Good news... I guess? Seattle experienced the steepest decline in rents "among major US metros" in December, reports Axios. Prices fell a whopping 1% month over month to—checks article—$2,166. Insanity. I'd need to make basically double what I make now to afford that, plus utilities, plus all the other shit that comes with being an American nowadays (read: debt, debt, debt). Anyways, median US rent is currently $1,981, up 7.4% from this time last year. We're fucked!

Several mutual aid groups sent a letter to the mayor, Seattle City Council, King County Council, the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, etc.: Accusing the Low Income Housing Institute of  "mistreatment of tiny house village residents." My colleague Hannah Krieg reports that KCRHA has responded, saying they "take allegations of any mistreatment of unhoused neighbors very seriously." 

My colleague Rich Smith has an update from the Washington State Legislature: Take it away, Rich...

Washington’s wealth tax bill just dropped: This afternoon, House Rep. My-Linh Thai and Sen. Noel Frame filed proposals in their respective chambers to tax the untaxed pots of gold that Washington’s multi-millionaires and billionaires keep in stocks, bonds, and other financial assets. The bill would levy a 1% tax on intangible assets over a quarter billion dollars, which would hit approximately 700 Washingtonians, according to the Washington State Department of Revenue. So far, 19 of 28 Democrats in the state Senate have signed onto the legislation. More on all this tomorrow.

A surprise to literally no one: Washington is one of the worst states for driving. Taking into account vehicle cost and ownership, traffic and infrastructure, safety, and access to vehicles and maintenance, WalletHub placed Washington in 49th place, above only Hawaii. We should make the state even more hostile to driving, but add much better public transportation options. If I ruled world...

Rafael Nadal: Is out of the Australian Open. 

With all the restaurant and bar closures, we're in need of some good news: So I'm sure you all will be pleased to hear that Beacon Hill coffee shop the Station is opening another location in Columbia City near the light rail station. The new space is bigger than their Beacon Hill joint and comes with a stage, reports the South Seattle Emerald. According to their GoFundMe, the Station hopes to debut their new digs in April or May.

Speaking of closures: Nike is dipping from their Sixth Avenue and Pike Street location this Friday. The mayor put out a statement about it if you can believe it (I can). 

Daily King Shit check-in: Today's award goes to Ryuichi Sakamoto.

And for our semi-regular king tide check in: South Park residents have been put on king tide watch for next week, reports KOMO. Seattle Public Utilities and the City have distributed sandbags across the neighborhood to help guard against the flooding that could come during the king tide from Monday through Wednesday of next week. FWIW, it's not expected to be as devastating as the king tide from last month. 

Frye Art Museum has a new executive director: Jamilee Lacy is stepping in for Joseph Rosa on March 1. Coming to the Frye from Providence College Galleries, she gave an interview to Seattle Times' Jerald Pierce about her vision for the First Hill museum. 

God, the George Santos news just keeps coming: Coming off the news that he's been accused of stealing money from a veteran's dying dog's GoFundMe, now Rep. Santos finds himself caught in another lie. He previously claimed that his mom was in one of the Twin Towers during 9/11, but survived—which turns out not to have been true. WaPo reports that his mom hadn't even immigrated to the United States when the tragedy happened, as she applied for her visa from Brazil in February 2003. How did he think he'd get away with this? Barrel of laughs, he is!

But what is interesting: Is the New York Times's Vanessa Friedman's essay on how Santos used fashion to convince us his lies were the truth. "He went deep into the costume department of the popular culture hive mind and built his cover story layer by layer, garment by garment," she writes. Hear, hear.  

The worst guy you know is petitioning to come back to Facebook: That's right—former president Donald Trump is prepping for his imminent return to Zuckland. Apparently, his campaign has petitioned Meta to reinstate his account after banning him on January 6, 2021. The company said they'd review the ban in two years—which is now—and the Trumpers have come a-knockin'. After Elon took over Twitter, the billionaire reinstated Trump's account but he hasn't tweeted. Maybe he wants to come back all at once. 

Sad: Ellensburg-bred Screaming Trees bassist Van Connor died after battling an "extended illness" and eventually succumbing to pneumonia, reports the Seattle Times. He was 55. 

Obsessed: With this comic infographic on what to do if a rat pops up in your toilet bowl from King County Public Health's Meredith Li-Vollmer.

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Public Health-Seattle & KingCo (@kcpubhealth)

For your listening pleasure: Kelela's "Contact."