Week in Review: Candidates for Governor, the “end” of COVID-19, and right turns on red

Bill Radke discusses the week’s news with political analyst and contributing columnist Joni Balter, Seattle Times Amanda Zhou, and KUOW’s Monica Nickelsburg.

On Wednesday, Hillary Franz, the state lands Commissioner Hillary Franz announced that she will be running for governor. This makes her the second Democrat to announce their intention to succeed Gov. Jay Inslee in 2024, along with Attorney General Bob Ferguson. What are the fundamental differences between Ferguson and Franz?

This week, Seattle’s Chinatown International District was named to the list of 11 “most endangered” historic places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The NTHB cited large scale projects like stadiums and light-rail as some of the biggest threats. There is no protection or financial benefit with this designation, but Huy Pham, preservation programs director at the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation calls it a “public advocacy tool.”

This week, the Federal COVID Public Health Emergency officially ended. Washington state employees no longer have to be vaccinated and will provide a one-thousand-dollar cash incentive to employees who stay up-to-date with their COVID vaccinations. That incentive rolls out this summer. Employees who got fired for refusing the vaccine can re-apply for state jobs. What did we learn from COVID that we can use the next time there’s a public health crisis?

It was reported this week that LinkedIn job postings mentioning GPT have increased 79% since this time last year. There has been a lot of concern that AI would result in job displacement, but Microsoft said that people in the industry should turn their focus on how to work with the technology. Whose job is doomed?

On Thursday, the Seattle Department of Transportation announced that it will ban free right turns on red at all new traffic signals or at upgrades to intersections with signals. The city has already started altering existing signals in Seattle that ban right turns on red, with the plan being to have that change at 41 intersections by the end of June. SDOT cites this as a safety measure and will help reduce pedestrian deaths. How will Seattle drivers respond to this?

On Thursday, King Country Metro Transit announced that they will cut 20 low-ridership bus routes. They say this is a result of a lack of drivers and mechanics. The changes will go into effect September 2nd. If Metro lacks drivers, why don’t they raise pay and benefits until drivers apply?