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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Wheels will roll again around Seattle's Green Lake
Wheels will be welcomed back to the path around Seattle's Green Lake by November after being banned at the park amid the pandemic.
Wheels — such as bikes, rollerblades, skateboards, etc. — were banned on Green Lake's lakeside pathway in 2021. The goal was to open up more outdoor space amid the pandemic, and wheels have been the source of a few complaints on the pathway, known as the "inner loop."
"We get a steady stream of people reporting near-collisions, or collisions, or just a feeling of unease with how much use there is on this path and how difficult it is for people to navigate it safely,” a Seattle Parks and Recreation spokesperson previously told KUOW.
During this time, the city continued to work on plans for a new path for bikes and wheels along Aurora Avenue and Green Lake Drive that will connect with existing protected bike lanes. This new path is called the "outer loop."
Parks and Recreation Department recently announced that the wheels are coming back to the lakeside path by Nov. 1. Motorized wheels, such as electric bikes and scooters, are still banned. The department says it received an immense amount of feedback about the inner loop during the wheel ban, including hundreds of emails and phone calls.
"The feedback was primarily about not feeling that the new outer loop would be appropriate to young kids on bikes or rollerbladers," a spokesperson told KUOW. "Though there was a whole spectrum of sentiments expressed, including many people now reaching out to say they liked the 'no wheels' rule."
Parks staff will present a plan for reintroducing wheels to the inner loop on Oct. 13.
According to a spokesperson, that implementation plan will include "improving signage and education to ensure all users stay in their lane and respect that the Inner Loop is a place for slow recreation. Our expectation is also that cyclists who wish to go faster will now use the Outer Loop options, thus reducing this potential conflict on the Inner Loop. Successful and safe recreation on this path will require all users to do their best to abide by the Courtesy Code."
Green Lake's courtesy code includes:
- Walkers/joggers on the inside lane; wheels on the outside lane.
- Max of 10 mph; warn people when passing; move slowly through crowded areas.
- Bikers and skaters yield to pedestrians.
- Dogs on short leashes.
- Don't walk with more than two people side-by-side.
Bike or skate in a line, not side-by-side.
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Wildfire season gave Washington a break in 2022
Despite air quality getting hazy in recent weeks, Washington's wildfire season in 2022 was fairly mild compared to the past few years.
That's according to the state's Department of Natural Resources. At a press event Friday, Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz celebrated "the beginning of the end of the 2022 wildfire season."
"After weathering the second and third worst fire seasons in our state's history in 2020 and 2021, it sure feels really good to say that, this year, Washington saw the fewest acres burned in an entire decade. Rains have fallen across portions of Eastern Washington, temperatures are moderating as we enter fall, moisture is returning to fuels on both sides of the Cascades."
A total of 140,000 acres have burned in Washington state, so far, in 2022. DNR says that is the fewest number of acres since 2012. A total of 1,370 separate fires have been reported this year, the second fewest in a decade. Structure loss was also limited to a single outbuilding within the Bolt Creek fire.
"Let me repeat, this is the best fire season our state has seen in the last 10 years," Franz said.
DNR points to a few reasons the fire season was so mild this year, starting with the low number fires, and the considerable rain that fell last winter and spring.
But Franz also points to House Bill 1168 that was passed by the state Legislature last year as a major factor. It provided funding to modernize and upgrade the state's wildfire response. The state purchased 16 bulldozers and four firefighting excavators. Currently, new Kodiak multi-mission airplanes are undergoing modifications that will add infrared sensors and fire mapping technology. Before, Washington mostly had Vietnam War era aircraft to combat wildfires, Franz said.
In previous years, DNR had about 40 full-time firefighters. It had funding for 100 more this time around, fielding a total of 691 firefighters in 2022. The state continues to recruit, Franz said.
"Of course, while we are past peak fire season... that does not mean that we will not still see sporadic fire activity during the remainder of the year," Franz said, noting that the Bolt Creek fire continues to send smoke into the air.
"Bolt Creek has reminded us that wildfire doesn't see boundaries. As climate change and other factors have worsened the length and impact of our fire seasons in Washington state, turning them into true fire years, wildfire is no longer an east-side issue, it is an entire state issue."
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$1B up for grabs to help salmon get to where they're going
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announce a $1 billion program to help save the region's salmon while visiting Washington state Thursday.
Standing near a stream in Issaquah, Buttigieg compared fish to cars.
"The definition of transportation is connecting people and goods to where they need to go," he said. "This particular program calls us to think about making sure fish get to where they need to go, too."
Salmon need to travel up rivers to spawn. A lot of them don't make it because culverts get in the way.
Culverts are like tunnels that let streams pass under roadways. Many were installed decades ago. While they allow water to pass through, they don't work as well for salmon.
The new program will help pay to improve or replace culverts in the region. A total of $1 billion is available over five years thanks to the "National Culvert Removal, Replacement and Restoration-Culvert Aquatic Organism Passage Program." Applications are open for tribal, state, and local governments.
Now, local officials just need to apply for the federal funds to address local culverts so fish will have a better shot of making it to their destinations.
“With this investment, we’re helping protect local economies that count on healthy fisheries and also make key roads less prone to flooding,” Buttigieg said in a statement. “Thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this first-in-its-kind effort will begin to address the longstanding challenges posed by existing culverts for fishing and Tribal communities, from the Pacific Northwest to the low-lying communities in the Southeast.”
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Bat in Alki Beach tests positive for rabies
Another rabid bat has been found in Washington state.
The bat infected with rabies was found alive near the Alki Beach Pier on Sept. 18, in the parking lot of the Duwamish Head Condominiums. A rabies test result came back positive Thursday, Oct. 6.
Health officials have identified at least four people who may have been exposed to the bat.
King County Public Health officials are urging anyone who may have had contact with the bat to see a doctor or call the health department at 206-296-4774.
Rabies, if left untreated, is deadly, but it can be stopped before symptoms develop.
“Rabies is treatable if caught before symptoms appear, so identifying anyone who has had contact with the bat as soon as possible is important,” said Elysia Gonzales, medical epidemiologist at Public Health – Seattle & King County. “Contact includes touching a bat, being bitten, scratched, or any other bare skin contact with a bat or its saliva.”
At least six bats, including this recent one, across the state have tested positive for rabies so far this year. Other bats have been found in Kittitas, Mason, Snohomish, and Thurston counties.
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Where is the 'best' place to live in Western Washington?: Today So Far
- Kirkland is the best. Wait, Sammamish is the best. Maybe it's Bellevue?
- Almost Live! is back! (sort of)
- Langley on Whidbey Island is building a solution to its lack of worker housing.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for October 7, 2022.
Kirkland ranks high on a list of best places to live in the United States ... say wha?!
Kirkland comes in at third place on Money Magazine's recent assessment of "best places to live." Interestingly, WalletHub did its own unique analysis and ranked neighboring Sammamish among its best small cities in America, but Kirkland doesn't show up (despite the fact that both Money Magazine and WalletHub were aiming for cities with similar populations). Read more about all this here.
I've been having fun with these online roundups for a few years now, and the same cities generally show up, trading places here and there each year. Pop analyses are great examples of playing with numbers without getting a holistic picture. HomeSnacks, for example, ranks Bellevue on its own 2022 list of best places to live in the USA (not Kirkland or Sammamish). But looking at just Washington cities, Bellevue doesn't even make the same website's list. Different data and different methodologies can lead you this way and that way. SafeWise rounded up the "safest" cities in Washington and Sammamish shows up again.
I know that I'm going to ruffle some hometown feathers with this one (hey, someone got mad at me for talking about Tacoma, a city I love). It is not my intention to pile on any local community. Know that a young Dyer once lived in both Kirkland and Sammamish. My main memories of the area are that someone stole my Cabbage Patch doll, and a waiter was pretty rude to me (not on the same day). My general impression of these Eastside communities hasn't changed much from Almost Live's take in 1997.
But that is me. I bring this up because while these "best of" lists are great for chit chat and news blurbs, these websites always miss a very important point: Who are these best cities for?
What makes a great place to live? What features add up to a good, even "best," city? There are folks for whom this town or that city hit the mark, be it Kirkland, Sammamish, Seattle, Sultan, Tacoma, Auburn, Poulsbo, and so on. Personally, I have a few boxes that I like to check.
- Commute times, traffic, mass transit, etc. (25-ish minutes from Kirkland/Sammamish to Seattle, depending on time, park-and-rides, and if the sun comes out prompting WSDOT to close a bridge for maintenance)
- Are there any local watering holes / a nightlife? If so, is the local conversation more about the latest IPAs, sports, or how/if the X-Men can be woven into the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Easy access to the outdoors. (Sammamish stands out in this category)
- Access to pinball (only two pinball machines in Kirkland, and none in Sammamish)
- Affordability? Can a working couple with a mother-in-law find a decent place to live at a decent price? (Average rent in Kirkland is about $2,500; Sammamish is $2,600; Seattle is $2,300 / median income in Kirkland is $117,000; Sammamish is $181,000; Seattle is $97,000)
- Access to coffee (Kirkland beats Sammamish in this category, unless you like comparing the Safeway Starbucks to the QFC Starbucks).
- Will neighbors be OK if I hang a Starfleet flag outside my door? Maybe a Goonies flag?
- Farmers markets? (Wednesdays during spring/summer in both Kirkland and Sammamish)
I should note that I usually haven't lived up to my own standards above (What? I never said I wasn't a hypocrite). And folks could just as easily show people like me, who have lived in Seattle, a list that states: Buildings that aren't painted with migraine-inducing neon colors; don't have to dig a tunnel to get through town; proximity to Twin Peaks filming sites; access to high-class, boutique pot shops; and when I ask people to hang out, they follow through instead of just saying, "Yeah ... sure ... let's do that ... sometime..."
Sometimes, numbers lack nuance. The "best" place to live around here is relative. The most honest assessment is this: Our entire region is the best, not any single corner. It's the collection of communities with outdoor ambiance, indoor concerts, sports teams, and all the DIY creative small businesses scattered throughout. You can drive over to Funko in Everett, hit up a Seahawks game in Seattle, take a trail in the Issaquah Alps, hang out with friends and a board game at Bellevue's Mox, and spend an evening at the McMenamins Elks Temple in Tacoma.
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Youth program led by convicted sex offender loses county funding after KUOW investigation
A youth program funded by King County has lost its contract to work with young people at risk of gun violence after a KUOW investigation found its leader had false credentials — and is a convicted sex offender facing a new charge of felony insurance fraud.
Saleem Robinson, the founder and executive director of the youth program, Renegades for Life Youth Outreach, had two convictions for indecent exposure, including masturbating in front of a bartender at 13 Coins restaurant in SeaTac. He is set to stand trial this month for filing an insurance claim on a car that was uninsured when he crashed it in May.
KUOW also found that Robinson did not earn his purported bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Washington, nor his Master of Social Work from Seattle University.
Community Passageways, one of the lead contractors on the county and City of Seattle’s $5.9 million Regional Peacekeepers Collective, terminated the Renegades for Life contract following the KUOW story, said Community Passageways spokesperson Katoya Palmer.
In a letter to Robinson, Community Passageways questioned his “integrity and ability to tell the truth in light of recent findings.”
Although Robinson told KUOW that his sex offenses are irrelevant to his work for the county, and said that he does not work with minors, Community Passageways said the contract he signed requires all Renegades for Life staff to work with youth, which constitutes a breach of contract.
The year-old Regional Peacekeepers Collective stands to receive another $9 million in King County Executive Dow Constantine.
Community Passageways wrote the following letter to Robinson, severing his organization's contract:
" I want you to know that we greatly appreciate your dedicated service and harbor no ill-feelings about Renegades for Life. However, the values we maintain as critical to servant leadership and restorative justice practices are integrity, honesty, loyalty, and truth.
"Although you are one of the most loyal, we question your integrity and ability to tell the truth in light of recent findings. Further, the contract you signed specifically requires all staff to work with youth. You shared that your organization does not work with youth, and there are other issues related to good faith negotiations, such that a breach of contract has been noted as a result."
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El Centro de la Raza will preserve beloved Federal Way roller rink
The community nonprofit El Centro de la Raza plans to redevelop the two-acre site of Pattison's West Skating Center in Federal Way.
But this isn't the story of another community landmark going away.
The organization El Centro de la Raza, or “The Center for People of All Races,” announced it has purchased Pattison’s West Skating Center, located along Pacific Highway South and across the street from its existing Federal Way office building. (El Centro is still headquartered at its landmark school building on in Seattle's Beacon Hill neighborhood.)
Executive Director Estela Ortega said the roller rink isn’t being torn down. It will be part of a campus that will include a senior center and a park for people to play dominos.
Aurea Estrella-Geraghty is a regular at the rink. For her, the news of El Centro purchasing Pattison's was welcome, after several years of uncertainty about the rink's future.
“There had been rumors in the past about the rink being sold and in each of those cases, the buyers had no interest in keeping Pattison’s open as a rink,” Estrella-Geraghty said. “With the sale of the rink to El Centro, and their plans to continue operations of Pattison’s and not miss a beat, [it] puts the skate community at ease. Knowing we will not be losing the rink is the best news ever. Many of us come here several nights a week. It’s more than just skating — it’s a family.”
Sunday was the rink's last night under its previous ownership. The energy was “upbeat and slightly bittersweet,” Estrella-Geraghty said.
“Even though the rink will continue running, it's still uncertain if the vibe will be the same,” she added.
Ortega said El Centro is in the process of hiring the skating rink’s current employees.
“We’re not making a big change there because they know the operations, they’re committed." She said. "So we feel that is a really big win for us.”
El Centro’s nearby office building will be demolished to build 228 units of affordable housing, including two- and three-bedroom units, an early childhood development center, and a marketplace for small vendors.
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Samish elders celebrate Cayou Channel
Elders from the Samish Nation are celebrating the renaming of a waterway in the San Juan Islands.
State officials have renamed the passage between Orcas and Shaw islands "Cayou Channel" after the early 20th century Samish leader, Henry Cayou.
Cayou's great-niece, Rosie Cayou, celebrated the change last Sunday when she spoke at a ceremony on a boat off Orcas Island.
RELATED: Changing the channel — San Juan locals propose new name for waterway
“I cannot begin to tell you how important this is," Rosie Cayou said. "The ancestors of these islands have risen.”
"I’m proud for the entire Cayou family, and I’m proud for the communities of the San Juan Islands."
The waterway had been known as Harney Channel for more than a century. Harney was an Army general who led a massacre of Indigenous women and children in Nebraska.
On the other hand, Henry Cayou was one of the first Indigenous elected officials in Washington state. He served on the San Juan County Commission for nearly 30 years and helped bring electricity to the San Juan Islands.
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What role should the ecosystem play in this updated treaty between the U.S. and Canada?
The United States and Canada are going to renegotiate how to handle flood control and hydropower on the Columbia River. But salmon advocates also want negotiators to consider the health of the whole Columbia River ecosystem.
The Columbia River Treaty, which is around 60 years old, coordinates flood control and hydropower along the Columbia River between the United States and Canada. The United States is renegotiating to modernize the treaty.
Salmon advocates say updates to the treaty need to include the health of salmon and the ecosystem. D.R. Michel, executive director of the Upper Columbia United Tribes, says people should frame ecosystem function as a benefit instead of a cost, as it’s historically been seen.
“These are investments, but what is the cost to us if we don’t have salmon in our system? If we’re forced to have our future generation only seeing salmon in a book?" Michel said.
If a deal isn’t reached before 2024, the plan to manage flood control will expire. Salmon advocates say that will shift flood control from Canada to the United States, which they say could further degrade salmon habitat.
Read the full story here.
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Have you gotten your omicron booster yet?: Today So Far
- Only about 10% of folks eligible for a shot have gotten the omicron booster in King County.
- Hospitals worried about capacity when Washington's pandemic emergency orders end.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for October 6, 2022.
Be honest: Have you gotten your Covid booster shot yet?
I'll be honest, I haven't. But I'm aiming to soon. I try to get the shot before I have an open day. Given the last couple experiences, I know that the shot will catch up with me the following day and I'll spend a few hours with bad movies, vitamin C, and crackers.
The latest Covid booster is upgraded for the omicron variant, which is a big deal as we head into fall and winter (seasons of sick). It seems like a lot of folks are like me, either planning for the right time, or perhaps are just putting it off entirely. KUOW's Eilis O'Neill reports that only about 10% of folks eligible for a shot have gotten the omicron booster in King County. Statewide rates are even lower.
If you need to find a place to get the booster shot, check here. There's some pretty good reasons why folks should get the shot (along with flu shots), starting with hospital capacity.
Life is not really going to be the same after Covid, for many reasons, but if you take a visit to your local market, bar, restaurant, or friend's BBQ, daily life has pretty much ramped back up. I know I have been playing more pinball these days. Step through the doors of a hospital, however, and it's a different story.
Washington state's emergency orders for Covid-19 are going to come to an end later this month. Of course, a lot of these measures have already ended, like mask mandates. But there are some orders that most of us don't see, like how the state has waived rules around hospital capacity during the pandemic. Seattle's Harborview Medical Center has remained severely full in recent months, and has even turned some patients away. There are concerns about what will happen when state capacity rules kick back in.
"In some ways, the end of the emergency orders is going to be smooth in other ways, it will be continuing to be bumpy, particularly on the topic of hospital capacity," Taya Briley with the Washington State Hospital Association told KUOW's Soundside.
"We are honestly worried about the ability to care for patients right now, being able to access the emergency department care, being able to access in-patient care is going to continue to be a challenge until we get in-patient opened up," she said.
We already know omicron spreads harsher than previous strains. Flu season is expected to hit hard this season, leading some to worry about a "twindemic." That all adds up to more hospital visits at medical facilities that are already strained. What can you do? Be extra careful when deep-frying that turkey, or putting up that massive X-mas light display. And get a booster shot.
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Kirkland is the 3rd best city to live in the USA (and Sammamish ain't too shabby either)
Money Magazine says Kirkland is the third best place to live in the United States.
The personal finance magazine looked at nine factors to come up with its list of the nation's top 50 cities, including things like the cost of living, education, and economic opportunities along with the local housing market and quality of life.
Atlanta came in first place on the list, followed by Tempe, Arizona. Some Northwest neighbors also made the list: Boise, Idaho is 11th; Hillsboro, Oregon is 23rd; and Camas, Washington is 32nd.
For 2022, Money Magazine says it attempted to take a more equitable look at U.S. communities. As The Seattle Times notes, the magazine acknowledged its past rankings have showcased "quaint, affordable — and unintentionally yet overwhelmingly white” cities. This time around, the magazine says it factored for "national heritage, languages spoken at home and religious diversity — in addition to the metrics we already gather on racial diversity."
To make the grade, cities on the list had to have a population of at least 20,000 people, be as least 85% as racially diverse as its state, and have a median household income of 85% of the state's median. Add all that up and Kirkland comes in third.
Money Magazine states: "Kirkland is easy on the eyes, to put it mildly. Sitting on the edge of sparkling Lake Washington, residents enjoy views of both Mount Rainier and the Seattle skyline. But it’s not just looks that give locals bragging rights. They describe the Seattle suburb as a family-friendly, community-focused town with great schools and employment opportunities."
The magazine does concede that Kirkland is considerably lacking in one category — affordability. Though, as the magazine puts it, Kirkland residents "pay a premium" to live there. By that, it means that it costs about $2,000 to rent an apartment, and about $1 million to buy a home. But this affordability issue is offset by the very high wages in the area.
Not to be outshined, Kirkland's neighbor down the road, Sammamish, just ranked in the 99th percentile of best small U.S. cities (top of the list), according to WalletHub.
Sammamish technically comes in 12th on WalletHub's list, which took into account cities with between 25,000 and 100,000 people, and aspects like affordability, economy, and safety, as well as quality of life, which breaks down to things like coffee shops per capita.
Redmond, Issaquah, and Mercer Island also rank high, but only make it into the 98th, 97th, and 96th percentiles respectively. Kirkland is in the 95th percentile on WalletHub's list.
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Rash of fires under investigation in Seattle's Pioneer Square and CID
Seattle police and fire officials are investigating a rash of recent arsons set around Pioneer Square and the Chinatown/International District.
Investigators say seven fires were intentionally set on Sunday, Oct. 2. Most were lit in dumpsters and trash bins around King Street, First Avenue, Jackson Street, and Alaskan Way.
The Seattle Fire Department calls this an "uptick in intentionally set fires" in these neighborhoods. They are mostly being lit between 2 a.m. and 8 a.m.
On Oct. 2, aside from dumpsters and trash cans, one fire was set in a building undergoing a remodel. An electric scooter was also set ablaze.
Authorities implore people to call 911 if they see someone lighting a fire.
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