Sounds like Carmen Best knew more than she said she knew: According to some text logs the South Seattle Emerald got ahold of, Seattle's former police chief "was in contact with former Mayor Jenny Durkan about the Seattle Police Department (SPD) removing items from the East Precinct," and she was also apparently aware of a "plan to remove firearms, ammunition, and evidence from the building by 5 p.m." on the day the cops pulled out back in 2020. Seems like stuff she should have been aware of! The only problem? She told investigators with the Office of Police Accountability that she "wasn’t involved in the discussion about what, you know, who was moving what material and when." Not the first time she said stuff that didn't hold up. 

Sound Transit picks its new CEO: Meet Julie Timm, now former head of the Greater Richmond Transit Company in Virginia. I anticipate fewer accusations of "yelling" at staff and looking women "up and down," but you never know. 

Ever wondered where you can get fentanyl strips? Capitol Hill Seattle Blawg has rounded up a list of places around the Hill where you can nab some of the potentially life-saving test strips. 

Say hello to Elliott Bay Book Company's new owners: Longtime store general manager Tracy Taylor and Capitol Hill power-couple Murf Hall and Joey Burgess announced that they bought the iconic bookstore from previous owner, Peter Aaron. According to Scott Greenstone at the Seattle Times, the trio stayed mum on exactly how much they paid for the store. Though they say there are "no immediate changes planned," I (Jas) would love to go to at least one drag show at Elliott Bay. Seems like it would be a good time. 

According to a Gallup poll released yesterday, a majority of US adults consider themselves "pro-choice." The highest pro-choice affiliation Gallup has measured was 56 percent in 1995, but the new poll represents an increase of 5 to 10 percent from recent numbers.

In Pennsylvania: GOP Senate candidate David McCormick conceded the primary to the Trump-endorsed reality star with zero political experience, Dr. Mehmet Oz. The New York Times described the race as "exceedingly close" with "no official race call." Oz will now go up against Democratic nominee Lt. Gov. John Fetterman in the general. Our uniquely American obsession with celebrity will be the death of us. 

More bad news: The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is "more than 50% higher than pre-industrial times," reports the AP. Currently, we are at "levels not seen since millions of years ago when Earth was a hothouse ocean-inundated planet." 

Brief weather break: Prepare for a simply "decent" Saturday.

Drip, drip, drip: The Uvalde police commander who did not command his police troops to confront the gunman for nearly an hour rode into battle underdressed. A Texas State Senator told the Associated Press that investigators say the top cop didn't have his radio on him during the shooting.

Today's tragic sacrifice to car culture: After a major crash on 520 this afternoon, "A woman in her 40s was pronounced dead at the scene and a man, also in his 40s, was transported in stable condition to Harborview Medical Center," KING 5 reports. 

Today in non-binary tortoise news: This rare albino tortoise made their debut at a Swiss zoo today. Reuters notes that "their gender has yet to be determined." I mean, whose is?

When Oregon voters passed 2020's landmark drug decriminalization law they earmarked hundreds of millions of dollars of cannabis taxes to pay for drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services. However, OPB reports that the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has encountered seemingly endless difficulties when it comes to distributing that funding. Six months after drug decriminalization went into effect, the Measure 110 Oversight and Accountability Council announced they are finalizing contracts with the grant awardees and looking forward to voting to approve the contracts, likely in the fall.

Wishing a very happy Pride to all the corporations. They try so hard.

 
 
 
 
 
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Let's end PM with a little Okey Dokey and Liz Cooper: