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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Screaming Trees cofounder Van Conner passes away at 55
Screaming Trees cofounder Van Conner has passed away at 55.
In a post on Facebook announcing that his brother had died Tuesday night, Gary Conner said that Van battled health issues over the past year, but said that, "It was pneumonia that got him in the end."
Van Conner played bass and wrote songs for Screaming Trees. He formed the band with his brother, Gary Lee Conner on guitar, and singer Mark Lanegan in 1984 in Ellensburg, Washington. The band evolved into the 1990s, amid the Seattle grunge era, alongside other major names like Mudhoney, Nirvana, and Soundgarden.
RELATED: Mark Lanegan, Screaming Trees singer and voracious collaborator, dies at 57
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Microsoft's new unlimited vacation policy may not be so simple
Microsoft has a new unlimited vacation policy as of this week.
It applies to full-time salaried employees in the United States — that is, those employees remaining after major job cuts announced Wednesday morning.
Microsoft is laying off 10,000 employees between now and March, according to a memo CEO Satya Nadella sent to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The news comes just days after the company implemented its new vacation policy, which some analysts say benefits employers more than employees.
"People have different opinions on why companies implement this. It's often pitched to employees and prospective employees as a benefit," says Taylor Soper, managing editor of GeekWire, who recently reported on the various pitfalls of an unlimited vacation policy. "Others say this is more about the bottom line, in that it prevents companies from needing to pay out unused PTO when an employee leaves the company."
Then there's how "unlimited" is understood at the company and even among individual teams — the policy is not a free pass to take a permanent paid vacation.
Employees will still need their manager's permission to take time off, for example. Soper says that means the policy could be enforced differently from one manager to another, potentially deepening inequities. Soper says experts have found policies like this may actually increase sexual, racial, or gender discrimination.
"If the company doesn't have a well-structured and transparent policy around unlimited PTO, that can create more problems," he says. "And some studies show that when you have an unlimited PTO policy, employees actually take less vacation than when there was the traditional PTO policy in place."
In any case, the shift at Microsoft is part of a broader trend in tech.
"We're seeing some layoffs. We're seeing some belt-tightening," Soper says. "So, those who say that this is more about the company's bottom line, there may be more meat to that."
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Microsoft slashes 10,000 jobs, the latest in a wave of layoffs
Microsoft will cut 10,000 workers over the next few months, CEO Satya Nadella announced in a statement released on Wednesday.
Layoffs will begin immediately, according to the statement.
The cuts, which affect less than 5% of the company's workforce, come as Microsoft customers pull back on spending, Nadella said. He added that the company is also looking to expand in new areas, including artificial intelligence.
"[T]he next major wave of computing is being born with advances in AI," he said.
Microsoft is reportedly set to invest $10 billion in OpenAI, the parent behind popular AI writing tool ChatGPT, according to Semafor.
The cuts at Microsoft follow a wave of reductions across the tech industry.
Amazon announced it would lay off 18,000 workers, or about 1% of corporate jobs, earlier this month, citing an uncertain economy.
That same day, Salesforce announced plans to cut 8,000 jobs, or about 10% of its workforce.
As corporate leaders brace for a recession this year, companies around the world are planning to shrink their workforce.
Tech, health care, banking and finance are likely to see the biggest job cuts in 2023, according to Sarah Rodehorst, CEO and co-founder of Onwards HR, which helps companies carry out layoffs. She previously spoke with NPR.
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Our 'network of mutuality': Today So Far
- It is easy to quote a line from Martin Luther King Jr. But how often do we dig deeper into the context around these quotes? You'll find a common theme that we are all connected.
- Also, Sea-Tac Airport has become shelter to a number of unhoused people looking for a place to sleep.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for January 17, 2023.
“We are tied in a single garment of destiny."
Ed Taylor points to this Martin Luther King Jr. quote in a recent essay for KUOW. Taylor details a trip to India, where he met the Dalai Lama, and lived through a unique experience that reminds him of MLK's message.
This theme that we are all connected, our "network of mutuality," is part of MLK's famous "Letter from Birmingham Jail," but it is a point that he often emphasized. It's where we get the related quote: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
I grew up learning about MLK in grade school, where he is often spoken of as a civil rights leader focused on race issues. There's a good reason for that; it's a big issue he worked on. He was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize for it. But this issue touched many others that he also dedicated his time to. The famous March on Washington where he delivered his "I have a dream" speech, was fully titled "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom," tying economic struggles to civil rights causes. The last speech he gave ("I have been to the mountaintop") at Mason Temple in Memphis spoke to this theme, too, but MLK was there in support of sanitation workers on strike. Speaking about these workers, MLK urged listeners to "develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness." He further said, "Be concerned about your brother. You may not be on strike. But either we go up together, or we go down together."
It is very popular to quote MLK, especially by public figures, often in support of X issue or stance. There are a lot of good ones to choose from, such as "by the content of their character," or "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." But these lines are woven into larger arguments. They stand strong on their own, but they were stated with context and a purpose. MLK did not just say that "hate cannot drive out hate," he went on to preach that people should find a way to love those who hate them, to find what is good in such people, and to not return hate for hate. When he hoped for a day when people will be judged by the "content of their character," he also talked about voting access, police brutality, and poverty.
These are all among a handful of issues MLK spoke to as if they were interconnected. They are as such, because we, as people, are deeply interconnected. Not even social media, online ordering, or Zoom can change that. That doesn't mean we aren't different, but it does mean we have to live together. This message hasn't changed much from MLK's day, whether you live in Seattle, Walla Walla, the United States, or simply put, this planet.
In a way, Ed Taylor experienced this message of interconnectedness on a car ride in India, where he learned that the only way to get from A to B, was for people to acknowledge they all live together. Read Taylor's full story here.
It's easy to blend in at an airport. Folks are usually moving about, not sticking around for too long. That's why some have come to rely on Sea-Tac Airport as a shelter — they can blend in and get some sleep.
At least, some folks try to blend in. Miguel Mendoza told KUOW that he's among a group of unhoused people in the region who have come to rely on Sea-Tac Airport as shelter. It's warm and it's dry. For Mendoza and others, Sea-Tac is one option in a mix of methods to get through the night. Other options include all-night buses or trains, or just walking through the night altogether. At Sea-Tac, however, there is a risk of getting kicked out by police.
Ben Hall, another person who uses the airport to sleep, noted another downside to the airport — it's "boring and it's hard to lay down and close your eyes.” De Chung is another person using the airport as a place to sleep, nearly every night.
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Hollingsworth aims for Sawant's District 3 in race for Seattle City Council
A challenger has emerged to face Seattle Councilmember Kshama Sawant in the 2023 election.
Joy Hollingsworth formally announced on MLK Day that she is challenging incumbent Sawant to represent District 3 on the Seattle City Council.
Hollingsworth has deep ties to Seattle's Central District. She is also the granddaughter of Dorothy Hollingswoth, the first Black woman elected to a Washington state school board. She played basketball for Seattle Preparatory School before playing for the University of Arizona, and then professionally in Athens, Greece. She returned to Seattle and served as an assistant basketball coach at Seattle University. Hollingsworth earned a Master's in Education at the University of Washington.
Today, Hollingsworth works in the family business, Hollingsworth Farms, a cannabis company based on the Olympic Peninsula. She lives in the Central District, however, in her family's home with her wife Iesha.
At an event Monday, Hollingsworth said her perspectives are informed by real-life experiences.
"Rolling up my sleeves to serve historically excluded communities, building a small business, advocating for our youth, using our platform for community reinvestment programs," Hollingsworth said. "I want to bring these practical, applied perspectives to City Council that is missing a Black, LGBTQIA perspective. I want to develop and promote progressive and practical strategies to address root causes of seemingly intractable issues, including all voices and perspectives, measuring progress, cultivating trust and transformational relationships."
Hollingsworth said she is committed to: expanding affordable housing and homeownership opportunities; keeping people in the homes they are currently in; investing in new ways to localized healthy food resources; mentoring youth; protecting the rights of the LGBTQIA community; and "nourishing small businesses." She also said she wants to address the recent rise in gun violence in Seattle.
"I envision a Seattle where everyone can feel like they have a role, an important role, in helping with these solutions," she said.
Hollingsworth's statements primarily spoke to what she wants to bring the Council and why she is running. She did not address Sawant, who currently holds the position.
Sawant is Seattle's only Socialist council member. She narrowly beat a recall election in 2021 and has served on the Council since 2014. She has not officially announced that she will run for re-election.
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A push to lower Washington's blood-alcohol level to .05 for drivers
Washington state lawmakers heard arguments for and against Senate Bill 5002 Monday, which proposes to drop the current blood alcohol level for drivers down from .08 to .05 blood alcohol concentration or BAC.
The bill was discussed in the Senate's Law and Justice Committee Monday. State Sen. John Lovick (D-Mill Creek), is the primary sponsor of the bill and spoke in support of it. Lovick is a former state trooper and Snohomish County sheriff. He noted that of the more than 700 people killed on roads in Washington last year, over half were DUI related.
"Our roads are not as safe as they should be, and they are definitely not as safe as they could be," Lovick said. "I see driving behavior that is beyond anything I could have imagined when I started as a state trooper over 40 years ago. Drivers are not just speeding, following too closely, passing on the shoulders, and driving aggressive, it is very clear to me that drunk driving is impacting the safety of our communities, and it is time that we do something. Drunk driving is a choice. Drunk driving collisions are avoidable."
Josh McDonald with the Washington Wine Institute spoke against the proposal and argued "the current threshold in almost every other state was established as a safe level of consumption based on science and law enforcement guidance." He stressed that wineries rely on "responsible serving" in their tasting rooms.
"A change to .05 BAC could turn this reasonable, modern consumption experience, for both the customer and winery, into a very serious concern," McDonald said. "Without the ability to offer on-premise tasting of our product to our customers, including local and state tourists, discovering our wine sometimes for the first time ... Washington wineries will not be able to compete in an extremely competitive global wine marketplace."
Julia Gordon with the Washington Hospitality Association also spoke against the proposed change, arguing that there is "no discernable way to recognize signs of intoxication" at the .05 level. She said that the change would put businesses and employees at risk.
If SB 5002 passes, it would go into effect in July 2023 and Washington would join Utah as the only states with a blood-alcohol limit of .05. Utah's law went active in 2018. A study the following year found that DUI crashes went down.
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How much blame does social media bear? Today So Far
- Two Washington school districts have filed lawsuits against social media companies, arguing that their products can harm youth mental health. Some experts agree with that assessment, but not everybody.
- I accidentally participated in Dry January. Are you giving up anything this month?
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for January 13, 2023.
Happy Friday the 13th! I know a lot of folks don't like that day or number, but just like Mike Ness said, "13 is my lucky number."
The Seattle and Kent school districts have filed lawsuits against social media companies, arguing that their products are harming youth mental health. How this will play out in the courts remains to be seen. A lawsuit exactly like this hasn't happened before.
"The basic theory is the companies shouldn't get immunity for that process of matching vulnerable people with highly problematic content," Ryan Calo, a law professor at the University of Washington, told KUOW. "And who knows what the Supreme Court will do."
This sort of conversation around social media isn't new to child health experts, such as Dr. Dimitri Christakis, director of the Center for Child Health Behavior and Development at Seattle Children's Research Institute.
"Many of us who have been researching the effects of media on children have been concerned for a long time about the negative effects on children's emotional and mental health, as well as other developmental outcomes," Christakis said.
"It's very difficult for a parent to know what their child is looking at online. But Instagram knows it, Facebook knows it, TikTok knows it. And instead of alerting parents or caregivers or teachers or pediatricians that, 'Hey, this child is looking at a lot of suicide videos,' they just feed that child more of the same content."
Check out KUOW's full conversation with Calo and Chistakis here. Beyond that, check out NPR's three initial takeaways from the lawsuit here.
It should be noted that there are other experts out there who are skeptical of these arguments around social media, such as Dr. Katy Pearce with UW's Department of Communication. She recently told KUOW that parents should certainly monitor the content their kids are consuming.
"But decades of research shows that the effects are small and under very specific circumstances. And in fact, for many people with mental health issues, online support is essential. Also, the research cited in the lawsuit is very easy to critique. It is all correlational. Heck, there are many reasons why kids might be depressed nowadays environmental issues, racism, a global pandemic, inflation."
While two Washington cities have made this move against social media companies, don't expect any action at the state level anytime soon. State Superintendent Chris Reykdal has his eye on the lawsuits, but says that there are no current plans to jump on the bandwagon. Despite having no interest in joining the legal fight, Reykdal did offer some fighting words. While he notes there are positives to social media (exchange of information, connecting people), he also says "You can't just sell the positives of it without recognizing that some of the darkest things students see are on there. And that too has an impact and influence."
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Vietnamese New Year starts the Year of the Cat. Here's what that means
Vietnamese New Year is upon us. Technically, the Vietnamese New Year, aka Tết, is January 22 but Seattle's Vietnamese community is hosting a celebration this weekend.
Seattle's Tết will be from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Seattle Center, Jan. 14-15. Expect to see food, vendors, live music, crafts, and a spelling bee. There will also be appearances by singers Ánh Minh and Hà Thanh Xuân.
Admission is free. This is the 27th year that Seattle has celebrated Tết. More information here.
Tết is similar to the Chinese New Year in that it is based on a lunar calendar, which is why it occurs on a different date each year. Vietnamese culture has its own zodiac, too, that differs from the Chinese zodiac with a few different creatures. This January marks the start of the Year of the Cat in the Vietnamese zodiac (we are exiting the 2022 Year of the Tiger). Next Tết in 2024 will start the Year of the Dragon.
Other years of the cat include 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, and 2011. If you're born in a year of the cat, you're said to be realistic, sensitive, peaceful, intelligent, and artistic.
There are some traditions associated with the holiday, such as having a big festival, games, fireworks, and meeting up with friends and family. Some folks go vegetarian for Tết, which is said to be good luck.
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40 years since Seattle recognized its first MLK Day
- The big annual march through Seattle starts at 12:30 p.m. at Garfield High School. Find more information about the MLK Day schedule here.
- The Northwest African American Museum is opening Monday for the first time since it closed during the pandemic.
It's been 40 years since Seattle recognized its first Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This year, the city is honoring that milestone with the theme: 40 years of continuing King's mission.
"The spirit of Dr. King is the spirit of love and tolerance, and at a time where maybe people haven't been this intolerant in a long time, it's good to remember that we're all just people," said Bobby Alexander, vice chair of the Seattle MLK Coalition.
RELATED: Martin Luther King workshopped his 'I have a dream' speech in Seattle
"When we have a polarizing political environment people are reminded of politics more often, and they're reminded of the issues more often, and not even speaking on extreme ideologies but just the idea that where people disagree now they are less likely to share community."
A range of community events will take place on MLK Day (Monday, Jan. 16, 2023), such as workshops on early childhood and civil rights. Youth will give a presentation on racism in school.
"We have a job fair in the morning with our workshops," Alexander said. "Our workshops are always an opportunity to become educated, and our program actually starts at 11 a.m. at Garfield High School. So come out to our event, attend the workshops, go to the march and rally where you'll be entertained and educated."
RELATED: 'They've Killed Martin.' Remembering The Day MLK Was Assassinated
"You can talk about economic stratification, gentrification, and we can throw vocabulary words all around, but basically it's more expensive to live now than it has been in a long time," Alexander said. "So what are the reasons you would come out this year? It would be those things, but also a desire to join folks out in community in the spirit of Dr. King."
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Starbucks says it's time for employees to return to the office
Starbucks is pivoting away from pandemic work practices that sent most of its office workers home. Now, the company says it's time for employees to get back to their desks.
According to a letter from Howard Schultz posted on the coffee giant's website:
"The pandemic was a full-out attack on the ideas that make Starbucks, Starbucks. It disrupted human connection. It made the world harder for so many. And it threatened our ability to be a safe haven and a Third Place .... Partners, it’s time for us to come back to the office—to do this Mission-critical work face-to-face, and in person. It’s time we rebuild and revive the energy of the SSC and our regional offices as thriving, active hubs."
RELATED: Starbucks posts record-breaking sales even as U.S. inflation soars
Specifically, Starbucks' new policy states that, starting Jan. 30, office workers will be required to come into its Seattle headquarters a minimum of three days a week. Two of those days must be on Tuesday and Wednesday. It notes that this policy is for employees "within commuting distance."
Schultz argues that employees are needed back at the office because Starbucks values human connection. He says wants to rebuild such connections at the headquarters that were lost amid pandemic measures.
He says it's because he wants to be "fair," noting that employees were previously required to be in the office one day a week, but many haven't followed that guidance. The company has been monitoring which badges have been accessing the HQ, Schultz says.
After the Covid-19 pandemic first struck in 2020, Starbucks said it was taking a year to rethink its in-office policies. At the time, talk among company leaders, and other business leaders in Seattle, was about "hoteling" work spaces. That means workers would not have assigned desks, and would instead work in communal spaces. If they required a desk, they would reserve the space ahead of time.
Two years later, it is unclear if that is the still the vibe around Starbuck's HQ. What is clear is that Schultz wants employees back in the office by the end of January.
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Tariffs stopped many Washington apples from reaching India. Lawmakers want to fix that
The Northwest ships many of its apple harvest to India, including boat loads of red delicious apples.
But retaliatory tariffs put in place in 2019 are taking a bite out of the valuable market. Now, Washington's full congressional delegation is asking the federal government for help.
This week, the entire Washington Congressional delegation — about a dozen politicians spanning Democrat Senator Maria Cantwell to Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse — requested help from the U.S. Trade Representative and the Secretary of Commerce to help remove Indian tariffs on U.S. apples.
India has been one of the largest export markets for Northwest growers for decades. In 2017, Washington apple exports hit a high of $120 million. But a steel and aluminum tariff, slapped on India by the Trump Administration in 2018, caused the Indian government to put an additional 20% tax on U.S. apple imports. That sliced the Northwest apple exports to India down to just $3 million.
According to the letter sent by Washington lawmakers:
"Dear Ambassador Tai and Secretary Raimondo:
We request your assistance to remedy burdensome tariffs imposed by the Government of India on U.S. tree fruit industry at the upcoming Trade Policy Forum (TPF.) The TPF provides a unique opportunity for the U.S. Trade Representative and the Government of India to discuss retaliatory tariffs that are hurting tree fruit growers in Washington state and nationally. It is important to use this forum to work towards a solution that will allow the tree fruit industry to remain viable and continue to produce tree fruit domestically.
The tree fruit industry has suffered significant losses due to India’s retaliation for U.S. Section 232 tariffs. On average, 30 percent of the apples, cherries, and pears produced in the Pacific Northwest are exported and India was once a strong market. With retaliatory tariffs in place, Washington state apples growers have continuously lost market share in India. Prior to the implementation of these tariffs, India was our number two export market, valued at $120 million annually. Last season, growers exported barely $3 million. As growers have watched hard-earned market share and sales evaporate, their competitors in other countries have gained more of the market share.
Continued export losses coincide with ongoing cost-of-production increases that are forcing multigenerational family farms out of business. The Red Delicious variety accounts for nearly all the exports to India. Families operating legacy Red Delicious orchards, many of whom may not have the financial capacity to modernize their orchards, are disproportionately affected by the tariffs. This year the Red Delicious crop is the lowest since 1968. Corporate, out-of-state, entities are acquiring and consolidating larger operations, while smaller farms simply go out of business.
The damage inflicted by the retaliatory tariffs on tree fruit growers, their employees, and communities is clear and a solution is long overdue. On behalf of the many stakeholders throughout our region, we appreciate your attention to this matter. Following the TPF, we request that you meet with members of the Pacific Northwest tree fruit industry to discuss the next steps to remove the retaliatory tariffs."
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AP photographer Jack Smith, who shot Mount St. Helens, dies
SEATTLE (AP) — Jack Smith, an Associated Press photographer who captured unforgettable shots of the eruption of Mount St. Helens, the Exxon-Valdez oil spill, boxer Mike Tyson biting off part of Evander Holyfield’s ear, and weeping figure skater Tonya Harding at the Olympics during a 35-year career with the news organization, has died. He was 80.
Smith passed away on Jan. 4 at his home in La Mesa, California. He had cancer and had been in hospice care, said his wife, Judy Smith.
“People use the word legendary way too often, but in Jack’s case it might be an understatement,” said David Ake, the AP’s director of photography. “He could make pictures and friends faster than anyone I have ever met. If there was a big story in the West, there would be Jack — with his huge smile, beating you to the scene and making pictures you only wish you could have made.”
Smith joined the AP in Chicago as a photographer in 1966, after serving in the military in Vietnam, and spent a decade working there and in Washington, D.C. Then, in a bid to improve coverage in Oregon and lure some of the state’s newspapers away from rival United Press International, the AP made him its first staff photographer in Portland in 1977, said Steve Graham, who was the bureau’s news editor at the time.
Smith immediately improved the photo operation not just with his keen eye and knack for getting a definitive shot, but through his exceptional organizational skills — maintaining a stable of freelancers and developing relationships with photographers at AP member newspapers around the state, Graham said.
Smith arranged assignments for the many out-of-town photographers who arrived when Mount St. Helens, in southwestern Washington state, began rumbling in 1980. He was among the first to capture images of the volcano when it blew on May 18 that year, and he produced indelible pictures of oil-soaked wildlife following the 1989 Exxon-Valdez oil spill in Alaska’s Prince William Sound.
Smith had a big personality to match his 6-foot-4 frame, and was known as “Chainsaw” for his resemblance to a stereotypical lumberjack. He was among a breed of hard-charging, competitive and sharp-elbowed wire service photographers who sought to get a good image at whatever cost and in whatever conditions, several colleagues recalled.
In 1988, he traveled to Barrow, Alaska, where several California gray whales had become trapped in Arctic Ocean ice. Alaska Native whalers had chopped holes where the animals could surface and breathe in an effort to save them.
Knowing he was going to be on that remote assignment for days or weeks, he persuaded the AP to let him rent a snowmobile so he could reach the icebound scene whenever he needed to, recalled Don Ryan, a former AP photographer in Portland who worked with Smith for about 25 years.
Furthermore, Ryan said, Smith convinced the company to buy him a shotgun, telling his bosses he needed it for protection against “rabid snow wolves.”
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