Kiss coal goodbye! Credit: KAMILPETRAN/GETTY IMAGES
Kiss coal goodbye!
Kiss coal goodbye! KAMILPETRAN/GETTY IMAGES

SeaWorld publishes 20 years of orca medical data to help wild whales: SeaWorld never should have had orcas in the first place and marine parks routinely pillaged the Salish Sea for killer whales throughout the mid 20th century leading to the crisis we have now. But there was one good thing that came out of their captivity and that’s a unique and comprehensive record of several medical measures that are difficult to get from wild orcas. SeaWorld published detailed data on blood tests from 32 whales over two decades that could help establish baseline measures to compare to Washington’s whale populations. Thanks SeaWorld, it’s the literal least you could do.

Washington lawmakers call for Rep. Matt Shea’s removal from office: Well at least the Democratic ones want him to get the boot, the Republicans have been less enthusiastic about it. The Guardian reported this weekend that Shea, a Representative for the Spokane Valley, was in a group message in 2017 with three far-right wing figures where they discussed a campaign of violence and intimidation against antifa. Some of these texts were truly fucked up. While Shea didn’t threaten violence himself, he did offer to help run background checks on antifa figures and compile a list of left-wing activists to target for intimidation. The House minority leader said he takes “these statements seriously and condemn them with no reservation” so Shea isn’t safe quite yet.

Finally some good news out of Britain: With all this Brexit bollocks, Britain actually had some good news this weekend after breaking their record for the longest period without using coal to generate electricity. They lasted a whopping 90 hours. Oh, and experts also warn that coal-powered electricity is largely being replaced by natural gas, so they’re just swapping one fossil fuel for another and not renewables. And the reason they had lower energy demands this weekend is because it was unseasonably hot and sunny across the country. This is not the good news story I was promised.

Washington does actually have some good climate news: Two landmark bills just passed the Legislature that will mandate Washington’s energy production be coal-free by 2025 and natural gas-free by 2045. Gov. Jay Inslee couldn’t be happier to sign these bills that will go a long way to reaching his long-sought carbon reduction for Washington state and, you know, one more thing to talk about on the campaign trail. It’s true that most of Washington’s electricity comes from clean hydropower, but there is still a large portion that comes from fossil fuels and these bills will push energy companies to phase out dirty fuels and invest in wind and solar. This bill is just one of a series of environmental bills that passed the Legislature this session. A big Earth Day for Washington, eh?

Speaking of hot and sunny: We might have to wait until tomorrow.

Abel Pacheco tapped to fill vacant City Council seat: At 31, he is now the youngest person ever to serve on the council and will be representing District 4 after Rob Johnson’s early departure for greener (as in money) pastures. Pacheco graduated from UW in 2012 and has worked at several Seattle nonprofits and advocacy agencies. He campaigned to get on the council in 2015 but couldn’t get past the primary stages. Now he’s on the council and he’s looking to make his mark on housing, transit, and education policy.

Beyoncé finally dropped her album Lemonade on Spotify: Finally a news story everyone can get excited about. It’s been streaming exclusively on Tidal, Jay Z’s streaming service that has a bad habit of exclusively streaming albums people want to hear but definitely won’t pay Tidal for. It’s been three years since Lemonade was released so it’s about to be a renaissance for the reference “hot sauce in my bag, swag.”

Where are we at on impeachment? There is no shortage of opinions in the Democratic caucus. Sen. Kamala Harris, a presidential hopeful, called for the start of impeachment proceedings last night at a town hall, echoing Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s earlier call for impeachment. Young representatives like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have said they are in favor of impeachment following the Mueller report. But Nancy Pelosi ultimately decides if impeachment is the road to go down and right now, she’s not onboard.

Man allegedly drives go-cart over Rainbow Bridge in Tokyo: If you’re not a massive Mario Kart fan like myself, this might seem innocuous but I’d say it’s one of the most ambitious cosplays in the history of the game. Not only did this man first have to find a bridge called “Rainbow Bridge” referencing not just one, but two iconic maps in Mario Kart: Double Dash, he then had to rent a go-kart and evade police while driving over it. What an absolute legend.

Now listen here you $#!%: Today’s morning music comes to you courtesy of one of my favorite bands right now, Khruangbin. No, I’m not completely sure how to pronounce their name either, but I do know they make some of the funkiest, grooviest instrumental songs on the market. And come on, how cute is the video? So cute.

Reminder! Send me your mugs for tomorrow! And I’ll put them on Slog for the world to see. I got more than I can post last week so get your mugs in early! Email them to me at tkenney@thestranger.com.

Tonight’s best Seattle entertainment options include: A reading with Feast Your Eyes author Myla Goldberg, a chance to see Urinetown: The Musical, and a concert featuring Australian soul/R&B artist Fatai.

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.