Another $$$ mil $$$ for Cinerama: The Metropolitan King County Council unanimously approved funding for the Seattle International Film Festival to reopen the theater. This comes the week after the Seattle City Council allocated $950,000 for Cinerama. The estate of Microsoft-founder and billionaire city prince Paul Allen sold the theater to the SIFF in May. The nonprofit hasn’t set a firm date for reopening, but it is aiming for fall.

Power lines likely caused Maui fires: Security cameras at a bird conservation center on the Hawaiian island captured a bright flash at 10:47 pm last Monday that experts say likely came from a tree colliding with a power line. This likely caused the first of several devastating fires that engulfed the island’s dry grasslands, destroyed the historic town of Lahaina, and killed at least 106 people. Read more about it here.

Fire at the water plant: Dozens of area firefighters fought a major fire in underground pipes at the Brightwater Treatment Plant that workers accidentally set yesterday afternoon while fusing plastic piping. While the extent of the damage is unclear, the King County Wastewater Treatment Division said the fire did not affect operations.

Police officer falls onto I-5: A Bellevue motorcycle cop on Vice President Kamala Harris’s service detail fell 50 to 60 feet from the Michigan Street on-ramp onto the highway’s southbound lanes. In a tweet, the Bellevue Police Department said he was injured but conscious and alert while on his way to Harborview Medical Center. The Washington State Patrol is investigating what happened here.

 Now to drug news with Ashley…

Final vote on public drug use law expected Sept 19: The Seattle City Council agreed yesterday to hold a final vote on adopting the state’s new public drug use law—with some modifications—after its August recess. Council Member Andrew Lewis tried to move the vote to Sept 5, an idea nixed by Council President Debora Juarez, who said she wanted to allow staff enough time to provide a full briefing on the bill, as well as ensure the Mayor’s office published an executive order that is expected to set some policy expectations for the Seattle Police Department around when to make an arrest. The drug bill first heads to the council’s public safety committee.

Thanks, Ashley! Back to me :)!

If you missed it: Ashley reported this important story about two women who claim the co-founder of XO Seattle sexually assaulted them in the 2010s. Read it here.

Drop that firewood: Seattle and King County upgraded their burn bans to Stage 2, prohibiting all recreational fires. The Seattle Fire Department says the risk of fire is high as long as this hot dry spell continues: so dispose of your cigs safely, check under your car for anything that could drag and cause sparks, and don’t park in dry, grassy areas as your car’s hot undercarriage or tailpipe could start a fire. Propane and charcoal grills are fine. Speaking of hot conditions…

Yep, another scorcher: Expect a sunny day with a high of 91. The National Weather Service’s excessive heat warning remains in place until 11 pm tomorrow night. The high temperatures can be very dangerous, so stay hydrated and maybe reschedule that afternoon jog for later tonight. If you need it, here’s KING 5’s list of cooling centers. Thankfully, we’re cooling back down to the 70s on Friday and Saturday.

What the hell, Vanderbilt? The US Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights is investigating the university’s medical center for turning over transgender patients’ medical records to the Tennessee Attorney General. Two of those patients have already sued the facility for allegedly violating their privacy. This year, Tennessee legislators introduced 26 anti-LGBTQ bills. Ten passed, and two bills, including a ban on trans care for minors, ended up in court.

Protecting Ron DeSantis got 58 percent more expensive: Florida spent $9.41 million in the past fiscal year to protect DeSantis and his family, a period in which he won reelection and announced a presidential run.

North Korea acknowledges the American in their custody: State media says Pvt. Travis King, the 23-year-old soldier who fled over the border from South Korea last month, sought refuge in the DPRK because of “inhuman maltreatment” he experienced in the army. The report did not say what became of King, nor did it mention his current condition, and Pentagon officials couldn’t verify if his statements in the article were genuine.

Just before crossing, King spent time in a South Korean detention center on assault charges, and he was set to face further disciplinary action in the US.

So dumb: A Washington Post analysis found that X, or twitter.com, added a five-second delay for users who click on shortened links to The New York Times, Facebook, and other sites Elon Musk shit-talks. Mysteriously, this delay disappeared after the Post published its story.