This is bad news. Credit: COSMONAUT/GETTY IMAGES
This is bad news.
This is bad news. COSMONAUT/GETTY IMAGES

BREAKING: Supreme Court votes to support gerrymandering: The Supreme Court just ruled in a 5-4 vote that federal courts have no role in policing partisan redistricting. That means that the party that controls the legislature controls drawing the voting maps to get their candidates elected.

Inslee turns invisible during first presidential debate: It’s tough out there for anyone running on a climate change platform (read: Jay Inslee). Only seven minutes of the two-hour debate were centered on the subject of THE BIGGEST THREAT FACING HUMANITY. Inslee only got about five minutes of speaking time, the least of any of the candidates on the stage. The moderators focused more on the heavy-hitters like Elizabeth Warren, Beto O’Rourke, and Cory Booker. Inslee got some love for shouting out labor unions and smack-talking Trump.

Double check your voter information: Washington’s new online voter system is full of more bugs than that peach in James and the Giant Peach. If you’ve registered to vote recently, changed your address, or breathed wrong on the VoteWA website, you should make extra sure everything is hunky-dory by calling your county election office.

This $550,00 toilet better be made out of gold: Construction on the Ballard Loo, the high-tech public toilet that will be placed in Commons Park, has finally begun. It’s based off the Portland Loo. It’s billed as being graffiti resistant. There are other perks too but I found that one to be the most interesting. Those $550,000 have got me wondering—what would your dream toilet look like? Mine wouldn’t be too fancy but I’d love a bidet. I think those are $30 on Amazon.

The FAA is being extra careful this time around: The Federal Aviation Administration has identified another problem area in the newly-updated Boeing 737 MAX 8, the plane that killed hundreds of people in two separate crashes. Boeing patched up the software issue that they found to be the reason for the planes suddenly pitching down. But, the FAA found a different issue. It will be an extra one to three months before the planes are in the air and out of employee parking lots.

A new reason to hate Amazon: Prime Day is coming up on July 10. As part of the festivities, Amazon will be live-streaming a Prime Day concert. They just announced the headliners. Leading the charge is the world’s blandest pop sensation—Taylor Swift! Dua Lipa, SZA, and Becky G will also be performing. AND it’s hosted by Jane Lynch, otherwise known as the mean cheerleading coach from Glee.

More parks coming to King County: By the end of 2021 King County wants to have bought or preserved 5,000 acres of green space. That ranges from forests to shorelines, urban green spaces and trail extensions. It will cost $64 million to preserve 61 projects.

Dispatches from the Dem debate: We already talked about Inslee and his irrelevance on the national stage. Let’s dive into the juicer parts of last night. LIke Beto O’Rourke speaking Spanish and everyone’s reactions:

The person that really stood out was Julian Castro: While Warren dominated in the beginning, as time dragged on she did not speak up and make more time for herself. She came out as a front-runner but not the winner. Similarly, while Booker and O’Rourke ate up the most speaking time, neither said much of substance. Castro, the former mayor of San Antonio and Obama’s housing secretary, shone, according to the New York Times, especially during the immigration discussion when he went toe to toe against O’Rourke.

More debates tonight! If you haven’t gotten your Democratic debate fill don’t sweat it. There’s another one tonight. With ten more candidates! Biden! Bernie! Buttigieg!

Alabama woman indicted for getting shot and losing her unborn baby: Marshae Jones was five months pregnant. She was shot in the stomach during an altercation. Her baby died. She has been indicted on manslaughter charges while the shooter has gone free. That’s because authorities said she initiated the argument that led to her getting shot.

The Dalai Lama is talking shit: He started off strong by saying something we all know—Donald Trump lacks morale principle. Then, he said that he’d be okay if Tibetan Buddhists had a female spiritual leader, but only if she’s a babe. Also, he weighed in on Brexit. He’s not into it.

Woodinville causes North Seattle smoke: There were no injuries and firefighters don’t know what caused the blaze.

American woman killed by sharks: A 21-year-old Californian woman was snorkeling on vacation in the Bahamas. She was attacked by three sharks. Her family yelled warnings about the sharks but she didn’t hear them. They bit her arms—detaching one of them—, legs, and butt. She was pulled to shore and died at the hospital.

And yet, selfies are more dangerous than shark attacks: Five times more deadly, in fact. According to this report, “Between October 2011 and November 2017, at least 259 people died taking selfies around the globe, compared to just 50 people killed by sharks in the same period.”

Tonight’s best Seattle entertainment options include: The local comic-filled Stand Up for Pride, a solo show with Chastity Belt’s Julia Shapiro, and a talk about Pike Place in the prohibition era with local historian Brad Holden.

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...