It’s another two-byline Slog PM! Jump to the bottom to see PAC $$$ updates from The Stranger‘s Rich Smith.
Stacey Abrams will not run for president in 2020: I didn’t realize there was still speculation that she was going to run, but she’s not. SHE’S NOT, OKAY? The Georgian Democratic superstar will instead focus on preventing voter suppression, reports the New York Times.
Protests in Hong Kong continue to escalate: “I hope it works out for everybody, including China,” Trump told reporters today. Some more words from our president during the crisis:
Many are blaming me, and the United States, for the problems going on in Hong Kong. I can’t imagine why?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 13, 2019
Our Intelligence has informed us that the Chinese Government is moving troops to the Border with Hong Kong. Everyone should be calm and safe!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 13, 2019
But really: Yikes.
Meet the new Sounders owners: Eleven families have become owners of the Sounders, reports the Seattle Times, including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and his wife, Anu Nadella; Russell Wilson and Ciara; and Macklemore and his wife Tricia Davis. Also, I didn’t know Drew Carey is also an owner but he is. The more you know!
RARE BLUE WHALES: OFF THE WASHINGTON COAST. I’m putting the caps lock on because these whales are the BIGGEST ANIMALS IN THE WORLD. They can grow up to 110 feet and blow water up to 30 feet high. This is believed to be only the fourth sighting of blue whales off the Washington Coast in 50 years. They appear to be traveling more north than usual.
Meanwhile, salmon are AWOL: Only 17,000 sockeye salmon have passed through the Ballard Locks this summer, which is much lower than the 450,000 (!!!) salmon that passed through the locks in 2006. Experts worry this will have major negative ripple effects on our ecosystem, reports KOMO.
Police can’t agree whether the Dayton shooter was targeting his sister: One of the first people killed during a shooting rampage in Dayton, Ohio, that left nine people dead was the gunman’s sister, reports AP. But Dayton’s police chief announced today that it is still unknown whether the attacker was intentionally targeting his sister during the shooting.
Police say it’s “inconclusive” whether the Dayton mass shooter intended to murder his sister, who was one of the 9 people killed https://t.co/H9n7JKbYS7 pic.twitter.com/V4m1jx6We7
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 13, 2019
Maybe Ken Cuccinelli reads Slog PM: Yesterday, I wrote this as a sad joke:
But then, uh, he literally said that: They’re rewriting the Statue of Liberty poem now.
1/ “Give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet,” @USCIS head Ken Cuccinelli tells @rachelnpr.
A new Trump administration rule would penalize immigrants likely to need public benefits like nutrition or housing aid. pic.twitter.com/ZBIpHVimF4
— Morning Edition (@MorningEdition) August 13, 2019
Cuccinelli: That statue of liberty poem was about “people coming from Europe.” pic.twitter.com/nrDcUGJsU3
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) August 13, 2019
The Seattle trial involving the shooting of an antifa member in 2017 has been declared a mistrial: The high-profile trial of Elizabeth and Marc Hokoana, the couple charged with assaulting and shooting a protester protesting Milo Yiannopoulos at UW on the eve of Trump’s inauguration, is deadlocked. After seven days of deliberation (and a five-week trial), the jury has failed to reach a unanimous verdict. A major complication in the trial has come from the shooting victim, Joshua Dukes, who has refused to testify, claiming he doesn’t trust or believe in the justice system. Dukes’s absence has been seized on by the trial’s defense attorneys. “Why didn’t he testify? they asked. What was the state hiding?” writes the Seattle Times. Today, instead of walking out of the courtroom in handcuffs, the couple walked out holding hands. “In my business, that’s a win,” said one of their attorneys. It’s unclear if the case will be retried.
This guy wants to be president forever: Will he get his wish?
I’m telling you people, he’s NOT KIDDING. https://t.co/KWXwoYMkVO
— JEN KIRKMAN (@JenKirkman) August 13, 2019
Here’s Heidi Groover’s story on Seattle’s new bus lane hero: “You’re in the wrong lane, honey,” the pedestrian hero notoriously said in a semi-viral video that showed her standing in the road while redirecting cars out of a bus-only lane last weekend. SDOT’s take on the situation? “While we empathize with bus riders’ frustration over drivers who disregard this law, it also essential that people on foot obey the law and stay out of the street for their own safety unless they are crossing the street at the appropriate place and time,” a spokesperson told Groover.
SPD says the bus lane vigilantes should channel their frustration into something “more productive” like lobbying for camera enforcement. Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff says they’re “heroes.” https://t.co/Wgyvenc0nA
— Heidi Groover (@heidigroover) August 13, 2019
CBS and Viacom are merging: Again. The two media giants, which used to be one company called Viacom until their split in 2006, will reunite. The deal is intended to allow the companies to “invest more in streaming,” which the New York Times‘ reporting called “the future of entertainment.” CBS has a streaming service that is reportedly doing well, and Viacom owns the ad-supported service Pluto TV. “I am really excited to see these two great companies come together so that they can realize the incredible power of their combined assets,” said Shari Redstone, the chairperson of the joined companies, in a statement.
Before we pivot to some hot Seattle election PAC $$$ news: Let’s consider Little Women. The star-powered film released its trailer today. I was once cast in Little Women the Musical—I played the little known part of Braxton, a rapist in a dream sequence—and I never want to hear this story again. But the internet won’t shut up about this, so here you go.
Seattle general election update from Rich Smith:
PAC $$$ Update: Last Friday, Bellevue billionaire and Mariners owner John Stanton kicked in a healthy $5,000 to former interim mayor Tim Burgess’s People for Seattle PAC. Terry Gillespie, a venture capitalist and Stanton’s wife, also contributed $5,000. Their donations will ensure Burgess can keep pumping out racist and sexist mailers, which he hopes will depress turnout for city council candidates who want to tax big businesses in order to raise much-needed revenue to pay for homeless services. The PAC also deposited a check from Sotheby’s real estate broker and “Pacific Northwest lifestyle specialist” Greg Bennet for $2,500. All told, the PAC filed nearly $15,000 in contributions.
In yesterday’s reporting, Moms for Seattle added another $500 to their coffers, with two contributions coming from outside Seattle and one anonymous $25 donor.
Nick Hanauer’s progressive PAC, CAPE, disclosed $8,000 in contributions split between two unions, Unite Here Local 8 and SEIU Local 925. Meanwhile, CASE has filed $850 in contributions.
More in NEWS
Local (and not-so-local) news from your favorite writers.
