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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Jayapal: Chaos around House speaker vote signals 'a very difficult two years' ahead
The U.S. House has, so far, failed to elect a speaker, delaying the work ahead.
Despite wanting Friday off to mark the second anniversary of the January 6 attacks on the Capitol, representatives are headed back to the floor to try yet again to get the job done.
But Washington Democratic Congressmember Pramila Jayapal says the "drama" will "quickly seep out to the rest of the country" even after a speaker is selected.
"The dysfunction of the last two days is currently limited to the House floor," she told KUOW's Paige Browning. "What about when we have to raise the debt ceiling? What about when we have to do government appropriations? These are things that are going to affect every single constituent."
Republican Congressmember Kevin McCarthy of California failed to secure the speakership 11 times by the end of the day Thursday.
Washington Democratic Congressmember Suzan DelBene echoes Jayapal's sentiments. She says, in failing to come together to elect a speaker, Republicans are causing serious problems in the House.
"The dysfunction on the Republican side impacts our ability to govern," DelBene said.
DelBene points out that members can't be sworn without a speaker in place. As a result, they can't perform basic functions of government, like attend security briefings. But DelBene also feels that the chaos could actually help her party in coming years. She's the new head of the Congressional Campaign Committee that will work to get Democrats elected in 2024.
Washington's two Republican House members could not be reached for comment.
"You reap what you sow"
Jayapal, who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, points to the loss of more moderate Republicans who either chose not to run for reelection or who lost their contests to candidates even further to the right — members of McCarthy's own party who are now blocking his rise to speaker.
"You reap what you sow," she says of the chaos on the House floor. "This has been a long time coming. Republicans, including moderate Republicans, allowed extreme MAGA Republicans to get away with some of the worst assaults on the United States Capitol on January 6 [2021]. ... And I think this is another version of the attack on the institutions that allow us to be a functioning democracy. That is very much on the shoulders of these Republicans who have allowed Donald Trump to be the cult figure of the Republican Party."
Two years after the attack on the Capitol, Jayapal says our democracy is fragile, and the struggle to elect a speaker suggests "a very difficult two years" ahead.
Democrats have so far been united in the speaker race, voting for Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York; they lack enough votes to actually put the Democratic leader into the speaker's chair.
McCarthy could strike a deal for some of their 212 votes to get the 218 he needs to win. Jayapal is highly skeptical of that possibility, though.
"If we were to agree to Democratic votes for a Republican speaker without a full agreement, then what happens when that Republican speaker cuts Social Security or Medicare?" she says. "I don't think anybody is looking for this to continue. We want a speaker of the House, but we want a speaker of the House that is going to negotiate in good faith for the American people. And I do worry that the concessions that Kevin McCarthy now appears to be making are going to mean a complete disruption to the work of the United States Congress over the next two years."
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Washington grid attacks flew under the radar for months
Recent attacks on the Northwest electrical grid have law enforcement agencies on high alert.
Two Puyallup men were arrested after four Pierce County substations were targeted Christmas day. Detention hearings for Matthew Greenwood and Jeremy Crahan, charged with the federal crime of conspiracy to damage energy facilities, are scheduled for Friday and Tuesday, respectively, in Tacoma.
But KUOW has learned that attacks on the grid have been surging in Washington state since last summer.
The U.S. Department of Energy keeps tabs on disturbances to the nation’s electrical grid from natural, accidental, and intentional causes.
That DOE data and other reporting by KUOW reveal previously unreported physical attacks on substations in southwest Washington this summer.
On June 16, someone knocked out a substation in the Lewis County town of Morton. Five days later, a substation in the Grays Harbor County town of Central Park was attacked.
On Aug. 5, somebody used a similar method to knock out a substation in the town of Toledo.
A Lewis County Sheriff’s Office report shows a steel cable used in the Toledo attack burned in half by high-voltage electricity.
Other substations were targeted on Aug. 31 in Oakville and Oct. 6 in Central Park.
“For someone to seek entry to a substation and attempt to do damage is incredibly dangerous,” Grays Harbor Public Utility District spokesperson Ian Cope said. “It really is amazing to me that there hasn't been a fatality for one of these vandals or thieves or whoever attempts to gain entry to a substation without the proper training.”
Other substations were targeted in November in Washington and Oregon, before a more damaging attack in North Carolina generated widespread power outages and national headlines.
The five summer incidents bring the number of known grid attacks in the Northwest to at least 15 in 2022, with 10 of them in November and December.
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Did you know?: This list of banished words and phrases may not be the GOAT, but it is what it is...
You're going to have to go on a vocab diet in 2023, according to the nerds at Lake Superior State University. The faculty at the Michigan college have come up with their annual list of words and phrases people should just stop using in 2023. Faculty argue these words and phrases should be banished for "misuse, overuse and uselessness."
This Did You Know segment was originally published in the Jan. 5, 2023 edition of the Today So Far newsletter.
- GOAT
- Inflection point
- Quiet quitting
- Gaslighting
- Moving forward
- Amazing
- Does that make sense?
- Irregardless
- Absolutely
- It is what it is
Regardless of what you think, "irregardless" is indeed a word (despite my pedantic rants that have ruined the vibe at various parties).
I have to agree about "quiet quitting" and "gaslighting." They are used quite a lot. Plus, "quiet quitting" is one of those language mirages, where the words literally mean something, but the concept is entirely different. Quiet quitting is simply when an employee decides to stick to their job description, only work within their shift, and not put in any extra effort ... in other words, doing their job. So you're not actually quitting, are you?!
I never caught on with GOAT (greatest of all time) in the first place. It's a nice sentiment, but who wants to be likened to a goat? Why not "BEAR" for "bringing excellence and respect"? Or "SHARK" for "so hard at rocking and kicking it"? Sure, those are reaching pretty hard, but it is what it is. "It is what it is," is a phrase I am not dropping. Sometimes, it really just is what it is.
I am open to any other animal-based ideas for complimenting people, other than GOAT. Feel free to email me at dyer@kuow.org.
The list is the result of more than 1,500 nominations from across the globe. Faculty voted and came up with the top 10. They argue that the terms are so overused that they are disconnected from their actual meaning or impact. Like, how amazing can something be if we say "amazing" for just about everything? Does that make sense?
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Amazon shifts its thinking as it sheds 18K employees: Today So Far
- Amazon is now cutting 18,000 jobs, more than previously expected.
- Microsoft employees have started the company's first union.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for January 5, 2023.
When word got out in November that Amazon was preparing to make job cuts, the estimate was that the online retail giant would nix about 10,000 positions. Now, that number has inflated to more than 18,000.
"This is the biggest layoff in the company's history, it's also the biggest layoff in the past year among major tech companies, and there have been quite a few," GeekWire's Todd Bishop told KUOW this morning. "More than that, it's really a signal of a change in mindset for the company."
That mindset will be more "scrappy," and a return to the company's roots, Bishop said, noting Amazon is trying to simplify its corporate side. While the layoffs will only be about 1% of Amazon's 1.5 million workforce, Bishop said it adds up to about 5% of the corporate workforce.
"So if you take that 5% ratio and apply it to the 75,000 (employees in the Seattle area), you're somewhere in the realm of 4,000 workers (in the Seattle area) that are primarily in devices and books," he said.
Amazon plans to start letting affected employees know on Jan. 18. In a blog post, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy commented on "the difficult decision to eliminate additional roles." The jobs slated to be cut are not in warehouses or among hourly paid jobs. Rather, Amazon is targeting its stores and PXT organizations.
What is a PXT job? I was wondering the same thing. As far as I can tell it's one of those departments that Chandler Bing would work in because — through all the jargon and generic language — nobody knows what they do. According to Amazon's PXT website, the " People Experience and Technology Solutions" department "eat our own dog food by using our own solutions."
According to Bishop, PXT is Amazon speak for "human resources."
"Amazon has weathered uncertain and difficult economies in the past, and we will continue to do so," Jassy said in his blog post. "These changes will help us pursue our long-term opportunities with a stronger cost structure; however, I’m also optimistic that we’ll be inventive, resourceful, and scrappy in this time when we’re not hiring expansively and eliminating some roles."
January is reportedly the biggest month for layoffs. Tech, health care, banking, and finance are expected to shed the most jobs in 2023. One-third of companies expect to cut 30% or more of their workforce this year. NPR also has more on this, as well as a few tips for folks facing layoffs.
In other Northwest tech news, employees have formed the first union at Microsoft. The union emerged from the company's game testers. Yes, that is an actual job, and no, I am not making fun of it by pointing that out. Despite shrinking revenue last year, the video game industry still pulls in nearly $184 billion in revenue. It spans games on your smartphone to "Minecraft," "Fortnite," "Call of Duty," you name it. I play "Catan" on my phone — a board game, on my phone. That's all to say, being such a significant industry, these games better be tested before you release a mistake and lose money.
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Student sit-in protests fossil fuel company recruitment at University of Washington
A student group at the University of Washington is calling on the university to prohibit oil, gas, and mining operation companies from recruiting on campus.
Many such companies have graduate and internship programs. The ICA-UW Chapter started holding sit-ins at the university's career center in late November. The group plans to continue doing so through winter quarter. ICA stands for Institutional Climate Action.
RELATED: UW has 5 years to divest from fossil fuel
"We're gonna sit from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. every day and also try to get the attention of the attorney general of Washington state, because the Attorney General's Office is the group that will eventually approve this if it does get amended," said UW junior Lauren Henrie, who is leading the sit-in at UW.
The UW has been in the process of divesting its endowment fund from fossil fuels. The university's master's program in energy infrastructure is focused on new technologies and renewable energy sources.
University officials responded to KUOW in a statement, saying that while UW understands "that some individuals or advocacy groups may take issue with certain employers or industries, the UW Career & Internship Center is committed to ensuring that students with diverse career interests have access to a wide range of internship and career opportunities."
It goes to to say that the "the Center does this by connecting students with potential employers and students can make decisions for themselves about which employers may or may not be right for them."
About half a dozen colleges in the UK have already pushed fossil fuel recruitment off campuses.
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Could bottle deposits be coming to Washington state?
Lawmakers in Olympia will consider a series of proposals to cut down on waste and increase recycling efforts across Washington this legislative session. Among the ideas being pushed is a new bottle deposit system for the state — deposit 10 cents for that can of soda, and return it to the store to get it back.
"If we really want to meet our goals to reduce litter and increase, reuse, and recycle targets, and refill targets, Washington must implement this type of program," state Rep. Liz Berry said at the Seattle Aquarium this week while unveiling the WRAP Act ahead of the 2023 legislative session.
RELATED: Soda tax-funded programs largely safe, despite lower pandemic revenue
If passed, the bottle deposit program proposed for Washington state would impose a 10 cent deposit on beverage containers. People could then return those containers to stores to get that 10 cents back. The idea is to motivate consumers to direct containers back into the recycling system, instead of risking the items getting into the waste system (landfills), or littered on the side of the road. It also could encourage folks to pick up littered containers.
Oregon has a similar system in place. It is not uncommon for grocery stores in that state to feature automated centers where cans and bottles can be returned, and the store will pay out the deposit on site. It is unclear if a similar system will evolve in Washington, should the deposit proposal pass in Olympia this year.
The bottle deposit proposal is part of a much larger bill slated for the 2023 session, called the WRAP Act (Washington Recycling and Packaging Act). State Rep. Berry (D–Seattle) and state Sen. Christine Rolfes (D–Bainbridge Island) are behind the effort. The WRAP Act ultimately aims to cut down on packaging waste across a range of consumer products, while increasing recycling rates.
RELATED: Plenty of Amazon plastic to go around ... the Earth
"The bill is a much-needed modernization of our state's recycling system," Rolfes said, adding that it builds on a 2019 assessment of the state's packaging and plastic waste, leading lawmakers to a goal of reaching 100% recyclable, reusable, or compostable packaging across Washington.
"Laws like the WRAP Act have been in place in the European Union for decades, Canada has had a law similar ... and we know from their experience that they are reducing their garbage and increasing their recycling rates. In America, four states have passed laws just like this: Maine, Oregon, Colorado, and California. It's time for Washington to do the same."
The bottle deposit program is tucked into the WRAP Act as one method, among others, of directing waste into the state's recycling system.
"I am most excited about the inclusion of a bottle deposit system in the bill, similar to what Oregon has," Berry said.
According to an informational handout, the program will have bottle distributors form a cooperative to develop ways to implement the state's reuse and recycling goals. It requires producers to pay into and set up the recycling and reuse system, funded by the distributors and unredeemed deposits.
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Amazon layoffs reflect 'change in mindset for the company'
More than 18,000 Amazon employees will be out of a job by the time an ongoing round of layoffs is complete.
That's nearly double the amount that was anticipated when layoffs began in November. GeekWire's Todd Bishop expects "this is where [Amazon] is going to stop," though.
In other words, Bishop does not foresee additional layoffs at the company in the short term.
"At this point, with the 18,000 number, I think it would behoove Amazon to stop there," Bishop told KUOW's Angela King. "Obviously, things can change. It's a very dynamic economic environment. But you've seen the company go through this process over the past month or so, and I think we now have our hands around the full scope of these cutbacks."
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy wrote in a blog post that the staff reductions were set off by the uncertain economy and the company's rapid hiring over the last several years.
Now, that hiring spree is being offset by this historic number of layoffs, the most in the company's history and the biggest number among major tech companies in the past year, Bishop says.
"Amazon has historically, maybe more than a decade ago, been a company that really prided itself on being focused and somewhat specific in its bets. Over the past decade, you've seen Amazon become a bit of a sprawling company, where they have initiatives all over the place," he says. "Part of what Amazon is doing through this process is simplifying."
Bishop says one of the company's core leadership principles is to simplify customer experience. Now, it appears to be applying that principle to the company overall.
"It's really a change in mindset for the company," he explains. "This is a company that, even through the pandemic, really was forced to grow at a breakneck speed. And here, you have a real shift. Leadership is saying, 'Wait a second. Let's take a step back and make sure that we're putting our bets on the right squares.'"
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Amazon CEO says company will lay off more than 18,000 workers
Amazon is laying off 18,000 employees, the tech giant said Wednesday, representing the single largest number of jobs cut at a technology company since the industry began aggressively downsizing last year.
In a blog post, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy wrote that the staff reductions were set off by the uncertain economy and the company's rapid hiring over the last several years.
The cuts will primarily hit the company's corporate workforce and will not affect hourly warehouse workers. In November, Amazon had reportedly been planning to lay off around 10,000 employees but on Wednesday, Jassy pegged the number of jobs to be shed by the company to be higher than that, as he put it, "just over 18,000."
Jassy tried to strike an optimistic note in the Wednesday blog post announcing the massive staff reduction, writing: "Amazon has weathered uncertain and difficult economies in the past, and we will continue to do so."
While 18,000 is a large number of jobs, it's just a little more than 1% of the 1.5 million workers Amazon employees in warehouses and corporate offices.
Last year, Amazon was the latest Big Tech company to watch growth slow down from its pandemic-era tear, just as inflation being at a 40-year high crimped sales.
News of Amazon's cuts came the same day business software giant Salesforce announced its own round of layoffs, eliminating 10% of its workforce, or about 8,000 jobs.
Salesforce Co-CEO Mark Benioff attributed the scaling back to a now oft-repeated line in Silicon Valley: The pandemic's boom times made the company hire overzealously. And now that the there has been a pullback in corporate spending, the focus is on cutting costs.
"As our revenue accelerated through the pandemic, we hired too many people leading into this economic downturn we're now facing," Benioff wrote in a note to staff.
Facebook owner Meta, as well as Twitter, Snap and Vimeo, have all announced major staff reductions in recent months, a remarkable reversal for an industry that has experienced gangbusters growth for more than a decade.
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Reporter's Notebook: How The Ripple Effect series was born
The Ripple Effect series focused on affordable housing solutions in the greater Seattle area.
I’ve been reporting on housing for KUOW for over 10 years, first as a freelancer, and then as a staff reporter. The housing shortage, and the way it shapes the city’s demographics, have become a huge story, but one that can feel really abstract.
One way I’ve found to tackle that is to take things neighborhood-by-neighborhood, to really hear how it’s affecting folks.
I came to South Park at the request of some neighbors who were upset about the new homes being built there, but quickly learned about the Latino and Southeast Asian communities there that were at risk of getting pushed out. I met with Bunthay Cheam, a member of the Khmer community. He’s also a freelance reporter whose day job is with a nonprofit housing provider, so he has a lot of useful insights. We decided to work together.
With help from Kamna Shastri of KUOW's Community Engagement team, We held a dinner party and listening session for a few members of his community and heard many stories. I went out and did further reporting on solutions, and brought these back to Bunthay for his perspective.
The result is a documentary where both the problems and solutions are viewed through the lens of people who are living their consequences.
In this one-hour special, you’ll meet members of the Southeast Asian communities in South Park. From there, we’ll expand outward, following the ripples of displacement in other cities, and chase the pattern back in history to the Central District and eventually to the founding of Seattle. We’ll take a road trip to see solutions from all over the region, including one policy idea meant to answer the question: “If we could do anything we wanted to address housing affordability, what would we do?”
My hope is that these intimate conversations will give listeners a unique lens through which to view housing news in 2023, a year when cities across the state will finalize their “comprehensive plans” outlining how they’ll grow for the next 20 years. It’ll be a year of big ideas, as the state Legislature begins meeting for a “long session” beginning in January. With several new faces joining this year, some Democratic legislators believe 2023 could be the year they finally remove bans on townhomes in single-family zones statewide, following in the footsteps of cities like Spokane and Olympia.
But beyond these larger goals to shed light on housing policy for you, this story satisfied a personal goal for me. As a reporter, I’ve always loved working as part of a team with someone else. By inviting in a community member who actively contributed to the project, we at KUOW were able to explore what it means to open up this circle of participation to include someone deeply rooted in the community we’re reporting on. The result, I believe, is something stronger than I could have done myself.
Au Kun, Bunthay.
Joshua McNichols
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Why did they attack substations in Pierce County?: Today So Far
- Why did two men attack four electrical substations in Pierce County over Christmas weekend?
- There are a lot of changes to pay and employer rules in Washington state as of Jan. 1.
- Another Seattle council member will not be running for reelection in 2023.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for January 4, 2023.
The FBI has arrested and charged two suspects for the attacks on four substations — Matthew Greenwood, 32, and Jeremy Crahan, 40, of Puyallup. They are accused of damaging Tacoma Power's Graham and Elk Plain substations and Puget Sound Energy's Kapowsin and Hemlock substations, causing millions in damage. Firearms were used in some of the incidents. The pair now faces potential sentences of up to 20 years in prison for the attacks on the energy grid, and 10 years for possession of an unregistered firearm (a sawed-off shotgun), if they are found guilty.
Why did these two men allegedly attack four electrical substations in Pierce County on Christmas? U.S. Attorney Nick Brown tells KUOW's Diana Opong that he won't speculate about potential motives. But one motive did come up in charging documents.
Greenwood allegedly made a statement to law enforcement following his arrest. Charging documents state, "Greenwood stated that Greenwood and Crahan have been planning to disrupt power to commit a burglary." Also, after the power was knocked out, Greenwood allegedly said they went to a local business, drilled out the lock and stole money from its cash register.
Seems like a lot of effort for some cash out of a register. More information is likely to emerge as the case moves along.
"These attacks here are incredibly serious," Brown said. "And we wanted to respond very quickly. We have seen, nationally, other attacks happen on power facilities and power substations, I think the most prominent of which was in North Carolina, which caused a really massive outage across that area. And we've seen other attacks, some small, but some more significant here in the Northwest, including in Western Washington."
"There have been so many attacks across the country, I would be surprised if all those are connected. Each case will stand on its own. And as the case develops, and we move forward, we might have further information, but as of now, it's just these two individuals charged with the conspiracy."
There are a lot of changes to pay and employer rules in Washington state as of Jan. 1. KUOW rounded up a few big ones, such as the state's $15 minimum wage, now the highest in the nation. Also, employers in Washington now have to be more transparent when advertising for a job, and list the pay range for the position. There will also be changes to rates for ride-share drivers and overtime rules for agricultural workers. Read more here.
There goes another one. Seattle Councilmember Alex Pedersen is now the third member to announce they will not be running for reelection in 2023. Lisa Herbold and Debora Juarez are also declining to run again. Unlike Herbold and Juarez, Petersen will be a one-term council member. In a statement, he said that his family needs him more right now than City Hall does. He plans to go into the private sector in 2024.
Seattle will have seven out of its nine council seats up for election in November. It seems that, so far, it will be open season for three of these seats. Read more here.
AS SEEN ON KUOW
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Flu and RSV on the decline in Washington state, Covid trajectory unclear
The number of flu infections in Washington state in the week leading up to Christmas appeared to be declining, according to recent numbers. Still, the virus continues to claim lives.
Confirmed flu cases and hospital visits prompted by flu-like illnesses fell for a third week, according to the Washington Department of Health.
The latest summary, which covers the week ending Christmas Eve, showed fewer lab-confirmed cases and the percentage of hospital visits shrinking. That drop-off comes as little surprise to Dr. Scott Lindquist, Washington’s state epidemiologist for communicable diseases.
“So this happens every single year," Lindquist said. "No one really understands it. We get this cyclical nature of all our respiratory viruses, with a sharp rise — usually later in the season — and then a sharp drop after that.”
Lindquist says historical trends tell us a second peak is likely as the winter goes on.
Meanwhile, influenza continues to exact a fatal toll. A total of 27 Washingtonians died from the flu the week ending Dec. 24, bringing the total to 93 for the season. For comparison, in the 2019-20 flu period, 114 people died in the whole season.
RSV and Covid cases in Washington state
After a scary surge in mid to late 2022, RSV appears to be in an ebb phase, according to the Washington Department of Health.
While a feared coronavirus wave hasn't yet materialized, the state isn't in the clear. Dr. Lindquist noted that RSV has a much more predictable nature than the coronavirus. It’s unclear what trajectory Covid will take from here.
“RSV, we have years and years of experience," Lindquist said. "What we don’t have is a lot of experience with SARS-CoV-2. So we are still learning lessons about how persistent this virus will be. What looks like a mild increase in the current strain could very easily become a new variant and have another peak.”
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Murray becomes first woman president pro tem of the Senate
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray said she is looking forward to her new duties as the first woman president pro tem of the chamber.
"It is a responsibility that I'm very honored to take on for my country and for Washington state," Murray said. "I hope that when young women now see me in this position, they see that they can accomplish anything they set their minds to."
Normally, the president pro tem is third in line to the presidency, but Sen. Murray is now temporarily second in line behind Vice President Kamala Harris, because the House has yet to elect a new speaker. Murray says she will be ready in the unlikely event that she becomes president.
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