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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An invasive species, on San Juan Island?
Officials with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife say that an invasive species was "almost certainly" placed in local waters in violation of state law.
An invasive northern pike was fished out of a pond at Limekiln Preserve on San Juan Island in late February. According to a press release, it was caught by a local teenager who passed photos of the pike to local officials and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
RELATED: Washington watching for invasive species as it gets closer in Idaho
"WDFW is working with the Land Bank, county, and partners to deploy a rapid response to assess how many pike are in the area, and to remove them as soon as possible before they can spread to other waterways," the department said in a statement.
The San Juan County Conservation Land Bank reports that a skiff has been placed on the pond, where officials will be deploying gill nets. The WDFW says the fish is a threat to amphibians, birds, mammals, and other wildlife in the region.
The pike sighting on San Juan Island comes as WDFW has a draft plan under review, aiming to coordinate efforts to combat the invasive species.
“This plan is important to conservation in our state as it maps out the response of WDFW and coordinating partners to a number of situations that could arise with the spread of northern pike,” said Justin Bush, aquatic invasive species policy coordinator with WDFW, in a statement. “It will help to speed our response when timing is critical as partnering agencies and groups will already know their role and be prepared to respond.”
WDFW Eastern Region Fish Program Manager Chris Donley further notes that northern pike is likely to expand into waters across Washington state. They can live up to 20 years and produce a lot of young.
“Preventative work done now will help to minimize the environmental, economic, and cultural resource impacts of northern pike later," Donley said.
For a few years, state wildlife officials have been on guard for the northern pike in local waters. The fish is native to the Midwest, Canada, and parts of Alaska, but over the past decades, anglers have been known to transport the fish to non-native waters. That way, they can fish locally for them. The pike, however, can wreak havoc on local fish and wildlife populations. Washington bans any transport of pike into local waters.
"The pike [on San Juan Island] was almost certainly introduced in violation of state laws concerning prohibited species which ban their transport, sale, or introduction into state waters," WDFW said in its statement. "Violators face a maximum penalty of one year in jail and $5,000 in fines."
These fish are known for their sharp teeth and aggressive character. That means they threaten other fish species in the region, particularly Washington's beloved salmon.
RELATED: Can’t we just eat those invasive crabs until they’re gone? (Probably not)
Northern pike have shown up in Washington's lakes and rivers in recent years, prompting anxiety among wildlife officials and local tribes. There are northern pike in the Columbia River, which are currently trapped behind the Grand Coulee Dam. The fear is that these fish will make it past the damn and threaten salmon down stream.
If you come across an invasive species yourself, WDFW asks that you report it as soon as possible.
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‘It’s not going to be The Dukes of Hazzard.' Police welcome flexibility on pursuits, critics fear more crashes
Law enforcement groups are praising Washington lawmakers for passing an initiative granting local agencies more flexibility for police vehicle pursuits. They say the change will help police address rising crime and reckless driving.
Meanwhile, a national policing group recommends restricting police pursuits to cases of violent crime, where the suspect poses an imminent threat, a standard closer to Washington’s current law.
Legislators voted to approve I-2113 on Monday. The Republican-backed measure, which takes effect on June 6, does away with statewide pursuit restrictions put in place since 2021, which limit pursuits to specific violent crimes where the fleeing person poses a serious risk of harm. Instead the initiative lets local agencies decide when to chase fleeing vehicles, if someone is suspected of breaking the law while posing a safety threat.
RELATED: Washington police pursuit rules to change after Legislature adopts 3 voter initiatives
Steve Strachan is executive director of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, which supported the initiative. He said the flexibility will help police address increased crime and traffic fatalities.
“This will hopefully start to send a stronger message that criminals don’t have the upper hand, that they can’t just drive away with no consequence, but this is going to be a transition and certainly I think every agency is looking at their policies,” he said.
Strachan said pursuits are inherently dangerous and he wants legislators to help address fleeing suspects through other measures like tougher penalties, impounding vehicles, and increased use of technology. He said he was frustrated that a bill containing those provisions failed this year.
“We hope that the eventual result is not more pursuits, but less pursuits,” he said.
Strachan said it will take time for the public to notice any changes.
“You know, it’s not going to be 'The Dukes of Hazzard' out there,” he said.
RELATED: Police vehicle pursuits mostly on pause in Seattle due to lack of training
But Leslie Cushman with the Washington Coalition for Police Accountability said that’s her biggest fear about the implications of giving police more leeway.
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Got long Covid? UW Medicine wants to hear from you
Seattle is among a handful of cities chosen for studies to evaluate long-Covid therapies.
University of Washington Medicine announced Wednesday it will conduct the first two clinical trials to study long Covid for the National Institutes of Health. The clinical trials are part of the NIH RECOVER Initiative (RECOVER stands for Researching Covid to Enhance Recovery).
RELATED: Long Covid, long wait times: patients turned away from specialty clinics turn to primary care docs
Some people who have had Covid-19 may experience long-term impacts from the infection. For some, the condition's symptoms can last months or even years. UW Medicine reports that symptoms can vary, but some of the most commonly reported problems include fatigue, brain fog, low physical endurance, trouble with problem-solving, and memory lapses.
Dr. Helen Chu will lead the research team. Chu is an expert in communicable respiratory diseases and is a professor of medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Researchers expect the trials to last until December. They plan to enroll 315 total participants across all study sites in the U.S. The UW team will enroll 25 participants and then continue to enroll more people until the nationwide goal of 315 participants is met.
Several studies will be conducted nationwide to assess potential therapies, including drugs, and even medical devices to help alleviate long Covid symptoms. Anyone interested in the clinical trials can learn more by sending an email to uwrecoverstudy@uw.edu.
RELATED: Extreme heat can exacerbate long Covid symptoms
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Tukwila is swelling with asylum-seekers. What can be done?
When asylum-seekers began showing up at the door of Tukwila's Riverton Park United Methodist Church last year, Rev. Jan Bolerjack felt it was the church's duty to care for them. But as the situation worsened over the months, the reverend said it's now more than one church, in one Washington town, can handle.
"This basically came to us, and we couldn't shut the door," Bolerjack told KUOW's Soundside. "It is our call; this is more than we can handle though."
The reverend said that the need is now so great, she has to turn some people away. The issue has grown into a regional emergency, with various parties chipping in to help, but with few long-term solutions.
RELATED: Tukwila church offers temporary comfort and refuge for asylum seekers
Bolerjack is now urging others in Western Washington to help. She hopes people will open their homes.
"They can come and take a family into their homes. These families are wonderful families," she said. "They deserve better than what they are getting as a welcome into the United States. Some people even wonder if they are really in the United States, ending up like they are here. Come take a family. Come meet a family. Come play with some children. Financial assistance is always welcome, also."
"I got a call from a friend, Sarah Perry, who is also our King County Council member, and asked if MAPS could help with a situation they have," said Hyder Ali with MAPS.
Ali said that he was told the asylum seekers needed a place to stay for about two weeks. He turned around and spoke with the MAPS board and within 10 minutes, the funding was approved.
"Migrants are probably the most vulnerable in our society," Ali said. "No one wants to uproot their family and come to a foreign country, unless they face severe violence or disastrous conditions in their homeland. In the Muslim community we are quite familiar with this situation because we've had a number of refugees from war-torn countries that have come to Seattle ... our faith teaches us that we need to take care of the most vulnerable."
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Corner stores are the cornerstone of Seattle's quest to become a 15-minute city
A "15-minute city" is a city where the shops and restaurants you need are within a 15-minute walk of your home. That is Seattle's goal.
The city's new draft comprehensive plan includes a proposal to achieve that status, in part by reviving neighborhood corner stores.
The plan comes shortly after the death of a bill in Olympia that would have legalized corner stores statewide.
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f you’ve walked through Seattle’s residential neighborhoods, you may have seen funky, older homes that look like they used to be restaurants or corner stores. They’re remnants of an era when homes and businesses used to butt up against each other.
Of the businesses that managed to hold on to old corner store locations, many have become beloved neighborhood institutions, like the Volunteer Park Cafe or Irwin's in south Wallingford.
But these survivors have been swimming against the tide. After World War II, Seattle, like many cities, decided homes and businesses should be kept apart.
But in low density zones, the clues of an earlier way of thinking are still there. Maybe a home has a big plate glass window right next to the sidewalk (with the windows drawn) — or a strange entry door diagonally situated, facing the street corner where sidewalks cross. These tell the story of a time when stores were within a short walk of every home.
In the years since corner stores fell out of favor, the economics of what will succeed in those spaces has changed. Today, large grocery chains negotiate special discounts on goods that put smaller grocery stores at an economic disadvantage.
This is one reason why many business locations evolved into awkward homes, where residents must keep the shades drawn to get a little privacy from passersby on the sidewalk.
RELATED: Will Seattle's new growth plan produce enough housing for newcomers?
Current zoning laws make it difficult to turn those homes back into businesses in low density residential neighborhoods. But Seattle's new draft comprehensive plan, released Tuesday, would allow those awkward apartments to become businesses again. It would also allow construction of new corner stores, though city officials say that will probably not happen often, for economic reasons.
Nevertheless, the new approach suggests that in the future, it’ll be easier for people to find hidden cafes and shops nestled among smaller homes.
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King County leaders say they have new plans to fight the opioid crisis. But when?
King County officials announced new plans to address the region's opioid crisis Monday, aiming to provide new avenues to help people who are addicted to dangerous drugs. None of the plans involve new funding and it’s uncertain when they might materialize.
At a press conference, King County Executive Dow Constantine announced new plans to stop people from dying from drug overdoses. The broad-ranging plans cover mental and behavioral health, mobile outreach, overdose treatment, and more services for young people addicted to drugs.
“Substance use disorder is complex, and there is not one single cause, nor one simple solution,” Constantine said.
RELATED: Fentanyl is a great drug for cartels. But those blue pills are killing King County
Aiming to address the multiple causes, the new plan includes:
- King County will partner with Pioneer Human Services to open a treatment program in Seattle with room for 16 people.
- The County also intends to re-open a 24-hour sobering center downtown.
- Fire departments in the county will get more nalaxone to give out to people. The nasal spray stops the effects of an opioid overdose and can save someone’s life.
- Public health officials also want to test up to 1,000 drug samples a year to cut cut down on the fentanyl in the county.
To do all of this work, county officials said it will hire dozens of people to work in substance abuse treatment, case management, and behavioral and mental health care. They’ll also add about 50 apprenticeships to attract new people into the field.
All of these plans will be paid for by existing taxes and initiatives already approved by King County voters. No new money will be allocated to this project, elected leaders said.
When exactly any of this will happen is unknown. Neither Executive Constantine nor anyone else at the press conference would specify a timeline. Clint Jordan of Pioneer Human Services, however, did comment on when a 16-bed residential treatment program could open.
"We’re targeting a six month open,” Jordan said. “I think that puts us in October, November, somewhere in there.”
The multi-pronged approach is an effort to reach as many people as possible as opioid use, especially fentanyl, is surging in King County. Seattle-King County Public Health reports a record 1,082 people died last year from overdoses. Just over two months into 2024, there already have been 134 people in King County who have died from an opioid overdose.
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Seattle cop slashes minivan tire during pro-Palestine march, video shows
A Seattle police officer is under investigation for allegedly slashing a tire during a pro-Palestine march last month, according to the Office of Police Accountability. The march was held on Feb. 9, in downtown Seattle, and had reached the World Trade Center along the waterfront when the incident took place.
A video circulating on social media shows a beige minivan pulling away, as protestors chant in the background. One officer gestures for the car to move forward. Another Seattle officer then runs up behind the vehicle and appears to plunge some kind of device into the driver’s rear tire.
A different clip shows an officer placing what appears to be a stationary tire deflation device near the minivan’s front passenger tire. Seattle Policy policy allows for the use of stationary tire deflation devices, but only when the vehicle is not moving.
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Seattle area McClatchy newspapers move to printing just 3 days per week
The McClatchy Media Network is planning a digital transformation for two of its regional newspapers to better align with how readers are getting their news in 2024.
In a statement published by the Tacoma News Tribune and The Olympian last week, both news outlets said they’ll move to a digital-first news format, and only provide print versions of their papers three days a week, every Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday starting May 6. The digital versions of the papers will be called eEditions and will include websites and mobile apps.
In January, the McClatchy-owned Bellingham Herald also moved to a more digitally-focused format, printing just twice a week to better serve the growing number of people using their phones or other smart devices to consume news.
According to a 2023 Pew Research study, 86% percent of adults in the U.S. get their news from a smartphone, tablet, or computer.
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Vote 'uncommitted' in presidential primary, say coalition members for Gaza ceasefire
Rebekah Harris Liebermann is the granddaughter of Holocaust refugees and one of potentially thousands of Washingtonians who plan to vote “uncommitted” in the state’s Democratic presidential primary next week.
“My grandfather died just about a year ago, and it would break his heart to see what is being done in his name and in our names,” Liebermann told KUOW. “It is imperative that we do absolutely everything that we can to not only stop the genocide that's happening.”
Liebermann was part of a coalition calling for Democratic voters in Washington to cast “uncommitted” ballots rather than voting for President Joe Biden in the presidential primary election on March 12. The group stood in the cold Monday in front of the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building in downtown Seattle to call on Democrats to use the ballot box to send the Biden administration a message: If Biden does not support a permanent ceasefire, they cannot support him.
Broadly speaking, those who said they would vote “uncommitted” viewed a vote for Biden as a vote for the status quo, under which the U.S. aids Israel and does not call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
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Washington State Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig stepping down at end of 2024
Washington Senate Democrats will lose one of their leaders in 2025. Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig will not run for reelection, opening the influential role to new leadership.
"Part of being a good leader is knowing when it is time to step aside and let others lead," Billig said in a statement Monday. "I have been incredibly lucky to have served Spokane in the Legislature and fortunate to have the strong support of my family and so many friends and neighbors throughout our community."
RELATED: Republicans, Democrats, carbon, and you. Debating Washington's cap and trade
Billig was elected in 2010 to represent the state's 3rd legislative district, which covers the city of Spokane. He has served as majority leader over the past six years, and sits on the Ways and Means, and Rules committees.
Washington Senate Democrats note that Billig championed education funding, helped pass new climate policies, pushed for sustainable aviation fuels, and had more than 90% of his bills passed with bipartisan support.
Billig said that he will continue to work his regular job with Brett Sports, where he is CEO and co-owner. Brett Sports owns the Spokane Indians baseball team.
Washington Senate Democrats will choose a new Senate leader in November.
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Former Seahawk QB Russell Wilson to be released from Denver Broncos
Russell Wilson will not play for the Denver Broncos in 2024. The former Seahawk, and current Bronco, will be released from his contract before the NFL's league season begins this month.
"We spoke with Russell Wilson today to inform him of his release after the start of the league year. On behalf of the Broncos, we thank Russell for his contributions while wishing him the best as he continues his career," Broncos General Manager George Paton and Head Coach Sean Payton said in a joint statement released Monday afternoon.
RELATED: Pete Carroll's unique legacy and what's next for the Seahawks
Six minutes after the joint statement was published on X (formerly Twitter), Wilson released his own statement thanking Broncos country, his teammates, and even folks who work in the team's cafeteria.
"Tough times don't last, but tough people do. God's got me. I am excited for what's next," Wilson said in his statement.
According to The Seattle Times, Wilson's release comes at an opportune time for the Broncos. If Wilson remained on the team past March 17, he would be guaranteed $37 million as part of his five-year contract.
Wilson played 10 seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, starting in 2012. The Seahawks went to the Super Bowl the next year, beating the Denver Broncos. Two of the three Super Bowls played by the Seahawks happened while Wilson was the team's quarterback.
In 2022, Wilson left the Seahawks and signed a five-year, $245 million contract with the Broncos. His first season with Denver has been viewed as a disappointment. Wilson was reportedly sacked more times than any other quarterback in the NFL that year. In the 2023 season, Wilson was benched for the last two games.
Wilson's release comes two months after the Seahawks let former Head Coach Pete Carroll go, another figure from an era when the Seahawks were among the best teams in the NFL.
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Measure would clear the way for Washington high schoolers to get an even earlier jump on college
A bill to allow incoming 11th graders to take summer college courses is headed to Gov. Jay Inslee’s desk.
The “Walking to Running Start” measure, led by Republican Sen. Brad Hawkins of East Wenatchee, passed the house 92-1 last week. The bill had already cleared the Senate.
It’s an expansion of the state’s Running Start program, which has allowed juniors and seniors to earn college credit while in high school for over two decades.
Diana Haglund, communications director for the Wenatchee School District, said about 250 students there currently participate in the program — and they’re excited to offer it to more.
One perk of the expansion, Haglund said, is that students can ease into the college experience more gradually during the summer term.
“It’s kind of an intro to that, to give kids a flavor and sort of kick the tires on what Running Start would be like, and what the rigor level of college classes would be,” she said.
Haglund is also hopeful that the bill will allow more students to pursue higher education — especially those who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford it.
In Wenatchee, 65% of students are considered low income.
While Running Start students have to purchase textbooks, provide their own transportation to classes, and pay some other fees, college tuition is covered by their home school district.
“We have a lot of first-generation students who are coming through our system and could really benefit from those two years of Running Start experience, to help them get a leg up,” she said. “It makes a big difference in that accessibility and equity of access for many of our students and families.”
Assuming Inslee signs off on the bill, the measure will go into effect 90 days after the session ends. Students will be able to earn as many as 10 credits during the summer before their junior year.
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