A White Officer Shot Two Unarmed Black Men Accused of Stealing Beer in Olympia: "Police Chief Ronnie Roberts said the two wounded men weren’t armed with guns or any other weapons at the time of the shooting," the Olympian reports, "but one was accused of attacking the officer with a skateboard before he was shot." The two men are in the hospital.
Hundreds of People Protested the Shooting Last Night, and the Cops Kept a Low Profile: Charles Mudede reports from Olympia: "The general opinion of those speaking out at the park, and later the police station, where the protesters marched to at around 8 p.m., was that the shooting had everything to do with race. Many of the people I talked to were just appalled that so much force was used on such a petty crime; many, both black and white, felt it was the same old, same old."
“What Happened to Those Kids Has to Stop": Those are the words of Olympia attorney Kevin Johnson, who continued: "There was a time in this country when two packs of beer wouldn’t get you shot."
Some Confrontation Did Break Out After Midnight: That's according to KIRO, which reports that after a peaceful protest, police later responded to two groups of protesters fighting and then protesters clashed with police.
Meanwhile, in Seattle: Ansel reports that Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O'Toole is rejecting a suggestion from the city's Community Police Commission that the Department of Justice mediate a series of forums on how the Seattle Police Department has treated Black-Lives-Matter protesters.
Shell Oil Loses Its Appeal of an Oil Train Project in Skagit County: Shell was appealing a requirement to conduct an environmental-impact statement for its proposed oil-by-rail expansion. The expansion would route six more mile-long oil trains per week through Washington, according to the Washington Environmental Council.
"The Most Boneheaded Moment in Seattle History": That's how the Seattle Times' Jon Talton describes King County voters' decision 45 years ago to reject a heavy-rail rapid-transit system that would have been 75 percent funded by the feds. When Seattle didn't take it, Atlanta did. Talton points out that it hasn't prevented Seattle from growing or Atlanta from "choking itself with sprawl," but, damn, it would have been cool.
A WSU Researcher Says Washington's Drought Could Get Worse: The Associated Press reports: "El Nino, an ocean-warming phenomenon, may bring some relief in drought-stricken California, but it's more likely to bring more heat and dryness to the Northwest, researcher Gerrit Hoogenboom said."
This Delivery Driver Says the Minimum Wage Increase Gave Him "Breathing Room": It also helped him get a new job with better tips, writes the worker, Freeman Ryan, in the Guardian. (One quibble: Ryan writes that the "restaurant industry was unable to reÂintroduce a tip credit into the $15 ordinance, [so] tipped jobs are also rising to $15 an hour." To be clear, Seattle's law allows a tip credit now, but it will be phased out.)
In a Flurry of Endorsements This Week, Things Did Not Look Good for City Council Incumbents: The week started with two legislative district Democratic groups endorsing parks activist Michael Maddux and neighborhood council leader Tony Provine over incumbent Jean Godden, and tenant advocate Jon Grant and Long Winters frontman John Roderick over incumbent Tim Burgess. That continued over the rest of the week, as Godden and Burgess failed to pick up any legislative district endorsements. Bruce Harrell, too, failed to get the 60 percent of the votes needed over his main opponent, Tammy Morales, from the 37th Legislative District Democrats covering southeast Seattle, resulting in no endorsement.
The Sierra Club Also Likes Challengers: That group endorsed Burgess in 2011, but went for Roderick this year. They also endorsed Morales over Harrell and Transportation Choices director Rob Johnson over Godden. In two races without incumbents, they endorsed Planned Parenthood organizer Halei Watkins in northern Seattle's District 5 and civil rights attorney Lorena González in a citywide race. They'll endorse in West Seattle's District 1 next week.
Things Were Slightly Better for Sally Bagshaw: Her competitors have only recently emerged, and she got the 43rd's endorsement, but just barely. The 37th favored "no endorsement" over her, but she also picked up the Sierra Club's endorsement.
The Exceptions Were Mike O'Brien and Kshama Sawant: Sawant can't be endorsed by these Democratic groups since she's not a Democrat (she's a socialist). But the two legislative districts that overlap with the council district where she's running—Capitol Hill and the Central District—couldn't muster 60 percent support for one of Sawant's Democratic challengers, instead favoring "no endorsement" or putting off the decision until the general election. It's significant that a Democratic group would skip an endorsement because of substantial support for a non-Democrat, and that's seen as a win for Sawant even if she can't be endorsed by name. O'Brien also picked up endorsements in the legislative districts that overlap with the council district he's running in, covering Ballard and Fremont. (Sawant and O'Brien were both endorsed by the Sierra Club earlier this month.)
The Opposite Is True for the Chamber, Though: The Chamber of Commerce's political arm endorsed Harrell, Burgess, and Bagshaw this week. Godden couldn't convince them either, though, and they favored Johnson. The group didn't endorse in O'Brien's race and favored Sawant challenger Urban League president Pamela Banks. In West Seattle, they endorsed King County Council legislative aide Shannon Braddock; in the citywide race without an incumbent, they picked González, and they didn't endorse in north Seattle.
P.S. Did Anyone See This Joel Connelly Tweet? Oh, Jean.
Latest gaffe in Seattle City Council marathon: On Seattle Channel, incumbent Jean Godden refers to new colleague John Okamoto as "Oklmung."
— joel r. connelly (@joelconnelly) May 21, 2015
Jesus Fucking Christ, Look at This Baby Porcupine: Right here. It is so cute. It's called a "porcupette."
