By Mason Soto
Washington Governor Running For President
Governor Jay Inslee announced his plan to run for the 2020 Democratic Presidential nomination on March 1, in a one-and-a-half minute long video uploaded to Youtube. The video emphasizes his campaign to tackle climate change, with a montage of speeches Inslee has given over the years on the subject. In 2007 the governor wrote a book on Climate Change with Breckan Hendricks, Apollo’s Fire.
Since his announcement, the governor has began parading through the media, with appearances on ABC News and The View this week, and an affectionate article in Rolling Stone where he explains that he wants to “decarbonize the economy” through unified effort from all government agencies. The announcement for the presidential bid came the same day that Washington Senate passed Senate Bill 5116, which the governor championed, and which will require state-owned utilities to eliminate coal-generated electricity use by 2025, and to be carbon-free by 2045.
Few Answers Still in Case of Yvonne McDonald
More than six months after the death of Yvonne McDonald, a 56 year-old black woman and Evergreen alumni who was found a few blocks from her home in West Olympia on Aug. 7, officials have given limited details to the public about the investigation into her death.
City Manager Steve Hall and Thurston County Coroner Gary Warnock have maintained that the investigation is waiting on the return of toxicology reports. All officials contacted by the Journal have refused to give a statement to the press about an ongoing investigation.
Mason County Coroner Wes Stockwell told the Journal that, for the past year, toxicology reports have taken up to and over six months to get back from the state labs. Warnock discussed this issue last summer in an article for King 5 News, saying that such delays hurt the family. The article explains that the issue may have to do with the increased amount of tests sent to labs by state troopers, though there also seem to be issues with state funding for death investigations, as described in a report by The Daily News out of Longview, WA.
“We’ve resorted to paying private labs to get a one week return, typically,” explained Stockwell, who was advised by Cowlitz County Coroner and Medical Examiners Association President Tim Davidson about the ability to pay out of pocket for reports from private labs. At the time of this publication, Thurston County Coroner’s Office had not responded to questions from the Journal about whether they have also sent samples to private labs.
Yvonne’s niece Talauna Reed and others continue to organize a campaign for justice, and Justice For Yvonne McDonald supporters took part in recent protests like the Women’s March on Jan. 19, and the #BlockTheWall action on Feb. 20.
IWW General Education Union Announces Victory
After a series of actions including a picket last month and a rally in the fall, on Feb. 15 Industrial Workers of the World General Education Union announced in a letter posted to social media that “Evergreen’s administrators seems to be meeting our demands.” The demands were delivered to administration on Nov. 7 following a rally on Red Square, and read as:
- The immediate end to the hiring process of another campus police officer, and,
- The immediate hiring of two full-time positions, one in Political Economy and one in Arts (either Theatre or Photography).
The recent letter announcing the victory says that the police position that was vacated in 2018 will not be filled, and that the union has heard “on good authority” that new positions have opened in Political Economy and Community Media. The union held a Victory Social Event at the Flaming Eggplant Cafe on Wednesday, Feb. 27 to celebrate and discuss next steps. According to their letter, the union will continue to combat the privatization of the institution, seek popular control of the institution, and oppose police on campus.
Andre and Bryson Lawsuit Moves Forward
On Feb. 12 a federal judge denied a motion filed by Officer Ryan Donald and the city of Olympia to terminate the lawsuit against them, which involves the 2015 incident when Donald, a white police officer, shot two African-American brothers, Andre Thompson and Bryson Chaplin. The decision, made by U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton, means that the case will move forward and a trial will begin, or a settlement can be reached.
This is the second trial involving the shooting, since the 2017 case against the brothers themselves, in which they both received third-degree assault charges after jury deliberation. Donald continues to work with Olympia Police Department, and was cleared of all wrongdoing by the department and the Thurston County prosecutor.
Many locals have held actions and demonstrations in support of the brothers since they were shot, focusing on the racial inequities regarding police brutality and punitive justice highlighted by shootings such as this. The lawsuit does not allege racial bias.
