Take the balls too, HQ2.
Take the balls too, HQ2. DAVID RYDER/GETTY IMAGES

Is disaster imminent? New images of Rattlesnake Ridge show an obvious crack widening over two to three months. It’s been moving at a pace of 1.6 feet per week.


It’s uncertain when the ridge will finally break but geological experts predict early March. It’s a waiting game since triggering the slide with a controlled blast would make the hillside more unstable.

Let’s talk consent: With #MeToo and #Timesup dominating the discourse, The Seattle Times looked into how 250 readers were taught about consent. Only 15 percent were taught about it in school. Many, after consent discussions permeated the mainstream, wondered how their sexual experiences would have changed if they had known everything from a young age. Read the entire report. It’s awesome and has some easy-to-understand graphic breakdowns.

Who is still in the running to be Amazon’s Next Top Headquarters? The top 20 finalists have been revealed. The winner will receive an influx of tech workers, a spike in rent prices, the dismantling of a city’s cultural identity, and really fast Prime delivery. Probably. Without further ado, the finalists are: Austin, Texas; Boston; Chicago; Columbus, Ohio; Dallas; Denver; Indianapolis; Los Angeles; Miami; Montgomery County, Maryland; Nashville; Newark; New York; Northern Virginia; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Raleigh, North Carolina; Toronto; and Washington, D.C

A Washington institution for disabled people is under scrutiny: After two patients died from choking on food. The incidents at The Rainier School occurred after staff didn’t follow the individualized meal plans for each patient. Part of the institution has been decertified by federal authorities and Disability Rights Washington, after conducting an extensive report, thinks it should close. Washington state Department of Social and Health Services is appealing that decision.

Update from my alley: The alley behind my house has a whole lot of character. Sometimes that means literal characters, like the lady in the apartment building behind me who used to yell at construction workers. Or the one guy that has a security camera on our arguably shabby block and doxxes you if you leave trash behind his house (this happened to me once, I admit it). More often than not, however, it's the physical things that get me. One of my favorite little touches is our alley's lake. It's all fresh water and its depths are as of yet unexplored. Here it is bright and early this morning:

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The lake was created when those aforementioned construction workers turned an old house into a giant hole in the ground and then, eventually, into a brand new apartment building. When they were doing the sewage lines, or so they told me, they had to dig up the entire alley for two months. But, when they put it all back, they left a huge divot, a downward slope, just enough space away from the storm drain that water would accumulate and pool. Sometimes we have a lake back there for weeks. This big, fatty storm system moved over us last night


The rain pelted the walls of my 100-and-something-year-old-house. There was a crack of lightning outside. Coastal flooding from the storm is expected, with 30-foot swells on the Washington coast. Not to get dramatic, but it's probably the same situation I've got going on out there behind my bedroom window. That's my alley update for the week. I'm going to wear waterproof shoes today. I hope you do too.

Is our government going to shut down? Very possibly. Here's the gist. Congress is trying to pass a bill that will fund the government through February (short-term solutions are all the rage). But, Democrats aren't going to do that unless they get concessions like a replacement for DACA. To appease them, Republicans were like "okay, sure we'll fund Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for six years." Compromise. Except, Trump tweeted this morning that funding CHIP shouldn't happen and now Republicans are scrambling. And that's what you missed. Tune in next time!

Could be bad news for drivers: Turns out roads are expensive and environmentally friendly fuel-efficient cars take needed gas-tax money away from infrastructure costs. Their solution? They’re gonna toll you. The Legislature is requiring the Washington State Transportation Commission to come up with $200 million in tolling revenue to open the State Route 99 Tunnel (Bertha Tunnel) that could open this fall. The tolling plan for the tunnel is still in the works.

La Piña Rápida: That’s “pineapple express” in Spanish and that’s exactly what’s happening in Spain and Portugal. Literally. (Before you mention it, I’m aware Portugal’s language is Portuguese, let’s not get bogged down in the minutiae of it all)


If you’re from Washington and love the environment: Here’s what environmental issues are on the docket during the 2018 legislative session.

Spare us, Apple: Another tech-giant is on the hunt for a spot to drop a new campus. It’s not quite an “HQ2,” a term that should probably be added to the Merriam-Webster at this point, but it’s still a big expansion. It would bring $245 billion back to the U.S. instead of foreign markets and 20,000 jobs. This is all possible because of the Trump tax-code overhaul that’s increasing corporate profits and offering a one-time break for cash held overseas. Apple benefits a lot from this. Could Seattle be the site of the new campus? I don’t know if we could handle it.

Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia lifted its 35-year-cinema ban: To screen “The Emoji Movie.” The ban lift indicates a decline in influence of Saudi Arabia’s conservative religious leaders. It’s also a departure from a complete economic dependence on oil. However, after watching the soul suckingly terrible “The Emoji Movie” I don’t know how the public will ever want to see another movie again.

Is Focusing on Trump's Racism Bad For Democrats? A race in Wisconsin could have some answers. That and more in this week's Blabbermouth podcast.

Highlights from the “Fake News Awards": There were none. It was a stupid waste of time. Was it kind of funny for a second? Sure, but only the jokes people made about it. Also it was based on the GOP website which was dumb and they’ll probably manipulate the numbers they got from the insane amount of traffic last night and misconstrue it. That’s clearly just an assumption, but would anyone be honestly surprised if that happened?

Find out how to pass the time, and the bong, this winter: Follow this handy how-to guide for a delectably stoned snowshoeing excursion. Here’s just an easy-to-read (especially if you’re waking and baking) break down of great winter highdeas and for a cozy little mind fuck, try this guy on for size. Read about these and more online or in our print edition now lining Seattle's streets.

Mueller could be taking aim at the NRA: Robert Mueller's investigation is looking into whether the Kremlin funneled money into the National Rifle's Association to fund the 2016 election. The NRA spent at least $30 million in independent expenditures to support Trump and attack Clinton. It didn't disclose its donors.

It’s Thursday, the unofficial start of the weekend: Do you know what you’re doing tonight? If not, consider buzzy fiction writer Carmen Maria Machado’s talk at the library, the first night of Strawberry Theatre Workshop's all-female production of Frost/Nixon, or Nacho Picasso’s Neumos show. There’s also a Keep the Oil In the Soil! Stop the Nation's Largest Oil Terminal protest today at 10:30 a.m., along with many, many more options on our Things To Do calendar.