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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Bremerton's praying coach Joe Kennedy resigns after brief return
Assistant Coach Joe Kennedy has resigned after returning to Bremerton High School's football team for one game, and one final prayer.
In a statement on his website, Kennedy announced his resignation from the Bremerton School District, saying that he will focus on work outside of the school system for religious liberty. Kennedy just returned to the job after a U.S. Supreme Court decision in his favor that culminated an seven-year legal battle over his post-game prayers at the 50-yard line.
“As I have demonstrated, we must make a stand for what we believe in. In my case, I made a stand to take a knee. I encourage all Americans to make their own stand for freedom and our right to express our faith as we see fit," Kennedy said.
Read Kennedy's full statement below.
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Pink salmon are on the move and Seattle anglers are lining up to reel them in
A
s the sun set over Puget Sound, Tom Molinas stood in a line of a half-dozen anglers spaced evenly along the beach at Lincoln Park in Seattle, casting and reeling in, their poles rising and falling in an uneven rhythm, everyone waiting for a bite.
Molinas had already had some luck. Two pink salmon flapped sporadically on a line in the lapping tide by his feet.
Molinas has been fishing these waters for three decades. He pulled out a photo protected in a Ziploc bag that shows him standing at Pier 52 downtown in a rain jacket and sunglasses smoking a cigarette and holding a line of half a dozen salmon. He was 22.
Molinas, a veteran of the Vietnam War, said, over the years, fishing has played a big part in maintaining his mental health.
“For me, this is therapy,” he said.
RELATED: Pink salmon are having a great 2023 return in Puget Sound
This year’s run has the potential to calm many a soul. State officials say 2023 could be one of the largest runs of pink salmon in the past decade. Pink salmon only return to their spawning grounds on odd-numbered years.
They are sometimes called "humpies" because of the hump males develop as they make their way up rivers and streams to spawn.
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Seattle Public Schools narrowly averts strike, allowing kids to return to classes
Seattle Public Schools averted a strike, allowing the district’s nearly 50,000 students to return to classrooms on time for the first day Wednesday.
In a message to families late Tuesday, the district said it had come to a tentative agreement with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302.
The union represents about 600 SPS employees, including school custodians, gardeners, food service workers, and security staff. Their contract with the district had expired Aug. 31, and a representative for the union said Sunday that a strike was becoming increasingly likely.
“SPS appreciates all the hard work of both bargaining teams to reach a tentative agreement,” Bev Redmond, the district’s chief of staff, wrote Tuesday. “We are excited to have the members of Local 302 join us as we welcome our students, families, staff, and community partners for the 2023-24 school year tomorrow.”
After closing a $131 million budget gap for this school year, Washington's largest district will face another deficit of roughly $100 million. School closures are likely on the horizon for the 2024-25 school year.
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Housing and parks could be built over I-5. Seattle councilmembers are officially into it
As Seattle officials plan for the city's future, placing a lid over I-5 will be in the works thanks to the City Council's latest resolution.
A "lid" over the freeway would mean significant construction to turn portions of I-5 into a tunnel. The newly created space above it could be dedicated to housing, park space, and commercial uses.
The Seattle City Council approved a resolution supporting the idea to construct a lid over I-5. The approval allows for the city to pursue federal funding. The resolution was approved with three yeas, two abstained, and none opposed, with Councilmembers Andrew Lewis, Dan Strauss, and Lisa Herbold approving.
"This is a big step forward," Councilmember Lewis said at the meeting. "This resolution represents the first formal council action recognizing an interest in expanding our lid zones throughout the city."
Lewis said he expects it to be the first of many resolutions. It is meant to place the I-5 lid project into consideration as officials develop a new comprehensive plan, budgets, and other goals. Such plans are unknown currently, but council members mentioned partnerships with the state Legislature and federal agencies to get it done. Councilmember Dan Strauss said that private investment could play a significant role in funding the projects.
Lewis also likened the lid I-5 proposal to the projects along the city's waterfront that are just now coming together. He called lidding I-5 Seattle's "next big challenge."
There are currently several lids on SR 520, including one under construction in Seattle's Montlake neighborhood. There are also lids over I-90. One is part of the Mount Baker Tunnel (the western entrance is actually a lid that leads into the Mount Baker tunnel; Sam Smith Park is up top), as well as a portion of I-90 over Mercer Island. That lid is now known as Aubrey Davis Park and has 90 acres of park space.
Ideas for placing a lid over I-5 through parts of Seattle have floated around the city for many years. The group Lid I-5 has actively pushed the idea forward. It's gained supporters over time, such as Phen Huang with the Foster White Gallery in Seattle.
“It’s an open sore in the midst of the city of Seattle,” Huang said. “Having the traffic noise and just the cleaving of our city by the I-5 being the first thing people see when they approach us from the airport – how sad is that? That’s not who we are.”
Instead, Huang says a lid over I-5 through downtown Seattle could support housing and parks with lots of trees.
"It seems to me there's no question that there needs to be an I-5 lidding,” Huang said. “It's just a question of how far does it need to go. It'd be great if it's more than just Madison to Denny; if it kept going. Because then you wouldn't have these cement walls, you wouldn't have these ugly approaches. You'd see so much more green."
A recent city report estimated a lid project could cost billions of dollars, but the state is currently studying the need for major seismic upgrades for I-5. Backers say building a lid during those upgrades could bring the cost way down.
In the past, many stretches of the freeway have been pointed to for lid potential. Some have proposed covering the freeway through downtown. Others feel North Seattle is a good candidate.
On Tuesday, Councilmember Strauss pointed out North Seattle, between 50th Street and 45th Street, and said a lid could connect separated neighborhoods while producing millions in new property tax revenue for the city.
"If we can have 14 acres of public and private land, that would be amazing," Strauss said.
"I'd like to see a lid up at 130th station as well," he added.
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Seattle police chief's alleged relationship with employee prompts inquiries, roils department
The rumor started spreading in February.
Whispers that Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz was involved in a romantic relationship with a woman he would, months later, hire to be a high ranking advisor who reports to him.
After the advisor started on the job, the rumor reached a fever pitch, fueling an ongoing distraction across the department. It was discussed, according to six officers from different parts of the department, at unit meetings, a staff-wide union meeting, and on the street corner during All-Star Week. It was mentioned in a scathing letter by a retiring lieutenant and posted to a conservative Facebook group.
Diaz himself addressed it with his command staff, according to two sources, telling them that he believed the rumor started with one of them — and that he intended to investigate.
Diaz has denied the relationship was ever romantic through his attorney, Ted Buck, a defense lawyer who has long represented Seattle cops. Buck told KUOW that Diaz and the advisor are friends, nothing more.
“This is a man who has family, who has children,” Buck said. “Are they romantic friends? No, they are not.”
What started as water cooler chatter about the big boss has morphed into a hydra of internal probes and fact finding missions. One investigation came at Diaz’s behest to ferret out the rumormongers — the chief went so far as to involve the FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, according to Buck.
The FBI and Homeland Security declined to comment.
The latest inquiry turns the spotlight on Diaz. For the past two months, the Office of Police Accountability, the city’s police watchdog agency, has been conducting a preliminary investigation into Diaz’s alleged relationship with his advisor, who was hired with a salary of $163,900.
The intake investigation was instigated by several anonymous complaints to the office, alleging behavior that would violate city policy on supervisor/employee relationships, which says the department will not “knowingly place employees with a family or personal relationship in a supervisor/subordinate assignment.”
The OPA director, with the Office of Inspector General, will determine whether or not the allegations warrant further investigation, according to an OPA process for complaints directed at the police chief.
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Scenes from an Eastern Washington town devastated by wildfire
The Gray Fire near Medical Lake, west of Spokane, destroyed 240 homes and burned over 10,000 acres after starting on Aug. 18.
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Wheelless in Seattle: Bainbridge ferry nixes cars, bikes for a week
Brace yourselves, Bainbridge Island commuters. No cars, motorcycles, bicycles, or scooters will be allowed on the Bainbridge-to-Seattle ferry route for an entire week.
The restrictions start Thursday, Sept. 7 at 1 a.m. and will last through 3 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 13.
This means the Bainbridge/Seattle ferry route will be limited to walk-on passengers only and will be reduced to a one-boat schedule.
RELATED: Colman Dock is back! Ferry riders delight in Seattle's upgraded terminal
The reason for the wheelless interruption is that work crews will be constructing a new, more fortified overhead walkway at the Bainbridge ferry terminal.
The current walkway is more than 50 years old and is supported by wood pilings. Officials are concerned that these piling could collapse during an earthquake. The plan is to replace them with a steel-fortified walkway, anchored by concrete and steel columns. which will be designed to hold up against tremors.
Pedestrians will also be able to use this new walkway at the same time vehicles are loading on the car deck, making for speedier boarding.
Big picture: It's good news as this route is starting to see a return to pre-pandemic levels of walk-on ridership. According to WSDOT, more than 3.2 million people used the Bainbridge terminal walkway each year before the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Strike is 'looking more likely,' some Seattle school staff say
Updated on 9/6/23: Seattle Public Schools reached a tentative agreement with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302 on Tuesday, averting a strike and allowing the district’s nearly 50,000 students to return to classrooms on time for the first day Wednesday.
RELATED: Seattle Public Schools narrowly averts strike, allowing kids to return to classes
Days before the first day of school, one of the unions representing Seattle Public Schools staffers says a strike is becoming increasingly likely.
Students are due to return to classrooms Wednesday. It’s unclear how soon the union is considering a strike, but in a statement Tuesday, district officials say they anticipate starting the school year on time.
The union represents about 600 SPS employees, including school custodians, gardeners, food service workers, and security staff.
The district's contract with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302 expired last week. They have yet to come to a new agreement.
Shelly Filippi, a field representative for the union, said they're returning to the bargaining table with the district sometime this week.
In a press release sent out Sunday, the union said its workers are among the lowest paid workers in Seattle schools, and that neighboring districts with smaller budgets pay their staff more. The union urged the district to give them a fair contract with higher wages, arguing they are essential to the district's operations.
The union said security staff keep students and staff safe, culinary workers prepare and serve students breakfast and lunch, custodians create "clean, warm, and welcoming" environment in schools, and the gardeners keep grounds "looking their best."
"These conditions are often taken for granted," the press release said. "Without them, the students' needs will not be met. The educators will not be able to do their best teaching. The students will not be able to do their best learning."
In a statement on Monday, SPS officials said they are "actively working" to get a new contract in place, noting "it is not unusual to go past the contract end date for these negotiations."
Just last year, a teachers strike set Seattle’s first day of school back by a week.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
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Mike's adventures in art: PAX, Bumbershoot, Midsummer Night's Dream
If you're looking for tips on how to experience art in the Seattle area, you're in the right place. In this weekly post, KUOW reporter Mike Davis has suggestions for what to do around Seattle over the weekend so you can have your own adventures in arts and culture.
Arts Events
PAX, aka, the Penny Arcade Expo, is downtown in the Convention Center this weekend. This marks the 19th year of the event that has grown from 3,000 gamers in Bellevue to over 120,000 descending on downtown. For those unfamiliar, this is kind of like comic con for video games. What makes this event so special, besides the homegrown roots and the robust community, is that PAX has always been about the people who play video games, not the retailers. So for anyone who plays games on their cell phone, or enjoys gathering around board games with friends and family, or more modern gamers on PC, Playstation, or Nintendo — this event will have something for you! As an added bonus, for the first time outside of Japan, Nintendo will be hosting their big event, Nintendo Live, right here in Seattle at PAX.
For more info on PAX, check out this segment from Soundside.
PAX West, at the Convention Center Labor Day Weekend.
Bumbershoot, is back at the Seattle Center for Labor Day weekend. This year's revamped festival will feature the live music folks remember from recent years, but will now have a ton of arts experiences infused into the festivities. This includes not only visual art and sculptures, but tattoo art, fashion, culinary art, semi-pro wrestling, and more. I’m excited to check out the new festival and find out more about the Cat Circus that I keep hearing about!
Bumbershoot, at the Seattle Center September 1-2
Theater
"A Midsummer Night’s Dream," is playing at Tacoma Arts Live. This production led me to contemplate on why this column exists. The purpose I hope to serve is more focused on tips for enjoyable experiences in the arts than theatrical or artistic critique. I tend to do both at times, but I believe enjoying art is more important than discussing whether or not the art is “good.” I say this here, because if I were to approach this discussion of Tacoma Arts Live’s production of "A Midsummer Night’s Dream" from a critical standpoint, it would be harsh. The reason why I am not focusing on a critical review that may deter readers from seeing this production for themselves, is because despite the deficiencies of this production, I had a really good time! And it is my hope that people come to this column not for theatrical critiques that nail down the technical components we see on stage, but instead to hear about places people can go for fun and enjoyable experiences in the arts. So, before any of you — and you know who you are — fire off that email or post on social media about everything that this production is not, allow me to tell people what this production is…
Fun! It’s a Shakespeare play, set in Hawaii, in the space that houses Utopian Garden. About 80% of the space is covered in a floor-wall LCD screen that acts as a backdrop with flowering gardens, hidden cottages, and castles that at times blend into the story unfolding on stage, but also has moments of distraction. For example, in solemn moments when characters are professing their love through flowery Shakespearean dialogue, the bright fauna filled screen is alive with fireflies wheezing around that for some reason are audible and pulling my attention away from the actors. I want the illusion of being in the forest, not the audio experience of being there.
But even with the technical hiccups, the production was successful. And the crowd played a role in that. I seemed to be the only one that didn’t get the memo that we were all supposed to show up in Hawiian shirts and flower lays. The seating also leaned into the aesthetic. There were two rows of folding chairs on either side of the stage, but the center was a big soft “carpet” that functioned as sand on a beach. Some folks brought beach chairs, some laid out on towels, and some just cozied on the rug. It was like watching a play while sitting at the beach.
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Oregon Road Fire survivor recounts harrowing escape
Justin Knutsen and his family had mere minutes to escape their home in Elk, Washington, as the Oregon Road Fire bore down on them.
"We need to get out of here now," Knutsen recalled, while sharing his experience with UW Medicine from his hospital bed at Harborview Medical Center.
It was Friday, Aug. 18, and Knutsen had just packed up his wife and infant daughter when a sheriff's deputy warned that the wildfire, north of Spokane, had changed direction — it was headed straight for them.
But there were others Knutsen had to warn first. He sent his family to safety in a separate vehicle and took off in his truck to find a friend and his mother. As we was driving back, however, he ran into a think wall of thick black smoke.
"I probably made it 45 seconds past that black smoke, and my truck shut off," Knutsen said.
Nothing worked. It was dead. He then only had one option — he had to run.
He did his best to cover his face with his shirt while he was surrounded by heavy smoke and extreme heat. He could barely open his eyes as he ran.
Knutsen screamed as he ran, and suddenly, he heard a faint honking — "'beep beep.' And then, a second later, 'beep beep.' And then, a second later, 'beep beep.'"
Soon, he saw the headlights.
"At this point, I was watching my skin drip off, like, like, drip off," Knutsen said. "My skin was melting."
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Listen to the last song Toki, the captive orca, sang, a tune her mother taught her
In all the coverage of Tokitae, the captive orca who died at the Miami Seaquarium on August 18, perhaps the most heartrending detail was that Toki sang the songs her mother and pod taught her before she was captured in the Salish Sea in 1970, at age 4. She reportedly sang these songs her whole life in her tank in Miami.
On Sunday on San Juan Island, Lummi tribal members honored Toki’s life and what she meant to them. They played what is believed to be the last recording of her singing before she died, at age 57.
Toki’s song is a clear whistle, starting with four plaintive notes. It is sophisticated and beautiful and haunting:
For those who wished for Toki’s return to her native waters as she grew older, there were small comforts that emerged after her death.
Orca Network Langley posted that as she began to struggle and move onto the next world, “her entire family was off the west side of San Juan Island in what these days is a rare gathering, with all three pods swimming up and down the island, socializing in a superpod.”
A superpod happens with the J, K, and L pods come together. Among the pod is L25, believed to be Toki’s mother. L25, also known as Ocean Sun, is believed to be 94 years old and the oldest living Southern Resident killer whale.
The orca network wrote, “This is often a cultural, social ritual to mark a significant event in their community, and we believe they were welcoming her home.”
They continued, “Toki is finally home, maybe not the way we wanted, but her family seems to know she is with them once again, in ways we may never comprehend.”
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Asian American community on edge after targeted home invasions in South Seattle
Asian American leaders and city officials are reacting to news this week that a series of more than a dozen violent robberies in South Seattle targeted elderly Asian residents and their families.
The crimes have revived concerns that non-native English speakers and first-generation immigrants might be wary of police, even if they are the victims of violent crimes, and renewed a push to provide the Asian American community in South Seattle with resources so they can better protect themselves and their families.
At a press conference Tuesday, Seattle Police Detective Judinna Gulpan said police suspect all 14 robberies since June have been conducted by the same group of teenagers.
During the robberies, some victims have been pistol whipped. In one instance, a 10-year-old was led through their house at gunpoint while the family was robbed.
Connie So, president of the Organization of Chinese Americans of Greater Seattle and a professor at UW, lives in Beacon Hill, one of several neighborhoods that have been targeted.
So said home invasions have been an issue in South Seattle for a long time.
“My mom passed away a few years ago, and at that time, she was always telling me, ‘This person just got a home invasion robbery, that person has gotten a home invasion robbery,” So said.
Some of the people targeted in the most recent string of robberies were first-generation immigrants, part of inter-generational homes, who were not native-English speakers, and might not have trusted institutions like the local government and the police, So said.
“I think what hits home is the fact that so many of the people I know who have been going through these crimes, they don't really want to talk about that much,” she said.
What’s likely driving these home robberies are ongoing problems — a lack of resources and lack of community connection, So said.
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