Gooood morning. Today's supposed to be sunny with a high of 47 degrees everyone, and sunset should be around 6 pm. It's almost like summer.
Man charged with killing unhoused people with an axe: Prosecutors filed murder charges Wednesday against 25-year-old Liam Kryger, who's held at the King County Jail in place of a $5 million bond. Kryger's charged with killing at least one unhoused person with an axe. Capitol Hill Seattle Blog points out the Seattle Police Department (SPD) failed to warn anyone about detectives actively looking for a possible axe murderer, despite at least three incidents in February involving deaths and assaults of unhoused people. SPD also failed to invite multiple news outlets to a press conference announcing the arrest Monday, almost as if it didn't warrant significant attention.
SPD was worried an ax murderer was roaming the streets and parks around First Hill and Capitol Hill. They didn't tell anybody until they made an arrest two weeks later https://t.co/E5LtGWq6UG pic.twitter.com/n8KHNKqcGH
— jseattle (@jseattle) March 6, 2024
City unions settle contracts with Mayor Harrell administration: City workers finalized multiple labor contracts with the City Wednesday after more than a year of negotiations, according to the Seattle Times. Workers negotiated a 5% retroactive wage increase for 2023, and 4.5% increase for 2024, a significant improvement over the 1% increase workers said the City first pitched earlier in bargaining talks.
SPD overrode misdemeanor booking restrictions to jail public commenters: Those goddamn rabble-rousers who advocated for refugees at the city council last week needed to be jailed for public safety reasons, according to SPD. However, jail booking restrictions normally wouldn't allow cops to book people on trespass and obstruction charges. Since November, the jail has only overrode its restrictions 12 times, and five of those were for the council protesters. In SPD's probable cause statement, cops said they asked for a booking restriction exception for the public-commenters-turned-protesters due to the "risk of safety they cause(d) to the Seattle City Council members during their meeting." City Council President Sara Nelson did not respond to a request for comment on whether she or any other council member asked SPD to jail the protestors. Mayor Bruce Harrell's office said they were not involved in the matter. SPD said the decision to book someone into jail is at the discretion of the arresting officer and their supervisor.
Meanwhile, when the public commenters showed up at King County Council, things managed not to turn into chaos.
🧵1. What happened yesterday at @KCCouncil when asylum seekers showed up to testify about how they would be w/o a place to sleep in one of the richest areas in the country was extraordinary. Councilmembers Perry, Mosqueda, Baron, Zahilay welcomed them & ensured they cld speak. https://t.co/nanuzjFu13
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) March 6, 2024
Maybe the city council can't safeguard our City: The path to progressive policies may lie in local initiatives. Hannah will have more on that later this morning.
Lawmakers party in celebration of the Strippers' Bill of Rights: Multiple state representatives showed up to a party at Massive on Capitol Hill to celebrate the passage of a bill that allows alcohol and nudity to coexist in harmony. While the bill still needs the Governor's signature, organizers called the passage a major win for the LGBTQ+ community and the Seattle's adult entertainment industry. I wrote about it all.
SPD continues to disproportionately use force against BIPOC: A new report from the Office of the Inspector General says racial disparities persist in SPD's use-of-force data, according to the Seattle Times. SPD was 9.6 times more likely to hurt Black residents than white ones in 2023 and 12.5 times more likely to point a gun at Black residents compared to white ones. Last week, we found an SPD officer had thrown a handcuffed 58-year-old Black man to the ground last September, resulting in an Office of Police Accountability investigation.
Biden to talk for at least an hour tonight: The President is scheduled to give the State of the Union address tonight, which his supporters hope will prove once and for all that he hasn't lost his fire, according to CNN. I'm honestly nervous as all hell about it and have zero confidence in his ability to not mumble his way into a catastrophe, but hopefully he proves me wrong.
Ceasefire in Gaza before Ramadan seems unlikely: Ceasefire negotiations have paused and are expected to resume Monday, the day after the start of the Muslim holiday Ramadan. Mediators between Israeli and Hamas had hoped to establish a ceasefire prior to the holiday, given the fact that time has led to violence in the area in the past due to disputes over a major Jerusalem holy site, according to the Associated Press. Hamas says Israel has refused to guarantee withdrawal from the places it has invaded or commit to allowing the return of displaced people. Israel did not respond to the AP's request for comment.
Some whimsy for your morning from Jazmin Bean: Bean's debut album Traumatic Livelihood is a powerful mix of soaring melody and moving lyrical skill. Enjoy their work as you slow-motion break some vintage vases.