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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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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Transported 'by land, by sea, by air,' endangered kokanee salmon released into Lake Sammamish
"We have now transported these little fish by land, by sea, by air," said King County Executive Dow Constantine to a large crowd gathered along the shore of Lake Sammamish on Wednesday evening.
Earlier this year, small planes carried roughly 12,000 offspring of Lake Sammamish kokanee salmon from a hatchery on Orcas island. There, they were protected from potentially hazardous conditions like warming waters.
After a brief celebration, Snoqualmie tribal members, Lake Sammamish Kokanee Work Group members, and officials from King County departed in three boats to release the endangered juvenile kokanee into the middle of Lake Sammamish at sunset.
“Ensuring the survival of native salmon requires persistence and ingenuity," Constantine said. “We’re seeing hopeful signs for the future of ‘the little red fish’ that has been part of tribal lifeways since time immemorial, and this is a moment to celebrate that progress."
Before the end of the year, roughly 14,200 kokanee will be released into in Lake Sammamish, including nearly 8,000 in October.
Snoqualmie tribal elder Lois Sweet Dorman hoped for a successful return of the fish. "To me, it's urgent," she said. "There are sacred cycles that need to be honored and this is one of those."
Sweet Dorman said that remembering how close the "amazing little red fish" came to extinction made the celebration feel bittersweet.
"We will be here; other people will come and go. We will be here and we will be fighting for the little red fish because the little red fish are us."
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A new group of voters is active for the 2022 November election
The August 2022 primaries and the upcoming November midterm elections are the first times many people in Washington will have the ability to cast a ballot after the right to vote was restored for formerly incarcerated people in the state.
"Part of mass incarceration in the United States is this permanent othering of folks who have been incarcerated," said Christopher Poulos, director of person-centered services with Washington's Department of Corrections.
Poulos spoke with KUOW's Seattle Now about the recent changes to Washington's voting laws.
"Rather than being welcomed home, we often face this of scarlet letter type situation, where we're prohibited from renting apartments, prohibited from volunteering in kids' schools, prohibited from securing employment that is meaningful, sustainable and at a living wage," he said, adding that restoring the right to vote is a big step away from that barrier.
"And it's actually conducive to successful re-entry, because when we feel like we are part of the community, when we feel we are included, we tend to respond in kind," Poulos said. "It creates pro-social behavior and therefore reduces crime, reduces recidivism."
For Poulos, it's personal. He served three years in prison on a federal drug conviction. Despite being incarcerated in Pennsylvania, he was a resident of Maine, which allowed felons to vote. He says the experience of receiving a ballot was positive and made him feel like he was a part of the community.
After serving time, he went to school and eventually graduated cum laude from the University of Maine School of Law.
In 2021, Washington's Legislature passed a new law that restores the right to vote for formerly incarcerated people. It went into effect Jan. 1, 2022. That means this November will be the first time many such residents will have the chance to vote in an election. This affects a group of about 12,000 to 15,000 people.
When the Legislature approved the change to the state's voting law, Poulos met with a group of others like himself at a Tacoma park. They had food and celebrated the move.
"It was all about community, as fellow human beings," he said. "That's where I'm hoping we are headed as a state, breaking down the us versus them and truly welcoming folks home when they get released."
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Here comes the rain again ... eventually: Today So Far
- Rain is — finally — on the horizon for Washington ... eventually.
- Health experts are concerned about the flu season ahead.
- Spoiler alert: Prices are still high.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for October 12, 2022.
Rain is — finally — on the horizon for Washington ... eventually. The region has just experienced its driest summer on record, parts of the state have dipped back into drought conditions, and smoky air from wildfires continues to linger, so rain has been eagerly awaited. The National Weather Service's latest outlook for Oct. 19-25 shows above-average precipitation. In other words, a lot of rain.
The temperatures, however, are expected to remain quite warm considering this time of year. The end of October is looking to be warm and rainy. Read more here.
Maybe the warmer temperatures will help stave off flu season a little longer? OK, that's a twisted attempt at a silver lining, but I mention it because health experts are concerned about the flu season ahead. By now, we know that Covid pandemic measures, like masking and social distancing, basically knocked down flu cases. Now, the flu is slated for a comeback.
Seattle just announced that it is ending its emergency orders for the pandemic at the end of this month — another sign that conditions have eased up quite a bit and folks are moving on past the pandemic. Washington is ending its state-level orders at the same time. This is all happening as colder, wetter weather usually arrives, causing people to be more indoors, mingling with others. Add all of that up, and conditions are apt for the flu (and Covid). It's a good time to get an updated flu vaccine.
It's also a good time to find a Covid booster shot that is updated for Omicron. KUOW's Eilis O'Neill reports that finding booster shots around Seattle is proving to be difficult with pharmacies booked up. Outside the city, however, it could be a bit easier. Anecdotally, I live south of Seattle and I was able to get an omicron booster without any issues. When I showed up, there was no line. I actually got there early, so they just took me in and I was out before I was even scheduled to show up. (For another anecdotal side note: I now have had the J&J vaccine, a Moderna booster, and a Pfizer omicron booster. For me, the Pfizer booster was a cakewalk, while the other vaccines had me running hot and cold. Pfizer just made me tired the next day. But again, that's my experience.)
If you want an omicron booster, try consulting the state's vaccine locator website. O'Neill reports that Central and Eastern Washington pharmacies have more open appointments than locations around Puget Sound. Also, some county vaccine websites may have more info than the state's vaccine database. There are also pop-up vaccine clinics starting to emerge, such as pop-ups on Oct. 17 and Nov. 3-4 at the University of Washington.
It's Wednesday, which means it's time for me to check on gas prices throughout the region. Spoiler alert: Prices are still high. A couple weeks ago, Washington was at an average of $5.17 per gallon; last week it was $5.35.
The average gas price for a gallon of regular gas in Washington state is currently $5.38, according to AAA. While that seems like more than last week (it is), it's actually a slight decline from prices earlier this week. In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett area, the average is $5.57, about a penny cheaper than yesterday. One year ago in King County, the average was $4.
Washington's rising gas prices echo the national trend. GasBuddy reports that the recent move by OPEC+ to cut down on oil production has influenced gas prices, keeping them high. This comes despite some refineries coming back online after a brief absence, which is helping alleviate some strain.
“With OPEC+ deciding to cut oil production by two million barrels a day, we’ve seen oil prices surge 20%, which is the primary factor in the national average rising for the third straight week,” said analyst Patrick De Haan on GasBuddy's blog. “Some of the refinery snags that have caused prices to surge in the West and Great Lakes appear to be improving, with prices in those two regions likely to inch down, even with OPEC’s decision, as the drop in wholesale prices has offset the rise due to the production cut. But where gas prices didn’t jump because of refinery issues, they will rise a total of 10-30 cents due to oil’s rise, and some areas are certainly seeing the jump already. For now, I don’t expect much improvement in prices for most of the country, with California and the Great Lakes as the exception, with downdrafts likely in the days and weeks ahead.”
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West Coast gray whale population declining, according to latest count
NOAA Fisheries has released its latest census of North Pacific gray whales along the West Coast and has found that their numbers continue to decline following an unusual mortality event that started two years ago.
“We can't pinpoint a specific cause, and we think there's probably multiple factors involved," said Aimee Lang, a research biologist with NOAA Fisheries. "But we do think it's probably related to ecological changes up in the Arctic. A number of the whales that have stranded have been emaciated, indicating that they weren't able to find enough food. And we know that the distribution, and in some areas the abundance, of their prey up in the Arctic has shifted.”
Lang says the population is now down 38% after reaching peak levels in 2015 and 2016. She says most scientists who know these whales are cautiously optimistic about their future. A similar population drop of roughly 40% happened between the late 1980s and early 1990s, but their numbers rebounded to a new high level.
NOAA Fisheries has extended its current count into a third year, and will continue monitoring the population this winter.
Read the full story from KNKX here.
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The flu is slated for a 2022-23 comeback. Are you ready?
Public health officials in Washington state continue to urge people to get vaccinated as they brace for another possible resurgence of Covid-19 and the flu this fall and winter.
Covid hospitalizations and deaths have been trending down in King County and throughout Washington, but health officials worry cases could tick back up as people head indoors in the colder, wetter months ahead.
In preparation, they want people to get up to date with Covid vaccines and boosters. Similarly, they're urging people to get their flu shots — something that can be done at the same time as a Covid vaccination, if you're so inclined.
When pandemic precautions were in place for Covid (masks and social distancing), a side effect was greater protection against the flu. Previous flu seasons were mild. As those measures phase out, there is heightened concern that the flu could come back in a big way.
"Although we can't know in advance when an influenza season will take off or peak or how long it will last, it's a safe bet to expect that this flu season will be more severe than the past two, based on what happened in southern hemisphere countries during their recent flu season," a spokesperson with Public Health Seattle & King County told KUOW. "In the US, flu typically starts to take off in November and December and lasts through spring, but some years [it] arrives earlier."
"Based on the number of deaths that are seen nationally, we in King County would expect an estimated 80 deaths per season in a very mild flu season to over 400 in a very severe one. Reported deaths are just the tip of the iceberg. In the US each year, there are millions of influenza illnesses and doctor visits, as well as tens of thousands of hospitalizations each year."
This week, Snohomish County reported their first flu death since 2020 — a Bothell woman in her 70s. The death is recent, but happened before October, so it will be included in the 2021-22 flu season, not the current one.
King County reported five flu deaths in the 2021-22 flu season.
Across Washington state, there were 21 flu deaths in the 2021-22 season.
The recent numbers for Washington state are down from before pandemic measures arrived. The 2017-18 flu season had 296 flu deaths, and the 2016-17 season had 278.
Paige Browning contributed to this report.
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Seattle is ending its Covid emergency Oct. 31
Some of Seattle's emergency orders for the Covid pandemic will end after October 2022, some will phase out in the coming months, and others are being woven into how the city operates moving forward.
“Our city has been working under an emergency proclamation for nearly 1,000 days as we responded to a new pandemic and unprecedented resulting challenges,” Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said in a statement.
“While the impacts of the pandemic continue to be felt by our neighbors and communities, it is thanks to our city’s strong response — including our high vaccination rate and strong healthcare system — that we can continue moving toward recovery and revitalization."
Mayor Harrell announced Tuesday that the city will end its own civil emergency proclamation for Covid after Oct. 31. The city's timing matches Washington state's move to end emergency orders for the pandemic.
RELATED: Inslee announced end to Covid emergency orders
While the civil emergency proclamation and its orders officially end on Nov. 1, some changes made during the pandemic will remain.
Seattle will maintain its Covid vaccine requirement for its employees, volunteers, and contractors. While masks are not required at city properties, they will continue to be available.
The city also began to make changes to how it manages food carts and street cafes over the past few months. Current permits for outdoor dining have been extended through Jan. 31, 2023.
Other emergency orders will end right away on Nov. 1, but the mayor's office says that some will be phased out.
For example, the city currently has a pandemic safeguard around commercial property and tenants. Property owners must allow payment plans for tenants who have struggled during the pandemic. Evictions are limited, and there are limits on tenants' personal liability. This emergency order will expire six months after Nov. 1, on May 1, 2023.
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Panel calls on SPD to 'repair the public trust' after botched CHOP response
A new review from Seattle’s Office of Inspector General is the latest attempt to scrutinize the conduct of Seattle police during June 2020. It calls on SPD to "repair the public trust and safety compromised" during those weeks.
Inspector General Lisa Judge is in charge of reviewing systemic issues within SPD and recommending changes. Judge convened a panel made up of community members, as well as members of the Seattle Police Department to review police handling of those protests two years ago. This report is the third in a series, or Wave 3, in a process the OIG calls Sentinel Event Review.
Many of the panel’s 34 recommendations relate to communication – calling on SPD to better communicate with demonstrators in the future, as when emergency responders needed to reach gunshot victims. The report also criticized SPD for circulating lies to manipulate protesters, and for airing unfounded claims of extortion at a police press conference.
The report notes that SPD’s response to the protesters creating the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP), later renamed the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) “was characterized by a lack of evolution in response to a protest which had changed from a demonstration to an occupy style movement. SPD personnel made several public statements, the accuracy of which was questioned by community. Other tactical decisions made by SPD and the City further undermined public trust and safety, and neither SPD nor the City was able to communicate effectively with the protestors or other community members in the area.”
SPD’s chaotic abandonment of the East Precinct has already been the subject of numerous media reports and lawsuits. The OIG report adds more perspective on the frustrations of police officers, saying “SPD officers also felt unsupported by leadership. SPD panelists felt the City had abandoned the Department, capitulating to protestor unrest and forcing the withdrawal from the East Precinct. Adding to their frustration, the Mayor’s Office regulated all public statements by SPD, preventing the department from engaging with the CHOP to try and establish common ground, rapport, and appropriate public safety.”
Proud Boy "ruse"
The panel recommends more transparency and accountability in the decision-making process going forward. It next reviewed SPD’s attempt to deceive protesters on June by “generating false radio traffic asserting that a group of Proud Boys was marching in Downtown Seattle.” An investigation by the city’s Office of Police Accountability indicated that “an SPD Captain appointed an officer to make false radio broadcasts to draw protestors away from the CHOP.”
While the OPA investigation sustained complaints of misconduct for the ruse, the OIG’s panel “focused discussion on the racism implicit in this ruse and about systemic racism within SPD. Many panelists felt the use of the Proud Boys for the ruse was an intentional manipulation of protestor fear of a violent white supremacist group, used to frighten and undermine the establishment of a Black Lives Matter protest at the height of anti-police tensions in Seattle,” it said.
Panel members also found that “lying to the community in this way was not only contrary to policy, but it was also a poorly considered tactic contributing to tensions in the CHOP.”
Most panel members found that officers’ stated justification for the ruse did not seem credible. The panel also raised concerns that the ruse was performed outside the normal chain of command and radio transmissions were not recorded and stored in accordance with normal SPD procedures.
But the report notes that this issue is under a separate review: “SPD is working to modify its policies involving deception and ruses in collaboration with OIG and a stakeholder workgroup. Panel recommendations were generated without any insight into this ongoing policy development.”
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What gardeners need to know before the cold weather arrives in the NW ... eventually: Today So Far
- Gardeners should be on the alert: Winter is coming ... and this year will require some special attention.
- Someone is poisoning wolves in northeastern Washington.
- SeaTac is the latest city to up its minimum wage these days.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for October 11, 2022.
Gardeners should be on the alert: Winter is coming, and this year will require some special attention.
That's according to Seattle's favorite gardener, Ciscoe Morris, who notes that the very dry summer, leading into a cold winter, could set up some unique conditions.
"If they go into the winter season too dry, and then we get a cold winter, which they're saying we might get, that could have some detrimental effects for sure," Ciscoe told KUOW's Soundside.
Ciscoe's top winter gardening tip this year: Mulch. Skip the beauty bark. It's best to get some fresh wood chips or even compost. And when the temps start sticking around the 40s, it's best to harvest any tomatoes or other crops that have held on longer than usual with this warm October weather.
Ciscoe has more tips for Northwest gardeners heading into winter. Check out Soundside for more.
SeaTac is the latest city to up its minimum wage these days. Like others around Washington state, it's largely spurred by severe inflation. The new wages go into effect in January 2023.
Seattle is slated to up its minimum wage to between $16.50 and $18.69, depending on the size of the business, and whether or not the employer contributes to medical benefits. Washington state's minimum wage will rise to $15.74, making it the highest state-level minimum wage in the country.
SeaTac's new minimum wage of $19.06, however, will make it the highest in the USA regardless of state or city, SeaTac officials say. The city is upping the pay by 8.66% to keep up with inflation. Read more here.
Someone is poisoning wolves in northeastern Washington. Last February, Stevens County deputies discovered four dead wolves while they were out on a snowmobile patrol. Two more wolves were found the following month. Toxicology reports have confirmed the wolves were poisoned. It's not an anomaly and other wolves were poisoned in eastern Oregon in 2021. It is unknown if these two incidents are connected.
The wolves are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act. In Washington state, it is a gross misdemeanor to illegally kill a wolf, which could result in a year in jail or $5,000 in fines. Read more here.
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When is someone going to turn on the rain around Washington?
October has been warmer and drier than typical Northwest fall weather. Now, it might finally be time to cover up the BBQ, get out your boots, and install fresh wipers — rain is showing up on the forecast.
Starting Oct. 19, the National Weather Service says Washington will be warm and rainy.
Phil Swartzendruber, a forecaster with the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, says that between the dry summer and smoky air, the region really needs the rain.
"We're hoping for someone to flip the switch and turn the fall weather on. I'm not sure who's got the clicker," Swartzendruber said.
Swartzendruber says that the Northwest is dealing with an unusually warm and dry start to the fall. That has come with a rare wildfire on the west side of the Cascades, sending smoke throughout the region.
"Probably not going to get rain or a major system until the beginning of next week," Swartzendruber said. "By the end of next week we should actually have a fairly big system, and probably going to be the most likely time that we're gonna get a big event to really clean (the air) out."
Swartzendruber's forecast lines up with the latest from the National Weather Service in Seattle. It's noting that, "Mean temperature for Seattle through the first 10 days of the month is 63.2. That's the warmest start on record," adding that four of the top six warmest "October starts" have happened within the past 10 years.
The Weather Service's latest forecast states that between Oct. 19-25, the switch that Swartzendruber has been watching for is finally going to be flipped, and above-average rain will come to the Northwest. It will still be warmer than usual, but it will be rainy.
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