Grief Over the Killing of Donnie Chin: “Donald ‘Donnie’ Chin, the director of the International District Emergency Center (IDEC), has died following a shooting early Thursday morning,” the Seattle Times reports. Statements of shock and grief were issued by Mayor Ed Murray, several Seattle City Council members, Congressman Adam Smith, and Governor Jay Inslee, who said: “Trudi and I share in the terrible shock and deep mourning following [Thursday] morning’s tragic and violent loss of Donnie Chin. We don’t know exactly what happened on that street in Seattle’s International District early [Thursday]. Yet there’s no doubt, as his friends have said today, that the ID lost its savior, its protector, its hero, and a big piece of its heart. Donnie Chin was a man who dedicated his life to making Chinatown and the International District safe for everyone. He had been doing that since he was a young man because he saw a need and he filled it.”
Appeals Court Says Washington Can Force Pharmacies to Provide Plan B: “Washington state can force pharmacies to dispense Plan B or other emergency contraceptives, a federal appeals court said Thursday in a long-running lawsuit brought by pharmacists who said they have religious objections to providing the drugs,” the Associated Press reports. “The unanimous decision Thursday by the three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a 2012 ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Ronald B. Leighton, who had found that the state’s rules violated the religious freedom of pharmacy owners. It was the second time the appeals court reversed Leighton in the case.”
Life in Prison for Christopher Monfort: Death penalty opponents are pleased, as is Seattle police chief Kathleen O’Toole.
Sound Transit Board Wants New Rail Along I-5: “The light-rail line from SeaTac to Federal Way should be built mostly along Interstate 5, instead of over Highway 99, the Sound Transit board decided Thursday,” Mike Lindblom reports. “The unanimous vote gives the I-5 alignment preferred status in the final environmental-impact studies before a final board vote in late 2016. That’s roughly when the public is expected to consider a hefty tax increase to fund more than $15 billion in regional transit extensions, including most of the Federal Way line.”
The Trials of Living in a Tiny House: “Leila Ali lives in a tiny house,” Sydney Brownstone reports. “It’s 13 feet tall and sits on wheels in a Ballard backyard. A garden hose running from the backyard’s main house pumps water to the sink, and an extension cord from the same house provides electricity. The 130-square-foot structure leaves almost no footprint otherwise, much of that thanks to a composting toilet stuffed with cacao husks. ‘I have a vanilla air freshener, so the bathroom kind of smells like Willie Wonka’s chocolate factory,’ Ali says.” The problem: The city wants to evict her.
What Gas Works Park Used to Look Like: It’s not pretty.
Paul’s Boutique Dissected: “Beginning at 6:00 a.m. PDT, KEXP DJs John Richards, Cheryl Waters, and Kevin Cole will meticulously dissect the album,” the station says, “playing all 15 album tracks, more than 100 sampled selections, and rare bonus tracks and demos, plus new interviews with album co-producers The Dust Brothers (John King and Mike Simpson) and an exclusive archival chat with the Beastie Boys aired throughout the day… A commercial flop upon release in 1989, Paul’s Boutique is now widely considered one of the best albums of the 1980s. The influence of the album’s sample-heavy style can be heard in artists ranging from Wu-Tang Clan leader RZA to the pioneering electronic group The Avalanches.” And, the station notes, it would be hard to create something like it today because of “sampling fees and licensing clearances.”
A Big Profit for Amazon: “Amazon.com blew away analyst expectations for the second quarter, posting larger than expected revenue and a $92 million profit when most analysts expected a loss,” the Seattle Times reports.
Not Registered to Vote? You Still Have a Chance to Register in Time for the August 4 Primary: “King County residents not currently registered to vote in Washington can register in person at the King County Elections office or the Voter Registration Annex through 4:30 p.m. on Monday, July 27,” says a reminder from King County Elections. Info on locations for the elections office and the “annex” are right here. If you’re not registered yet, DO IT. Then vote how we tell you.
The Autopsy of Sandra Bland: “A county prosecutor in Texas said Thursday that an autopsy of Sandra Bland, who died in a jail cell here nearly two weeks ago after a minor traffic stop, concluded that her injuries were consistent with suicide, not homicide, a finding that underscored growing doubts that the jail did enough to monitor her,” the New York Times reports. “Ms. Bland had told two jail intake workers on July 10 that she had tried last year to kill herself after losing a baby and told at least one of them that she had experienced bouts of depression.”
Americans Believe Race Relations Are Bad and Getting Worse: “A new New York Times/CBS News poll reveals that nearly six in 10 Americans, including heavy majorities of both whites and blacks, think race relations are generally bad and that nearly four in 10 think the situation is getting worse,” the New York Times reports. “By comparison, two-thirds of Americans surveyed shortly after President Obama took office said they believed that race relations were generally good.”
