The face of belief. Alex Wong / GETTY
Washington state Senate kills two bills to help warehouse workers: One bill would have merely forced Amazon and other companies who own giant warehouses to “share personnel files with workers when requested” or risk penalty, and the other would have forced them to “share more information about worker quotas in warehouses” to expose potentially unsafe expectations that could lead to injury, the Seattle Times reports. Good luck with the workers in the suburbs this year, Democrats!
Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are the only Beatles in the world: But Paul’s the only one coming to Seattle, KIRO 7 reports. He’ll play the Climate Pledge Arena on May 2 and 3. They’ll start selling tickets next Friday, Feb 25 at 10 am.
Found the answer to crime: Put a cop on every corner. Or a cop in front of every shop! Better yet, why not a cop in every coffee cup!? I’d like to carry a cop around with me on my back. I’d even split a cop with roommates. Are OUR parks really safe without cops patrolling the grounds? Are we even really having safe sex unless the cops are making sure nobody slips a hand in and steals our catalytic converters, our precious, irreplaceable, catalytic converters??? Anyway, if this “hot spot” tactic doesn’t just push poor people around town the way sweeps push other poor people around town, then you can color me surprised.
UPDATE: 12th and Jackson got cleared out today. First pic is what it looked like last week.
Businesses described it as a swap meet for stolen goods, drugs, & a magnet for crime.
Today there’s a big SPD presence.
But shops say in the past, people have returned when PD leaves. pic.twitter.com/OkvyvopYtN
— Deedee Sun (@DeedeeKIRO7) February 18, 2022
Another day, another reminder that housing costs too much: An average house in King County will cost you over $1 million, KING 5 reports.
Preservationists moved that quirky Stone Cottage in West Seattle: On March 12th, you can go to some other place in West Seattle to visit the new location. You can find more details on the West Seattle Blog.
Zero-to-middling response from local officials surrounding Durkan’s and Best’s missing texts: The Seattle Times asked around City Hall to see if anyone had anything to say about whether the former mayor, police chief, and other officials would be subject to a civil or criminal investigation for the missing public records. Mayor Bruce Harrell, Chief Adrian Diaz, City Attorney Ann Davison, and every council member but Andrew Lewis and Dan Strauss said nothing. Lewis said he’d talk to the mayor “about finding an appropriate way to pursue an investigation,” and Strauss said, “There are a lot of questions left unanswered that I would like to have the answers to.”
The final bow. RS
Catch Noelani Pantastico’s last dance in her signature role: On Sunday afternoon Pacific Northwest Ballet principal dancer Noelani Pantastico took her final bow after a stellar 25-year career. The matinee marked the last time she’d resurrect Juliette, one of the two star-crossed lovers in Jean-Christophe Maillot’s interpretation of Shakespeare’s tale of woe, a part she perfected during her time at PNB. She and her Roméo for the show, principal James Yoichi Moore, easily slipped back into their roles and danced as well as they ever have. After one last stage death — a little twist of a red silk scarf around her neck — Pantastico waved au revoir to the audience as pounds and pounds of peach-colored petals fluttered all around her. Not a bad way to say goodbye. Buy your tickets to the digital performance here, and stream from February 24 to 28. Sales end at 7 pm PDT on the 28th.
Speaking of incredible streaming performances: On Saturday the Seattle Symphony is offering a free broadcast of EO9066, a symphonic exploration of that time the US kidnapped and imprisoned more than 100,000 Japanese Americans, as I described it in my review of the show last month. The show is gorgeous and sad and weirdly hopeful — plus, you can’t beat the price. And if you want to learn more, pop on down to Octave 9 between 1 and 7 pm this Saturday to see Pictures of Executive Order 9066, a brief and stunning documentary full of Dorothea Lange photos.
Russia says it’s not invading Ukraine, but Biden “believes” that Russia “has decided to invade Ukraine…in the coming week” because “separatists backed by Moscow told civilians to leave breakaway regions on buses,” Reuters reports. Russian news reported some explosions in Donetsk, which is part of the Donbas region, a borderland area in Ukraine that’s seen warring between Russian separatists and Ukrainians for the last eight years. Ukraine blamed those explosions on Russians trying to stir shit. Both sides accuse the other of shelling in response.
Two responses: In that taped announcement I posted above, Biden reiterated his position not to move in to protect Ukraine but said that the U.S. will keep sending some money to the country. In the meantime, he’ll keep “a close watch on the violence in eastern Ukraine,” believing Putin will use it as a pretext to invade, and look forward to a meeting between European allies and Putin next week. Meanwhile, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said “Moscow was concerned about ‘a sharp increase in shelling in eastern Ukraine,’ which he blamed on the Ukrainian forces.”
For some solid commentary on the crisis in the Donbas, tune into American Prestige:
Special – Ukraine Explain 2
Danny and Derek couldn’t resist getting back on the mic and breaking down the latest developments in Ukrainehttps://t.co/YCSPEYmprh
— American Prestige (@AmPrestigePod) February 19, 2022
A reason to keep living: After a seven-year absence, Taco Bell is putting the Choco Taco back on the menu, CNN reports. Sales start Thursday. The Choco Taco was the most expensive item on the ice cream truck, and I could never convince mom to give me money for it, nor could I find in the couch cushions the $2 necessary for the purchase, and so I always wound up with a Chocolate Eclair Bar, which I liked just fine. Not everything is a tragedy.
Trump took classified documents to his Mar-a-Lago palace: The National Archives and Records Administration confirmed it, the Washington Post reports. I look forward to wall-to-wall coverage about Trump mishandling American secrets when he announces his run for the presidency the day after Democrats lose their Congressional majorities.
The cop who shot and killed Daunte Wright gets two years: Kim Potter said she “confused her handgun for her Taser,” and apologized to Wright’s mother, Politico reports. The two years in prison will do about as good for Potter as Potter’s apology did for Wright’s mother.
Cops arrest 70 as they clear Canadian truckers from Parliament Hill: I saw people online calling the group of truckers protesting COVID-protocols the “Flu Trux Klan,” and I’ve spent nearly every moment since trying to determine if the joke was funny. Still don’t really know. In any event, Al Jazeera has the story on the end of the three-week protest, but I recommend following the French Canadian news sources for updates, if only for the all-caps headers: “FACE À FACE:”
FACE À FACE.
Des manifestants face aux policiers.#noovoinfo pic.twitter.com/bkpA38tUCe
— Étienne Fortin-Gauthier (@EtienneFG) February 18, 2022
Joni Mitchell never lied: Janet Jackson came up at poker the other night, and I’ve been swimming in the The Velvet Rope ever since. Didn’t catch this remake when it came up. Have a chill weekend:
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