KUOW Blog
News, factoids, and insights from KUOW's newsroom. And maybe some peeks behind the scenes. Check back daily for updates.
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Stories
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Weigh in on EPA's Duwamish River cleanup plan by Aug. 11
Tuesday was supposed to be the deadline for people to share input on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed cleanup plan for the heavily polluted Duwamish River entrance. But that deadline has been pushed back to Aug. 11, allowing time for a community festival to educate residents and take public comment on the proposal.
Large portions of the Duwamish River, like where it meets the Puget Sound, are so toxic that the Environmental Protection Agency has had to step in to rehabilitate the river, designating it a Superfund site for a long-term cleanup response.
Over the past 100 years, industrial discharges, storm drains, and combined sewer overflows have polluted the surface and bottom of the river.
The EPA has worked in recent years to clean up portions of the river, one of the most recent efforts being the East Waterway Cleaning Project to clean the section of the river on the East of the man-made Harbor Island.
Surrounding it are industrial and shipping projects. Further down the river, in the South Park neighborhood — which is in another Superfund site — is the office of Jamie Hearn, who helps with cleaning engagement and advocacy for the Duwamish River Community Coalition.
“Sediment flows between each site, the water moves between each site, fish travel up and down the rivers. Even if we split them into two Superfund sites, we know that that's not how river ecosystems work,” she said.
The impact on the ecosystem and the neighborhoods surrounding the river system isn't good. It’s why public comment is important on cleanup programs like this.
Monday was supposed to be the deadline for people to share input on the EPA’s proposed cleanup plan for the heavily polluted entrance to the Duwamish river.
But contributing such input often involves a lot of technical reading, which advocates say can be inaccessible for people living in working class communities; they might not have the time to read through technical EPA documents or may not be native English speakers. Regardless, they should have a voice in the cleanup process, Hearn said.
“These folks have a really strong understanding of what some of the issues are when there is river cleanup. They are going to be the ones that are the most impacted by this cleanup, it's really important that we center their experiences and their thoughts.”
Hearn added that the new, Aug. 11 deadline gives their group time to reach out to people in a culturally relevant way during the Duwamish River Festival, where they'll be able to present the cleanup projects to the public in a more accessible way while also collecting input.
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What's behind Seattle convenience? Today So Far
- Where are Seattle's 7-Elevens going?
- Seattle is preparing for the next heat wave, whenever it strikes.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for June 26, 2023.
For most of my independent life, 7-Eleven has been there for me. At 16, with a fresh drivers license, I would pack up my Volkswagen Vanagon with friends and head to the nearest 7-Eleven, where a high schooler could afford to shop, mostly for slurpees. While other cars had retro dice hanging from their rearview mirrors, I had these little brains in ice cubes, which were slurpee brain freezes. Upon realizing that most of the processed treats in the store were not good for anybody, ever, I shifted to the quick sandwiches and apples.
Even when I lived in Portland, where there is a Plaid Pantry on nearly every corner, I sought out the rare 7-Eleven near Portland State University, where the coffee bar kicked off my modern love of the store. This is my tip for the old school, gritty, Northwesterner. If you find a 7-Eleven with a coffee bar, you're set. You don't need another coffee spot. I don't care how fancy, hip, boutique, rare, or crafted the coffee is at whatever bourgeois Seattle cafe folks hype — if you've got a flannel shirt and a used car with a tailpipe that competes with the Pedro the Lion you're blasting, this coffee is for you.
For Seattle Times business reporter Paul Roberts, his 7-Eleven love is based on orange-flavored Hostess cupcakes.
"They've got orange icing on them. They were my secret shame, but they were always there," Roberts told "Seattle Now." "If you went to the Safeway, you could get a whole box of them, but I didn't want to admit I had this problem. So I would be able to walk up the two blocks to the 7-Eleven and get it."
During one such cupcake pilgrimage, Roberts discovered that his local 7-Eleven was closed, for good. This simple fondness for an orange cupcake led him to discover that other quick-stop shops in Seattle have also been closing. There are many reasons. Crime is cited as an issue. The pandemic also hit hard. There are labor shortages. And the company has reportedly made complicated policies that can make things difficult for franchise owners.
"It's like the problems they are facing complicates your impulse purchase. You don't really want to think about the particulars, the economic, and social structures behind this thing that allows you to have your Hostess cupcake. You just want to get it ... the more times you go there, you more you get to know the person, and you get to know the struggles they are facing. Like the guy who is there at two in the morning, when you happen to be there and you're thinking to yourself, 'Why are you here?' I'm up because I couldn't sleep. You're here because this was the job you could find.' It just forces you to recognize that there is this whole economy and labor market behind the provision of convenience that we don't really have to pay attention to until it is taken away from us."
There's more to this story. Roberts discusses his most recent reporting on Seattle's waning 7-Elevens on today's "Seattle Now." Check that out here.
Seattle is preparing for the next heat wave, whenever it strikes. Officials say things will be different next time.
The 2021 heat dome was a bit of a wake-up call for the Northwest. The region is prepared for a lot of conditions, but heat is generally not something folks have thought about. In Seattle, the city is funding air conditioning upgrades at 13 community centers. Those buildings will also get solar power and backup power. All this will be rolled out over the coming five years. There is also a local effort to increase the tree canopy in Seattle, which would provide greater cooling capacity, but that will take years to produce.
At home, most folks still don't have air conditioning units. This is especially true for lower-income residents. A recent UW Climate Impact Report notes that, “Only 34% of households that earn $50,000 or less in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties have AC in their home, and just 29% of rented houses in these three counties have them installed."
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Tacoma woman with TB released from jail
A Tacoma woman who was jailed in early June, after refusing to get treated for tuberculosis for more than a year, has been released from the Pierce County Jail.
The Tacoma Pierce County Health Department says a judge authorized her release on Friday, June 23. She is now under home detention.
According to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department: "Judge Philip Sorensen issued an order today releasing this patient from the Pierce County Jail with conditions. This will allow her to isolate at home under court supervision. We will continue to work with her to provide testing and treatment to help cure her tuberculosis."
She served half of her 45-day treatment in jail after health officials took the rare step of seeking an arrest warrant to keep the woman from spreading the highly contagious disease.
This is the latest chapter in the case of tuberculosis in Tacoma. Despite the risk to the public being "very low," according to the health department, authorities pressed the woman to get treatment for TB. She repeatedly refused. An arrest warrant was issued in March, but the woman eluded authorities before being taken into custody in early June.
Around 20-25 people in Pierce County come down with a case of tuberculosis each year, however, most get treatment. The health department previously told KUOW that about three people over the past two decades have refused treatment.
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More cleanup planned for Seattle's Gas Works Park
Washington's Department of Ecology is going to answer questions about cleanup efforts at Seattle's Gas Works Park during a public meeting Wednesday night, June 28.
Gas Works Park sits at the north shore of South Lake Union. The land was once home to a gas manufacturing plant, hence how the park got its name. The plant was active between 1907 and 1956. During that time, the fuel operations created considerable contamination at the site.
Previous cleanup work was finished between 1971 and 2020, but was mostly on the upland area in the park. More work remains for much of the area around the shoreline. The current proposal is to cap the shoreline soil, treat shoreline groundwater, dredge and cap sediment under the water, and set up monitoring moving forward.
The cost of the future cleanup work is estimated to be about $73 million, which will come from the city of Seattle and Puget Sound Energy. Half of this costs could be reimbursed through Ecology's remedial action grant program.
The public can register for Wednesday's meeting and sign up to make a comment at the Gas Works Park webpage. Ecology will give its presentation at 6:30 p.m. and take questions at 7:30 p.m.
This blog post originally stated that the city of Seattle would be paying the full $73 million for the cleanup work. According to the Department of Ecology, the cost will be split by the city and Puget Sound Energy, with the majority being paid for by PSE.
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Homeless shelters in Tacoma are getting less funding this year
Homeless shelters in Tacoma are getting less funding this year.
On June 20, Pierce County announced the Tacoma Rescue Mission will get almost $200,000 less than last year for shelter funding. In 2022, the mission received a little over $2 million for its shelters.
Because of less funding this time, the Tacoma Rescue Mission will have to decrease its shelter capacity.
“The reality is, on July 1, we will be at capacity," said Myron Bernard, senior director of community engagement for the Tacoma Rescue Mission. “If we don’t fund shelters, and if shelters close, then we are kind of furthering ourselves down that path of saying it’s essentially illegal to be unhoused.”
The funding is the largest source of money that Pierce County receives annually for homeless housing services.
Lauren Gallup has the full story on Tacoma's homelessness funding at Northwest Public Broadcasting.
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What does 'restricted racing zones' sound like to you? Today So Far
- Seattle is considering a new policy to tackle street racing on city roads.
- King County Metro is inviting back all the employees who were fired for not complying with the vaccine mandate.
- A common awkward situation for Washingtonians may become a thing of the past. Oregon lawmakers have voted to ease up on the state's ban on self-serve gas.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for June 23, 2023.
Seattle is considering a new policy to tackle street racing on city roads. The main idea is to allow automated traffic cameras to push back against street racing. This is possible thanks to a new law at the state level, and Seattle is lining up its own code with it.
Along with this proposal is the creation of “restricted racing zones” where such camera enforcement would be targeted. There are six specific spots that the Council already has in mind, mostly around Alki and Sand Point Way. It’s early in the discussion for this plan, which is going through the committee process. My suggestion for the Council, when it comes to tweaking this proposal: Nix the term “restricted racing zones.” I don’t know where that came from, but, in a way, it sounds like you are restricting street racing to those zones in Seattle.
“Hey, you want to go street racing?”
“You bet I do. Let’s go over to Sand Point Way! That’s where Seattle has a racing zone we can use.”
“Sweet! But I get to be Toretto this time. You get to be O’Conner. Let’s go live life a quarter mile at a time.”
I would suggest, “anti-street racing zones.” Perhaps, “excessive speed enforcement zones.“ Or maybe “you’re not as cool as you think you are and your car is essentially a giant snap-together model that lazy children could put together — not even the hardcore glue and paint kind, the snap / sticker toys that anyone can figure out … zone.” That last option might not fit on a sign though.
Another reaction a lot of Seattleites are likely to have is, “Why isn’t a zone being proposed for my neighborhood?” I used to live off of 35th Avenue NE, or what locals call “I-35.” I would regularly be woken up around 2 a.m., 3 a.m., 4 a.m. by raging, rumbling engines, and screeching tires. My windows would actually shake as they passed by. Despite speeding away, these cars could be heard taking corners and rumbling throughout the neighborhood for quite a while after that. The worst part was that me, wearing my Scorpions T-shirt and generally sporting my “Hey, be cool man” attitude, turned into that guy. You know that guy, the type of person who would yell, “It’s 2 o’clock in the morning and I have to work early, you insufferable hellion!”
So six “restricted racing zones” (gosh, they really need to change that term)? How about 20 zones, with $2,500 fines. Plus, if they get caught, they get locked in a pillory in front of city hall where children can mock them and throw tomatoes at their heads. I offer all these suggestions to the Seattle City Council for free. More on this story here.
Elsewhere on the street, King County Metro is making another post-pandemic move. It’s inviting back all the employees who were fired for not complying with the vaccine mandate.
The transit agency has struggled to restaff its routes. It’s trying to hire as fast as possible. Getting back its former employees is part of that effort, but the offer does come with some conditions. The employees can come back, as if their job was simply paused, if they drop any claims against Metro. Only about 100 employees were dropped over the vaccine mandate, and 19 filed tort claims. Those claims were generally over denials for religious exemptions.
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PHOTOS: The many glowing faces of Seattle Pride this weekend
Thousands celebrated Pride at various events throughout the weekend in the Seattle area.
The images below were taken during the 49th annual Seattle Pride Parade in downtown Seattle on Sunday as well as Trans Pride Seattle on Friday at Capitol Hill's Volunteer Park.
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UW professor describes being 'very confident' about 2018 submersible expedition with OceanGate
In 2018, researchers with the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor marine labs collaborated on multiple science projects with OceanGate, the Everett-based company behind the Titan submersible that imploded after being lost at sea, killing the five passengers on board.
A middle-depth submersible called CYCLOPS, operated by OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush who is among those dead, was used to carry out the company’s partnership with UW.
“That one works really well for the Salish Sea, where the deepest water is only 1,000 feet or 1,100 feet. And CYCLOPS can go right to the bottom of it,” said Adam Summers, a professor in UW’s biology department and School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences.
RELATED: OceanGate confirms 5 dead after Titan debris found at bottom of ocean
The goal of the dives was to collect data that could help answer various questions about local marine life.
“Everything from where did these little tiny forage fish called sand lance go in the sand, to what kind of damage does scientific trawling do, to what does the diet of some of these deep water Urchins look like?” Summers said.
He spent several months weighing the risks and preparing for the potential dangers of venturing out in the submersible with OceanGate. While not negligible, Summers explained the risk of boarding CYCLOPS was lesser than that of occupying the Titanic submersible, which was intended to view ship wreckage resting at about 13,000 feet below sea level.
“We talked about the gas tanks that we had – how long they would work for us if we did get entangled and stuck below,” Summers said. “At 1,000 feet, you can easily access it with technology that can be flown to the site relatively quickly. I mean, bear in mind, our mission took place within sight of land. So, you know, really the technological resources that could be brought to bear within 48 hours were just completely different than are available 700 miles from land in the North Atlantic.”
RELATED: The Titanic tourist sub was built by a Seattle man's Everett-based company
He described OceanGate as being “absolutely fabulous about risk management – thinking about risks, what kinds of risks were tolerable, what wasn't,” adding that he “was very confident in their abilities to deal with risk.”
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The NW summer weather ahead: Today So Far
- El Niño has officially arrived and forecasters have an idea about what weather will like over the coming summer and winter.
- Amazon is heading into prime court time after running afoul of federal regulators.
- OceanGate confirms that debris from the Titan have been found at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean and that all five passengers are dead.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for June 22, 2023.
We are officially in summer, and despite the recent cool weather and rain drops, the Northwest is heading into a few months of warmer, drier weather.
Washington State Climatologist Nick Bond told KUOW that July will be hot and dry, though nothing extreme. Looking further down the road, warmer and drier than normal weather is expected through about October, according to forecasts from the National Weather Service. But there are also indications that our region could get a lot of rain, too, as winter sets in. Bond notes that El Niño has officially arrived and is expected to be a strong one. In the past, strong El Niños have meant warmer winters, less snowpack, and a whole lot of rain. Flooding could be a factor in some areas.
Of course, whenever weather forecasts are being made, especially when they are so far out, there is a degree of uncertainty. Conditions could change, but as of now, this is the summer and winter weather we are expecting in the Northwest. Also, this forecast is being looked at as we head into wildfire season. Read the full story here.
Amazon is heading into prime court time after running afoul of federal regulators.
As KUOW's Monica Nickelsburg reports, the FTC is accusing Amazon of signing up customers for its Prime membership in a somewhat covert way. Customers may not have realized that they were being signed up while checking out for an order. On top of that, it is alleged that Amazon made it more difficult to cancel a Prime membership than it was to delete your MySpace account back in the day — my words, not the FTC's. The way one FTC chair put it, Amazon was using “manipulative tactics.” And the allegation is part of its "dark patterns" of operation.
At the same time of this allegation, Sen. Bernie Sanders has popped up again to look into injury rates at Amazon's warehouses. Sanders recently sent a letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy.
“The company’s quest for profits at all costs has led to unsafe physical environments, intense pressure to work at unsustainable rates, and inadequate medical attention for tens of thousands of Amazon workers every year,” Sanders wrote. Check out the full story here.
As information comes forth about the Titan that has gone missing in the Atlantic, more and more local connections have become apparent.
The Titan is a submersible watercraft used by Everett-based OceanGate. The company gives tours to the sunken Titanic. It's CEO, Stockton Rush, is a Seattle resident. The University of Washington's Applied Physics Laboratory had previously helped the company design another submersible called CYCLOPS. That watercraft was used to travel the depths of Puget Sound, and took UW researchers along for the ride.
"If you had asked me, at the end, how long I've been down, I would have said 10 minutes. It was three and a half hours," said Adam Summers, a professor at UW's School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, noting the thrill of his Puget Sound trip.
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OceanGate confirms 5 dead after Titan debris found at bottom of ocean
The United States Coast Guard has confirmed that a debris field found at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean is from the missing Titan submersible vehicle. All five passengers who were on the vessel are dead.
"We now believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, have sadly been lost," OceanGate said in a statement Thursday.
"These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans. Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew."
See OceanGate's full statement below.
The Coast Guard said that the debris indicates a "catastrophic implosion of the vessel." The wreckage was found by a remote vehicle sent by a Canadian ship involved in the search. More remote vessels will continue to search the scene, but search crews will be leaving the area.
OceanGate is based in Everett, Washington. Its CEO, Stockton Rush, is a Seattle resident. Its work to develop submersible vehicles took place around Puget Sound over the past decade, before offering underwater trips to see the sunken Titanic in the Atlantic Ocean.
Debris from the submersible were found about 1,600 feet from the Titanic, where the vessel was en route to before going missing earlier this week.
Full statement from OceanGate:
"We now believe that our CEO Stockton Rush, Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood, Hamish Harding, and Paul-Henri Nargeolet, have sadly been lost.
These men were true explorers who shared a distinct spirit of adventure, and a deep passion for exploring and protecting the world’s oceans. Our hearts are with these five souls and every member of their families during this tragic time. We grieve the loss of life and joy they brought to everyone they knew.
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The end of Oregon's self-serve ban at gas stations is near
For decades, it's been a common moment of frustration and confusion among Washington drivers who cross the border into Oregon — stop for gas, get out, grab the pump, and then watch someone run up to you yelling that self-serve gas is not allowed.
Such moments could soon be a thing of the past in Oregon. Lawmakers have voted to nix the state's ban on self-serve gas.
HB 2426 has passed Oregon's House and Senate, and is now headed to Gov. Tina Kotek for a signature. After that, Oregon drivers can pump gas themselves.
Things won't entirely change at Oregon's gas stations. Stations will still be required to staff an attendant at half of its pumps. The other half can be open for self-serve.
According to the new rules, gas stations will still be required to staff an attendant in more populated counties, and they will not be allowed to charge different prices between self-serve gas and full-service gas.
If and when Oregon's governor signs off the new rules, New Jersey will be the only state in the nation that requires an attendant to pump gas.
As Oregon Public Broadcasting reports, the proposal did split usual allies at the State Capitol. Nine of the Senate's 17 Democrats voted against the idea, citing concerns that it would kill jobs. Some are concerned that it is a step toward removing the gas station attendant requirement altogether.
Oregon first prohibited self-service at gas stations in 1951. The law argued that drivers pumping their own gas could spill and cause slippery surfaces, putting vulnerable people in danger. Exposure to toxic fumes and the potential for crime was also a concern. "The dangers of crime and slick surfaces ... are enhanced because Oregon’s weather is uniquely adverse, causing wet pavement and reduced visibility," Oregon's gas station law states.
The Oregonian also reports that the state has incrementally eased up on the self-serve ban. In 2015, the state began allowing counties with 40,000 residents or fewer to pump their own gas at night. That allowance opened up to more counties in 2017. The state's fire marshal has also paused the ban during wildfires and heatwaves since 2020. And the rules were again paused during pandemic shutdowns. Modifications to the rules in recent years created a patchwork of Oregon counties where self-serve gas was allowed.
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Seattle 'streamlines' environmental review for some downtown buildings
The approval process just got faster for certain construction projects in downtown Seattle. The City Council voted to cut down on environmental reviews for small and medium-sized projects in the area.
City Councilmember Dan Strauss says other laws already cover factors like traffic, air quality, and noise pollution, making additional review under the State Environmental Protection Act (SEPA) redundant.
“The shorthand understanding of what this bill does is it reduces time and cost for building or renovating projects downtown, so that we can revitalize downtown faster,” Strauss said.
Downtown has many buildings that must quickly adapt to a changing real estate market. For example, office buildings that could be converted to apartment towers.
Under the new rule, downtown buildings with up to 200 residential units would be exempt from SEPA review. Non-residential downtown buildings of up to 30,000 square feet will also be exempted.
Some residents are concerned that removing the SEPA review process will eliminate a simple report that outlines the environmental impacts of projects.
When a project falls under the expanded exemptions, people will also lose the ability to file an appeal through SEPA if they suspect a developer has glossed over an issue.
This move aligns with a larger trend on the West Coast, where lawmakers are reducing regulations to address housing shortages, or to simplify the process of converting a building from one use to another.
Generally, these lawmakers say environmental review, while important, has been used to restrict housing density in cities, resulting in more damage to the environment from urban sprawl and longer commutes.
The changes in Seattle this week pale in comparison to new SEPA exemptions for housing authorized statewide by the Washington State Legislature earlier this year.
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