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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Disaster aid for Los Angeles could soon be on the way from King County
King County officials have approved a plan to send disaster relief to communities impacted by fires in the Los Angeles area.
On Tuesday, the King County Council passed a proposal from Councilmember Reagan Dunn, requesting a county response to the fires that have been raging through L.A. County for the past week.
"It's the middle of January here in Seattle. We don't have a high fire threat, and we do have access to resources that can help," Dunn said.
RELATED: Redmond firefighters felt tug on heartstrings to help fight L.A. fires.
Someday, Dunn warned, Washington state could face a disaster of similar proportions and will need help. And many agencies outside Washington have lent a hand to help the state get through disasters in the past.
"When Mount St. Helens erupted back in the 1980s, governments across the country lended a hand to help us survive," Dunn said.
His legislation calls for sending support like medical supplies and emergency kits to California, plus collaborating with local nonprofits that have ties to Los Angeles.
With the County Council's approval, the proposal will now go to the King County Executive's Office, where a county response will be drafted.
RELATED: L.A. pets land in Seattle to make room at animal shelters during fires
During the Council hearing, Councilmember Rod Dembowski suggested sending semi-permanent housing structures the county used during the Covid-19 pandemic. They are currently sitting in storage.
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Western Washington is having a dry (weather) January, and a cold one
It's not just your friends and coworkers going all out for Dry January this month. Western Washington is getting in on the trend, in its own way. And just like the disposition of your friends and coworkers going dry, the region is likely to be a bit cold, too.
"We are looking [at] a relatively quiet and dry period of weather for Western Washington," said Jeff Michalski, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Seattle. "There's a little bit of rain, maybe toward the end of the week, but overall, conditions look to remain dry going into the weekend. Basically a dry, dry pattern for the area."
RELATED: New online dashboard tracks weather-related health incidents in Washington state
Dry and cold. Some corners of the region could get freezing temps this month, with daily lows dipping into the 20s.
Winter is generally the time of year when the region receives the most precipitation, and plenty of snow gets dumped on the mountains. But Michalski added that January 2025 will be "abnormally dry." This means there will be a lull in mountain snow over the next few weeks. Many have been watching mountain conditions after snowpack was considerably lacking over the past couple years, leading to low summer water supply and hampering the region's ability to produce hydropower.
But the Northwest won't stay dry for long. And it will get colder. So, don't forget your booties, because it's gonna be cold out there just in time for Groundhogs Day on Feb. 2.
RELATED: Weird weather isn't always because of climate change — but sometimes it is
“In the next three to four weeks, the precipitation outlook is calling for wetter-than-average conditions. That time period would be late January into early February," Michalski said.
The National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center is currently forecasting wetter conditions and below normal temps for January, February, and March. As Michalski said, these conditions are likely to arrive with February.
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3 things to watch as WA's 2025 legislative session kicks off
With the bang of a gavel just after midday Monday, the 105-day legislative session for 2025 began for Washington’s lawmakers in Olympia.
This year, senators and representatives will work with the state’s first new governor in 12 years as they consider ways to close a massive budget gap, and weigh policies on almost everything you can think of, from rent hikes to kimchi.
During her opening day remarks, House Speaker Laurie Jinkins (D-Tacoma) struck an optimistic but somewhat defiant tone, noting that the state’s budget crisis – and the incoming Trump administration – are among the top challenges that will influence lawmakers’ work this year.
“Protecting Washington’s way of life is important,” Jinkins said. “And we’re going to stand up for trans people, for immigrants, and for all Washingtonians who find themselves under attack by those who choose to divide us rather than unite us.”
As the session gets underway, here are three key things to watch:
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Who could fill former Seattle City Councilmember Tammy Morales' seat? Here are some names
Seattle will likely have a new council member before the end of January. The City Council now has a short list of candidates to fill its vacant seat for 2025.
A total of 20 Seattleites are on that short list. They were invited to submit applications, and a financial interest statement, for the vacant District 2 seat earlier this month. Those applications were due on Jan. 9.
The Council is expected to appoint a fill-in member on Jan. 27. That person will have the option of running to keep the position in the November election.
Below are the names of all qualified applicants up for consideration.
- Armas-Amaya, Henry M
- Bulale, Nimco
- Chhuor, Hong
- Debessay, Nahom
- Ducksworth, Adonis E
- Ederer, Takayo M
- Engstrom, Randy
- Gregory, Thaddaeus J
- Harris, Romain R
- Lin, Edward C
- Morrison, Alex
- Nielsen, Erik L
- Ramseur, Rachel
- Rogers, Bishop R
- Salisbury, Chukundi
- Sloan, Steven
- Smith, Mona
- Solomon, Mark A
- Sztainbok, Mark
- Venus, Nakita
A seat on the dais became open when Councilmember Tammy Morales resigned in late 2024, three years before the end of her term. Morales was re-elected to represent District 2 in 2023. That election brought sweeping change to city hall with new council members seeking to change course from the direction the previous council had set. Morales was aligned with that previous council. The new council majority has been viewed as moderate, and Morales became a lone vote on many issues.
In December, when Morales announced she was stepping down, she said that she was "targeted with bullying and gaslighting all year," from other members of the Council, and made a series of other allegations. When speaking with KUOW, Morales added that she believed "this Council is sliding towards really undemocratic behavior."
Council President Sara Nelson disagreed with that characterization of the past year, and told KUOW that she was "frankly shocked and disappointed with the way she has characterized the dynamic on Council and what occurs at the dais." While she wanted to avoid a "tit-for-tat" with Morales' allegations, Nelson did respond to a few points.
Another part of this drama centered on Tanya Woo, who lost the 2023 election against Morales in District 2, but was soon appointed to the Council in early 2024 to fill another vacant seat. Woo ran to keep the position in 2024, but lost the citywide seat to Alexis Mercedes Rinck, a candidate who was expected to be more aligned with Morales' side of the dais. Woo told KUOW that her supporters have been asking her to apply for the new Council appointment. Her name is not among those currently being considered; however, she said she is not ruling out running again for a different position. Woo did raise concerns that the Council lacks Asian representation. A common sentiment in Seattle's Chinatown-International District is that their neighborhood is not represented or listened to at city hall.
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Seattle Humane is taking in pets from California. Here's how you can help
Dozens of pets from California will be in need of homes here in Seattle next week.
Seattle Humane is expecting more than 60 animals to arrive at Boeing Field on Sunday. Spokesperson Brandon Macz said the pets will be vaccinated and checked in on Monday, with many expected to be ready for adoption by Tuesday.
Seattleites are already stepping up to help.
"They haven't even gotten here yet, and people are already offering donations, offering fostering for these pets," he said. "We are hopeful that all the pets will come in looking healthy and ready to be made available for adoption."
Pets from California will be marked online with a special icon to let potential adopters know they're fire rescues. Seattle Humane also noted it needs people to adopt pets already in their shelters, to make more room for those being flown in.
Folks specifically looking to adopt one of the newcomers should plan to act fast, though.
“People cherish pets like their family, and we believe that a lot of these pets will be adopted next week, very early," Macz said. "We can't wait to see them go home."
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These Black-owned Seattle businesses are closing their doors in 2025
It may be the beginning of a new year, but for some local businesses, 2025 is the beginning of the end.
A handful of longtime, Black-owned businesses in Seattle are signing off. One of the businesses permanently closing is Flowers Just-4-U, which has been a fixture in the Central District since 1984.
RELATED: Last call at Merchant’s Cafe & Saloon: Seattle’s oldest bar set to close
Owner Mary Wesley, or “Miss Mary” as her customers call her, is retiring at 94 years old.
“I’m closing the shop. That’s the sad part,” Wesley said. “But other than that, the retirement is great. I’m looking forward to it.”
This will be Wesley’s second try at retirement. The flower business was her retirement plan after nearly three decades at Boeing.
Over the years, Wesley has seen old buildings torn down to make way for new apartment units. It’s what prompted her to move to the current location on 23rd Avenue and Cherry Street. Soon, the building she’s in will be demolished, too.
RELATED: Bracing for more Seattle traffic as Amazon workers return from vacation
“Moving is no piece of cake,” she said.
Sue Grimord has worked alongside Wesley for the past five years. She said they’ll take their last orders for flowers on Jan. 15. After that, they’ll spend the next two weeks cleaning out the space.
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Biden ban puts more of Northwest off limits to oil drilling
More Northwest waters are now off-limits to oil drilling, which is already prohibited by state law within three miles of the Oregon and Washington coasts.
A new ban from President Joe Biden prevents offshore drilling within 200 miles of the nation’s Atlantic and Pacific coasts, as well as the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the northern Bering Sea.
RELATED: Biden bans new offshore oil and gas drilling in most federal waters
Environmentalists welcomed the new ban, though no one has proposed to drill in Northwest waters in decades.
“There really hasn't been a lot of interest in this region for offshore oil and gas drilling, at least in the past 50 years,” said marine scientist Ben Enticknap with the nonprofit group Oceana in Portland. “For the Pacific Northwest, I would really characterize this as a precautionary approach.”
RELATED: More Canada crude is coming, but trade war could hamper flow
Oil, gas, and mineral exploration and production are prohibited within the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, which stretches 20 to 40 miles offshore from more than half of Washington state’s outer coast.
Oregon has a ban on pipelines and other infrastructure that would support drilling in federal waters.
RELATED: Trump has promised to boost oil and gas exports. It could raise energy prices at home
President-elect Donald Trump said Monday he would undo Biden’s ban on offshore drilling on “day one” of his presidency.
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New online dashboard tracks weather-related health incidents in Washington state
Washington state health officials are paying closer attention to heat- and cold-related illnesses, smoke exposure, and several other seasonal hazards.
The Department of Health has launched a public dashboard tracking weather-related health incidents using data reported by hospitals across the state. The aim is to help residents and agencies make smarter, more timely decisions when it comes to severe weather.
RELATED: How a cold snap exposed cracks in King County's emergency response shelter system
The dashboard, which provides county-by-county data, tracks motor vehicle crashes, carbon monoxide exposures, asthma-related emergency room visits, drownings, and even injuries from recreational boating.
The latest data shows that over the past week, 1.3% of King County hospital visits have been from cold-related exposure, such as hypothermia or frostbite, which is similar to the rates this time last year.
The new dashboard comes after a series of extreme weather-related deaths across Washington in recent years.
RELATED: More green space, fewer silos: King County reveals new extreme heat plan
At least seven Seattleites died in January 2024 from hypothermia related to an extreme cold snap that moved through Western Washington. In June 2021, a deadly heat wave killed an estimated 1,200 people across the Pacific Northwest, 400 of those deaths being among Washingtonians. Temperatures in Washington reached an all-time high of 120 degrees Fahrenheit at the height of the week-long heat dome.
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New year, new penalties: Seattle parking fines up in 2025
With the new year comes increased parking fines for Seattle drivers. City officials say the hike in penalties — the first since 2011 — is to account for inflation.
As of Wednesday, parking tickets could cost you, on average, anywhere from $43 to $78, depending on the violation. That’s up from the city’s previous parking fine range of $29 to $53.
The parking violations subject to increased fines include those related to pay-to-park zones, loading and unloading zones, restricted parking zones, and parking on the wrong side of the street.
RELATED: As leaves fall, some street parking rates rise in Seattle
See the city's full list of new parking infraction fines here.
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Famous orca mom carries another dead calf around Puget Sound
Fans of the Northwest’s endangered orcas have been on an emotional rollercoaster.
Two newborn calves were seen swimming with the region’s southern resident orcas in late December, a welcome boost to the sagging population of 74.
By New Year’s Eve, one of the calves was dead – and being carried around on its mother’s nose.
That same orca mom, dubbed J35 by scientists and Tahlequah by the Whale Museum in Friday Harbor, made global headlines in 2018 when she carried her baby on her nose for 17 days and 1,000 miles.
RELATED: Mama orca drops her dead calf after 17 days, ending 'tour of grief'
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration orca researcher Brad Hanson saw J35 carrying her newborn’s carcass on New Year’s Eve between Seattle and Vashon Island.
“Obviously, it's a heartbreaking, tragic situation for not just her, but also for the population,” Hanson said. “This particular calf was a female, and we need young viable females that recruit into the population in order to be able to recover it.”
“The death of any calf in the [southern resident killer whale] population is a tremendous loss, but the death of J61 is particularly devastating,” the Center for Whale Research said in a Facebook post.
The center noted that J35 lost two out of four of her documented newborns – both of which were female.
Hanson said it’s not uncommon for a whale or dolphin to carry a carcass around for a day or two, but doing so for weeks was apparently unprecedented.
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Endangered orcas’ circle of life: one baby dies, another is born
Whale watchers were relieved to see a baby orca off the Kitsap Peninsula’s Point No Point Monday afternoon.
They mistakenly believed it was J61, the newest member of the Northwest’s endangered killer whales. She had not been seen for nearly a week.
On Dec. 24, researchers had expressed concern that the newborn, known as J61, looked lethargic and was being nudged along on her mother’s nose at times.
The mother, known as J35 or Tahlequah, had made global headlines in 2018 when she carried her dead calf on her nose for more than two weeks.
RELATED: Newborn orca brings holiday cheer — and fear — to Seattle whale watchers
Newborns among the endangered southern resident orcas have only a 50-50 chance of living to their first birthday. They and their salmon-eating mothers often have difficulty getting enough food to eat.
“She looked healthy & vibrant today,” wildlife photographer Tisa Annette texted KUOW. “Looked very active and mostly keeping right up with family.”
The nature photographer had gone out looking for J61 to confirm she was still alive.
“I yelled out to others on the beach, 'Baby!!!' And then started crying in relief,” Annette said.
Annette said the baby’s family swam together, keeping J61 in the middle.
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2024: A year in KUOW's arts and pop culture
It wasn't just film reviews and arguments about whether or not "Die Hard" is a Christmas movie. KUOW covered a lot of arts, a lot of culture, and bit of pop culture in 2024.
Take a journey through the year's reporting on aspects of Seattle and the Northwest that speak to the region's thriving arts scenes and defining culture.
Music and dancing
The Northwest has a fervent surf rock scene that gathers each year at Surf X Surfwest. The surf rock music fest happens over a weekend at Darrell's Tavern in Shoreline each summer and boasts a lineup of bands (both local and international) on two stages. "It's a lot of people who are playing the genre because they just love the feeling of it," said Hiro Yamamoto with Bellingham's Stereo Donkey, and also a founding member of Soundgarden. "It's a friendly scene, and that's part of the DIY thing, too. It kind of fits with the laid back sort of crowd. We're just hanging out, having fun."
The Seattle Fandango Project has been up and running for years, but it was interrupted during the pandemic. Fandango is a form of Spanish / Portuguese folk music and dance. As RadioActive's Vivi Cardenas-Habell reported, it was important to bring the project back in 2024 as it wasn't just about the music. It was also about community.
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