Crack one open, fund a program.
Crack one open, fund a program. explosivekeeper / Getty Images

Soda tax is a $4 million success so far: That’s only the tally from the first three months. The 1.75 cent-per-fluid-ounce Seattle tax on sugary drinks went into effect on Jan. 1 to the chagrin of local businesses, especially a whiny CostCo. The outrage has waned and the numbers are here. According to the Seattle Times, “the city has received $4,082,015 in first-quarter tax payments and expects that number to rise.” The revenue will be allocated to healthy living programs, early-learning programs, community-college scholarships, and some administrative costs.

No hitter for the Mariners! I assumed this was a bad thing. In fact, it is the opposite! Pitcher and Great White North (Canadian) local James Paxton threw the sixth no-hitter in Mariners history. It happened in Canada against the Toronto Blue Jays. Poetic. The Mariners won 5-0. The last no-hitter for the M’s was in 2015.

U.S. detainees freed from North Korea: According to a twitter update from Donald Trump, three American hostages are on their way home from North Korea. Their chaperone is Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The release comes before the planned summit between the U.S. and North Korea. Trump says a place and time have been set.

Over 100 Seattle-area businesses warn City Council about head tax: They’re saying it’s misguided. They wrote and signed a letter that basically said the head tax was punishing companies for growth and that it would negatively impact Seattle in the long run. Alaska Airlines and Expedia were some of the heavy hitters who participated. The head tax would only impact companies that make $20 million a year.

Kitsap County houses on the market for mere hours: The inventory in the county is less than one month’s supply, real estate brokers say. People turned off by Seattle’s skyrocketing home prices have looked elsewhere. The few affordable options — like $230,000 for a house in Bremerton — are snatched up immediately.

Light rail lovers and construction aficionados unite: I know that particular blend of interests is out there. If you read that header and said, “hey, that’s me” then this is for you. Sound Transit has released new pictures of the construction of the University District light rail station set to open in 2021. Yeah, my heart also sank when I realized that was three years away! I will enjoy these pictures in the meantime. I will enjoy them for three years.


Man shot at West Seattle Stadium during track meet: A Seattle Parks track meet was interrupted by shots fired yesterday evening. A man was rushed to Harborview Medical Center with multiple gunshot wounds. The victim, 40s, was declared dead. No arrests have been made.


Here’s your daily forecast: Compare it to how you felt about the day yesterday. Ruminate on that.


Michael Cohen received payments tied to Russian oligarch: I played at a trivia night last night where the winning team’s name was “Michael Cohen is going to jail.” We’ll have to wait and see about that. Things are definitely not looking too hot for Cohen. Especially not after a report came out yesterday stating that Cohen’s shell company — used to make hush money payments to people like Stormy Daniels — “received payments totaling more than $1 million from an American company linked to a Russian oligarch,” the New York Times reports. He received money from other companies as well. AT&T paid Cohen $200,000 from last October to this January. These transactions were first posted to Twitter by Daniels’ lawyer, Michael Avenatti. How the fuck did Avenatti know?



Mormons are out on the Boy Scouts: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a long, intertwined history with the Boy Scouts. I think every Mormon boy I knew was in the Boy Scouts. Disclaimer: I did not know many Mormon boys. I did meet some when I studied abroad in Spain. They had a Jesus Christ iPad cover. Anyway, the Mormons are severing all ties with the BSA. It's not a huge surprise after the announcement in 2015 that BSA would start allowing gay leaders. It's also integrating boys and girls. That's another no-go for the Mormons. They will be enrolling boys into a gospel-focused youth program that they are developing. Sounds fun!

Harbor seal dies, remembered for trying her best: Orange, the seal, rose to fame for her mostly incorrect Super Bowl picks. Orange attempted to predict the winner of the Super Bowl for seven years. She was only right twice. She was nowhere near the level of “the octopus at the zoo” that informed my 13-year-old brother about who would win this year’s Super Bowl. That’s a lot of pressure to put on any animal who doesn’t have any concept of what a sport is and lacks opposable thumbs. They’re probably still critical about Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), though. Aren’t we all?

Protesters removed from Gina Haspel’s confirmation hearing: Haspel is Trump's pick for CIA director. She'll fill Mike Pompeo's shoes since he's now secretary of state. He's filling Rex Tillerson's shoes because Tillerson was fired. Haspel is a controversial choice because of her reported role running a secret CIA prison. A prisoner was allegedly waterboarded there. This is an interesting (or horrifying?) read about Haspel.


Facebook and Google restrict ads ahead of Ireland’s abortion vote: On May 25th, Ireland is voting to repeal the amendment on their constitution which gives a fetus the equal right to life as the mother. The tech companies are rejecting any ads related to the referendum. It’s almost like they’ve finally realized the role online ads play in elections. Hey, do we have anything like that here in Seattle? You bet your sweet ass we do. Interestingly, the group opposed to the ad restrictions and accusing Google and Facebook of “election rigging” is the group seeking to retain the current pro-life law.

Tonight's best Seattle entertainment options include: Puss 'N Pints (a beer-drinking fundraiser for MEOW Cat Rescue), I Alone Can Fix It: Tales from the New Dystopia with Gary Shteyngart, and a live show with queer pop artist Mary Lambert.

Here's what you're eating today:

Nick, is that a bowl of marinara sauce? This was sent to me at 5:40 a.m.

32170047_10204327720790465_4983887970198093824_n.jpg
Nick M

Karen's fiancĂŠ made her a breakfast burrito. She said she had been intending on sending a breakfast picture for awhile but kept forgetting and eating the breakfast. That's okay. It happens to the best of us.Thanks, Karen!

No one makes me breakfast burritos :/
No one makes me breakfast burritos :/ Karen D

Frieda took a risk and used some questionably aged tomatoes. Was she eating mold? There was a very strong chance.

54749524359__05FEE6EF-B452-4BB3-8579-8355F8AE5EF1.JPG
Frieda C

You guys remember Tonio, right? Here was his breakfast.

IMG_5202.JPG
Tonio C

Some clarifications:

FullSizeRender-1.jpg