It's Always Election Season!

Slog AM/PM

Slog PM: Washington's Free COVID Test Website Is Live, Situation in Jail Still Very Bad, Bye Bye Funko

by Rich Smith • Friday at 6:22 pm

Comin at ya in one to two weeks.
Comin at ya "in one to two weeks." Massimiliano Finzi / GETTY

Say yes to the test: That's the chipper new name for Washington's free at-home COVID test campaign, "powered by" CareEvolution and fulfilled by Amazon warehouse workers. Just pop on over to sayyescovidhometest.org, plug in your zip code, fill out the form, and then wait one to two weeks for up to five tests to arrive.

More on the alarming conditions at King County Jail: Some people in jail are seeing no time out of their cell at all, and "the court has explicitly refused" to allow remote hearings for sentencing and arraignment proceedings despite continued high case counts within and outside of the jail, according to an email from King County Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Pascal Herzer to ACLU senior staff attorney John Midgley.

Last Tuesday Midgley wrote a letter to Herzer inquiring about the conditions at the county jails. Specifically, Midgley asked about reports of 1) People "being held in solitary confinement type conditions and only being allowed out for 15-30 minutes a day, which is not enough time to use the phone and shower." 2) "Some people" waiting "a week or more for clean uniforms including underwear." 3) Common areas not being cleaned. That Friday, public defenders and corrections officers joined forces to write a list of concerns about the COVID outbreak severely hobbling jail operations, with "one third of the jail locked in COVID protocols," delays of fresh meals, and limits on clients meeting with attorneys.

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Film/TV • Unstreamable

Flesh Gordon Is Unstreamable

by Jas Keimig • Friday at 5:45 pm

You know that thang was thangin
You know that thang was thangin' Courtesy of Hen's Tooth Video

Unstreamable is a column that finds films and TV shows you can't watch on major streaming services in the United States.*

We're bogged down with all these Sundance films this weekend, so we're dropping a mini column tonight. I'll add one more pick and Chase will add two next week, so check back then. In the meantime, we got the megalist.

FLESH GORDON
USA, 1974, 78 minutes, Dir. Michael Benveniste, Howard Ziehm
Oh its outrageous alright.
Oh it's outrageous alright. Graffitti Productions

I picked up Michael Benveniste and Howard Ziehm's Flesh Gordon—a sex spoof of the 1936 superhero serial Flash Gordon—in the Sexploitation room of Scarecrow Video just after someone cropdusted the tiny space with the worst fart ever. The smell literally choked me out. I note this only because the juxtaposition of the stinky smell with the smutty content accurately reflected the irreverent strangeness of Flesh Gordon.

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Food & Drink • Things To Do • EverOut

This Week in Seattle Food News: Dough Joy Opens On Capitol Hill, Little Neon Taco Returns, and Arepas Are Coming

by EverOut Staff • Friday at 5:30 pm

The vegan doughnut shop Dough Joy is now open on Capitol Hill.
The vegan doughnut shop Dough Joy is now open on Capitol Hill. Dough Joy

In this week's batch of food news, Dough Joy opens a vegan doughnut shop, Little Neon Taco is back with a new West Seattle location, and Paparepas Venezuelan Food is headed to Capitol Hill. Read on for all of that and more updates for your weekend, like a Bo Burnham-inspired IPA at Cloudburst Brewing. For more ideas, check out our food and drink guide.

NEW OPENINGS AND RETURNS


Dough Joy
There's a new doughnut destination on Capitol Hill: The vegan and queer-owned doughnut truck Dough Joy, which owners Christopher Ballard and Sean Willis call "Seattle’s only 100% plant-based yeast-raised doughnut truck," opened a brick-and-mortar location on Capitol Hill in the former space of the recently closed Old School Frozen Custard this week. The shop offers flavors like the "Basic B" (a plain glazed doughnut), "Cookie Butta," Vanilla Bean with Sea Salt, Banana French Toast, Peanut Butter Oreo, and more, as well as coffee from Fulcrum Coffee Roasters. 
Capitol Hill
Pickup

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News • City • Housing

Sawant Reignites Her Push for Rent Control in Seattle

by Hannah Krieg • Friday at 4:37 pm

The rent control crusader crusades on
The rent control crusader crusades on

Renters flocked to the first 2022 meeting of the Seattle City Council’s Sustainability and Renter’s Rights Committee to scorn their allegedly negligent, rent-gouging landlords. Many called for committee chair Councilmember Kshama Sawant’s favorite legislation-to-be, rent control.

Three renters gave presentations about their landlords failing to address housing code violations. (There was also a presentation about the city’s contract with financial institutions as a means to demand they divest from fossil fuel companies – it is also the Sustainability Committee, after all.)

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Film/TV • Sundance Comes to Seattle

Sundance Review: Well, We Loved This One

by Chase Hutchinson • Friday at 4:00 pm

Fair warning: I want to gush about this movie. I want to write that it's cinema! that ignites your very soul! I loved it. (And I'm not the only one; it's already picked up fancy awards.)

The third film in director Joachim Trier’s Oslo Trilogy, The Worst Person in the World centers on the otherwise ordinary existence of young Julie as she struggles to find direction over four years of her life. It's in the ordinary that the film finds something transcendent. This is due in no small part to how actress Renate Reinsve plays Julie with a dynamic and devastating grace, carrying the character through new emotional heights with ease.

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History

Sometimes-Seattle Architect Henry Dozier and the Mystery of the Boiled Baby

by Matt Baume • Friday at 2:30 pm

Preservation is one way to remember the past, but its not the only way.
Preservation is one way to remember the past, but it's not the only way. Matt Baume

First things first: Yes, the building is very old.

And yes, people get old too, and sometimes when you see something that’s as old or older than you are at the end of its life, it reminds you that you’re not a teenager anymore, and you realize that maybe you’ll get knocked over and replaced by someone as young and cute as you used to be, and that’s not fair, but if that happens then you’re one of the lucky ones because it means you had a good long run, and maybe if you’re REALLY lucky you’ll have a chance to tell your cute young replacements some of the things you learned so they won’t have so many regrets when it’s time for them to get knocked over and replaced.

So. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the Jai Thai building on Broadway, architect Henry Dozier, and the boiled baby.

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EverOut

50 Cheap & Easy Things to Do in Seattle This Weekend

by EverOut Staff • Friday at 1:55 pm

View Mary Ann Peters Storyboard (1) at the Momentous Gesture group show, curated by Strange Fire Collective.
View Mary Ann Peters' Storyboard (1) at the Momentous Gesture group show, curated by Strange Fire Collective.
And just like that... we're back at the weekend. Read on for weekend plans you don't have to commit to until the last minute, including the penultimate weekend to catch  the intersectional art show Momentous Gesture and socially distanced events like Parkour on the Waterfront and Freeway Park Illuminations. For more ideas, check out our guide to the top events this week.

FRIDAY


MUSIC


A Dance Party (Taylor's Version)
Enjoy a mix of Taylor's Version hits and remixes for this all-T Swift all-night dance party featuring Seattle's best drag queens. This is probably the only acceptable place to request "All Too Well (10-minute version)" at the DJ booth.
(Neumos, Capitol Hill, $5)

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Labor

This Week in Worker Conquests: Starbucks Ends Vax Mandate, Shocking Union Enrollment News, and No More Piss Bottles?

by Conor Kelley • Friday at 12:15 pm

Are you a grocery worker who was denied hazard pay? The Seattle Office of Labor Standards wants to hear from you.
Are you a grocery worker who was denied hazard pay? The Seattle Office of Labor Standards wants to hear from you. Luis Alvarez / GETTY

With strike updates and the State Legislature back in session, this week brought some exciting local labor news. It also brought some ... less exciting national news. Let’s get into it.

Starbucks ends vax mandate: Last week’s Supreme Court ruling struck down vaccine mandates for large employers, putting public health back in the hands of big business. After issuing a Jan 3 statement claiming the company would support the mandate to “create the safest work environment possible,” this week Starbucks changed course, saying, “We respect the court’s ruling and will comply.” This decision was apparently made without consulting any of their unionized “partners,” the New York Times reports. Starbucks is the first major U.S. employer to end mandatory vaccinations. Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports that Carhartt, which has a clothing store in downtown Seattle, refused to change its policy. That prompted a social media backlash from conservatives.

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News • Stranger Election Control Board

Think of the Freaking Children, Seattle: Vote YES on Both Seattle Public School Levies

by Stranger Election Control Board • Friday at 11:20 am

You have until Feb 8 to vote YES on Propositions 1 and 2.
You have until Feb 8 to vote YES on Propositions 1 and 2. Check your mail for your ballot.

Hello! If you’re only now awakening from a two-year-long coma, then, first of all, welcome back. Glad you made it. We’re all a little jealous, actually, because while you were away a deadly respiratory virus broke out and fucked up life for everyone on the planet. Big bummer, we know.

Mass sickness, death, anxiety, political madness, and the emergence of necroeconomics strained or broke nearly every system around the globe—and that very much included our fragile schools.

Teachers, students, staff, and administrators faced a fuckton of challenges in switching (back and forth) to remote education. Instructors were forced to choose between their health and teaching in a classroom, learning was lost, test scores and mental health tanked, and a bunch of racists went on an anti-Black crusade at school boards. Sorry to keep up this buzzkill bit, but all that shit is still happening.

Fallout from all that led to a big drop in enrollment, which put Seattle Public Schools in financial trouble. At a Jan 19 meeting the school board announced that the district is facing a $70 million shortfall next year (though that could drop to $47 million if Olympia comes to the rescue). That figure assumes Seattle voters will renew the two levies that will appear on Feb 8 special election ballots, which should hit mailboxes by Jan 21 or Jan 24.

If Seattle rejects those levies, then the district will find itself in a deeper, darker, and much less ventilated hole than the one it’s already in. That’s because the levies fund important operations budgets and long-overdue building projects that we need to keep kids learning in safe environments. Since we clearly lack the political will to slow climate change, patching up a leak or two in the schools and paying for nurses seems like the least we can do.

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Stickers

Sticker Patrol: Making Seattle Shitty Is a Full-Time Job

by Jas Keimig • Friday at 10:05 am

"Making Seattle Shitty Is a Full-Time Job"
Ive said it before and Ill say it again, this guy blows.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, this guy blows. JK
Seattle’s street-sticker prophets would like to remind the city, and probably particularly the cranks at the Seattle Times Editorial Board, that it’s not anarchists on Twitter or the unhoused or Kshama Sawant making Seattle shitty—it’s Mr. B! The dude who dodges taxes, treats his workers like garbage, and looks like a Getty Image stock photo of a villain. Fun fact: I spotted this billionaire at a swanky restaurant on Capitol Hill recently and almost pooped my pants. That dude def sees all these stickers that dunk on him.

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Food & Drink • Things To Do • EverOut

Our Favorite Places to Get Hot Chocolate in Seattle

by EverOut Staff • Friday at 9:45 am

Oddfellows hot chocolate is topped with house-made marshmallows.
Oddfellows' hot chocolate is topped with house-made marshmallows. Oddfellows

Nothing brightens the winter doldrums like a cup of thick, rich hot chocolate. We've rounded up some remarkable ways to get your fix around town, from Mexican drinking chocolate at Rey Amargo Chocolate Shop to hot cocoa with house-made marshmallows at Oddfellows. For more ideas, check out our food and drink guide.

Atulea
Vince Shi and Kathy Wang's stylish Capitol Hill tea shop has put their own twist on hot chocolate by mixing it with genmaicha (brown rice green tea) and topping it with mini marshmallow bits.
Capitol Hill
Pickup, delivery, dine-in

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Slog AM/PM

Slog AM: Surprise Sweeps, Meatloaf Dies, and How to Survive the Plague When the Government All But Abandons You

by Hannah Krieg • Friday at 8:32 am

From Ballard Commons, a sweep that had much more forethought
From Ballard Commons, a sweep that had much more forethought HK

“Surprise” sweeps: Stop The Sweeps provides sweep support nearly every time this city decides to uproot a group of unhoused people. These folks never like sweeps, but this week they were especially unhappy. On Wednesday, the city swept Westlake Park with little notice. A spokesperson from Seattle Parks and Recreation said those residents got 24 hour notice. The evils of capitalism led to people blocking sidewalks with their homes, and — since the city loves pedestrians so much — of course it addressed this issue with urgency.

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Slog AM/PM

Slog PM: Happy Two-Year COVIDversary; Warren Says She Won't Run for Prez; and Damn, We've Got Bagels?

by Chase Burns • Thursday at 5:55 pm

Getty Images is like LOL, no such thing as Seattle bagels.
Getty Images is like "LOL, no such thing as Seattle bagels." Screenshot

A bold claim: "[Seattle's] best bagels are just as good as any in New York.”

That explosive quote comes from fresh Seattleite J. Kenji López-Alt: He told the Seattle Times' Tan Vinh that among his favorite local bagel places are Loxsmith Bagels and Zylberschtein’s Delicatessen & Bakery.

It's the two-year anniversary of the first reported case of COVID-19 in the United States: Congrats, Snohomish County, you'll always have the honor of being at the center of that anniversary.

It's also David Lynch's birthday: Those two dates are unrelated. I think. Lynch is 76.

What were you doing two years ago today? Since that day, there have been 69 million cases reported in the US and around 860,000 deaths. President Biden held a press conference yesterday where he admitted they should have ramped up testing sooner—but, hey, testing is getting better!!!! He says. We have not heard anecdotal reports that testing is getting better, but Bruce did announce these new testing spots so, hey, we're, uh, getting there... one day...

In Germany they have these little tents where you can (and have to!) get rapid tested before going to bars and clubs. They're not perfect, but look around—it's hard to complain when our approach is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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News • Arts • Coronavirus

BIPOC-Led Cultural Organizations Got Tons of Funding in 2020—Then We Left Them High and Dry

by Jas Keimig • Thursday at 4:15 pm

The cultural sector took a huge hit during the pandemic.
The cultural sector took a huge hit during the pandemic. Courtesy of LANGSTON

Anecdotally, we knew COVID-19 hit the arts sector hard. Now, we have more data to back it up.

On Wednesday, ArtsFund released a massive report detailing the extensive impact the pandemic has had on arts organizations in Washington state. The Covid Cultural Impact Study quizzed 200 cultural nonprofits in the state across a wide range of disciplines, as well as another 1,500 individuals, on their experiences during the last 18 months. The study provides a snapshot of the state of the sector and gives recommendations on how to move forward.

From 2019 to 2020, ArtsFund found a $131.6 million drop in earned revenue at its surveyed organizations, with a $35.7 million jump in contributed revenue through things like grants and donations. That leaves the total staggering decrease in revenue at around 21%, or $95.9 million. And that's not including 2020-2021, which ArtsFund CEO Michael Greer says saw an additional 60% reduction in earned revenue. Damn, where's all the NFT money when you need it?

Screen_Shot_2022-01-20_at_2.24.24_PM_1.png
Screenshot from Study

That financial upper-punch to the gut was not felt equally by all arts organizations. The study found that the bigger a cultural organization was, the more pandemic relief funding it had access to receive, like the federal Payroll Protection Program.

Interestingly, many smaller BIPOC-identifying organizations reported "significantly increased attention and funding" following the Black Lives Matter protests during the summer of 2020. The survey group saw a 29% increase in contributions between FY 2019 and 2020. But in FY 2021, the story changed significantly; ArtsFund reported that the contributed revenues for that year “are lower than their FY 2019 baseline,” dropping 50% from FY 2020 to 2021.

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EverOut

Tickets Are on Sale This Week for Jawbreaker, Bastille, and More Newly Announced Seattle Events

by EverOut Staff • Thursday at 3:30 pm

‘90s post-hardcore trio Jawbreaker will celebrate the 25th anniversary of their genre-defining album Dear You at Showbox Sodo in March.
‘90s post-hardcore trio Jawbreaker will celebrate the 25th anniversary of their genre-defining album Dear You at Showbox Sodo in March.
Having steadily released a handful of new singles throughout 2021, British pop-rockers Bastille are poised to hit the road this year (with a Seattle stop in the spring) with their fourth album, Give Me the Future. Plus, Slipknot maggots (aka fans) have a new Knotfest Roadshow to look forward to, and Marymoor Park has added yet another show to their summer season—"Ballard-born" indie folk act The Head and the Heart. Read on for details on those and other newly announced events that you'll want to grab tickets for before they sell out.

ON SALE THURSDAY, JANUARY 20


Hanson
The Moore Theatre (Sat Aug 27) 

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