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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

  • Why pickleball fans ended the Seattle Open tournament with a funeral

    When the Seattle Open pickleball tournament finished up this weekend, fans opted to close the big event with a funeral.

    Pickleball has been called the fastest-growinuug sport in the United States, attracting all ages. The champion of the 2023 Seattle Open's women's division was Anna Leigh Waters of Florida, who is just 16 years old.

    RELATED: Pickleball is growing. Is Seattle ready?

    As the tournament was winding down Sunday, pickleball fans held a New Orleans style funeral, marching through Seattle's Woodland Park as a band played a somber funeral dirge. The demonstration was meant to point out that the pickleball courts used in the tournament will now be converted back to tennis courts.

    The Seattle Open started with a bit of drama. Shortly before the event, the pickleball courts that were slated for the tournament were deemed unusable. The Professional Pickleball Association paid to quickly resurface tennis courts at Green Lake and convert them to pickleball courts. Now that the tournament is over, the space is slated to be repainted as tennis courts.

    The group of fans and players objected to the conversion back to tennis courts. They are also calling on the city to create 24 new pickleball courts by 2024. They've started an online petition called the "24 by '24 Pickleball Campaign."

    In a statement, they argue that "Seattle Parks has neglected the growth of pickleball, favoring tennis over pickleball. It’s like this all over the city every day. And people are fed up." The group says that Seattle has three dedicated pickleball courts, while other cities have far more.

    While Seattle has three dedicated courts, there are also a range of other public facilities that double as pickleball courts, according to Pickleheads.com.

    Dyer Oxley contributed to this post.

    Continue reading »

  • When was the debate? Today So Far
    • A lot of candidates for Seattle's District 6. But how many debates have happened?
    • Bars, and restaurants, and the race for Seattle City Council.
    • What's going on in SoDo?
    • One-sixth of new cars on Washington's roads are electric vehicles?

    This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for July 31, 2023.


    Quick hits

    The Aug. 1 primary is tomorrow and Seattle will be voting for a whole lot of city council candidates. How well do we know them?

    Events like debates, forums, town halls, etc. can help voters determine who they lean toward, but KUOW's David Hyde points out that Seattle's District 6 has only had one debate leading up to the primary. It took place back in May, before some candidates joined in. District 6 covers Ballard, Magnolia, Fremont, Green Lake, Loyal Heights, and other nearby neighborhoods. That's a big chunk of Seattle weighing in.

    The situation could pose a bit of an issue for candidates. Technically, if they're participating in the city's Democracy Voucher Program, they have to do three debates before the primary, and three before the November election. But what are they supposed to do if nobody is hosting such events? Read the full story here.

    You've probably heard by now that seven out of nine Seattle City Council seats are up for a vote this year, and about the top issues, and with more than 40 candidates running there is quite a blend of approaches to these issues. But KUOW's Ruby de Luna noticed another small nexus among the candidates — food. More specifically, three candidates have emerged from the food and service industry. There's Stephen Brown from Eltana Bagels on Capitol Hill, Olga Sagan from Piroshky Piroshky, and Pete Hanning from the city's nightlife industry (he once owned the Red Door in Fremont and is now with the Fremont Chamber of Commerce).

    But as I mentioned above, there's more than 40 candidates running, which makes tomorrow's primary a significant step, indicating who will ultimately be on the ballot in November.

    What's going on in SoDo? The city says that it didn't ramp up any encampment sweeps because of the MLB All-Star Week that just happened in the area. Though one official admitted to KUOW that such clearings have become more frequent recently.

    Those living in vehicles around SoDo report that things have changed recently. One person, Neal, says that he used to be able to park his vehicle for weeks at a time, but lately, he has to move every couple days as a sweep comes through. Casey Martin has the full story here.

    Did you know that one-sixth of new cars on Washington's roads are electric vehicles? I was surprised it was that high, but it turns out, the number of EVs in the state doubled from two years ago. That's good news, however, the state is still a bit short if it wants to meet its EV goals a couple years away.

    Continue reading »

  • 5 people shot at Rainier Beach Safeway in Seattle

    Five people were shot and injured at the Rainier Beach Safeway grocery store in Seattle on Friday night, while attending a community outreach event, according to the Seattle Police Department.

    Three men and one woman were transported to Harborview Medical Center; two of the men were discharged on Saturday morning.

    The woman, age 24, is in satisfactory condition, according to a hospital spokesperson. The man, age 25, had arrived in critical condition but is now satisfactory, the spokesperson said.

    Officers responded just before 9 p.m. to the shooting. They learned the shooting began in the parking lot of 9232 Rainier Avenue South.

    Chief Adrian Diaz spoke at a news conference at 10:30 p.m. and told reporters that people saw bullets flying. The outreach event was a weekly pop-up event that provides food and services to people.

    Continue reading »

  • Seven staffers injured in youth brawl at King County juvenile detention facility

    A fight between eight youths housed at King County’s juvenile detention facility sent seven staff members to the hospital on Thursday with injuries including a broken wrist, sprains and a shoulder injury, said Noah Haglund, Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention spokesperson. Youths received "superficial" injuries and were treated on-site, he said.

    A representative of the Juvenile Detention Guild said the incident reflected ongoing safety issues and understaffing at juvy. Twenty-one percent of its juvenile detention officer positions are vacant, Haglund said, with the county offering hiring bonuses of up to $25,000.

    King County Executive Dow Constantine has pledged to close youth detention in 2025, but there’s still no plan for what would replace it.

    The melee comes exactly two months after a staff member was beaten at Echo Glen Children’s Center in Snoqualmie as seven youth escaped from state detention.

    Washington Federation of State Workers, which represents workers at Echo Glen, also blamed understaffing, and called on the state to improve safety conditions.

    Continue reading »

  • Where does Amazon want Sound Transit to build a new Seattle light rail station?

    Amazon officials breathed a sigh of relief after the Sound Transit Board decided to keep its options open for the location of a new light-rail station near the company’s headquarters.

    The board voted on Thursday to move forward with Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell’s proposal to shift the station north, while also studying the possibility of moving it west. In a blog post Wednesday, Amazon urged Sound Transit board members to consider the “shifted west” option so that Westlake Avenue can remain open during construction.

    “We encourage the Board to not rush their decision and at least be willing to consider and study alternative options so we can ensure the expansion of public transit in the neighborhood without having to shut down economic activity in the area for several years,” the blog post says.

    In June, a coalition of transit advocates sent an open letter to Sound Transit urging the board to stick with its original location.

    That plan “efficiently balances the impacts of construction with the benefits of reducing emissions and economic insecurity through increased ridership,” the letter stated.

    At issue is the location of the station that will ultimately connect with planned light-rail service to Ballard.

    The original plan would require Westlake Avenue to close for at least four years while the light-rail station is under construction. That had Amazon and other businesses in the area up in arms during the Sound Transit Board hearing. They said those closures would hurt a downtown already struggling to recover from COVID.

    “We are doing our part to bring downtown back and we hope this board will do theirs,” said Amazon’s Tom Florino during public comment.

    Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell agreed with Amazon and sought alternatives to fully closing Westlake Avenue.

    “If we don’t do this right, this could be irreparable for the city and the state,” he said during the hearing.

    Continue reading »

  • Today So Far's summer 2023 mixtape

    Earlier this week, I asked TSF readers what their summer song would be. It could either be a general summer favorite, or something for 2023.

    Nathan wrote in with Eddie Chacón’s “The Morning Sun" (music nerds will recognize this artist from the early '90s duo Eddie and Charles and their hit "Would I Lie To You").

    Larry ran with the summer theme with a very '60s vibe: "Summer in the City" by the Loving Spoonful; "Hot Fun in the Summertime" by Sly and the Family Stone; "Lazy, Crazy, Hazy Days of Summer" by Nat King Cole; and "Stoned Soul Picnic" by the Fifth Dimension. His wife Joann brought us into the '70s with "Summer Breeze" by Seals and Croft.

    KUOW's staff also weighed in on this. There are too many songs to list here, but at a glance it includes Fitz and the Tantrums, Depeche Mode, Nicky Youre, and Little Simz.

    I'm adding "Bright Eyes" by Art Garfunkel, which is not a new song, but I have a feeling it's going to experience a little surge in popularity due to its inclusion in a 2023 episode of "Black Mirror" (which is pretty spectacular).

    Like I said, there are a lot of songs that came in, so I ended up making a "Summer Song 2023" playlist on Spotify, which you can tune into here.

    Thanks to KUOW staff who suggested songs for this playlist: Jason Burrows, Paige Browning, Diana Opong, Karen Kim, Alex Rochester, Lucy Soucek, Annette Promes, Whitney Henry-Lester, Doris Torres, Heather Dannenfelser, Amanda Winterhalter, Rose Gear, Zaki Hamid, Ahnya Smith, Teasha Crow, Hilary Lee, Michaela Boyle, Vicky VanHout, Alicia Villa.

    Continue reading »

  • WA school districts failed to document $31M in federal Covid grants, audit finds

    State audits of Washington school districts found that 25 districts failed to properly document more than $31 million in federal Covid funds meant to buy laptops, tablets, and internet hotspots for staff and students during remote learning.

    Seattle, Everett, Edmonds, and Mukilteo were among the districts that auditors found to have failed to show that the technology purchased through a Federal Communications Commission grant went only to students and staff with a demonstrated need.

    “We have uncovered no evidence that the funding was was misappropriated, nothing like that,” said Kathleen Cooper, State Auditor’s Office spokesperson. “It's just a lack of documentation to show that the program qualifications were met.”

    Because so many districts were out of compliance with the grant requirements, Cooper said, State Auditor Pat McCarthy suspected that part of the problem was with the instructions districts received about how to document the grant spending. McCarthy has met with the FCC about the issue, Cooper said.

    “It is now up to the school districts to work with the FCC on an audit resolution process, which will be an opportunity for both parties to take a look at whether or not those funds have to be repaid,” Cooper said.

    Seattle Public Schools had $4.9 million in questioned grant funds that it received to buy online learning devices.

    In a statement, a spokesperson for Seattle Schools said the district disagrees that it was out of compliance.

    Continue reading »

  • A real pickle for Seattle: Today So Far
    • Pickleball has taken off in recent years, but is Seattle ready?
    • Nearly a week after her Seattle concerts, Taylor Swift news keeps on shaking things up. Fan enthusiasm was recorded on local seismic sensors.

    This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for July 28, 2023.

    Quick hits

    Well this is a real pickle.

    Pickleball has really taken off in recent years. It's gone from its humble origins on Bainbridge Island to becoming the fastest growing sport in the USA. There's so much new interest, hardcore players are trying to figure out how to accommodate all these new players. That was a big topic at the recent pickleball Seattle Open tournament.

    "We have too many players, not enough courts,” local player Edward Roque told KUOW.

    It seems that Seattle's pickleball tournament — which is viewed as a big step toward the nationals in Dallas — hit a few snags. The floor on some of the courts that were slated for games ended up cracking shortly before the event. Tennis courts had to be converted to make up for the loss. That didn't make tennis players happy. Out-of-towners were actually surprised by Seattle's lack of pickleball courts. Didn't it come from here in the first place?

    KUOW's Joshua McNichols has the full story here, which partially includes coverage of pickleball's professional "bad guy" Ernesto Russo.

    Nearly a week after her Seattle concerts, Taylor Swift news keeps on shaking things up. It turns out, the energy between Swift and thousands of her fans at Lumen Field last weekend was so intense that local seismic sensors picked it all up. This is similar to when Marshawn Lynch scored that touchdown in 2010, and the celebrating crowd made such a ruckus that the vibrations triggered nearby earthquake monitors. Swift's concert, however, was more extraordinary than that.

    An interesting thing about Swift's seismic impression is that you can actually see the songs, and the crowd reaction over time, by looking at waves that were recorded. Saturday and Sunday's vibrations over a few hours made the same waves on a seismic chart — they nearly lined up perfectly, showing the same set list was played, and the crowds were equally into it. Read more here.

    Earlier this week, I asked TSF readers what their summer song would be. It could either be a general summer favorite, or something for 2023. Read the results here.

    Continue reading »

  • Amtrak wants to spend $200M to improve Seattle's rail yard

    Amtrak says it will improve its train yard in Seattle’s SoDo neighborhood over the next couple of years. The company says the goal is to improve service for riders and safety for workers.

    Seattle’s rail yard in SoDo is about to get some updates and that could mean faster travel times along the West Coast.

    Amtrak is replacing its fleet of passenger cars with new, faster ones.

    Right now Amtrak passenger cars can travel along the Cascades route at about 79 miles per hour. In a couple of years, they’ll run trains that can go up to 125 miles per hour.

    The Amtrak Airo trains are set to debut on the Cascades line in a couple of years.

    But first: Tracks and other equipment need to be updated.

    In Seattle, Amtrak says it will spend $200 million to get the rail yard ready for the new trains.

    The changes include improvements like adding a maintenance and inspection facility wide enough for two trains.

    Amtrak also plans to update some utilities and build new tracks.

    Safety improvements like fall protection will be included for people working in the train yard, Amtrak said.

    The work is paid for by the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by Congress in 2021.

    Continue reading »

  • 1 in 6 new Washington cars are electric. The state aims for more

    One in six new cars on the road in Washington state is an electric vehicle. That’s double the rate from two years ago, yet is still less than halfway toward the state’s mandate for electric vehicle sales. That deadline is two years from now.

    The numbers come from the state Department of Ecology, where Joel Creswell works.

    RELATED: Road trip! Kicking the tires on electric travel in the Northwest

    “Sales rate in Washington is already really, really high, even without a lot of policies to back it up," Creswell said. "And so there's clearly an appetite here in state, but the state government is investing a lot of energy and effort into figuring out what else we can do to transition away from fossil fuel powered transportation.”

    The state currently offers a sales tax break on electric vehicles. It is also deciding how to spend $50 million on rebates and other measures to get more people into electric vehicles, especially lower-income drivers. That funding should be available sometime next year.

    An unrelated national effort could help boost EV sales over coming years. That's what a coalition of seven major automakers — including BMW, GM, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis — hopes will happen. They are joining forces to add 30,000 fast chargers to North America. As NPR reports, another automaker partnership in Europe has only been able to build 2,600 chargers since 2017. A similar effort in the United States has been able to add 3,600 over the past five years.

    Washington's Department of Ecology also has its EV sites set on local governments, ports, and tribes. The department is putting another $16.3 million in grants toward an effort to convert local governments, ports, and tribes' diesel-powered fleets to EVs. This could be vehicles such as forklifts, street sweepers, garbage trucks, and more. The grants can also be used for charging and fueling stations.

    RELATED: How fast can the auto industry go electric? Debate rages as the U.S. sets new rules

    The grant money is coming from a federal settlement in a case against Volkswagen. Ecology's Molly Spiller manages that settlement funding which totals $140 million. More grants are in the works, such as money for Level 2 EV charging stations and DC fast-charging stations for personal EVs. Those grants will become available in the fall.

    “We’re delighted to offer these grants and encourage applicants to take advantage of this opportunity,” Spiller said in a statement. “Cities, counties, public utilities, school districts, universities — really, any public or Tribal entity in Washington that owns eligible diesel equipment or vehicles — can use these funds to support their local communities and help accelerate the transition to a clean transportation future.”

    Continue reading »

  • Video: Crowd pushes back Seattle Police from Capitol Hill street racing

    One of four people who were shot during a Capitol Hill street racing incident early last Sunday has died, according to a spokesperson with the Seattle Police Department.

    “A woman who was in critical condition has succumbed to her injuries," they said.

    People flocked to the neighborhood that evening for the Capitol Hill Block Party, an annual outdoor music festival. Unsanctioned street racing and the shooting followed Saturday night performances.

    Seattle police said they arrived at East Pike Street and Broadway shortly before 1:30 a.m., after they received a report of reckless drivers and a large crowd.

    Shortly before 4 a.m. officers heard gunshots and located two people who had been shot, according to a police press release. Both victims were treated at the scene and at least one was taken to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. Two more gunshot victims later arrived at the hospital.

    Following the shooting and street racing incidents on July 23, the Seattle Police Department released video of an obstructive crowd that evening. Video shows crowd members throwing debris and drinks on a patrol car. This video was taken about three hours before the shooting that night.

    Continue reading »

  • Alien, and Prince, and Kurt Cobain, oh my! Today So Far
    • MoPOP just got a massive haul of pop culture treasures.
    • Can condos help solve Washington's housing woes?
    • Wildfire conditions are expected to worsen heading into August.

    This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for July 27, 2023.

    Quick hits

    MoPOP is one Seattle feature I find myself returning to every now and then. I've already seen the sci-fi museum, and the horror exhibit, the fantasy corner, the music section, and more. There are a lot of corners to MoPOP, and it now looks like they are going to get stuffed with even more pop culture history.

    The late Paul Allen is known for cofounding Microsoft and the Museum of Pop Culture. MoPOP has an impressive lineup of treasures. Turns out, Allen had a secret stash. That's how KUOW's Mike Davis puts it. Allen's estate appears to be doing a little house cleaning, and in turn, it is donating more than 4,000 items to MoPOP. The long list includes an alien suit from the movie "Alien," a script from a 1965 episode of "Star Trek," and the jacket Prince wore in the movie "Purple Rain." Then there is Jimi Hendrix's acoustic guitar, and a guitar that was smashed by Nirvana's Kurt Cobain.

    So I guess I'll be going back to MoPOP. Read more here.

    There's a new idea that Washington's lawmakers are playing around with that could help add more needed housing to the region, and hopefully bring costs down — condos.

    OK, that's not exactly a "new idea," but the approach to condos in Washington state is getting a little bit of a remodel. Condos can be great for developers to build, cost wise. They have different rules around how property can be used. But for a few decades, barely anybody has wanted to build condos in Washington, largely because of the massive insurance cost required to build them. In the 1980s and 1990s, there were a range of lawsuits after a string of poorly constructed condos were made. That drove the insurance up on this type of housing.

    That got Democrat State Senator Sharon Shewmak thinking. Her new bill gives developers a right to return to a project and fix issues before lawsuits come into play. It's an idea that got Republican State Senator Chris Gildon to sign on in support. The goal is to open up more of this type of housing in Washington, and hopefully create more first-time homebuyer opportunities. But not everybody is so keen on this approach. Read more here.

    There have been more fires in Western Washington this year, keeping firefighters busy. The State Dept. of Natural Resources is concerned that conditions will only get worse in August.

    Wildfires are spreading in Washington and Oregon right now. Northwest News Network notes that the Newell Road Fire in southern Washington has burned more acres than any single fire did in all of 2022 — 56,143 as of Tuesday. The fire started the way most do in our state — people.

    Continue reading »