Advance notice that Mukilteo/Clinton and Edmonds/Kingston service will be cut in half each weekend in July:
“Mukilteo/Clinton and Edmonds/Kingston on 1-Boat Service Each Weekend in July”
“Because of a shortage of available crew during the COVID-19 pandemic, service on the Mukilteo/Clinton and Edmonds/Kingston routes must be reduced to one boat on weekends during the month of July. The affected dates include: July 4-5; July 11-12; July 18-19; and July 25-26. On those four weekends, the #1 boat will be the only boat in service.”
3 Hour Wait Times:
June 20, 2020 The Everett Herald
Expect long ferry lines due to crew shortage from COVID-19
“Mukilteo and Edmonds routes will have reduced boat service. Saturday’s wait was 3 hours from Clinton.”
“Ian Sterling, Washington State Ferries spokesman, said a combination of aging workers, vessel maintenance and funding led to the need to limit service.”
“We are down 100 to 150 workers just because they are in the high-risk category,” Sterling said. “Previous cuts over the years have us down to where we are a skeleton crew. We are really challenged right now.”
“The Mukilteo-Clinton route was reduced to one boat on Saturday and Sunday. Normally two ferries cross the water with service every half hour from each dock for the 20-minute voyage.”
June 30, 2020 KIRO7 News Video:
Ferry wait times spike following staff shortages
“Some (employees) are in that high-risk category, either by age, or whether by underlying health conditions, or both, so we want to keep them safe,” Sterling told KIRO 7 News.”
“The wait is pretty awful. Pretty awful. So it makes you resentful of the people coming over who are tourists,” said Don Lane, a resident of Whidbey Island. “As things open up in phases, it just gets worse and worse and worse.”
The High-Risk Category
Would it make sense to have age/physical standards requirements in hiring? The US Armed Forces are one example of where these requirements are in place.
UPS
“UPS Hours of Operation: Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”
Central Planning
Washington State Ferries is maintaining weekday schedules and reducing service on weekends when fewer people are traveling for essential purposes.
Mixed Messages/Opening Back Up
May 18, 2020 KING5 News Video
Casinos in western Washington reopen to big crowds
Jun 19, 2020 WhidbeyCamanoIslands
@GoWhidbeyCamano
“Whidbey and Camano Islands have received approval to move into Phase III of Governor Inslee’s “Safe Start” phased approach. Business services and activities listed in Phase 3 of the Safe Start plan are now permitted, if guidelines and safety measures are implemented.”
More here:
Not a one size fits all society
Port Angeles – Stay in your homes and wait for further instructions.
Stay-at-home, except when purchasing liquor up until 9 p.m.
Concealed Carry Processing Suspended
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Photo- Extinct ferry at Kingston