Week in Review: Unionization, Ukraine, and cannabis

Bill Radke reviews the week’s news with Fox 13’s Jennifer Lee, South Seattle Emerald’s Mike Davis, and Geekwire’s Mike Lewis.

Amazon workers on Staten Island voted to unionize. How significant is this?

Gov. Jay Inslee recently signed a bill striking the word “marijuana” from the text of all state law. The measure says to use the word “cannabis” instead. The effort in Washington is part of a national movement to retire the word Washington Democrat Melanie Morgan, who sponsored the bill in the state House, calls the word marijuana “pejorative and racist." Morgan said replacing it is merely one way to create change. Does the history matter when it comes to the use of the word today?

People in Puget Sound continue to send their support to Ukraine. This week, the Fr. Twardowski Polish School in Bellevue collected donations for the Ukrainian Association of Washington State. The principal, Anna Cholewinska, said in many ways it’s heartbreaking to be sending bandages, ointment, first aid and trauma kits, but she said that’s what is needed at this time.

Since the pandemic started, there have been tens of thousands of people who received notices of overpayment from the Employment Security Department. ESD said most cases were resolved after people submitted additional information, but there are still many who have ongoing overpayments in their account. There are still many left fighting for a waiver from ESD after they were notified of being overpaid in pandemic unemployment benefits. Is it standard to take that money back?

Inquest jurors delivered their findings Monday in the 2017 Seattle police shooting of Damarius Butts. All eight jurors called the officers’ use of deadly force in the encounter with Butts “justifiable.”