We believe you deserve the best, which is why we're cutting to the chase and recommending only the best things to do this week, from Lane Moore with Lindy West and Angela Garbes to opening weekend of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival and from Seattle Cocktail Week to Plate of Nations.

MONDAY

FOOD & DRINK

Happy Accidents Pop-Up Bar
You may have heard of the Albuquerque cocktail bar Happy Accidents by way of the Netflix mixology competition Drink Masters, in which owner Kate Gerwin placed second. You can try their beverages for yourself at this kickoff party featuring drinks made with Ford's Gin.
(Rob Roy, Belltown)

As the Washington State Legislature strategizes a new approach to the criminal drug possession law, lawmakers aren’t applying the same level of scrutiny to a different proposal related to drug addiction that would criminalize people who researchers say are most responsive to treatment. 

The proposal, Senate Bill 5010, would make it a Class B felony to expose dependent children and adults to fentanyl. The standard sentence for a Class B felony is three to nine months incarceration for a first offense.

On March 1, the state Senate voted 47-0 to pass the legislation over to the House. Some of those senators voted against the proposed criminal drug possession law because it increased criminal penalties and imposed mandatory minimums, raising questions about when the state should treat people for drug addiction rather than punish them for it.

In a 7-2 decision released Friday morning, the Washington State Supreme Court upheld the Washington State Legislature's 2021 capital gains tax, which taxes stock profits over $250,000 at a measly 7% to raise an estimated $500 million per year for early education programs. 

After the news broke, conservatives around Washington and their friends in television news broadcasting started ringing the alarm about the potential for this tax to magically morph into a progressive income tax, which would still be illegal under the state constitution thanks to an old 1930s precedent that treats income as property. Unfortunately, the alarm conservatives are ringing is false. By the sounds of it, state Democrats never even heard of an income tax. 

That said, the Court's decision does keep that dream alive. 

Workers Strike Back, a group organized by Seattle City Council Member Kshama Sawant and Socialist Alternative, rallied at Bezos's balls on Saturday along with Amazon air hub workers from Kentucky. At the demonstration, one worker, Edward Clarke, said the company fired him for organizing. "In Kentucky," the Seattle Times wrote, "Amazon workers said the company tried to shut down a rally the union held earlier this month by telling them a 2-foot-by-2-foot table was a safety hazard." 

Washington is #4 in the nation! ...When it comes to states with the highest jail death rates. Those rates have "steadily risen since the early 2000s" and currently sit about 9 points higher than the national rate, according to Sydney Brownstone over at the Seattle Times. A state law passed last year aimed to start tackling the problem by making counties report "unexpected deaths in custody" within 120 days, but only four of WA's 39 counties have done so. Since jail is the only thing that works, I guess we'll just have to throw the jailers in jail until they comply.

Sarah More is a Seattle-based painter whose work centers on bright patterns that evoke American quilts and colorful mosaics, but with a precision that could easily be mistaken for a vector creation. She holds an MFA from the Cranbrook Academy of Art and a BFA in textile design from the Rhode Island School of Design. In our interview, we talk about her techniques, influences, and the special kind of solace that comes with slowing down.

Gouache is a unique and interesting medium, can you explain its unique traits and why you are drawn to it?

Shortly before construction began on the Madison & Boylston tower in 2020, a headline in Capitol Hill Seattle Blog described the project as the "first affordable high rise in Seattle in more than 50 years." (Yes, it took that fucking long; and, yes, it really is affordable.) The 17-story tower, jointly developed by Bellwether Housing and Plymouth Housing Group, is on a property Sound Transit claimed in 2001 to build a First Hill subway station. That excellent plan was abandoned because all public transportation projects do not hold a candle to projects devoted to the impossible task of improving the experience of a space- and resource-exhausting form of transportation, the ultra-costly car. Obstacles met by the latter are, for reasons that are obvious (endless capitalist growth), always far less opposing than those met by the former. And so a rational multi-modal International District can be stopped; but a tunnel (State Route 99) doomed from the get-go to solve nothing could not.

Budgeted at around $60 million, and designed by the local architectural firm Weber Thompson (more about that in a moment), the Madison & Boylston project answers a question that KUOW's Bill Radke posed to me in a recent episode of Words In Review: "As you know a lot of people in Seattle want homes to be cheaper. Can a residential building be a work of art and still be affordable?"    

Well, Karuna Long is nothing if not resilient. 

Since buying Oliver’s Twist, a neighborhoody Phinney Ridge cocktail spot, in 2017, he and his crew have faced a string of setbacks that would have knocked just about any other new restaurant owner out for the count. 

First, it was COVID tribulations, like everyone else in the restaurant industry, and the resultant staffing issues, like everyone. Then he got pushback from some in Phinney Ridge for his sidewalk seating, along with major grief for requiring vax cards after other restaurants had dropped the restriction. Amid long closures and inconsistent hours, he stayed in the game. 

But the biggest issue with Oliver’s Twist, since the very start, has been the kitchen. 

NEW OPENINGS

Bapshim by Wero
Wes Yoo, who bought the Ballard cocktail bar The Gerald in 2018, reconnected with his love of Korean comfort food in 2020 during the advent of the pandemic. Inspired by the food he ate growing up in Seoul, he started a popular Korean takeout pop-up, then reopened the Gerald as Wero, a spot serving modern Korean food and cocktails, last March. Now, Yoo is debuting a new concept: Bapshim by Wero, a fast-casual lunch service serving customizable Korean rice bowls. Named for a Korean word that translates to "rice power," the business offers proteins like bulgogi ribeye and spicy pork. Bapshim is now available for takeout and delivery and is slated to open for dine-in within the next month.
Ballard
Pickup, delivery

We've partnered with the Motley Zoo Animal Rescue to SAVE ALL THE DOGS! Or, at least try to help a bunch of pups find their forever homes. Every month we'll feature a new pup who's available for adoption. Learn more about what Motley Zoo does here.

This month's pup is Carole Bradshaw, a super sweet 2-year-old husky mix. (Yes, she's named after Meg Ryan's character in Top Gun!) She and her littermates were born in Mexico under a car and they were transported to Motley Zoo Animal Rescue when they were still puppies. All of her siblings have been adopted, so obviously it's time to get Carole into a good forever home, too! 

Some fun facts about Carole: 

FRIDAY

FILM

The Last of Sheila in 35mm
If you dug the Agatha Christie-esque quirks of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, check out this cinematic predecessor, which was co-written by Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins (yes, that one). The Last of Sheila, which Roger Ebert called "a devilishly complicated thriller of superior class," follows a gaggle of mysterious acquaintances (including siren Raquel Welch, RIP) as they chill on a yacht and try to determine which one murdered a Hollywood gossip columnist. Juicy!
(Grand Illusion, University District, $5-$11)

NPR layoffs: National Public Radio did a big round of layoffs. The tote-bag-clad, sultry-monotoned folks over at NPR haven't been able to close a $30 million budget gap. So, layoffs. The powers that be cut four shows, including (gasp) Invisibilia, Louder Than a Riot and Rough Translation, shows that appealed to younger and more-diverse audiences. In total, NPR plans to lay off over 100 staffers. This is the largest NPR layoff since 2008.

Blooms tied to economic boon: In Japan, cherry blossom tourism creates $4.7 billion in economic activity. That means a lot of pressure goes to the guy responsible for predicting when the blossoms will bloom. Predicting blooms means collecting temperature models year-round and plugging them into computer models. This is an entire job in Japan, and it's highly competitive and incredibly difficult. Tracking the peak bloom—which lasts only a week—is tricky, especially with climate change putting everything on the fritz.

Bumbershoot, Capitol Hill Block Party, Day In Day Out, Belltown Bloom... Seattle is silly with spring and summer music festivals, and each one brings with it its own impressive list of performers.

Timber! Outdoor Music Festival is different. It was started by Artist Home founder Kevin Sur in 2013, just a few years after Artist Home co-founded Doe Bay Fest, another popular, outdoor, nature-forward festival experience. While most of today’s local music festivals take place in the city—hot blacktop, little shade, lots of crowds—Timber! lives about 45 minutes outside of town in Carnation, WA. The bucolic surroundings are as much a part of the experience as the bands, which this year include Jeff Tweedy, the King Khan & BBQ Show, Black Belt Eagle Scout, and Guerilla Toss, among others.

Billboard-charting rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie will stop in Seattle to support his latest album Me Vs. Myself. Irish singer-songwriter Hozier will take you to church on his Unreal Unearth tour this coming fall. This summer in Auburn, The Offspring will team up with Simple Plan and Sum 41 for a nostalgic punk show to remember. Plus, Bumbershoot is back after a three-year hiatus with headliners including Sleater-Kinney, Sunny Day Real Estate, Phantogram, and Alabama Shakes frontwoman Brittany Howard. Read on for details on those and other newly announced events, plus some news you can use.

ON SALE FRIDAY, MARCH 24

MUSIC

A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie: Me Vs. Myself Tour
WaMu Theater (Fri June 9)

An Evening With Steve Hackett
Moore Theatre (Thurs Nov 9)

Bryson Tiller
Showbox SoDo (June 13-14)

“I think it’s almost too meta to cry in H Mart now,” said Michelle Zauner, author of memoir Crying in H Mart and lead vocalist of indie pop band Japanese Breakfast. 

Released in April 2021, Crying in H Mart tells the story of Zauner growing up in Eugene with a Korean immigrant mother whose love manifested in unyielding expectations, knife-like criticism, and the most delicious and attentively-prepared meals. In her mother’s final months with pancreatic cancer, Zauner once again used food to show love and process grief.