Phew! We made it through yesterday’s heat wave, and today is much cooler, with a cozy overcast and a high of 69. (Don’t say it.) What else does this morning bring? News! Good news, bad news, and news about pigeon livers.
Wilson Wants You to Ride the Bus: Yesterday, Mayor Katie Wilson announced she is introducing a measure on November’s ballot that would double the sales tax we pay to support bus transit. The Seattle Times says funds would increase bus trips, allow buses to run to lower-income and more diverse neighborhoods more frequently, subsidize low-income ORCA cards, and help make bus station improvements. The last time something like this was on the ballot six years ago, it passed with a whopping 80.3 percent of the vote.
Rogelio Has Been Deported: Stranger contributor Guy Oron is reporting that Rogelio Enrique Bolufé Izquierdo, who organized a hunger strike while detained at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, has been deported to Ecuador.
Trying Hard Not to Sweep: A group of nonprofits are trying to move Pioneer Square’s homeless population into shelter ahead of the World Cup, the Seattle Times reports. Their goal is to match people with better, more personalized options “without a bunch of requirements” instead of offering general shelter or resources that many say aren’t safe, reliable, or helpful. “In doing so, they hope to prove a bigger point: that Seattle can address homelessness effectively if people receive the right kind of help,” the Times writes.
Seattle Cops Bag Big Shoplifting Ring: Just kidding. They arrested 13 people at the Capitol Hill Walgreens for allegedly stealing approximately $600 worth of merchandise, a whopping $46 a person, which these days equates to a few days’ worth of groceries. Good work, ding dongs. Walgreens raked in nearly $150 BILLION WITH A B last year despite crying about rampant petty theft.
Don’t Drive Your Car Onto Lightrail Tracks, Please: Apparently, it needs to be said?
War(s) Updates: Kuwaiti authorities say Iranian missiles and drones hit an airport Wednesday and killed a civilian and injured more than 60 others. Israel hit Lebanon, too. Lebanon’s state-run news agency says six people were killed in strikes. In an exclusive interview with the New York Post (lol) Trump says he is “perturbed” at Netanyahu, and he can’t say if the Strait of Hormuz will be open by Labor Day.
California Votin’: Yesterday was a big election day for California. In the Los Angeles mayor’s race, incumbent Karen Bass did not secure more than 50 percent of the vote, so she’ll advance to a November runoff. Ballots are still being counted, but it’s looking like crystal-obsessed former reality star Spencer Pratt will likely join her. What even are politics if not a reality show? The Governor’s race is too close to call right now, too. Trump-loving Steve Hilton (not related to those Hiltons) leads with 27.8 percent, followed by Dems Xavier Becerra and Tom Steyer. Only the top two get on November’s ballot.
Big Pigeon News: How are pigeons so good at navigating? It might be their liver! Specifically, “the iron-rich liver cells” working with the Earth’s magnetic field. Neat!
Can’t Wait for the Movie: 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley was fired Tuesday after getting into a screaming match with executive producer Nick Bilton. As Nathalie mentioned in yesterday’s Slog AM, Pelley told Bilton that Weiss is “murdering” 60 Minutes, that she has no qualifications for the job, and that Bilton wasn’t far behind with “slender” qualifications. Pelley had been with CBS News since 1989 and with 60 Minutes since 2004. Apparently Pelley just said what everyone else was thinking—a source told the New York Times that staffers applauded Pelley when Bilton left the room. Spill alllll the beans in a book, Pelley. And start thinking about who should play you in the movie.
Woo! Hockey! Yesterday was the first day of the very confusing PWHL Expansion Player Distribution Process (yes, that’s what they’re officially calling it), and while I may not understand the rules (after multiple reads!), I am very pleased to see it has resulted in the Seattle Torrent resigning Alex Carpenter for three years. Carpenter led the team in goals (12), was tied with Julia Gosling for most points (20), and finished third in the WHOLE FUCKING LEAGUE for face-off wins (57.4 percent).
Woo! Baseball! The Mariners are on an eight-game winning streak.
Fuck Zuck, Support Local Art: As Amanda Manitach wrote in her art column, Touch the Art, local artist Light Guerrilla projected “TAX THE RICH” on the side of Mark Zuckerberg’s stupid boat while it was docked in Lake Union. That’s a good start! The boat (I refuse to recognize it has a name) is now anchored in the middle of Elliott Bay. Read more news from the local art world—and see what The Stranger has in store for our Capitol Hill Art Walk show next week!—here.
Looking Ahead: Jeff Rosenstock is playing Neumos June 4 and 5 and I AM SO EXCITED! As I mentioned in this month’s Things to Do arts and culture listings, Rosenstock is the pied piper of brain goblins. He gathers up all the thoughts that keep us awake at night and smashes and molds them into cacophonic punk songs that are full of guitar fuzz, feedback, gang vocals, and the underlying message that everything is gonna be okay (or, at least, we’re not alone while we all go down in flames). There are also sometimes horns. Tickets are still available! See you there.
