What's up, doc? E. coli is what's up. It's in the carrots. Whole and baby carrots farmed by Grimmway Farms are the source of an E. coli outbreak in 18 states. Nationally, 39 people have fallen ill. Of those, 15 have been hospitalized and one has died. In Washington alone, eight people have been infected, five of whom have been hospitalized.
In local beer news: Elysian Brewing, a Seattle pioneer in the craft beer scene since 1996, permanently closed its Georgetown taproom last week, and its Georgetown production facility will close for good on December 31. This closure comes after 33 workers in the Georgetown facility voted to unionize. Since then, they have not reached a contract deal with their owner, Anheuser-Busch, which purchased the beer company in 2015. Could this signal the end of Seattle-made Elysian beer? Don't panic yet. Elysian's Capitol Hill taproom and (much smaller) brewery will remain open and will receive a $1.7 million investment. With the closure of the much bigger Georgetown facilities, it's unclear how many jobs will be impacted. The Washington Beer Blog reported 90 employees could lose their jobs, while a spokesperson for Elysian claimed all jobs would be safe.
A snowy winter ahead? It's going to be soggy and wet all week. Perhaps that moisture combined with frigid temperatures will spawn moist snowflakes. Perhaps it will remain rain. Regardless, we should be in for a wetter, colder, snowier winter than last year.
Wouldn’t be surprised if there are some very wet snowflakes in the air tomorrow night near Seattle—on some of the highest hills.
— Seattle Weather Blog (@KSeattleWeather) November 18, 2024
Won’t have any impact, but could be a very brief taste of what’s hopefully a snowy winter ❄️to come!
Deadly shooting in U-District: A 31-year-old man was shot and killed at the 4500 block of Brooklyn Avenue NE in Seattle's University District at around 10 p.m. on Saturday night. Police arrested a 40-year-old suspect.
FOB Sushi Bar fiasco: TikTok food reviewer Keith Lee stopped in at Belltown's FOB Sushi Bar. His review posted to his 16.5 million followers was fairly positive: Affordable, pretty good sushi, overcooked rice. Then, an eagle-eyed watcher spotted something they thought was off in his video. If you slow it down, she says that while holding a Hamachi sushi roll up to the camera, you can see that something on the fish twitched. The TikToker thinks it was a worm. (Parasites are common in raw fish, and it's generally recommended that you freeze fish for a number of days before eating it, to kill them.) The video went viral. FOB Sushi responded saying the worm rumor was false and that the movement in the video was not a worm. "The movement observed in the fish may result from natural elasticity or the pressure of chopsticks when applied to its structure," Fob Sushi said in a statement.
Nooooooooo...Keith Lee went to a popular sushi bar in Seattle, FOB Sushi Bar, and there was a worm in the sashimi he was eating! 🤮🤮🤮🤮
— 🇰🇭Petty Tendergrass 🇰🇭 (@2nPac) November 15, 2024
🚨🚨WARNING 🚨🚨
Don't watch the video if you're particularly squeamish pic.twitter.com/297SmxWUrH
Now let's spend some time in cabinet appointment hell: First off, I'm sorry. There's simply too much appointment news, likely by design. Well, let's get into it. Pete Hegseth of the National Guard and Fox News is President-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of defense. Fellow National Guard service members reported Hegseth as a possible "Insider Threat" since he has a white supremacist tattoo on his bicep. Hegseth said calling the tattoos symbols of white supremacy is "anti-Christian bigotry." It also came to light that a woman accused Hegseth of sexual assault in 2017. Trump's pick for the Federal Communications Commission is Republican regulator Brendan Carr, who is expected to slash communications regulations, go after Big Tech, and strip TV news networks of their licenses. In Rep. Matt Gaetz news, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said it would be a breach of protocol to release the House Ethics Committee report that investigated Gaetz for sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, among other transgressions.
No FBI background checks for these bozos: Trump's picks will not be undergoing standard FBI background checks and instead will outsource background checks to private investigators. The FBI checks for criminal histories as well as conflicts of interest. Trump bypassing that process could make it easy for the Senate to approve his controversial picks. Plus, the disregard for the FBI is in line with Trump's conspiracy that the agency is part of the "deep state" working to undermine him.
Now, a note from our Managing Editor, Megan Seling:
With love from one alt-newspaper to another: Bill Freeman, owner of FW Publishing and publisher of Nashville’s alt-weekly the Nashville Scene died Sunday night. The Scene reports: "Bill Freeman — the co-founder of Nashville-based real estate company Freeman Webb, a Democratic Party powerbroker, a former mayoral candidate and the owner of Nashville Scene parent company FW Publishing — has died by suicide at his Green Hills home." Freeman and his business partner Jimmy Webb purchased the suite of publications—the Scene, the Nashville Post, and Nfocus—in 2018. I worked at the Scene for years when I lived in Nashville. What a great group of smart and hilarious weirdos keeping the spirit of the alt-weekly alive. Sending lots of love to all my Scene, Post, and Nfocus BFFs.
Thanks, Megan.
Broken Spirit: Spirit Airlines, the US's biggest budget airline, filed for bankruptcy on Monday.
Pig chase: The Tacoma Police Department had its hands full with a slippery hog when police responded to a call about a loose pig last week.
This week, our officers assisted with an unusual "suspect"—a loose pig! After some quick thinking (and a bit of a chase), "Notorious P.I.G." was safely captured and is now enjoying a cozy stay at The Rusty Bar Ranch. 🐷 #tacomapd #gritcitycops #NotoriousPIG #rustybarranch pic.twitter.com/vxjxyAIhCy
— Tacoma Police Department (@TacomaPD) November 15, 2024
Bird flu in Oregon human: Oregon reported its first case of bird flu in a human on Friday. The person has connections to a poultry operation in the state where 150,000 birds have the virus. So far, nationwide, there are 52 confirmed cases of bird flu in people.
Monkey update: Six of the 43 escaped lab monkeys remain at large in South Carolina. Meanwhile, three hours away from where the monkeys escaped, two "feral and not trained" emus named Thelma and Louise are on the lam.
Alright, that's enough news—see ya! Picture me walking away exactly like this.
Joe Biden becomes the first sitting US President to visit the Amazon Rainforest.
— Pop Base (@popbase.tv) November 17, 2024 at 1:52 PM
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Oh, wait: Before I truly leave you, here's this: