They dont call it an opioid crisis for nothing.
They don't call it an opioid crisis for nothing. SPENCER PLATT / GETTY

Teen charged with murder of Kent police officer: Emiliano Garcia, 16, was intoxicated when he climbed behind the wheel of his father’s red pickup truck with two friends, peeled out without turning on his headlights, and engaged an officer in a high-speed chase. That officer struck Officer Diego Moreno who was laying out spike strips to stop Garcia. As of Wednesday, Garcia has been charged with second-degree felony murder. He was tried as an adult.

Microsoft believes the future is female: The company wants to invest in more women-led startups. It’s doing so with a competition. A prize of $4 million will be awarded to two startups. Less than three percent of all venture capital dollars went to women-led companies last year. Microsoft wants to change that. Who knew that Microsoft was the feminist ally we needed all along?

Snohomish County is embroiled in an opioid crisis: It’s bad. In just one week Snohomish County reported 57 overdoses. Two were fatal. That number is nearly double the results from last year.

Continued sad orca update: It’s day two. The mother who lost her child is continuing to carry her dead calf on her head. This practice is common for animals with tight-knit social bonds.

Company overseeing Hanford cleanup is getting audited: Bechtel National Industries received an unfavorable audit by the Defense Contract Management Agency. Bechtel is the main contractor involved in “the $17 billion project to design, construct and commission a treatment plant for radioactive wastes,” at Hanford reports the Seattle Times. But, Bechtel’s ability to spend taxpayer dollars freely on its projects have been curtailed. The company must wait until federal authorities restore approvals for Bechtel until it can spend freely again. This is just another delay and hiccup in Hanford’s long history of expensive delays and hiccups.

Carmen Best nails first police chief confirmation hearing: Best, the interim police chief, will soon be the real police chief. Yesterday was her first confirmation hearing and the first step in her confirmation process. During the hearing, Best “pledged to hold officers accountable as the department undergoes a two-year period in which it must show that it is continuing to adhere to a 2012 consent decree with the U.S. Justice Department to address excessive use of force and biased policing,” writes the Seattle Times. Maybe in the next hearing we’ll figure out how much lip syncing we can expect in SPD’s future.

The Mariners might not renew their contract with Safeco Field: The county is expected to pay for the upkeep of the stadium. The Mariners want $180 million in public funds from the lodging tax to go toward that. But, other people in the community say that money could go to a more worthwhile use like, say, building affordable housing.

Would you work here?


Facebook shares take a steep stumble: The tech company’s stock plummeted 18 percent at the start of trading this morning. That’s a $118 billion market value loss. Investors balked at Facebook’s confessions this week that revenue growths would continue to slow in the coming quarters, reports the New York Times.

New drug could finally tackle Alzheimer’s: For the first time, a clinical trial has resulted in both stopping the brain changes and the symptoms that occur during Alzheimer’s. The drug reduced the brain plaques and slowed down dementia. Currently, there’s no effective treatment for the disease. If this drug continues to perform well, it could spell a huge turning point in medicine.

Toronto shooter’s gun originally from U.S.: The mass shooting over the weekend resulted in two deaths. The semi-automatic rifle that was used is illegal in Canada. Authorities say it was obtained originally from the United States. Naturally.

New Blabbermouth! When Does #Resistance to a Trump Hat Go Too Far? Listen now!

Don’t you love community?


American hero ruins Betsy DeVos’ summer: A true patriot untied DeVos’ $40 million family yacht from a dock and caused $10,000 in damages. That's not a huge loss for DeVos. Her family has nine more boats they can use while that one is out for repairs.

I feel like this is a metaphor:


An update from my alley:

There is an indecipherable love letter scrawled on my recycling bin. Written in a cramped, urgent scrawl, the white ink — or is it paint? — has faded from years of exposure.

But, it is only a piece of a longer ode. I’ve seen the same handwriting on various trash cans throughout the alley, I’ve seen it written on beams and etched onto the chipping paint of now-defunct bars. From what I can make of it, the tone is beseeching. The one on my recycling bin seems to be a proclamation of love mixed with a fear of being left behind, or the swift denial that follows heartbreak.

Some words are in Spanish. Most seem to be English. The notes always end with a small “iloveyou,” written as one word as if its a declaration but also a signature, an identity.

Though I would love to host a close reading of my trash can poetry, I fear it is nearly impossible. Instead, I’d like us all to ruminate on the image this invokes. Picture it. Someone in the throes of passion, whether love or loss, so desperate for the catharsis only the written word can provide that they bare their soul on whatever surface the alley can provide. In my imagination this also occurs in the dead of night and it’s raining.

Included for you intrepid codebreakers is the the picture I took of the writing last night. See if you can make heads or tails of it:

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Tonight's best Seattle entertainment options include: Saucy performances from campy glamour queens Betty Wetter, Miss Texas 1988, and Angel Baby Kill Kill Kill, a free DIY showcase with local favorites Naomi Punk, Dreamdecay, Casual Hex, and So Pitted, and the opening of Gary Hill's Linguistic Spill ([un]contained) art show.