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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Seattle, King County candidates have until Friday to make it official
If you're thinking about running for political office in King County, there's still time, but the clock is ticking. It's candidate filing week.
So far, around 40 people have indicated they plan to run for Seattle City Council this year. But all the candidates need to file this week to make those intentions official (only 29 candidates were officially listed on the county's website as of Wednesday morning).
Seven Seattle council district races are on the ballot this year. Most are open seats where the incumbents decided not to run again.
So far, eight candidates are listed as running for a King County Council seat.
If you want to give it a shot to shape the future of Seattle or King County, you have until 4 p.m. Friday to file online. People can file in-person before 4:30 p.m. Friday at the King County Elections headquarters in Renton.
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Seattle proposal gets political pushback: Today So Far
- They've been married for seven years, but in Washington they're recognized.
- Pushback on Seattle proposal to provide incentives for sobriety.
- Hours at two of Seattle's popular parks are being cut short this summer.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for May 16, 2023.
When Olena and Iryna walked down the aisle at their wedding in Ukraine seven years ago, it wasn't technically legal. Gay marriage is not recognized in Ukraine. That didn't stop them, and they forged ahead despite the challenges they faced. The challenges that arose since Russia invaded Ukraine caused them to flee the country entirely, along with their daughter Yeva. Today, they are among 17,000 Ukrainians who have come to Washington state as refugees. And here, their marriage is recognized by the state.
At a recent ceremony in Seattle, the couple exchanged, yet again, the same rings they have worn for years to symbolize their union. Washington State Supreme Court Justice Mary Yu officiated the ceremony.
“I want to remind everyone that this is not just a ceremony, it’s a legal ceremony,” Justice Yu said. “Today, because of this ceremony, the state of Washington also offers protection to them as they move forward as a family.”
It's been a long journey for Olena, Iryna, and their daughter Yeva. As KUOW's Natalie Newcomb reports, that journey is not over. Read the full story here.
There's news, and then there's politics. Sometimes they're the same thing, and other times, well, you're reminded that this is why we can't have nice things.
In April, KUOW's David Hyde brought us a story about a new tactic to fight addiction in Seattle, as well as other parts of Washington. In short, the idea is to provide incentives (gift cards, cash, prizes) to people when they stay sober. Pass a drug test, get a prize. This tactic is called "contingency management.” Seattle is getting $800,000 from the Washington State Health Care Authority. That's a lot of money for average folks, but in government spending terms, it's a step above searching through couch cushions for spare change.
Of course, our world and times are what they are, and it didn't take long for folks to take this news and cram it through a political filter. Now, it's politicized. Hyde's latest coverage on this effort includes the pushback against the idea, mainly coming from the right end of the spectrum. One conservative group is calling it an "absurd giveaway." Fox News already had a segment on it, commenting that it's "gamifying" addiction, alongside some pretty bleak video of addicts suffering on the street.
Politicization is an annoying feature of our modern discourse. Debate over policies and programs are fair, but politicization isn't about any of that. It's about gamifying your attention. It's great for clicks, views, listens, and even votes, but not so much for solutions and progress. If I'm being honest, my assumption is that the assault weapons ban headlines faded, and "news" personalities needed to fill an attention gap. We probably won't hear much about stories like this when the presidential and gubernatorial headlines start showing up more often. That's when they'll really be screaming for your attention.
Contingency management, or other "motivational incentives," are not new. Treatment programs across the USA have used this approach for decades. So at this point, we already know a thing or two about it. Check out Hyde's latest story here.
Hours at two of Seattle's popular parks are being cut short this summer.
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Former exec for Seattle nonprofits pleads guilty to blowing $3 million on casinos, clothes, travel
The former finance director of two Seattle nonprofits pleaded guilty Tuesday to two felony counts of federal wire fraud.
Susana Tantico is charged with embezzling more than $3 million from the Country Doctor Community Health Centers and later the violence prevention group Community Passageways, between 2011 and 2020. Charging documents said Tantico spent the money on personal expenses including gambling, clothing, and travel, and created false ledger entries to conceal her actions.
Court documents said Tantico stole the greater part of the money, $2.3 million, from Country Doctor, which first hired her to work in its finance department in 1999. Tantico eventually became head of finance for the organization, which focuses on treating populations that are underserved by the health care system. Much of the group’s funding comes from federal, state, and local grants.
Tantico used the organization’s credit and debit cards to withdraw $1.6 million at casinos. She used the same credit cards to make tens of thousands of dollars in purchases at Nordstrom and Apple, and to fly multiple family members to Disney World in 2018.
Evidence laid out in an “information” charging document filed last Thursday said Tantico created false documents and journal entries to make fraudulent transactions appear legitimate.
“For example,” the filing said, “Tantico made it appear that the funds she used to pay for her trip to Florida had actually been used for healthcare supplies.”
During her time at Country Doctor, charging documents said Tantico lied to auditors and helped formulate policies “that she was actively violating,” such as prohibiting the use of the organization’s credit cards for personal expenses.
In a statement Tuesday, Country Doctor board members said they discovered Tantico’s fraud only after she had left to work for Community Passageways.
“When an internal team identified accounting irregularities, we immediately notified authorities and our grantors, and the FBI conducted an 18-month-long investigation," they said. "Tantico was no longer an employee at the time the fraud was identified. During this time, the FBI advised us to keep this information confidential to ensure the integrity of the investigation.”
In June 2020, Tantico left her position at Country Doctor to become director of finance at Community Passageways, which focuses on community safety initiatives including gun violence prevention in King County.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, once in that job, “Tantico used more than $485,000 of the non-profit’s funds for gambling at casinos. She transferred $21,000 from the non-profit to her mortgage servicer to pay her home mortgage. She also transferred money to her personal bank account. Tantico then altered the bank records to hide the embezzlement. At one point, she was questioned by one of the organization’s banks about all the withdrawals at casinos. She claimed that the non-profit held youth programs at the casinos and claimed the withdrawals were for cash prize giveaways. In all, Tantico stole nearly $893,000 from the non-profit. The non-profit has incurred $132,000 in costs to forensically audit its books, fix its accounting procedures and records, and reply to vendors.”
Community Passageways publicly disclosed the FBI investigation into an unnamed former employee last summer, in response to questions from KUOW. At the time, Seattle and King County had pledged more than $20 million toward the group’s efforts.
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Head of King County Regional Homelessness Authority steps down
Marc Dones suddenly stepped down as CEO of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority Tuesday morning, stating in a resignation letter that the "time has come for me to pass the baton."
In the letter to King County and Seattle leaders, Dones pointed to a comment by a colleague about the work being "less of a marathon and more of a relay race." Dones added that after being involved in the authority from its inception, they were tired.
"As a queer Black person, I have watched many members of my community burn out trying to hold too much for too many and I have watched them become unable to contribute the full breadth of their talent or vision to the work," Dones said. "I have watched them become bitter and destructive and what I know is that I don’t want that for myself."
The King County Regional Homelessness Authority was created two years ago. The goal is to have a coordinated, regional response to homelessness. The organization directs homelessness planning across King County, and works with various service providers. Dones helped design the agency and served as CEO since 2021.
Dones included two recommendations for their successor — to revisit the structure of the board that oversees the homelessness authority and to focus less on blame and more on the underlying policies that led to the national homelessness crisis.
"It is not that the work is not good, it’s that there is not enough of it — the need far outweighs the current resources," Dones said. "And the path to growing our resources is to look to larger policy decisions that have consistently undermined our ability to move forward."
Deputy CEO Helen Howell will step in as interim CEO of the regional authority in Dones' absence.
In a joint statement, King County Executive Dow Constantine and Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell thanked Dones for their service, noting their accomplishments over the past couple years, such as creating an emergency housing voucher program, and changing how the county counts people experiencing homelessness.
Following Dones' resignation, We Are In Executive Director Felicia Salcedo thanked Drones a statement.
“I am deeply grateful to Marc Dones for the energy, vision, and heart that they brought to the movement to prevent and end homelessness in our region. Under Marc’s leadership, the KCRHA moved from a concept established by King County and the City of Seattle with the strong support of We Are In, to a tremendously impactful organization leading coordinating, funding, and policy for homeless response services in King County. Marc leaves KCRHA in a strong position to continue its critical work. We look forward to working with interim CEO Helen Howell as KCRHA moves to hire a new permanent CEO worthy of the community it serves. We Are In is committed to supporting that effort in any way we can.”
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Seattle sees 4 days in a row of record springtime heat
Seattle, Bellingham, and Olympia all broke temperature records on Monday.
For Seattle and Olympia, it was the fourth record-breaking day in a row.
Seattle’s University District and Boeing Field hit 90 degrees Fahrenheit, while Sea-Tac Airport hit 88, and Olympia Airport 92, making it the warmest May 15th on record, according to the National Weather Service.
Bellingham Airport and Quillayute Airport, west of Forks on the Olympic Peninsula, both reached 86 degrees. It was Bellingham's second record-breaking day since Friday and Quillayute's third day in a row of record heat.
The spring heat wave has pushed temperatures 20 degrees above normal in much of Washington state and western Canada since late last week.
Some un-air-conditioned schools in King and Pierce counties reported "unbearable" temperatures on Monday as students took state standardized tests.
The Canadian Press reports the border-spanning mass of hot air broke nearly 40 daily temperature records across British Columbia and Alberta on Sunday, and has exacerbated the provinces’ wildfire and flooding emergencies as heat desiccates vegetation and melts mountain snowpack.
Heat waves are coming more frequently around the world as human pollution continues to alter the global climate.
The National Weather Service says Seattle temperatures should only reach the low 80s on Tuesday, still well above normal for mid-May.
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Collect your mail quickly, says USPS, after security concerns in Seattle
As South Seattle mail delivery resumes, postal inspectors are still raising the alarm about theft and fraud.
Mail delivery resumed in most of South Seattle's 98118 zip code, Tuesday, after a brief halt in USPS service.
But the postal service is still concerned about mail security and theft.
About 900 residents of Columbia City, Rainier Valley, and the surrounding area got notice last week that they'd need to pick up their mail from a USPS annex. The trucks had stopped delivering to people's mailboxes because of an unspecified "equipment security" issue.
Patrice Stubblefield has had to use her lunch break to pick up mail. Thankfully it was temporary, because the annex wasn't used to this many customers.
“It was really sad last time I was in", Stubblefield said. "That poor lady, she looked so frazzled, but what can she do? She's trying to do a job the best she could. It was just her [behind the desk]. She said 'it's just me today'. It's like, 'What?'”
USPS did not specify the exact problem in 98118, but says crews made security improvements Monday and Tuesday.
More broadly, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service is concerned about mail theft and fraud. The inspection service is the law enforcement agency connected with USPS.
Postal Inspector John Wiegand says they're aware of active schemes in the Puget Sound region.
"I can't speak to those investigations specifically at this time, but we do have significant mail theft issue that happens in the Seattle area," he says.
"The 98118 zip code has seen a little bit of an uptick in the last few weeks and we are working to try and address that.”
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Seattle sets summer curfew at 2 popular parks
Along with opening designated fire pits at parks for the summer season, Seattle will be closing down two of its most popular parks earlier than usual.
Seattle will set a curfew for its Golden Gardens and Alki Beach parks over the summer of 2023. The parks will be open between 4 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. from May 29 through Sept. 4.
This is not the first time that Seattle has cut the park hours short. It had the same schedule last year.
According to Seattle's Parks and Recreation Department, city staff and police officers will close the parks down each night at 10 p.m. In a statement, Parks and Rec said:
"The shortened hours will assist in addressing dangerous and/or illegal behavior typical of summer evening uses at these two parks in response to public input and nearby community complaints."
The department says the move is part of a pilot program for the parks. Technically, the 10 p.m. closure is the second phase of the pilot, which ultimately seeks to determine the "best operating hours for the public," according to Parks and Rec.
The department's Board is reviewing public comments and other data as it moves forward. Online public comment can be submitted here.
After Sept. 5, Seattle will keep the parks open until 11:30 p.m.
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Can Seattle manage industry, retail, and housing when space is so tight? Today So far
- Hot temps continue in the NW, and thunderstorms are on the way.
- There is steep competition for space in Seattle, and that competition is heating up around the city's industrial zones.
- Familiar Republican enters Washington's race for governor.
- Drone delivery of food and medication could be coming to Seattle as soon as 2024.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for May 15, 2023.
Keep a cool head. The hot weather will continue for a few more days, but it is tapering off into lower temps this weekend. In the meantime, thunderstorms are slated for the Northwest amid all this heat.
It's pretty well known that air conditioning units are not common in our region's homes. It's probably a good idea to keep an eye on your older neighbors, who are more affected by the hot temps.
There is steep competition for space in Seattle, and that competition is heating up around the city's industrial zones. Seattle is a bottleneck. With Puget Sound, a bunch of lakes, and mountains, there isn't as much space to build on around here. Still, people and businesses keep coming. That's why big-box stores and storage facilities have been popping up in industrial areas. New, proposed zoning changes would slow down such moves in Seattle.
As KUOW's Joshua McNichols reports, the zoning proposal is a bit of a compromise. Some industrial spots will ban big-box stores. At the edges of these zones, however, there will be some more leeway. There, homes, offices, etc. could be allowed. Despite the compromise, there is some criticism. Everything I listed above has very different uses and vibes. What is in these areas now is industrial — noisy, banging, trucking industrial operations. Pop a home next to it, and folks worry that the complaints will soon follow. That concern is layered on top of worries that existing industrial businesses will be pushed out of town to make way for other uses.
Years ago, when I was a newspaper reporter, a local resident complained about the noise coming from a nearby boatyard. They even had a decibel meter to prove how noisy it was. Their home was across the harbor from the boatyard, and this person would frequently go out to record the noise. In another corner of the community, residents were protesting a proposed shopping center slated to be built right alongside their neighborhood. The property had long been vacant, and neighbors didn't like the idea of all the trees going away to accomodate a new drug store.
I had two different editors around that time, and they essentially said the same thing: They knew what was there when they moved in. The basic sentiment was that if you build a house directly next to land zoned for retail, then don't be surprised when a stripmall shows up. And if you move into a home across from a boatyard, don't be surprised to hear horns and banging.
It's an understandable argument. On the other hand, it's also understandable that Seattle is evolving. Remember all those people moving into town? The city has undergone changes in the past, and it will have to continue to do so to remain relevant to the times. So folks are gonna have to find some way to live next to each other. Check out the full story here.
When I wrote last week that the "Democrats have started the race for Washington governor," it didn't take long for a Republican to enter the mix.
Republican Dr. Raul Garcia of Yakima has jumped into the gubernatorial race. You likely remember Garcia from the 2020 race for governor. He was among a handful of GOP candidates seeking to unseat Gov. Inslee. Garcia leaned into the moderate corner of the state's Republican Party, garnering endorsements from prominent moderates. Garcia only ended up taking 5.4% of the primary vote, however, and came in fifth. Loren Culp ultimately earned the Republican spot on the ballot (with 17.4% of the primary vote). Since then, Garcia hasn't gone entirely silent. He often spoke up about his opposition to the state's pandemic measures around shutdowns and businesses.
Technically, there are now two GOP candidates for governor. The other is Semi Bird of Richland, who announced his run back in November. Given that he is touting endorsements from MAGA Republicans, it initially seems that Washington has two different GOP brands in the race. Read more here.
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Northwest's spring heatwave continues
An unusual spring heat wave is hitting western Canada and the U.S. Northwest. Temperatures in much of the region reached above normal temperatures by 20 degrees Fahrenheit over the weekend.
High heat remains in the forecast for Monday, with highs around 88 degrees expected in Seattle. The 80-degree weather could linger for a few more days as it tapers off into the weekend. The National Weather Service also expects thunderstorms throughout the region Monday, some of which could be severe.
UW Medicine is also reminding people to check on neighbors, especially older adults who can be more susceptible to the health effects of hot weather.
RELATED: Seattle-area weather is hot, but the water is still dangerously cold
“You generally see more visits to the ER and more mortality following heat events like what's coming up for this region," said Andrew Pershing, a climate scientist with the nonprofit Climate Central.
Hot Northwest weekend
Temperatures in some areas of Western Washington hit the mid-90s Sunday afternoon: 94 in Auburn and Kalama; and 93 in Renton, Silverdale, Carnation, Satsop, Longview, and Ocean Park. The British Columbia towns of Lytton and Squamish hit 95.
RELATED: Northwest heatwave 5x more likely due to climate change
Seattle had its warmest May 14 on record, with Seattle-Tacoma International Airport passing 89 degrees (one National Weather Service site stated temps hit 90, another said 89, so we're compromising here). These are some of the warmest temperatures on record for the Northwest this early in the year.
They’re not as extreme as the mid-summer heat that killed an estimated 1,200 in the region in 2021 and led to the town of Lytton burning to the ground after it hit 121 Fahrenheit, a national record for Canada. But this week’s temperatures are hot enough to be deadly in a region where many homes lack air conditioning.
Extreme heat waves are becoming more common around the world as human pollution continues to disrupt the global climate.
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Seattle needs more lifeguards as swimming season fast approaches
The Seattle Parks and Rec Department is working to train and recruit more lifeguards as the region faces a lifeguard shortage.
Several local beaches were closed last year because of the same problem.
A shortage of experienced lifeguard leadership staff this year means the Evans and Queen Anne indoor pools will be closed this summer.
Parks and Rec is looking for temporary lifeguards to keep watch over six other indoor pools which are open now. Applicants will need to be at least 16 years old and must have the most current Red Cross lifeguard certification. Pay starts at $19.51 an hour.
Seattle's outdoor pools will begin opening June 4. They are slated to stay open through September 4. Wading pools are scheduled to open June 24.
Lifeguards will start keeping watch over Madrona Beach and West Green Lake Beach on May 29, which is Memorial Day.
But the beaches at Magnuson Park, Seward Park, and East Green Lake will remain closed this summer due to a lack of experienced open water lifeguards.
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It's a bird! It's a plane! It's pizza! Drone delivery in Seattle and Tacoma could soon become reality
It might seem like a pie in the sky idea, but that’s because that’s exactly what it is — pizza delivery using flying drones. A plan is cooking up in Seattle to make pizza delivery via drones a reality, and that’s just for starters.
"Obviously, it seems pretty sci-fi and a lot of customers think this is totally insane when they first hear about it,” said Keller Cliffton, cofounder and CEO of Zipline, a delivery drone company. “But what has really struck us is that there are about seven days of sci-fi magical amazement, and then on day eight people are basically bored of it — bored of it in the way that there's no way they're ever going back to the old way of receiving things."
Zipline is based in California. It recently struck a deal with Seattle’s Pagliacci Pizza to begin delivering orders using its drone system. Zipline has battery-powered drones that can fly to a customer’s location. It hovers above the location and lowers the delivery on a tethered droid.
"Anybody can pull out a phone, press a button on that phone, and place an order that can then be delivered autonomously to the home in a way that is 10 times as fast, half the cost, and fully zero emission compared to the way we do instant delivery today," Cliffton said.
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Would you rideshare in the sky? Today So Far
- Seattle's Cinerama is coming back!
- NW startup offers local flights across region's small airports, similar to a rideshare in the air.
- Is online grocery shopping creepy or convenient?
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for May 12, 2023.
Seattle's Cinerama is coming back!
News broke late last night that the Seattle International Film Festival has worked out a deal to take over the historic movie theater. You may recall there was some drama around Cinerama in 2020, when the theater abruptly closed. At the time, the message was that it would reopen later that year. With the pandemic emerging, however, that never happened. It has remained closed ever since.
Now, SIFF is stepping up to keep the projector lights on. Terms of the sale between SIFF and Paul G. Allen's estate are unknown. The answer to the most important question we all have is also unknown: Will there be chocolate popcorn when the theater reopens?
Read more here.
In the small town of North Bend on the Oregon Coast, there is a watering hole called The Liberty Pub. At one end of its long bar is a small plaque, so small, many don't notice it. Patrons who do, however, are informed that "Harrison Ford sat here April 5, 2014."
The bar even saved the label from a bottle of scotch they opened for Han Solo, er, I mean Ford. The story, as the pub's owner related it to me, is that Ford was taking a helicopter trip up the West Coast with a friend. It was a small helicopter, and North Bend has a small airport. When the two travelers landed to refuel, they asked where the local pub was for some food and they were directed to The Liberty Pub. The rest is local history.
Jack Ryan's trip wouldn't have happened without North Bend's small airport. There are many like it across the Northwest, in Renton, Olympia, Hillsboro, and beyond. And they all have small airplanes jumping across the region, avoiding freeway traffic, or ferry and train delays. That got folks over at KinectAir thinking. The Portland-based startup is now aiming to reinvent air travel the same way Uber/Lyft changed the taxi industry. Would you book a small, charter airplane to take short trips across the region? KinectAir is betting that you will. If so, you could be like Indiana Jones ... ah, sorry, I mean Harrison Ford, taking a quick jaunt across the region.
When you think about it, companies like Uber and Lyft didn't reinvent the classic taxi. They just had better tech, which completely changed the industry. That's sort of what KinectAir wants to do — connect potential passengers with small airplanes going on trips around the Northwest. The average person likely doesn't know much about charter airplanes, or can sleuth out how to book one like a traveling Rick Deckard. The startup hopes that by putting all these charter planes in one app, travelers will click and fly.
Such trips used to be part of larger airlines' offerings, such as flights from Portland to Bend or Kalispell, Montana. That's not as common today. But the region's smaller airports still have small, propeller-driven four- or eight-passenger planes that can get you where you need to go, just like Bob Falfa traveling up the coast.
In this case, it's more like an air Uber. This person, and that person, and perhaps Dr. Richard Kimble use the KinectAir app to buy a seat on a small airplane, and just like that, they can hop from Seattle to Bend. The company is new, so the pricing for this small service is still hefty for many travelers. It's not like you're gonna be paying so much that you'll be sitting next to President James Marshall, but it's more than what you could find flying out of Sea-Tac.
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