Week in Review: Unions, crime, and Lolita the Killer Whale

Bill Radke reviews the week’s news with Business Insider’s Katherine Long, political analyst and contributing columnist Joni Balter, and Kitsap Sun’s Josh Farley.

Workers at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island have formed their own union, but that's just the beginning of a long journey. The Amazon Labor Union has sparked a new conversation about work at the tech giant and has a long way to go. What's next for the Amazon and Starbucks union movements?

RELATED: Seattle reacts to Amazon union election at New York warehouse

Seattle says violent crime is up 32% in a year. What is the city doing about it? Is it working?

RELATED: Seattle rape cases moved to back burner, police insiders say

The Navy SEALs won’t be able to use Washington State Parks as training grounds. A judge on Friday ruled against an earlier decision to allow the training at up to 28 parks. In January 2021, the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission voted 4-3 to approve the Navy’s proposal to use up to 28 parks for training purposes, where SEALs would emerge from the water under the cover of darkness and disappear into the environment. Why would they train there? Why can’t they?

Lolita the Killer Whale might finally be released after half a century of captivity. Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee's office said it has not taken a formal position on whether Lolita, known as Tokitae in the Pacific Northwest, should be moved back to state waters. Why is she still in Florida? How would she fare here?

The state’s new $17 billion transportation plan includes no new gas powered cars by 2030. How eco-progressive is Washington, not in rhetoric but in transportation practice?