New norm for Washington summers is killing trees: Damn, this was really the year when climate change was like “I’m sick of being ignored” and started acting out like an attention-starved first grader. Climate change, cool it! Or else all of our forests are going to die and also everything else bad that’s been happening will continue to happen. Anyway, the trees are dying because they’re not used to such intense drought in Washington’s summer months. Scientists aren’t sure how significant the die-off is yet, but trees are dying and they weren’t dying like this before.
California Senate passes bill to erase past marijuana convictions: Part of the bill that legalized marijuana in California back in 2016 eliminated weed-related crimes. It applied retroactively to marijuana convictions. There was no game plan for how to go about doing that, however. The bill that passed yesterday puts a plan into action; the state Department of Justice must compile all eligible cases from 1975 and 2016 and send the results to the appropriate prosecutor, according to the Associated Press. The DOJ has until July 1, 2020 to compile the eligible cases.
Modular housing is the solution: King County is going forward with a $12 million modular housing plan at sites in Seattle’s Interbay neighborhood, Shoreline, and a fun mystery location. Modular housing are prefabricated, factory-manufactured temporary homes. It’s cheaper (and faster) than other affordable housing. The biggest obstacle? Bureaucracy is slow and the need for housing is urgent.
No justice for Tommy Le: It was my first day interning at Seattle Weekly when Daniel Person, the former News Editor, unearthed that Le, 20, was not holding a knife when he was shot by King County Sheriff’s deputies but a Bic pen. The news rocked Seattle. Surely there would be some justice for Le, especially after an inquest showed he was shot twice in the back. That contradicted reports that Le was attacking officers. Still, the County exonerated the officers saying that Le and his black, Bic pen posed a serious threat to the officers’ lives.
An asthmatic otter: Mishka the otter at Seattle Aquarium got asthma three years ago from the smoke. The aquarium had to teach her how to use an inhaler. She learned how in just one month. She’s been using the inhaler a lot during these smoky days. Way to survive, Mishka.
We can all take a breather: The smoke is gone. There’s cool air flowing through my window. I feel alive.
Hooray! Air quality has started to slowly improve this morning as marine air pushes onshore. Continued improvement expected throughout the day though a bit of smoke may linger #wawx pic.twitter.com/YcmfWHBwDX
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) August 23, 2018
The weather service is feeling feisty in this smoke-free world:
Smoke is clearing up at NWS Seattle. We just discovered there’s land on the north end of Lake Washington and what looks like a settlement of some sort. Could be a place called Kenmore if our maps are correct. #goodbyesmoke #wawx
— NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) August 23, 2018
Let there be pit bulls: Yakima lifted its pit bull ban yesterday. That means people can bring pit bulls into Yakima for the first time in 30 years. There was some trepidation from the Yakima City Council — two councilmembers voted against lifting the ban. The pro-pit bull coalition was stoked; their whole thing is that pit bulls are just dogs and are misunderstood.
Industrial fire in Shelton: It sent plumes of toxic smoke into the already-polluted air. Talk about the ultimate tainted air cocktail. Crews worked on the fire last night and stopped it from spreading into the brush. Residents were advised to stay inside, shut all windows and doors, and turn off their air conditioners. My friend Cole lives in Shelton, I wonder if he’s still alive.
New Blabbermouth Podcast! Episode 162 talks about Michael Cohen’s guilty plea and the guilty verdict against Paul Manafort—plus an unsettling accusation against Asia Argento and a spat between Spike Lee and Boots Riley.
A Category 4 hurricane might make landfall on Hawaii:
Hurricane Lane could become the first major hurricane to make landfall in Hawaii for 26 years.
With sustained winds of 145 mph, forecasters say it’s “on course to pass very close” to the islands https://t.co/XhA8LnBrvD
— CNN (@CNN) August 23, 2018
Hurricane Lane closes in on Hawaii as a State of Emergency has been issued — @GioBenitez joins us LIVE from the Hawaiian Islands: https://t.co/LUKfafEEKb pic.twitter.com/KkzCLL8D1M
— Good Morning America (@GMA) August 23, 2018
Hunger strikes at prisons across the country: It was first documented in Folsom state prison in California. The video posted to Twitter of an inmate refusing to eat went viral. Soon, other prisoners joined in. Two hundred immigrants detained in the Tacoma Northwest Detention Center took part. They also waged a work stoppage. The detainees said they demanded change and the closure of such detention centers. Similar protests and strikes are going on at prisons around the country and also in Nova Scotia, Canada. What is clear is that they want reform to the prison system. The strike has been going on for 19 days.
He BETO win the Senate: Dude, Beto O’Rourke, the Democrat candidate running for Senate in Texas against Ted Cruz, is the bees knees. He’s beto than all of us. The only pun I can think of is on the word “better” and you beto believe I’m going to keep using it until it’s dead and then probably one or two more times after that.
‘I can think of nothing more American.’ — Beto O’Rourke — the man taking on Ted Cruz — brilliantly explains why NFL players kneeling during the anthem is not disrespectful pic.twitter.com/bEqOAYpxEL
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) August 21, 2018
New Las Vegas Raiders stadium will have a jail: There will also be a little courthouse, too. That way the Raiders now have a way to deal with unruly fans. Other teams with assholes for fans, like the Eagles, have jails in their stadiums. But, they don’t have courthouses.
An update from my alley:
I like when sidewalks are molded by the roots beneath them, when tufts of grass push their way through pavement, and how, despite how we may try, the natural world won’t truly be tamed.
There’s a tree in my alley. Yes, it perplexes me, too. But it’s a huge (I don’t know anything about trees but I want to say) oak tree with a gaping trunk and regal corona of broad leaves. It’s wedged off to the side and sits in the limits of someone’s backyard. So, I guess it’s technically not the alley.
But, with a tree that large and prominent with phone lines threaded through its branches, it feels like the alley, the surrounding houses, and maybe even the whole neighborhood were built around it. I like to walk past and it and think how we molded ourselves around the tree and not the other way around.
Tonight’s best Seattle entertainment options include: The face-melting and tear-inducing Next Exit: An Evening of Indigenous Music and Poetry, a Bathroom Selfie Contest at the Hideout, featuring The Stranger‘s own Charles Mudede on the judges panel, and a Laugh Back: A Comedy Show to Benefit the NWDC Resistance.
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