Washington State Patrol Sued: The Washington State Patrol settled a lawsuit from former troopers who alleged the agency deleted or withheld texts, emails, and other records related to their October 2021 firings for refusing Gov. Jay Inslee’s COVID vaccine requirements. WSP is paying out $340,000. The same former troopers are part of a broader lawsuit of state workers suing Inslee over the vaccine requirement.
Firefighters Rescue Cat: Seattle firefighters responding to a 2-alarm fire in Fremont saved a cat from a home on fire and also put out that fire. All is right in the world.
Flood Aid Flounders: When floods swamped Washington last summer, Gov. Bob Ferguson jumped in action and announced $3.5 million in aid for victims. The state quickly deployed $1 million of those funds, but due in large part to the strict criteria needed to give out the aid, $2.5 million is still just sitting there. To get that money, victims must reside in King, Lewis, Pierce, Snohomish, Skagit, or Whatcom counties, live in homes that “sustained major damage,” and have an income at 80 percent or less of the area median. It’s narrow. Separately, the Federal Emergency Management Agency will provide $21 million in aid to flood victims.
It’s Bike Time, Baby: Lake Washington Boulevard belongs to the bikes this weekend and every weekend for the rest of the summer. A three-mile stretch of the windy lakeside drive will shut down for drivers over the three-day weekend. Pretty much any mode of non-motorized transport is welcome.
The Weather: It will be perfect today. Sunny, 75 degrees. Saturday will see more clouds. Rain returns on Memorial Day.
Knocked Up, Stocked Up: Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai‘i, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky—which has the crazy acronym PPGNHAIK—announced a program called “Just In Case Abortion Pills” which allows patients to acquire abortion pills before they’re pregnant. “When someone does not want to be pregnant, timing matters,” Rebecca Gibron, CEO of PPGNHAIK said in a press release. “In states like Washington and Hawai‘i, where leaders support reproductive freedom, we have an opportunity and an obligation to not only protect abortion access but also to expand it.”
Ebola “Spreading Rapidly” in Democratic Republic of Congo:
The risk of an ebola outbreak in the DRC has been upgraded from “high” to “very high,” announced World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus While officials have confirmed 82 cases and seven deaths, the WHO chief says there are almost 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths. The risk for global spread remains low.
Someone Should Tell the Trump Admin: Despite the low risk, Trump’s health officials—people who opposed mask mandates and vaccine requirements during a literal pandemic—are taking an unusually strict stance on quarantining people exposed to Ebola or the rare hantavirus that spread on a recent cruise, including keeping them at hospitals outside of the country and imposing twice-daily checks on patients quarantined at home. Public health experts told the New York Times that was weird. “I am utterly stunned by that,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the pandemic center at Brown University’s School of Public Health.
GOP Finds Its Limit: Even under Trump, it turns out there are lines the Republican party won’t cross. They won’t fund for Trump’s ballroom vanity project, or his $1.776 billion slush fund for his allies, so-called “victims” of political persecution. Senate Republicans are cancelling votes, speaking out against the president’s priorities, and grilling the acting head of the DOJ. I’m sure their spines will soon turn to jelly, but we can enjoy it for the holiday weekend.
I’ve got a headline for ya: “Bizarre fruit dispute ends with area man setting apartment on fire.” I’ll give you one guess which state this happened in.
Are you running a marathon this weekend? No you’re not. Seattle’s Waterfront Marathon is a scam—just a website to collect your $100 entry fee. But if you really want chaffed nipples, and perhaps to shit yourself in public, you could just run the 26.2 miles for free.
It’s time to touch the art. The Stranger’s Amanda Manitach has all the art news and recommendations you could need for the rest of the month.
Colbert Says Goodbye: After weeks of lead up, Stephen Colbert delivered his final Late Night monologue last night. The New York Times called it a “cancellabration,” and everyone showed up to cheer Colbert and, implicitly, throw shade at CBS’s cowardice. The everyone: Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, Brian Cranston, Paul Rudd, Ryan Reynolds, Jon Stewart, John Oliver, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon AND Kimmell. NYT called his style of humor “hopeful despair,” and it’ll be dearly missed.
