Carbon market is open for business: Well, Washington's carbon market has been open, but it's now bustling. With the Climate Commitment Act intact after a failed repeal effort on the November ballot, prices for carbon allowances have shot up. Polluting companies must reduce their emissions or buy carbon allowances if reduction isn't in the cards. At the first allowance auction after the election, the state raked in nearly $272 million. According to the Seattle Times, the state sold "5.3 million 2023 and 2024 allowances at $40.26 each and 2.2 million 2027 allowances at $26 each." An allowance accounts for one metric ton of emissions from a respective year. Polluting should be costly. Reduce your emissions or pay the price before the planet makes us reap all that we've sown. 

This about sums up the state of things: Donald Trump was named Time's Person of the Year for 2024. Sigh. I'd seen a lot of people rooting for France's Gisèle Pelicot for Person of the Year. Pelicot discovered her husband had been drugging her and inviting strangers to rape her for years. Instead of keeping the case and her privacy under wraps, Pelicot made her trial public. She did so to shift the shame from her to her rapists. But how could a woman's standards-altering bravery triumph when we could heap a convicted rapist in more laurels? 

 

 

Biden goes big: On Thursday, Biden commuted the sentences of around 1,500 people and pardoned 39 others of non-violent crimes. The 1,500 commuted sentences were all prisoners who were sent home during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent the spread of the virus and made to serve the rest of their time at home. Republicans in Congress have threatened to send those on home release back to prison. 

It's a deal! Seattle Art Museum's security guard union reached a deal with the museum on Wednesday after more than two years of negotiating and striking for 12 days. The contract sees wages increase from $21.68 to $23.25 per hour plus 4% wage increases from 2025 through 2027. Yay! Go kiss someone next to a Thaddeus Mosley sculpture. 

 

 

Sex trafficking sting ensnares assistant principal: Yuck. The Renton Police Department conducted a sting operation in September where they posed as 14- and 15-year-olds and connected with potential offenders on social media. One of the seven men arrested in the sting was Alex Diaz Rios, an assistant principal at Seattle Public Schools' TOPS K-8 school. SPS placed him on leave when they learned of his charge. Diaz Rios has since resigned. 

Hold on to your panniers: There's a new bike bridge in town, baby. The new bike bridge in Montlake that crosses Highway 520 will open on Saturday. With the bike bridge comes a pedestrian pathway, too, and the 3-acre Montlake lid. Years of construction and congestion in that hellscape of an intersection may finally pay off. There will be opening ceremonies on Saturday at 11 am. 

The weather will be wet. 

Yeah, okay, buddy: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol defended his decision to declare martial law last week, saying he was trying to "prevent the collapse" of democracy. He said he won't resign, vowing to "fight to the end." Critics want Yoon impeached; they say his martial law order was a sign of insurrection.  

Shocker: 2024 will likely be the hottest year on record, continuing the trend of every year becoming the hottest year on record. 

CEO hit list: The New York Police Department warned US healthcare CEOs about a heightened risk to their lives in the wake of the killing of UnitedHealthcare's top executive. As suspected killer Luigi Mangione wrote in a notebook seized by police, "What do you do? You wack the CEO at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention. It’s targeted, precise, and doesn’t risk innocents.'" The NYPD's bulletin warned of copycat attacks,  citing social media posts highlighting the names of CEOs and their salaries. Additionally, physical "wanted" posters featuring information about different healthcare CEOs have been spotted around New York. Since the killing, corporations have been beefing up security for their top dogs. Critics have suggested that if they wanted to really be safe they'd stop the predatory practices which have enraged the public. 

Overdose deaths are down: Overdose deaths in the United States fell by 17% between July 2023 and July 2024 according to the Centers for Disease Control. White House Domestic Policy Council Advisor Neera Tanden said that "it's the largest decrease in deaths ever seen in the United States," according to CBS News. Many moves by the Biden administration have played a role in the decrease such as "making treatment more accessible... cracking down on drug cartels and drug production" and expanding access to naloxone, the medication that reverses opioid overdoses. While this is progress, there will still be around 100,000 overdose deaths this year. 

Drugs and CEOs: “I want to experience ego death.” “I want to get my company through a public offering.” “I want to find God.” Read all about the CEOs paying for a guided shroom trip to make them better executives and, maybe, better people. The guy who runs the retreat, a former oil and gas CEO, has rebranded his personal definition of CEO to mean "conscious, empathetic, and open."

Something for your Thursday: Hey, why don't you chill out and watch the Grateful Dead Yule Log for an hour or seven?