Renee Raketty.

That was a fun hot vax summer, wasn’t it? As the delta variant continues to ravage states across the US -- and increase case numbers here in Washington State -- the CDC is once again recommending everyone (including the vaccinated) wear masks indoors. To be clear, this is a recommendation, and not a mandate. And to be even more clear, this wasn’t entirely unpredictable. Many questioned the governor’s decision to lift mask mandates in May, as case rates, though low, weren’t zero. But does a recommendation mean much to the public?

Tuesday, August 3rd, is the final day you can vote in this year’s primary elections. Endorsements are out, and candidates are working hard to prove they’re different from their competitors. With so many candidates running for positions including Mayor of Seattle, what should we expect to happen on Tuesday?

Speaking of elections - redistricting happens every 10 years, and the process is a little different here in Washington. While most states leave the process up to the legislature, Washington has an independent commission made up of 5 voting members (two republicans and two democrats, with a fifth non-voting member) who use census data to redraw our district maps. This means fewer incumbents and fewer competitive districts, as is typical with heavily gerrymandered states. But that doesn’t mean all is neat and well with our districts -- for example, the Washington Census Alliance, a coalition of communities of color, is fighting to split districts over both the Yakima and Colville tribal lands.. Is this process truly non-partisan?

At a press conference on last weekend’s shootings, Mayor Durkan insinuated that a rise in violence isn’t unexpected with current police staffing shortages. Perhaps conversely, a recent study (which is part of the mayor’s policing plan) showed that SPD officers spend 66% of their time on responses that don’t require police presence, with only 8% of their time being spent on violent crime responses. Is the recent rise in violent crime a result of social unrest, pandemic tensions, police staffing shortages, or time mismanagement?

This week the US women’s gymnastics team took to the mat for the Olympic all around teams final. But in the first of four rounds, gymnast Simone Biles withdrew from the competition. The remaining team of three, including Washington’s Jordan Chiles, went on to win the silver medal for the event. Biles cited mental health challenges as her reason for stepping away. She also withdrew from Thursday's individual all-around gymnastics final. Biles’ team members were supportive of her decision, and on Thursday Biles tweeted that "the outpouring [of] love and support I've received has made me realize I'm more than my accomplishments and gymnastics which I never truly believed before." What does this moment say about how we deal with mental health?