People do and say the darndest things | Roegner

The rich and famous frequently say and do some of the darndest things, but in these stressful times, they lack the humor we would normally hear throughout the year.

Former President Donald Trump called the chant “Hang Mike Pence” simply “common sense” even though it was part of an attempted coup to keep Trump in office. And Pence didn’t go along anyway.

The bad news is the highly transmissible variant omicron will officially overtake the delta variant in King County, according to Dr. John Lynch of Harborview Medical Center. The good news is if you are otherwise healthy, and have been vaccinated and received a booster shot, “you should mostly expect cold like symptoms.” Another good reason to get vaccinated and avoid social media.

Patti Cole-Tindall was recently appointed interim sheriff in King County as part of a charter change to go back to an appointed sheriff change. Her first day on the job was Jan. 1. That means no one can blame her for anything that happened on New Year’s Eve.

Israel is frequently in the news showing their vaccination leadership. This time, it is because they are trying a fourth shot as a second booster, but “the price will be higher if we don’t vaccinate,” said Dr. Boaz Lev, the head of the advisory panel.

Sports has had its moments as highly rated University of Washington freshman quarterback Sam Huard earned his first start in the Apple Cup against Washington State University. However, things didn’t go well in a one-sided 40-13 victory for the Cougars. You know it’s an unusual year when both schools are looking for head coaches at the same time — though the Huskies coach was not likely to last the full football season anyway. When was the last time the Cougars went to a bowl game and the Huskies didn’t?

NBA star Kyrie Irving is only allowed to play road games for the Brooklyn Nets because he doesn’t meet New York City’s vaccine mandate. Members of New York’s professional and college teams must be vaccinated against the coronavirus to be able to play in public arenas. Irving has declined to get vaccinated. That sends the wrong message to young players who look up to professional athletes.

Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant has been facing a recall from office, and in the early vote, the counting didn’t look good for her. However she urged her voters to keep track of their ballots and said “this fight is not over yet.” Turns out she was right because she bounced back and defeated the recall movement.

Monisha Harrell, the niece of new Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, has been appointed one of the deputy mayors in his administration. Turns out she got high marks as an advocate for police reform and public safety. Isn’t this the city council who wanted to defund the police department?

The Seattle Times gave Christmas recognition to two suburban legislators, Roger Goodman of Kirkland and Jesse Johnson of Federal Way, for their work on police accountability.

Despite the Seahawks’ big win last Sunday, the sports pages are still debating who should get fired for their poor season: the quarterback, the coach, or the general manager.

In Auburn, they have added a community court to hold people accountable for their behavior. Mayor Nancy Backus said at the opening: “This is our approach to compassionate accountability.”

Federal Way Public Schools Superintendent Dani Pfeiffer acknowledged staff shortages and the need for bus drivers, but won high marks for still providing computers and meals to many of the students while providing access to Valley Cities mental health counselors to help students adjust to the trauma caused by the pandemic. “It is our job as the adults within the community to help them with that,” she said. “These are our children.”

Federal Way resident Bob Roegner is a former mayor of Auburn. Contact bjroegner@comcast.net.