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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Weekend drops as much rain on Seattle as all of summer
The weekend rain is putting a dent in Washington state's dry conditions.
The National Weather Service in Seattle tweeted Saturday that the Seattle area had gotten .72 inches of rain. That's the same total amount we'd gotten over the previous four months.
"Total overall for the weekend was mostly in the couple-tenths to a half-inch range. The mountains had a little more, like a half-inch to an inch. And out at the coast, they had a little over an inch," National Weather Service meteorologist Gary Schneider said.
Meanwhile, we're waiting to see what all of our recent rain is doing to the drought situation in the state.
According to the latest map released by the US Drought Monitor last Thursday, some areas on the coast, along with sections of Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, King, Pierce, and Lewis counties had moved into the severe drought category. The rest of the state was either abnormally dry or in a moderate drought.
But that data was released before the weekend rain arrived.
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WSU ending vaccine policy in November
Washington State University is lifting its Covid-19 vaccination requirements for employees, contractors, and volunteers at the start of November.
Faculty members who work in clinical and health-care settings will still need to get vaccinated. The vaccination requirement will stay in place for students attending the 2022-2023 school year.
The Moscow-Pullman Daily News reports that WSU is sticking with its vaccination requirement for the rest of the academic year because most students live in congregate settings. Also, students have already gotten the vaccine in order to start the school year. The policy will be reconsidered in May when classes end.
The timing aligns with when Gov. Jay Inslee is lifting the state's pandemic emergency orders. Seattle also is canceling its pandemic measures Oct. 31.
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Vice President Kamala Harris to visit Seattle Oct. 26
Vice President Kamala Harris will be in Seattle Wednesday, Oct.26.
The Seattle Times says she'll be in town to talk about the administration's low-emission school bus initiative.
The $5 billion plan spearheaded by the EPA seeks to replace school buses with zero or low-emission alternatives. EPA Administrator Michael Regan will join the vice president for the appearance.
Vice President Harris is also scheduled to attend a private fundraiser while she's in town. The midterms are 15 days away.
Harris last visited Seattle in 2019 when she and Joe Biden were running for office.
First Lady Jill Biden also visited Seattle earlier this month to talk with military families attend a fundraiser for U.S. Sen. Patty Murray.
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Man held in Pickett murder suspected in spate of Seattle shootings
A 31-year-old Seattle man is being held without bail in what police describe as a three-day spate of shootings that left the owner of one business dead, the owner of another in critical condition, and the driver of a car wounded in the leg.
According to authorities, the suspect shot and critically injured the owner of an African import specialty store in Seattle’s Columbia City neighborhood on Monday. He demanded the businessman’s debit card and PIN, then shot him in the chest after he complied, police said in a probable cause statement filed in King County Superior Court.
The man also shot into a Tesla moving along Aurora Avenue in north Seattle less than 12 hours later, wounding the driver in the leg, police said, and on Tuesday he pulled his car alongside a woman’s vehicle and fired a round into her window. She suffered cuts from broken glass but her three children were uninjured.
On Wednesday, the man ambushed and killed D’Vonne Pickett Jr., the owner of The Postman, a package shipping store in the Central District, as Pickett arrived at the business, police said. The gunman was a former childhood friend who had been harassing Pickett online and via text messages; he also showed up at The Postman last month before employees told him to leave, the probable cause statement said.
Hundreds attended a vigil for Pickett on Thursday, spelling out his name in candles and placing long-stemmed roses at the spot where he collapsed.
Pickett’s mother, Nicky Chappell, said the man threatened to kill her son and had been harassing him and other family members for more than a year, according to The Seattle Times. Chappell vowed to attend every one of the man’s future court appearances.
The Associated Press is not naming the man because he has not yet been charged.
“This defendant is incredibly dangerous, perhaps the most dangerous defendant this court has seen recently,” Senior Deputy Prosecutor William Doyle told District Court Pro Tem Judge Tien Nguyen during a hearing Friday.
Investigators said surveillance video from the African specialty import store, the exterior cameras on the Tesla and Pickett’s killing linked the shootings. Detectives are also examining shell casings and other evidence.
Further, a relative of the suspect called 911 on Wednesday to report that he appeared to be having a psychotic episode and “may be traveling around Seattle shooting people,” the statement said.
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'He wanted to show everybody you could do it different': Today So Far
- Hundreds gather in Seattle in remembrance of D'Vonne Pickett Jr.
- Why can't we just put out wildfires?
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for October 21, 2022.
I wrote this headline: "Community mourns after death of Central District leader, business owner." It's 100% true, but I have to admit that when writing stories like this, I always feel that no headline hits the mark. A good headline is to the point and provides a good overview. When appropriate, it can be witty, but it must deliver the need-to-know information right away.
But a story like this, about a person like D'Vonne Pickett Jr., becomes too substantial for a headline — you can't fit it all in.
I did not know him. I have never lived in the Central District. If I had, I may have known him as that entrepreneur and local leader — so, headline covered. Others may know him like they do the local shop owners in their own corner of the world; the people who provide the personality of an area, who your kids know, whose names come up in neighborhood meetings as a common point of reference. These people are the foundation of a community.
In the role of a reporter, I can tell you what you need to know. I can report that Pickett was shot at a bus stop not far from his store, The Postman, and that he died soon after being transported to Harborview Medical Center. I can relay that the Seattle Police Department has arrested a suspect. You can read that he was a local athlete, father, husband, youth mentor, and more with Central District roots going back generations. But I can't convey the influence of a man like Pickett that was so significant it inspired hundreds to gather outside The Postman last night, lining Martin Luther King Jr. Way, overflowing into the street, in the glow of candlelight. That kind of powerful impact is something felt up close and deeply. That kind of impact won't end this week.
“He wanted to show everybody you could do it different," Pickett's wife KeAnna told the large crowd gathered outside The Postman last night.
It makes me think about my U-District barber, my go-to flower shop in Wedgwood, the bartenders at my Roosevelt dive, the baristas out on Bainbridge Island, and so many other faces who make the places I've lived a true community. Who are the people who make your community what it is? What is their impact on your life?
The Central District has suffered a community loss this week. Given the outpouring of love that has happened in such a short period of time, I have a feeling that Pickett's legacy has not ended.
Read more here.
Hopefully, by the time you read this newsletter, rain will have arrived in our area. That's good for a couple reasons, as I've stated here before, starting with air quality.
The air quality in our region went from hazardous to awesome overnight. The rain is expected to keep conditions good. Nearby wildfires could also use a nice downpour. While lowlanders are breathing a sign of relief, there are still mountain towns that remain close to the wildfires. The mountain town of Darrington has had "a real quiet and almost eerie atmosphere throughout the community," according to Mayor Dan Rankin. Rankin has been in Darrington for decades and has never seen such smoky air.
Fingers crossed that the rain closes the chapter on this year's wildfires. The Bolt Creek fire for example, has been burning across 14,000 acres this fall, near Skykomish. Such a large fire burning for so long has prompted a lot of locals to ask, "Why don't they just put it out?" Well, that's easier said than done. Wildfires aren't like building blazes that you see being sprayed down on TV. The general strategy for wildfires is to let them burn themselves out, while protecting property, infrastructure, and lives. It's more about containing the blaze until a nice, rainy cloud arrives.
"We worked all day for two days to control seven acres," Don Ferguson told KUOW. He's with the Southeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team, aka the group of firefighters responding to the Bolt Creek fire.
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Kirkland fights street racing with new tech
Kirkland is going high tech in an effort to combat street racing. It's the first city in Washington to give special noise identifying cameras a try.
The city's new Street Racing Noise Pilot Program will test "vehicle noise identification cameras" in certain areas of town. Specifically:
- Lake Washington Boulevard Northeast and NE 59th Street near Houghton Beach Park
- Central Way and Sixth Street in downtown Kirkland
“Noise caused by illegally modified vehicles continues to be a concern for many in our community,” Councilmember Jon Pascal said in a press release. “Participating in this innovative study is the first step towards helping the city better address the concerns we’ve heard from our community members over the years. The pilot will also help inform the state Legislature to determine whether state law should be changed to allow local agencies the ability to use this technology to enforce noise laws.”
The tech works a lot like red-light cameras. They pick up excessive noise from the road, take photos and log other data. A police officer can then review that information. Potentially, a citation could be issued. According to the city, the cameras' microphones will be listening for vehicle sounds over the state's limit of 78 dB for cars traveling over 35 mph.
That is all in theory, however. The cameras are experimental at this point and are being operated under a six-month pilot program. During that time, the tech will be tested, but no action will be taken beyond that. The city and its police department will not actually have access to camera photos, therefore it won't be able to follow up with drivers.
In other words, no noise tickets from these cameras, for now.
If the technology proves promising, the city may consider if it could be used to issue citations. That would happen down the road.
Kirkland will post signs within 200 feet of the cameras. The pilot program is slated to begin by Dec. 31, 2022.
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Rain has finally arrived in the Northwest ... watch out
After a late start to the fall, rain has finally come to the Northwest. That is good news for firefighters combatting wildfires, and for the region's air quality. But with rain comes a warning: Watch out for road hazards and landslides.
"The roads haven't been washed off for a while, and so there's an accumulation of oils and all the crude and so forth," state climatologist Nick Bond told KUOW. "It's going to be especially slippery, and so, everybody should take a chill pill."
The rain that is in the forecast over the next several days could also trigger landslides, especially in areas around Skykomish and Highway 2, where the Bolt Creek fire has now burned nearly 15,000 acres.
WSDOT warns of possible road closures along Highway 2 because of falling trees around the burn area, which crews have been working to clear.
Meteorologist Maddie Kristell says this weekend will bring just round one of the rain.
“We might have a little break on Sunday, but by Sunday night into Monday, round two effectively comes in and brings in another dose of precipitation to the area," Kristell told KUOW. "And all of the longer range models at this point support additional systems coming through at least into mid to late next week.”
Meanwhile, the Nakia Creek fire burning in southwest Washington near Camas has now burned nearly 2,000 acres since it started Oct. 9, possibly by people shooting off fireworks in the area.
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Light rail service between Rainier Beach and Tukwila to be suspended
Sound Transit's Link light rail service between Rainier Beach and Tukwila International Boulevard is going to be suspended for the next few days.
The disruption will begin, Saturday, Oct. 22, and will run through Wednesday, Oct. 26. Crews will use that time to conduct power-line work and make other repairs between the two points.
“The ST Team is acutely aware that this required system maintenance will create a substantial travel burden to our riders during these five days, and they are pushing to keep the impact window as short as possible,” Sound Transit CEO Julie Timm said in a press release. “Preventive maintenance and system repairs are unavoidable as we work to maintain, improve and expand the light rail network. Sound Transit is committed to increasing communication around these events and providing transportation options to support riders and their need to reach their destinations with minimal disruptions.”
Free bus shuttle service will be provided for riders and will run every 10 minutes. Sound Transit is recommending travelers plan an extra 30 minutes for their trips. It is also encouraging commuters to consider bus routes to get around the area.
Sound Transit also says during this time, the 1 Line will continue to run between Northgate and Rainier Beach, but service will be reduced to every 12 minutes between Angle Lake and Tukwila.
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Seattle is a smoky dive bar: Today So Far
- For two days, Seattle has had the worst air quality on the planet (thanks to wildfire smoke). It's made outdoor conditions a lot like indoor dive bar conditions from 20 years ago.
- A public meeting that almost wasn't so public.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for October 20, 2022.
Going outside right now is a lot like going inside a bar a couple decades ago, when cigarette smoke lingered through the air. When you woke up the next day, your head would be aching and that smoke had something to do with it (the loud music and beer didn't help, either). Western Washington is like a giant smoky bar right now, minus anything fun.
Without getting too sciencey about AQI numbers (which measure air quality), having an AQI of 150 is like smoking seven cigarettes a day. As I write this newsletter, Seattle has an AQI of 207. For anyone who turned 21 after 2005 (when Washington banned smoking indoors), and wants to take a time machine back a couple decades — turn on a playlist with Nelly, Evanescence, Nickelback, and Shaggy. Grab a Mike's Hard Lemonade and experience the wonderous days when Seattle still had smoky dive bars. Expect headaches, smelly clothes, and embarrassment about the music quality of the day.
For the second day in a row, Seattle has the worst air quality on the planet. The Northwest is strongly represented among the top five cities with the worst air quality across the globe: Seattle, Portland, Beijing, Wuhan, and Vancouver, B.C.
Just in case you haven't heard this across every local news outlet (or you're that one neighbor who says, "It's nothing, when I was a kid .... blah blah blah"), this is what you should know: Stay indoors, avoid outdoors, and if you can, crank your air filters up to "high." If you have to go outdoors, wear an N95 mask. Also, it's a good idea to keep your dogs and cats inside.
Nearby wildfires that continue to burn (which is becoming a new seasonal normal) have pushed our region's air quality into the red and purple. That means air quality ranges from unhealthy to hazardous for everyone. This is not just a concern for people with medical conditions. This affects everyone from average folks going to work, to people like my mom who can sit down in any restaurant, take a couple whiffs, and then ask for a new table because she can tell someone smoked there sometime around 1997.
This is all expected to end tomorrow afternoon when the wind starts to blow and fall rain finally arrives. Then we can move on to complaining about how everybody forgot how to drive in the rain.
And before anyone starts emailing me about how wildfire smoke and cigarette smoke is very different, chemically: You're thinking too much and your lungs don't care.
KUOW's Isolde Raftery went to a public meeting in the Greenwood neighborhood this week to find out that you, almost, weren't allowed to hear about it.
The meeting featured Seattle Councilmember Dan Strauss, state Rep. Noel Frame, Josh Castle with the Low Income Housing Institute, Seattle Police Officer Mike Cruzan, and Karen Lund of Taproot Theatre. The issue at hand was public safety amid concerns of drug trafficking in the neighborhood, and following the recent shooting of an apartment building security guard. On top of that, there is a tiny house village for unhoused people proposed for the area. There was a lot to discuss.
Despite a press release promoting the event, reporters showed up to find out they were banned from entry — no press allowed. Beyond that, no recording allowed. It didn't go over well, as Raftery explains, and media was eventually allowed inside. Rep. Frame and Councilmember Strauss followed up with KUOW and said they suggested the "no recording" rule to help foster an environment where people could speak candidly about the topics at hand. Strauss said he regretted the suggestion.
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Orting School Board member resigns following Jan. 6 charges
The Orting School Board member who is facing federal charges for his involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection has resigned.
Orting's School Board President Carrie Thibodeaux issued a statement Wednesday saying that board member Rick Slaughter, 40, has stepped down, effective immediately.
"As a Board, we remain committed to transparency and open communication lines between the District and the local community," Thibodeaux's statement reads. "While we appreciate Rick’s service to the District, we are also saddened by the hurt and frustration recent events have caused. This community, our schools, staff and students will continue to be at the heart of what we do, while building your trust and confidence."
The Orting School Board will now plan on filling Slaughter's vacant seat.
Slaughter was arrested on Oct. 12, along with his stepson, Caden Paul Gottfried, 20, of Puyallup. According to the Department of Justice, Slaughter and Gottfried illegally entered the Capitol on Jan. 6 and moved through the Lower West Terrace with other rioters.
The DOJ says it has evidence showing Slaughter at a tunnel entrance to the Capitol, grabbing a police shield from another rioter in an attempt to keep it away from officers. The DOJ adds that Slaughter yelled at police: “You guys need to stand down. Just walk away, nobody will f------ hurt any of you.” He then allegedly used a long pole to attack police, and handed chemical spray to another rioter.
Gottfried is accused of clashing with a line of police officers before being detained in the tunnel. He was eventually released.
At least 14 Washington residents have been charged in connection with the attack on Jan. 6.
Slaughter shared his resignation letter with Conservative talk radio station KTTH, which states that he initially didn't want to resign and give in to "mob rule." He said he ultimately decided to step down to be with this family during this time. Slaughter argues that he has not been given the benefit of the doubt and has been judged, but not by a jury of his peers.
"This was a news article, not a court trial," Slaughter said.
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Seattle Councilmember Sawant reports 'disturbing incidents' at her home
Update: Shortly after this story was posted Oct. 20, the Seattle Police Department issued a notice, asking for help identifying a suspect who has been spotted throwing feces at a council member's home.
SPD does not state who the council member is, but the details align with the incidents Councilmember Kshama Sawant has described (read more below).
The police call the incidents in the Leschi neighborhood "harassment with possible political motivations." An unknown person has been spotted throwing plastic bags of feces, potentially human, in the council member's yard between 5-8 p.m.
A suspect reportedly spotted throwing a bag into the yard was confronted on Oct. 13. A witness took photos of the person. More details about the suspect can be found here.
Anyone with information relating to the incidents is asked to call the SPD tip line at 206-233-5000.
Original post
Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant is accusing the Seattle Police Department of not properly investigating "disturbing incidents" happening at her home.
The Seattle Times reports that Sawant has found bags of human waste on her lawn at least six times recently. The latest incident happened last week.
Sawant sent a letter to police and city leaders, saying that police told her "the material can't be sent to their lab for further investigation due to its hazardous nature." She adds, "That seems quite odd considering that hospital labs do tests on human fecal matter all the time..."
She also says she called poison control after one of her dogs got into one of the bags of waste. Sawant says she believes the "extreme and hostile" incidents are politically motivated.
Sawant is also accusing police of not taking video evidence from a neighbor, ignoring two other witnesses, and failing to investigate what she considers a threatening email that was recently sent to her.
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Expect your ballot to arrive soon in the mail
With a couple weeks to go before Election Day, candidates are starting to make their final push for votes. That includes a swirl of campaign ads.
Ballots should start showing up in mailboxes in King County through the end of October. Pierce County will begin mailing ballots to voters on Friday.
King County has 1.4 million active voters. About 32% of them voted in the August primary election, determining who would face off in November. Election officials predict a much higher amount, 72%, will vote in November.
To make the election transparent, King County invites members of the public to observe election activities. Once volunteers and staff start processing ballots, people can watch a live stream video. Eight official observers will be on the counting floor.
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