We need your help. The economic fallout of the coronavirus crisis is threatening our ability to keep producing the stories you've come to love. If you’re able, please consider making a monthly contribution to The Stranger.

I know they are deadly, but I honestly think the hornets are kind of cute.
I know they are deadly, but I honestly think the hornets are kind of cute. Karen Ducey/Getty
COVID-19 outbreak at the Salish Lodge & Spa in Snoqualmie: At least 25 cases are connected to the outbreak, which includes 23 staff members and two guests, reports KING 5. Health officials are saying that anyone who visited the Salish Lodge & Spa from Sept. 16 through Sept. 30 should get tested for coronavirus.

Starbucks is banking on a changed work culture post-pandemic: The 4,000 employees who work in Starbucks HQ in Sodo won't return until October 2021 as the coffee company extends their work-from-home policy for another year. Starbucks is taking this time to redesign their offices to fit a blended in-person/WFH model once the pandemic is over. I bet we'll see a lot more flexible office situations post-coronavirus.

The family of man shot by a Bothell police officer in July still feels left in the dark over his death: In late July, 25-year-old Juan Rene Hummel Jr. was shot by police after officers responded to reports of a man slashing tires with a knife. One officer alleges that Hummel advanced toward him with a knife, leading the officer to shoot Hummel several times. His family spoke outside Bothell City Hall yesterday, leaving 50 letters from friends and family asking for clarity and a framed photo outside the building, reports Paige Cornwell at the Seattle Times. Hummel struggled with mental illness, though a lawyer working with the family said, "That can't be an acceptable reason why someone is shot."

Seagram's liquor heiress sentenced in Nxivm sex trafficking case: Clare Bronfman was given close to seven years in prison for fraud and forced labor as leading member of the cult-like self-help group, reports NPR. As a member of its executive board, she helped bankroll a lawsuit against critics of the secretive organization headed by Keith Raniere. Scary!

Mormonism is getting its primetime moment: The second trailer of Bravo's first season of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City looks totally unhinged and I will absolutely tune in on November 11 to watch the Mormon-tinged chaos unfold.

A 20-year-old Mountlake Terrace woman has died after being shot outside an Edmonds market: The other two people shot—a 23-year-old man and 24-year-old woman—are still receiving treatment for their injuries. Edmonds police spokesperson Sgt. Josh McClure said that the shooter is a 27-year-old Everett man who is either the ex-husband or estranged husband of the 24-year-old woman, who was shot in the face.

Alexei Navalny fingers Putin as his poisoner: The Russian opposition activist was hospitalized in Berlin last month after collapsing on a flight in Siberia. Germany reports that Navalny was poisoned by a Novichok nerve agent. Though the Kremlin denies any involvement, the Putin critic feels differently. "I assert that Putin is behind this act, I don't see any other explanation," he told German news magazine Der Spiegel in an interview. He's been released from the hospital and plans on returning to Russia.

Chrissy Teigen and John Legend lost a baby after pregnancy complications: Teigen was admitted to the hospital after bleeding for "a little more than a month." In a statement posted to their social media accounts they said, "We are shocked and in the kind of deep pain you only hear about, the kind of pain we've never felt before."

Boeing officially announced that it will consolidate its 787 Dreamliner production at its non-unionized South Carolina facility next year: The move was made in part to lower costs during a time period of weak demand and will serve a huge blow to its Everett plant. In a statement, Governor Jay Inslee said that as many as 1,000 people could lose their jobs because of this decision. This is on top of news that Boeing will cease production on their 747 jetliner, also produced in Everett, in 2022.

It's October 1 and you know what that means: King County Metro will begin collecting fares again! Metro is encouraging people to use contactless forms of payment, like ORCA cards, to speed along the process and protect the drivers.

We also apparently lived through the hottest September on record: Though the warmth was hard to enjoy with all that wildfire smoke.

Amy Coney Barrett supported a group that says "life begins at fertilization": The extreme anti-choice group, St. Joseph County Right to Life, has also said that discarding of unused or frozen embryos created during the in vitro fertilization process should be criminalized, reports The Guardian. That's an extreme view even within the anti-abortion movement. In 2006, Barrett and her husband, Jesse, were among hundreds of people who signed a full-page ad sponsored by this same group.

Barrett's name and photos were also scrubbed from another batshit anti-abortion religious organization called People of Praise ahead of her meetings with lawmakers and Senate confirmation hearings. Barrett has declined to speak about her decade-long affiliation with the Gilead-sounding group that "opposes abortion and holds that men are divinely ordained as the 'head' of the family and faith."

Joe Biden broke fundraising records after that disaster of a presidential debate on Tuesday: His campaign apparently raised $3.8 million between 10 pm and 11 pm via ActBlue that night, reports The Guardian.

837,000 Americans filed first time unemployment claims last week: New Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims stood at 650,120, bringing the total new unemployment claims to 1.4 million. In total, 26.5 million filed for unemployment for the week ending in September 12.

The Spanish government to impose a strict lockdown on Madrid and surrounding areas after a rise in coronavirus cases: Residents won't be allowed to leave the area unless it's an "essential journey" reports the BBC. Madrid's conservative regional government opposes the restrictions, arguing that it is not "legally valid."

Three more Asian giant hornets have been spotted in Whatcom County: Bringing the total number of confirmed sightings to 12. Two were collected and a third was photographed attacking a wasp nest in southeast Blaine, reports KING 5. They are setting more traps to catch one of these suckers alive so we can destroy their colony. 2020 is really about to turn! the fuck! up!

Something to groove to this morning: "Talk About" by Les Sins keeps me grounded.