Nice hat.
Nice hat. Matt Baume

Good news for antiracist students. Nominations are now open for the #BlackEducationMatters Student Activist Awards, which recognize students in Seattle and King County who fight racism. Award winners will receive $1,000, provided by Seattle history teacher Jesse Hagopian. You may remember that Seattle cops pepper-sprayed Hagopian on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2015. He sued the city and won the $100,000 settlement that he now uses to fund the award.

Some heated Seattle City Council moments. A few tense words got exchanged today between Councilmembers Sara Nelson and Lisa Herbold over a $4.5 million proposal to recruit more cops. Eventually Councilmember Andrew Lewis stepped in and arranged for them to continue their fight at tomorrow’s full council meeting, so that should be fun.


I know what buoys like. Washington State Parks will start repairs on 82 mooring buoys around the San Juan Islands and Hood Canal this week, with construction continuing through June. If you know of a buoy that needs work, give them a heads up and they’ll put it on their list.

If you don’t feel like waiting for buoy repair
 perhaps you’d like to go for a bike ride instead. Interurban Trail in Lynnwood reopened this weekend, just in time for the start of Bike Month.

Shelter is more than just a cot. Seattle sweepers love to brag about how many unhoused people get “referred” to shelters as their tents and belongings are destroyed. But those referral numbers are meaningless, since many people are referred to shelters they can’t use — for various reasons, among them an inability to accommodate companion animals. Now California is considering a bill that would provide funding to shelters that want to welcome clients and their pets.

Speaking of shelter 
 Tomorrow Edmonds City Council will discuss housing growth plans, and then move on to the next order of business: criminalizing homelessness, with a proposed ordinance that will send unhoused people to jail if they decline an offer of shelter.

Lol Starbucks managers aren’t allowed to say the word “union.” That’s according to labor organizers who got ahold of what they say is an email warning managers that some customers are ordering drinks with the name “union” or “workers united.” If that happens, higher-ups say, managers should just call out the name of the drink instead of the name. Time to start ordering coffee under the name “Onion.”

Did you get con crud at NorWesCon? The long-running sci-fi and fantasy convention went ahead last month, and they’ve released a report on Covid prevention measures. Everything went pretty well 
 except for one attendee who tested positive, and continued to attend for several days anyway. Their identity hasn’t been revealed but oh geez they oughta be banned from literally everything forever.

A little preview of what’s coming to Madison. San Francisco’s new Bus Rapid Transit line opened last month, and it’s brought a massive reduction in travel times. We’ll be getting something similar with the Rapid Ride on Madison, due to be completed in 2024. That feels like a long time to wait, but I remember SF talking about BRT on Van Ness literally twenty years ago when I lived there, so at least Seattle’s going a bit faster.

Only the finest fake news. The Needling, Seattle’s only other blog, is holding fake newsroom classes later this month. You know you want to.

The state’s giving ten million bucks to foster care programs. Specifically, it’ll be spent on stipends to help foster kids transition into adulthood — a challenging undertaking for kids who face unique challenges as they enter their twenties. Seems like a great program, and it sure would be nice if we could guarantee universal basic income to all citizens. Oh well, maybe someday!

The ultimate Smash Brothers lineup. This weekend I was watching a promo for the fall lineup of new TV shows in 1977, like you do, and GOSH there are some great names in there:

Cal Anderson Park is a dog park. It may not be officially recognized as such, and it may not have the fences and signs that a dog park should, but it is bonkers to pretend that it isn’t a place where everyone on the hill brings their dog to run around off-leash, and will continue to do so.

Christ, what an asshole. Has Joe Manchin ever done one good thing ever in his life?

Oh God, not another election. Fortunately, it's not for us. Here are the Portland Mercury's endorsements for the May 17 primary in Oregon.

You should probably see this wombat. Over a decade later, this observation remains accurate.