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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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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King County cooling shelters activated as temperatures rise this weekend
The King County Regional Homelessness Authority says a number of facilities will be doubling as cooling centers as temperatures rise this weekend.
RELATED: Seattle-area weather is hot, but the water is still dangerously cold
Cooling shelters include the White Center Community Center, the Compass Day Center, and the Mary's Place Day Center, just to name a few in Seattle.
Several others are also opening up on the eastside, as well as in Burien, Federal Way, Renton, Kent, and Snoqualmie.
Check here for a full list of cooling centers throughout the region.
King County Metro drivers will give customers a free ride to those centers.
Also keep in mind that most local malls and libraries will also double as cooling spaces.
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Republican Yakima doctor enters 2024 Washington governor’s race
Dr. Raul Garcia of Yakima has entered the race for Washington governor in 2024.
"My family and I are honored to announce my candidacy to become the next governor of Washington," Garcia said in a statement. "I am here to bring health to our state, to bring present, effective, and efficient leadership, and to create a government by the people of different walks of life and united by one common goal, to restore the safe and prosperous lives of our Washington families."
According to a press statement from Garcia's campaign:
"Growing up in an authoritarian regime gave Raul the passion and appreciation for public service. He realizes Washington needs fresh leadership to revitalize our state. He founded Opportunity for Washington as a non profit, nonpartisan effort promoting education and change. He also founded the Partnership for Food Security in 2020 to promote vaccination, particularly among the Latino community. His desire to educate and change people’s attitude towards the positive future of this great state and our great country continues every day."
Garcia was born in Cuba. He lived in Madrid, Spain, before moving to Miami at the age of 11. In Washington state, he has worked as a trauma and emergency medicine physician. He is currently the medical director of Toppenish Hospital. Garcia lives in Yakima with his wife Jessica and five children.
Garcia's name may sound familiar to Washington voters, as this is not his first time running for governor. Garcia ran in the 2020 primary for governor and came in fifth in the primary election with 5.4% of the vote. In that primary, Garcia was beat by Tim Eyman (6.4%) and Joshua Freed (8.9%). Republican Loren Culp ultimately advanced from the primary with 17.4% of the vote.
Garcia previously ran as a moderate alternative to more extreme candidates on the 2020 ballot. Despite coming in fifth in the primary, Garcia received endorsements from moderate Republicans such as former Attorney General Rob McKenna, former Sen. Slade Gorton, and former Gov. Dan Evans. During the 2020 race, he also faced criticism for his lack of voting since 2012 (he said he was previously discouraged by Republican losses in the state), and a DUI incident from 2014 (he said he had not slept for 70 hours at the time but acknowledged his mistake).
More recently, Garcia objected to the state's handling of the pandemic, saying that Washington was using "political science" instead of science to make decisions. In 2021, he called for the state to reopen.
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Seattle-area weather is hot, but the water is still dangerously cold
Extreme heat is in the forecast for the Seattle-area this weekend and early next week. Tempting as it might be to go jump in a local lake, health officials warn that the water isn’t safe yet for swimming
Just because temperatures will reach the 80s this weekend (and maybe even 90 by Monday), that doesn’t mean the the region's waters have warmed up yet.
“The lakes are in the 50 degree range right now, rivers are upper 30s, maybe low 40s. They're going to be fast, cold, very dangerous," said Tony Gomez who manages violence and injury prevention for Public Health — Seattle & King County
Gomez says recent snowmelt in the mountains will add to local rivers’ chilly temperatures. He’s encouraging people to really limit how long you spend in the water if you plan to take a dip, even for experienced swimmers.
“The danger with the cold water is that a good swimmer who's good in the swimming pool can quickly become incapacitated. Muscles just don't work at that same cold temperature,” he said.
When people plunge into icy water they often take a big gasp, often gulping in a mouthful of water, he warns. Anything longer than a quick splash can increase a person’s chances of becoming sluggish in the water and potentially drowning.
“So you might be OK for a couple of minutes, but then we've seen a lot of drowning and drowning survival cases where at the two-, three-, four-minute mark they're in trouble, they need help," Gomez said.
Gomez says drowning is the number one cause of death for children ages 1 through 4 in King County, and the third highest cause of death for kids under 17.
“In King County, 29 people drowned last year in preventable situations so, you know, it's almost twice as many as the 16 that lost their lives in 2018,” Gomez said.
If you have to take a quick dip, Gomez strongly encourages to always wear a certified life jacket — a pool floaty won’t save you. He also reminds folks that beach parks do not have lifeguards right now, and probably won’t until summer when staffing will be limited.
“It's looking like we're still going to be challenged by a lifeguard shortage in some cases some funding shortages and we're not likely to have the number of lifeguarded beaches we historically had,” he said.
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Homeless man charged with derailing Tacoma oil train
Pierce County prosecutors have charged a 65-year-old homeless man with derailing an oil train as it approached the Port of Tacoma.
The mile-long train, with 105 railcars, was rolling into a switchyard Tuesday morning when it jerked to a stop as its emergency braking system kicked in.
The BNSF Railway train conductor told Tacoma Police he walked back to see what had happened and saw a man, later identified in police reports as Ramong Alcedo Frett, moving a large switching lever on the tracks back and forth.
“The conductor yelled at the defendant to stop and the defendant started to walk away,” according to the police report.
Then the conductor saw that a tanker car carrying crude oil had derailed. It stayed upright, and no oil spilled.
“There were no injuries or hazardous materials of any kind released and our main line was unaffected,” BNSF spokesperson Lena Kent said in an email.
Herb Krohn with the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, the union representing BNSF engineers and conductors, said the Tacoma railyard area known as “Bullfrog Junction” often has dangerous trespassing incidents.
“There's been a lot of problems with the large number of homeless encampments in that area,” Krohn said. “There was an individual who climbed onto an engine two years ago with a machete.”
According to Pierce County charging documents, Frett has violent criminal convictions in at least three states.
Pierce County Superior Court Commissioner Craig Adams on Wednesday ordered that Frett be held without bail at Pierce County Jail and be given an examination to see if he is mentally competent to stand trial.
Frett’s public defender, attorney Steven Avila, declined to comment on the ongoing case.
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After spate of fires, Seattle’s Lake City neighborhood grieves lost community center
This week saw another significant fire in Seattle’s Lake City neighborhood, in a vacant building on Lake City Way. On that same day, a group held a memorial for the neighborhood’s shuttered Lake City Community Center, which was closed after another fire in April.
Srijan Chakraborty is the co-executive director for the Hunger Intervention Program, which is part of a partnership with the nonprofit Sound Generations that has offered meals and programming to seniors at the community center three days a week.
After the fire on April 18, Chakraborty said the program moved to Lamb of God Lutheran Church nearby.
“We had existing partnerships and they have been great about inviting us and giving us this opportunity and the space. So we were lucky to have the space by the next day without much notice at all,” he said.
But Chakraborty said people were upset about the fire, and after the scramble to maintain the meals program, they finally had time this week to specifically grieve that loss.
“There’s a lot of memories in that building," Chakraborty said. "So it just felt right that we needed some event to let the building go, because we know it’s not going to open anymore.”
People related stories and memories of the center, where the program for seniors has been in place for over a decade and offers menus and translation in Mandarin, Spanish, and English.
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SIFF acquires historic Seattle theater Cinerama
During opening night at the Seattle International Film Festival, SIFF announced that it has acquired the Cinerama movie theater in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood, and will reopen the theater later this year under a new name.
The announcement was made during the opening night celebration of the 49th annual festival, which runs through May 21.
Terms of the sale, from the estate of former Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen, were not disclosed.
"We are honored to take on stewardship of this historic theater," SIFF Executive Director Tom Mara said in a press release. "So many of us have experienced the magic of this theater, and we are excited to carry on the vision and impact that Paul Allen started so many years ago."
The Cinerama first opened in 1963. It faced demolition in the late 1990s, but Allen purchased and renovated the theater, which went on to host blockbuster and independent films and became a landmark for film lovers in the downtown core.
It went through a massive renovation in 2014 to make it "the best movie theater in the world." It was updated with a new laser projector, modern sound system, leather seats, local food offerings, and a liquor license.
In February 2020, Cinerama abruptly closed. Moviegoers were told that the theater was shutting down for another round of renovations. Employees were laid off at a staff meeting. Theater officials said it would reopen later that year. By then, the Covid pandemic had emerged and theaters were not open. Cinerama's future has been uncertain ever since.
Cinerama will now become the fourth theater operated by SIFF.
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The Democrats have started the race for Washington governor: Today So Far
- With two Democrats running to be Washington's next governor, the state's gubernatorial race is on.
- What about the state Republicans?
- Also, what's up with the word "gubernatorial?"
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for May 11, 2023.
The Democrats have started the race for Washington's next governor.
Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz has officially announced that she is running. Technically, Attorney General Bob Ferguson has only announced an exploratory campaign, but we all know where that is headed. He was ready to run for governor in 2019 before Inslee went for a third term. And it's not like his exploratory team is going to come back with polls showing voters suddenly don't like chess players. So we have two prominent Washington state Democrats aiming for the governor's office. This boils down to folks inevitably calling Ferguson "Fergy" in conversation, and me increasing the number of times I have to copy edit the extra "l" out of "Hilary" in future coverage of Franz.
We've already covered Ferguson's run. Franz's announcement this week follows a similar formula — local and personal, family history, with adequate bragging about accomplishments. She's leaning heavily into environmental issues, as well as local cost-of-living woes.
"While our planet changes, our laws don't keep up. On climate and across the board, we are paying the price. Wages are slow to rise. Housing is through the roof. Child care is out of reach. This is the harsh reality for too many in our state," Franz says in her first campaign video.
There is still plenty of time for more Democrats to enter the mix, which is likely. But with these two prominent gubernatorial candidates, Democrats will have to consider whether they prefer someone who does well in a tie, or a candidate who does well in a cowboy hat. She's a little bit country, and he's a little bit, well, Ferguson is more like Devo I suppose. So that metaphor doesn't exactly work, but you get the idea.
By the way, while we're on the subject, what's the deal with the word "gubernatorial?" Read more about that below.
The recent news means that the Democrats are so far dominating the conversation around Washington's next governor. What about the Republicans? I've previously covered the GOP angle in all this. In short, Republicans have a positive outlook toward 2024. So far, however, no prominent Republicans have indicated they will consider a gubernatorial campaign. Yes, there is Semi Bird, who announced his run way back in November 2022. Still, there is not a lot of chatter on that end of the spectrum. There was talk about potential for Republican Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier, but he has indicated that he's not interested.
Former Washington Congressmember Jaime Herrera Beutler is another GOP name that has been tossed around. KUOW's David Hyde recently caught up with her in Leavenworth. She said that she hasn't "closed any doors" when it comes to a potential gubernatorial race, but also hasn't made any decisions around it.
Washington's current Gov. Jay Inslee is still on the job and recently cancelled the Covid-19 vaccine requirement for state employees. As TSF covered earlier this week, even more pandemic-era measures are falling away. Starting today, the state's vaccine requirement for employees to stay in their jobs is nixed, meaning a population of folks no longer have to find religion to stay at work.
With the recent move, Washington aligns with the federal government, which also just dropped its own vaccine requirement. State employees who were fired or resigned over the vaccine rule will now be welcome to reapply. Also, employees could get $1,000 if they opt to stay up-to-date on their Covid shots. Read more here.
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No more blinking lights at night, Washington wind turbines to go dark
Those blinking red lights seen on wind turbines will have to go dark in Washington, unless there’s an airplane flying nearby.
That's because Gov. Jay Inslee just signed a bill that restricts the nighttime use of the lights for both new and old wind farms.
The flashing lights on wind turbines are supposed to keep aircraft safe and help to avoid collisions, but state Rep. April Connors (R-Kennewick) said they’re distracting for drivers on the ground.
“Over 100,000 people live within six miles of the turbines in numerous fast-growing residential communities, mostly inside city limits,” Kennewick resident Paul Krupin said at a public hearing earlier this year, in reference to a proposed Horse Heaven Hills renewable energy project.
As more wind farms are built, Rep. Connors said she worries about light pollution. She’s been pushing for wind farms to add detection radars, so the lights come on only when necessary. A bill was passed last session that does just that.
Gov. Inslee signed that bill into law Tuesday, but he vetoed certain provisions — one giving counties local control, another requiring the rules to start immediately.
These types of air detection radars are already used in Wyoming, New Hampshire, and North Dakota. Similar measures have been taken for wind farms in Germany.
Some renewable energy organizations lobbied against the measure, arguing that it is expensive to retrofit existing wind farms.
Existing sites have until 2028 to update their lights. For new wind projects, the rules take effect in July.
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