Starbucks walkout: On Sunday workers at the roastery on Pike Street picketed outside the building in response to the company "ignoring poor working conditions and overlooking serious concerns," according to a statement from Partners of the Pike Street Roastery. The workers say Starbucks "refused" a request to bargain sent late last month. They also want the company to train more mixologists, raise wages for mixologists to past levels, and implement credit card tipping.
Everett loses suit against bikini baristas: The City of Everett will pay the owner of Hillbilly Hotties and its bikini barista employees $500,000 for infringing upon the employees' First Amendment rights after implementing a city-wide dress code requiring employees of "quick service facilities" to cover up. The City lost the suit and will cough up the half-million dollars in settlement fees. To make matters worse, it already spent $400,000 on legal costs. So, being unnecessarily puritanical cost Everett almost a million dollars.
Seattle's sluggish real estate market: New construction projects are drying up in Seattle thanks to "rising interest rates, high construction costs, ongoing remote work and, now, new uncertainty in banking," Heidi Groover at the Seattle Times reports. These high-interest rates mean banks are more cautious about giving out loans, so builders need more cash up front. Lots of deals simply aren't happening. The slow-down will impact new housing projects at a time when Seattle desperately needs more housing.
In abortion pill news: Late on Friday, a Trump-appointed U.S. District judge in Texas "suspended the approval" of mifepristone, the Food and Drug Administration-approved abortion pill. The unprecedented order applies nationwide. It's unclear what will happen next since a district court in Washington state ruled in the opposite direction, insisting the FDA cannot suspend its approval of mifepristone, though that ruling only applies to certain states. By suspending Roe v. Wade last year, the Supreme Court left abortion access to the states. However, with multiple competing rulings in different states about mifepristone access, the Supreme Court—comprised of the same soul-sucking lampreys who ruled on the Roe decision—to determine mifepristone's future. Suffice it to say, things are bleak.
Australian jam company's clever labor solution: When faced with rapid growth, the Jugiong jam cafe opened a factory. The town's measly population of 200 people couldn't reliably staff a jam factory. So, Jugiong hired kids. Australian news wrote about the child-labor solution as if it were an inspirational, heart-warming story. Child labor is child labor, sorry! The child workers are aged 11 and up. "So many of our managers now are the ones that have started at 11," writes ABC News Australia.
Tacoma fishing vessel fire: On Saturday morning, the Kodiak Enterprise boat moored near Trident Seafoods in the Hylebos Waterway, caught fire, and prompted the Coast Guard to issue a "stay at home" order to northeast Tacoma residents. The fire is burning near the ship's freon tanks, which could cause a heat-activated explosion. The smoke could still be toxic, however. As of Monday morning, the fire is still burning. Several schools in the area announced delayed starts this morning due to the fire.
Crews from @TacomaFire have been battling flames on the Kodiak Enterprise since early Saturday morning.
— Mo Haider (@KOMOhaider) April 10, 2023
This is the Tideflats Port Facility. No cause has been determined.
More on @komonews this morning #Tacoma pic.twitter.com/vJUy1EWfj4
Billionaire benefactor is a Nazi-obsessed freak: Harlan Crow, the billionaire real estate magnate who funded Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas's lavish vacations for decades, has a bit of a Nazi fetish. With a super villain name like Harlan Crow, I can't say I'm surprised to learn about the man's "Garden of Evil," which hosts statues of Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, and other dictators. Crow also has two artworks by Hitler himself, as well as a bunch of other Nazi memorabilia, such as a signed copy of Mein Kampf and swastika-embossed linens.
Multiple casualties in downtown Louisville, KY: Officials confirmed five dead and six en route to the hospital after a shooting at a bank on Monday morning, according to the Courier-Journal. A witness saw a bunch of cops run into the bank with guns drawn and heard a lot of shots. The person suspected of carrying out the mass shooting is dead.
North Dakota lawmakers are out to lunch: The Republican-dominated North Dakotan state Senate passed a bill increasing the amount of money state employees receive in meal reimbursements. They did this 10 days after they killed a bill that would give low-income school kids free lunches.
Mark your calendars:
100 days away: National Hot Dog Day (19 Jul)
— AP Planner (@AP_Planner) April 10, 2023
Trust no man: Not even the Dalai Lama. The 87-year-old spiritual leader kissed a young boy on the lips and told him to "suck my tongue" at an event in northern India. The incident was caught on camera. The Dalai Lama's office issued an apology claiming this actually wasn't a creepy sex thing but an example of "teasing... in an innocent and playful way."
Nashville back-peddles: Nashville officials could vote today to reinstate Rep. Justin Jones, one of two Black lawmakers expelled by the statehouse after he participated in a protest for gun control measures in the wake of the school shooting that killed six people. The Nashville Metro Council will meet Thursday to potentially reinstate the other expelled lawmaker, Rep. Justin Pearson. Both Jones and Pearson hope to be reinstated and plan to run in the special elections that will be held to fill their seats.
Did you place your bets at the corgi derby? Newcomer corgi racer Rodney won first place and beat out a corgi distantly related to one of the queen's corgis.
Woof, what a race! 🤩
— Musselburgh Racecourse (@MusselburghRace) April 8, 2023
It was Corgi Carnage in the annual Corgi Derby after RODNEY landed the spoils in commanding fashion! 🐕 🥇 pic.twitter.com/PSCAHxqDs0
Florida teacher asked kids to pen their own obituaries: A Florida psychology teacher asked his 11th and 12th graders to write their own obituaries ahead of an active shooting drill. He was fired before the school day even ended.
Warning: If you are like me and have not started season three of Succession yet, do not look at social media. Seems like some spoiler-y shit went down last night. I don't know why I haven't started the new season yet. I like the show and I hate spoilers! It's probably the same disease that made me not watch the "Last of Us" even though I know I will love it. I'm commitment averse when it comes to TV right now.