KUOW Blog
News, factoids, and insights from KUOW's newsroom. And maybe some peeks behind the scenes. Check back daily for updates.
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Stories
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Why are so many students moving to Orting?: Today So Far
- King County gave millions to programs to prevent youth violence. But little has been known about what happened after that.
- While cities like Seattle and Bellevue face declining enrolment, Orting doesn't have enough room for all its new students.
- What programs should be cut as schools face budget gaps?
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for April 27, 2023.
Guns, money, restraining orders, felony charges, accountability (or lack thereof). There is a lot going on in Ann Dornfeld's latest story on the relationship between King County and the community organizations it funds to prevent youth violence.
There's too much to cover here, so I'm just going to give you a peek, based on the intro to the story.
Khalid Adams, 39, burst into his ex-girlfriend's home last November, where he forced his ex's new boyfriend to lay on the floor while he held him at gunpoint. It was a tense situation. What Adams didn't know was that an 18-year-old boy was hiding behind a nearby bed, with a gun. That boy took action, fired upon Adams, and wounded him. Adams is now in King County Jail.
Adams' dayjob was at Community Passageways, which receives funds from King County. He worked as a "violence interrupter." The organization is dedicated to mentoring young people, and providing an alternative to youth incarceration. Addressing violence and crime outside of a court is a big part of the effort. That's where a violence interrupter helps. Yet, despite this role, Adams had a restraining order against him at the time he kicked in his ex's front door with a gun. KUOW found a few other staff members with similar orders.
And that 18-year-old boy who fired the shots — he was a participant in Community Passageways' programs, where Adams worked to prevent youth violence.
The situation is not isolated to this one incident from last November. Dornfeld reports that the county has slated millions to fund these organizations, yet it doesn't monitor how successful they are or who is being hired to work with youth. The county has only recently started requiring the groups to keep some records indicating who they are helping. Read the full story here.
Washington's school districts are facing a lot of challenges these days, but those challenges vary.
Seattle, Bellevue, and other nearby school districts face declining student enrollment. In turn, that means a decline in funding. Seattle alone needs to fill a $131 million budget gap. About 42 miles away, out past Puyallup, is Orting, Wash., where schools are scrambling to tackle another mounting challenge — too many students.
Over the past three years, Orting has experienced a 20% rise in student enrollment. That's significant for a small town of about 9,000ish people. Of course, that number is based on the 2020 population count, before the pandemic prompted many folks to move beyond big cities for more room and affordable living. Orting's elementary school is now relying on portable buildings to accommodate the load. It also converted part of its gym into a classroom. Despite not having the same problems as the Seattle area, Orting is also seeking millions. In its case, it wants $150 million to build more school buildings.
There's a similar story in Sumner and Bonney Lake. It's hard to track down answers around this issue, but KUOW's Sami West has done a great job rounding up a few. For example, she reports a "healthy migration" from King County to Pierce County in recent years. Check out the full story on Orting and local school challenges here.
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Seattle leaders propose ban on public drug use, but others oppose the idea
Some Seattle officials want a new local law to ban drug use in public places, such as city sidewalks and parks.
"Seattle's hands-off approach to people using illegal drugs in public has resulted in rampant street crime and a death toll rivaling that of Covid-19 in Seattle," Councilmember Sara Nelson said Thursday.
The proposed measure would make public drug consumption a misdemeanor in Seattle. Fellow Councilmember Alex Pedersen and City Attorney Ann Davison also back the idea and spoke at a media event Thursday morning.
The text of the ordinance cites 589 overdose deaths in Seattle during 2022, up from 342 deaths in 2021. It argues that public drug use harms public perceptions of safety, and is associated with drug trafficking, gun violence, and property crimes.
In a statement to KUOW, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell did not say whether he supports the new city drug proposal, and worries about policies that would recreate the war on drugs. See Mayor Harrell's full statement below.
RELATED: What Washington lawmakers say is behind drug possession bill's last-minute failure
Councilmember Lisa Herbold said Thursday that she will not support any local ordinances addressing drug possession. She is hoping for a fix to come down from the governor and state lawmakers. She adds that she supports Mayor Harrell's current approach to getting drugs off the street. See Herbold's full statement below.
"A patchwork quilt of different laws across the state would have unwelcome unintended consequences," she said.
Washington state currently has a misdemeanor law against possessing drugs like fentanyl or heroin, but it's a temporary law that expires July 1. The state Legislature failed to act to replace it during the session that ended last week. The state's law that had previously been on the books was ruled unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court in 2021. The conclusion is known as the Blake decision.
In a Statement to KUOW, Mayor Harrell said:
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NRA joins legal fight challenging Washington's assault weapons ban
Less than 24 hours after Gov. Jay Inslee signed Washington's ban on assault weapons into law, three lawsuits have emerged that aim to challenge the new law in court.
On Wednesday, the National Rifle Association joined the legal fight with its lawsuit, Banta vs Ferguson, filed in the Eastern District of Washington. The NRA argues the ban is "blatantly unconstitutional."
“Instead of arresting, prosecuting and punishing criminals, Gov. Inslee is focusing on restricting the rights of law-abiding Americans who use these rifles for a variety of lawful purposes. The people of Washington deserve better,” said Aoibheann Cline, Washington state director of the NRA-ILA, in a statement.
“The Supreme Court long-ago ruled that states cannot ban firearms that are in common use," Cline said, further commenting that AR-15 style rifles are among the most popular products sold in the United States, and are therefore common.
The NRA is also arguing that Washington's prohibition goes further than other states that already ban assault style firearms, and includes some types of shotguns and pistols.
The Silent Majority Foundation has also filed a lawsuit over the assault weapons ban. As with other lawsuits, the SMF seeks a restraining order, which would temporarily halt enforcement of the ban.
SMF filed its lawsuit in Grant County Superior Court on behalf of two gun stores, Guardian Arms and Millard Sales, along with residents Ted Hile, Paul Hill, Jaxon Holman, Michael McKee, Nathan Poplawski, Edgar Salazar, and Brina Yearout.
According to a statement from SMF:
"SMF received interest from potential plaintiffs around the state, but decided to bring the action in the county from which a majority of interested plaintiffs resided. The overreach of SHB 1240 was evidenced from the widespread interest from individual citizens who wished to challenge the prohibitions, as well as the outpouring of interest from firearms dealers, law enforcement and military veterans, disabled individuals who will no longer be able to purchase accessories and parts to modify weapons they use for self-defense, and democratic voters who think the state has gone too far under the auspices of public safety.
The provisions of SHB 1240 will do nothing to curb crime, and only impair the right of law-abiding citizens to continue purchasing the most commonly owned type of firearm in the country. Semiautomatic firearms have been in widespread use for more than a century, and are as American as baseball and apple pie."
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Seattle's tech job landscape is evolving: Today So Far
- We all knew it was coming. Immediately after Washington's assault weapons ban became law, a lawsuit was filed.
- Tech workers around Seattle are finding employment elsewhere as large companies continue to announce layoffs. But there is some nuance amid the numbers.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for April 26, 2023.
You may have noticed a lot of tech companies have been shedding workers nationally, and in the Seattle area. That trend is not looking to ease up anytime soon.
"I think it's quite possible there are more to come," UW Policy Professor Jacob Vigdor told Seattle Now this morning. "I think that there are quite a few tech companies that are kind of having a reckoning right now. We are coming out of an era that was marked, among other things, by low inflation and low interest rates. That made it easy for companies to expand rapidly. Interest rates are much higher now, inflation is higher, and now companies are finding it harder to finance expansions. They are having to go back and rethink a lot of the areas where they are doing business and that process, I don't think is complete yet."
RELATED: Amazon cuts 9,000 workers in latest round of layoffs
The resulting impact on the local economy has been mixed. As KUOW's Kim Malcolm reports, King County's unemployment is among the lowest in the nation at 2.5%. Professor Vigdor notes that despite the many tech layoffs locally, "a lot of those workers are actually managing to find employment without too much effort."
Of course, there is some nuance amid these numbers. Tech workers may find that the job scene won't be quite the same as it ever was. The glory days of working in an office lounge, sipping whatever free drink was in the company stocked employee fridge, may or may not come back. And then there is the pay to consider.
For example, Vigdor points to a friend he knows who was laid off. That person ended up going to work for Alaska Airlines, which would not traditionally be thought of as a tech company. Yet, the company does have tech needs.
UX researcher Naomi Johnson is one such tech worker who was recently laid off in Seattle. Johnson is taking time to find a job that is the right fit, but is also finding that appropriate next step is difficult.
"I would definitely say there are a lot of openings, but a lot of them, I'm not familiar with the company they are at, I'm not familiar with the field they are in," Johnson said. "I'm really grateful that Washington state now has most of these listings have a salary range on them. I'm looking at the numbers and I'm realizing there is no way I am going to be anywhere close to the salary I had previously. I'm looking at a minimum of a 25% pay cut for sure, and I wouldn't be shocked if I ended up taking a 50% pay cut."
Get the full story on today's Seattle Now.
We all knew this was coming ... because I wrote about it on Monday when I said that gun rights organizations were locking and loading lawsuits aimed at challenging Washington's new assault weapons ban.
It didn't take long for those groups to pull the trigger on those lawsuits. And bad news: I have run out of gun puns, yet this issue is likely to stretch on for months as the lawsuit works its way through the legal system.
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'Yes' vote for King County crisis care levy leading in early ballot results
Voters in King County are saying "yes" thus far to a tax levy that would fund five behavioral health crisis care centers in the region.
On Wednesday morning, the $1.25 billion proposal (proposition 1) was leading with 54% of the vote. After another day of ballot counting, the numbers barely budged. On Thursday morning, it was 55% in favor, 45% against.
A total of 24% of registered voters have turned in their ballots.
If the tax levy officially passes, the owner of a $700,000 home will have to pay an additional $120 each year in property taxes. The crisis care funding would last more than nine years.
At a ballot drop box in Renton earlier this week, voters were split on the idea. Some agreed that the region needs more mental health facilities. Others felt that taxpayers are already under too much financial strain. Property taxes in King County have risen more than 6% this year, compared to last year.
The ballot count is expected to change over the week, as more votes are counted. Check back for updates.
RELATED: King County has no walk-in mental health crisis centers. This levy aims to change that
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Swim Seattle works to teach all children how to be safe in water
The city of Seattle is launching a swimming program with the goal of addressing the racial disparity in youth drowning deaths. Registration for the pilot program, called Swim Seattle, opens May 16.
Katie Wolff is an injury epidemiologist at the University of Washington who focuses on injury prevention and research. Part of that work includes researching firearm injuries and drowning. Nationwide, Black and Native children drown at rates more than twice as high as those of white children, she said.
“And we think that a lot of that is because of a difference in access to instruction and water safety,” she said. “It probably goes back to sort of historical and generational barriers to access to recreational swimming facilities, to beaches, to pools.”
Every year in Washington state, an average of 17 children and teens drown, according to Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center. Nationwide, drowning remains a leading cause of injury-related death in children.
Wolff said teaching young people how to swim, especially in a region like ours, is important.
“Especially when there's a lot of open water like there is in a place like Seattle, you have to contend with things like waves and currents,” she explained.
Seattle’s pilot swimming program will take in 250 children, and will be held throughout the city's different public pools. It’ll prioritize families who show a financial need.
Wolff called Swim Seattle a solid first step. As children get older, she thinks it’s a good idea to develop other water safety skills that are more proactive, like spotting the silent signs of someone who’s drowning, and knowing how to help.
People can sign up for Swim Seattle through their local city pool, online, or by calling 206-684-8020.
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Would a pineapple change your mind about Seattle's sip 'n stroll idea?: Today So Far
- Mayor Bruce Harrell wants to open up a sip 'n stroll vibe (alcohol on the street) to help attract more people to downtown Seattle. Perhaps this tactic can help sell the idea to doubters.
- There might be more time to go see the tulips in Mount Vernon this year.
- Washington lawmakers failed to agree on a fix to the state's drug possession law.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for April 25, 2023.
Mayor Bruce Harrell wants folks to walk the streets of downtown Seattle, and open a cold one.
Let's get something straight, because I'm sure there will be headlines and hot takes making it sound as if the mayor's office wants to open every downtown Seattle street to booze. The idea here is to allow alcoholic beverages in Pioneer Square during its First Thursday Art Walk (hyped as being the longest-running art walk in the USA). So this is for one corner of the city, on one day of the month, targeted at the art gallery crowd.
The hope is that this will produce some much-needed foot traffic by getting people to visit Pioneer Square and walk from gallery to gallery. It will require a special permit from the state's Liquor and Cannabis Board. Also bundled up in this proposal is a measure to relax some permitting rules to get more food carts down in the area. Add that up and the aim is to get more people on Pioneer Square streets, visiting local shops, galleries, and food trucks.
This is not an entirely new idea. Just take a trip to any of the plethora of art walks scattered throughout our region. There are so many, you can hit multiple towns in a week, or even have a very artful month. Wine is not uncommon at these events. In fact, cities like Bellevue and Renton have leaned in to sip 'n stroll events. Years ago, while I was living in Portland, the mayor at the time would open a keg at city hall during art walk days. During this time, I learned an important lesson. There was one particular spot with outdoor seating where they served a cocktail in a pineapple. I loved that pineapple drink. I probably shouldn't admit this, but I would often walk off with that pineapple (once it was empty) and stroll through downtown Portland with a pineapple snack (I do not endorse walking around in public with full pineapple cocktails where it is illegal). I noticed that nobody seemed to mind or question the pineapple much. In fact, it was received quite well.
So for all those folks out there questioning any idea that allows public alcohol (even on one day of the month in one neighborhood), I would like to add my proposal on top of the mayor's proposal for Pioneer Square: All alcoholic drinks travelling through Pioneer Square should be served in a pineapple. Tiny umbrellas are not required, but are very much encouraged. Patrons won't have to put up with plastic cups, plus, these drink containers are technically compostable. So the environment wins, too. I look forward to marketing for "Grab a pineapple, visit Pioneer Square," "Seattle's Pineapple Square," or "First Thursday Pineapple Walk."
And yes, if I'm honest, I selfishly just want to walk around town with a pineapple drink. I am not ashamed of that.
Read the full story on the mayor's proposal here.
If you were hoping for a late-season opportunity to see the tulips over in the Skagit Valley this year, you may have an extra chance to visit the annual Tulip Festival. A couple farms have announced that they expect to get at least an extra week out of the flowers this year, which means the festival at some places will stretch into the first week of May. Read more here.
After a legislative session ends in Olympia, Washington moves into the next step of the lawmaking process — finger pointing. That's where we are now.
You may have heard that state lawmakers have been working on a "Blake fix," or a "fix to the Blake issue," or "Who's Blake and why do we have to fix their mess?!"
All session, lawmakers in Olympia crafted a fix to the state's drug possession law. The law has remained in limbo ever since the state Supreme Court ruled that Washington's rule on this issue was unconstitutional. That meant representatives and senators had to come up with something that was constitutional, and it looked like they were going to get it done before the session ended on Sunday. There was even a compromise bill pushed through to make Democrats and Republicans happy. At the very last minute, it didn't pass.
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Seattle mayor plans to allow sip 'n stroll to bring people back downtown
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell’s recently debuted plan to revitalize downtown, and address drugs on the street, is a mix of public health and public safety policies.
Also included in this recovery plan, if approved, is a measure that would allow people to carry alcoholic drinks, in public, while gallery hopping during First Thursday Art Walk.
The goal of the mayor’s plan is to bring people back to the city's core, increase foot traffic, and create a vibrant downtown. The city will put in a request with the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board for "Sip 'n Stroll" permits for First Thursday Art Walk events in Pioneer Square.
"As a small non-profit artist collaborative, we rely heavily on the support of our community, as well as donations and grants," said Shayley Timm, director of Gallery 110 in Pioneer Square. "I do think allowing alcohol again would help increase the amount of guests in attendance to the art waks."
Timm notes that the building where her gallery is located doesn't allow alcohol, so she's unclear how such an event would work in the end.
"However, I would ultimately see the change as positive and we'll take all the help we can get to bring folks to the art walk and increase the gallery's, and our artists', exposure."
Just down the block from Gallery 110 is Nirmal's, a fine dining Indian restaurant.
“If you see a lot of people walking by, you feel safe walking there, you feel safe coming there,” said Nirmal's co-owner Oliver Bangera, adding that having people out and about adds to the neighborhood energy.
Bangera also says that it will take more than arts and sports events to turn things around.
“I’m hoping we can get people back to work in their offices,” Bangera said. “Which, I don’t know if it will ever happen.”
RELATED: Seattle's plan to reward people for not using drugs
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Here's what Washington lawmakers say is behind drug possession bill's last-minute failure
In an unexpected development, the Washington State Legislature adjourned for the year late Sunday night having failed to put a new drug possession law on the books.
After months of lengthy and emotional debate, lawmakers in both the House and Senate had announced a compromise bill the previous day. The measure would have created a new crime for drug use, made drug possession a gross misdemeanor, and included requirements for courts and prosecutors to divert people into treatment and recovery programs.
RELATED: WA Legislature ends 2023 session without Blake fix
Democratic leaders said the measure attempted to strike a middle ground between those who did not want to criminalize people with substance use disorder and those seeking stronger legal penalties to compel people to seek and complete treatment.
But when the bill was called to the floor in the House, no Republicans voted in favor. A group of progressive Democrats joined Republicans in voting 'no,' and the bill ultimately failed 43 to 55.
House Speaker Laurie Jinkins (D-Tacoma) said she was "flummoxed" by Republicans' decision to completely reject the bill. A previous version passed the House with some Republican support.
"There's hardly a family in this state that doesn't have someone very close to them — if not a member of their family — who suffers with a substance use disorder," she said. "People want us to do this, they want us to get people treatment."
But Republicans blamed Democrats. They said the Democratic majority should have brought a different version of the bill to the floor.
"We all had many of our local governments tell us that they preferred that bill to fail," said former House Republican Leader JT Wilcox (R-Yelm).
Senate Republican Leader John Braun (R-Centralia) pointed out several issues Republicans had with the final version, including a section that would preempt local governments from coming up with their own laws on drug paraphernalia. They also disagreed with some of the parameters around diversion — the process by which people arrested for drug crimes would be diverted to treatment instead of jail. Lawmakers said it would render the bill an ineffective "fix" to the state's current drug penalties.
Lawmakers were compelled to take on the issue this year because of a state Supreme Court ruling in 2021 that declared Washington’s felony drug possession statute unconstitutional. A temporary law was then enacted that expires July 1 of this year.
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'She would hide in the corner and hope the rats wouldn’t get her'
The air was smoky with welcome outside the gathering hall on the Tulalip Indian Reservation.
Salmon cooked over alder chips, and sage burned outside the entrance.
Inside, Deb Haaland, the country's first Native American secretary of the interior, told hundreds she was there to hear their stories.
Sitting next to her, Bryan Newland, the assistant secretary of the interior, explained why they were there.
"As we continue investigating the federal Indian boarding school system, it paints a history that our federal records can’t tell the whole story," he said. "We need more. We need to hear from you to help tell that."
RELATED: 'I'm still healing.' Boarding school survivors recount stories of abuse, trauma
Washington state is the sixth stop on Haaland's Road to Healing tour. There were 15 boarding schools here. The last one closed in the 1970s.
Most schools had a cemetery because so many kids died there.
Jewell James, a Lummi tribal member and carver, shared the experience of his mother, who went to Cushman Indian School in Tacoma.
"She would talk about how, at the age of 3, they would put you in the basement with rats," he said. "She would hide in the corner and hope the rats wouldn’t get her."
Haaland has pushed the federal government to take responsibility for what happened at the boarding schools.
She said next steps are to look into marked and unmarked graves of the children who died at the schools.
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Expanded WA free-meal program headed to a school near you
It may not be the universal free school meals plan that supporters originally pushed for, but a bill that would expand the program to Washington state's youngest students is heading to Gov. Jay Inslee's desk for a signature.
House Bill 1238 passed with an overwhelming majority of lawmakers in favor.
About 90,000 students will be able to receive free breakfast and lunch during the next school year. Currently, federal funding covers meals for students with the highest needs. School officials say that many don’t qualify under federal eligibility guidelines, but still struggle to pay for food.
In its first year, the program will expand to schools with 40% or more students who qualify for free or reduced meals.
Supporters had hoped for a universal program, but with an estimated cost of $100 million a year, lawmakers opted for a scaled-back version, at least for now.
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An extra chance to see the tulips in Mount Vernon this year
The tulips continue to show off at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in Mount Vernon. In fact, peak bloom is expected this week.
The annual festival normally runs through the end of April, but it's looking like the tulips are going to stick around a bit longer this year.
Tulip Town recently announced that it expects to be open into the month of May, adding, "We will be open as long as we have color at the farm."
Tulip Town will announce extended dates soon.
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