KUOW Blog
News, factoids, and insights from KUOW's newsroom. And maybe some peeks behind the scenes. Check back daily for updates.
Have any leads or feedback for the KUOW Blog? Contact Dyer Oxley at dyer@kuow.org.
Stories
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It's a bike. It's a scooter. It's a LimeGlider! Seattle's latest wheels for rent
For years, Seattle has had ebikes and scooters for rent on sidewalks around the city. Now, it will have gliders, too.
Lime has offered ebikes for rent in Seattle for years. In 2022, it introduced electric scooters (which riders stand on). The LimeGlider fits in the middle of the two vehicles.
RELATED: Road trip! Kicking the tires on electric travel in the Northwest
Lime touts its LimeGlider (and its newest LimeBike) as its "most inclusive rides to date." It has smaller wheels and a lower center of gravity, which the company says will open it up to more riders.
While it is sending its newest LimeBike model to Atlanta and Zurich, the company is piloting the LimeGlider in Seattle, starting mid-August. The glider appears like a bike at first glance, but looking closer riders will notice that there are no pedals. It also has a larger seat. It's moved using a thumb-throttle, instead of pedals. Lime states that it "combines the seated comfort of a bike with the effortlessness of a scooter."
According to a company spokesperson, the LimeGlider is lighter and slower than mopeds, which Lime hopes will make early riders feel more comfortable trying them out.
The LimeGlider is intended to be used in the city's bike lanes, and not on sidewalks. Seattle regulations state that rentable vehicles like Lime's are limited to traveling up to 15 mph.
"We think LimeGlider can serve longer trips than our existing fleet, thanks to the comfort and ease of use it offers," a spokesperson said. "With a padded seat and no need to pedal, riders can simply glide for as long as they like. While our e-scooters are traditionally used for trips around a mile-long, and our e-bikes for trips around two-to-three miles, we think LimeGlider can help people commute farther distances, visit friends across town, see more of a city when traveling, or even just a way to get outside and relax for longer periods of time. Our goal is to serve any trip under five miles and we think LimeGlider offers a new piece of the puzzle to get there."
RELATED: More than 20% of new cars purchased in Washington state are electric
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With its new CEO, is Boeing about to write the 'turnaround story of the century'?
With the selection of its new CEO, Boeing charted a course Wednesday that is giving some officials hope for the future of the aerospace company.
"Kelly Ortberg comes from a place with a deep technical background and a wonderful sense of how an aerospace company should be run," said Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace industry analyst and managing director of AeroDynamic Advisory.
RELATED: Boeing, my dad, and Airplane Economics 101
“I think this is Boeing’s best day in literally decades. This person has deep aerospace experience and ran one of the most respected companies in the industry. The exact opposite of all that Boeing has been struggling under and suffering from for quite a few years now.”
Boeing announced Wednesday that it hired Ortberg to be its next president and CEO. He officially starts work Aug. 8. It will be a bit of a comeback for Ortberg, who retired in 2021, but has remained involved in the aerospace industry. He spent more than three decades with with Iowa-based Rockwell Collins, serving as the avionics company's CEO between 2013 and 2021. He was also previously chair of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) board of governors.
"I'm extremely honored and humbled to join this iconic company," Ortberg said in a statement. "Boeing has a tremendous and rich history as a leader and pioneer in our industry, and I'm committed to working together with the more than 170,000 dedicated employees of the company to continue that tradition, with safety and quality at the forefront. There is much work to be done, and I'm looking forward to getting started."
As NPR reports, this will be a significant change from outgoing Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun. Ortberg's background is rooted in engineering, not finance. Before climbing the ladder at Rockwell Collins, he was an engineer at Texas Instruments.
Many hope that with Ortberg in Boeing's pilot seat, it will signal a comeback for the company as well.
"Leadership for quite some time now has been a master class in incompetence and poor execution, and frankly, it was starting to illicit understandable safety concerns," Aboulafia said. "This approach of appointing someone of this stature, and this experience, is tremendously welcome news."
“It’s gonna take a lot of time and work, and of course it’s not without risk, but this could be the turnaround story of the century ... to go from a culture that just didn’t look at the importance of the supplier base, of the workforce, or indeed the product being sold. It instead just focused on manipulating financial abstracts. That was completely dysfunctional."
Shortly after the announcement, The Seattle Times reported that Ortberg plans to return the CEO's home office to Seattle, 23 years after it was moved out of town. KUOW has not confirmed this reporting. This would be yet another signal that the company will be leaning back into engineering.
RELATED: Boeing's new CEO reportedly plans to lead company from Seattle area
The news was welcomed by U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), who further argued that all of Boeing's operations need to be relocated back to the Seattle area.
"It's a good first step that the CEO will be based in Seattle, and now the rest of the headquarters needs to move back home to rejoin our world-class aviation workforce," Cantwell said in a statement. "When it comes to quality and safety, being close to the workforce on the ground matters."
"The company needs to move back to Seattle. The notion that somebody thinks they can run the company from anywhere other than Seattle is a big mistake."
Boeing moved its corporate headquarters from Seattle to Chicago in 2001. Manufacturing operations remained in Renton and Everett. In 2022, Boeing announced plans to move its global headquarters to Arlington, Virginia, to be closer to Washington, D.C., and its government contracts.
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Jurassic shark: Scientists find ancient species in Puget Sound
Scientists have documented two species of shark in Puget Sound for the first time.
The two discoveries, each newly published in the journal "Frontiers in Marine Science," began when a recreational fisherman posted a selfie with a shark he had caught in 2021.
Wildlife officials saw his photo and thought at first it was a sixgill shark, one of the world’s most widespread shark species, though rare and illegal to catch in Washington waters. A closer look revealed it was a species that had never been documented in Puget Sound: a broadnose sevengill shark.
Sevengills are among the most ancient of sharks, dating back to the Jurassic Period nearly 200 million years ago. Most sharks evolved more recently and have just five gills.
Sevengill sharks cruise along the sea floor to hunt octopuses, fishes, and other sharks and have been seen hunting seals in packs, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. They have speckled backs and creamy bellies and grow up to 10 feet long.
Scientists knew they swim the outer coasts of Washington and Oregon, but not Puget Sound.
“They were around back when the dinosaurs were around,” said Oregon State University graduate student Jess Schulte, who studies sevengill sharks in Washington’s Willapa Bay. “They're virtually unchanged since then, so they're a pretty cool animal.”
The fisherman claimed to have caught 10 sevengills in the previous two years in South Puget Sound.
Shark researchers decided to look for themselves.
A team of scientists headed out to Hammersley Inlet, near Shelton and the far southern end of Puget Sound, nearly a 200-mile swim from the outer coast.
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DoorDash raises fees in Seattle again, blaming City Council
Delivery app company DoorDash is once again raising fees in Seattle, as delivery apps, drivers, restaurants, and city leaders continue to debate the city's minimum pay ordinance.
"It was our sincere hope that these additional fees could be avoided, but the City Council's inability to reach a compromise that would reduce costs, even marginally, has left us with few options," DoorDash said in a statement this week. "As always, we will evaluate the effects of these fees and react or make any future changes as needed to continue operating a sustainable and growing business in Seattle."
RELATED: Seattle businesses caught in tug of war between app companies and delivery drivers
At the start of 2024, Seattle implemented a minimum pay standard for delivery apps and gig workers, with the aim of addressing Seattle's affordability woes. In response, app companies — including Uber Eats, Instacart, and Grubhub — added fees to Seattle deliveries to cover the rise in costs. DoorDash added a $4.99 fee (which it called a "regulatory response fee"), and has been at the forefront of pushing back against Seattle's ordinance, arguing that the city's small businesses are losing millions in sales.
The effects of Seattle's minimum pay ordinance varies, depending on who you ask. Small restaurant owners have said it has resulted in lost business. Some delivery workers have echoed that sentiment. Other delivery drivers have stated the opposite and have advocated to keep the ordinance in place, claiming that their pay and working conditions improved. The Seattle City Council has debated rolling back or modifying the minimum pay ordinance throughout the first half of 2024, but have yet to take any action.
RELATED: Seattle becomes first in U.S. to protect gig workers from sudden 'deactivation'
This week, DoorDash stated that it "continues to lose money in the market due to the minimum pay ordinance. To help promote affordability and minimize the impact on local businesses, we have held off on further increasing fees for the last six months while the Council debated a compromise bill to reduce costs of facilitating delivery. With a few members of the Council deciding they will not allow a compromise to move forward, we will have to make changes to remain operationally sustainable in Seattle."
Starting on Aug. 1 in Seattle, DoorDash will add:
- An additional $1.99 fee on long-distance orders. In its statement the company does not define "long-distance." DoorDash argues that this fee will "help to offset the costs of some of the most expensive deliveries under the minimum pay ordinance."
- Another $1.99 "minimum service fee" will be added to orders from DashPass subscribers.
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King County is getting its first walk-in mental health crisis center
A new walk-in crisis care center in Kirkland for people experiencing mental health emergencies will start accepting patients in early August.
It’s the first center of its kind in the county and will begin to fill a gap in the mental health care system: a place for people in crisis to go that’s not the emergency room or jail.
“If you're the gentleman at home that has a drinking problem, if you're suicidal, or if you're potentially a danger to others — that you're just feeling aggressive and violent and kind of beyond your own control, that whole array can come in and get help here,” said Morgan Matthews, with Connections Health Solutions, the company contracted to build and operate the center.
RELATED: 50 years ago, many psychiatric hospitals closed. Did that cause today's mental health crisis?
On the first floor of the center is a psychiatric urgent care unit, as well as a wing with 32 “observation chairs” for people who will need less than 23 hours to stabilize. On the second floor are two 16-bed in-patient units — one for voluntary patients, and one for voluntary or involuntary patients — where people can stay for up to two weeks. Government funding will cover treatment for people who are uninsured.
People in crisis can go on their own or with a family member. Police or firefighters could bring them here instead of to an emergency room or jail. Someone could call 988, and a mobile crisis team could pick them up and bring them here. An emergency room could refer them.
The goal is to help people stabilize before connecting them to services in the community that are appropriate for their needs, such as a long-term in-patient services, outpatient psychiatric services, a drug treatment program, or housing.
Everything in the center is set up with clients in mind, from chairs that can’t be lifted off the floor to shower heads that are flush with the wall to tactile walls that patients can use for self-soothing.
RELATED: The 988 suicide and crisis line turns 2 years old tomorrow
“So many aspects of crisis can be so disconcerting, that even having something like a tactile wall can really ground somebody, and just help them kind of get centered and focused back on being in the real world,” Matthews said.
Matthews said that’s also the reason there’s no abstract art on the walls — only photos of the Pacific Northwest.
“We wanted something that was real, that was familiar, and we kind of ground folks in the space of, ‘Okay, I'm in Washington. I'm safe,’” she said.
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Washington is offering $200 to some residents to help pay electric bills
Hyping it as the latest program benefiting from the state's Climate Commitment Act, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced Monday a new program that will give a $200 utility bill credit to certain customers in the state.
“We are committed to ensuring that the benefits of the state’s clean energy transition reach everyone, especially those most burdened by energy costs,” Inslee said in a statement announcing the new program Monday.
Inslee presented the Washington Families Clean Energy Credits grant program in Seattle, alongside officials from Seattle, King County, and the state's Department of Commerce, which is managing the effort.
RELATED: Surge of new EV charging stations coming to Washington state
Washington Families Clean Energy Credits grant program will reportedly offer a one-time $200 utility bill credit to 675,000 low- to moderate-income customers. The state estimates this will cover about 20% of utility households in the state. Customers below 80% of an area's median income will get priority. The Dept. of Commerce gave the following examples of income ranges eligible for the credit:
- In cities like Everett, Seattle, or Vancouver, a household with four people and an income between $110,950 to $226,050.
- In areas with the lowest incomes in Washington, household income could range between $72,000 and 135,000.
The state noted the program could be expanded to households at 150% of the area's AMI, if funding is available.
The credit will be placed in eligible customers' accounts on Sept. 15, 2024.
According to the Dept. of Commerce, customers who are already signed up for discounts or assistance will automatically get the credit. Others will need to apply. See a video below about how to find out if your utility account is eligible. For Puget Sound Energy Customers, check here.
During the program's announcement, Inslee often highlighted the fact that it is funded by the state's Climate Commitment Act — one of the governor's main accomplishments in office that is now under fire.
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Rare rain hits Washington ahead of 'intense and widespread heat' across the west
Washingtonians woke up to something quite rare Monday morning — rain. Sure, rainfall isn't exactly uncommon in the Northwest; however, rain on July 29 is very notable.
RELATED: Smoke or sunshine? WA’s new air quality map tells you what’s ahead
According to the National Weather Service, measurable rainfall has occurred less frequently on July 29 than on any other day of the year (since records began in 1945) — only 5% of the time. The grand total rainfall for this day in Seattle has been .31 inches over the past 79 years.
While the Monday rain may be a welcome break, the region continues to experience drought. The U.S. Drought Monitor reports that 47% of the Northwest is experiencing drought conditions. In April, a drought emergency was declared for all of Washington state, largely due to low snowpack in the mountains.
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Attention Washington college students: There's still time to apply for federal aid
With the new school year starting soon, Washington state education leaders want college-bound students to know it’s not too late to apply for federal financial aid.
The newly revamped Free Application for Federal Student Aid — better known as FAFSA —was supposed to be easier this year, complete with a new streamlined form.
RELATED: The FAFSA rollout left many students in limbo. Some colleges feel the effects, too
But it was not. The form was released months behind schedule, then it was mired with technical glitches. Now, Washington state has been grappling with one of the worst FAFSA completion rates in the country.
As of July 19, only about 36% of Washington seniors have filled out the application, according to the National College Attainment Network. That's an 11% decrease from last year, and the sixth-lowest rate among all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
Christina Winstead, the associate director of College Access Initiatives at the Washington Student Achievement Council, said she's worried about the consequences this trend will have on students and families for years to come.
About half of families qualify for financial aid, Winstead said, and it can help cover tuition, school supplies — even computers — and living expenses for college. State aid also covers college alternatives, like apprenticeships and certificate programs.
"My biggest fear is that students who are not informed about access will do things like take a private loan, like not pursue education, or not pursue a pathway that they want to pursue," Winstead said.
RELATED: The 'Better FAFSA' was not, but the University of Washington says it's getting there
Winstead knows how difficult it can be to understand what financial aid options are available. When she was in her first year of college, she almost dropped out because she assumed she wouldn't qualify for financial aid and struggled to juggle multiple jobs with her schoolwork.
"When I see these numbers, I just think of all the students who are like me," she said, "who didn't know they should apply for aid, who struggled with three jobs and thought, 'Oh, it's me. I'm the reason why I'm not able to go through school.'"
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Northwest tribes' salmon hatcheries get $240 million federal boost
West Coast tribes are getting nearly $240 million from the federal government to improve their salmon hatcheries.
Twenty-seven tribes, including 21 from Washington state, will get an initial $2 million each to repair and modernize their aging hatcheries, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced Thursday.
The remaining funds will be awarded competitively among the tribes “in the coming months,” federal officials said.
Jennifer Quan, regional administrator of NOAA Fisheries, called it “one of our greatest commitments of support for tribal fisheries since the treaties themselves that first assured the tribes access to the fisheries.”
RELATED: Washington tribes get $39.4 million for salmon habitat restoration, culvert removal efforts
Treaties between the U.S. government and many Northwest tribes in the 1850s promised tribes the right to keep fishing and hunting in their traditional places in exchange for the tribes’ giving up most of their land.
“Today, hatcheries provide many of the fish that no longer come from the salmon rivers, the rivers that have been impacted by our dams and development,” Quan said.
Councilmember Lisa Wilson of the Lummi Indian Business Council, the governing body of the Lummi Nation, said the funding will help preserve tribes’ treaty rights to their traditional foods.
“We have salmon in every funeral that we have, which unfortunately, with the fentanyl crisis, it's been a lot of funerals in the last few years,” Wilson said. “It's very important that, any kind of celebration, we have our salmon, and if it wasn't for the hatcheries, we wouldn't have that salmon.”
RELATED: Fish out of water story ends with 77,000 young salmon in the wrong water
Wild salmon in most tribes’ territories have declined drastically.
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Smoke or sunshine? WA’s new air quality map tells you what’s ahead
As wildfire season heats up, the Washington Department of Ecology is rolling out a new tool to help people breathe easier and stay safe. The state’s revamped air quality monitoring map, launched this week, is designed to keep residents in the know during the smoky days ahead.
The new map gives real-time updates on air quality across the state, showing pollutants like smoke, ozone, and carbon monoxide . The map has accessibility features aimed at making it more user-friendly for those who are visually impaired, and can be accessed via smartphone or desktop.
RELATED: The presence of wildfire smoke could have you feeling bad — and not for the reason you think
Planning to enjoy some fresh air outdoors? The map also includes a smoke forecast to help people prepare ahead of time. It projects what air quality will be like over the next five days, said Department of Ecology monitoring coordinator Jill Schulte. The map also shows 7-day and 24-hour air quality trends.
While wildfire smoke typically peaks in August and September, it can start in July and linger into mid-October. The Department of Ecology says it plans to keep enhancing the map throughout the summer.
RELATED: Wildfire smoke is here to stay. But critics say our preparations are still 'lackadaisical'
Schulte also highlighted that the map comes has a web application that updates information every hour. Residents can visit the department’s website to explore the new map and download it to mobile devices.
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Washington state's Democratic delegates vote to endorse Kamala Harris for president
Washington state's Democratic delegation came out in favor of supporting Vice President Kamala Harris Thursday, throwing more weight behind Harris' presidential campaign.
RELATED: Kamala Harris may be ‘brat.’ But is that enough to sway young voters in Washington?
“As the first South Asian woman to lead a state party organization for any major party and as our delegation chair, I am beyond thrilled to announce that the Washington State Delegation has voted overwhelmingly to support the first woman of color to represent a major party in a presidential election," said Shasti Conrad, chair of Washington State Democrats. "With Harris as our nominee we will protect our fundamental rights and freedoms and defeat Donald Trump’s and MAGA’s extremist Project 2025 agenda."
Washington state's delegation heading to the Democratic National Convention voted 79-17 in favor of Harris. According to the party, no other candidates were considered — it was a strict yes or no vote to endorse Harris.
The national convention will take place Aug. 19-22 in Chicago, where Democrats will officially decide on a presidential candidate in the wake of President Biden bowing out. The party will also update its platform at the event.
RELATED: The Obamas have endorsed Harris, capping a week where Democrats embraced her
“As a party, we will shield Vice President Harris from the racism and misogyny already being hurled her way while also amplifying her vision for a democratic and prosperous future," Conrad said.
The Washington state Republican party has attacked Harris as a "DEI hire" and the chair, Jim Walsh, has called the upcoming Chicago convention a "scripted coronation."
Uncommitted Washington, a group of delegates who want to see changes in the administration's approach to Israel and Gaza, released its own statement following Thursday's vote. While the state party said delegates "overwhelmingly" supported the vice president, Uncommitted Washington said that "nearly a fifth" of the state's delegation did not vote in her favor and "still have concerns about providing an endorsement to Vice President Harris."
Yaz Kader, an uncommitted delegate, told KUOW that "it was a fair process," and that "my vote to not endorse Kamala Harris is reflective of the administration’s continued inability to have a red line as the Palestinians in Gaza experience massacre after massacre, and I will continue to push for a ceasefire."
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Kent in disguise: An unofficial, underground Transformers fan fest for Washington
Robots in disguise have been a considerable part of U.S. pop culture for 40 years, and over half of that time, there has been a fan event dedicated to all things Transformers in Western Washington.
"People have been very enthusiastic of CybFest when I've told them, even if they have no interest in Transformers," said Cybfest NW coordinator Ben Harpold.
Even though it's an unofficial Transformers convention, put on by fans, Cybfest NW organizers are anticipating that 2024 will be its biggest event yet.
What: Cybfest NW, an unofficial Transformers festival for fans and families, featuring toy dealers, artists, STEM features, and more. Special guest this year is Sue Blu, voice actress for the character Arcee from the original "Transformers" series, as well as a voice director for other series.
When: Aug. 3, 2024, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Kent Commons Community Center, 525 Fourth Avenue North, Kent
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