Fear, tension, and confusion are sweeping our jails nearly as quickly as COVID, say unions representing Correctional Officers and Public Defenders.
"Fear, tension, and confusion are sweeping our jails nearly as quickly as COVID," say unions representing Correctional Officers and Public Defenders. RS

Seven months after 15 women alleged sexual misconduct, Chef Edouardo Jordan says it's time to reopen JuneBaby again, the Seattle Times reports. Former manager Ahmed Suliman told the Times he found Jordan's announcement "disgusting" and said he still needed to apologize to dozens of people.

You know shit's getting bad when the Public Defenders union and the Correction Officers union agree that shit is getting bad. This morning in Slog AM, Hannah mentioned the horrific conditions caused by the Omicron outbreak in our county jails, but it's worth highlighting a few claims in this a letter from those unions to Executive Dow Constantine and Bruce Harrell.

"Fear, tension, and confusion are sweeping our jails nearly as quickly as COVID," the unions write in the letter. They describe one third of the jail locked in COVID protocols, 50 guards out sick and some "sleeping in the jail because they can't get home between a double shift and their next one," a lack of "fresh meals," limits on meetings with attorneys, and delayed medicine deliveries. They demand the executives immediately stop booking people accused of nonviolent crimes, stop issuing warrants to people for misdemeanors and nonviolent offenses, develop a plan to release all misdemeanor and nonviolent offenders, and improve staffing.

Following arson and community outpouring, Lumberyard Bar scheduled to reopen before Pride: Bar owner Nathan Adams told Westside Seattle how the new place is shaping up, with one side of the bar "modeled after the original Lumberyard" and the other side reserved for dance and drag.

COVID-19 hits the State House: Despite the mostly virtual session, COVID-19 cases keep racking up. Today Rep. Mari Leavitt tested positive. Last week, five state Senators came down with the bug.

We turn now to Jas for an update on the NFT protest in SLU: Take it away, Jas:

A protester holding a sign outside the Seattle NFT Museum.
A protester holding a sign outside the Seattle NFT Museum. JK

Posters started popping up on Capitol Hill over this past week advertising a protest outside the Seattle NFT Museum, which is set to open this evening (tickets—which are sold out—cost between $175-$200). "FUCK NFTs, FUCK ECOCIDE," the poster blared, referencing the devastating ecological impact of NFTs (non-fungible tokens). When The Stranger arrived on the scene 20 minutes after the protest was meant to start, only two people were outside: one actual protester and another who wasn’t protesting but just down to have a conversation.

The sole protester, who requested anonymity, came out because they have a strong dislike of NFTs and NFT culture as a whole. Their dislike stemmed from the tokens' negative impact on the environment and the energy wasted mining for Bitcoin, calling NFTs a "money laundering scheme" and "power-intensive receipts." When asked about the Seattle NFT Museum specifically, the protester said they didn't have anything against the artists, but believed that NFTs are a vastly unsustainable way to support the arts. "I don't think we as a city need to have [Seattle NFT Museum] promoting this ecological negligence," they said.

Unrelated to the protest, someone apparently threw an object through the museum's front windows. (I have reached out for confirmation of this to the museum and will update when I hear back.) When The Stranger showed up, crews were putting up plywood over the broken window and painting it black ahead of the opening tonight. The protester said they anticipated more people would show up and intends to stay until guests start arriving. More updates soon...

Thanks, Jas! We'll look forward to the review of the pretty receipts they're hocking at the "gallery."

US public health experts come for Joe Rogan: 270 "doctors, scientists, healthcare professionals and professors" asked Spotify to moderate the bullshit coming out of Joe Rogan's extremely popular podcast, The Guardian reports. One epidemiologist called him "'a menace to public health' for airing anti-vaccine ideology."

Netflix & fill corporate pockets: The streaming service hiked its monthly rate from $13.99 to $15.49, according to Shadow and Act. Fuck, I JUST got hooked on the new season of CHEER. One of these days I swear I'll do a streaming purge, right after I finish this season of The Bachelor, Attack on Titan, CHEER, who am I.

CDC finally admits that cloth masks aren't as effective as other masks: Critics said the agency initially promoted cloth and surgical masks due to a shortage of N95 respirators, but now there's no shortage, according to the New York Times. Though many experts recommend N95s for all, the CDC's new line on N95s is that “a respirator may be considered in certain situations and by certain people when greater protection is needed or desired.”

Four free at-home COVID tests coming soon to an internet near you: The government website portal where you can order the tests will open Wednesday. I foresee only success.

Hmmmmmm: An anonymous U.S. official told Reuters that Russia plans to launch a "false flag" operation as pretext for invading Ukraine, Al Jazeera reports. Russia dismissed the allegation as "unfounded," though they do have 100,000 troops stationed at the county's boarder, and they keep issuing a demand for NATO to promise never to admit Ukraine.

Goodbye, Brockhampton: Perhaps the most commercially successful rap group ever to form on a Kanye West fan forum will call it quits after Coachella 2022, Pitchfork reports. I spent a week one summer trying to figure out why the kids liked this band, and I ended up liking a couple songs: