I didnt even try to find the dirties-looking picture, thats just what it looks like
I didn't even try to find the dirtiest-looking picture, that's just what it looks like Joe Raedle / Getty Images Staff

New renter protections start next month. Starting in November, landlords will have to give six monthsā€™ notice of any rent increase ā€” no thanks to Jenny Durkan, who, as a final middle-finger to the city, refused to sign the requirement into law. Another measure that would require landlords to pay for relocation assistance in certain situations will go into effect in July.

Shatner's back from space. At this point we certainly are getting a consistent picture of the kind of person who gets into one of these contraptions, arenā€™t we? Shatner and some rich executives just blasted off and are now back on Earth after reaching ā€¦ well, not quite as high as space, more like pre-space. (Space, it's generally agreed, starts at 62 miles up; Blue Origin rockets go just short of 50 miles.) Shatnerā€™s ride was a complimentary profile-boosting gift from Blue Origin, so never let it be said that Jeff Bezos doesnā€™t engage in charity work. Update: I was wrong! The booster rockets don't go to space, but the capsule itself does.

Watch out, Canada and Mexico. The United States will allow people to enter the country from Canada and Mexico starting in November, ending the 19-month restriction on travel and tourism. Of course, this means that at some point those people may head back to Canada and Mexico, taking all of our American germs with them. Proof of vaccination will be required to cross.

A Lyft executive wants more cars at the airport, but the Port Commission just hit the brakes. Even though the Port of Seattle needs to make it easier to take transit to the airport (only 6% of passengers arrive by bus or rail!), they were about to move forward with a plan to expand capacity for cars. But hereā€™s the good news: Four of the five commissioners have halted those dirty car-expansion plans, voting to postpone the project in favor of more sustainable transportation options. The only vote in favor of the plan? Sam Cho, who just so happens to work on public policy at Lyft when heā€™s not serving as a Commissioner.

Schoolā€™s out forever. More COVID outbreaks means more school closures, says Washington Superintendent Chris Reykdal. He doesnā€™t expect them all to close, but parents should be ready for schools to temporarily shut down for the protection of students should outbreaks arise. He also encourages parents to get their kids vaccinated if itā€™s approved by a doctor.

Iā€™m definitely going to need some video of this recital. One Seattle school has an innovative solution to the problem of needing to reduce germ-filled exhalations during band practice: Instead of having students blow into recorders, have them pump air through the instrument from a rubber chicken. A+ to everyone involved.

Netflix stands by its TERF. Netflix employees are planning a walkout on October 20 in protest of the companyā€™s transphobic comedy special and its CEOā€™s doubling-down on defending the content ā€” which, to be honest, isnā€™t even that good. ā€œThis will not be the last title that causes some of you to wonder if you can still love Netflix. I sincerely hope that you can,ā€ CEO Ted Sarandos wrote in an internal email. Ugh! But I canā€™t help wondering, do you suppose Ted loves Netflix? I canā€™t imagine loving a company after it required me to defend a comedy special thatā€™s basically a ripoff of a mid-tier Reddit comment.

Itā€™s not your imagination ā€” itā€™s unusually cold. Yesterday was the coldest October 12 on record. This winter is expected to be colder than usual overall due to La NiƱa. I just got some fingerless princess gloves ā€” nice knit ones that go halfway down my forearm, eliminating the risk of the pesky glove-cuff chill gap ā€” and I donā€™t intend to take them off until May. Today's highs might just barely crack the low 50s.

Manslaughter charges in the case of a mother shot by her toddler. Shamaya Lynn was shot and killed by her 2-year-old child back in August, and this week the childā€™s father was arrested. He faces charges of manslaughter and failure to securely store a firearm (the gun was found in a childā€™s backpack). Also a gunman killed two people at a post office yesterday, a woman was shot and killed in Indianapolis overnight, a 7-year-old was killed near Memphis, and those are just the deaths in the last 24 hours that I found with a 10-second headline scan. Whenever I write blurbs about gun violence I get emails about how guns can be good, actually; but I donā€™t know what kind of good is worth this kind of bad.

America is a crime. Here you will find the anguishing story of how Americaā€™s medical system determined that an Nevada mother should die because her health coverage did not include lung transplants. Gabriela Acuna contracted COVID while pregnant, just days before she was scheduled to receive a vaccination, and sustained massive damage to her lungs. Her baby was born premature, but is doing ok; Acuna still needs a double lung transplant. The family is currently appealing the denial to the state. Hey, remember back in 2009, when Sarah Palin said that health care reform would result in ā€œdeath panelsā€? As if our current system of private health insurance hasnā€™t forced us to live with death panels all our lives.

The Trump administration was awful for LGBTQ health. A new study shows that the Trump administration and its extreme anti-LGBTQ policies did significant harm to queer Americansā€™ mental health. Despite attempts by delusional gay Republicans to rewrite reality, the Trump administration tried to kick trans people out of the military, eliminate job protections for federal contractors, delete queer data from the census, and so on and so on and so on. Researchers found that extreme mental distress rose significantly among queer people, much more than for straight Americans. But you know who did great during those four years? Members of the Trump family. Hereā€™s a fascinating story about all the gifts they accumulated while in power, and the improper handling thereof. There are some fun twists!

Take that, Kraken. I donā€™t know anything about hockey other than the fact that Ariana Grande was hit by hockey pucks TWICE by the age of five, but this is undeniably very cool:

What otter? I didnā€™t see any otter. What are you talking about?