Wondering What Those White Silhouettes Are Around Town? They’re ghosts of a sort. The human-shaped silhouettes are being placed throughout the city as part of the World Day of Remembrance, which honors the memories of people killed or injured in traffic accidents. There will be about <a href=”http://www.king5.com/news/local/seattle/white-silhouettes-mark-traffic-deaths/354340203
“>240 silhouettes dotting Seattle’s streets. “Seattle has a goal of zero traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2030. It’s called Vision Zero. The city has lowered speed limits, installed new crosswalks, and redesigned curbs to make streets safer, but they have a long way to go,” KING 5 reports.
At 19, Bryce moved to Seattle to be with his best friend.
Riding in Eastlake bike lane, both were hit by dump truck.
Bryce died. #WDR2016 pic.twitter.com/YUmIaXBdmg
— Seattle Greenways (@SNGreenways) November 21, 2016
Washingtonians Like Their Weed Almost as Much as Their Booze: They spent $212 million on cannabis between April and June this year. Spirits sales amounted to nearly $249 million in the same quarter, The Associated Press reports. (The news service’s report didn’t indicate whether election stress had anything to do with this. But we can imagine…)
Seattle Is Home to a Fake News Site: It’s called the Bipartisan Report and it’s run out of a home in the Denny Blaine neighborhood by the son of a Costco founder, Danny Westneat reports for The Seattle Times. A small selection of their click-baity headlines, links removed for obvious reasons:
“BREAKING: 41 Attorney Generals Across America Move To SHUT DOWN Trump Foundation.”
“JUST IN: Republicans Announce ‘Muslim Burqa Ban’, The Insanity Has Begun.”
“BREAKING: Famous Lawyer Gloria Allred Drops MAJOR Trump Sexual Assault Announcement.”
“We’re a legitimate news media organization. … We’re being attacked as ‘fake’ because traditional media is freaked out we can make more money than you, out of our basements,” Justin Brotman, son of Costco’s Jeff Brotman, told Westneat.
When It Comes to Addressing Homelessness, Olympia and Seattle Aren’t Too Different: The state capitol’s city council are looking to hire a private contractor to help clean up homeless encampments. Olympia’s city council is capping spending at about $299,000, the AP and The Olympian report. “Sweeps” are a controversial and ineffective method of addressing homelessness, as seen here in Seattle. In the process, people struggling with homelessness have lost important documents including state-issued ID cards and medications, among other belongings.
We Don’t Want History to Repeat Itself Under Trump: More than 250 Jewish professors across the United States are calling for Americans to denounce and “mobilize in solidarity” against President-elect Trump’s “racial, ethnic, gender-based, and religious hatred.” In addition to Trump’s attempts to normalize rape culture and xenophobia, the Racist-in-Chief has also suggested creating a registry for Muslims living in the U.S. Sound familiar?
Here’s What They Had to Say: Here’s an excerpt of their letter, which was published in the Jewish Journal:
The United States has a fraught history with respect to Native Americans, African Americans and other ethnic and religious minorities. But this country was founded on ideals of liberty and justice and has made slow and opportunities for all. …
We call on all fair-minded Americans to condemn unequivocally the hateful and discriminatory language and threats that have been directed by him and his supporters against Muslims, women, Latinos, African-Americans, disabled people, LGBT people and others.
Police Clash with Standing Rock Water Protectors : On Sunday, 167 unarmed people protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline were injured by water hoses, rubber bullets, percussion grenades, and teargas deployed by North Dakota police. One person was arrested. As a bitterly cold winter begins to descend on activists, there are mounting concerns that police use of “water cannons” will exacerbate the risk of getting severe hypothermia, The Guardian reports.
Video of water cannons being used on protectors in 26°F/-3°C at barricades at barricades in North Dakota 📷: @johnkdangers #NoDAPL pic.twitter.com/L8gYUglJ9v
— IndigenousEnviroNet (@IENearth) November 21, 2016
The activists are standing up against the final construction permitting segment of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which would tunnel beneath the Missouri River and threaten their water source in addition to other sacred sites. Go read Sydney Brownstone on how the Standing Rock Sioux have built a new environmental movement.
As if 2016 Wasn’t Bad Enough: Sharon Jones, goddess of soul, has died. She was 60 years old.
If Your Spirits Need Lifting: Here’s a video from the Woodland Park Zoo about how zookeepers help treat a retired bunny’s aches and pains:
The zoo also gives their elderly penguins laser treatment for their arthritis.
More in NEWS
Local (and not-so-local) news from your favorite writers.
