Let Amazon into your car. Next stop? Your heart. Credit: Weekend Images Inc.
Let Amazon into your car. Next stop? Your heart.
Let Amazon into your car. Next stop, your heart. Weekend Images Inc.

Seattle home prices surge for six straight years: Since 2012, home values have increased 85 percent, Mike Rosenberg at the Seattle Times finds. We’re not in another housing bubble a la 2007. “Even during the housing bubble last decade, prices didn’t rise this much,” Rosenberg writes. Seattle is currently the nation’s hottest real estate market and housing prices keep rising. There’s nothing other than a recession or an Amazonian collapse that will slow it down.

Amazon wants to deliver directly into your car: While you’re not around, Amazon Key-In Car deliveries will be dropped off directly into your vehicle. The only requirement is your car has to be at least a 2015 model with an OnStar account. It also has to be a Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, or Cadillac. Volvo works, too. Having someone break into your car and leave packages there is free for Prime members.

Opioid deaths cost Washington state $34 billion over four years: A new study shows that opioid overdose deaths cost Washington residents $7 billion in 2016. The study was released ahead of Sen. Patty Murray’s new joint effort with Republican Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander to contain the opioid crisis. The Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018 will reauthorize grants for opioid prevention across states. It will help response and treatments as well as increase access to mental-health services in schools and community organizations. A UW researcher in the Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute says the plan won’t work because heroin alternatives like methadone are still not easier to get than heroin.

Not exactly a Sleeping Beauty moment: A Pierce County woman awoke Sunday morning to a strange man stroking her face. He said, “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,” as if a compliment would make the situation better. The suspect was later arrested. He thanked the deputies for their service.

Oregon officials investigated Hart family, found insufficient evidence: There were multiple calls made about the Hart children’s welfare when they lived in Oregon. Reports of excessive abuse and restriction of food were investigated but nothing was done about it. The Hart family, six of the eight members who are confirmed dead after a fatal car crash, had a history of abuse; one of the mothers, Sarah, was convicted of domestic-assault in 2010. Despite calls from worried outsiders, a steady decline in the children’s growth and stature, Oregon officials didn’t find enough evidence to act on abuse allegations.

A perfect day to play hooky: Skyward, the website that Washington schools use to monitor students’ attendance, grades, and whatever else is down statewide. A technology glitch sent Skyward tumbling about four days ago. Teachers can’t update any student information. This is the first outage in more than 19 years. It should be up-and-running on Wednesday. Quick, school children, go enjoy the sun while you can.

Pack your backpack, it’s time for Night School: Tonight’s topic? White Nationalists and what to do about them. Should we protest Neo-Nazis? What about punching them? Or should we ignore them? The evening will feature four experts and be monitored by news editor Steven Hsieh. The event will take place at St. John’s Bar and Eatery from 6 to 8 pm.

Ah, character growth: My roommates and I had a barbecue yesterday when it was 60 degrees. What will happen today when it’s even warmer? It’s supposed to be in the 70s!

Carnage in Toronto: A van mowed down pedestrians in Toronto yesterday. It repeatedly mounted the curb onto the sidewalk down a 0.6 mile stretch. Ten people are dead and 15 remain injured. Not much is known about the suspect, but officials say the incident looks intentional. When the suspect was arrested he asked officers to “just kill me.” The officer calmly told the suspect to get on the ground and did not fire any shots despite the suspect claiming he was armed. Crazy.

Notes requesting used panties left at Tukwila bus stops: The notes asked pre-teen and teenage girls to call the number listed. In exchange for their used underwear, the suspect would pay girls $80-100. The man who allegedly left the notes is a suspected pedophile. Detectives say the man may have progressed to murder if he hadn’t been caught. “A machete, handgun, gunny sacks, tarp, hatchet, duct tape and cash were found in his vehicle” upon arrest, the Tacoma News Tribune reports.

White House doctor of debauchery: Trump’s nominee to lead Veterans Affair Department is facing added scrutiny. Dr. Ronny L. Jackson, otherwise known as the White House doctor, apparently wasn’t the most ethical on the job. Jackson allegedly oversaw a hostile work environment, drank on the job, and over-prescribed drugs. Predictably:

Maybe Trump’s old doctor would be a better VA nominee: You know, the guy that looked Trump over for five minutes before declaring he was physically fit to be president.

George H.W. Bush hospitalized with blood infection: The former president was put in intensive care on Sunday, his office announced yesterday. He contracted an infection and is apparently responding well to treatment. His wife’s funeral was on Saturday. She died a week ago today.

Three Mexican film students mistaken for rival gang and killed: Last month, their car broke down and they were kidnapped by six people. Then, they were tortured and later killed. Their bodies were dissolved in acid. They were mistaken for members of another gang by members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the most powerful in Mexico.

Facebook’s new plan to remove ISIS content is to look for it: “Facebook was able to remove a larger amount of content from the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda in the first quarter of 2018,” Bloomberg reports. What new technology did they implement? Oh, not much. They just decided to actively look for it. Facebook took action on 1.9 million pieces of content from those groups in the first three months of 2018. This is twice as much as the previous quarter. Huh. Funny how that works.

Tonight’s best Seattle entertainment options include: The Stranger‘s Night School: What To Do With White Nationalists In Your Neighborhood, featuring Southern Poverty Law Center’s David Neiwert and UW professor Dr. Laurie Marhoefer, an evening with former Secretary of State and UN ambassador Madeleine Albright, and a production of Tony Kushner’s Angels in America Part II: Perestroika.

Reminder to send me your breakfasts tomorrow before 8 a.m. to be featured on Slog AM! Send them to ngraham@thestranger.com

Nathalie Graham covers anything she finds fun, weird, or interesting. You can find a lot of that in her column, Play Date. Her work has also appeared around town in The Seattle Times, GeekWire, and the...