Your roundup of this week’s most widely-read, shared, and discussed stories.
• The only black, female police officer in a Cleveland suburb spoke out earlier this week on the recent police shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. She asks: “How dare you stand next to me in the same uniform and murder somebody?” Watch her full comment here.
• Thousands marched through downtown Seattle Thursday night to protest police brutality. In Dallas, following a similar demonstration, gun fire broke out. Police officers were fired on by a “sniper”—five were killed. Early Friday morning, Police killed the alleged shooter, Micah Xavier Johnson, with a robot. Reportedly, he said that he was acting alone.
• What can be done to reduce encounters between cops and black people? Charles Mudede suggests that the city decriminalize minor offenses, such as jay walking and fare evasion on the light rail. If we can’t get rid of guns, then we must get rid of these kinds of encounters.
• After a 17-year-long hiatus, garage punk band Boss Hog is back. Why did they take a break? Why did they return to music? What did they do in the intervening years? Dave asks these questions in his interview with lead vocalist Cristina Martinez.
• Happening today in electronic music: TUF FEST is a daylong electronic music festival at Judkins Park. It’s free, and it emphasizes music in the genre created by female, nonbinary, and trans music makers. “[The music] is progress in a man’s game,” Amber Cortes writes.
• A bit of good news this week: Adon effort by Just Want Privacy to put trans rights to a vote was defeated. The campaign failed to get enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot, which is fortunate, despite having deceived so many Seattleites into signing their petition, which is unfortunate. Anti-trans bathroom laws aren’t funny, writes Sydney, but this trans comic is.
• Seattle is doubling paid parental leave for city employees, and also creating a new policy providing all city employees four weeks of paid leave to care for a sick family member. Both programs will not be funded by cuts, according to city council staff. However, some women’s rights advocates are saying that there is still room for improvement.
• The most comprehensive outdoor movie guide is here. Don’t forget to BYOBlanket. For those preferring indoor screenings, we have you covered, too.
• Don’t have any weekend plans yet? We have piled up plenty of options that won’t cost you more than $10.
• Don’t have any plans for the upcoming week yet? Our music critics have picked out the best concerts to attend.
Enjoy the sun this weekend.