KUOW Blog
News, factoids, and insights from KUOW's newsroom. And maybe some peeks behind the scenes. Check back daily for updates.
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Stories
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Kitsap judge declines to hear Trump ballot challenge, but effort continues in Washington
Washington voters aiming to keep former President Donald Trump off the 2024 presidential ballot will have to wait a little longer to know if their challenge will move forward in the court.
RELATED: Trump's place on Washington state's ballot challenged by 8 voters
On Tuesday, Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Bassett denied the case, saying that the Kitsap court was not the correct venue for the issue. That doesn't mean the effort has ultimately been rejected, however.
"Thurston County is the seat of our state government, legislative, judicial and executive branches," Judge Bassett said. "I'm concluding today that given their unique position as the seat of our state government, we are not the appropriate site for this action today and I decline to hear it."
Eight voters filed a challenge last week in both Kitsap and Thurston counties. Frankey Ithaka organized the ballot challenge effort, and told the judge they filed in both counties because all voters live in Kitsap, but they intend the challenge to go statewide and therefore also filed in Thurston County, where the Capitol is located.
"So we should go to Thurston (County), do our case in Thurston, on Thursday?" Ithaka asked in court.
"Yes," Judge Bassett said.
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Tanya Woo sees support – and controversy – in bid for open Seattle Council seat
Last fall, Chinatown International District activist Tanya Woo lost the race to represent South Seattle by a few hundred votes. Now, Woo’s bid to win the appointment to replace former Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda is gaining traction and generating controversy.
Last year, Woo campaigned on a pledge to improve public safety in South Seattle neighborhoods, like Little Saigon. She also promised to listen carefully to all voices in District 2’s diverse communities. But she was unable to unseat her progressive opponent, incumbent Tammy Morales, and lost by 1.55%.
RELATED: Sharp disagreements between Morales and Woo in Seattle Council race
After she lost, Woo’s supporters started floating her name for the open council job, with some pointing out that there are no Asian-American voices on the current city council.
That campaign started to bear fruit last Friday, when three city council members said Woo was their top choice. Then, Publicola reported about a leaked letter in which political insider Tim Ceis urged local business leaders to back Woo. The letter was directed to wealthy individuals who had spent millions on political ads last year to try and elect more business-friendly moderates, like Woo, to the Council.
“The independent campaign expenditure success earned you the right to let the Council know not to offer the left the consolation prize of this Council seat,” Ceis said.
That statement provoked criticism by some on social media.
"Tim Ceis continues to think he and his big corporate allies run this city regardless of what the public interest is or wants," wrote Robert Cruickshank on X.
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SCOTUS won't hear case challenging the WA capital gains tax
The U.S. Supreme Court announced Tuesday it won't hear a case challenging Washington's capital gains tax.
A conservative think tank, Freedom Foundation, filed a petition in August asking the court to weigh in, questioning the state's constitutional authority to tax out-of-state transactions under the federal Commerce Clause.
RELATED: WA initiative supporters turn in signatures to repeal capital gains tax, carbon auctions
“We live in a lawless state where the governor and state Supreme Court justices routinely ignore state laws and the state constitution,” Freedom Foundation's Executive Vice President Brian Minnich said.
Washington's state's capital gains tax applies to sales of assets like stocks and bonds that are worth more than $250,000. It brought in nearly $900 million of state revenue in its first year, after being upheld by the Washington State Supreme Court last spring. That funding is largely earmarked for school construction, child care and early learning.
Republicans in the state Legislature, including House Minority Leader Drew Stokesbary (R-Auburn) also say they're disappointed but unsurprised that the country's highest court won't take the case.
"It really hinged on the dormant Commerce Clause … it's a concept that even some of the conservative Supreme Court justices appointed by Republicans have expressed some skepticism toward," Stokesbary said. "It is of course disappointing – disappointing that legislative Democrats essentially got away with the word games they played."
Supporters of the tax, meanwhile, are celebrating the court's rejection.
"The court's decision today is a huge victory for Washington kids and families," said Treasure Mackley, director of Invest in Washington Now. "For the first time in a very, very, very long time, the wealthiest in Washington state are being asked to pay what they truly owe."
A recent report shows Washington no longer has the most inequitable tax code in the country, in part, because of the capital gains tax – the state now ranks second, behind Florida.
But even though the court challenge is over, the capital gains tax is still unsettled. Critics are optimistic about the proposed ballot initiative aiming to repeal the tax that looks likely to head to Washington voters this November.
RELATED: Seattle eyes its own potential capital gains tax
[Copyright 2024 Northwest News Network]
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WA lawmakers consider whether to tweak or repeal laws governing police chases
Regulating police vehicle pursuits emerged as a highly charged issue at the state Legislature in recent years. Lawmakers enacted strict regulations in 2021 in the wake of widespread anti-police protests, then loosened those restrictions slightly last year amidst reports of suspects brazenly fleeing police stops.
The issue is back on the agenda during this session, in the form of an initiative and other legislative proposals.
Steve Strachan, executive director of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, said he’s seeking multiple tools from lawmakers to find what he sees as the right balance on vehicle pursuits.
“We don’t want more pursuits," Strachen said. "We just want to send a strong message to people who choose to flee that that’s a bad idea and they’re going to get caught.”
Strachan said police pursuits are “inherently dangerous” and should be limited. But he said “the law changes that we saw in 2021 along with a large suite of police reform bills has changed sort of the environment that we’re seeing out there with driving."
“The changes led to a marginal decrease in the number of pursuits but it led to an exponential increase in the number of people fleeing from lawful traffic stops and fleeing from scenes of crimes,” he said.
This year, “we have proposed having greater flexibility in ability to pursue,” Strachan said, “but also to really kick up technology and greater sentencing and greater consequences for both adults and juveniles if they choose to flee from the police.”
This could include mandatory monitoring, mandatory sentences, and impoundment of vehicles, “because that’s going to be meaningful to a lot of people,” Strachan said, and then using fixed cameras to track stolen vehicles.
Strachan said the main goal is to curb reckless driving and traffic deaths.
State Sens. John Lovick (D-Mill Creek) and Manka Dhingra (D-Redmond) have advocated for strict limits on police vehicle pursuits in the past because of the dangers they present. They are now sponsoring SB 6200, which contains some of the increased penalties sought by WASPC.
Their bill would make people arrested for fleeing police subject to the same penalties as street racing. Vehicles used to attempt to elude the police would be subject to impound. Those arrested for that crime would be subject to mandatory home monitoring, and if convicted could face longer probation.
“Eluding the police is a public danger on our streets, just like illegal racing is," Sen. Dhingra said in a statement. "Sen. Lovick and I have been working with the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs in the interim to ensure we are holding people accountable for this unsafe behavior. This bill is the result of that work. It aligns the penalties for eluding with the penalties for illegal racing.”
Legislators also have to decide how to respond to Initiative 2113, which was recently certified by the Washington Secretary of State’s office. That initiative would repeal state restrictions on pursuits and allow local law enforcement to decide whether “the safety risks of failing to apprehend or identify the person are considered to be greater than the safety risks of the vehicular pursuit under the circumstances.”
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Washington state AG sues to block Kroger-Albertsons grocery merger
Washington is challenging the merger of grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons, the first state to file suit to block the $25 billion dollar deal.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson says the merger is bad for Washington consumers. His office filed a lawsuit in King County Superior Court on Monday.
RELATED: Warning of higher grocery prices, Washington AG sues to stop Kroger-Albertsons merger
More than half of all supermarkets in Washington state are currently owned by either Kroger or Albertsons.
Ferguson, who’s running for governor, says a merger would eliminate head-to-head competition between the two largest grocery operators in the state.
“If Kroger and Albertsons merge, they will, simply put, dwarf the competition," he said.
Ferguson argues that means fewer choices for shoppers. He says he’s not convinced that the companies’ offer to sell 413 stores would solve the issue. He notes the buyer, C&S Wholesale Grocers, currently operates 23 stores nationwide and lacks the infrastructure to become a large-scale operator.
“The newly combined Kroger Albertsons brands will be immediately positioned to outcompete their former supermarkets while they transition to their new owner.”
Ferguson argues that the situation is similar to the last major grocery merger in 2015 where the divestiture failed. In a joint statement, Kroger and Albertsons calls the AG’s decision to sue premature. The Federal Trade Commission is still weighing the merger.
Read the full story on Washington's challenge to the Kroger/Albertsons merger here.
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Airbnbs, short-term rentals face uncertain future following crackdown in Port Angeles
The City of Port Angeles is deciding how to regulate short-term rentals that show up on Airbnb and Vrbo.
Port Angeles has a zoning rule that doesn’t allow short-term rentals in some areas. But it was unclear, and not enforced, according to short-term rental owners.
Then last year, more than 100 of those owners got cease and desist orders from the city, threatening fines of $500 a day.
Shireen Hutchison was among them.
“We didn't realize we were illegal because we had gone to the city in 2016 and asked if there was any rules or regulations for short-term rentals in Port Angeles. And we were told, 'Nope — none,'" she said.
Her family had come to rely on that income, especially after Hutchison's husband became permanently disabled after being catapulted by a tree during a forestry accident.
“We had been operating [the short-term rental] and then to get this letter saying we needed to shut down," Hutchison said. "It was surprising, devastating.”
Some people in the area blame short-term rentals for the local housing shortage.
"It's so hard to get professionals to move here, because there are no [long-term] rentals," said Darlene Schanfald, a resident of Sequim.
Schanfald said she'd consider living in Port Angeles, but cannot, for the same reasons.
“I'm hoping that they would ban short-term rentals,” she said in reference to the Port Angeles City Council.
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Bremerton leans on nimble passenger ferry amid long wait for new vessel
In Bremerton, Wash., residents and businesses are reeling from the news that they won’t get their second state ferry back again until 2028.
That’s devastating to local businesses and residents. Some depend on services, jobs, and entertainment based in Seattle. Others depend on tourists arriving from Seattle.
RELATED: Washington State Ferries confirms service disruptions will continue for years
Though the loss of half its ferries continues to hit Bremerton hard, there is a silver lining: The workaround has long-term benefits.
Car ferries are expensive because they're big. Smaller, passenger-only ferries, like the ones run by Kitsap County, are much cheaper.
Originally, it was Kitsap taxpayers who voted to create their county's nimble fleet of passenger-only boats. That service began in 2017. In 2023, state funds allowed Kitsap's fleet to add more sailings. Since then, ridership has surged. The Bremerton-Seattle line saw a 54% increase.
Bremerton Mayor Greg Wheeler called the expanded service an overwhelming success.
"We have literally put people back to work, help them maintain their jobs, maintain connectivity," he said.
Wheeler said his community still needs its other big car ferry back, for freight, tourists, and car-dependent residents. There are seniors living outside of Bremerton, for example, who must drive to the V.A. hospital in Seattle, he said. For a person in that situation, the car ferry is a lifeline.
But the future lies with the small passenger boats, which are more in line with the city's plan to center development around transit, rather than cars, he added.
“I just see this potentially having an opportunity to expand what we do and be better at it."
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Why PSE urged Western Washington to conserve energy amid severe cold
Energy utilities in Washington and Oregon asked their customers to curtail gas and electricity usage on Saturday after the Northwest’s largest storehouse of natural gas shut down amid extreme cold temperatures.
A spokesperson for Puget Sound Energy, Washington state’s largest utility, said Sunday afternoon that it will keep asking customers to conserve as long as the region’s unusually cold weather continues.
On Saturday afternoon, Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Williams Companies, operator of the Northwest’s main natural gas pipeline, sent out an emergency notice: “Puget Sound Energy’s Jackson Prairie Storage facility has suffered a complete outage.”
The Jackson Prairie facility, about 10 miles south of Chehalis, Wash., stores more natural gas than any other site in the Pacific Northwest.
In sandstone layers, more than 1,000 feet underground, it holds gas purchased in summer, when prices are low, for pumping into Williams' Northwest Pipeline in winter, when demand and prices are high.
With the need for heat and gas-fired electricity spiking during the region’s coldest temperatures in many years, the volume of gas in the Northwest’s pipeline system on the I-5 corridor was dropping “at a rapid rate,” the company warned customers.
“Northwest requests all customers to take IMMEDIATE action to reduce loads on the system,” Williams’ notice stated.
Just before 7 p.m., Puget Sound Energy asked its customers to conserve gas and power that evening, blaming “extreme cold temperatures” and “higher energy use than forecasted” without mentioning the dwindling supply of gas entering the Northwest Pipeline.
“This evening, we’re asking customers to set their thermostats at a lower setting and limit the use of hot water, such as dishwashing or clothes washing, dryers and other appliances.”
Gas-fired power plants are the leading source of electricity for Puget Sound Energy, followed by hydropower and coal.
Other utilities in Washington and Oregon made similar asks of their customers, though some acknowledged the outage at Jackson Prairie as well as the weather.
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And then there were 8. Seattle City Council announces finalists for vacant seat
On Thursday, the city released a list of 72 applicants who stepped forward to fill the vacant seat on the dais. On Friday, that list got whittled down to just eight.
RELATED: Political shakeup at Seattle City Hall for Council's Central Staff
In a special meeting, council members narrowed in on the final eight, which includes names that might be familiar to Seattleites, such as Seattle School Board member Vivian Song; Mark Solomon, who is crime prevention coordinator with the Seattle Police Department and who previously ran for City Council; or Tanya Woo, who recently lost the Council election to incumbent Tammy Morales by 1.5% (403 votes).
The eight candidates:
- Juan J. Cotto
- Neha Nariya
- Mark Solomon
- Vivian Song
- Steven K. Strand
- Mari Sugiyama
- Linh Thai
- Tanya Woo
Read the applications for the council seat here.
The vacant spot on the Seattle City Council was created when Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda stepped down to move over to the King County Council. The position is temporary and represents Position 8, which is an at-large seat.
Next up, a to-be-scheduled forum will be hosted by the Seattle City Club for the community to meet the applicants. On Monday, Jan. 22, the Council will hold a special meeting and the eight applicants will be able to address Council members.
The Council is slated to make its appointment Jan. 23.
The appointee will fill in until the November election. They have the opportunity to run to keep the seat.
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DOJ now reviewing case against Tacoma PD officers acquitted in Manny Ellis' death
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle confirms it is reviewing the case against three Tacoma police officers involved in the death of Manuel Ellis.
"The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Washington, is conducting an independent review of the state’s case concerning Manuel Ellis’ death. If that review reveals violations of federal criminal statutes, the Justice Department will take appropriate action," said Emily Langlie, spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle, in a statement.
RELATED: 3 Tacoma police officers found not guilty in 2020 death of Manny Ellis
Last month, the three officers — Christopher Burbank, Matthew Collins and Timothy Rankine — were acquitted of murder and manslaughter charges by a jury in Pierce County for their role in Ellis’ death in 2020. Ellis’ family members then called for the U.S. Justice Department to evaluate whether the police officers violated Ellis’ civil rights when they forcibly restrained him. Ellis died at the scene after saying he couldn’t breathe.
Wayne Fricke, one of the defense attorneys for Tacoma Officer Burbank, said in an email: "I am not surprised that the United States Attorney is looking into the case. I fully expected that to happen at some point. I look at it as their office doing their due diligence and nothing more. I fully expect that after they review the information and hopefully speak to the defense, that they will close their files."
In the wake of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis in 2020 that triggered widespread protests against police violence, the DOJ successfully prosecuted Derek Chauvin and the other police officers involved for federal civil rights offenses saying two other Minneapolis police officers deprived Floyd "of his constitutional right to be free from an officer’s unreasonable force when each willfully failed to intervene to stop former MPD Officer Derek Chauvin’s use of unreasonable force, resulting in bodily injury" and death. The officers were also convicted of failing to render aid to Floyd.
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FAA expands oversight of Boeing amid investigation into in-flight blowout
The Federal Aviation Administration is launching a new plan to ensure Boeing’s manufacturing process produces airplanes that are safe to fly.
The FAA said Friday it will expand oversight of the Renton-based company, following an incident last week in which a piece of fuselage broke off of a 737 Max 9 jet mid-flight.
“We know there are problems with manufacturing,” FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker told CNBC. “There have been problems in the past, but these are continuing. The aircraft that was involved in the accident last week on Alaska was less than three months old, so this is a brand-new aircraft. It has just come off the line, and it had significant problems, and we believe there are other manufacturing problems as well.”
Under the new plan, the FAA will conduct an audit of Boeing’s Seattle-area 737 Max 9 production lines and increase monitoring when the aircraft is serviced.
RELATED: FAA launches investigation into Boeing after in-flight blowout
The FAA will also look at Boeing’s quality control procedures and instances where matters of safety are delegated. The FAA said Friday it may explore “options to move these functions under independent, third-party entities.”
“We welcome the FAA’s announcement and will cooperate fully and transparently with our regulator,” Boeing said in a statement. “We support all actions that strengthen quality and safety and we are taking actions across our production system.”
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Trump's place on Washington state's ballot challenged by 8 voters
A group of voters in Kitsap County have put Washington on the list of states challenging former President Donald Trump's candidacy on the next presidential ballot.
Arguing what matters most is “that this country survives, and I’m not sure this country can survive Donald Trump," Frankey Ithaka is leading the local charge to challenge Trump's place on Washington state's ballot. On behalf of eight people, including themself, they filed the challenge in superior court for Kitsap and Thurston counties.
RELATED: Where the Republican presidential candidates stand on Donald Trump
“I think the language is clear in the 14th Amendment, and I think his intent is clear in his behavior and his words, and when you lay those two things together, I think your own personal politics kind of fade away," Ithaka said. "I think any rational person looking at those two things cannot deny that he engaged in an insurrection.”
Ithaka describes themself as a political person, though they are not a member of any political party. They have participated in more campaigns than they can count. Having a minor in political science, Ithaka said the Constitution is not unfamiliar territory for them. They have therefore taken interest in challenges to Trump in other states.
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