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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NW spring doesn't start until this happens...: Today So Far
- When does spring start in the Northwest? Warmer temps? More sunlight? I look for one thing each year.
- Washington state lawmakers passed an assault weapons ban, but this isn't the last step for the new law. Here's what happens next.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for April 24, 2023.
When does spring start in the Northwest? Not the actual date, but the genuine feel and flow of the season. For some, it's the warmer temperatures, budding flowers, increasing sunlight, or the emergence of very pale Northwest skin reflecting that sunlight like those tanning reflectors featured in 1960s TV shows. Perhaps it's when Northwesterners stop wearing thick socks with sandals, and just wear sandals. Or when Seattle goths get out their umbrellas, for shade.
For me, there is a clear, near-scientific indicator that spring has arrived. It's when the local news reminds everybody: "Don't jump in the water! It's still freaking cold!"
Every year, like clockwork, sunlight overpowers critical thinking and folks have to be reminded that our local waters come from ice. Yeah, up in the mountains, that's all snow and ice that feeds local lakes and Puget Sound. When you jump in, it's like an ice tank. Cue the rescue sirens speeding across Lake Washington.
Jacob DeFlitch with the National Weather Service delivered some good-weather news to KUOW this morning, but was quick to also note, “The water's still very cold in the lakes and the rivers."
The waters have been kept cold around here. The National Weather Service has pointed out that this April is already the second-coldest on record, with many days hitting record, if not near-record lows.
That trend is about to change this week. DeFlitch says that temps in the upper 50s are expected to kick off our week, and rise from there, so "certainly, it’s a great time to be out and enjoy some of the outdoors later this week.”
“Friday and Saturday are looking like the warmest days with temperatures certainly reaching the 70s if not low, low 80s in spots, especially on Friday away from the water.”
Over the next couple weeks, the Northwest can expect above-normal temps, and below-normal rain. Just to reiterate — it's spring and the water is still cold. It's not like it's summer already. Summer doesn't officially start until local newspapers print "gleeful child on a sunny day running through a fountain" photos on the front page.
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Fentanyl death toll continues to surge in King County
King County continues to face an alarming number of drug-related fatalities, many related to the potent synthetic opioid, fentanyl.
According to county data, there were three fentanyl-involved deaths in 2015.
In recent years, such deaths have risen dramatically, totaling 712 last year.
“That number is trending higher already this year,” said Brad Finegood with Public Health – Seattle & King County.
Finegood briefed the county’s Board of Health Thursday on overdose trends and measures to address the crisis.
As drug-related fatalities increase year over year, Finegood said some communities are being hit harder than others.
“When you look at age-adjusted rate of overdose, you’ll see that the rate of overdose of American Indian and Alaskan Native individuals are approximately nine times that currently of white population in our community," Finegood said.
He noted that institutional racism has played a part in these disproportionate outcomes through lack of access to health care and treatment for communities of color.
County health officials are approaching the crisis from a number of angles, including a focus on making harm reduction tools and treatment more easily available.
Finegood told Board of Health members that more naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug, is needed in King County.
“Probably more people than ever have access to naloxone, but it doesn't guarantee that we're going to reverse overdose because people can't reverse their own overdose,” Finegood said.
He said the county is working with the state to figure out how to increase access to naloxone, and where it’s most needed.
Last year, King County rolled out two vending machines with harm reduction supplies.
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Will Washington's new assault weapons ban hold up in court? Gov. Inslee thinks 'it should survive'
Washington state's ban on assault weapons has passed the House and Senate and is headed to Gov. Jay Inslee's desk for a signature. After that, legal challenges are certain to emerge.
This report comes from a conversation with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee about Washington's assault weapons ban with KUOW's Kim Malcom. Listen to the full discussion here.
While discussing the ban with KUOW, Gov. Inslee says he's confident the legislation "should" hold up in court.
“I think it should survive because this is a very common sense measure," Inslee said, commenting on potential Second Amendment challenges. "I don’t believe that anyone believes that weapons of war are protected by the Second Amendment. And these particular kinds of weapons, that’s their only real reason, is mass murder. There is really no reason for these particular weapons, other than that. This bill does not take away all the right to firearms. It doesn’t prevent people from having firearms to protect their personal space and home. But the only reason for this — if you think of the 'Night of the Living Dead' and 10,000 zombies are coming to your house, and you need to spray gunfire all over the neighborhood.”
Outside of the court, Inslee argues that Washington's assault weapons ban "will somewhere, somehow, I believe, reduce gun violence."
HB1240: Washington state assault weapons ban
With a 56-42 vote in the House this week, primarily along party lines, HB1240 passed. Gov. Inslee promoted the measure alongside state Attorney General Bob Ferguson.
The bill targets semiautomatic rifles, and lists a number of attributes to identify such firearms. It also names more than 60 specific models, many of which are AK-47 or AR-15 style rifles, but also some semiautomatic pistols and shotguns. Under the ban, it will be illegal to sell or purchase these firearms in Washington state, or to import them. People who currently own the banned weapons are allowed to retain them.
The governor said he cannot predict how the Supreme Court would rule on the state's new assault weapons ban, "but I can tell you it will be well-defended by our excellent attorney general, Bob Ferguson."
Gun rights in Washington state can be sourced to both the United State's Constitution, as well as the state's own Constitution. At the federal level, the Second Amendment states: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
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Political pub crawl through Ballard: Today So Far
- KUOW listens to the talk at Ballard bars as the race for Seattle City Council District 6 emerges.
- Washington state is carving a new path for local businesses.
- Remember when Doc Brown traveled through time for Earth Day?
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for April 21, 2023.
One thing I learned awhile back, as a reporter, is that you should sit in a bar and listen.
You can also sit in a coffee shop, on a bus, or any place where folks get to chit-chatting about local issues. Personally, however, I find that you're dangerously close to spying, eavesdropping, or not-minding-your-own-damn-business in such environments. Plus, you strike up a conversation at a coffee shop in Seattle and folks are likely to awkwardly smile and move to the other side of the room, wondering why a stranger is in their bubble. And I get it — I do that too.
At a bar, though, folks are more likely there to chat and are open to those around them. You're gonna hear their thoughts on the Mariners, that new building down the street, bike lanes, or whatever hot-button issue is trending on social media that day. As a reporter, you run the risk that folks will eventually find you out. A bartender once matched my name to online news she was reading. After that, she really wanted me to know what she thought about "our sh***y council." The point of all this is — it's good for reporters to go outside their own circles, hear from folks who are consuming information, understand how it is being discussed.
This is why I got very intrigued by this story by KUOW's David Hyde, where he tours the bars of Ballard as the local race for Seattle City Council District 6 begins to take shape. He takes a political pub crawl through The Sloop Tavern, on to Hattie's Hat, a taco stand, the Sunset Tavern, etc.
Not everybody here agrees on politics, the causes or solutions to problems, but there are core issues that will influence the District 6 race. Safety is top of the list. For years, vandalism, threats, violence, and theft have plagued nightlife in this corner of the city, and people want something done about it.
“Every day before work we pray that we are safe,” one owner told KUOW.
"It's tough when there's just so much garbage that's thrown around the neighborhood," another owner said.
Check out the full story here.
Washington state is carving a new path for local businesses. KUOW's Monica Nickelsburg reported earlier this week about what some businesses are doing to keep workers. One solution was to convert a business into a type of co-op where employees are also owners. This approach could now be greatly expanded in Washington. Lawmakers just approved a bill that targets support and resources for companies seeking to become employee-owned.
The Washington Employee Ownership Program will set up a loan system to help companies make the conversion to co-op. There will also be tax credits available for such employee-owned co-ops and trusts. It shouldn't come as a surprise that a program like this has come to Washington. Our region is apparently a "hotbed" for worker-owned businesses. Read more here.
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Seattle Schools reaches $1.3 million settlement with family of boy locked outdoors
In 2019, the principal at View Ridge Elementary had a disabled second-grader padlocked in a fenced playground sports court multiple times to prevent him from leaving school.
The boy, who had no table or chair, was served his lunch on the concrete ground. At recess, classmates stared at him through the fence. His mother, Keosha Williams, says he was traumatized.
“He still has those issues to where he's not as trusting with adults, because these were people who were supposed to educate him, and they violated him in the utmost way," Williams said.
A kindergarten teacher witnessed the mistreatment and intervened. The principal resigned after a district investigation. A district representative, however, had earlier approved of the sports court as a holding place for the child.
In a statement, district spokesperson Bev Redmond said Seattle Schools "does not condone discrimination or mistreatment of any students, staff or any member of the public."
Redmond added that the school board and Superintendent Brent Jones "have since revised procedures to further ensure the safety and protection of our most vulnerable students."
King County Superior Court and a court-appointed guardian ad litem must approve the settlement before it is finalized. Insurance will cover all but $120,000 of the settlement amount, said district spokesperson Tim Robinson.
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Seattle vs drugs: Today So Far
- Seattle's mayor reveals new plans to tackle downtown's woes.
- Parking was compromise within Washington's recently passed middle housing bill.
- Seattle drops assault charges against a celebrity CEO.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for April 20, 2023.
Get ready for the next big push to solve downtown Seattle's woes. This week, Mayor Bruce Harrell announced his plans to get drugs off the streets, and people back into downtown.
The idea around all this is to make downtown more appealing to visitors, residents, and businesses. In short, make it thrive. Harrell's plan focuses on safety as a way to accomplish this. The city will do two primary things: Use law enforcement to address drug dealers; also, provide resources for addicts and counter overdoses.
A task force including the city attorney's office, state, and federal agencies will figure out how to handle the drug dealers. The Seattle Fire Department will expand upon a team dedicated to overdose calls. Case managers join the fire department for outreach, and follow up with services and treatment. Beyond this, Harrell wants to start a post-overdose diversion facility that will offer a place to recover from an overdose and provide avenues to treatment and other help. All of this will require funding, which hasn't been worked out yet. The mayor's office is figuring that out right now.
"This summer, right around the June timeframe, you're going to see a more comprehensive plan, and you're gonna see between now and leading up to June, a few announcements on components of it," Harrell said this week. "The reason we are going about it that way, first of all we have to know what we are capable (of), we have to look at our finance projections, we also have to work with stakeholders ... yes, we want short-term victories, but we also want sustainable change for the people who matter most in this city."
KUOW's Casey Martin has more on this here.
The city of Seattle has dropped its case against celebrity CEO Dan Price. Actually, he's not a CEO anymore. Price stepped down from leadership at his company, Gravity Payments, last year to face charges of reckless driving and assault. Price rose to celebrity status when he cut his own pay in 2015, and gave his employees a minimum wage of $70,000 (today, it's more like $80,000).
The charges stemmed from allegations last year that Price grabbed a woman by the throat, after she refused to kiss him in his car, to the point she could not breathe. Now, the city attorney's office has opted to drop the case due to lack of evidence. There is potential that the city could refile charges in the future, however. Read more here.
Remember the middle housing news that happened over last week? As our state moves forward, be prepared for parking to be a major issue.
As KUOW's Joshua McNichols reports, parking proved to be a controversial point among lawmakers seeking to compromise on the recently passed middle housing bill. The result is this rule: Only one parking stall is required for small lots (like duplexes), and two are required for large lots (more than 6,000 square feet). In other words, you could have a triplex, fourplex, fiveplex, sixplex, etc. and only have two parking spaces. Street parking or the bus is the answer for the other tenants.
Now, cities can tweak these requirements on their own, but they have to take the initiative. They can nix all parking, or require more spaces. If a city wants to require more parking stalls, it has to argue that the spaces are needed for safety. Also, there is no parking required if housing is built within a quarter mile of a bus rapid transit stop or a light rail station.
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Seattle drops charges against former Gravity Payments CEO Dan Price
The Seattle City Attorney has dropped reckless driving and assault charges against former Gravity Payments CEO Dan Price.
The case centered on allegations that he grabbed a woman's throat while in his car last year, after she refused to kiss him. In 2022, the allegations led to charges in Seattle. Seattle opted to drop the case this week because of a lack of evidence. KING5 notes that the charges were dropped without prejudice, which means they could be filed again in the future.
RELATED: Dan Price branded himself as a benevolent CEO. Some former employees challenge that portrayal
Price pleaded not guilty to the charges and claimed the allegations were false. The Seattle Times reports that Price's defense presented witness accounts and messages. His attorney argued that police never performed any follow up investigations, such as speaking with Price after the alleged incident.
Price stepped down from his Ballard-based company in 2022, amid the legal challenges, but in a statement via social media, he did not say whether or not he would be returning. Instead, he plans "to take some time to reflect on how I can best engage on the economic justice issues that matter most to me."
Price gained national fame in 2015 when the young CEO slashed his own salary as part of a plan to pay a minimum wage of $70,000 to his employees. That salary has risen to $80,000 since then.
A dual narrative around Price has emerged in the years since he gave the high-profile raise. He has become a regular personality on social media, podcasts, TV shows, and other media, promoting higher wages and better business practices for CEOs. There are also negative reports and allegations about another side to the CEO. Former employees reported that Price berated staff and that there was a culture of fear around the office. KUOW has previously reported that Price's ex-wife has also made allegations of abuse in the past.
It was also reported in 2022 that Price faced allegations of rape in Palm Springs, California. The Riverside County District Attorney's Office continues to evaluate the allegations, and tells KUOW that it may reach a conclusion later this year.
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Washington state lawmakers pass protections for gender-affirming care
Washington state lawmakers approved a bill Wednesday that protects teen runaways seeking gender-affirming or reproductive health care.
Senate Bill 5599 is now headed to Gov. Jay Inslee's desk for a signature.
Normally, when a teen runaway arrives at a shelter, staff have to notify their parents, unless there is evidence of abuse or neglect. The bill carves out two more exceptions: teens seeking gender-affirming or reproductive health care.
RELATED: Trans patients often travel out of state, pay more for gender-affirming care, study finds
Opponents who spoke during public testimony at the capitol in February were largely concerned about parental rights. Eric Pratt commented that he thinks the bill will enable children to make poor health-care decisions "without the guidance of their own parents. It’s really concerning, as a parent."
“I can imagine children running from another state to Washington with this idea that they are going to be cared for outside the parental guidance that is necessary for their own health care," Pratt said.
RELATED: Seattle passes protections for abortion and gender affirming care
Supporters argued that the bill will protect young people who are at risk of depression and suicide, who are facing family rejection, and will provide those youth with a safe place while they seek health care.
Sen. Marko Liias (D-Mukilteo) sponsored the bill, and also commented in February, saying that the new law is needed to support youth who are not supported at home.
“We know when people don’t have access to gender-affirming care, it leads to lifelong challenges in terms of mental health," Liias said.
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Washington can now look to out-of-state shipbuilders for its next ferries
Washington state has charted a bipartisan course to overhaul its ferry procurement plans. Officials will now broaden their scope when seeking builders for the state's new ships.
When the jumbo ferry M/V Walla Walla lost power and went aground at south Bainbridge Island over the weekend, it once again highlighted the need to upgrade Washington's aging ferry fleet.
On Tuesday, the Washington Legislature gave final approval to HB 1846. It passed 94-3 and is now headed to the governor's desk for a signature.
RELATED: Could an aging WA fleet lead to more ferry mishaps?
The measure aims to get new ferries, faster and cheaper. All of the House lawmakers who spoke in favor of the bill referenced the recent incident with the M/V Walla Walla as a reason for speeding up procurement of new ferries.
"This bill reflects a desire to build in Washington, but also opens the possibility to other bids to ensure we get our boats constructed on time," state Sen. Marko Liias (D-Mukilteo) said Friday, before the recent incident with the M/V Walla Walla and Tuesday's vote.
As Northwest News Network reported in March, every new ferry added to Washington's fleet over the past 50 years has been built locally, in the Puget Sound region. This is because the state previously required all new ferries to be constructed within the state. This was a way to support the local shipbuilding industry. But limited competition has resulted in delays and high costs. The approved measure allows the state to look nationally. Now, out-of-state shipbuilders can bid on contracts for the state's next new boats — five plug-in hybrid electric ferries.
The revised procurement rules give a modest bid credit to shipbuilders who'll assemble the vessels in Washington, while also inviting national competition from the get-go.
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How can we get workers to stay?: Today So Far
- Parents, teachers, and students in Seattle's south area have been trying a new way to fund their schools.
- Among all the conversations about our region's problems with addiction and drugs, have you heard the term “contingency management"?
- How can we get workers back? How can we get them to stay?
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for April 19, 2023.
How can we get workers back? How can we get them to stay? These are questions we have heard again and again, ever since the pandemic struck.
KUOW's Monica Nickelsburg takes on these questions this week, while talking with a few folks from our area in the education, restaurant, and health care industries. A lot of contributing issues are not new, and this story notes that people have been leaving such industries since 2009. The pandemic, however, really made a mess of things and folks left in much greater numbers.
I'm going to offer some sobering truth, and understanding, to employers out there, pondering how to get and hold onto workers. I get it. The world changed, seemingly overnight. Inflation is now layered on top of the fact that our cities are largely unaffordable (they were before the pandemic). So you need workers, but they're going to have to commute from as far as Enumclaw. This is tough to hear, but nobody is doing you any favors telling you otherwise — you're just gonna have to pay more. Still, this is just one issue that Nickelsburg points to in her story this week. Read that here.
Among all the conversations about our region's problems with addiction and drugs, have you heard the term “contingency management"? It's a term you're likely to hear more often now that Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell has approved a new approach to this issue. In short, it offers gift cards, prizes, and even cash to folks who continue to pass drug tests. Pass a test, get a prize, stay sober.
In Seattle, the new program will be run by Plymouth Housing. Money for it is coming from a $800,000 grant from the Washington State Health Care Authority.
“It is a method of incentivizing sobriety, or not using, so that people can get out of the crisis that they're in, and then seek or be open to long-term treatment,” said Seattle Councilmember Sara Nelson.
KUOW's David Hyde has the full story here.
Parents, teachers, and students in Seattle's south area have been trying a new way to fund their schools.
"Traditional PTAs are really focused on the school they are raising money for," Alaron Lewis with the Southeast Seattle Schools Fundraising Alliance told Seattle Now this morning. "So each PTA raises money for their own school, and ... between schools, we see huge differences. There are Title I schools, even up in the north end, that don't raise a tenth of what their neighboring school raises. So you may have one school that is funding multiple teachers off of their PTSA, and the neighboring school doesn't have enough money for a field trip."
For fourth grade teacher JC Fretz, it's not necessarily about funding teachers and field trips (though, those things are quite nice). Fretz teaches at Emerson Elementary and likes to include student input in how PTA money is spent. A top priority for his students — food. The kids don't have enough food.
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Longtime, late-night downtown Seattle spot makes a comeback
Seattle business leaders welcome the news that Palace Kitchen is reopening. The longtime, late-night downtown Seattle spot has been on hiatus for three years. Its return, leaders hope, will mark a turning point in downtown’s revitalization.
Pre-pandemic, people went to Palace Kitchen for a nightcap after a concert or a late show. Owner Tom Douglas says when it reopens this week, expect some slight changes.
“We’ll be open till midnight for dinner,” Douglas said. “We’re only going to open five nights a week. At this point to see what happens.”
Douglas was the first to shut down all 12 of his restaurants during the pandemic. Like many downtown businesses they relied on tourism. These days, Douglas says, foot traffic is coming back.
James Sido, spokesperson with the Downtown Seattle Association hopes other businesses will take note. He adds that Palace Kitchen’s return will create momentum.
“That really does sort of put a marker in the ground to say, 'Hey, downtown is on the upswing,'" Sido said.
According to DSA numbers, nearly two million visitors came to downtown in February. That’s a 7% increase compared to February 2022.
Sido expects a busy summer ahead starting with cruise season that’s expected to bring in more than a million passengers to the city.
While some of Douglas’s businesses have slowly returned two years ago, he says the time wasn’t right for Palace Kitchen until they could find the right team for the reopening. Douglas says he’s excited to welcome people back.
“People really missed the socialization, they missed not having someone do their dishes, they missed meeting friends and the energy that restaurants bring to life.”
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WA tweaks its police pursuit law, but is this the end of the issue?: Today So Far
- This report says SPD should apologize for actions during 2020 protests.
- Lawmakers have tweaked Washington's police pursuit laws, but is this the end of the issue?
- A new Soundgarden album? Yep.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for April 18, 2023.
The Seattle Police Department needs to "issue a public apology" for its actions during the 2020 protests. That's the recommendation of a special panel that has been looking into police responses during the ongoing 2020 protests, following the murder of George Floyd.
This recommendation stands out in a panel report released this morning. There are a total of 22 recommendations, most of which deal with processes, policies, and tactics at the Seattle Police Department. Recommendation 20 reads, in full: "Acknowledge the harm to BIPOC community caused by SPD actions over time and issue a public apology for the actions of SPD during the 2020 protests."
This latest report from the OIG is the fourth and final review of the 2020 protests. It started this process in the fall of 2020, following public concerns over police response to the protests.
News of this report broke this morning. I've reached out to SPD for comment about it, so stay tuned in case they return my call. Read the full story here.
The debate has concluded over how to handle Washington state's police pursuit laws. At least, the debate has ended this session. It seems that enough Democrats and Republicans were able to work a few tweaks to the rules this time around, but comments from both sides of the aisle indicate that neither party wants to stop here.
In short, after Gov. Inslee signs the bill into law, police will be able to pursue suspects in cases of vehicular assault and some domestic violence cases. If officers have reasonable suspicion for a sex offense, they can pursue as well (previously, the standard was probable cause).
State Sen. John Lovick, a Democrat who previously spent 31 years serving with the Washington State Patrol, commented that a larger goal is to find "technological alternatives" to police pursuits, which he argues is still dangerous for all involved, including bystanders. Republican Rep. Gina Mosbrucker says she reluctantly voted for the House version of the bill. She wants to open the law further around police pursuits, but for now she says this is "a step forward." Read more here.
Good news for Seattle music fans: Soundgarden is slated to release a new album.
The news marks the conclusion of some drama around the band and Chris Cornell's estate. Seven songs are reported to have been recorded by the late singer in the months before his death. The band had planned on finishing the songs, each adding their own parts. Cornell's widow, Vicky Cornell, sued the band, arguing that the songs were the work of the singer alone. The band argued otherwise. Little is known about how the legal process worked out over the past few years, but it seems that things resolved out of court. As of this week, the two parties are A-OK moving forward.
Soundgarden is now planning to finish recording and eventually release "the final songs that the band and Chris were working on." Read more here.
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