A big abortion-access win in Minnesota: A court ruled today that the state’s restrictions on abortion care (waiting periods, hospital requirements, felony penalties, and more) are unconstitutional. Now it’s up to Attorney General Keith Ellison to decide whether to appeal. While Ellison has been pretty good on reproductive freedom in the past, that’s no guarantee that he’ll let the ruling stand.
For a limited time only: You can get more free COVID tests through the mail while they last. Place your order here.
Tammy Morales is working on creating social housing in Seattle. The short version is that it’s important to blend housing at different income levels. Here’s what else she has to say:
🏘️We need to explore EVERY available option to address housing affordability and combat displacement in our communities. This is why my office is working on policies relating to the City’s role in building high quality publicly-owned #SocialHousing in Seattle. pic.twitter.com/4eACPzvr8n
— Councilmember Tammy J. Morales (@CMTammyMorales) July 11, 2022
Check out the next light rail station. The good news is that Sound Transit is about to open a new Link light rail station. Check out fresh pics here. The bad news is the new station is all the way in Tacoma. The good news is that in about a decade you’ll be able to ride all the way there from Seattle. The bad news is that the entire western seaboard may be underwater by then. Que sera sera.
No, the OTHER drag-queen road-trip movie! Just like Antz and A Bug’s Life, the mid-’90s saw another curiously simultaneous release: two different-but-similar movies about drag queens driving cross-country. I personally prefer the other one, but it’s still a pleasure to watch any movie in a park with friends:
Seattle Parks & Recreation Presents: Cal Anderson Summer Nights Cinema featuring: To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar
— Seattle Parks (@SeattleParks) July 11, 2022
Fri, 7/15/22
Free Event
Cal Anderson Park – North Meadow
Music at 6:00pm/Movie at Dusk
Dress to impress! Bring chairs, blankets and snacks! pic.twitter.com/pceDJ7MrS6
Death wave to hit Europe. Forecasters are expecting temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (around 40 Celsius) to continue this week. The heat is already hitting central Spain and expected to sweep north into England by Friday, with possible highs of 116. This follows a milder heat wave last month, and may be similar to the twin heat waves that killed around 2,500 in 2019.
Look out below. There’s some debate about whether this is an avalanche or a glacier collapse (or both?) but honestly if I saw this heading toward me I would not be inclined to stop to figure out the right terminology. Incredibly, everyone survived with only a few injuries. Looks like a fun place to go sledding.
Shocking video of a mountain glacier collapsing in Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia.
— US StormWatch (@US_Stormwatch) July 10, 2022
Just a week ago Italy saw a deadly glacier collapse killing 11 people.
With a rapidly warming climate expect more sobering scenes like this in the future. pic.twitter.com/v6Wf4sTZKt
Here’s something a bit more gentle. No avalanches or whatever here. Just nice clean crisp waterfalling. BTW if you’re looking for something to do this weekend, Mount Rainier has a very nice after-dark stargazing program.
Raw footage from Mount Rainier NP this morning. pic.twitter.com/iuaPf7zLcM
— Paul Marcoe (@PaulMarcoe) July 9, 2022
Goodbye, gay Starbucks. It really wasn’t that gay, but the gay Starbucks is one of four locations the company is closing, claiming concerns about “personal safety, racism, lack of access to healthcare, a growing mental health crisis, rising drug use and more.” That’s quite a list. Why not add “growing discontent over the recasting of Lea Michele in Funny Girl on Broadway” while you’re at it? At least one of the locations (2300 S. Jackson St. at Union Station) is unionized, and there’s some confusion about whether any others are, as the Seattle Times says a store on Pike will close but I thiiiiiiink that’s a typo and they’re referring to the Gaybucks on Olive? Anyway, Starbucks sure does seem to find it difficult to not fire union organizers.
That’ll buff right out. No details on how exactly this happened, but a driver somehow managed to demolish the entire front of Larson’s Auto Repair today.
NE 73rd St & Roosevelt Way NE: Occupants of the vehicle are in stable condition and declined transportation to a hospital. Significant structural damage to the commercial building. pic.twitter.com/SpBnvlX8wx
— Seattle Fire Dept. (@SeattleFire) July 11, 2022
Seattle killed a playground in favor of a parking lot. It’s a little unclear who’s to blame for eliminating a planned playground in favor of a car-charging station, but I wouldn’t be surprised if most of the finger-pointing goes towards Jenny Durkan, because that’s easier to count on than anyone still in a position of power accepting any responsibility. Also, she really was the worst.
Not so fast. Starting this week, cars in the EU will be required to come with speed-limiting technology to prevent dangerous driving. Cars may issue warning sounds, haptic feedback, or even automatically slow. We already have similar rules in place for scooters and bikes in the US, but can you imagine if lawmakers tried to apply similar rules to cars in this country? There’d be another insurrection.
Slightly less dangerous than the real one. The stakes at Queen Anne’s running of the bulls aren’t quite as high as they are in Barcelona, but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.
It was yet another wonderful and chaotic Queen Anne Running of the Bulls! with @juliagrantreed pic.twitter.com/7r7PxyLgwt
— Queen Anne Greenways (@QAGreenways) July 9, 2022