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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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'Fall arriving Friday.' Rain appears on the Northwest weather forecast
With rain and wind showing up on the Northwest weather forecast, the National Weather Service in Seattle is saying, "Fall arriving Friday."
Not only rain, but more rain than has fallen on the region for more than three months.
The Weather Service had previously indicated that rain would arrive in its weather outlook for Oct. 19-25. It seems that prediction was correct.
The rain comes after the driest summer on record for the Seattle area. Just under half an inch of rain fell on Seattle between July and September. It also comes after a warm start to the fall season.
High temperatures have persisted into October. On Oct. 16, Seattle hit a high of 88 degrees, which is the second warmest day recorded for October in 130 years, the Weather Service notes. The warmest day recorded for the month was Oct. 1, 1987 when Seattle hit 89 degrees. The daily record for Seattle was broken by 16 degrees.
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The calm before the storm? What Covid-19 might look like this fall and winter
Public health officials are concerned that the cold weather months could bring a resurgence in Covid-19 infections in King County and the surrounding region.
The county’s most recent wave of cases and hospitalizations has receded from a peak in July, plateauing at about 10 to 13 hospitalizations per day, according to Dr. Jeff Duchin, health officer for Public Health – Seattle & King County.
By now, this ebb and flow of the pandemic is familiar. Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths rise; they peak, they fall, and then there’s a lull.
“There’s a real possibility we are now in what will turn out to be the lull before the storm,” Duchin said at a press briefing on Thursday.
Current case and hospitalization levels are higher than they were before each of the county’s prior surges, Duchin said. As the weather cools and people spend more time indoors, Duchin said a significant fall and winter surge could arise.
He’s looking to Europe, where increasing Covid-19 spread and hospitalizations are already emerging in the absence of a new dominant variant, as a harbinger for what’s to come.
In the past, Duchin said, surges in Europe have been a good predictor of what can be expected in the U.S. in a matter of weeks. He called the state of Covid in Europe "a clear warning for us."
“With waning immunity from past infection and vaccination, with increasing activity and indoor gatherings in the fall and winter, and people returning to their pre-Covid lifestyles, with other environmental changes that promote Covid-19 spread…and a bucketful of worrisome new variants on the horizon, with low booster rates — especially in our older adults — we remain vulnerable to what could be a significant fall and winter surge,” he said
Duchin and other health officials are pleading with the public to get all recommended Covid vaccines and boosters. They say it’s the single most important thing to do to help build protection against the disease.
Booster uptake has been dwindling in recent months. Across Washington, just over 10% of eligible people have received the updated omicron booster, according to the state Department of Health.
READ: It's so hard to find Covid boosters in WA, experts worry people will give up
Everyone aged five and older is eligible for the updated boosters as long as it’s been at least two months since their last Covid-19 shot.
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Can independents turn out the vote in the Northwest?: Today So Far
There is a small trend of independent candidates running for office in the Northwest.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for October 14, 2022.
At this point, does anybody take campaign ads seriously? Does the performative demonizing feel a little thick and extra sensational these days? And it's not even a presidential election year.
It doesn’t matter who the candidate is, love them or hate them, or be indifferent to them (if that’s even allowed anymore), they all have the same ingredients: fodder for your base, a dab of culture war, stir in a headline with a hint of fear, and then a sprinkle of truth (not too much) to help it go down. Top it off with a photo of your opposition that was taken midsentence (so they look a little off) and set it to an ominous soundtrack fit for a Michael Bay movie.
I'm not saying there aren't serious issues at play, or risks, or concerns on our upcoming ballots. But the current crop of campaign ads that I'm seeing bear the quality of late-night infomercials.
"Is your economy unhealthy? All Patty Murray wants to do is spend your tax dollars on Jack LaLanne Power Juicers, Ninja blenders, and George Foreman Grills (bom bom!). Say 'no' to kitchen ninjas, and say no to Murray."
"When Tiffany Smiley is not posing for photos with this person you don’t like, she’s says she will purchase every household Thigh Masters, Slap Chops, and a subscription to Miss Cleo’s Psychic Friends Network (bom bom!). Say 'no' to psychic con artists, and say no to Smiley."
Yes, I know those made-up examples are very stupid. In my defense, I’ve gone a bit delirious after being bombarded with so many of these ads. Don't even get me started on the PAC-backed commercials. By the time November rolls around, folks will either be so turned off by it all that they'll skip voting, or be just irate enough to fill out a ballot ... maybe that's the point.
By the way, scammers have taken notice of all of these inflamed tensions and hot button issues and are turning it into a big payday.
Perhaps the sensational tone woven throughout campaigns is, partially, why independents are getting a lot of attention this year. Northwest News Network's Tom Banse has been covering a trend (a small trend) of independent candidates across the Northwest this election season. This group of candidates is viewed as a sort of test to see if a "third way" is possible amid our strict two-party system.
Oregon state Senate candidate Rich Vial used to call himself a Republican, but he's more comfortable with the "nonpartisan" label these days. It's a similar story for Chris Vance, who Washingtonians might remember as the former Washington State Republican Party chair. Vance has cut ties with the state GOP, however, and is running for state Senate as an independent. Betsy Johnson is running for Oregon governor. Once a Democrat, she is opting to nix any party affiliation as she runs for the job.
Another corner of this non-partisan issue is the race for Washington's secretary of state. Democrat Steve Hobbs was appointed to the position after Republican Kim Wyman resigned from the SOS office in October 2021 to take a job with the Biden administration (she voiced concerns about the state of the GOP before that). Since Hobbs is appointed to fill the role, voters have to give final approval via a new election this November. Julie Anderson has emerged to challenge him. Anderson is not affiliated with any party. In fact, she is partially running on the idea that the Secretary of State's Office should not be partisan.
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Mayor Harrell proposes $38M for city cleanup, homeless camp removal in Seattle
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell wants to spend more money next year to clean up the city and manage, or remove, tent encampments.
Harrell's plan is part of his 2023-24 budget proposal, which is under review by the City Council. The mayor proposes to spend $38 million on litter removal, cleanup initiatives, and what he calls encampment resolution and RV remediation. That refers to directing people who are unhoused away from tent encampments and into city services when they're available.
That work falls under the city's new Unified Care Team. The budget proposal calls for 150% increase in staff who will work with "stakeholders, services providers, the (Regional Housing Authority) and unhoused residents to facilitate connections to community resources and city services," according to the Mayor's Office.
Thousands of people live unhoused in Seattle.
“As long as people live in parks and on sidewalks and sleep in tents and on benches, we refuse to be complacent,” Mayor Harrell said in a statement. “Our administration’s immediate priority has been to stand up a better system and act with urgency and compassion to address the impacts of homelessness – helping people off the streets and into shelter while we also work to make sidewalks, parks, and open spaces accessible to all. My proposed budget reflects our plan to draw from lessons learned, build on this early work, and develop a more swift, effective, and sustainable City response.”
Harrell's proposal has the support of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, Friends of Little Saigon, and the local YWCA.
The Seattle City Council will determine if this funding, and other elements of the mayor's budget proposal, move forward.
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Seattle school calendar updated to make up for teacher strike days
Seattle Public Schools has added five days to the school calendar to cover the time students missed during last month's teachers strike.
Students will make up those days on Feb. 2, and then from June 27-30.
High school graduation dates will also be rescheduled. The district says it will announce those details by Friday, Oct 21.
If we get any snow days this winter, the school year could be pushed out to as late as July 6. (Potential snow makeup dates are July 3, 5, and 6.)
The start of the 2022-23 school year in Seattle was delayed while teachers went on strike in early September. Teachers were demanding higher pay, mental health staff for students, and better student/teacher ratios. After a week, the district and the union came to a tentative agreement and teachers went back into their classrooms.
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Should parking officers return to the Seattle Police Department?
The Seattle City Council will decide by November whether to return dozens of parking enforcement officers to the Seattle Police Department, reversing its action taken in 2021.
Parking enforcement duties were moved out of SPD last year and placed with the Seattle Department of Transportation. The move was in response to calls to shrink the city's police department. Now, Mayor Bruce Harrell's proposed 2023-24 budget aims to shift all parking officers back to SPD.
Senior Deputy Mayor Monisha Harrell says the change has created problems. She also points to a survey that states nearly 80% of parking enforcement officers want to return to SPD.
“That came from their membership because they had so many members, so many of their staff, who were threatening, quite candidly, to leave," Harrell said.
There are $4.5 million in parking tickets that the city had to refund after the transfer, Harrell notes. When making the move, the officers were not given the legal authority to issue the tickets. They were therefore invalid.
According to Mayor Harrell's budget proposal summary:
"The budget includes a transfer of Parking Enforcement Officers (PEOs) from the Department of Transportation (SDOT) to SPD. This transfer reverses a decision from 2020 to relocate the PEOs out of SPD, after recognizing that operational and administrative efficiencies would be better realized under SPD. This move would allow access to law enforcement databases, would eliminate the basis for PEOs unfair labor practice (ULP) complaints and SPDs disciplinary system (Office of Police Accountability) would provide full access to information needed for misconduct investigations. Additionally, this move will save $5.5 million in functional overhead and overtime expenses and eliminate annual special commission requirements for PEOs and allows PEOs to continue utilizing SPD facilities and resources for regular work assignments."
Council members said the previous mayoral administration failed to give them adequate information at the time the decision to move the officers was made. The proposal to move the officers back will be up for discussion as the council considers the the 2023-24 budget.
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New omicron variants emerging in the Northwest
The health officer for Public Health – Seattle & King County says that new variants "are now on the radar" in the Northwest, as omicron continues to evolve.
In a recent tweet, Dr. Jeffrey Duchin said: "Multiple new variants now on radar for PNW. Unclear which ones will emerge as dominant but best to prepare now: get updated booster, improve indoor air, high-quality masks for indoor public spaces, test & isolate w/symptoms or +, get treated if eligible."
RELATED: Tips for finding an omicron booster shot in Western Washington
The CDC's latest data for Oct. 9-15 shows BA.5 (the omicron variant common over the past few months) is giving way to a handful of newer variants — particularly BA.4.6, but also BQ.1, BQ.1.1, and BF.7.
According to Dr. Cyrus Shahpar, the White House's Covid-19 data director, these emerging variants are all considered "omicron," but are distinct.
CDC data states that BA.5 omicron remains the dominant variant spreading in the Northwest region, adding up to 79% of cases, while emerging BF.7 is 6.5% of cases and BA.4.6 is 5.8%.
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Return of the booster: Today So Far
Initial Covid vaccines were like "Star Wars: A New Hope." Omicron's arrival was like "The Empire Strikes Back." The new booster shots are like "Return of the Jedi," all the gumption of the first release with some fancy new tricks.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for October 13, 2022.
I think we need to call the latest Covid booster shot the "Awesome Shot," or "Awesomecron," or maybe "Crystal Pepsi" ... "Booster 2: Electric Boogaloo?" — any marketing gimmick that spurs folks to give it a try while sending the message that this updated Covid booster not only covers the original virus, but also the pesky omicron strain. It's the most up-to-date and has arrived just ahead of the worst time of the year.
I dunno, maybe we can get some TikTok influencers on it too. Calling it a "bivalent booster" doesn't seem to be packing the punch needed to get folks to pull up their sleeves. Last week, KUOW reported that about 10% of eligible people in King County have gotten the new booster.
I covered this issue a little bit yesterday, but I feel it's significant enough to give it an extra boost — pun!
Initial vaccines were like "Star Wars: A New Hope." Then omicron arrived, which was like "The Empire Strikes Back," but we learned some important information from it. The new booster shots are like "Return of the Jedi," all the gumption of the first release with some fancy new tricks.
The new Covid booster shot is a good precaution going into fall and winter. Federal officials are bracing for another rise in cases over the next few months. Covid trends in Europe always seem to be ahead of the USA by a few weeks, and cases in Europe are already inching higher.
"I hope people are ... thinking about the looming holidays coming up, with Thanksgiving, and wanting to gather with friends and family and thinking about protecting themselves and protecting their family," Dr. Shireesha Dhanireddy with UW Medicine told KUOW's Seattle Now this morning.
Dr. Dhanireddy doesn't blame people for being fatigued after the past couple years, and she understands that it's a very different phase of the pandemic these days.
"We go out now, you cannot even tell there is a pandemic going on. People are living their lives. Children are back in school. People are going out to dinner. This is a very different time we are in ... I want to remind people that we are here because of the vaccine, and we are here because they have had a significant impact on decreasing hospitalizations and deaths."
Dr. Dhanireddy says it's time to start thinking about the Covid vaccine like other shots we commonly get, from the flu to tetanus — regular things you do to take care of yourself.
The problem is not just slow uptake. People who do want a shot are finding it challenging to get an appointment. Washington state doesn't have enough supply for the overall demand right now. There are a few reasons for this. I was just chatting with a Washington State Department of Health spokesperson who noted that Moderna is behind on its production quotas and that is causing supplies to lag. That means you're most likely to find Pfizer available around the state.
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PNW bird populations are on the decline, report says
A new report shows bird populations are declining around the Pacific Northwest.
“What the State of the Birds report is showing is if the Earth is our coal mine, let's take a look at what the birds are doing so we can understand how we can make sure that our coal mine remains healthy," Klamath Bird Observatory's John Alexander told Jefferson Public Radio.
The report states that climate change, drought, and a century of forest mismanagement are to blame for the decline, especially in the western United States.
Alexander is trying to secure more federal funding to help improve forest health and bird populations.
While birds in more arid regions are on the decline, since 1970, there have been population gains in wetland habitats.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service helped compile the State of the Birds report.
Read the full story from Jefferson Public Radio here.
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UW professor gets MacArthur honor for work with nuanced, ethical AI
A University of Washington professor has been named one of this year's 25 MacArthur Fellows.
Yejin Choi uses natural language processing, not logic or probability, to develop artificial intelligence that has the ability to reason and understand implied meanings. It has broad potential of applying ethics to technology.
Earlier this year, Choi told KUOW's Soundside about one of her projects called "Ask Delphi." It's a prototype designed to make AI more ethically informed.
"The Delphi is a system where you can ask simple questions in natural language and the model will do its best to guess about what the correct answer might be," Choi said.
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Abortion becomes big issue in senate race between Patty Murray and Tiffany Smiley
Election Day is less than a month away and one of the big issues driving voters to the polls, that has emerged within the past year, is the abortion debate.
It's a top issue in Washington's U.S. Senate race. Republican challenger Tiffany Smiley has been running an ad that tries to stake out a middle ground, following a series of other ads from incumbent Patty Murray that puts abortion center stage.
"I'm pro-life, but I oppose a federal abortion ban," Smiley says in her new ad.
Incumbent Democratic Sen. Patty Murray is accusing Smiley of flip-flopping on the issue. She points to a tweet that Smiley liked in 2017. The tweet came from Washington Congressmember Cathy McMorris Rodgers and advocated for a federal abortion ban after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
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Tips for finding an omicron booster shot in Western Washington
Finding an appointment in Western Washington to get the new *Covid booster shot can be difficult. As KUOW's Eilis O'Neill reports, the state currently does not have enough of the new boosters for the demand, and some people are not finding options locally.
*All current Covid booster shots in Washington state are "bivalent boosters," which target the original virus and are also updated for the omicron variant.
Here are a few tips for finding an omicron booster shot in Western Washington:
- Check Washington state's vaccine locator website. This website shows you places that are administering the vaccine, and will link you to their websites. It does not make an appointment for you. Rather, you have to follow the links to the providers and make an appointment directly with them. You can also try calling Washington's vaccine hotline: 1-833-VAX-HELP (833-829-4357).
- Contact your health-care provider directly. Many doctor's offices are not listed on the state's vaccine locator website and have doses available for patients.
- Washington State Department of Health's "Care-a-Van" is a mobile vaccine clinic with stops scheduled throughout October across the state.
- Use crowdsourced social media, like this Facebook group for people seeking vaccine appointments. These groups often report what they've learned through their own searches, places with open appointments, and other tips. They can also be places to ask questions about what other people know.
- Road trip? As of this post's publishing, KUOW reports that central and eastern Washington pharmacies have more open appointments than locations around Puget Sound. Vaccine availability can change, so it is best to always check ahead and make an appointment.
Check directly with your local county health department
County health departments often hold their own vaccine clinics, or have information on local options. They also have vaccine appointments that may not be listed on the state's vaccine locator.
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