Hundreds of Amazon employees are pushing back against a policy that is designed to "silence" them "in the face of an issue... like the climate crisis." Credit: Amazon Employees For Climate Justice @AMZNforClimate
Hundreds of Amazon employees are pushing back against a policy that they say is designed to silence them in the face of an issue... like the climate crisis.
Hundreds of Amazon employees are pushing back against a policy that they say is designed to “silence” them “in the face of an issue… like the climate crisis.” Amazon Employees For Climate Justice @AMZNforClimate

Former location of the beloved Pie bakery in Fremont will be replaced by… a dog treat bakery. “No word on whether there will be any treats for humans as well,” writes Eater. I don’t know how I feel about this.

ITMFA update: Trump’s defense team has been at it all day, yammering about executive privilege and a debunked conspiracy theory while conveniently ignoring the biggest ITMFA story of the day: John Bolton. Whether or not they want to confront it, new revelations from the former national security adviser “could complicate President Trump’s impeachment trial,” writes the New York Times. More from the Times (bolding mine):

On Monday morning, Utah’s Mitt Romney said, “I think it’s increasingly likely that other Republicans will join those of us who think we should hear from John Bolton.”

It’s refreshing to hear those words. And yet the fact that such a statement is noteworthy at all tells you how far from responsible governance Senate Republicans have strayed. They hold 53 seats in the Senate, and yet the nation is waiting on just four — four!— to do the right thing and agree to call Mr. Bolton, the former national security adviser, and other key witnesses to testify in Mr. Trump’s impeachment trial.

Republicans slam Romney for trying to call witnesses and supporting an effort to bring Bolton to testify in front of the Senate. Republicans are trying to focus on how impeachment is apparently a scam and a circus.

Kids, don’t put pennies in electrical outlets: Apparently this needs to be said. The Tacoma School District is warning against an online “penny” challenge, where “social-media users are challenged to record a video of themselves sliding a penny between a partially plugged-in cellphone charger and a wall outlet.” What the fuck?

You aren’t imagining it: There really is an arugula shortage. Former Stranger social media manager and contributor Jessica Fu has more here.

Have you ever seen such a thing?

“The largest act of collective disobedience yet by white collar workers at a major tech company” happened today, according to Vice, when a score of employees violated an Amazon policy by publicly criticizing it. The group also released a Medium post on Sunday that included quotes from 365 Amazon employees.

Updates on the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash: The helicopter was given “special approval to fly around Burbank in foggy weather,” reports the New York Times. In his last radio message before crashing, the pilot “told air traffic controllers… that he was climbing to avoid a cloud layer.” One pilot told AP: “If you get caught in a situation where you can’t see out the windshield, the life expectancy of the pilot and the aircraft is maybe 10, 15 seconds, and it happens all the time, and it’s really a shame.” Remind me to never get in a helicopter. The Times has a great reflection post on Bryant’s biggest moments. Fucking sad.

Can it be spring already?

The view from West Seattle Friday afternoon. from r/Seattle

We haven’t had a sunny day in nearly two months: “Seattle has still not had an official sunny day since ‘Meteorological Winter’ began on Dec. 1,” writes the Seattle PI. They’re describing it as “a nearly unprecedented barrage on the local sun fans.” Local rain fans, however, are positively gloomy and have no complaints.

And if you’ve looked outside recently: It’s nasty.

Universal Basic Income in Washington state? Sen. Joe Nguyen is proposing it—sorta. “A measure introduced Friday by state Sen. Joe Nguyen, D-West Seattle, would create a two-year test of a universal basic income program,” writes Melissa Santos for Crosscut. “The idea: Give 500 adults in Washington state $500 a month for 18 months, then analyze the results. The trial benefit would be available to people who are also eligible for assistance through the state’s Basic Food program.”

Should Seattleites pay the Duwamish rent? The discussion was reignited in the Seattle Times‘s comments section today. I still think that the Times‘s “respect” button is silly.

Some clips from last night’s Grammys to end the day: I thought this was one of the best Grammys in recent years. “This year may well be remembered as one of severe, jolting transition for the Grammys,” writes Jon Caramanica for the Times. “While there were plenty of the usual serious-as-a-snore Grammy performances, they faded from memory thanks to the night’s cleverest and hungriest attendees.” Most of the full performances aren’t on YouTube yet, but here are some of my favorite awards moments.


And… in case you missed Billy Porter’s Grammy hat…

Chase Burns is The Stranger's former editor. He's covered everything from gay luchadores to chemical weapons to Isabella Rossellini's favorite pets.