Governor Jay Inslee Commits Apple Violation

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) – Washington Gov. Jay Inslee thought it would be a nice gesture to bring some apples from his own tree when he visited eastern Washington communities ravaged by wildfire last week.

Instead he was breaking the law.

By bringing apples from trees growing at the governor’s mansion in Olympia, Inslee violated state regulations about bringing homegrown fruit from an apple-maggot quarantine area into pest-free counties.

The Spokesman-Review reported that most of Eastern Washington, which grows 65% of the nation’s apples, is pest-free.

Don’t expect the governor to serve any hard time for the violation.

Bringing home-grown apples into a pest-free zone is a misdemeanor, but the state rarely cites anyone.