Morning everyone and happy Tuesday: I'm a little stuffed up at the moment, which motivated me to order some of these FREE COVID-19 test kits. Four per household, people.
Today's weather: Cloudy with a slight chance of rain. Temperatures should reach about 54 degrees. Then later this evening, there's really good chance of rain and patchy fog. If you're headed to the east coast for Thanksgiving, expect some bad weather that might mess with your travel plans.
Israel and Hamas expected to reach ceasefire agreement: After weeks of Israel bombing Gaza into a pile of rubble, the Israeli government and Hamas may have reached a "multi-day ceasefire" agreement involving the exchange of prisoners, according to Axios. Under the deal, Israel would also allow 300 aid trucks per day into Gaza.
If you want a ceasefire: Council Member Kshama Sawant wants you to show up to City Hall before 2 pm today and say so. (You can also provide public comment online.) Sawant reintroduced her ceasefire resolution, and she's trying to pressure her Democratic colleagues into supporting it, but she needs people to show up and support her.
KOMO's new darling: Council Member-elect Rob Saka is out here promising an end to "smash and grab" theft, according to KOMO. Apparently the current Council's "permissive policies" led to some people allegedly driving into a West Seattle business' window and stealing some stuff. Saka guaranteed some extra emphasis patrols, but IDK, all these new back-the-blue council members keep just coming up with "cosmetic solutions to serious social issues," as Charles puts it. And Saka has zero concrete ideas about increasing the number of people who want to be cops.
Meanwhile, some anonymous group keeps sticking these up around town. <3<3<3
— 🇵🇸 All 🇵🇸 Nazis 🇵🇸 Are 🇵🇸 Nonces 🇵🇸 (@AllNaz1s) November 20, 2023
Bruce Harrell wants to abandon transit hub plan: Our Mayor wants to put the future South Lake Union light rail station nearer to the Seattle Center instead of along Aurora Avenue, where it would likely better serve the people of Seattle, according to the Seattle Times. The Mayor's plan would also delay the opening of the SODO-to-Ballard light rail line. Between tanking the other transit hub in the ID and all the dicking around at the Denny Station, the man is just steadfastly opposed to building the trains on time and in a way that makes people want to use them.
Burien votes down pallet village: The Burien City Council still needs to decide what to do with the $1 million King County wants to give the city to build shelters for people living unhoused in Burien, according to KIRO. However, the NIMBYs who live in the City continue to oppose solutions, such as 35 pallet shelters, because they make unfounded accusations and believe homelessness is synonymous with crime.
Playground shenanigans: Viv's expected to have something later today on that playground the City wants to build that might stymie nude activities at Denny Blaine Park (or, affectionately, Dykekiki Beach) as first reported by Capitol Hill Seattle Blog. Here's the petition to oppose the move.
LET GAY PEOPLE BE NAKED OUTSIDE GOD DAMMIT https://t.co/3gwb0cpIft
— Hannah Krieg (@hannahkrieg) November 21, 2023
Suing for voting rights now harder in some states: The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that only the US Government can sue to enforce the Voting Rights Act, according to the Guardian. The ruling limits the ability for individuals and private groups to sue for fixes to Voting Rights Act violations in Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and the Dakotas. Experts expect the ruling to be appealed to the US Supreme Court.
Las Vegas hotel workers settle contract: About 10,000 Las Vegas hospitality workers celebrated a win Monday when they voted to adopt a new contract with Caesars Entertainment, according to the Associated Press. The union won a 32% pay increase for members over five years.
Biden Administration now on Threads: All the big names from the White House joined Threads Monday, including the president, vice president, and their spouses, according to the Washington Post. This comes about a week after the administration "publicly condemned" Elon Musk, who bought Twitter and now forces us all to call it 'X'. The Biden Administration criticized Musk for appearing to endorse an antisemitic conspiracy theory.
World's oldest dog dies: A 31-year-old dog named Bobi died in Portugal Monday, according to the Associated Press. The Guinness World Record certified Bobi as the world's oldest dog ever.
Cops. Have. No. Solidarity: Last week, I wrote a critical piece about the recent agreement between the Seattle Police Department and the City that led to a significant increase in spending on Seattle police. Some people like to act as if our criticism of the Seattle Police Officers Guild is a betrayal of labor, but we don't support strike-breakers here at the Stranger. So, this week I'm including this catchy little ditty to remind people that your argument about cops being no different than nurses or any other worker is a dumb one.