A sidewalk that belongs in the hall of shame.
A sidewalk that belongs in the hall of shame. TIPSTER

It's the end of the year, which means all we have to read this week are everyone's end-of-year lists: You know what the doctor ordered as a tonic to this miserably long year? A week of re-reading all the news you're trying to forget. I'd like to leapfrog past this week and jump to all the fun January drama—a new mayor! a 60-day legislative session! movies!—but if you're feeling sentimental, there are many many lists to scroll through.

Super chill: Are you frozen yet?

Meanwhile, in Alaska: A weather station in Kodiak hit 65 degrees on Sunday. The state is sweating as it breaks weather records:

Hockley t-shirt update: As of this afternoon, we've sold over 400 shirts. They're on sale for the next day, and any money we make off them is going to the Washington Environmental Council. Matt estimates that's about $1,200 so far.

Beer spear: A person assaulted a Seattle bartender with a "sharpened broomstick" after the bartender asked them for proof of vaccination, reports KIRO. Cops said the assault happened around 5:15 PM yesterday, in the 500 block of King Street, which sounds like Joe's Bar and Grill to me?? Medics treated the bartender for a "laceration" on her face and the suspect got away. Paging Callan Berry—bring back Police Reports Illustrated.

Meanwhile, Mudede chatted with an anti-vaxxer on a train to Portland: Neither learned much.

Vaccinated + boosted "healthy individuals" appear "unlikely to develop severe infections from the omicron variant," according to fresh data analyzed by medical experts. Still, millions of unvaccinated people remain vulnerable, and the data is unclear on how omicron will impact the elderly or people with underlying health conditions. And remember:

Doctors also caution that far more people will become infected with omicron simply because of its transmissibility. If even a small fraction of those land in the hospital, they worry that health care systems that are already short-staffed because of delta infections could be overwhelmed — with potentially dire results for those needing critical care as a result of car accidents, heart attacks, strokes, or any number of things that bring people to emergency rooms.

We feel you, Jeff:


This is why I'm avoiding end-of-year lists.

We feel you too, Jess:


I heard someone had good luck getting an at-home test on GoPuff. What a sad state we're in...

That's shipoopi: Hugh Jackman tested positive for COVID-19, so previews for Broadway's revival of Music Man are postponed until the New Year.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers' coach Bruce Arians also has COVID.

Three members of BTS also have COVID.

A lot of regular folks also have COVID.

We're seeing near-vertical case growth in many U.S. cities, and in Washington state, we're breaking records like the rest of 'em.

Here's how it's looking in King County:

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King County

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Click here for a better image

The Washington State Department of Health is following the CDC and recommending a shortened isolation period for those infected with COVID-19. The official recommendation is five days now, so long as a person is asymptomatic on day five, "followed by five days of wearing a mask when around others," the department said in a press release this afternoon. "If symptoms occur, individuals should immediately quarantine until a negative test confirms symptoms are not related to COVID-19."

What if you're vaccinated + boosted and exposed to a COVID-19-positive person and don't have symptoms? Should you quarantine? "Vaccinated individuals who have received their booster do not need to quarantine but should wear a mask for 10 days after exposure," said the state in their press release today.

Of course, if you have symptoms, quarantine: "When in doubt, get tested on day five and as always, wear a mask when in public spaces after isolation and quarantine are complete. Also be mindful of activities, especially indoors and in crowded settings."

If you're sick of reality, you're not alone: "New installations of the Oculus mobile app jumped more than 150% over the Christmas weekend, compared to past years," reports GeekWire. They're calling it a "tipping point for VR."

This will be the decade of the metaverse: I'm basing that claim on the news that Paris Hilton recently created her own virtual island on Roblox. You can watch her DJ on the island for NYE. No COVID, just vibes.

I missed this: Earlier this month, KEXP's Larry Mizell Jr. and Riz Rollins sang praises of the famous writer and artist Greg Tate on Sound & Vision.

Zoomy-zoom on the slicky-slick and smashy-smash on the snowy-snow: King County has seen a lot of crashes thanks to all this white stuff.

Other white stuff: Last Thursday, a neighbor walking past an apartment building on the 1400 block of Boylston noticed a man in his unit "slumped on a barstool against a window," reports Capitol Hill Seattle blog. The neighbor called 911. Seattle Police and medics entered the building and found three unresponsive people at the apartment. After administering Narcan for suspected fentanyl-involved overdoses, "one patient died at the scene and the other two were transported to Harborview after being revived." CHS Blog has the story.

Fentanyl is everywhere right now: The county has found it in pills, powders, and heroin locally. This year: "Seattle police have seized nearly 650,000 fentanyl-based pills in the city so far." Last year: "Officers seized 63,000 fentanyl pills."

Use this standing order to add Narcan to your first aid kit. More questions answered here.

Blast from the pre-pandemic past: I have not watched Cheer, but I remember Cheer-mania around Stranger HQ when the show originally aired in January 2020, a time I can hardly remember, so the fact this detail is lodged in my brain is funny to me. Maybe it's because Rich and Eli wouldn't shut up about cheer competitions, which I thought was a little campy for them. Apparently it's time for me to catch up because the second season of this controversial reality show drops January 12 on Netflix.