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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Democrat Kim Schrier Advances to general election
Washington Democrat Kim Schrier will advance to the general election in the race for the 8th Congressional District, according to the Associated Press.
“I want to remind voters that a woman's right to make her own health-care decisions is on the ballot this year," Schrier told KUOW. "I am the only woman doctor in all of Congress and I will always stand with women in allowing them to make their own personal health-care decisions.”
Schrier earned nearly 50 percent of the vote after the first count Tuesday night.
Election analysts predict the contest in the 8th will be a toss-up this fall.
The leading Republican challengers still battling for second place include former prosecutor Matt Larkin, King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn, and former Army Ranger Jesse Jensen.
We'll likely find out later this week which Republican makes it through to run in the general election.
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Washington heat wave kills 10. Emergency rooms treat 540 heat victims
Medical officials now believe excessive heat has killed at least 10 people in Washington state since July 25.
That figure is based on preliminary reports from county coroners and the Washington Department of Health.
State officials didn’t have the location of all the deaths, but we know that at least three people died in King County, apparently of heat-related causes: two men in Seattle, ages 64 and 77, and a 65-year-old man in Issaquah.
Heat is also being blamed for deaths in Benton, Chelan, Okanagan, and Snohomish counties, according to those counties’ coroners:
• An 88-year-old resident of a Wenatchee assisted-living facility went outside and fell on July 25. “No one found her for a while,” Chelan County Coroner Wayne Harris said in an email.
• A 70-year-old man died Sunday at his home in Lake Stevens.
• An 80-year-old woman who had emphysema and was living in her car died Monday in Omak.
• A 38-year-old homeless man in Richland collapsed and died around 4 p.m. Monday, as the temperature there hit 96.
The tally of heat-related deaths does not count three people who have drowned in King County since Thursday. Drowning accidents often increase during hot weather.
Cool air returned to Western Washington on Monday, but high heat remained in much of Eastern Washington.
According to the National Weather Service, temperatures peaked at 104 in Omak on Monday and 100 in Richland.
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Cleaning up the Duwamish River: Today So Far
- Cleaning up the Duwamish River so your kids can one day swim in it.
- Monkeypox cases are doubling in Washington state every 8 or 9 days.
- Washington Congresswoman Suzan DelBene lands in Taiwan with Speaker Pelosi.
This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for August 2, 2022.
Not a lot of folks realize that the Duwamish River through Seattle was designated as an EPA superfund site in 2001. That basically means previous industry has severely polluted the environment there and requires considerable cleanup. Such cleanup takes years. There are superfund sites on Bainbridge Island, around McChord Airforce Base, at landfills in Lewis County and near Spokane, the infamous Hanford site, and elsewhere in Washington — there are a bunch, you can look them up here.
A community program around Seattle's South Park has breathed new life into restoration efforts along the Duwamish River there. The Duwamish River Community Coalition got the Port of Seattle to increase its own restoration work, providing habitat for birds and fish. The result has been more open space and river access in this area.
"When I was a kid, I always wanted to swim in the Duwamish," said Nico Peters, 17, who helped construct the park with the Duwamish Valley Youth Corps. "My hope is that, in the future, my kids will be able to swim in the river, because I never got that opportunity."
But more work needs to be done. Soundside has the story here.
Ever since monkeypox became a story, I've had a little anxiety reporting about it. Not because of the virus itself, rather, because I know there are folks out there who will take the information, funnel it through an ideological filter, and hype it all up as a "gay disease."
The thing is, there will always be people out there who will twist information to serve themselves. That doesn't mean a reporter shouldn't be sensitive and careful. It also doesn't mean you don't deliver the news. So here it is.
Monkeypox is doubling in Washington state about every 8 or 9 days.
"So clearly, this is an outbreak that is not under control," Dr. Tao Kwan-Gett, chief science officer for the Washington state Department of Health, told KUOW.
As of Aug. 1, there were 145 confirmed cases in Washington state, most of which are in King County and surrounding communities.
Most cases are among men who have sex with other men. This is important to understand: Monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted infection. It's not only affecting the gay community. You get it by simply touching someone, or potentially having contact with infected linens. Saying that this is only of concern to gay folks is like saying Covid was only a concern for seafood markets in early 2020. If that statement sounds ridiculous ... good, it should. The United States has had monkeypox outbreaks before, and sexual orientation had nothing to do with it.
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Did you know?: What does 'Indo-Pacific' mean?
KUOW's Today So Far Blog reported Monday that Washington Congresswoman Suzan DelBene is part of Speaker Nancy Pelosi's group on an Indo-Pacific tour. The story got KUOW Editor Deb Wang and I chatting about that term — "Indo-Pacific." It's not a term that is often thrown around headlines. Turns out, it's a bit of a politically calculated concept, and if you're reading this in the Northwest, you're currently in the Indo-Pacific.
As a geographic area, the Indo-Pacific is an oceanic region including the Indian Ocean and parts of the Pacific. Politically and economically, it refers to countries located throughout the Indian and Pacific oceans, spanning from India to the Philippines, and the U.S. West Coast. Which is why Pelosi and DelBene's tour includes Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Korea. As of Tuesday, the tour also includes Taiwan.
RELATED: Pelosi has landed in Taiwan. Here's why that's a big deal
The Indo-Pacific is a concept that is important to political dealings and trade agreements between specific countries. A lot of shipping happens between countries across these oceans. It's also a big part of the Biden administration's global strategy. According to the White House:
"The United States is an Indo-Pacific power. The region, stretching from our Pacific coastline to the Indian Ocean, is home to more than half of the world’s people, nearly two-thirds of the world’s economy, and seven of the world’s largest militaries. More members of the U.S. military are based in the region than in any other outside the United States. It supports more than three million American jobs and is the source of nearly $900 billion in foreign direct investment in the United States. In the years ahead, as the region drives as much as two-thirds of global economic growth, its influence will only grow—as will its importance to the United States."
*This "Did You Know?" segment is from the Aug. 2, 2022 edition of the Today So Far newsletter.
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Captain of crashed ferry resigns
The captain of the ferry Cathlamet, which recently crashed into pilings at the Fauntleroy dock in Seattle, has resigned.
State ferry officials say that the captain, along with the ferry crew, tested negative for drugs or alcohol. The Seattle Times reports that the boat was moving much faster than it should have been at the time of the crash.
RELATED: Ferry crashes into West Seattle dock
There is no official cause of the crash yet. The U.S. Coast Guard is still investigating.
No one was injured, but one car was pinned in the ferry wreckage. The M/V Cathlamet will be out of service for months.
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Amazon strayed further from its climate pledge in 2021
Since Seattle-based Amazon pledged to cut its carbon output in 2018, the company has strayed further from its climate pledge. Amazon's companywide emissions increased by 18% in 2021 alone, according to its own sustainability report.
Amazon says it plans to meet its climate pledge — to become carbon neutral — by 2040. To do so it'll have to change course, and find a way to rein in the millions of metric tons of carbon dioxide that it's creating each year.
The company's newest report shows its pollution got worse across the board, except when it comes to refrigerants and electricity the company buys.
Amazon says a pandemic-era surge in buying from the public contributed to its much larger carbon emissions — largely around transportation, manufacturing its house brands, and running servers.
The company is leading 300 other organizations on what it calls the Climate Pledge.
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Will Democrats back Republican who voted to impeach Trump in Washington's 4th?
Democrat Doug White, who is running to represent Washington's 4th District in the U.S. House, told KUOW he’s optimistic heading into Tuesday’s primary. “I'm holding number one in the polls,” he said.
But White has an unusual concern: That some Democrats will be voting for one of his Republican opponents in the primary.
“I'm hearing some rumblings that some Democrats are thinking about voting for the least worst Republican,” White said in a video posted online.
He's talking about the incumbent Dan Newhouse, one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach President Trump the second time. That vote provoked several Trump Republicans to run against him this year, including former police chief, gubernatorial candidate, and election conspiracy theorist Loren Culp, who has Trump’s endorsement.
The chance of a conspiracy theorist like Culp getting through in Washington’s top two primary system has left some Democrats wondering if they should just back Newhouse. That’s because it's not clear a Democrat can win in a general election in the 4th.
Newhouse took around two-thirds of the vote here in 2020 over Democrat Douglas McKinley.
Josh Skipper, a Republican precinct officer in Benton County who is backing Newhouse this year, said most Republicans he knows in the 4th won’t vote for a Democrat even if Culp is their only Republican choice in the general election.
“I just don't think there's enough that will cross party lines especially in 2022 when Democrats nationally are facing a tough road,” Skipper said.
On the other side, Justin Raffa is a Benton County Democratic Party leader who supports Doug White. And he urges fellow Democrats in the district to reject Newhouse as a highly conservative member of Congress.
“I applaud his vote to impeach. But for me at the end of the day, that is not enough to compel me as a voter to want to vote for him over having the opportunity to send a Democrat in his place,” Raffa said.
But Raffa said if White does not make it through tomorrow’s top two primary, and it ends up being two Republicans in the general election, then Newhouse will almost certainly have his vote.
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Task force urges Washington to create cold case unit for missing Indigenous women
Washington state's task force on missing and murdered Indigenous women is recommending a special cold case unit be created within the state's attorney general's office.
The group released its initial recommendations Monday as part of its 2022 interim report.
“Because as a result of the institutional and structural racism within law enforcement, our people were not seeing investigations and our loved ones were dying in silence," said task force member and director of the Urban Indian Health Institute, Abigail Echo-Hawk.
RELATED: Washington's Missing Indigenous People Alert system goes live
The group plans to ask state lawmakers to create a fund for this unit during the next legislative session.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson says the unit could pass along information to local prosecutors to see if they can find any grounds for criminal charges.
RELATED: Washington's first missing Indigenous person alert is issued
Washington's Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People (MMIWP) Task Force has 25 members and is supported by the state attorney general's office. The cold case unit is one recommendation among a list of 10 from the task force's recent report.
Other recommendations ask that research on the issue open up to all genders, encourage improving law enforcement collaboration, and promote inclusive language.
As stated on the AG Office's website, the full recommendations include:
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Utility customers in Western Washington, Spokane face potential rate hikes
Utility customers in Western Washington and Spokane could pay more this year for electricity. But the public will have its say before any final decisions are made.
Puget Sound Energy and Avista Utilities try to raise their rates every so often, usually because of supply costs. Such rate hikes have to be approved by Washington's Utilities and Transportation Commission.
This time, rate hikes face a challenge from Attorney General Bob Ferguson. The AG's Office argues: "PSE is requesting significant rate increases. Starting in January, over three years, PSE looks to raise electric rates by $405 million, and gas rates by $215 million. That’s an increase of about $16 per month for electric customers and $12 per month for gas to the average bill. The Attorney General’s Public Counsel Unit believes those increases are not fair, just, and reasonable."
Ferguson adds that, "It's our view, however, that these these increases are so large that they can't be justified and need to be scaled back."
Avista Utilities, which serves the Spokane area, has made a similar request to raise rates. Customers would pay an extra $7 per month for electricity, and an extra $1 per month for gas.
But Ferguson's office argues that these rate hikes would spike PSE's profits by 10%, and Avista's by 9.4%.
Discussions on the rate hikes are not over. Customers can give public comment at hearings in September before the rates take effect.
A public meeting for Avista Utilities customers will be Sept. 7 at 6 p.m. More information on that here.
A public meeting for PSE customers will be Sept. 28 at 6 p.m. More information on that here.
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Pelosi / DelBene Indo-Pacific tour makes sudden stop in Taiwan
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a stop in Taiwan Tuesday while on a tour of the Indo-Pacific. As the Today So Far Blog previously reported, Washington Congresswoman Suzan DelBene is part of the group touring with Pelosi.
The stop in Taiwan was not announced.
Tuesday's visit is the first time a house speaker has made an official trip to Taiwan in 25 years (Speaker Newt Gingrich visited Taiwan in 1997).
A statement from Pelosi's office says that the delegation will be speaking with Taiwan leadership and "will focus on reaffirming our support for our partner and on promoting our shared interests, including advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific region."
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Culp alleges election tampering ahead of August primary
It’s primary day in Washington state. Votes have yet to be made or counted, however, one Trump-backed candidate is already trying to cast doubt on the election.
In 2020, Republican Loren Culp ran for governor. He claims, without evidence, that he lost because the election was stolen.
RELATED: Far-right activist visits Washington for Culp fundraiser
This week, he took to Twitter to claim an election law violation in the 4th District, where he’s now running for Congress. Culp posted a screenshot of the Yakima Herald's website that appears to show a vote tally.
And according to state law, results aren't supposed to be released until after 8 p.m., Tuesday (election day).
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Prolonged heat wave kills at least three in Seattle area, sends hundreds to ER
A six-day heat wave, the longest in Seattle history, has killed at least three people in King County, according to preliminary reports from the King County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Another three people have drowned in the county since Thursday.
Two men in Seattle are believed to have succumbed to the heat, and a third man died in Issaquah on Saturday after his body dangerously overheated.
All three were between the ages of 64 and 77. The drowning victims, also all men, ranged in age from 22 to 67.
The scorching days and uncomfortably warm nights at the end of July weren't as extreme as the record-smashing heat in June of last year, which killed more than 1,000 people from Oregon to British Columbia.
But it was the longest heat wave in Seattle history, with the last six days of July 2022 all reaching at least 90 degrees. Portland had seven days in a row with temperatures of 95 degrees or higher.
The Oregon State Medical Examiner’s Office says it believes at least 14 people in Oregon have died from heat-related causes in the past week, according to the Associated Press.
Final determinations of causes of death could take months.
Pollution-driven global warming is making heat waves more frequent and more intense around the world, according to climate scientists.
According to the Washington Department of Health, heat-related illness sent more than 240 people to emergency rooms statewide from Monday, July 28, through Friday morning.
At UW Medical Center – Northwest in Seattle, a 90-year-old patient who asked not to be named spent hours recovering in an air-conditioned hospital room while two liters of rehydrating saline solution dripped into her veins on Saturday. She had passed out, overheated and dehydrated, earlier in the day.
The very old, the very young, and people who are pregnant or have chronic medical problems are especially vulnerable to extreme heat.
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