- Ansel Herz
- Protesters filled the chambers of the King County Council on Monday as it considered a contract to build a new youth jail.
It Looks Like King County Is Getting That New Juvenile Detention Center: The Metropolitan King County Council approved a deal with a developer on Monday to build a controversial 144-bed jail and courthouse for minors. King County voters approved the $210 million replacement for its current 212-bed facility in 2012, but a number of protesters showed up to the council’s public comment session on Monday, including Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant. State law mandates that every county house a juvie detention center, and the one we have is leaking and falling apart. But the heart of the multiyear debate comes down to racial equality: King County disproportionately imprisons its black youth. Could we find a better way to keep kids out of prison with $210 million, as this letter from Central District community members suggests? (Slog op-ed debate over the juvie here and here.)
The Executive Director of the Tenants Union is Running for City Council: Jonathan Grant will be challenging either Tim Burgess or Sally Clark. And as Heidi noted in her story that broke the news, Grant’s running on a platform of affordable housing for low-income people and police department reform.
Someone Stabbed a 45-Year-Old Woman in Tacoma and Wrote Homophobic Slurs on Her Body: In horrible, terrible news, somebody attacked a woman in Tacoma on Sunday, strangled her, stabbed her, and wrote homophobic slurs all over her body in marker. The attacker was described as a mid-20s man wearing a Seahawks sweatshirt at the time of the assault.
Lawmakers Push Bills to Exempt Cops, Military, and Security Guards from Gun Background Checks: In 2014, Washington voters overwhelmingly approved I-594, a measure to close dangerous loopholes in existing background check law. After December 4 of last year, Washingtonians buying guns at private sales or gun shows had to go through background checks, too. Opponents of background checks have filed a federal lawsuit over the new rules, but in the meantime, Republicans in the state legislature have introduced bills that would let cops, military, and security guards buy and loan guns without running their names through the system.
Speaking of Republicans, They’re Still Trying to Pay Teens Less Than Minimum Wage for Summer Jobs: Yup, it’s happening again. State lawmakers, led by Senator Michael Baumgartner (R-Spokane), have introduced a bill that would allow summer employers to hire teens between the ages of 14 and 19 for less than the state minimum wage. This isn’t even the first time the idea has been introduced in the state legislature, either.
- Svetlana Valoueva/Shutterstock
- A man in North Seattle says his neighbors’ barking dog causes him “profound emotional distress.”
A Seattle Dog Named Cawper Got His Owners Sued for Half a Million Dollars: A North Seattle resident filed a 36-page complaint about Cawper’s barking and won after Cawper’s owners didn’t (initially) challenge the claims. The suit alleges that Cawper can bark at 128 decibels, or louder than thunder, reports KOMO.
Seattle Might Have to Replace a 100-Year-Old Water Main Because of Settlement in Pioneer Square: Seattle Public Utilities’ Ray Hoffman testified at yesterday’s Seattle City Council briefing that settlement of a big, old water main underneath Western Avenue near Bertha tunnel construction was cause for concern. If the water main needs to be replaced, the city will have to rip up a whole block to fix the problem, which could take a year.
In Other Terrible News, Tacoma Police Found a Body in a Ravine: And that’s all we know about it. The Tacoma Police Department says that the deceased has been identified, but hasn’t yet released a name.
A Keurig Coffee Machine Burned Down an Oregon Couple’s Apartment and Made Them Move to Seattle: The couple moved back to Oregon recently, but KOMO has the full story of how a stupid recalled coffeemaker burned down their home. Keurig offered the couple a replacement coffeemaker.
- Bartosz Budrewicz/Shutterstock
- Note to California parents: DON’T DO THIS ON PURPOSE.
California Actually Warns Parents Not to Intentionally Expose Their Children to Measles: The California Department of Public Health warned its contingent of unbelievably dumb, Whole Foods–brand Kool Aid–drinking parents not to deliberately expose their kids to measles. In 2011, federal health authorities issued a similar warning after parents started mailing each other lollipops infected with chicken pox.
The White House Confirms That 26-Year-Old American Aid Worker and ISIS Hostage Kayla Mueller Is Dead: Her parents issued this statement, reports ABC News: “Kayla was a compassionate and devoted humanitarian. She dedicated the whole of her young life to helping those in need of freedom, justice and peace… Our hearts are breaking for our only daughter, but we will continue in peace dignity and love for her.” Mueller was kidnapped in 2013 in Aleppo, Syria.
