December 16, 2021
In our final show of 2021 and what has become an annual tradition for Inside Olympia, host Austin Jenkins sits down for a full hour with Gov. Jay Inslee.
Washington is nearing the two-year anniversary of the beginning of the COVID pandemic in our state. The state has been operating under a state of emergency since March 2020, giving the governor extraordinary powers to decide policies that lead the state’s fight against the virus.
The governor goes in-depth on his rationale for the decisions he’s made: the mask mandates, the vaccine mandates and more. According to the governor, no new rules are imminent as we approach the new year, with the possible exception of stricter regulations for high school sporting events, which recently have led to COVID outbreaks in some communities.
Host Jenkins and the governor also discuss the state of public discourse, political polarization, and polling that shows large sections of the populace are distrustful of elected leaders as well as public health officials.
With the 2022 session scheduled to convene on Jan. 10th, Gov. Inslee this week outlined his priorities for the session — including a number of proposals addressing climate change; salmon recovery; homelessness and poverty; transportation; and more.