Evictions are up 100%: According to the Seattle Times, King County landlords filed more than 600 eviction cases in October, more than double the number filed a year ago, as Washington's final pandemic-era tenant protections expire and rent assistance becomes harder to find.Â
Do you make six figures? If not, then your family of four is just barely getting by in Seattle, according to a couple new reports analyzed by the Seattle Times. That "true living cost" threshold shot up 80% since 2005, thanks to rapid increases in the prices of "food, housing and child care." To address those issues, we need to tax the rich and large corporations and invest that money in housing subsidies and worker pay, but good luck getting a progressive tax through your new conservative council majority, Seattle!Â
Meanwhile, the current council and Mayor are wasting money on surveillance:Â A new working paper from economists Michael Topper and Toshio Ferrazares shows that ShotSpotter, a gunshot detector program Mayor Bruce Harrell has been obsessed with for years, increased response times and reduced arrest rates in Chicago. This year's budget includes $1.5 million to fund the program in Seattle.Â
Seattle just spent $1.5 million to probably increase response times and decrease arrest rates.
— Rich Smith (@richsssmith) November 25, 2023
Even on their own terms, Mayor Harrell and the conservatives on council are bad at their jobs. https://t.co/9pRyXj5PKB
Science fair:Â The Seattle Fire Department reported a hazardous materials response at the Seattle Police Department's East Precinct Sunday evening. The substance turned out to be "baking soda in a watery solution," but police haven't released more details about how the substance ended up at the precinct. I'll update this post if they find a papier-mache volcano.Â
Chilly fog, then some rain: The first part of this week should bring more freezing fog in the mornings followed by sunny days, then rain Thursday, Friday and Saturday.Â
More pro-Palestine protests in Seattle: Over the weekend, protesters calling for an end to Israel's attacks on Gaza hit the Christmas tree lighting ceremony downtown and the Starbucks Reserve on Capitol Hill, the Seattle Times reports.
#Palestine protest takes over Westlake in #Seattle pic.twitter.com/4OZs3b9Bcp
— Alex Garland (@AGarlandPhoto) November 25, 2023
Truce extended by two days: On Sunday, Israel handed over 39 captives and Hamas handed over 17, including a four-year-old American-Israeli girl, as the uneasy truce turned the corner on its final day. Hamas expressed interest in extending the ceasefire "should serious efforts be made to increase the number of Palestinian detainees released from Israeli prisons," and Israeli officials said they'd be open to extending it provided Hamas releases 10 more hostages each day, as stipulated in the original agreement, Al Jazeera reports. This morning, Qatari negotiators said Israel and Hamas agreed to extend the ceasefire for two more days.Â
More aid trickles into Gaza: Israel's "intense" inspections and restrictions prevent trucks from rolling in with needed supplies, the Associated Press reports. Doctors of the World Executive Director Joel Weiler said the aid takes days to deliver, and then the fighting starts again. “It’s a joke. It’s white-washing," he told the AP. The UN wants Israel to open the Kerem Shalom crossing, which facilitated 60% of the aid truckloads before the war, but the country keeps the gates closed. Despite the uphill battle, some aid reached the bombed-out northern part of the strip on Sunday.Â
Today, @WFP and @UNICEF had a joint mission to deliver vital food assistance to Al-Ahli hospital & surrounding areas.
— Samer AbdelJaber (@SamerWFP) November 26, 2023
It's a promising step, but the team recounted painful stories from the people who haven't received any aid in weeks.
They saw hunger, desperation, & destruction. pic.twitter.com/Mh2kJxQIsS
More than 100 UN aid workers dead: In an interview with CBS, UN Relief and Works Agency Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini told Margaret Brennan they've buried the "highest number of UN workers" in the history of the organization during this war. Though the UN keeps flagging its locations for both sides, belligerents keep attacking their camps and schools. Lazzarini said he was in "no position" to determine who was behind each incident, but he would say the attacks were evidence of "a blatant disregard of international humanitarian law." Meanwhile, attacks on hospitals killed 200 "medical staff" across Gaza. Israel has killed 53 journalists so far, and Hamas killed four in its Oct 7 attack.Â
White man in Vermont shoots three 20-year-old Palestinians: Police arrested Jason J. Eaton, 48, for allegedly shooting three college students of Palestinian descent without saying a word. Two of the three young men were wearing keffiyehs when the guy pulled the trigger, Politico reports. All of the students are in the hospital; one with a chest wound, one who can't feel his lower torso, and another with minor injuries. The family of the victims, who were in Burlington, VT on Thanksgiving vacation, asked police to investigate the shootings as a hate crime.Â
Keep your head on a swivel for Emma: The Amber Alert that may have jolted you out of bed this morning wants us all to look for 14-year-old Emma Lludhal, who was allegedly abducted by Roger Perez-Osario out of the Pasco area. KIRO has more.
Teen shot over parking spot at South Center Mall: Cops say "the teen and his dad were walking into the mall while arguing with someone in a car when the person in the car shot the 14-year-old boy outside the Nordstrom store," KIRO 7 reports.Â
The mind of the driver:Â
Driver will be not wait an extra 30 seconds in name of public safety. He WILL turn right on red! pic.twitter.com/cOZUeSPSdb
— Politics & Education (@PoliticsAndEd) November 26, 2023
Blowing their brains out: The Pentagon released a study showing that firing rocket launchers creates shock waves that hurt soldier brains, and then they created new training restrictions to prevent the problem, but nothing has changed in actual practice, according to a New York Times investigation. The troops recover after a few weeks, but "there is growing concern that repeated exposure may lead to permanent brain damage and serious long-term consequences for mental health."Â
Police arrest more than 100 kayaktivists: "Hundreds" of climate activists blocked an Australian coal port over the weekend, delaying over "half a million tonnes of coal," according to the BBC. Cops "approved" a "30-hour... blockade," but when the clock ran out they started cuffing people. Being Australians, they were very chill about the whole thing: "Hang on the beach and oppose the fossil fuel industry, it's great!"Â
Pt 2 - Dee rescued 15 people in #LismoreFloods and like many climate activists - we’re often on frontlines of both trying to stop climate damage and clean it up when it hits#InsulateLismore was a project that supported dozens of residents abandoned by govt #PeoplesBlockade pic.twitter.com/FOFlt3fhpH
— @peacenicsta.bsky.social & threds (@peacenicsta) November 27, 2023
 I don't normally listen to drum'n'bass, but I've been listening to "Baddadan" by Chase & Status a lot.Â