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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Would a pineapple change your mind about Seattle's sip 'n stroll idea?: Today So Far
- Mayor Bruce Harrell wants to open up a sip 'n stroll vibe (alcohol on the street) to help attract more people to downtown Seattle. Perhaps this tactic can help sell the idea to doubters.
- There might be more time to go see the tulips in Mount Vernon this year.
- Washington lawmakers failed to agree on a fix to the state's drug possession law.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for April 25, 2023.
Mayor Bruce Harrell wants folks to walk the streets of downtown Seattle, and open a cold one.
Let's get something straight, because I'm sure there will be headlines and hot takes making it sound as if the mayor's office wants to open every downtown Seattle street to booze. The idea here is to allow alcoholic beverages in Pioneer Square during its First Thursday Art Walk (hyped as being the longest-running art walk in the USA). So this is for one corner of the city, on one day of the month, targeted at the art gallery crowd.
The hope is that this will produce some much-needed foot traffic by getting people to visit Pioneer Square and walk from gallery to gallery. It will require a special permit from the state's Liquor and Cannabis Board. Also bundled up in this proposal is a measure to relax some permitting rules to get more food carts down in the area. Add that up and the aim is to get more people on Pioneer Square streets, visiting local shops, galleries, and food trucks.
This is not an entirely new idea. Just take a trip to any of the plethora of art walks scattered throughout our region. There are so many, you can hit multiple towns in a week, or even have a very artful month. Wine is not uncommon at these events. In fact, cities like Bellevue and Renton have leaned in to sip 'n stroll events. Years ago, while I was living in Portland, the mayor at the time would open a keg at city hall during art walk days. During this time, I learned an important lesson. There was one particular spot with outdoor seating where they served a cocktail in a pineapple. I loved that pineapple drink. I probably shouldn't admit this, but I would often walk off with that pineapple (once it was empty) and stroll through downtown Portland with a pineapple snack (I do not endorse walking around in public with full pineapple cocktails where it is illegal). I noticed that nobody seemed to mind or question the pineapple much. In fact, it was received quite well.
So for all those folks out there questioning any idea that allows public alcohol (even on one day of the month in one neighborhood), I would like to add my proposal on top of the mayor's proposal for Pioneer Square: All alcoholic drinks travelling through Pioneer Square should be served in a pineapple. Tiny umbrellas are not required, but are very much encouraged. Patrons won't have to put up with plastic cups, plus, these drink containers are technically compostable. So the environment wins, too. I look forward to marketing for "Grab a pineapple, visit Pioneer Square," "Seattle's Pineapple Square," or "First Thursday Pineapple Walk."
And yes, if I'm honest, I selfishly just want to walk around town with a pineapple drink. I am not ashamed of that.
Read the full story on the mayor's proposal here.
If you were hoping for a late-season opportunity to see the tulips over in the Skagit Valley this year, you may have an extra chance to visit the annual Tulip Festival. A couple farms have announced that they expect to get at least an extra week out of the flowers this year, which means the festival at some places will stretch into the first week of May. Read more here.
After a legislative session ends in Olympia, Washington moves into the next step of the lawmaking process — finger pointing. That's where we are now.
You may have heard that state lawmakers have been working on a "Blake fix," or a "fix to the Blake issue," or "Who's Blake and why do we have to fix their mess?!"
All session, lawmakers in Olympia crafted a fix to the state's drug possession law. The law has remained in limbo ever since the state Supreme Court ruled that Washington's rule on this issue was unconstitutional. That meant representatives and senators had to come up with something that was constitutional, and it looked like they were going to get it done before the session ended on Sunday. There was even a compromise bill pushed through to make Democrats and Republicans happy. At the very last minute, it didn't pass.
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Seattle mayor plans to allow sip 'n stroll to bring people back downtown
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell’s recently debuted plan to revitalize downtown, and address drugs on the street, is a mix of public health and public safety policies.
Also included in this recovery plan, if approved, is a measure that would allow people to carry alcoholic drinks, in public, while gallery hopping during First Thursday Art Walk.
The goal of the mayor’s plan is to bring people back to the city's core, increase foot traffic, and create a vibrant downtown. The city will put in a request with the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board for "Sip 'n Stroll" permits for First Thursday Art Walk events in Pioneer Square.
"As a small non-profit artist collaborative, we rely heavily on the support of our community, as well as donations and grants," said Shayley Timm, director of Gallery 110 in Pioneer Square. "I do think allowing alcohol again would help increase the amount of guests in attendance to the art waks."
Timm notes that the building where her gallery is located doesn't allow alcohol, so she's unclear how such an event would work in the end.
"However, I would ultimately see the change as positive and we'll take all the help we can get to bring folks to the art walk and increase the gallery's, and our artists', exposure."
Just down the block from Gallery 110 is Nirmal's, a fine dining Indian restaurant.
“If you see a lot of people walking by, you feel safe walking there, you feel safe coming there,” said Nirmal's co-owner Oliver Bangera, adding that having people out and about adds to the neighborhood energy.
Bangera also says that it will take more than arts and sports events to turn things around.
“I’m hoping we can get people back to work in their offices,” Bangera said. “Which, I don’t know if it will ever happen.”
RELATED: Seattle's plan to reward people for not using drugs
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Here's what Washington lawmakers say is behind drug possession bill's last-minute failure
In an unexpected development, the Washington State Legislature adjourned for the year late Sunday night having failed to put a new drug possession law on the books.
After months of lengthy and emotional debate, lawmakers in both the House and Senate had announced a compromise bill the previous day. The measure would have created a new crime for drug use, made drug possession a gross misdemeanor, and included requirements for courts and prosecutors to divert people into treatment and recovery programs.
RELATED: WA Legislature ends 2023 session without Blake fix
Democratic leaders said the measure attempted to strike a middle ground between those who did not want to criminalize people with substance use disorder and those seeking stronger legal penalties to compel people to seek and complete treatment.
But when the bill was called to the floor in the House, no Republicans voted in favor. A group of progressive Democrats joined Republicans in voting 'no,' and the bill ultimately failed 43 to 55.
House Speaker Laurie Jinkins (D-Tacoma) said she was "flummoxed" by Republicans' decision to completely reject the bill. A previous version passed the House with some Republican support.
"There's hardly a family in this state that doesn't have someone very close to them — if not a member of their family — who suffers with a substance use disorder," she said. "People want us to do this, they want us to get people treatment."
But Republicans blamed Democrats. They said the Democratic majority should have brought a different version of the bill to the floor.
"We all had many of our local governments tell us that they preferred that bill to fail," said former House Republican Leader JT Wilcox (R-Yelm).
Senate Republican Leader John Braun (R-Centralia) pointed out several issues Republicans had with the final version, including a section that would preempt local governments from coming up with their own laws on drug paraphernalia. They also disagreed with some of the parameters around diversion — the process by which people arrested for drug crimes would be diverted to treatment instead of jail. Lawmakers said it would render the bill an ineffective "fix" to the state's current drug penalties.
Lawmakers were compelled to take on the issue this year because of a state Supreme Court ruling in 2021 that declared Washington’s felony drug possession statute unconstitutional. A temporary law was then enacted that expires July 1 of this year.
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'She would hide in the corner and hope the rats wouldn’t get her'
The air was smoky with welcome outside the gathering hall on the Tulalip Indian Reservation.
Salmon cooked over alder chips, and sage burned outside the entrance.
Inside, Deb Haaland, the country's first Native American secretary of the interior, told hundreds she was there to hear their stories.
Sitting next to her, Bryan Newland, the assistant secretary of the interior, explained why they were there.
"As we continue investigating the federal Indian boarding school system, it paints a history that our federal records can’t tell the whole story," he said. "We need more. We need to hear from you to help tell that."
RELATED: 'I'm still healing.' Boarding school survivors recount stories of abuse, trauma
Washington state is the sixth stop on Haaland's Road to Healing tour. There were 15 boarding schools here. The last one closed in the 1970s.
Most schools had a cemetery because so many kids died there.
Jewell James, a Lummi tribal member and carver, shared the experience of his mother, who went to Cushman Indian School in Tacoma.
"She would talk about how, at the age of 3, they would put you in the basement with rats," he said. "She would hide in the corner and hope the rats wouldn’t get her."
Haaland has pushed the federal government to take responsibility for what happened at the boarding schools.
She said next steps are to look into marked and unmarked graves of the children who died at the schools.
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Expanded WA free-meal program headed to a school near you
It may not be the universal free school meals plan that supporters originally pushed for, but a bill that would expand the program to Washington state's youngest students is heading to Gov. Jay Inslee's desk for a signature.
House Bill 1238 passed with an overwhelming majority of lawmakers in favor.
About 90,000 students will be able to receive free breakfast and lunch during the next school year. Currently, federal funding covers meals for students with the highest needs. School officials say that many don’t qualify under federal eligibility guidelines, but still struggle to pay for food.
In its first year, the program will expand to schools with 40% or more students who qualify for free or reduced meals.
Supporters had hoped for a universal program, but with an estimated cost of $100 million a year, lawmakers opted for a scaled-back version, at least for now.
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An extra chance to see the tulips in Mount Vernon this year
The tulips continue to show off at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival in Mount Vernon. In fact, peak bloom is expected this week.
The annual festival normally runs through the end of April, but it's looking like the tulips are going to stick around a bit longer this year.
Tulip Town recently announced that it expects to be open into the month of May, adding, "We will be open as long as we have color at the farm."
Tulip Town will announce extended dates soon.
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NW spring doesn't start until this happens...: Today So Far
- When does spring start in the Northwest? Warmer temps? More sunlight? I look for one thing each year.
- Washington state lawmakers passed an assault weapons ban, but this isn't the last step for the new law. Here's what happens next.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for April 24, 2023.
When does spring start in the Northwest? Not the actual date, but the genuine feel and flow of the season. For some, it's the warmer temperatures, budding flowers, increasing sunlight, or the emergence of very pale Northwest skin reflecting that sunlight like those tanning reflectors featured in 1960s TV shows. Perhaps it's when Northwesterners stop wearing thick socks with sandals, and just wear sandals. Or when Seattle goths get out their umbrellas, for shade.
For me, there is a clear, near-scientific indicator that spring has arrived. It's when the local news reminds everybody: "Don't jump in the water! It's still freaking cold!"
Every year, like clockwork, sunlight overpowers critical thinking and folks have to be reminded that our local waters come from ice. Yeah, up in the mountains, that's all snow and ice that feeds local lakes and Puget Sound. When you jump in, it's like an ice tank. Cue the rescue sirens speeding across Lake Washington.
Jacob DeFlitch with the National Weather Service delivered some good-weather news to KUOW this morning, but was quick to also note, “The water's still very cold in the lakes and the rivers."
The waters have been kept cold around here. The National Weather Service has pointed out that this April is already the second-coldest on record, with many days hitting record, if not near-record lows.
That trend is about to change this week. DeFlitch says that temps in the upper 50s are expected to kick off our week, and rise from there, so "certainly, it’s a great time to be out and enjoy some of the outdoors later this week.”
“Friday and Saturday are looking like the warmest days with temperatures certainly reaching the 70s if not low, low 80s in spots, especially on Friday away from the water.”
Over the next couple weeks, the Northwest can expect above-normal temps, and below-normal rain. Just to reiterate — it's spring and the water is still cold. It's not like it's summer already. Summer doesn't officially start until local newspapers print "gleeful child on a sunny day running through a fountain" photos on the front page.
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Fentanyl death toll continues to surge in King County
King County continues to face an alarming number of drug-related fatalities, many related to the potent synthetic opioid, fentanyl.
According to county data, there were three fentanyl-involved deaths in 2015.
In recent years, such deaths have risen dramatically, totaling 712 last year.
“That number is trending higher already this year,” said Brad Finegood with Public Health – Seattle & King County.
Finegood briefed the county’s Board of Health Thursday on overdose trends and measures to address the crisis.
As drug-related fatalities increase year over year, Finegood said some communities are being hit harder than others.
“When you look at age-adjusted rate of overdose, you’ll see that the rate of overdose of American Indian and Alaskan Native individuals are approximately nine times that currently of white population in our community," Finegood said.
He noted that institutional racism has played a part in these disproportionate outcomes through lack of access to health care and treatment for communities of color.
County health officials are approaching the crisis from a number of angles, including a focus on making harm reduction tools and treatment more easily available.
Finegood told Board of Health members that more naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug, is needed in King County.
“Probably more people than ever have access to naloxone, but it doesn't guarantee that we're going to reverse overdose because people can't reverse their own overdose,” Finegood said.
He said the county is working with the state to figure out how to increase access to naloxone, and where it’s most needed.
Last year, King County rolled out two vending machines with harm reduction supplies.
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Will Washington's new assault weapons ban hold up in court? Gov. Inslee thinks 'it should survive'
Washington state's ban on assault weapons has passed the House and Senate and is headed to Gov. Jay Inslee's desk for a signature. After that, legal challenges are certain to emerge.
This report comes from a conversation with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee about Washington's assault weapons ban with KUOW's Kim Malcom. Listen to the full discussion here.
While discussing the ban with KUOW, Gov. Inslee says he's confident the legislation "should" hold up in court.
“I think it should survive because this is a very common sense measure," Inslee said, commenting on potential Second Amendment challenges. "I don’t believe that anyone believes that weapons of war are protected by the Second Amendment. And these particular kinds of weapons, that’s their only real reason, is mass murder. There is really no reason for these particular weapons, other than that. This bill does not take away all the right to firearms. It doesn’t prevent people from having firearms to protect their personal space and home. But the only reason for this — if you think of the 'Night of the Living Dead' and 10,000 zombies are coming to your house, and you need to spray gunfire all over the neighborhood.”
Outside of the court, Inslee argues that Washington's assault weapons ban "will somewhere, somehow, I believe, reduce gun violence."
HB1240: Washington state assault weapons ban
With a 56-42 vote in the House this week, primarily along party lines, HB1240 passed. Gov. Inslee promoted the measure alongside state Attorney General Bob Ferguson.
The bill targets semiautomatic rifles, and lists a number of attributes to identify such firearms. It also names more than 60 specific models, many of which are AK-47 or AR-15 style rifles, but also some semiautomatic pistols and shotguns. Under the ban, it will be illegal to sell or purchase these firearms in Washington state, or to import them. People who currently own the banned weapons are allowed to retain them.
The governor said he cannot predict how the Supreme Court would rule on the state's new assault weapons ban, "but I can tell you it will be well-defended by our excellent attorney general, Bob Ferguson."
Gun rights in Washington state can be sourced to both the United State's Constitution, as well as the state's own Constitution. At the federal level, the Second Amendment states: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
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Political pub crawl through Ballard: Today So Far
- KUOW listens to the talk at Ballard bars as the race for Seattle City Council District 6 emerges.
- Washington state is carving a new path for local businesses.
- Remember when Doc Brown traveled through time for Earth Day?
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for April 21, 2023.
One thing I learned awhile back, as a reporter, is that you should sit in a bar and listen.
You can also sit in a coffee shop, on a bus, or any place where folks get to chit-chatting about local issues. Personally, however, I find that you're dangerously close to spying, eavesdropping, or not-minding-your-own-damn-business in such environments. Plus, you strike up a conversation at a coffee shop in Seattle and folks are likely to awkwardly smile and move to the other side of the room, wondering why a stranger is in their bubble. And I get it — I do that too.
At a bar, though, folks are more likely there to chat and are open to those around them. You're gonna hear their thoughts on the Mariners, that new building down the street, bike lanes, or whatever hot-button issue is trending on social media that day. As a reporter, you run the risk that folks will eventually find you out. A bartender once matched my name to online news she was reading. After that, she really wanted me to know what she thought about "our sh***y council." The point of all this is — it's good for reporters to go outside their own circles, hear from folks who are consuming information, understand how it is being discussed.
This is why I got very intrigued by this story by KUOW's David Hyde, where he tours the bars of Ballard as the local race for Seattle City Council District 6 begins to take shape. He takes a political pub crawl through The Sloop Tavern, on to Hattie's Hat, a taco stand, the Sunset Tavern, etc.
Not everybody here agrees on politics, the causes or solutions to problems, but there are core issues that will influence the District 6 race. Safety is top of the list. For years, vandalism, threats, violence, and theft have plagued nightlife in this corner of the city, and people want something done about it.
“Every day before work we pray that we are safe,” one owner told KUOW.
"It's tough when there's just so much garbage that's thrown around the neighborhood," another owner said.
Check out the full story here.
Washington state is carving a new path for local businesses. KUOW's Monica Nickelsburg reported earlier this week about what some businesses are doing to keep workers. One solution was to convert a business into a type of co-op where employees are also owners. This approach could now be greatly expanded in Washington. Lawmakers just approved a bill that targets support and resources for companies seeking to become employee-owned.
The Washington Employee Ownership Program will set up a loan system to help companies make the conversion to co-op. There will also be tax credits available for such employee-owned co-ops and trusts. It shouldn't come as a surprise that a program like this has come to Washington. Our region is apparently a "hotbed" for worker-owned businesses. Read more here.
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Seattle Schools reaches $1.3 million settlement with family of boy locked outdoors
In 2019, the principal at View Ridge Elementary had a disabled second-grader padlocked in a fenced playground sports court multiple times to prevent him from leaving school.
The boy, who had no table or chair, was served his lunch on the concrete ground. At recess, classmates stared at him through the fence. His mother, Keosha Williams, says he was traumatized.
“He still has those issues to where he's not as trusting with adults, because these were people who were supposed to educate him, and they violated him in the utmost way," Williams said.
A kindergarten teacher witnessed the mistreatment and intervened. The principal resigned after a district investigation. A district representative, however, had earlier approved of the sports court as a holding place for the child.
In a statement, district spokesperson Bev Redmond said Seattle Schools "does not condone discrimination or mistreatment of any students, staff or any member of the public."
Redmond added that the school board and Superintendent Brent Jones "have since revised procedures to further ensure the safety and protection of our most vulnerable students."
King County Superior Court and a court-appointed guardian ad litem must approve the settlement before it is finalized. Insurance will cover all but $120,000 of the settlement amount, said district spokesperson Tim Robinson.
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Seattle vs drugs: Today So Far
- Seattle's mayor reveals new plans to tackle downtown's woes.
- Parking was compromise within Washington's recently passed middle housing bill.
- Seattle drops assault charges against a celebrity CEO.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for April 20, 2023.
Get ready for the next big push to solve downtown Seattle's woes. This week, Mayor Bruce Harrell announced his plans to get drugs off the streets, and people back into downtown.
The idea around all this is to make downtown more appealing to visitors, residents, and businesses. In short, make it thrive. Harrell's plan focuses on safety as a way to accomplish this. The city will do two primary things: Use law enforcement to address drug dealers; also, provide resources for addicts and counter overdoses.
A task force including the city attorney's office, state, and federal agencies will figure out how to handle the drug dealers. The Seattle Fire Department will expand upon a team dedicated to overdose calls. Case managers join the fire department for outreach, and follow up with services and treatment. Beyond this, Harrell wants to start a post-overdose diversion facility that will offer a place to recover from an overdose and provide avenues to treatment and other help. All of this will require funding, which hasn't been worked out yet. The mayor's office is figuring that out right now.
"This summer, right around the June timeframe, you're going to see a more comprehensive plan, and you're gonna see between now and leading up to June, a few announcements on components of it," Harrell said this week. "The reason we are going about it that way, first of all we have to know what we are capable (of), we have to look at our finance projections, we also have to work with stakeholders ... yes, we want short-term victories, but we also want sustainable change for the people who matter most in this city."
KUOW's Casey Martin has more on this here.
The city of Seattle has dropped its case against celebrity CEO Dan Price. Actually, he's not a CEO anymore. Price stepped down from leadership at his company, Gravity Payments, last year to face charges of reckless driving and assault. Price rose to celebrity status when he cut his own pay in 2015, and gave his employees a minimum wage of $70,000 (today, it's more like $80,000).
The charges stemmed from allegations last year that Price grabbed a woman by the throat, after she refused to kiss him in his car, to the point she could not breathe. Now, the city attorney's office has opted to drop the case due to lack of evidence. There is potential that the city could refile charges in the future, however. Read more here.
Remember the middle housing news that happened over last week? As our state moves forward, be prepared for parking to be a major issue.
As KUOW's Joshua McNichols reports, parking proved to be a controversial point among lawmakers seeking to compromise on the recently passed middle housing bill. The result is this rule: Only one parking stall is required for small lots (like duplexes), and two are required for large lots (more than 6,000 square feet). In other words, you could have a triplex, fourplex, fiveplex, sixplex, etc. and only have two parking spaces. Street parking or the bus is the answer for the other tenants.
Now, cities can tweak these requirements on their own, but they have to take the initiative. They can nix all parking, or require more spaces. If a city wants to require more parking stalls, it has to argue that the spaces are needed for safety. Also, there is no parking required if housing is built within a quarter mile of a bus rapid transit stop or a light rail station.
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