Cheers: To keeping prisoners in prison. The state Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Thursday against a request to release thousands of inmates from state prisons. The argument was that prisoners are not able to protect themselves from the coronavirus, and that the state has not done enough to keep inmates safe. “We can all hold out in our homes,” lawyer Nicholas Straley said. “We can decide who we allow into our homes. People in prison do not have that option.” More than 1,000 state prisoners have been released, but this action sought to expand that number, including violent offenders.
The argument has some merit, but it is vastly outweighed by concerns for public safety. Releasing thousands of prisoners would endanger the public and increase stress on law enforcement. As assistant Attorney General John Samson argued: “If there are unconstitutional conditions, the remedy is not release from confinement, the remedy is to fix those unconstitutional conditions and we would submit that they have not even made that first step of showing unconstitutional conditions.” Wisely, the justices agreed.
Jeers: To excessive speed. Some motorists have taken reduced traffic as a green light to step on the gas. “Anecdotally, our traffic unit and patrol officers are seeing increases in traffic citations despite the lower volumes of traffic on the roadways,” said spokeswoman Kim Kapp of the Vancouver Police Department.
Speeding is dangerous and can be costly; Vancouver police posted a photo of a $917 ticket issued to a driver for traveling 32 mph over the speed limit. With fewer vehicles on the road as people follow stay-at-home orders, the temptation to drive a little fast is understandable. But we recommend following the law to keep you and other drivers safe.
Cheers: To fresh produce. The city of Vancouver is opening access to community gardens earlier than expected, moving the date to May 4. The city rents garden space to residents through the summer, but initially had announced the gardens would be closed through July.
Community gardens seem like a logical place to relax stay-at-home orders. People can easily maintain social distancing while tending to their plots; in the process, they will be producing something beneficial. As the city’s website explains: “Community gardening allows you to experience the gratification of producing flowers and food for your own table.” That sounds like a pretty good reason to get out of the house for a change.
Jeers: To easy A’s. Calling this “grade inflation” is an understatement. With students taking remote classes, Seattle Public Schools has adopted an “A or incomplete” policy for high school students this spring. In other words, if a student completes a modicum of work, they will receive an A grade — the same as the most talented and industrious student in the class.
These are unique times for both students and teachers; like everything else, student evaluations require some adjustments. But eliminating grades such and B and C does a disservice to both the best students and the worst by disincentivizing maximum effort.
Cheers: To a gray orca. An unusually colored orca has excited marine biologists recently in Puget Sound. “He stands right out,” said Howard Garrett of Orca Network. “… He sure glows really bright.”
Tl’uk, part of a meat-eating transient species of orca, has gray markings where his brethren are black. Aside from that, experts say, he appears to be typical. Unlike the salmon-eating southern resident whales that inhabit Puget Sound, populations of transient orcas are healthy and robust.
