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
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Seattle drops charges against former Gravity Payments CEO Dan Price
The Seattle City Attorney has dropped reckless driving and assault charges against former Gravity Payments CEO Dan Price.
The case centered on allegations that he grabbed a woman's throat while in his car last year, after she refused to kiss him. In 2022, the allegations led to charges in Seattle. Seattle opted to drop the case this week because of a lack of evidence. KING5 notes that the charges were dropped without prejudice, which means they could be filed again in the future.
RELATED: Dan Price branded himself as a benevolent CEO. Some former employees challenge that portrayal
Price pleaded not guilty to the charges and claimed the allegations were false. The Seattle Times reports that Price's defense presented witness accounts and messages. His attorney argued that police never performed any follow up investigations, such as speaking with Price after the alleged incident.
Price stepped down from his Ballard-based company in 2022, amid the legal challenges, but in a statement via social media, he did not say whether or not he would be returning. Instead, he plans "to take some time to reflect on how I can best engage on the economic justice issues that matter most to me."
Price gained national fame in 2015 when the young CEO slashed his own salary as part of a plan to pay a minimum wage of $70,000 to his employees. That salary has risen to $80,000 since then.
A dual narrative around Price has emerged in the years since he gave the high-profile raise. He has become a regular personality on social media, podcasts, TV shows, and other media, promoting higher wages and better business practices for CEOs. There are also negative reports and allegations about another side to the CEO. Former employees reported that Price berated staff and that there was a culture of fear around the office. KUOW has previously reported that Price's ex-wife has also made allegations of abuse in the past.
It was also reported in 2022 that Price faced allegations of rape in Palm Springs, California. The Riverside County District Attorney's Office continues to evaluate the allegations, and tells KUOW that it may reach a conclusion later this year.
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Washington state lawmakers pass protections for gender-affirming care
Washington state lawmakers approved a bill Wednesday that protects teen runaways seeking gender-affirming or reproductive health care.
Senate Bill 5599 is now headed to Gov. Jay Inslee's desk for a signature.
Normally, when a teen runaway arrives at a shelter, staff have to notify their parents, unless there is evidence of abuse or neglect. The bill carves out two more exceptions: teens seeking gender-affirming or reproductive health care.
RELATED: Trans patients often travel out of state, pay more for gender-affirming care, study finds
Opponents who spoke during public testimony at the capitol in February were largely concerned about parental rights. Eric Pratt commented that he thinks the bill will enable children to make poor health-care decisions "without the guidance of their own parents. It’s really concerning, as a parent."
“I can imagine children running from another state to Washington with this idea that they are going to be cared for outside the parental guidance that is necessary for their own health care," Pratt said.
RELATED: Seattle passes protections for abortion and gender affirming care
Supporters argued that the bill will protect young people who are at risk of depression and suicide, who are facing family rejection, and will provide those youth with a safe place while they seek health care.
Sen. Marko Liias (D-Mukilteo) sponsored the bill, and also commented in February, saying that the new law is needed to support youth who are not supported at home.
“We know when people don’t have access to gender-affirming care, it leads to lifelong challenges in terms of mental health," Liias said.
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Washington can now look to out-of-state shipbuilders for its next ferries
Washington state has charted a bipartisan course to overhaul its ferry procurement plans. Officials will now broaden their scope when seeking builders for the state's new ships.
When the jumbo ferry M/V Walla Walla lost power and went aground at south Bainbridge Island over the weekend, it once again highlighted the need to upgrade Washington's aging ferry fleet.
On Tuesday, the Washington Legislature gave final approval to HB 1846. It passed 94-3 and is now headed to the governor's desk for a signature.
RELATED: Could an aging WA fleet lead to more ferry mishaps?
The measure aims to get new ferries, faster and cheaper. All of the House lawmakers who spoke in favor of the bill referenced the recent incident with the M/V Walla Walla as a reason for speeding up procurement of new ferries.
"This bill reflects a desire to build in Washington, but also opens the possibility to other bids to ensure we get our boats constructed on time," state Sen. Marko Liias (D-Mukilteo) said Friday, before the recent incident with the M/V Walla Walla and Tuesday's vote.
As Northwest News Network reported in March, every new ferry added to Washington's fleet over the past 50 years has been built locally, in the Puget Sound region. This is because the state previously required all new ferries to be constructed within the state. This was a way to support the local shipbuilding industry. But limited competition has resulted in delays and high costs. The approved measure allows the state to look nationally. Now, out-of-state shipbuilders can bid on contracts for the state's next new boats — five plug-in hybrid electric ferries.
The revised procurement rules give a modest bid credit to shipbuilders who'll assemble the vessels in Washington, while also inviting national competition from the get-go.
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How can we get workers to stay?: Today So Far
- Parents, teachers, and students in Seattle's south area have been trying a new way to fund their schools.
- Among all the conversations about our region's problems with addiction and drugs, have you heard the term “contingency management"?
- How can we get workers back? How can we get them to stay?
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for April 19, 2023.
How can we get workers back? How can we get them to stay? These are questions we have heard again and again, ever since the pandemic struck.
KUOW's Monica Nickelsburg takes on these questions this week, while talking with a few folks from our area in the education, restaurant, and health care industries. A lot of contributing issues are not new, and this story notes that people have been leaving such industries since 2009. The pandemic, however, really made a mess of things and folks left in much greater numbers.
I'm going to offer some sobering truth, and understanding, to employers out there, pondering how to get and hold onto workers. I get it. The world changed, seemingly overnight. Inflation is now layered on top of the fact that our cities are largely unaffordable (they were before the pandemic). So you need workers, but they're going to have to commute from as far as Enumclaw. This is tough to hear, but nobody is doing you any favors telling you otherwise — you're just gonna have to pay more. Still, this is just one issue that Nickelsburg points to in her story this week. Read that here.
Among all the conversations about our region's problems with addiction and drugs, have you heard the term “contingency management"? It's a term you're likely to hear more often now that Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell has approved a new approach to this issue. In short, it offers gift cards, prizes, and even cash to folks who continue to pass drug tests. Pass a test, get a prize, stay sober.
In Seattle, the new program will be run by Plymouth Housing. Money for it is coming from a $800,000 grant from the Washington State Health Care Authority.
“It is a method of incentivizing sobriety, or not using, so that people can get out of the crisis that they're in, and then seek or be open to long-term treatment,” said Seattle Councilmember Sara Nelson.
KUOW's David Hyde has the full story here.
Parents, teachers, and students in Seattle's south area have been trying a new way to fund their schools.
"Traditional PTAs are really focused on the school they are raising money for," Alaron Lewis with the Southeast Seattle Schools Fundraising Alliance told Seattle Now this morning. "So each PTA raises money for their own school, and ... between schools, we see huge differences. There are Title I schools, even up in the north end, that don't raise a tenth of what their neighboring school raises. So you may have one school that is funding multiple teachers off of their PTSA, and the neighboring school doesn't have enough money for a field trip."
For fourth grade teacher JC Fretz, it's not necessarily about funding teachers and field trips (though, those things are quite nice). Fretz teaches at Emerson Elementary and likes to include student input in how PTA money is spent. A top priority for his students — food. The kids don't have enough food.
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Longtime, late-night downtown Seattle spot makes a comeback
Seattle business leaders welcome the news that Palace Kitchen is reopening. The longtime, late-night downtown Seattle spot has been on hiatus for three years. Its return, leaders hope, will mark a turning point in downtown’s revitalization.
Pre-pandemic, people went to Palace Kitchen for a nightcap after a concert or a late show. Owner Tom Douglas says when it reopens this week, expect some slight changes.
“We’ll be open till midnight for dinner,” Douglas said. “We’re only going to open five nights a week. At this point to see what happens.”
Douglas was the first to shut down all 12 of his restaurants during the pandemic. Like many downtown businesses they relied on tourism. These days, Douglas says, foot traffic is coming back.
James Sido, spokesperson with the Downtown Seattle Association hopes other businesses will take note. He adds that Palace Kitchen’s return will create momentum.
“That really does sort of put a marker in the ground to say, 'Hey, downtown is on the upswing,'" Sido said.
According to DSA numbers, nearly two million visitors came to downtown in February. That’s a 7% increase compared to February 2022.
Sido expects a busy summer ahead starting with cruise season that’s expected to bring in more than a million passengers to the city.
While some of Douglas’s businesses have slowly returned two years ago, he says the time wasn’t right for Palace Kitchen until they could find the right team for the reopening. Douglas says he’s excited to welcome people back.
“People really missed the socialization, they missed not having someone do their dishes, they missed meeting friends and the energy that restaurants bring to life.”
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WA tweaks its police pursuit law, but is this the end of the issue?: Today So Far
- This report says SPD should apologize for actions during 2020 protests.
- Lawmakers have tweaked Washington's police pursuit laws, but is this the end of the issue?
- A new Soundgarden album? Yep.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for April 18, 2023.
The Seattle Police Department needs to "issue a public apology" for its actions during the 2020 protests. That's the recommendation of a special panel that has been looking into police responses during the ongoing 2020 protests, following the murder of George Floyd.
This recommendation stands out in a panel report released this morning. There are a total of 22 recommendations, most of which deal with processes, policies, and tactics at the Seattle Police Department. Recommendation 20 reads, in full: "Acknowledge the harm to BIPOC community caused by SPD actions over time and issue a public apology for the actions of SPD during the 2020 protests."
This latest report from the OIG is the fourth and final review of the 2020 protests. It started this process in the fall of 2020, following public concerns over police response to the protests.
News of this report broke this morning. I've reached out to SPD for comment about it, so stay tuned in case they return my call. Read the full story here.
The debate has concluded over how to handle Washington state's police pursuit laws. At least, the debate has ended this session. It seems that enough Democrats and Republicans were able to work a few tweaks to the rules this time around, but comments from both sides of the aisle indicate that neither party wants to stop here.
In short, after Gov. Inslee signs the bill into law, police will be able to pursue suspects in cases of vehicular assault and some domestic violence cases. If officers have reasonable suspicion for a sex offense, they can pursue as well (previously, the standard was probable cause).
State Sen. John Lovick, a Democrat who previously spent 31 years serving with the Washington State Patrol, commented that a larger goal is to find "technological alternatives" to police pursuits, which he argues is still dangerous for all involved, including bystanders. Republican Rep. Gina Mosbrucker says she reluctantly voted for the House version of the bill. She wants to open the law further around police pursuits, but for now she says this is "a step forward." Read more here.
Good news for Seattle music fans: Soundgarden is slated to release a new album.
The news marks the conclusion of some drama around the band and Chris Cornell's estate. Seven songs are reported to have been recorded by the late singer in the months before his death. The band had planned on finishing the songs, each adding their own parts. Cornell's widow, Vicky Cornell, sued the band, arguing that the songs were the work of the singer alone. The band argued otherwise. Little is known about how the legal process worked out over the past few years, but it seems that things resolved out of court. As of this week, the two parties are A-OK moving forward.
Soundgarden is now planning to finish recording and eventually release "the final songs that the band and Chris were working on." Read more here.
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Seattle police should apologize for 2020 protest response, oversight panel says
The Seattle Police Department should apologize to protesters for its responses amid the 2020 protests, according to the latest report from the city's Office of Inspector General.
The suggestion of an apology stands out among 22 recommendations included in a report from Seattle's Office of Inspector General, most of which address Seattle Police policies, tactics, and training (see the full list of recommendations below). In full, the recommendation states: "Acknowledge the harm to BIPOC community caused by Seattle Police actions over time and issue a public apology for the actions of Seattle Police during the 2020 protests."
RELATED: We know who made the call to leave Seattle Police’s East Precinct, finally
Other recommendations include better communication with media; addressing officer fatigue and providing mental and physical support; increasing the diversity of officers in crowd management; and evaluating police policies, including use of force and bicycle tactics.
The recommendations focus on the department's actions during the 2020 protests that followed the murder of George Floyd. They are the result of a report focusing on "crowd management tactics" used by Seattle police at three protests between July and September 2020.
- July 25: March on Capitol Hill that included more than 5,000 people. Police reported using force 140 times over 11 hours.
- September 7: Protest outside the office of the Seattle Police Officers' Guild, during which police reported 56 reports of use of force incidents over 90 minutes.
- September 23: March on Capitol Hill, following a Kentucky grand jury's decision on the death of Breonna Taylor. Police reported 45 use-of-force incidents over four hours.
The Office of Inspector General began its review process in the fall of 2020 following concerns over police response to protests. This process — called "Sentinel Event Reviews" — included a panel of community members, police officers, and police accountability stakeholders.
This is the fourth and final report as a result of that work.
The inspector general relied on police cameras, investigations by the Office of Police Accountability, Seattle police reports, media accounts and social media.
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Washington lawmakers pass modifications to controversial police pursuit law
The Washington Legislature is making minor changes to the state's rules around police car chases.
The state Senate gave final approval to Senate Bill 5352 Monday, that aims to give police more leeway to pursue suspects in vehicles. The legislation passed 26-22. The bill now heads to Gov. Jay Inslee's desk where he's expected to sign it into law.
RELATED: One WA police chief's argument for changing state vehicle pursuits law
After the bill passed, both Democrats and Republicans have commented that more work needs to be done.
"I know how dangerous many of these high-speed chases can be,” said Sen. John Lovick, who previously spent 31 years serving in the Washington State Patrol. “They are some of the worst situations our neighbors and officers can be in. It is my hope that we follow this bill with renewed calls to continue our work to build safer, healthier communities, as we know the issue extends far beyond the officer and chases.”
Lovick, a Democrat from Mill Creek representing Washington's 44th Legislative District, also said that the larger goal for lawmakers is to "reach zero high-speed chases and find technological alternatives to a scenario that is dangerous for law enforcement, the community, and the suspect." Lovick added that officers have a "duty to limit them to only the most serious situations.”
Republican Rep. Gina Mosbrucker of Goldendale represents the state's 14th Legislative District. Her office says she "reluctantly" voted in favor of the police pursuit bill in the House, and argues the law still "limits the ability of law enforcement officers to chase vehicles."
"The vote was 57-40, and the goal is to get back to reasonable suspicion so that law enforcement can do their job," Rep. Mosbrucker said following the vote.
"This bill didn't quite get there, but it was a step forward, so we had a difficult decision to make," Mosbrucker said. "There were reasons for 'yes,' reasons for 'no'. I support both sides of that, but I had to keep it moving so that we can continue this dialogue to make sure we do get to that reasonable suspicion for law enforcement, and the community."
RELATED: Police pursuit debate in WA Legislature involves dueling data sets
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The second time the same ferry has crashed on Bainbridge Island: Today So Far
- The sun now sets after 8 p.m. in the Northwest!
- How do you get off a ferry boat after it runs aground at Bainbridge Island?
- If you have a spare $200,000 laying around, here are some tips for what to do with it.
- Questions around Washington's recent "middle housing" move.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for April 17, 2023.
It may seem like so long ago, but the last time our region saw sunsets after 8 p.m. was ... last night. Before that, sunsets after 8 p.m. were last seen on Aug. 26. Just a nice warm thought to start the week.
Despite how grown up Bainbridge Island is, it still maintains a small town vibe where everybody knows somebody, who knows somebody. Case-in-point: It's been years since I lived on Bainbridge Island, yet my phone kept buzzing while I was deep into some gardening soil in Tacoma this weekend. It was my friend Liz in Los Angeles. She was sending me videos from her dad on Bainbridge Island, which showed a ferry "crashing" into the sandy shores at the south end of the island. I put "crashing" in quotes, because it was a slow, soft nudge up onto the beach. Despite being a few years and cities away, Bainbridge is still a town where I know someone, who knows someone — chit-chat can echo from the island to LA to Tacoma within minutes.
That's how the news of the M/V Walla Walla running aground got started Saturday. Like most good stories, it came from people like you getting in touch with KUOW. Shortly after departing the Bremerton ferry dock, the ferry's generator reportedly failed while in Rich Passage, a stretch of waterway that runs along the south end of Bainbridge Island. Ferries pass through it en route to Seattle every day. When the Walla Walla lost power, it lost the ability to steer, and the boat coasted into the island shore.
"They made an announcement that we had lost steering and propulsion and we were going to run aground," Haley Socha told KUOW while still on the ferry that day. "They announced we should brace for impact. Gradually, we scraped the bottom and then ran aground on Bainbridge Island."
Ann Wilkinson Ellis has often watched ferries pass by her Bainbridge house, but knew something was wrong on Saturday.
"We heard this explosion ... we have never heard that sound before," Wilkinson Ellis said. "We ran out on our deck ... the Walla Walla, sadly, one of my favorite ferry boats, was drifting into Pleasant Beach and grounded there, north of Lytle Beach and south of Lynwood Center, right in front of people's homes."
The Walla Walla opened its galley for the more than 600 people waiting to hear how they were going to get off the ferry. Coast Guard boats were dispatched to the area. Within minutes, www.istheferrystillstuck.com went online with a single purpose — watch the ferry to see if it was still stuck. Island kids set up a hot cocoa table on the beach, just in case passengers would be coming ashore. By 8 p.m., passengers were being offloaded to a Kitsap Fast Ferry, which runs the same route. All passengers were off the ferry shortly before 11 p.m.
After midnight, the tide rose, making it easier to tow the ferry away. The M/V Walla Walla was returned to the Bremerton dock. IsTheFerryStillStuck.com was updated.
Read more and see video of the incident here.
Here's a tip: If you want to give away a lot of money, consider a raffle, or give it to a worthy cause, or call me up. What you should not do is toss $200,000 out of your car window while driving down a freeway. That's what one Oregon man did recently, which caused quite a scene.
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Eastside light rail expansion could be delayed after work along I-90 demolished
Sound Transit has announced that the light rail expansion project along I-90 may be delayed once again.
The stretch of light rail tracks being constructed around the floating I-90 bridge is at the center of the delay.
The track supports, called "plinths," are located along I-90 as it approaches the floating bridge. The concrete used in their construction was found to be faulty. Contractors could not salvage the supports, and just finished demolishing them.
“The unfortunate thing is that even the delayed date of spring of 2025, to open light rail to east King County, looks like it may slip even further. But there's no magic wand here," said King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci, chair of the Sound Transit Expansion Committee.
Balducci said it’s not clear who will take on any additional costs from the delay — the contractors or a government agency. She wants the Eastside expansion to launch in spring of 2024, before light rail over I-90 is finished. This would bring stations online as they finish construction.
Currently, the opening dates of Sound Transit's light rail expansion are:
- East Link Starter Line: Spring 2024
- Lynnwood Link: Summer/Fall 2024
- East Link I-90 corridor: Spring 2025
- Downtown Redmond Link: Spring 2025
A previous version of this story stated that the concrete portions of the tracks were located on the floating bridge. The faulty supports are located along I-90, approaching the floating bridge.
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Shawn Kemp charged in wake of shooting at Tacoma Mall parking lot
The Pierce County Prosecutor's Office has charged former Seattle Sonics star Shawn Kemp with first-degree assault.
The charge stems from a shooting at Tacoma Mall last month. Kemp is scheduled to be arraigned on May 4.
RELATED: Former NBA superstar Shawn Kemp is arrested over a shooting in a parking lot
According to Pierce County Superior Court documents filed on April 14, police were called to reports of a shooting in a Tacoma Mall parking lot, near the JCPenney and Firestone, in the early morning hours of March 8, 2023. No one was hurt in the incident.
Witnesses told officers that a gun was thrown into nearby bushes following the gunshots. Officers found a .357 revolver where witnesses indicated. Court documents also state that the incident was captured on cell phone video as well as security camera footage from neighboring businesses.
The video evidence is described in court documents, which further detail allegations against Kemp. It states that a Porsche is seen on video arriving at the parking lot with four other vehicles, including a 4Runner, around 1:51 a.m. Within the span of 10 minutes, multiple confrontations happen between the driver of the Porsche and the 4Runner. The Porsche driver reportedly fired multiple shots at the SUV. At one point, it appeared a shot was fired directly at the 4Runner driver, as the driver ducked to avoid being hit. Court documents allege that Kemp is the driver of the Porsche who was firing the handgun.
Court documents also detail an interview a detective had with Kemp, following the shooting. In that interview, Kemp reportedly told police that his car was prowled earlier that evening, while he was at an event in downtown Seattle. He reportedly said that a cell phone was stolen during that incident and he was able to track it to a location in Fife. He confronted people in an SUV in Fife who quickly left. Then, he tracked the phone to the Tacoma Mall parking lot where the shooting happened. Kemp reportedly claimed he was shot at first. Police argue that this is not seen on security camera video.
Court documents also state that text messages obtained from Kemp's phone are also being used as evidence in the case.
Kemp is a six-time NBA All-Star and is involved in a local cannabis business.
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Kirkland has new cameras targeting speeding drivers
Speedsters beware: Kirkland has two new speed cameras posted and they started ticketing drivers Monday.
The two cameras are placed in school zones, where lower speeds are posted. One is located at 84th Avenue Northeast, near the Finn Hill school zone. Another camera is posted near Lakeview Elementary on Northeast 68th Street.
The cameras were installed a month ago. Since then, they have only issued warnings. But the grace period is over. As of Monday, drivers caught speeding in these zones are getting cited.
Kirkland's first speed camera program for school zones was established in 2019. Cameras were placed near John Muir Elementary / Kamiakin Middle School and Rose Hill Elementary. The city says that the cameras prompted lower speeds in the area.
The city opted to add more cameras in 2022. Kirkland has posted 130 signs in the two new camera locations, notifying drivers of their presence. The cameras also feature a flashing light.
Revenue from the speeding tickets is being directed at expanding the speed camera program and also into traffic safety projects.
The city of Kirkland has embraced a tech approach to enforcing traffic laws in recent years. In 2022, the city started a pilot program for tech designed to capture street racers. The camera and microphone system detects loud noises associated with street racing and documents the cars involved.
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