Don't do this in front of a police station. (or at all.) Credit: D-Keine/Getty Images
Dont do this in front of a police station. (or at all.)
Don’t do this in front of a police station. (Or at all.) D-Keine/Getty Images

Orcas’ New Year’s resolution should be to ‘Not Die’: In 2018, three southern resident killer whales died in four months. There are 74 left in the pod. However, two more orcas are ill, according to the Center for Whale Research. Both of the illnesses are caused by insufficient food. They’re expected to die this summer. Timothy did point out this morning that 60 percent of New Year’s resolutions are broken by June. So hopefully they stick to their guns.

Nordstrom co-president dies a month after being diagnosed with cancer: Blake Nordstrom, one of the three Nordstrom brothers, died this morning in Seattle. He and his brothers were the presidents of the company. Blake Nordstrom announced last month that he was diagnosed with a treatable case of lymphoma. He was optimistic about his condition. He died unexpectedly. He was 58-years-old.

SPD shot and killed a man on New Year’s Eve: The officer shot the man with a handgun following a traffic stop on Highway 99 in the city’s Licton Springs neighborhood, according to SPD’s blog. As the SPD report reads, the man ran from police officers, engaged in a physical struggle with them, and pulled out his own handgun. He was shot and killed when an SPD officer pulled out and fired his own handgun.

Wet and windy Seattle: Bye, bye blue skies. Welcome, wet. Wind, too, I guess.

SODO Viaduct onramps are closing ahead of the complete Viaduct closure next week: If you’re sentimental about the SR 99 off-ramp to Atlantic Street or the on-ramp from South Royal Brougham Way, you’ve got a couple of days to say your goodbyes. The ramps will be closing for good on Friday to give construction crews a little more time to get everything ready for the new SR-99 tunnel’s opening in early February. Give them a gentle kiss.

Study up while you can: Come Jan. 11, we’re fucked. Learn these evasive measures! There’s a southbound video, too.

Another severed foot washed up on Washington beaches: This time, a severed foot drifted ashore in Everett. The Snohomish County Medical Examiner is hard at work making sure the foot—which was inside a shoe—is human and to determine identity and cause. A lot of severed feet are found around these parts.

New Year, new ban on Washington political ads: Facebook is keeping its promise to ban political ads for local elections in Washington. This means that Washington is the first place in the U.S. where both Facebook and Google won’t (can’t?) sell political ads.

Twelve days of a (partial) government shutdown: And no end in sight! There was a meeting today hosted by Trump where congressional leaders from both parties were supposed to talk it out. “It” being “border security” or, really, “The Wall.” There wasn’t any agreement. Trump really wants his $5.6 billion border wall plan to be fully funded. Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi:

Texas could very well kick its coal habit: There’s enough sun and wind to make coal irrelevant down in the Lone Star State. Scientists found that across Texas, renewable energy could produce more than enough energy to satisfy Texas’s energy appetite. It would require some coordination since solar and wind power are active at different times of the day, but given the cohesion, the renewable energy could make coal-fired plants irrelevant.

An Oregon man tried to steal a bike: In front of the police station. He was immediately arrested.

Nathalie Graham covers anything she finds fun, weird, or interesting. You can find a lot of that in her column, Play Date. Her work has also appeared around town in The Seattle Times, GeekWire, and the...