Council passed SOAP and SODA: Yesterday the Seattle City Council voted 8 to 1 to create six exclusion zones for drug users and one exclusion zone for promoters and buyers of sex work. The policies allow judges to banish people from these areas if they’ve committed certain crimes, and the prostitution loitering law they reinstated permits cops to arrest people for beckoning drivers and leaning through car windows if those actions look sex worker-y enough to them. In true form, the conservatives on the council passed the Stay Out of Drug Areas (SODA) and the Stay Out of Area Prostitution (SOAP) after three-and-a-half hours of overwhelmingly negative public comment and despite opposition from a long list of organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Sexual Violence Law Center.
Someone just said, "I don't think you guys understand how depressing it is to be represented by you all."
— Ashley Nerbovig (@AshleyNerbovig) September 17, 2024
At least someone was having some fun:
Lmao someone put these up all around City Hall this morning ahead of the SODA/SOAP vote. Can't imagine it will sit well with Council Member Cathy "Civility" Moore. https://t.co/ODWKYRjFRg pic.twitter.com/P4kQwgjE4f
— Ashley Nerbovig (@AshleyNerbovig) September 17, 2024
Speaking of that darned council: Council Members Maritza Rivera, Cathy Moore, Bob Kettle and Tanya Woo proposed a competing ballot measure to I-137, a tax on big businesses that would fund social housing, and it sucks! Instead of taxing big businesses, they want to cut millions dedicated to affordable housing, Green New Deal initiatives, and equitable development programs in the JumpStart payroll tax. Raiding programs for the working class will not save us. Hannah has much more here.
Hot debates! Get your hot debates here! Today, the Association of Washington Businesses is hosting debates between Superintendent of Public Instruction candidates Chris Reykdal and the GOP-endorsed David Olson at 11 am, Attorney General candidates Nick Brown and Pete Serrano at 12:30 pm, and Public Lands Commissioner candidates Dave Upthegrove and Jaime Herrera Beutler at 2:30 pm. Tonight at 6 pm, Attorney General Bob Ferguson and former Republican congressman Dave Reichert will debate a second time on KHQ-TV. Tomorrow night at 8 pm, the Washington State Debate Coalition will host another AG debate at Seattle Central College that’ll stream live on Fox13. Next Thursday, Rekydal and Olson are scheduled to debate again at the Edmonds Center for the Arts.
About Olson … The Republican pick for Superintendent of Public Instruction points to his near 11-year record on the Peninsula School District board of directors as evidence that he’s ready to run our schools. But 14 students, parents, and community members from his district told me he’d be disastrous. They say he’s not doing anything about the racist and homophobic bullying in his district, which students and parents have attested to in public meetings, and he maintains a friendly relationship with the local anti-democratic, right-wing extremist parents group, Moms for Liberty. You can read about it all here.
The light rail is fucked at the moment: Sound Transit warned of 30-minute delays due to "a mechanical issue." Prepare yourself.
Morning, all. Looks like there may be another delay this morning with the 1 Line due to a mechanical issue. Service alert says the wait could take up to 30 minutes. Please use the link and map below for alternative options.
— Sound Transit - 🚆 🚈 🚍 (@SoundTransit) September 18, 2024
Service alert: https://t.co/5qxn8xDlUz
Alternative… pic.twitter.com/wbQe4cXPB0
Wealthy investor found dead in his private lake: On August 31, the day after 72-year-old Daniel Reiner was reported missing, Spokane County divers found his body in Trout Lake. Pend Oreille County Sheriff Glenn Blakeslee told The Spokesman-Review an investigation is pending autopsy reports. The county coroner’s office told the paper it completed an autopsy report almost two weeks ago. The findings are not yet public. Reiner owned about 30 properties and invested in companies worth billions.
They’re working on it! Yesterday, the Seattle Department of Transportation removed a smashed metal gate from the Spokane Street Bridge damaged in a Saturday car crash. Several days of repairs lie ahead before cars and trucks can cross again (cyclists, the bike lane is open). SDOT added on X that it had purchase specialized mechanical replacement parts from overseas in case a swap would be quicker than repairs.
It is not safe for drivers to use the bridge without a safety gate. There are also electronic sensors in the mechanical gates which act as safeguards and prevent the bridge from operating without a functional gate.
— Seattle Department of Transportation (@seattledot) September 17, 2024
Biden admin clears Alaska/Hawaiian Airlines merger: The two airlines can get married, so long as passengers keep their rewards miles and the airlines maintain key passenger and cargo routes to rural areas, the US Department of Transportation said Tuesday. Additionally, Hawaiian Airlines must adopt Alaska policies that guarantee family seating without additional fees and compensate passengers for significant delays and cancellations.
Explosions in Beirut: The Associated Press reported that multiple explosions were seen at a funeral for three Hezbollah fighters and a child killed in yesterday's pager attacks. The story is still developing. Yesterday, the New York Times reported that American officials say Israel implanted tiny explosives in the pagers before they reached Hezbollah, which then exploded in grocery stores, stores, sidewalks and elsewhere. Today, Hezbollah launched its first cross-border rocket attack against Israeli artillery since the detonation.
Gee, I sure wish drugs were more expensive: Several high-ranking Republicans told Axios that for all of Trump’s talk about taking on Big Pharma they realllly want to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act provisions that require the next president to negotiate Medicare prices for some drugs. They think negotiating for lower drug prices will hamper innovation. Vice President Kamala Harris wants to do the opposite and expand the drug talks. The Congressional Budget Office found that the provisions would save $100 billion in 10 years.
Systemic racism kills: A meta study (that is, a study of studies) published in the journal Clinical Oncology found that Black women were 40% more likely to die from various forms of breast cancer than white women, despite both groups being diagnosed at similar rates. Researchers suggested that racial disparities in medical care, and not biology, likely account for the disparity.
Gay rights: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is expected to sign an executive order today that will ban the unethical, unscientific, and widely discredited practice of trying to change a person’s sexuality or gender identity through counseling. He first called for the ban at a statewide rally in 2020.
INBOX: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is signing an executive order tomorrow to ban conversion therapy.
— Tessa Duvall 📰 (@TessaDuvall) September 17, 2024
The press advisory says this is an "action to protect Kentucky youth." pic.twitter.com/qp2m1u2WOe
Diddy update: A judge denied Sean “Diddy” Combs bail and ordered he remain in custody while awaiting his federal trial for allegedly using his “power and prestige” to commit a vast array of sexual crimes. Combs has pleaded not guilty to the charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. His lawyers asked that he be released on bond.