I guess the rural schools can have some high-speed internet, too. Credit: SEAN GALLUP / GETTY

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act now in effect: Bosses must now accommodate fertility treatments, morning sickness, lactation, complications, recovery and postpartum depression, among other things. The law passed in December after a decade of advocacy. Before these protections, workers had to justify any accommodations and employers pushed workers out of jobs for simple asks like a water bottle or a stool. 

Gotta’ Go Fast: The feds are giving our state $1.2 billion dollars to connect high-speed internet to communities with slow, unreliable or non-existent service. It’s part of the national Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program funded by the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law. It costs a surprising $10,000 to hook up a home to high-speed internet. State officials estimate they’ll need more than $2 billion to help the 239,000 to 2 million Washington residents without it.

Arrested on the 4th of July: In a press release addressed to Washington “criminals” and his local taxpayers, Kootenai County Idaho Sheriff Robert B. Norris says he’ll throw you in county jail (affectionately called the Kootenai “Bed and Breakfast”) for Mary Jane, fentanyl, meth, or coke if you’re in his county. He welcomes “law-abiding” people from our state and suggests Spokane or Seattle as alternate destinations for “criminals” this holiday, pointing to our comparatively lax possession laws. “Don’t come to Kootenai on vacation, and leave on probation,” he wrote.

Guantanamo Bay is still a hellhole: The military prison known for torture and for locking up people on no evidence is still horrible. UN investigator and Irish law professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin observed near-constant surveillance, guards ripping incarcerated people from their cells, an excessive use of restraints, and other shitty practices that infringe on the dignity and fundamental rights of the prisoners. She said the US should apologize to prisoners for this inhuman and degrading treatment. “Closure of the facility remains a priority,” she said. Thirty prisoners remain at Guantanamo Bay.

Make like a tree and stay: Five environmental activists locked themselves in the Department of Natural Resources yesterday and won’t leave until Commissioner (and gubernatorial candidate) Hillary Franz talks to them. They’re protesting the sale of legacy forestland to logging companies, which generates money for public services. 

Ivan + Hailey 23: That’s the romantic message a man carved in Rome’s ancient Colosseum, and mamma mia is Italy mad about it. The police are hot on his trail, and the country’s culture minister said he hopes he’ll be punished. A tourist uploaded a video of the crime titled “Asshole tourist carves name into Colosseum in Rome 6-23-23.” After using keys to etch his proclamation of love into the 2,000 year old brick, the said asshole turns to confront the camera with a self-satisfied middle school sneer on his face. Authorities think his name is Ivan.

Jeffrey Epstein killed himself: A Department of Justice watchdog says negligent guards made it easy. A DOJ report found the guards left Epstein alone in a Manhattan jail cell with a “surplus” of bedsheets he fashioned into a noose, despite his suicide attempt two weeks prior. Prison didn’t check on Epstein as required, assign him a cellmate, or ensure the security cameras in his unit were even recording. Inspector General Michael Horowitz wrote their failure deprived Epstein’s many victims of justice. He recommended charges against four workers, but only two were charged.

Seattle removes graffiti ahead of MLB All-Star Game: Mayor Bruce Harrell resurrected the Graffiti Abatement Partnership to paint over tags downtown and in the CID. In a statement, Harrell said graffiti hurts small businesses that are targeted by hate speech and detracts from the vibrancy of Seattle’s neighborhoods. I think Seattle’s commonly benign and non-sequitur graffiti like “All Dogs Are Babies” (my personal favorite) is delightful and adds to the vibrancy, but to each their own. Read more on this endless, expensive war here. 

Washington State lobbyist denied appeal in stalking case: Lobbyist Cody Arledge appealed after a trial court issued a Domestic Violence Protection Order against him for stalking ex-girlfriend and Shoreline Rep. Lauren Davis. Arledge argued the court violated his rights by electronically monitoring him with GPS. The state court of appeals ruled against him. In a statement, Davis said she’s relived that the legal battle is over and hopes electronic monitoring will be used in more civil protection order cases in the future.

CREAM: If you operate a business in unincorporated King County, then you must allow people to pay with cash in-person, thanks to a new law championed by outgoing King County Council Member Jeane Kohl-Welles. The law aims to reduce barriers for people who don’t have bank accounts but who nevertheless need to buy stuff. 

Cops doing some go-go-gadget shit: Despite the state loosening restrictions on deadly police chases, the Lynnwood Police Department bought a tracking device called “StarChase.” StarChase sits in a box on the front of the cop cruiser and uses an air compressor to eject a GPS tracker onto the car the cop wants to tail. “Lynnwood police say they must have reasonable suspicion of a felony crime before they fire away,” according to KING 5. 

Vivian McCall is The Stranger's interim Editor-in-Chief. In her private life, she is a musician and Wii U apologist. If you’re reading this, you either love her or hate her.