In June of 2020, Idaho police found the remains of Lori Vallow’s two children buried in her husband's backyard. The following year, prosecutors charged Vallow and her husband, the apocalyptic novelist Chad Daybell, with murder. 

The exact motives and details of the killings continue to unfold, but in her new book on the case, When the Moon Turns to Blood, Oregon-based journalist Leah Sotille looks for answers in the cultural niche where the two alleged killers gained notoriety: the wild world of fringe Mormon super-patriot doomsday preppers.

Seattle City Council Democrats have put a bill up for a vote on today’s meeting agenda to end $4/hour pandemic hazard pay for grocery workers. If this bill is approved into law, it would be a crushing blow for thousands of grocery workers who continue to struggle as both the BA.5 COVID variant and inflation surge.

Rex, a Ballard grocery worker, said during last Tuesday’s City Council public comment, “In the past two months, 30 of 120 coworkers have tested positive for COVID-19. That’s 25 percent of our workforce. This is a loss of 1,200 labor hours, leading us to a huge staffing shortage in our store. We are tired. This $4 is not only for the sick, it's compensation for the overworked, overlooked, and still underpaid.”

Trent, a West Seattle worker and member of grocery workers union UFCW Local 3000, told the City Council, “... we are basically hanging by a thread. And if that thread called hazard pay is cut, it’s going to be very devastating for the grocery workers in this city.”

You've got just under 12 hours to vote in today's primary: Look, no shame if you haven't gotten to it yet, life's crazy, amirite? Don't stress about who to vote for—our Stranger Election Control Board has the best of the best already picked out for you. At this point, you might be better off dropping your ballot in a drop box. And later this evening, the board's members will scatter across Seattle to be at candidate parties when the ballot drop comes in. Watch this space!

Washington isn't the only state having a primary today: Arizona will have their pick of election deniers in several federal and local races, including the battle for governor. In Michigan, voters will decide what nutjob Republican will face Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in fall and whether GOP Rep. Peter Meijer will be ousted for voting for Trump's impeachment. Also, Kansans are going to vote on abortion in a confusingly worded ballot measure. 

This is a preview of this week’s Savage Love. The full version is now exclusively available on Dan’s website Savage.Love.

I’m a 36-year-old married woman who fantasizes about her husband of 10 years being intimate with other women. This isn’t a new thing for me. I’ve fantasized about this for years, but we’ve never acted on it. He is intrigued but afraid that it might somehow damage our relationship. But I’ve done some research on it and it’s something I’m eager to try. (With my husband’s consent, of course!) But in all my research, I’ve found different and sometimes conflicting definitions of what it means to be a “cuckquean.” I’m interested in watching my husband pleasure and be pleasured by another woman in a purely physical way. I’m not interested in being “cheated on.” No flirty texts, no unsanctioned coffee dates. I’ve read accounts of women who are turned on by the humiliation and insecurity of their partner being with others, often women the husband knows “in real life,” either through work or through social life. In my case, I would rather my husband not even know the name of the other woman. And he would only be able to sleep with her with my consent and I would want to be “in control” of the situation. So, what does that make me? Do cuckqueans come in all different proclivities? I feel like the end result is the same—my partner bedding someone else—but my motivation is different than what I’ve seen.

What The Cuck Am I?

An insurrection rioter got sentenced to seven years. Guy Wesley Reffitt brought a gun to the insurrection in DC, and after he learned he was under investigation, he insinuated that he might shoot his kids as traitors. Prosecutors wanted him put away for 15 years, but the judge reduced it to seven. Donald Trump is still at large.

Lol, rich Laurelhurst neighbors accidentally complained about the wrong cars. Some guy in the super-expensive Laurelhurst neighborhood has been renting out cars from a fleet of several dozen, and neighbors complained about his vehicles blocking sidewalks and streets. But when the City investigated, they found all his cars following the rules, not blocking anything, and leaving ample parking available. It seems that the disgruntled neighbors may have actually been complaining about cars parked by people visiting the nearby children’s hospital; or maybe they were complaining about their own cars without realizing it. Anyway, congratulations to Laurelhurst’s beleaguered millionaires on discovering that cars suck and take up too much space.

Moisture! It didn’t last long, but there were a few droplets of rain this afternoon. You may remove your stillsuit.

The current sitch in #WestSeattle — RAIN 🌧! pic.twitter.com/MX69D24FnP

— M. Lorena González (@MLorenaGonzalez) August 1, 2022

Nichelle Nichols died on Saturday. She was 89. Her fame was almost entirely made by Lieutenant Uhura, the character she played on what is now called Star Trek: The Original Series. The sci-fi TV show, which premiered in 1966, was not a hit. CBS canceled it in 1969 after only three seasons. But Star Trek’s afterlife in broadcast syndication made it and its stars icons of American popular culture.

There was indeed a time in America when it was hard to find a person who hadn’t watched all of Star Trek’s 79 episodes. They were always on TV, which in the 1970s had no competition from cable. In the 1960s, however, Lieutenant Uhura made a huge and lasting impression on Black America. She was one of the few Black characters on a major network who had a respectable job, who was an expert, and who radiated talent and intelligence. This fact was so remarkable that the show found a big fan in none other than Martin Luther King Jr. 

While she portrays herself as a common sense-oriented consensus-builder, Claire Wilson isn’t afraid to draw a line in the sand against the increasingly deranged assaults on basic human decency coming from today’s Republican party. She absolutely refuses to tolerate any attempts to roll back abortion rights or villainize the LGBTQ+ community, which seems like a low bar to clear, but this is the world we live in. 

Pride month may have come and gone, but Seattle’s festivities are far from over—including one of the city’s most beloved community events, Alki Beach Pride. Back for its ninth year, it’s Seattle’s only Pride celebration on a beach is bringing even more experiences to multiple venues on August 13 and 14 under the theme of “Together Again.” There will be live music, performances, a skate-and-ride Roll OUT, a drag brunch, sunset yoga, and an outdoor movie—all on the sandy beach and boardwalk of Alki and the nearby Admiral neighborhood.

Featured performers include R&B singer DeAndre Brackensick of American Idol fame, Honolulu singer and percussionist Jenn Wright (JRoQ), and more entertainment yet to be announced. They’ll all make Alki Beach Pride a destination worth the drive (or water taxi ride) to the island of West Seattle. Check the event’s the official Instagram account for the latest updates.

Greg Stump has been working as an artist, writer, and teacher in Seattle for two decades. He is a longtime contributor to The Stranger, a former critic and journalist for The Comics Journal, and the co-creator (along with David Lasky) of the acclaimed comic book series Urban Hipster.

In 2015, Fantagraphics Books published his debut graphic novel, Disillusioned Illusions, through its FU Press imprint. His most recent book is the cartoon collection Lovebunnies. Stump also teaches comics in the public schools through Seattle Arts & Lectures’ Writers in the Schools program, and to kids and teens at the Richard Hugo House.

Tomorrow is the day. While it’s not quite the Super Bowl for democracy fans, or even really the playoffs, the midterm primary elections present a major opportunity for voters to make some change in state and federal politics. 

Though Washington makes it very easy to participate in elections, traditionally the midterm primaries draw out base voters on both sides and wealthy homeowners who cry over shuttered Starbucks stores downtown. Right now it’s hard to pinpoint exactly who’s voting, but, as usual, the youths are running late to the party. 

The good news: It’s not too late! You still have time to vote! Plenty of it, actually! Here’s how to vote (even if you haven’t registered yet), who to vote for, and who’s voting. 

The Ballard-area Democrats could not get their shit together before the filing deadline, and so the SECB had to choose between four Pod Save America types with nearly identical policy positions–and also Waylon Robert, a gay union booster with an unplaceable drawl and the vibe of a guy who is one personal tragedy away from packing up his bindle and hopping on the next freight train to god knows where for god knows how long, but, man, sometimes, when that railroad calls you answer. 

FESTIVALS

South Lake Union Block Party 
Every year, South Lake Union throws itself a party featuring diverse musical pleasures from local bands (this year's lineup includes The Moondoggies, Smokey Brights, Cytrus, and I///U). There will also be food trucks, a beer garden, a "letterpress salon," and booths from local community businesses and organizations.
South Lake Union Discovery Center (Fri Aug 5)

Ravin Pierre is a long shot. He would say so himself. But if 30-year incumbent Senator Patty Murray or her Republican challenger, Tiffany Smiley (“I just call her Karen,” Pierre said) adopted his simple three-point platform, he’d bow out of the race, no questions asked. Those three points include preventing QAnoners from trying to overthrow democracy again, making the office more transparent by wearing a body camera at both public and private meetings, and enforcing two-term limits by threat of jail.

Although his website says “Fuck Patty Murray,” Pierre doesn’t hate Washington’s “mom in tennis shoes.” As far as ridiculously powerful politicians go, Murray’s not that bad. But no single person should wield such power for so long, Pierre said.  

As chair of the conservative New Democrat Coalition, Rep. Suzan DelBene leads the party’s corporate drones down the path of mealy-mouth centrism and inefficient incrementalism. That bloc has yet to find a universal program it didn’t want to means-test to death, nor a civility norm it didn’t cling to. 

For instance, the GOP already packed the Supreme Court, and DelBene is over here with this brave take on Court expansion: “You could expand the Court, but so could the Republicans if they’re in the White House….What happens if one side does and the other side does, too, how does that play out?” Good question! We said we’d call her after the Republicans take the Senate and do whatever the fuck they want anyway.