Seattle chef wins two James Beard awards: Eduardo Jordan won Best Chef in the Northwest for his restaurant Salare. His new restaurant, JuneBaby, a restaurant rooted in Southern comfort food, just two blocks down from Salare, won the Best New Restaurant award. My friend lives nearby and regularly sees Jordan walking his dog. Jordan always has a smile on his face. Now, I’ve never eaten at JuneBaby, but I did go there once 15 minutes after it opened and was put on a two hour long, 10-person deep waitlist. The food at least looked amazing. One day I will conquer you, JuneBaby. You and your chicken fried steak.
Critics of the head tax are loud: Yes, I see you in the comment section here. Naysayers are out at community hearings in droves. Their fears are making headlines at the Seattle Times. Is this separation-anxiety fueled by the Boeing move? An appreciation of the positives that Amazon has brought to the area? Stockholm syndrome? There’s merit in discourse. The concerns circulate around over-spending on an issue that hasn’t gotten better. People worry about the other businesses that will be impacted. Amazon will be hit the hardest. Can they take it? Yes. Will they take it? Who’s to say. There is so much need in our city. The people who help the homeless subsist on almost nothing and are taken for granted. There are many factors that contribute to a homelessness crisis like the one we are experiencing. Amazon is not blameless.
Amazon tops Washington companies for employee dependence on Medicaid: Amazon is worth about billions. It employs around 40,000 people in the Seattle area. The average Amazon tech worker earns $110,000 a year. But, the median Amazon employee makes less than $30,000. “Here in Washington, the tech company ranks 11th in the state for the number of its employees on Medicaid,” Heidi Groover reports. “Amazon is ranked higher than Dollar Tree and Burger King” for Medicaid dependence. Kroger, Target, and Starbucks were below Amazon but not far off on the list.
Council member shoved out of event for supporting a bike trail: Mike O’Brien was forcibly removed from an after party for the new Nordic Museum grand-opening because of policies he advocates for. The party was at the Pacific Fisherman Shipyard in Ballard. General Manager Doug Dixon told O’Brien to leave and then had him removed. Dixon doesn’t support O’Brien’s efforts to put a bicycle path in Ballard, part of the city’s plan to build the 1.4 mile missing-link of the Burke-Gilman trail.
You can save your stamps for your penpal: The King County Council supported the measure to offer prepaid postage for ballots. It will hopefully increase voter turnout and inspire other counties to follow suit. That was pretty much my only reason for having stamps. I am going to have these rolls of forever stamps for, well, forever. I am alright with that. Anyone need a stamp?
Before you attack me in the comments remember to Be Best: Follow Melania Trump’s new message from her campaign to help children. It gets more specific, but only a little. There's a focus on eliminating cyber bullying of all things. Does she know who her husband is? “Be Best” is a children’s campaign that emphasizes kindness, especially on the internet. Some criticisms, besides that she has a cyberbully for a husband, are that the campaign is too broad; “helping children” is cool and all but you kind of need an action plan. Also, originality. Michelle Obama delivered a speech in 2016 urging men to “be better.” Melania Trump’s aides are congratulating the First Lady on coming up with the logo and name “Be Best” all by herself. Was it all by herself or is this another plagiarize Michelle moment?
Pacific Northwest home to 800-mile chain of volcanoes: Yeah, that’s not exactly breaking news, but maybe you've forgotten what's in your backyard. The volcanoes have erupted before. They’ll erupt again. According to the Seattle Times, “nine volcanoes have the potential to erupt in our lifetime: Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, Glacier Peak, Mount Baker and Mount Adams. In Oregon: Crater Lake, Mount Hood, Newberry Volcano and the Three Sisters.” Odds are St. Helens will erupt next because she’s unpredictable. It’s likely that notable seismic activity will precede any eruption. Maybe it’ll be the Big One and we’ll be too dead to care about volcanic ash anyway.
There was in earthquake in Riverside, CA: Ah, the good old days of being woken up by a little shake, rattle, and roll. There was true community in Los Angeles whenever there was even the smallest quake.
Felt #earthquake (#sismo) M4.6 strikes 57 km E of #Riverside (#California) 3 min ago. Please report to: https://t.co/jjdcoimP19 pic.twitter.com/JMkHbhhpeZ
— EMSC (@LastQuake) May 8, 2018
Chase Bank protests sees 14 arrests: Yesterday, protesters blocked downtown Seattle streets as part of a nationwide protest against Chase Bank. The bank funds tar sands, or, some of the worst fossil fuels in use. You know, I’m just going to let this guy tell it:
A message from atop one of the “tarpees” blocking 2nd Ave in downtown Seattle right now. Here is Aaron Brouillette, who has been sitting 14 feet up since 10A. pic.twitter.com/SpgVh9wY4n
— Alison Morrow (@AlisonMorrowK5) May 7, 2018
Who’s going to stop Ryan Murphy? The Glee and American Horror Story creator loves beating a dead horse. Murphy has freshly inked a deal with Netflix and is planning a show possibly called "Consent" about the #MeToo movement. It would be Black Mirror-style and each episode would focus on a different — I don’t know what, assault? Predator? Maybe you shouldn’t exploit sexual assault and scenarios real people have endured for years, Ryan. Leave it to a man in Hollywood to exploit the actions of other men in Hollywood through his “art” and think he’s doing something good for the world.
New York Attorney General and Weinstein prosecutor accused of sexual misconduct: Eric Schneiderman has been accused by four women of non-consensual physical violence, finds the New Yorker. Schneiderman’s accusers say he slapped, choked, and hit them in bed. He allegedly threatened to have them followed, their phones tapped, and that he would kill them.
Elon Musk is dating Grimes: This year just won’t quit. No one cares about Elon Musk’s love life. But this is so weird we have to talk about it. Musk and the Canadian musician started dating after they bonded in some weird online banter about artificial intelligence. A love story for the ages.
Grimes wearing a Tesla choker at the #MetGala for Elon Musk is the modern version of Angelina Jolie wearing Billy Bob Thornton's blood in a vial around her neck pic.twitter.com/MFryNhv2xX
— Shira Tarlo (@shiratarlo) May 8, 2018
Trump expected to leave Iran deal: The Macron bromance didn’t sway him in the end. The New York Times reports that if Trump indeed reneges on America’s commitment to the pact that it “will be the most consequential national security decision of Mr. Trump’s 15 months in office.” The U.S.’ allies are concerned that this could lead to a renewed conflict between the West and Tehran.
Headline of the week so far: 'World of Warcraft' Currency Is Now Worth 7 Times as Much as Venezuela's Cash
Tonight's best Seattle entertainment options include: Good Mourning: An Interactive Arts Festival About Grief, Andrew Lloyd Webber's sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, Love Never Dies, and the Joey DeFrancesco Trio at Jazz Alley.
Reminder to send me your breakfasts tomorrow by 8 a.m. if you want to be featured in Slog AM. Send them to ngraham@thestranger.com