Liberty and justice for all, just behind these barricades
Liberty and justice for all, just behind these barricades Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images Staff

Monkeypox is (probably) here. Public Health Seattle & King County is investigating a likely case of monkeypox. The patient is an unidentified man who recently traveled abroad, and health officials aren’t aware of any other cases. If you’re experiencing symptoms — basically feeling like you have the flu, accompanied by a new rash, bumps, or sores — you’re asked to contact a health care provider as soon as possible.

A really bad Supreme Court ruling. No, not the reproductive health one. Today, SCOTUS issued a ruling that basically makes it easier to keep people locked up even if their attorneys were incompetent. It’s bad! But not surprising. What America calls a “justice system” is really just a means of legitimizing slave labor.

Want to meet some trees? You don’t need a car to get to some great trails! Go take a bus to a fine hike:

Bruce Harrell is getting impatient waiting for you to thank him. That comes from an Axios interview with Seattle’s sweeper-in-chief, who is apparently “tired” of everyone criticizing him. “When will the city recognize — because many people do — we are doing outstanding work?” Harrell says, pointing out that they’ve “referred” dozens of unhoused people to shelter. Of course, not every referral is to shelter that the person can actually use.

About that car-fight at Pike Place Market. Prosecutors have released footage of the Pike Place Market driver who rammed his car into two people back in April. I’m not going to link to it — for one thing because it’s upsetting, and for another because it’s watermarked by a conservative radio host whose Twitter feed feels like one long failed audition for Fox News, but it’s out there if you want to go looking.

Apparently there’s an app for the AIDS Memorial Pathway? You can, allegedly, download an app that creates an augmented-reality overlay on the AIDS Memorial Pathway on Capitol Hill. The virtual art project just won an award, which will be presented (online, appropriately) tomorrow. I’m not sure what the criteria for this award is, because I went searching for an iOS version of the app and couldn’t find it, and nothing happened when I clicked the link to download it via the AMP’s website. Anyway, congrats on the award!

In case you’re planning something for Memorial Day: Just a reminder that various city facilities will be closed next Monday, from swimming pools to the Japanese garden to community centers. Get the full list of closures here.

Don’t worry, a recession isn’t inevitable. These are not exactly the most encouraging words to hear from the president of what’s left of the United States, but Joe Biden says that recession isn’t necessarily inevitable. Okay, thanks for bolstering our confidence, Joe!

Peace Peloton is this Friday. The eight-mile ride goes from Occidental Square Park to White Center — a little prelude to their 70-mile ride in July from Snoqualmie to Pier 62.

State Farm is helping to deliver inclusive books to young readers. It’s no surprise that conservatives hate reading — probably because it makes their lips so tired — so of course they’re up in arms about a program to send LGBTQ+ inclusive literature to classrooms.

I’m not smart enough to understand how smart these kids are. Congratulations to these 23 brilliant Washington youths who recently competed in an International Science and Engineering Fair, winning nearly two dozen awards for topics like “A Machine Learning Approach to Identifying Blood-Based Biomarkers for Differential Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease” and “Exploiting Plasmid-Mediated Resistance: Discovery of Small-Molecule Inhibitors for the Artificial Activation of the Kid-Kis Toxin-Antitoxin System in Plasmid R1.” They are literally teenagers who are about to save the world, and what have I done with my life? Complaining about funny smells for a local online 'zine? God.

How centuries of racism continues to punish Haiti. There was an absolutely must-read piece in the NY Times this weekend about how French colonialism brutalized Haiti — and how it continues to do so through the echoes of history, including the forcing of Haitians to pay “reparations to enslavers.”

The Washington Legislature keeps doing what it does best (nothing). For the last two years, state leaders failed to pass reforms to the comprehensive planning process — a wonky undertaking that basically guides how towns plan their growth. That’s discouraging, since the proposed reforms would have required towns to take action on climate change. The good news is that a handful of jurisdictions are planning to enact those reforms as though they’d actually passed; among those areas is King County and Bothell. Other towns are paying lip service with pretty words but not following the proposed reforms, including Lynnwood and Everett.

Let’s queer some data. Gay City is currently seeking a Data Coordinator to manage records, monitor HIV/STI services, and shepherd client data through databases. Perhaps that person is you! They’re also hiring in positions involving finance, communications, and research.

Farewell to the last public payphone in New York. It was airlifted out today — no word on where it’s headed, but I can see it fitting right in at a retirement home in Florida. Meanwhile, does Seattle have any public payphones left? There are a handful maintained by local businesses (Lockspot’s phone booth still works, right?), and several dozen on Whidbey Island, but I’m not aware of any old-fashioned out-on-the-street phones left. Let me know if you know of any.

Two opportunities this week to bother the Design Review Board: On Tuesday and Thursday the Design Review Board will meet to consider four much-needed housing projects, making up nearly 800 new units of housing: 2234 2nd Ave (59 new homes); 801 Blanchard St (418 new homes replacing two parking lots, existing Shake Shack and Butcher’s Table buildings to remain); 402 S Lucile St (152 new homes); and 119 12th Ave (127 new homes). Design Review likes to uselessly delay the construction of new housing so a bunch of volunteers can argue for months about brick color and drive up the cost of construction by millions of dollars, so the least you can do is submit a comment that you think the proposed designs are just fine and that they don’t need any further debate.

Madison Cawthorn is under investigation, lol. The House Ethics Committee will look into whether he violated rules by promoting a cryptocurrency. I doubt very much that he gives a shit what the House Ethics Committee has to say.

SDOT’s keeping the buses nice and slow. A couple years ago, SDOT put the kibosh on bus lanes on the 48 route due to a handful of complaints from residents. They said they’d revisit bus lanes in a few years when redoing 23rd Ave. Well, they’re finally redoing 23rd, and guess what? No bus lanes in sight.

Remember the time Popeye and Bluto dated? Me and whomst: