King County Assessor Charged in Stalking Case: Last summer, King County Assessor John Arthur Wilson—who was running for King County Executive at the time—was arrested for violating a no-contact order from his ex-fiancée. Wilson had allegedly stalked and harassed his ex, and she had a temporary restraining order against him. Because of conflicts of interest with the assessor’s office, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office couldn’t handle the charges, so they handed the case to the Snohomish County Prosecutor. But the Seattle City Attorney ended up filing the charges. It’s unclear why. Wilson was charged in Seattle Municipal Court. He’s still the King County Assessor, though he says he will not run for re-election.
In Sonics News: There’s actually nothing to be excited about yet, you basketball babies. In a unanimous vote, the NBA Board of Governors gave Commissioner Adam Silver the green light to hold formal talks with Seattle and Las Vegas about maybe expanding the league to one or both of the cities for the 2028-2029 season. Don’t hold your breath. A final answer might not come until the end of this calendar year. In the meantime, go to a Storm game?
Landslide Blues: Northbound I-5 near Bellingham is still closed after 12 million pounds of earth fell onto it seven days ago. State transportation crews are doing what they can to secure the slide-prone slope above the roadway, but as KING5 reports, it all takes time. They must clear loose trees and rocks on the hillside and then bolt the slope back into place. The whole thing is snarling traffic and disrupting shipping between the US and Canada.
Pioneer Square Piss Boxes: After years of failed attempts to give the public a place to piss in peace that is not an alleyway or a Starbucks, Seattle is once again trying to add new bathrooms to its stock. The Seattle Department of Transportation is contracting with private company Throne Labs to install “11 freestanding restrooms across the region, each at cost of around $100,000 a year,” reports PubliCola. That’s pretty cheap considering Seattle’s last potty proposal cost $5 million for four toilets. The Thrones will, of course, only be accessible via “an app, a QR code, text message, or an entry card.” You can bet your ass Throne will be keeping tabs on customers. User reviews and sensors in each unit can help identify any restroom rascals. The first two Thrones will come to Pioneer Square.
The Weather: There will be sun today. It’s spring, though, so anything can happen.
Instagram Addicts Non-Anonymous: Raise your hand if you have been personally victimized by doomscrolling. A 20-year-old woman sued Meta and Google for her childhood addictions to Instagram and YouTube which saddled her with anxiety, depression, and body dysmorphia. Inventions like “infinite scroll” kept the plaintiff hooked on the apps. A Los Angeles jury ordered the tech companies must pay $6 million in damages—$3 million in compensatory damages, and another $3 million in punitive damages. Meta will have to cough up 70 percent of the funds, Google will pay the other 30 percent. This was the first case of its kind to go to trial, but thousands of plaintiffs across the country have filed similar suits, like Tuesday’s New Mexico trial regarding child exploitation and user safety. Meta says it will appeal the LA court’s ruling.
Timely: Meta laid off several hundred people on Wednesday. The cuts hit multiple divisions across the company, CNBC reports, like “Facebook, global operations, recruiting, sales and its virtual reality division Reality Labs.” Meta’s big plan is to funnel resources into AI.
Sad Days for American Science: Top NASA climate scientist Kate Marvel resigned from her position on Wednesday. She blamed the Trump administration’s attack on science. Marvel said that none of her internally funded projects actually got funded once Trump took office. You can read her resignation letter here. The New York Times reports that Marvel is one of around 95,000 federal science employees who are no longer in their roles post-Trump 2.0 due to “layoffs, retirements, or resignations.” This is catastrophic for American science.
Despite living in climate denial central, the effects of climate change are real and very much here. California’s dismal snowpack is nearing record lows and spring heatwaves are melting whatever’s left. “Nearly every snow-measuring station in the Sierra has lost more than a foot of snow in the 10 days since the heat wave kicked into full gear,” SFGate reports. “A melt of this rate is a big deal any time, but in March it’s unheard of,” hydrologist Mike Hittle told the paper.
Meanwhile, War: Israel says it killed the head of Iran’s navy in an airstrike. After Tehran rejected Trump’s 15-point ceasefire plan the president is now publicly threatening Tehran in Truth Social posts to “get serious soon” on these negotiations. He also claims Iran is “begging for a deal.” Strange tactic, but hey, he’s the artist of the deal.
Olympics Says It’s Banning Trans Women Athletes: The International Olympic Committee announced a ban on transgender women from participating in women’s sporting events at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Trans women athletes haven’t been competing in the Olympics. So, what’s this really about? The committee has also banned cis or intersex women with male testosterone levels or male chromosomes. Any athlete who wants to compete in a female sport will have to prove their biological gender with a cheek swab or saliva test. No one wins when women and womanhood are scrutinized like this.
We’re all trying to find the guy who did this: Harry Wait, a Wisconsin man who believes the 2020 election was stolen and leads a group that decries election fraud, was convicted of election fraud. Wait was found guilty of two misdemeanor election fraud charges and one felony identity theft charge for requesting the absentee ballots of Republican state Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Democratic Racine Mayor Cory Mason without their consent. Of the charges, Wait said, “You got to expect to pay some costs sometimes when you are trying to work for the public good.” He also said he “would do it again.”
It Was Opening Day: It’s officially baseball season. Now… was this symbolism?
Today Is The Mariners’ Opening Day: See you all at T-Mobile Park. Here’s this to get you into the mood.
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