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
-
Kirkland students' bill to put Narcan in schools passes the Senate, heads to House
A bill to put opioid reversal medication in every Washington public school passed out of the state Senate and is now headed to the House.
Senate Bill 5804 would require all K-12 public schools, charter schools, and state-tribal education compact schools to keep the opioid overdose reversal medication naloxone on hand.
Naloxone, also known by its brand name Narcan, is a nasal spray that reverses the effects of deadly opioids. It's most often used to counteract the effects of fentanyl, a drug that is up to 50 times more potent than heroin and that has driven the opioid crisis across the country, including in schools.
The bill, which was first reported on by Crosscut, won unanimous approval in the Senate Thursday.
That's good news for students whose communities have been affected by the opioid epidemic, but it's especially welcome news for the students who actually proposed the bill to lawmakers.
"It's been something that we, as students, have to be hyper-aware about and vigilant about," said Sophia Lymberis, one of the Lake Washington High School seniors who came up with the idea for an AP Government class.
"We also wanted to create legislation that would impact people our age, because oftentimes our voices aren't the ones being heard and represented within the Washington state legislature."
Lymberis and her groupmates discovered gaps in existing state legislation, which currently requires only high schools in districts with 2,000 or more students to carry Narcan.
Continue reading » -
How's business in Downtown Seattle? Depends on who you ask
Businesses in Downtown Seattle report mixed results seven months into Mayor Bruce Harrell's plan to revitalize the neighborhood.
Mikayla Wingerter is shift manager at Mint, an avant garde Indian restaurant on First Avenue.
She says January was really hard.
"We would have days where we didn't have our first person come in until like four hours into the restaurant being open," Wingerter said, "which is a shame because the food here is amazing."
People tend to flood into the restaurant when Benaroya Hall hosts an event. After that, it's back to the doldrums again.
But down at the glasses store, "Eyes on You," manager Chantel Anderson says things are picking up.
She says more people are stopping by on their way home from work. That could signal that the negative impact of remote work on downtown may be diminishing over time.
One day she said there were so many customers that "the owner and I looked at each other [and said,] 'There's a lot more walk- ins, even than, I would say, pre-pandemic.'"
Cell phone data by Placer.ai shows that foot traffic is strong near Pike Place Market and the waterfront, but sluggish across other parts of downtown. Tourists are back, but only some of the office workers are.
Continue reading » -
Surge of new EV charging stations coming to Washington state
Washing's goal of getting more electric vehicles on the road got a surge of support Thursday with the announcement of 560 new charging sites across the state. The sites add up to the installation of nearly 5,000 charging stations.
"We are making such huge progress building a clean transportation system in the state of Washington, one that gets people clean, reliable, reasonably priced transportation and fights climate change, and we are rocking it," Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said at an announcement event Thursday, hyping the crowd for the new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations coming to Washington.
RELATED: Road trip! Kicking the tires on electric travel in the Northwest
Inslee said that Washington had a goal of getting 50,000 EVs on the road by 2020, and that the state currently has about 125,000 EVs. All those electric cars will need places to plug in.
The February 2024 announcement comes a year after Washington's first carbon auction. The new EV charging stations are the latest round of projects for Washington's Electric Vehicle Charging Program. They're funded by $84 million from the Climate Commitment Act's carbon auctions. (Read more about the Climate Commitment Act below.)
Breaking down the EV stations:
- The charging stations will be installed at 560 sites across the state
- 4,710 will be Level 2 chargers (with 5,362 plugs between them)
- 271 direct current, fast chargers (with 420 plugs between them)
Stations will be located at:
- 213 multifamily sites
- 211 workplaces, government agencies, and school districts
- 141 public locations (libraries, grocery stores, community centers)
The Department of Commerce says that the chargers could add 10-20 miles per hour of charging; they can fully charge a 300-mile battery in 6-8 hours. The fast chargers can fill a 300-mile battery up to 80% in 20 minutes. Funding for the projects is going to electric utilities, nonprofits, public agencies, and tribes.
Continue reading » -
Republicans, Democrats, carbon, and you: Debating Washington's cap and trade
Even before Washington implemented a cap-and-trade program, which put the ability to pollute carbon into the air up for auction, its effects on the state were hotly debated. Would it cause fuel and other prices to spike? Would it generate enough money to fund climate change initiatives? Even now, after a year of the carbon auction, the debate remains.
“There was a lot more demand for those emissions than some folks anticipated, meaning it is harder to reduce carbon emissions than people thought," said Yoram Bauman, aka The Standup Economist, while chatting with KUOW's Soundside.
“You don’t get to taste the honey without the sting of the bee,” he said, noting that to make progress on environmental and climate goals, it's gonna be a struggle.
In short, Republicans currently want to nix the entire cap-and-trade program through the Legislature or through the initiative process; Democrats want to tweak the law, and even link up with the carbon markets in California and Quebec in an effort to make the system cheaper.
RELATED: The 6 voter initiatives likely heading to Washington ballots this fall, explained
Washington's voters are likely going to answer this debate themselves as Initiative 2117 is slated for the November ballot. The initiative aims to cancel the state's carbon auction. As this debate is likely to continue through the 2024 election season, KUOW's Soundside spoke with a state Democrat, Republican, and an economist to get to the root arguments around Washington's carbon auction — arguments voters should consider when filling out their ballots.
Did Washington's carbon auction cause fuel prices to surge?
Gas prices in Washington state dramatically rose as the carbon auction went into effect. The state had the highest gas prices in the nation last summer. Democrats say that Washington gas prices have been among the most expensive in the USA for decades, and that while the carbon auction may have contributed to prices, it's just one factor out of many. Democrats point a finger of blame at oil companies and refineries, that seek higher profits, as the main reason prices went up.
“I’m not going to duck the fact that climate policies would have an impact on fuel prices; how much is up to debate," State Sen. Joe Nguyen (D) told Soundside, adding that gas prices have recently been lower than they were before the carbon auction began.
RELATED: The price of pollution in Washington state hits $2 billion
Continue reading » -
'Welcome to Mike Macdonald Day': Meet the Seahawks' new head coach
The Seattle Seahawks have found their man to replace longtime head coach Pete Carroll.
Mike Macdonald comes to Seattle football from the Baltimore Ravens, where he was the defensive coordinator from 2022 to 2023 and was on the coaching staff from 2014 to 2020. He left for a brief time to join the coaching staff at the University of Michigan before returning to the Ravens for his final season in Baltimore.
With this latest move, the 36-year-old Macdonald is now the youngest active head coach in the National Football League. Pete Carroll, at 72, was the oldest active head coach before losing his job last month.
"Welcome to Mike Macdonald Day," Seahawks General Manager John Schneider said, as he opened a press conference Thursday to introduce the coach — "a special dude" as Schneider called him — with much ado about how this was a chance to move the team forward.
"This is a humbling feeling," Macdonald said. "It feels like we're in this thing together."
The Ravens finished with the NFL’s best record this season before losing in the AFC Championship to the Kansas City Chiefs.
For those of you who are more stat-inclined, the Seahawks broke down some of the key numbers in a press release:
- The Ravens led the NFL in scoring defense, allowing 16.5 points per game.
- They also led sacks, with 60 for the season.
- And the Ravens finished the 2023 season tied for first in takeaways, with 31.
- Plus, they ranked sixth in yards allowed, at just about 301 per game.
The Ravens' standing reportedly helped make Macdonald one of the most coveted potential hires this offseason. He reportedly interviewed with six teams, including Seattle.
"It is a leap of faith," Macdonald said. "But this is a special city. This is a great football city, and we got the best fans in the world. ... This feels like home already."
Continue reading » -
The 6 voter initiatives likely heading to Washington ballots this fall, explained
Six Republican-backed policy initiatives have qualified for consideration in the Washington Legislature and will likely appear on voters' ballots this November.
The measures represent a major challenge to laws passed by the Legislature's Democratic majority in recent years.
This is also the largest group of initiatives in front of state lawmakers at the same time in a single year.
Here's what you need to know about these proposals.
Initiative 2117
Probably the most consequential of the group, Initiative 2117 would eliminate the central part of the state's landmark Climate Commitment Act: the cap-and-trade program, which sets limits on how much big companies can pollute and requires them to buy "emissions allowances." The idea is that the number of allowances will go down over time, with the goal being a carbon-neutral Washington by 2050.
The carbon auctions started just last year, but critics of the program blame it for high gas prices and call it a "hidden gas tax." People who are supposed to be protected from any rising fuel costs tied to the program, like farmers and truckers, have complained that the state hasn't created an adequate system to facilitate those exemptions.
Some tribal leaders have also expressed frustration with the policy, saying it violates tribal sovereignty, as oil companies pass along higher costs to distributors and customers.
Meanwhile, supporters of the Climate Commitment Act point out that Washington's average cost of a gallon of gas has been among the highest in the country for years. There is data that shows the cap-and-trade program has had an impact on gas prices, but the exact number varies depending on who you ask. It’s unclear exactly how much repealing the program would affect prices at the pump.
Democrats and others who want to keep the law intact also point to the funding it provides for projects aimed at making communities across the state more adaptable to the already-changing climate and helping them transition away from fossil fuels.
Continue reading » -
Potentially deadly fungus found at Seattle hospital. What to know before you panic
Four people with links to Kindred Hospital Seattle have now tested positive for a potentially deadly, drug-resistant fungus.
But you should read on before you panic about a widespread outbreak à la “The Last of Us.”
“The outbreak is not a big concern for the general public,” said Meagan Kay, the deputy chief of Public Health – Seattle & King County’s Communicable Disease Epidemiology and Immunization Section.
So, what did they find exactly, and why is it noteworthy?
The fungus is called Candida auris, a type of yeast known to spread easily among patients in health care facilities.
Another case of C. auris was discovered in July in a patient from Pierce County who was admitted to Kindred Hospital. This current outbreak includes four cases. Three were screened and identified at Kindred. A fourth patient who was screened at a facility in Snohomish had previously received care at Kindred.
RELATED: Washington's first case of potentially deadly fungus found in Pierce County
People who are infected don’t always show symptoms, and, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there isn’t even a common set of symptoms specific to C. auris infections. Symptoms depend on the location and severity of the infection, which can be in different parts of the body, including open wounds, ears, and the bloodstream, where it can be dangerous, according to the CDC.
It’s so elusive, that this is the first known locally acquired case of the fungus in Washington state.
Continue reading » -
Craft nonalcoholic scene is brewing in Seattle, just don't call it a 'mocktail'
Are you sober curious? Perhaps you're more health oriented, or just want to lay off the sauce for dry January. It is currently quite easy to go nonalcoholic in Seattle amid a modern age of mocktails throughout the city's bars.
But if you're up to explore the world of craft cocktails, minus the booze, you should know one thing first: Don't call them "mocktails."
"'Mocktail' is like a four-letter word now," said Seattle Times food writer Tan Vinh. "You would really offend a lot of people who don't drink. Because 10 years ago, you just said mocktail, whatever, and you wanted a virgin cocktail. It has become so popular, it is now considered an art and a craft. So they say, 'We're not a mocktail, which means we're trying to be a copycat of craft cocktails. No, we're a whole new category, a new drink category, with a whole new flavor profile.' So they like to call it 'NA,' nonalcoholic."
While chatting with KUOW's Seattle Now, Vinh expanded on his recent coverage of Seattle's growing NA scene.
"Take Canlis, for example, I would say they spend more time on their NA, or mocktails, than they do on their craft cocktails," he said. "They take purple corn and reduce it down to a syrup, and they add this NA amaro, which is rooty, and they hack it with vanilla beans, and then they top it off with this nonalcoholic sparkling [water]. It tastes a lot like champagne, so you get this really complicated negroni-like drink."
"The problem with these drinks, and bartenders are figuring this out, is what mocktails lack is what I call the 'ump'; it usually tastes too thin or diluted. So now bartenders have a lot more products to play with where they could take a shortcut and open this magic bottle of NA spirit, or they make in-house stuff."
Vinh argues that the craft side of the nonalcoholic scene is the main attraction. There are nonalcoholic spirits, like substitutes for tequila or whiskey, but so far, many don't live up to their name.
These craft NA drinks are a new generation of nonalcoholic beverages, straying far from the virgin drinks of yore, or your parents' mocktails. NA drinks are likely to have bold, uncommon ingredients (that could get pricey). They are crafted as artistically and painstakingly as a high-end cocktail. Over the past few years, such options have emerged onto the menus of bars, breweries, and other watering holes around Seattle and across the USA. Vinh reports that it has added up to a multi-million dollar industry.
"We have a lot of factors working here, one is the pandemic when we drank a lot, so this is an overcorrection," he said. "The reality is, even before the pandemic, there was a movement in terms of, for lack of a better word, mocktails or NA drinks, because a lot of people really don't drink ... before, if you did not drink, you just didn't go to bars, whereas now, it's just more friendly, it's more acceptable, you can go to bars and there are (nonalcoholic) drinks."
"This is no lie, 10 years ago ... a bar on Capitol Hill, true story, someone ordered a mocktail, and the bartender goes, 'Are you pregnant?' That's unacceptable. You wouldn't dare say that now, but that's how weird it was to order a mocktail at a bar. They assumed health reasons or you are pregnant."
Times have changed. As The Seattle Times' food reporter, Vinh goes out up to five times a week, and he notes that these days, he rarely sees a menu without a nonalcoholic drink offered. Such options have long been on menus, he says. Word has gotten out and popularity has grown over time.
Continue reading » -
What to do with all the batteries that Seattle has banned from your garbage?
The moment 2024 began, a new battery ban kicked in for Seattle residents. Batteries, and certain electronics, are no longer allowed in Seattle's garbage bins or dumpsters.
"We are seeing an increased number of batteries in everyday products; that means we are seeing more of them in the garbage," said McKenna Morrigan, a policy advisor with Seattle Public Utilities' solid waste division.
RELATED: Seattle to get garbage hauler to take down misleading green ads
"We're seeing an increase in incidents of batteries causing fires, both in collection vehicles and at our transfer stations, and that poses a risk to our staff and facilities."
Morrigan notes that all batteries contain materials that are harmful to the environment when they are damaged or discarded, but she singles out lithium-ion batteries as the most dangerous when it comes to fire potential. Lithium-ion batteries are common in rechargeable devices. If you plug a device into a wall to recharge, it likely has a lithium-ion battery. She says cities across the USA are now developing programs to deal with them.
Lithium-ion batteries have prompted concern over their fire-starting potential in recent years. You may have noticed airlines asking you if you have any such batteries in your luggage. In 2018, lithium-ion batteries were blamed for igniting a massive fire at a Tacoma scrapyard. The batteries were under 50 feet of scrap and spontaneously combusted.
Seattle's ban goes beyond batteries, and also includes certain electronics, such as TVs, computers, and monitors.
Throwing away batteries in Seattle
If a garbage hauler notices batteries in a trash bin or a dumpster, they will now place a tag on the bin, asking the customer to remove the offending batteries. The bin will not be taken that day. The same goes for forbidden electronics, such as TVs or computer monitors.
Continue reading » -
Seattle steps in to foot bill for migrants living in hotel
A group of about 200 migrants seeking asylum will be allowed to remain at a hotel — at least for now.
The City of Seattle stepped up at the last minute to pay for them to stay at the hotel for one more week. That's after a group of asylum-seekers and their children stayed at City Hall for hours after sharing their need for safe housing with the City Council.
Advocates said the city and its county and state partners came up with this solution within a matter of hours, and they expect to see more results now that they've bought more time.
The families who demonstrated are part of a bigger group of asylum seekers that have been staying at Quality Inn in Kent since Jan. 10 with the help of the national nonprofit Save the Kids. However, the hotel manager said the card on file was repeatedly declined; Save the Kids told KUOW the credit card was provided by a private startup company to help pay for some housing.
That left the asylum-seekers with a hefty bill of about $3,600 per night, and few options before a Tuesday deadline to leave the hotel.
RELATED: Venezuelan migrants booted from Seattle-area hotel after nonprofit credit card maxes out
The group took the matter to Seattle City Hall on Tuesday. Now, Seattle officials have promised to pay their hotel bills for about a week.
Hamdi Mohamed, director of Seattle's Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, made the announcement to demonstrators at City Hall, prompting audible gasps of relief as a translator shared the news in Spanish.
The news came after demonstrators had waited hours for information. Advocates brought them water and food, yet another necessity that has been hard to come by.
"One of the things that the city is committed to — and we've been doing for quite some time — is working with our nonprofit organizations to help provide legal clinics to connect you guys with legal services; to provide some sort of consultation; to help with employment authorization cards, because I know that's important to a lot of you guys," Mohamed said. "So, any services that are out there in the next week or so, we will also communicate that to you all."
This just a temporary solution, though.
Mohamed said the city does not have the resources to support the asylum-seekers' needs long term.
"Migrant issues is a federal issue, and the city doesn't have resources, specifically, to respond to that," she said Tuesday. "But we are today."
Continue reading » -
King County Homelessness Authority gets new leader, for now
Changes are in the works at the troubled agency in charge of homelessness in King County.
L. Darrell Powell will become the second interim head of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, pending approval by the governing committee.
If approved, Powell will start work on Feb. 14. The interim position is temporary. The search for a permanent CEO continues.
RELATED: How a regional homelessness board became so dysfunctional
Powell is a former CEO of the United Way of King County, and was once CFO for the YMCA of Greater Seattle.
"The work of the King County Regional Homeless Authority to reduce homelessness and ensure our neighbors who are homeless and unstably housed are supported in the ways they need is one of our region’s highest priorities and deepest challenges,” United Way president and CEO Gordon McHenry, Jr said in a statement. “We have great confidence that Darrell will be an effective leader as Interim CEO of the KCRHA.”
McHenry is also part of the Homelessness Authority's implementation board.
King County's Homelessness Authority has been struggling. In May 2023, its former CEO, Marc Dones, suddenly stepped down. Dones gave two recommendations for whoever takes over the job: revisit the structure of the Homelessness Authority board; focus more on underlying policies that led to the national homelessness crisis and less on blame.
Moving forward
Alison Eisinger heads the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness, an advocacy group. She says leaders need to spend a lot more money on homelessness. Otherwise, any new agency head is being set up to fail.
Continue reading » -
Why Washington cars could get a little Smokey in 2024
Washington drivers could soon see Smokey the Bear on the road — not behind the wheel, but on a new specialty license plate that lawmakers are currently considering.
“Since 1944, Smokey Bear has reminded with his signature catchphrase that, ‘Only you can prevent wildfires,’” State Sen. T'wina Nobles (D-Fircrest) said in a statement. “Putting his image on vehicles across Washington would increase awareness by reminding us of our shared responsibility to safeguard our state’s natural legacy. As 90% of wildfires are human-caused every year, his message has never been more important.”
RELATED: Put a (Sue) Bird on it — Specialty license plates in the Pacific Northwest are growing
Nobles introduced SB 5910 last week. The bill, which aims to raise money through the sale of the specialty Smokey plates to fund prevention efforts aimed at human-caused fires, has so far been heard by Washington state's Senate Transportation Committee.
The plates would initially cost $40, and then $30 to renew. The bill states that the funds are "only for the department of natural resources to use for wildfire prevention programs." If approved, the plates could become available in October 2024.
A companion bill, HB 2108, has also been introduced.
Smokey the Bear became a household name in the 1940s when the federal government kicked off campaigns for wildfire prevention. Since then, Smokey has been woven into forest fire prevention ads starting with posters, then radio, and TV.
Continue reading »