HQ 1.5 is looking... normal. Credit: Ben Babusis/Getty Images
HQ 1.5 is looking... normal.
HQ 1.5 is looking… normal. Ben Babusis/Getty Images

Washington state may have a harder time blocking coal projects: Following a new bill from the Trump administration that takes away states’ rights to perform environmental regulation on new projects. This would not only make blocking new coal plants from coming to the state harder, it could impact our logging regulations, salmon restoration, and how we protect our drinking water. Trump is clearly not a huge fan of the Clean Water Act so he’s having the EPA change a section of it to make it harder for states to block polluting industrial projects. Investing in coal infrastructure today is like betting on the Mariners—unpredictable, heart-breaking, and to most Seattleites it just doesn’t make sense.

Amazon leases two giant office buildings in Bellevue: They really weren’t kidding about getting the hell out of Seattle. I mean it makes sense, if they’re going to take over the world they’re going to need to some space to spread out. These two buildings won’t be ready until 2022, but they represent some of the biggest real estate Amazon has planned so far. According to GeekWire, Amazon will begin moving employees to Bellevue this month and transition their entire critical worldwide operations team across Lake Washington by 2023. I feel like Amazon is breaking up with Seattle, and I’m honestly fine with that.

Remember when all those Atlantic salmon escaped their aquaculture nets? Well it was a really fucking big deal because Atlantic salmon are not supposed to be in the Pacific Ocean. Cooke Aquaculture was fined $332,000 on Monday for negligence in accidentally releasing about 250,000 non-native salmon into the Salish Sea. Much of the money will go toward salmon restoration projects and the Department of Ecology’s small grant program. However you feel about non—native aquaculture in Washington state—I have a lot of feelings–the state is phasing it out by 2023. But the Atlantic salmon that are already out there could remain for decades.

Can we all just appreciate that it’s light out at 6:30 a.m. in the morning? When I started doing Slog AM in January, I wouldn’t see the sun until I finished and now I wake up to blue skies! Not only that, the sun stays out to play until 8 p.m. I know this isn’t really news to you, but let’s just take a second to appreciate how much better life is with some early sun.

And the sun won’t quit: Keep that suntan going for a second day.

Violence could escalate in Venezuela as opposition forces call for military uprising: Venezuela still has two presidents and they’ve been locked in a bitter stalemate for months now. The military has remained largely faithful to President Nicolás Maduro, but opposition leader and self-appointed president Juan Guaidó says that an increasing number of high-ranking military officers are now backing him. Guaidó hopes to use that to oust Maduro and claims that a military coup is already underway. Maduro obviously sees things differently. I can only really see this stalemate ending in violence, which there’s been no shortage of in Venezuela over the past four months.

A technology job posting asked for “Preferably Caucasian” applicants: Come on Cynet Systems, really? The only organizations that prefer caucasian candidates this explicitly are white supremacists and the British Royal Family.

Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams announces she will NOT run for Senate: Which means could very well MIGHT run for president.

Now listen here you $#!%: Keeping that instrumental music going with a little Snarky Puppy.

Don’t forget to send me your mugs! If you’ve already sent me one in a past week, send me another or pester your friends into sending me one. Cheers!

Tonight’s best Seattle entertainment options include: A show with country legend Arlo Guthrie, the last day of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, and Theater Schmeater’s Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons.

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Timothy Kenney is a former Slog AM intern. He's written for multiple Seattle outlets, helped CNN cover a mudslide in Sierra Leone, and almost threw up on James Franco once.