The ferries will stay fucked: Abandon all hope ye who depend on Washington State Ferries. For years, WSF has been dangling the hope that normal ferry service would return at some point. Maybe some point soon, riders hoped. But WSF changed tacts recently and told the truth: the ferry system will not return to normal service until new boats come online. So, that'll be a cool four to five years of routes continuing to operate with fewer boats and intermittent service reductions. 

Recession who? The labor market kept growing in December despite the holiday doldrums. Last month, employers added 216,000 jobs. That's the 36th month in a row of job increases. In the last year, the US economy added a cumulative 2.6 million jobs.  

A recipe for bad karma: A 42-year-old man was charged with three felonies (first-degree reckless burning, second-degree burglary, and residential burglary) for his alleged role in the New Year's Eve fire at the Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple. The fire destroyed records dating back over 120 years.

Speaking of buddhas: Who placed a burlap sack full of mossy buddhas on this reddit user's car? Sleuths assemble:

Oscar Pistorius out of jail: The Paralympian who shot and killed his girlfriend in 2013 was released from a South African jail after serving nearly 11 years of his more than 13-year sentence. He will serve the remainder of his sentence under strict parole.

Three years since Jan 6: In the years since 2021's insurrection, hundreds of people have been convicted for their role in the riot. It's largest criminal investigation in American history. And the convictions could keep coming. Investigators are still working to identify "more than 80 people wanted for acts of violence at the Capitol and to find out who placed pipe bombs outside the Republican and Democratic national committees’ offices." 

Illinois voters want to boot Trump off the ballot: A group of Illinois voters would really like to follow the example of Maine and Colorado and remove Trump from their state's primary ballot. The petition asks for his removal, citing his role in the Jan 6 insurrection as a violation of the 14th Amendment's "insurrection clause." Currently, there's no hearing set to deliberate on the petition.

COVID, RSV, flu spiking: The post-holiday season cold deluge is upon us. COVID, RSV, and flu infections are spiking nationwide, doctors say. Wear a mask. Get your vaccines. I think one of the viruses may have gotten to me. If you hate this post today, then blame it on my brain turning to mush from whatever cold wormed its way into my weak body. 

Snow! Snow! Snow! Get ready. The first significant snow of this dry, warm winter should be on the way starting tonight for the mountain areas. Locate your Epic Pass, you dirty little ski bums. It's shredding time. (This is what you say, right ski bums?) For all of us stuck at sea-level, snow flurries could flutter down our way starting Sunday. If we get significant snow in Seattle, join me in the arboretum to drop acid and frolic.  

$6.5 million awarded in light rail crash settlement: The family of the Rainier Valley couple who were hit and killed by an oncoming light rail train on their way to a Mariner's game won a settlement of $6.5 million in their lawsuit against Sound Transit, King County Metro Transit, the Seattle Department of Transportation, and the train operator. A train struck the couple as they crossed the street-level pedestrian crossing at Columbia City station. The family's attorney argued the crossing didn't include adequate safety measures such as swing gates or automatic gates to block walkways when trains are coming. The defense said the area was well-marked and the couple attempted a "late crossing... contrary to active no-walk and train-warning signals."

ICYMI: I learned how to curl in my newest Play Date column. 

Let a girl have her DIY, sprawling tunnel system, damn it: A Virginia town told one of its residents, a Tik Tokker known as Kala, to stop constructing a massive tunnel system under her home. Kala's whole Tik Tok presence centers around a DIY project where she is digging these subterranean tunnels under her residential home. The main chamber is 22 feet below ground. Kala feels confident she'll be able to get back to her tunnels and to updating her 500,000 followers on the construction process once she passes an inspection and acquires the proper permits. Can't a girl dig a giant hole in peace?