King County homeless shelters not meeting goals: There are 86 shelter and sanctioned encampment programs funded by the county, reports the Seattle Times. Out of those, 61 have not met their projected goals for permanent exits â or, when homeless people make their way out of homelessness. There are supposed to be financial penalties when this happens, but during the first quarter, Seattle waived them. The second quarter has come to an end and Seattle has to decide whether to penalize the shelters. But, shelter providers say these benchmark numbers are unrealistic.
Ofo fucks off: The new $250,000 fee for bikeshare operators adopted by Seattle City Council yesterday was too much for ofo. The Beijing brand will be packing up and shipping out of Seattle. Itâs not just the fee, however. Ofo is pulling out of most of its American markets and has laid off its entire American communications team. That means Eric, the PR guy I talked to once, lost his job. You were nice, Eric. Hopefully, the company throws its bikes away more responsibly than it has in the past.
Montlake not actually brimming with gays: Purr Cocktail Lounge has a storied past. It was a bustling hub on Capitol Hill until it shuttered its doors last year and moved to Montlake. Naturally. When Chase Burns jokingly called Montlake the bastion of the gay community, readers leapt at Burnsâs throat. Montlake was apparently brimming with gays who needed a break from the politics, the activity, and the drama of Capitol Hill. Purr would be fine. Except that itâs not and Purr is dead and the space on 24th Avenue East is vacant again. The Montlake queer community could be bustling, but not enough to revive Purr.
Deadliest Catch star on the hook for alleged sexual abuse: Sig Hansen, the captain of the Northwestern on Discovery Channelâs Deadliest Catch, may have abused his daughter while she was growing up. The lawsuit against him was stalled because there was a former court case against him in 1992. An appeals court stated that that case didnât set a precedent since it was about Hansenâs visitation rights with his daughter, not about personal damages suffered. The case against him will proceed. The Northwestern was my brotherâs favorite ship on that show (mine, obviously, was the Time Bandit). He probably will distance himself from any Northwestern association even if we haven't watched that show in 10 years.
Seven farmers revive South King County greenhouses: These greenhouses were dormant until these farmers volunteered their precious time to revive them. All of them have other jobs. All of them are from Kenya or Benin. Theyâve been working for months to make the greenhouses plentiful and sell the produce at Living Well Kentâs East Hill Farmers Market. Most of the produce is donated to local food banks.
Memorial for Kent police officer: Officer Diego Moreno was struck by a fellow officer during a high speed chase. Today he will be laid to rest following a service and a 6-mile procession. Moreno was a father of two.
Orca grieving reaches one week mark: Itâs been a week and she is still tugging her dead calf along and falling behind her pod much to the worry of the scientists and researchers keeping a watchful eye on her. The world is watching, as well. Hopefully her demonstration wonât ostracize the voters she needs for environmental reform. You know how fickle voters can be.
Yesterday was the hottest day of the year: It hit 94 degrees. Today it will only be in the 80s. No sweat. Well, maybe some.
Russian troll tweets by the numbers: Check out how much fake Russian accounts were tweeting before and after the November 2016 election. Do you think this graphic will be in history books?
We just published, to our knowledge, the most complete set of Russian troll tweets available.
Notice how long before AND AFTER the 2016 election they were active:https://t.co/9rDSPe9xEY pic.twitter.com/rbegBGiDEn
â Micah Cohen (@micahcohen) July 31, 2018
This is a fun video: Thereâs no news here. Itâs just fun.
pic.twitter.com/yuJ9sdrViz
â Humans of Late Capitalism đď¸ (@HumansOfLate) July 30, 2018
North Korea doesnât keep pinky promise, constructs new missiles: Just weeks after Trump declared the country was no longer a nuclear threat, U.S. Intelligence found that North Korea is building new missiles. Satellite images show the progress of the new intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Rats. I really thought we had them there.
Guide shoots polar bear on tour: A Norwegian cruise turned deadly on Saturday. The tour was in Svalbard, an area halfway between Norway and the North Pole. There are lots of polar bears there. A guide shot and killed a polar bear when it attacked a cruise guard. Now, Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, the cruise company, is under fire.
Fish out of water: A shark was stolen from a San Antonio aquarium. The culprits disguised it as a baby by hiding it in a stroller. It has since been located and returned to the aquarium.
Ms. Helen, a gray horn shark, has been returned to the San Antonio Aquarium, after being stolen straight from a tank and put into a stroller. https://t.co/XbQwyYMXBt pic.twitter.com/U4pJ6gJqTH
â USA TODAY (@USATODAY) July 31, 2018
Itâs Harry Potterâs 38th birthday: I donât know who I was arguing with, but someone I know fought me about when the Boy Who Livedâs birthday was. They said yesterday. I said it was today. Thatâs because itâs also my Aunt Julieâs birthday and how could I forget that Aunt Julie has the same birthday as our favorite boy wizard? Tell someone you know today that itâs Harry Potterâs birthday. If they care, Iâll be surprised, frankly.
Something interesting: Ruminate on this during your day.
Here's how America uses its land https://t.co/QdrokaMfI9 pic.twitter.com/ipfMznx2gk
â Bloomberg (@business) July 31, 2018
Tonight's best Seattle entertainment options include: A dreamy and fuzzy pop rock show with Lisa Prank, Supermoon, and Hoop, rock band Toto's 40 Trips Around the Sun tour, and the ever-changing comedic theater show Lauren Weedman Doesn't Live Here Anymore.