Jayapal 4 González.
Jayapal 4 González. John Boal

Happy April Fools' Day: Don't let anyone take you for a fool!

Rep. Pramila Jayapal backs City Council President M. Lorena González for Seattle mayor: The Congressional representative's endorsement is the most prominent one yet in the crowded race for mayor. As David Gutman at the Seattle Times notes, members of Congress endorsing mayoral candidates is relatively unusual. But González and Jayapal have worked together "for more than a decade," with the representative eager to "endorse candidates she's worked with personally" and a fellow woman of color. “Lorena is the progressive choice to move Seattle forward because she is a proven leader who knows how to get things done," said Jayapal in her endorsement announcement. And that's that on that!

We're probably at the beginning of a fourth wave of coronavirus says Axios: Fuck, fuck, fuck. COVID cases are on the rise across the country. 63,000 Americans per day are getting diagnosed with the virus on average over the past week, a 17% increase from the week previous. While it's likely to be less deadly than the ones that came before due to the vaccination effort underway, Axios says it's a "clear failure to control the virus through any other means."

Seattle opens its fourth vaccination site in North Seattle: According to the Seattle Times, the Seattle Visiting Nurse Association will "administer 1,170 doses per week—or about 390 each day of operation" and will function primarily as a drive-thru site, though they can take walk-ins as well. Right now they are only open Wednesday through Friday, but will expand their hours as supply increases. Get on the city's vax notification list here.

The Zola trailer dropped yesterday: I cannot WAIT to see this movie based on an epic Twitter thread from 2015 and directed by Janicza Bravo:

Washington man arrested after being accused of involvement in January 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol: Marc Bru appeared in federal court in Portland after being arrested on Tuesday in Vancouver, WA, reports KOMO. The arrest warrant includes pictures that "appear to show Bru attending a pro-Trump rally in Washington, D.C., marching to the Capitol and going inside." No plea has been entered just yet.

Four people, including a child, killed in shooting at a southern California office building yesterday evening: Authorities say a fifth victim, a woman, is in the hospital in critical condition. The suspect has also been hospitalized with a gunshot wound, but it is not known if the wound was self-inflicted, reports the New York Times. While details about the victims, the suspect, and what led to the shooting are not immediately clear, the NYT reports that authorities said "a firearm had been recovered at the scene, which covered two floors and a courtyard area of the building." This mass shooting follows two other mass shootings earlier in March. One in Atlanta where a gunman killed eight people, including six Asian women, at three spas. And another in Boulder, CO where a man shot up a grocery store killing 10 people. Melt all the guns.

The cherry blossom trees at the University of Washington are in full bloom: University officials are urging people to not visit in-person due to the pandemic, but have set up a livestream for anyone to drop in on to virtually enjoy the light pink cloud of flowers that are floating in the UW Quad right now. To be honest, watching the rising sun slowly illuminate the trees has brought me back to life this morning. Spring has sprung. Check out the stream here, or Seattle Refined's photoshoot here.

Netflix dropped nearly half a billion on Knives Out 2 and 3: Uhhhhhhh. The streaming behemoth bought the rights for two sequels to Rian Johnson's 2019 film for $450 million. These are by far the most expensive acquisitions by Netflix, eclipsing the now paltry-looking $130 million for Martin Scorsese's The Irishman. When new IP hits Hollywood, it hits hard!

Ok wait: 🤔🤯🦖

Politico says Biden's infrastructure bill has set off a "feeding frenzy": Every lobbyist and lawmaker in D.C. wants a piece of that sweet, sweet $2 trillion action to make sure their personal interests are furthered by Ol' Biden's plan. Veteran lobbyists told Politico that the package could "spark the most intensive lobbying effort in history." Either way, both Democrats and Republicans are in the middle of entrenching themselves for what will be a long hard fight over the legislation.

OK, definitely saving this to read later: The New York Times' Kyle Buchanan profiled actor Paul Raci, who is up for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in Sound of Metal. Raci is really cool.

Funko has entered the chat: The Everett-based figurine maker recently acquired a major stake in TokenWave, a developer of Tokenhead, an "app for showcasing and tracking non-fungible token (NFT) holdings." GeekWire says Funko will initially bring their extremely popular Pop! figurines to the NFT game, combining "Funko Pop! digital NFTs with exclusive Funko Pop! vinyl figures."

Delta will allow customers to purchase middle seats starting on May 1: They are the last U.S. carrier to end this policy.

Unemployment rises again: Last week, 719,000 Americans filed first time unemployment claims, an increase of 61,000 from the week previous. CBS News reports that 237,000 people filed for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance as well. As of mid-March, the total number of people on unemployment equalled 18.2 million.

Weather break: Fuck a jacket!

A bit of a meme history lesson for the Swedes: A real Reuters headline—"Internet's 'Hide the Pain Harold' accidentally used by Swedish COVID-19 vaccine website."

New Mexico's state legislature approved the legalization of recreational weed: Stoners rejoice! Just on the heels of New York state doing the same thing, both New Mexico's House and Senate approved a bill that will make it legal for those 21+ to buy everyone's favorite green plant. KKTV reports that a companion bill would "automatically erase some past marijuana convictions and reconsider criminal sentences for about 100 prisoners." Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is expected to sign the bills into law soon. Now Biden, GET WITH IT.

City Market is getting a facelift: CHS Blog got their paws on the plans for the mixed-use development that'll replace the building the beloved corner store is currently housed in. Led by real estate startup Juno Residential, the development will be eight stories tall, include a 102-unit apartment building, and "6,200 square-feet of ground floor retail including a new home for City Market." And it looks like Crystal Clean Laundry is not yet included in this plan.

For your listening pleasure: Rico Nasty's "IPHONE."