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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Rain, wind, and ... more rain: Today So Far
- Heavy rain and wind are about to surge through Western Washington. Be prepared.
- Election Day is less than a week away and political parties are pressing their messages harder than ever.
- Seattle is facing a tough financial outlook and city leaders are trying to think of ways to make up for shortfalls.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for November 4, 2022.
Get out your flashlights, candles, glow sticks, emergency foil blankets and whatever else you need to get through a power outage. Heavy wind and rain is slated to pummel Western Washington Friday and Saturday. The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for our region.
The usual atmospheric river is dumping rain in the mountains. That means rivers are going to swell, and flooding is likely downstream. That also means there is a potential for flash floods around all the recently burned stretches in the Cascades, like the Bolt Creek fire area. With the heavy wind on top of that, I'm expecting quite a few power outages across Western Washington. I hope I'm wrong, but it's not a bad idea to download some reruns of "The Office" on your phone to watch in case electricity goes out, or organize whatever people do when they're not streaming "The Office." Like ... books?
Election Day is less than a week away and political parties are pressing their messages harder than ever. For Republicans, crime is the ultimate wedge issue they're betting on.
The GOP has its sights set on the 8th Congressional District. Republicans steadily represented the district until Democrat Kim Schrier flipped it blue in the 2018 election. If Republican Matt Larkin can flip it back to red via Tuesday's election, it could help the GOP gain control of the House in Washington D.C.
As KUOW's David Hyde reports, Republicans are using crime as a wedge issue in the 8th District, particularly to attract Asian American and Pacific Islander voters. According to one political expert Hyde spoke with, the GOP has seen the recent rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans as an opportunity to reframe concerns as “a broader law and order based authoritarian appeal to create more order, in this perceived era of disorder." Read more here.
In other election news, King County election officials say they haven't seen any signs of voter intimidation so far, as rumored nationally, but they're keeping an eye out for it.
"We haven't seen any reports from concerned voters about intimidation in this election, but we are asking voters to contact us if they do see anything out there at the drop boxes," King County Elections Director Julie Wise told KUOW.
Seattle is facing a tough financial outlook and city leaders are trying to think of ways to make up for shortfalls. According to a recent assessment that city staff gave to council members, Seattle is looking at a drop of about $80 million in revenue over the next two years. This breaks down to a loss of $64 million from real estate taxes, $9.4 million from the general fund, and $4.5 million from the sweetened beverage tax.
I suppose the silver lining here is that a lot fewer folks are drinking sodas these days if Seattle is slated to lose as much as $4.5 million from this tax.
Councilmember Mosqueda immediately released a statement calling for new "long-term, sustainable, progressive revenue for future budgets." Translation: new taxes. Mosqueda points to the JumpStart tax as an example. That tax is on the city's large companies paying hefty salaries. Read more here.
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Seattle honors Sir Mix-a-Lot for pandemic efforts
Before Sir Mix-a-Lot kicked off the Cloudbreak music festival at Seattle's El Corazón Thursday night, Mayor Bruce Harrell took the stage to officially declare Nov. 3 as "Sir Mix-a-Lot Day" and honor one of the city's most iconic hip-hop artists.
“A Central District kid through and through, Sir Mix-A-Lot fused descriptive storytelling, tongue-in-cheek humor, and old-school beats to create music that put our region on the map for hip-hop,” Mayor Bruce Harrell said in a statement following the concert.
“He has been an influential part of our city’s music scene for decades with a mission to give back to our community, even supporting music venues during Covid-19 closures so the next generation of Seattle’s creatives had spaces to perform. He has embraced a One Seattle approach of uplifting and inspiring the best in each other and is deserving of this recognition.”
The mayor declared Nov. 3 "Sir Mix-a-Lot Day" in Seattle and King County (a representative from King County Executive Dow Constantine's Office was present).
Sir Mix-a-Lot, aka Anthony L. Ray, found commercial success with 1992's "Baby Got Back." More locally, he made a mark with songs like "Posse' On Broadway."
Seeing the threat that the Covid-19 pandemic posed to live music venues, Sir Mix-a-Lot led an effort to support venues while audiences were at home. Band Together Washington was one such project in March 2021 that raised $1 million in support of local music venues. It brought together artists such as Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, and Macklemore.
A partnership between Visit Seattle and King County, Cloudbreak is yet another music festival aimed at supporting the local music scene. Taking place from Nov. 3-23, it features more than 150 artists, 68 concerts, across 28 venues. Sir Mix-a-Lot's performance at El Corazón opened the festival.
“Music venues and artists big and small were affected by the pandemic, and to see the effects of the loss of business was devastating,” Sir Mix-a-Lot said in a statement. “Cloudbreak is about the return of live music to Seattle, where artists like The Presidents of the United States of America, Jimi Hendrix — and me — got our start. Music venues bring visitors to Seattle — and it’s time to celebrate them.”
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Ballot drop box observers seen monitoring voters in the Tri-Cities
More eyes are on ballots in the Tri-Cities area this election, according to reports from the Benton County auditor.
Voters in the Tri-Cities area have noticed vehicles sitting in parking lots near ballot drop boxes. People watch as voters drop their ballots. It’s an effort to monitor drop boxes after false claims circulated that people are illegally depositing multiple ballots into drop boxes.
Watching drop boxes is perfectly legal, as long as the observers stay at least 25 feet away and don’t intimate voters, including telling people who to vote for, which is considered electioneering, or talking to voters, said Brenda Chilton, Benton County auditor.
“They shouldn't be interacting with the people dropping their ballots at all. A voter may consider that to be a form of intimidation,” Chilton said.
Otherwise, Chilton said, election officials don’t mind people observing the drop boxes.
Election staff who now pick up ballots from the drop boxes daily also have noticed ballot observers, Chilton said.
According to the Washington secretary of state, vote-by-mail systems increase voting access. Moreover, recent studies have shown vote-by-mail systems do not increase voter fraud overall.
In fact, one study from 2021 estimated 73 more cases of voter fraud would have happened from 2011-19 in Washington with traditional voting systems instead of vote-by-mail systems.
During the Benton County ballot counting, trained observers from the county Republican and Democratic parties and the League of Women Voters can observe the official ballot processing, Chilton said.
At the same time, others can watch ballot processing and scanning livestreams at the county voting center, which election officials said they designed to maximize transparency.
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Albertsons $4B shareholder payout on hold – for now
A King County Superior Court has temporarily blocked Albertsons from making cash dividend payments to shareholders. The payout is part of a potential merger between two supermarket giants, Albertsons and Kroger.
Earlier this week, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson sued Albertsons to block a $4 billion payout that was planned for Nov. 7.
The lawsuit followed a bipartisan letter by Ferguson and five attorneys general urging Albertsons to delay the payment until the merger is approved. Albertsons declined.
Since then, California, Illinois, and the District of Columbia have filed a lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C.
The attorneys general expressed concern it could weaken the company’s ability to operate stores and compete while the merger is still under review.
Albertsons dismissed those claims as meritless, saying it is confident it will remain financially strong as it works toward finalizing the merger.
In Washington, a King County Superior Court granted the temporary restraining order until next week, when the Attorney General’s Office will ask the court to put the payment on hold until the merger is resolved.
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WA AG orders DIY rape kit company to stop sales in the state
The Washington State Attorney General's Office has issued a cease-and-desist letter to the company Leda Health regarding its marketing and distribution of so-called "early evidence" rape kits and its suite of services.
Earlier this year, Leda Health partnered with the Kappa Delta sorority at the University of Washington to hand out the self-administered DNA Kits to its members and other students.
Leda health has marked their DIY rape kits as a alternative option to sexual assault kits conducted in a hospital setting.
RELATED: DIY rape kits are gaining popularity on college campuses. But are they reliable?
Laura Clinton is the division chief for the Consumer Protection Division of the Washington State Attorney General's Office. She says “it's really the message that they're sending to the survivor community. It’s deeply problematic and just wrong.”
Clinton says Leda's claims that its kits collect "evidence" could lead people to think they're equal to or the same as the sexual assault evidence kits that are administered in a medical setting.
Officials also noted that health professionals are trained to make sure the kits are not cross-contaminated, and are also taught how to collect evidence — both physical and oral — that will stand up in court. Additionally, self-administered commercially sold kits have rarely, if ever, been introduced in a Washington state court, according to the letter.
Clinton also alleges that Leda Health violated the state's Consumer Protection Act, in part because it reportedly charges consumers for its early evidence kits.
“Their marketing, includes statements about the cost of medical care, following a sexual assault, and how that can those costs can really add up and be prohibitive,” said Clinton. “But in our state, under law, you have the right to free medical care from a licensed and well trained provider.”
In a statement, Leda Health said the company is reviewing the letter with its legal team and is hoping to find a way to continue the partnership with the Kappa Delts Sorority.
“Within our current partnership, we provide a suite of important services in addition to EEKs, including emergency contraception, a 24/7 virtual care team, and educational programming to students, such as programming specifically on date rape drugs,” the statement reads. The company also stated that taking such resources from the sorority during the so-called “red zone,” the window between the start of fall semester and Thanksgiving when most campus sexual assaults occur, “would be more than disappointing and limit access to these important offerings.”
In a previous interview with KUOW, Leda health called professionally administered rape kits as “the golden standard”. On its website, the company says, “Leda Health always encourages assault survivors to seek in-person emergency care.” The company describes itself as being “here to support survivors where the traditional systems don’t.”
This story was updated on Friday, Nov. 4 at 4:13 to include comment from Leda Health.”
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Rain, wind, and floods heading for Western Washington this weekend
Get out your candles and flashlights, heavy rain and wind is slated to surge through Western Washington Friday through Saturday. Flooding, power outages, and other disruptions are possible.
The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for pretty much all of Western Washington that will last through Saturday afternoon, thanks to the atmospheric river dumping heavy rain in the mountains. This could lead to river flooding downstream.
Wind speeds are expected to pick up throughout Friday, with things starting off gusty in the south end of Puget Sound before the north end gets tossed around. Gusts around Oak Harbor and the San Juans could approach 60 miles per hour. There is potential for power outages throughout the region.
A wind advisory for the Puget Sound region will be in effect until 11 p.m. Friday. It will also be blustery along the coast, which could also get between 4–5 inches of rain.
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Remaining vigilant: King County on the lookout for voter intimidation
Despite a recent warning from President Biden about a rise in threats toward election workers and voters heading into the midterms, the head of King County elections says she's seen misinformation but no threats of violence, so far.
"We haven't seen any reports from concerned voters about intimidation in this election, but we are asking voters to contact us if they do see anything out there at the drop boxes," said Elections Director Julie Wise.
During a speech this week, President Biden blamed extremist Republicans for intimidating voters and election officials.
We must "speak as a country and say there's no place for voter intimidation or political violence in America," Biden said.
But Wise says her office is also not seeing threats or harassment of election workers.
To prevent the potential for harassment and election disruption, the elections office is working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to review building security and make sure office workers and volunteers are prepared come election night next Tuesday.
Even though the election prep has run smoothly so far, Wise says it's challenging for election workers to be accused of undermining the very system they're working so hard to uphold.
"It's a heartbreaking time as an election administrator when you're being accused of felonies, throwing away ballots, vote flipping," she said.
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Seattle faces deteriorating economic outlook
There's some bad news for the Seattle economy as widespread inflation continues to cause concern.
Office of Economic and Revenue Forecasts Director Ben Noble says the city's overall economic outlook has worsened since August.
"Economic conditions have continued to deteriorate and expectations about future conditions have also deteriorated," Noble said.
Noble says the updated forecast shows the city's revenue will drop by nearly $80 million over the next two years.
Seattle City Council budget chair Teresa Mosqueda says this breaks down to a $64 million decrease in Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) revenues, a decrease of $9.4 million in general fund revenues, and a net decrease of $4.5 million in revenues from Seattle's Sweetened Beverage Tax.
“Today’s revenue forecast demonstrates the instability and insufficiency of the existing revenue streams to meet the growing needs of Seattle’s residents and the inequities exacerbated by Covid-19,” Mosqueda said in a statement. “We will respond with urgency and compassion to this new revenue forecast by continuing to craft a budget that focuses on core city services, avoids austerity, and invests in a more equitable economy. Today’s revenue forecast news amplifies the need for more long-term, sustainable, progressive revenue for future budgets to ensure we can meet the needs of our city’s residents, infrastructure and local economy.”
Mosqueda's office also said the council will now need to push out its usual budget timeline. So the council's balancing package will now come out on Nov. 14. A final vote is now set for Nov. 29.
“Updating our budget calendar will give us the time needed to account for the updated revenue forecast in our balancing package, in an intentional and thoughtful way,” Mosqueda said.
Mosqueda commented that newer progressive revenues will be needed to keep Seattle afloat, pointing to the JumpStart tax as an example.
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Seattle and Washington state's future plans to address homelessness
People are protesting the Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell's plan to increase homeless camp removals in the city.
“What do we want? Housing! When do we want it? Now!" a crowd chanted outside of Seattle City Hall Wednesday night.
Demonstrators gathered to protest Harrell's proposed budget. It includes millions of dollars to expand the Unified Care Team, the city's group that leads homeless camp clearings in Seattle.
Activist Tye Reed said camp removals lead to people being displaced and moved around town.
“This government has never worked for the average person, has never worked for working class people. We can make our voices heard and they still don't have to care," Reed said.
The mayor says the team provides necessary outreach for people experiencing homelessness.
The Seattle City Council is currently considering the mayor’s budget and will vote on it by the end of November.
At the state level, Gov. Jay Inslee is laying out his legislative strategy to address homelessness: Speed up the development of housing.
Speaking at a press event Wednesday, Inslee said he will propose a new digital permitting platform, as well as a program for building housing specifically along transit corridors.
"One of the things we need to do is find some additional places to build more housing," Inslee said. "We have some of our zoning rules now that are an unnecessary restriction on housing, and I look forward to working with legislators."
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Abortion rate falls in Idaho, but rises in Washington and Oregon: Today So Far
- A Seattle detective had an awkward, and scary, encounter with undercover King County Sheriff's detectives.
- How Seattle police investigated allegations against Raz Simone will be included in an ongoing court case.
- You may notice billboards going up around Washington soon, stating “Dear abortion seeker, you are welcome here. From Washington.”
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for November 3, 2022.
Well this was awkward, and probably pretty scary too. A Black Seattle detective had to call for backup while a truck was aggressively tailgating her on the road. Patrol cars sped to her location and pulled the truck over to find out that the tailgaters were undercover King County Sheriff's detectives.
This all happened in 2021, on the anniversary of Breonna Taylor's death. The Seattle detective was undercover, keeping an eye on demonstrations. So were the deputies in an unmarked white truck, though they were primarily charged with security around light rail stations. The deputies saw the detective driving around the protest and, according to them, recognized the car from previous demonstrations. So they took it upon themselves to follow the car, driving aggressively behind it. The deputies called this “an obvious, overt follow,” basically a move to get someone suspicious to leave the area. From the Seattle detective's perspective, she could have been followed by counter protesters, like Proud Boys rumored to be in the area.
The incident has prompted an investigation into the deputies' methods. Read about that here.
In other Seattle police-related news, the case against hip-hop artist Raz Simone is moving forward and SPD will be included. Previously, it was not known whether SPD's investigation methods would be included in the case against Simone. Now, a judge's conclusion states that the way police investigated may have emboldened Simone. As things proceed, how police investigated the series of allegations will be a part of the court case. Read more here.
You may notice billboards going up around Washington soon, stating “Dear abortion seeker, you are welcome here. From Washington.” This is part of an effort from Pro-Choice Washington that is following up on the Supreme Court's controversial Dobbs decision in June.
"There are a lot of anti-abortion access and abortion rights billboards, and you don’t really see the side that is about health care," Kia Guarino, executive director of Pro-Choice Washington, told KUOW.
Washington and Oregon are known for protecting abortion rights, however, neighboring Idaho has considerably tightened and restricted abortion access. That has led many to worry that women will start crossing state lines for medical care. An early look at some numbers appear to back up that concern.
In Idaho, the number of abortions per month has fallen by 48%. The same rate has increased in Washington state by 5%, and in Oregon by 18%. Read more here.
Correction: The initial version of this newsletter stated that undercover officers and deputies were covering protests amid 2020 CHOP. Instead, they were covering demonstrations in 2021 around the anniversary of Breonna Taylor's death.
AS SEEN ON KUOW
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A Full House of candidates: Today So Far
While you're considering your votes, start with the boring candidate. I say that because I watched “Full House.”
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for November 2, 2022.
You have until 8 p.m. next Tuesday to turn in your midterm ballots. About 22% of ballots have already arrived at election offices. Stuart Holmes, the state's acting director of elections, tells KUOW that he expects 70% of ballots to be returned this year and that we're slated to see similar returns as the 2018 midterms. For the rest who are still putting pen to ballot, here’s a thought to consider as you research your votes: Start with the boring candidate.
I say that because I watched “Full House.”
In our modern era of hyper-partisan tribes, sensational speculation, and hot-button issues, “boring” is a good place to start, like a political palate cleanser. Which brings me back to “Full House.” Yep, the '80s / '90s sitcom that anchored TGIF TV. The Tanner kids in “Full House” are a lot like us voters.
They start an episode with a problem that needs fixing. Now, they could go straight to dad, good ol’ Danny Tanner, but he's a square and no fun. So instead, the kids cycle through a handful of more engaging personalities to fix the problem.
- Uncle Joey is funny, entertaining, and has an array of cartoon voices. He knows when to tell you to “cut it out.” Does he have a solution? Maybe. Maybe not. This is a guy who thought putting three diapers on a baby means that you only have to change it a third of the time.
- Uncle Jesse is the cool candidate. He holds your attention with panache and the confidence of Elvis. He understands that everybody should “have mercy” every now and then. But he's not too book smart, and is more interested in fixing his hair than your problems.
- Aunt Becky is out on "vacation" for a couple months after scouting colleges for the twins.
- If none of the previous candidates work, then we have a problem. At this point, conditions are tense enough for the worst of the worst to swoop in and take advantage. This is when candidate Kimmy Gibbler shows up. She's odd and a bit crazy, but she's a fast talker with a lot of gumption that grabs attention. When she's finished, you have gotten bad dating advice, your TV is busted, and she's passed out drunk. But at the time, the Tanneritos were desperate and figured, “What the heck?”
By now, a lot of TSF readers are wondering why I'm pulling a metaphor from a 30-year-old family sitcom that most folks barely remember. Here's the main take away: A lot of time and anguish could have been saved if the Tanner kids just went to the boring candidate first, Danny Tanner. He's not exciting. He has no catchphrases. He’s just clean. Danny is boring, but he’s the straightforward one who usually tells you what you need to hear, whether you want to hear it or not.
This metaphor can be stretched across a lot of sitcoms. "Good Times" — Don't go to J.J. "How I Met Your Mother" — watch out for Barney. "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" — leave Jazz at the door. "Arrested Development" — well, maybe not this one.
We voters generally want our problems to be taken care of within the span of 30 minutes and perhaps with some entertainment along the way. That works great for TV, but not politics. In reality, voting is the start of a much longer story that goes beyond the ballot box. If you care about issue X, voting is great, but progress is more often the result of persistent effort. It’s a story arc that spans an entire season, maybe more. It’s more like “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” but we won’t go into that now.
I can’t tell you who the boring candidate is (and as someone who works in news, I'm certainly not going to start telling folks who to vote for). Every election is different and a boring candidate might not be the right choice. Sometimes there isn’t a boring candidate on the ballot, and sometimes the cool or funny candidate will do just fine. Boring is just a good place to start; a decent exercise for considering issues and candidates.
What I can tell you is that KUOW has already done some great reporting in the lead up to the midterms. If you’re looking for election insights, check out the following articles:
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Following Dobbs decision, abortion rates rise in Washington and Oregon
The number of abortions per month in Washington increased by 5% after the Supreme Court's June decision that overturned Roe v Wade.
Oregon saw a much larger increase — 18%.
The data comes from a national effort, called #Wecount, that has been tracking changes in access to abortion since the Dobbs decision.
In Idaho, where a near total ban is in effect, the number of abortions fell by about half — 48%.
Nationwide, the number of legal abortions dropped by 6% following the high court's decision.
Research has shown that women who seek an abortion and can’t get one are more likely to live in poverty and more likely to continue to be exposed to domestic violence than women who do obtain abortions.
Read the full story at Oregon Public Broadcasting.
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