KUOW Blog
News, factoids, and insights from KUOW's newsroom. And maybe some peeks behind the scenes. Check back daily for updates.
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Stories
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Samish Indian Nation debuts first village in 125 years to 'bring the elders back home'
Samish Indian Nation Tribal Chairman Tom Wooten (right) beats a drum at a ribbon cutting ceremony for the tribe's new Xwch'ángteng housing community in Anacortes, Washington on Friday, May 17, 2024.KUOW Photo / Gustavo Sagrero ÁlvarezThe Samish Indian Nation on Friday debuted a new affordable housing project spanning 2 acres of tribal land in Anacortes. The project, called Xwch'ángteng, contains 14 two-bedroom cottages that are ADA-ready, along with a new community center and playground.
Samish tribal members who are seniors, disabled, and low-income will get priority for the new cottages, which are each roughly 1,000 square feet.
Tom Wooten, tribal chairman of the Samish Indian Nation, said there hasn’t been a Samish village in over 125 years.
“We’ve always had people living here, residing at our traditional territories as individuals, but this is the first time we’ve located [Samish elders] in one place,” Wooten said at a ribbon cutting ceremony for Xwch'ángteng on Friday.
“This is me trying to bring back our families,” he added.
RELATED: Kelp has protected Samish people for millennia. Now it needs their help
“I think the idea is to bring the elders back home, and for them to have a critical part in generational teachings,” said Sharon Paskewitz, senior director of essential services for the Samish Indian Nation.
“You can have the elder generation teach — what does it mean to pray when you have lunch, what does it mean to be a Samish citizen, what is the history behind that?” she said.
Marilyn Howard, a grandmother of five, will be among the first residents of the village. She currently lives in Bellingham.
“Can you imagine? I don’t think we realize when we stepped in…we’re more than blessed,” Howard said. “Blessed be all — that’s a great honor.”
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Dungeons & Dragons is headed to a Washington state library near you
Tabletop game dice, commonly used in Dungeons and Dragons and other role-playing games. With a donation from Wizards of the Coast, Washington's Secretary of State's Office is sending 75 free D&D kits to libraries across the state, along with the potential for game-playing grants.It's perhaps no surprise that copies of Dungeons & Dragons are rolling out to libraries across Washington state. The Washington State Library falls under the purview of Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, a frequent dungeon master.
Though, as a D&D player, Hobbs is known as "Happy Tracker Meow Meow," a bard for the Tabaxi college of lore. Also these days, he's playing a human evocation wizard, 17th level.
RELATED: The (economic) force is strong with Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle
“I have been a fan of tabletop games for most of my life, so I’m overjoyed to bring this opportunity to library patrons throughout Washington,” Secretary Hobbs said in a statement. “Dungeons & Dragons, and other role-playing games, provide players with fun and compelling ways, including therapeutic usages, to strategize and build relationships.”
Earlier this year, Wizards of the Coast (the producer of Dungeons & Dragons) donated 75 game kits to the Secretary of State's Office. Now, 50 libraries across the state will get at least one copy of the game, including public, tribal, and community college libraries.
“Libraries are valuable spaces for learning and gathering,” State Librarian Sara Jones said in a statement. “The expansion of tabletop role-playing game services will allow communities to explore topics in new, meaningful ways.”
The state has already started delivering the games. Richard E. Ostrander West Valley Community Library in Yakima was the first to get one.
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Microsoft uses AI to improve battery tech
A portion of the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington, is shown on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023.KUOW Photo/Megan FarmerMicrosoft is using its artificial intelligence models to help develop the next generation of batteries.
Experts consider batteries an important tool for utilities trying to give up fossil fuels. That's because batteries can be paired with solar or wind to provide reliable power even when there’s no wind or sun.
Microsoft VP Jason Zander said his company used AI to scan 32.6 million potential molecular combinations and discovered 18 candidates for brand new battery designs.
RELATED: Microsoft’s carbon emissions surge despite goal of becoming ‘carbon negative’ by 2030
"We actually created a new battery substance that's novel. It's never existed before, but uses about 70% less lithium," Zander said. "This was something that would normally take years. We're able to find it in just 80 hours." That’s because AI can do scientific calculations quickly.
Microsoft is under scrutiny this week following its report revealing that new data centers associated with AI have pushed the company’s electricity use up almost 30 percent since 2020.
RELATED: Northwest companies charge toward battery tech revolution
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Pro-Palestine protesters to disband UW encampment in Seattle after university makes concessions
‘UW must divest from Israel’s apartheid state. Fuck Boeing, students stand with Palestine,’ reads a handmade sign within the ‘Popular University for Gaza liberated zone,’ on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at the University of Washington campus Quad in Seattle.KUOW Photo/Megan FarmerProtest organizers at the University of Washington in Seattle have agreed to voluntarily disband their encampment by 3 p.m. on Monday, according to reporting by the UW Daily.
Organizers of the Popular University for Gaza encampment say they have reached an agreement with UW.
Protesters secured promises from the University of Washington, according to Sofia Schwarzwalder, news editor of the UW Daily.
- UW will open a Center for Scholarship of Palestine.
- UW will convene a military industrial and labor task force.
- They will have representation on a divestment committee.
In addition: A statement from the group says UW leadership has agreed to waive tuition for 20 displaced students from Gaza, and review study-abroad programs that exclude Palestinian or other Arab students.
Schwarzwalder said a community meeting is scheduled for later on Friday.
Representatives of the group said they are under no illusions that this is a win, as their hope is for Palestinian liberation.
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UW president repeats call for pro-Palestinian camp to disband following graffiti, vandalism on campus
University of Washington students set up what they are calling the UW Palestine Encampment on Monday, April 29, 2024, in Seattle.University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce is again calling for organizers to voluntarily take down a pro-Palestinian protest camp that is now in its third week on the Quad at UW's Seattle campus.
RELATED: University of Washington students join pro-Palestinian campus protest movement
Protesters, for their part, are calling on the university to cut ties with Boeing and divest from Israel over its ongoing war in Gaza.
Cauce's latest message came after graffiti was found on multiple buildings on campus Wednesday. The main administration building and classroom buildings along the Quad were tagged with slogans like "UW funds genocide" and "divest or die."
RELATED: UW pro-Palestinian activists take their demands to the university's Board of Regents
Some of the messages personally targeted Cauce, who described the graffiti as anti-Semitic and violent.
Leaders at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle also expressed concern and called on UW to clear the protest and enforce any violations of the student code of conduct.
"Jews hold dearly the right to free speech, and, yet, these criminal actions and hate speech go far beyond free speech and must be treated with the utmost seriousness," the organization's leaders wrote. "Actions by members of the encampment traffic in blatant antisemitism and threaten the physical and psychological safety of many Jewish and Israeli campus community members. At some point, the University leadership’s actions – or lack thereof – speak louder than words. Enough is enough."
Cauce has said she's hopeful that sweeping the encampment can be avoided.
On Instagram, protest organizers accused the UW administration of caring more about buildings than lives.
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UW running back charged with 2 rapes cut from football team
Texas linebacker Jaylan Ford (41) tries to tackle Washington running back Tylin "Tybo" Rogers (20) during the Sugar Bowl CFP NCAA semifinal college football game, Jan. 1, 2024, in New Orleans. Rogers was arrested Friday, April 5, and charged Tuesday, April 9, with raping two women in Seattle. Court documents say he played in two College Football Playoff games for the school after the allegations were known to the university.A University of Washington running back charged with raping two women is off the team.
RELATED: King County prosecutors 'rush filed' charges against UW football player accused of two rapes
In an email to KUOW, a UW spokesperson confirmed that Tylin Rogers "is no longer a part of the football program."
He has also been removed from the 2024 roster online.
RELATED: Why 2 women paused before reporting that UW football player Tylin Rogers raped them
Rogers was already suspended from team activities after he was arrested and charged with raping two women in separate incidents last fall.
Rogers was suspended for one game during the 2023 season under former head football coach Kalen DeBoer. One of the women reported the alleged attack to the university's Title IX Office, and Rogers was taken off the roster for the Pac-12 Championship game just a few days later. However, he was allowed to play in the college football playoffs.
RELATED: UW football player accused of raping two women pleads not guilty
In April, Rogers pleaded not guilty to one count of rape in the second degree and one count of rape in third degree. Rape in the second degree usually applies to cases of forced compulsion or when the victim is physically helpless or mentally incapacitated. Rape in the third degree often applies to a "date rape" in which the victim did not consent to sexual intercourse and "lack of consent was clearly expressed by the victim's words or conduct," according to the Seattle Police Department.
Rogers' trial is scheduled to begin in July.
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More than 16,000 people are experiencing homelessness in King County, up from 2022
Tents line South Weller Street near the intersection of 12th Avenue South on Tuesday, May 19, 2020, in Seattle.KUOW Photo/Megan FarmerPreliminary data released Wednesday from the King County Regional Homelessness Authority’s Point-in-Time Count found 16,385 people are experiencing homelessness in the county.
That’s over 3,000 more than were counted two years ago.
King County officials estimated the number of people sleeping outside in King County is going up. The latest numbers represent a 23% jump from 2022's estimate of 13,368.
This is widely considered an undercount, and county officials believe the number of people without stable housing is closer to 54,000.
RELATED: The SCOTUS case that could change the rules on homelessness
The King County Regional Homelessness Authority said there’s many reasons for the increase, but pointed mainly to the lack of affordable housing in the region.
The county's Point-in-Time Count, taken over two weeks, also found the number of people who cannot find any shelter is rising. About 9,800 people were estimated to be without any sort of overnight emergency shelter, compared to about 7,700 two years ago.
RELATED: In Burien, 'the soap opera continues' as quarrels grow over city's camping ban
Racial disparities in the unhoused community persist.
According to this year’s count, 19% of people experiencing homelessness in King County identify as Black or African American, but only 6% of King County's total population is Black.
The 2024 count used methods different from those employed in the past. Instead of sending out dozens of volunteers to count people sleeping outside in one night , officials used a sampling model to estimate unhoused individuals. The King County Regional Homelessness Authority said this "respondent-driven" sampling method is more accurate than a physical count.
The Point-in-Time Count is required by the federal government every two years for funding.
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This transit agency could be the first in the Northwest to use hydrogen-powered buses
Kevin Baker, a maintenance technician, drives a hydrogen fuel cell bus out of the terminal, Tuesday, March 16, 2021, in Canton, Ohio.AP Photo/Tony DejakMove over, electric buses — another (potentially) clean option is coming to the Northwest.
A transit agency in Western Washington aims to be the first in the Northwest to run buses on hydrogen.
Lewis County Transit in Chehalis is testing three of the hydrogen buses.
"It's the opportunity to start shifting away from fossil fuels," said Joe Clark, head of Lewis County Transit. "We have electric buses also. We have hydrogen buses. We don't think it's an either-or. There's room for both."
RELATED: A lot more electric buses are coming to Western Washington roads
Hydrogen fuel cells emit no air pollution, only water. But manufacturing hydrogen fuel is usually a highly polluting process, requiring large amounts of energy.
Nearly all commercially produced hydrogen in the United States is made by using high-temperature steam (at 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit or higher) to peel hydrogen atoms away from methane molecules in natural gas, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
Lewis Transit is buying an electrolyzer to produce its own hydrogen fuel from water, using 99% clean electricity to do so.
"We wouldn't be using coal or natural gas, which are contributors to the not-so-clean hydrogen," Clark said.
Lewis Transit plans to use hydrogen buses on its long-distance routes, like the commuter lines to Olympia and Kelso.
Clark said hydrogen buses can travel farther than electric buses, even those that can recharge during layovers, especially during cold weather.
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Can Seattle Schools really climb out of its $105 million budget hole?
Students arrive for the first day of school on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, at Daniel Bagley Elementary School in Seattle.KUOW Photo/Megan FarmerFrom eliminating its highly capable cohort program to planning the closure of 20 elementary schools in the midst of a $105 million budget gap, Seattle Public Schools is showing signs it's in big trouble.
How did the district get here?
RELATED: Seattle parents call in attorneys over school district's highly capable program changes
If you ask Marguerite Roza, director of the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University, the short answer is that Seattle Public Schools has poorly managed its money. KUOW's Seattle Now turned to Roza, who studies schools and their funding, for insight into the district's predicament. She said bad budgeting has not only gotten Seattle Public Schools to where it is now, but also makes it likely that more cuts are to come.
"You really have to forecast your costs," Roza said. "Seattle locked in a lot of recurring costs that are now really hard for it to sustain. They could have seen that coming, too. [The district] signed a very expensive labor contract in 2022 that drove up costs well beyond what the forecasted revenues were."
Hear Seattle Now's full conversation with Marguerite Roza by clicking the play button on the audio above.
Forecasting would include the fact that enrollment at Seattle Public Schools is dramatically down. There are a range of reasons for this, Roza said: The birth rate in Seattle is down, so there are fewer children. The cost of living in the city is up, so families with kids are more likely to move out of town. Pandemic school closures also led to a loss of enrolled students, as parents sought alternatives to public education. And since funding for Washington's public schools is based on enrollment numbers, this has meant Seattle is getting fewer dollars.
Budgeting imbalances
The district's most recent contract with the Seattle Education Association, approved in 2022, is layered on top of all this. The union contract increased teacher pay in an effort to keep up with the city's rising costs of living.
"At the same time, with labor being the biggest expense, when you move the needle on pay, you've really driven a big expense piece," Roza said. "And the district simultaneously wanted to add staff, and that's where it's in a tricky position ... now we have higher salaries and heavier staff loads. And something has to give."
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Who was the anonymous donor behind the controversial kid playground at Denny Blaine nude beach?
An aerial view of Denny Blaine Park is shown on Friday, April 19, 2024, in Seattle.KUOW Photo/Megan FarmerA nude beach popular with queer people in Seattle drew ire from wealthy neighbors, who complained about parking and alleged lewd conduct.
An anonymous donor (or donors) offered to pay for a children’s play structure there – ostensibly to tame the park.
Park-goers protested, and won, but a mystery has persisted: Who would have paid for the playground?
T
he texts went straight to the mayor's personal cell phone.
Stuart Sloan, who amassed his fortune doing business in 1980s Seattle, was frustrated with the naked sunbathers at Denny Blaine Park.
He texted his complaints to Mayor Bruce Harrell, according to a former city hall employee.
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King County Council raises minimum wage in unincorporated areas
If a California restaurant violates a new law requiring transparent pricing, it allows a consumer to seek "actual damages of at least $1,000."Photobuff / Getty ImagesPeople who make the least amount of money in unincorporated King County will soon get a pay bump.
On Tuesday, the King County Council voted to raise the minimum wage from $16.28 to $20.29, close to the base pay in cities like Seattle and Renton.
RELATED: Seattle now has highest minimum wage of any major city in the United States
The new pay rate is a few cents more than Seattle’s minimum wage — and $4 more than Washington state's. Large businesses with more than 500 employees will have to start paying the new minimum next year. Smaller businesses will get more time.
Not everyone was happy with the decision.
Thomas Reinhard, co-owner of a pizza chain in east King County, told the Council a pay hike could mean cutting staff or hours.
"It's not about me. It's not about my business partners. It's about the people who work for us, and this bill as written … it's going to decimate their income," he said. "There's no other way to say it."
RELATED: How is Seattle's higher minimum wage affecting local restaurants?
Council Vice-Chair Reagan Dunn, who voted against the wage increase, proposed an amendment that would have included workers tips as part of their total pay, or total compensation. Dunn argued that some businesses, like franchise owners could be treated as a large employer.
He said the legislation was "a meat cleaver approach — it's not particularly nuanced."
Andrew Ashiofu supported the pay raise because many of the effective jobs are held by people of color.
"A lot of trans people, especially trans Black and BIPOC people, are impacted by the minimum wage because they have limited areas where they have no discrimination to get jobs," Ashiofu argued.
Councilmember Girmay Zahilay said the vote represented "some change" but indicated there was more work to be done.
"[It's] still not a living wage," Zahilay said, "but it's a step in the right direction."
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Yes, hiking. No, traffic. Trailhead Direct offers car-free travel from Seattle to the mountains
Hoping to get to the mountains this summer while avoiding the hassle of driving and the challenge of parking in overfilled trailhead lots?
King County's popular Trailhead Direct bus service from Seattle to some of King County's most popular mountain trails kicks off Saturday, May 25, and runs through the summer every weekend through Sunday, Sept. 15. The 2024 season includes service on the Fourth of July weekend, as well as Labor Day weekend.
The transit-to-trails service provides rides every half hour to the super popular Mount Si, as well as the return, after a two-year absence, of hourly trips to the Issaquah Alps.
RELATED: Mount Rainier visitors react to new timed entrance reservation policy
The Issaquah Alps loop was suspended in 2022 and 2023 due to insufficient staffing, said King County Public Information Officer Al Sanders.
“There’s been a real groundswell to get the Issaquah Alps route back up and operating,” Sanders said. “It is one that people did enjoy, and we are glad that we have the staffing to do it.”
The Issaquah Alps bus departs from the Mount Baker Transit Center on Rainier Avenue South in Seattle every hour and features stops at the Margaret’s Way trailhead, Squak Mountain State Park, Chirico Trail – Poo Poo Point, High School Trail, and the East Sunset Way trailhead.
Trailhead Direct's seventh season to Mount Si features trips every half hour from Capitol Hill and Downtown Seattle to Mount Si, Little Si, and the Mount Teneriffe trailhead.
RELATED: Washington's snowpack is suffering this winter. It's not going to get much better
The service was launched in 2017 in response to overcrowding at popular trailhead parking lots, particularly on sunny summer weekends and during the holidays. The service is operated by King County Metro in partnership with King County Parks, the Seattle Department of Transportation, and with promotional support from Amazon.
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