HOUSEKEEPING! Friday the 13th is toooooooo spoooooooooky for Slog, so we're taking the day off tomorrow.
(Just kidding: A bunch of us are taking a three-day weekend to make up for all this reporting last week, and the rest of us are taking a day off the blog to work on features about stinky cruise ships and pretty church windows.)
Are you reading me on Friday or Saturday or Sunday and hunting for more #content? Then catch up on our recent blogs featuring Pramila Jayapal or burlesque or 20-year anniversaries or queer blogs or cousin-fucking or digital bunnies or COVID clubbing or wildfire science or Neighbours' resurrection. Looking for things to do this weekend? We've got a list right here, and EverOut's got lots of lists over here.
The big news today is the 2020 US Census, baby! The US population is less than 60% white, according to the freshly dropped results from last year's Census, which shows the country's white population decreasing for the first time on record. This type of "headcount" has been carried out every decade since 1790, writes AP, which also notes:
"In California, Hispanics became the largest racial or ethnic group, growing from 37.6% to 39.4%, while the share of white people dropped from 40.1% to 34.7%."
The Census Bureau's trove of demographic data released Thursday reveals a changing US populace: More Hispanics, fewer whites, fewer children and growth concentrated in metropolitan areas. Here are five takeaways. https://t.co/LXvyfz6Xf8
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 12, 2021
What's the data say about us? "By one measure, Washington, led by the booming Puget Sound region, grew more diverse more quickly than any other state in the nation." And: "Seattle grew by more than 128,000 people since 2010, one of 14 American cities that grew by at least 100,000. Seattle now has 737,015 people, as of census day, April 1, 2020, a 21% increase from 2010."
Earlier this week, Snohomish County brought back its mask mandate: Today, Thurston County joined them, requiring "county residents [5 years or older] to wear a mask in public indoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status, starting Friday, Aug. 13." Will King County be next? The county is "assessing" it, but it's certainly recommended that you wear masks while visiting public indoor spaces.
Disinvest in KIRO: Invest in Slog.
This is an irresponsible article to take a "both sides" approach on.
This article sounds like health care workers are split about 50-50.
But no! 96+% of physicians are fully vaccinated. The unvaccinated health care workers are an antiscience fringe.
That seems important?
— Negasonic Middle-age Warhead (@toorsdenote) August 12, 2021
Washington State Superintendent Reykdal will ask Gov. Inslee to mandate vaccines for public school employees: Washington mandated vaccines among most government and health care workers in the state on Monday, but K-12 employees weren't on that list. Yesterday, California became the first state to require all teachers (public and private) and school staff to get vaccinated "or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing."
Chris Reykdal, Washington state schools superintendent, says he's "encouraged" Gov. Jay Inslee to institute a vaccine mandate for school employees. Seattle schools supe Brent Jones says he is considering implementing one. https://t.co/5gWx2Xhajg by @monicavelez21 #waedu
— Dahlia Bazzaz داليا البزاز (@dahliabazzaz) August 12, 2021
It only took 13 years...... but Britney Spears's father, Jamie Spears, will step down from his conservatorship position over his daughter. Variety:
On Thursday, Spears’s father filed his response the singer’s petition for his suspension with the Los Angeles Superior Court, announcing his decision to step down, though his attorney states that there are “no actual grounds for suspending or removing” him. His attorney cites the “public battle with his daughter” as his reasoning for stepping down.
It doesn't look like he gave a time frame for the transition, but this is a major milestone in a long battle for Spears.
The Taliban takes over: Taliban militants are rapidly approaching the Afghan capital of Kabul, CNBC reports. The US and Britain are sending troops to evacuate people from their embassies. Major cities across Afghanistan are on "the verge of collapse to the Taliban," notes the New York Times. Biden has said that Afghan people have "got to fight for themselves, fight for their nation ... they've got to want to fight." We'll see how that position evolves as the Taliban takes over two-thirds of the country.
This photo gave me trypophobia: Meet your neighbors.
As we deal with punishing heat and apocalyptic wildfire smoke in the Northwest, here is some more unfortunate news: Entomologists say a live murder hornet (Asian giant hornet) has been spotted.
The hornets apparently survived last year's eradication effort in Washington State. pic.twitter.com/w1H6jgihnV
— Mike Baker (@ByMikeBaker) August 12, 2021
A truck can be a home: The Washington State Supreme Court said so. Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes said the ruling will have “wide reaching implications for how Mayors and City Councils from every Washington city respond to people living in their vehicles on public property.”
Gates put his money where his mouth is: And that mouth is right here, on hot hot Earth. The recently single gajillionaire said "his climate investment fund will commit $1.5 billion for joint projects with the US government if Congress enacts a program aimed at developing technologies that lower carbon emissions," reports Wall Street Journal today in an exclusive interview. The Senate's $1 trillion infrastructure spending bill is currently in the House, which, if passed, would, among many things, dedicate $25 billion to the Department of Energy to pay for carbon-cutting projects. Bill wants his rich friends to pony up some cash, too.
ICYMI: We dropped a new episode of Sticker Patrol.
Volunteer Park Cafe is open again.
Turn on the air purifiers: Smoke from fires in British Columbia is blowing into the Puget Sound area. Here's a fire and smoke map. Be glad you're not in Spokane. (Sorry, Spokane.)
Winds are bringing wildfire smoke into the Puget Sound region. We expect air quality to worsen today and reach UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS in many areas across the region. We should see some clearing on Saturday. More info: https://t.co/60wTdUfwgD
Image from @MountRainierNPS pic.twitter.com/ugz4uMCSic
— PS Clean Air Agency (@pscleanair) August 12, 2021
Producer Ryan Murphy is hit-or-miss: But his American Crime Story series is some of his best work, and we love Clive Owen, Edie Falco, and Beanie Feldstein on this blog. Impeachment premieres September 7 on FX.