Thank God it's Friday! Happy weekend to all the Slog readers out there and no one else. Hehehehe. EverOut, our sister site (so, basically your aunt), posts a weekend roundup of the best and cheapest things to do around town. AND I USE IT EVERY WEEK. Give it a read. You might find something fun happening in your neighborhood that you would have never known about.Â
Other weekend news: Our girl the moon is going wolf mode tonight. A “wolf moon” just means the first full moon of the year, which is sort of a letdown for such a sick name. According to KING 5, the wolf moon tonight will be extra special because the moon is in the part of its orbit where it's really far away from the earth, so the wolf moon might be very small. More of a wolf pup.Â
Today in history: In case no one else told you, today is the two-year anniversary of that wild time when a bunch of MAGA heads stormed the capitol. Closer to home, Washington Trumpies gathered at the capitol campus in Olympia to protest the results of the 2020 presidential election. Crosscut reflects on the day.
It never ends: Yesterday, the partner of a capitol police officer who suffered two strokes and died shortly after the January 6 insurrection, filed a lawsuit against the former president and two rioters that she believes caused his death. She blames Trump for inciting the riot and the two rioters for attacking the officer with “chemical spray.” Medical examiners said the officer died of natural causes, but also noted that the events at the capitol may have played a role.Â
Pick up the phone, SPD: A podcaster/advocate for survivors gave the cops a mountain of evidence to support sexual assault and misconduct allegations that multiple women leveled against a local freelance photographer, but the cops didn’t meaningfully engage. Why? Because the women wanted to go through a third party, and the cops usually only respond if each victim reports to the cops separately. Will’s got the whole infuriating story here.
Look: The Woodland Park Zoo welcomed two orphan bear cubs to its Living Northwest Trail exhibit. They’re about a year old, over 200 pounds, best friends, and I love them dearly. The Tacoma Zoo also welcomed a new animal: A Sumatran tiger named Sanjiv. It's kind of a big deal. They made a whole promo trailer.
Also, look at this: Jas Keimig dropped a brand new installment of their universally beloved series, Sticker Patrol. They said they already found the sticker of the year, so you better go look.
Cyclin’ SODO: Yesterday, Tom Fucoloro of Seattle Bike Blog did something truly shocking—he encouraged people to bike in SODO. Don’t get me wrong. SODO’s great. But the bike infrastructure? Not so much. But Fucoloro found himself pleasantly surprised by the emergency bike lanes the Seattle Department of Transportation temporarily set up on First Avenue South. He wrote, “I’m just beaming. It’s so good. Everyone involved should be commended.” That’s how I want all cyclists to feel on every road always.Â
Okay, let's address the elephant in the room: The House Republicans. Have they elected that McCarthy guy as Speaker yet? As of 5 pm PST, no. McCarthy gained some popularity in the fourth day and the 12th and 13th votes over this shit. He flipped 15 of his colleagues to his side by ceding to their demands. But six conservatives still aren't convinced—and three say they never will be. The House will reconvene at 10 pm EST (7 pm our time), so we'll see what happens!
Ballard Commons back in business: A little over a year ago, the City swept a bunch of people living in Ballard Commons, a huge park in—you guessed it—Ballard. The City closed the park down for maintenance immediately after the sweep last December. Now, Council Member Dan Strauss told KOMO that the park will reopen in the first quarter of 2023. That’s great, but my favorite part of this story is that KOMO included an interactive reader poll that asked, “Do you trust Ballard Commons will remain encampment-free after it reopens?” I took the poll at 4 pm, when 56 readers had responded, and 91% of KOMO readers said “No.” With how little this City offers unhoused people, I can’t disagree.Â
He’s breathing: After a gnarly, mid-game blow to the chest landed Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin in the hospital on Monday, Hamlin is finally breathing on his own. He even joined his teammates on FaceTime. Glad he’s okay.Â
Victory in South Carolina: On Thursday, the South Carolina Supreme Court struck down a hyper restrictive ban on abortion after six weeks. This victory comes after Planned Parenthood South Atlantic responded to the loss of national protections by suing South Carolina for violating the state constitution's right to privacy.
Everything you need to know and some stuff you definitely don’t need to know: So the New York Times has identified “10 key revelations” made public in the Idaho quadruple murder case since the cops arrested the suspect. If I were you, I would probably just skim the sub headers. It's very disturbing and very sad.Â
This memoir is so fucking wild: I think I said something shady in a Slog AM or PM about how Prince Harry’s memoir would be a complete nothing-burger with no new, jaw-dropping info. I TAKE IT BACK. Everything I’ve seen about this memoir is OFF. THE. FUCKING. RAILS. And not in a good way. The latest: Prince Harry wrote that he killed 25 people during his year serving as an Apache helicopter copilot gunner in Afghanistan. Some people take issue with him dehumanizing the 25 victims by calling them “chess pieces.” Others are mad because “good soldiers don’t publicize their kill count.”Â
I heard this song today: