Seattle still hasnāt strengthened old buildings: Unretrofitted brick buildings could be fatal when an earthquake inevitably strikes. Thatās what happened in Christchurch, New Zealand and what caused 185 deaths. The effort to reinforce old buildings in Seattle has been going on for decades, yet itās still stuck. Legislation for retrofit requirements was expected in 2013. Officials kept postponing and ordering economic analyses and building inventories. There have been nine of these, and no action, since the 1970s. Unsafe brick buildings disproportionately impact lower income communities. About 2,000 low-income residents reside in these type of structures.
Washington Senate passes bill to abolish death penalty: A Seattle University study found that the death penalty costs $1 million more than similar cases where capital punishment isnāt sought, The Seattle Times reports. The measure passed out of the Senate with a bipartisan vote. Republican Sen. Maureen Walsh said that, āthis seems to be a flawed policy.ā The measure would do away with capital punishment and instead mandate a life sentence without possibility of parole. Now, the bill heads to the House.
Previously homeless college student lobbies for youth housing: Charles Adkins, 20, spent years without secure housing. Heād bounce around from friends house to friends house, sometimes spending a night on the street, until he found Cocoon House, an emergency shelter in Everett. He says 9 times out of 10 what homeless youth need is stability. Now, he spends his time in Olympia lobbying for bills that will help kids like him.
Washington weed could be crossing borders: The new traceability system ā which is already a mess ā was hacked, marijuana production in Washington is booming, and wholesale prices are dirt cheap. All these factors point to Washington marijuana making its way across state lines. But, these are only best guesses and rumors, since, you know, the weed tracking system put in place to prevent this from happening is out of whack.
Edmonds bar employee hurls racial slurs at black teens: Two black teenagers, an 18-year-old and his 14-year-old sister, were taking photos for a school project. They were outside Harveyās Lounge. One of the barās employees, a 45-year-old woman, allegedly yelled racial slurs at the teens while wielding a baseball bat.
Blabbermouth Podcast: Rationing Outrage, Banning Porn, and Escaping Into a Wordless Book
Seattle gym-owner receiving death threats for banning white nationalist: Heās getting some support, too. But, Kyle Davis, co-owner of the NW Fitness Project, received threatening phone calls and his business raked in some bad reviews online after he banned a notorious white nationalist from his gym. The community has rallied behind him and 150 positive reviews came in from everyone who trains at the gym.
17 dead in Florida high school shooting: 19 years since Columbine, there have been 18 school shootings this year. A former student is being charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School yesterday. The suspect opened fire with an AR-15 semiautomatic weapon. There is substantial video footage of the event, as students trained their cellphones on the carnage they were witnessing. The alleged shooter is scheduled to appear in court today.
Students and teachers are putting the government on blast:
the kids are better than us pic.twitter.com/D1Is2hNDm2
ā Ashley Feinberg (@ashleyfeinberg) February 15, 2018
Teacher said the high school was as prepared as they could have been:
I hope ever member of Congress saw this interview
Melissa Falkowski, teacher at Marjory Stoneman Douglas explains how well prepared they were and how many times they drilled for this and still there was nothing they can do
She breaks down when she begs Congress to do something pic.twitter.com/J6y9MK8b0V
ā Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew_lawrence) February 15, 2018
Meanwhile Twitter is calling out the hypocrites:
I'm deeply saddened by the horrific violence in Florida. Praying for the victims, their families, and the Parkland community. Always grateful for first responders who charge into harmās way.
ā Leader McConnell (@SenateMajLdr) February 15, 2018
.@SenateMajLdr received $922,000+ in expenditures from @NRA in 2014 alone so I really give zero fucks about how he feels if all he's going to do is prevent debate on preventing gun deaths and shootings https://t.co/PjRYjXUMrI
ā igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) February 15, 2018
God have mercy on your NRA-kept souls:
Richard Burr
$6,986,620
Roy Blunt
$4,551,146
Thom Tillis
$4,418,012
Cory Gardner
$3,879,064
Marco Rubio
$3,303,355
Joni Ernst
$3,124,273
Rob Portman
$3,061,941
Todd Young
$2,896,732
Bill Cassidy
$2,861,047https://t.co/y9US2i6CPD
ā Bess Kalb (@bessbell) February 14, 2018
Bipartisan deal on immigration met: Senators reached an agreement on a narrow rewrite of immigration laws that would bolster border security and would offer an eventual path to citizenship for young undocumented immigrants. It sponsors the eventual building of Trumpās Mexico border wall and precludes DACA recipientsā parents from becoming citizens.
South African president resigns: Jacob Zuma, South Africaās president for nine years, resigned yesterday after being pushed out by his own party, the African National Congress Party. āHis departure as president leaves South Africa with a disillusioned electorate, a weakened economy and a tarnished image in the rest of Africa,ā writes The New York Times.
Local Chicago news station mixes up PyeongChang with popular restaurant: A graphic showed up behind anchor Mark Rivera as he covered the Olympics. However, there was a notable typo. The station says the graphic was created for a āsatirical pieceā and was used accidentally.
P.F. Changās.. Bringing the world together in 2018 pic.twitter.com/z0ksAuL7oO
ā Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) February 11, 2018
San Francisco beats Seattle to progressive policy again: And will open the nationās first supervised injection sites this summer. These sites are safe spaces where drug users and addicts can use drugs safely and under supervision. Even though Seattle has been poised to open its own safe injection sites and the plans have been approved by City Council, itās not a done deal yet. There is no solid plan and a feasibility report will be released by the end of the month.
An update from my alley:
Last August, a couch appeared in our alley. It was big, black, and worn. Thereās a little alcove for parking cut into the alley. There arenāt often cars there, so things and people can accumulate.
It felt like there was a makeshift living room in our alley. People would hang out on the couch and shoot the shit in the hot summer sun. Their conversations reverberated off the apartment building the couch was pushed up against. For the most part, it was fine. It was mildly inconvenient since my route to the bus took me directly past this area.
Then, after the couch came the mattress. This was different. I would leave for work in the morning and people would be sleeping on the mattress and when Iād come home in the late afternoon theyād still be sleeping on the mattress. I picked my way past them on my way to my backdoor, tip-toeing like I was in some old cartoon. I remember distinctly when my shoe crunched on an empty syringe.
My roommates and I started keeping an eye on them. When they caught us watching, one man started packing things up into a kit. He placed orange-capped syringes in there, cotton balls, and a tourniquet. That confirmed it. We had an opioid den in our alley.
The mattress disappeared, then. Perhaps the level of our scrutiny was palpable. But, then it reappeared. It became a game: would the mattress be here today? It was only a week before it was gone for good. But, I wondered where they had gone. I wonāt lie and say it wasnāt annoying, or a bit scary, but it was a private and comfortable space for these people to be. How many of those are left in this city?
Thursdayās best Seattle entertainment options include: A reading with Underground Railroad author Colson Whitehead, the opening of the major Figuring History exhibit at SAM, and a concert headlined by Adan Jodorowsky, son of the cult surrealist filmmaker Alejandro.