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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Climate protesters block Amazon’s Seattle HQ to oppose fossil fuel plans
Environment
Amazon employees try to make their way around climate protesters blocking the entrance to the company's Seattle headquarters March 27, 2024.Amy Radil / KUOWA few dozen climate protesters blocked entrances to Amazon headquarters in Seattle for over an hour Wednesday, chanting “No fracking gas!” as they draped banners and stood across the doorways. They called on company leaders to do more to meet Amazon’s carbon emissions targets. But regular employees denied entrance to their offices were not amused by the tactic.
Protest organizers are part of a new organization called Troublemakers and said they’re trying to send a message to Amazon leadership. The group defines its focus as non-violent civil disobedience intended to raise awareness about the perils of climate change. Specifically, protesters pressed Amazon to abandon plans to use natural gas from a regional pipeline project recently approved by federal regulators — TC Energy’s Gas Transmission Northwest Xpress pipeline expansion.
RELATED: As Seattle lost 10K Amazon employees, the company added corporate workers in Bellevue
Amazon is planning to use the pipeline bringing natural gas from Canada to power its new data centers in Oregon.
“They use a huge amount of power, these data centers, huge amount, so that power needs to be from renewable energy," Troublemakers’ Margo Polley said.
In a statement, Amazon spokesperson Lisa Levandowski responded, noting that the company already embraces renewable energy and other tactics to combat climate change.
“Amazon is the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy globally, and that’s been the case for four years in a row.” Levandowski said. “We’re deploying the world’s largest fleet of electric vehicles with more than 10,000 on the road today.”
Amazon employees confronted with the blocked doorways, some of them with dogs in tow and carrying the company’s trademark free bananas, ranged in reaction from silent and annoyed, to enraged and vocal.
An employee from Costa Rica, a country which runs almost entirely on renewable energy, said he supports the cause of reducing fossil fuels, but not the protesters’ tactics.
“This is just impacting Amazon employees. What can we do?” he asked.
At one point the doors were breached and a swarm of employees pushed around the protesters, trying to rush inside. A protester who gave her name as Hogan called out, “Amazon has committed to our climate, and this is the opposite of committing to our climate! Be respectful of our planet!” to which an employee shouted back, “You’re not being respectful of us!”
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Muslims observing Ramadan at Tacoma ICE center aren’t receiving timely meals, immigration advocates say
Race & Identity
A detainee's legs are shown chained together in the intake holding area on Tuesday, September 10, 2019, at the Northwest Detention Center, recently renamed the Northwest ICE Processing Center, in Tacoma.KUOW Photo/Megan FarmerThe month of Ramadan is a time of holy celebration, but some Muslim people held at the privately run Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma say they aren’t being given clean clothes daily, nor timely meals before and after fasting.
Naeem, a 52-year-old man being held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center, “expressed that for the past 10-12 days of Ramadan, food has not come on time, which is vital for him as he has diabetes,” according to a statement put out last week by the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Washington chapter (CAIR-WA). The Seattle-based civil rights organization represents Muslim communities across the state.
“Detained people retain their constitutional rights to freely exercise religion,” said Amanda Azad, CAIR-WA’s deputy executive director. “In the case of Ramadan, fasting being delayed or [being] denied meals before or after fasting is a health issue as well as a religious issue.”
RELATED: Human rights group raises alarm about use of force, chemical weapons at Tacoma ICE center
Since 2005, the Northwest ICE Processing Center has been privately operated by GEO Group, Inc. under contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Advocates have long expressed concern over the effects of the facility’s privatization on matters of transparency and accountability.
Azad said CAIR-WA sent a letter addressed to Northwest ICE Processing Center Warden Bruce Scott, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Department of Homeland Security about the alleged failure to accommodate people observing Ramadan but only received a response from the Department of Homeland Security. In an email obtained by KUOW, a spokesperson for the agency said ICE officials “would be in contact with the facility … to remedy the situation.”
In a statement provided to KUOW, a Geo Group spokesperson said “GEO rejects these politically motivated and baseless allegations. As a service provider, we adhere to the federal government’s Performance-Based National Detention Standards (PBNDS) and provide religious accommodations for individuals of all faiths in accordance with these standards. This includes the provision of meals that accommodate religious customs in compliance with the detailed federal standards on Food Services.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to KUOW’s requests for comment.
Earlier this month, the Northwest ICE Processing Center came under renewed scrutiny after Charles Leo Daniel, a 61-year-old detainee from Trinidad and Tobago, was found dead at the facility. Daniel had spent several years prior to his death in solitary confinement, according to a report published by the University of Washington’s Center for Human Rights.
RELATED: Police find man dead at Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma
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Inslee signs Washington's 'Strippers' Bill of Rights' into law
Politics
Kasey Champion, left, and Madison Zack-Wu, right, are portrayed at the Thunderbird Tavern on Friday, February 9, 2024, in Seattle.KUOW Photo/Megan FarmerStrippers in Washington state will have some of the broadest workplace protections in the country under a bill signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee on Monday.
The so-called "Strippers' Bill of Rights" requires strip clubs in Washington to conduct sexual harassment training for all employees, hire full-time security guards, and install panic buttons, among other safety measures.
RELATED: Strippers say Washington state is terrible for dancing. They want a 'bill of rights' to fix that
"It's pretty simple why we're passing this bill," Inslee said during the bill signing. "These are working folks, and working people deserve safety in the environment in which they work."
The legislation also caps the fees clubs can charge to rent the stage, which dancers report are higher in Washington than other states. They've said that because strip clubs are forbidden from selling alcohol, charging dancers higher fees is one of the few ways to make money.
The new law also creates a pathway to legalizing alcohol sales in strip clubs. It strikes down a Liquor and Cannabis Board rule that outlines different types of "lewd conduct" that are forbidden in establishments that serve alcohol.
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'Uncommitted' vote campaign to send 2 Washington state delegates to Democratic National Convention
Elections
Aretha Basu cheers during a gathering to celebrate the effort of those who worked to secure uncommitted delegates to send a message to President Biden, as initial results arrive for the presidential primary on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, at Tanoor in Seattle.KUOW Photo/Megan FarmerThe "uncommitted" vote in Washington state's Democratic presidential primary has attracted just enough support to send two delegates to the party's national convention this summer, the Washington State Democratic Party confirmed to KUOW on Monday.
The protest campaign won more than 15% of the Democratic vote in Washington's 7th Congressional District, which covers most of Seattle, the Seattle Times reported on Friday. That was the threshold the campaign needed to reach to send delegates to the national convention in Chicago in August.
RELATED: These Washington Democrats are voting 'uncommitted' to send message to Biden
Local activists organized the "uncommitted" vote to send a message of disapproval to President Joe Biden over his handling of the Israel-Hamas war. They've called for the president to support a permanent ceasefire.
Biden easily won the vast majority (84.5%) of Democratic primary votes in Washington, compared to the 9.9% that voted "uncommitted" statewide. Biden has secured 90 of Washington's pledged Democratic delegates.
The party elects delegates at its state convention in June.
"We encourage every Democrat in Washington to consider running for delegate," party spokesperson Stephen Reed told KUOW in an email.
A representative of the "uncommitted" campaign in Washington told KUOW that it will be "vetting very thoroughly" candidates for its two delegate positions.
The "uncommitted" campaign was behind on election night on March 12 but gained ground as ballot counting continued.
RELATED: How did Washington's 'uncommitted' voters do on presidential primary night?
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Blocked by prosecutors, Seattle judge reassigned to parking and traffic tickets
Law & Courts
Seattle Municipal Court Judge Pooja Vaddadi was elected to the bench in 2022.City of SeattleA Seattle judge who recently came under fire from city prosecutors has been reassigned. KUOW has learned that Judge Pooja Vaddadi will focus on parking tickets and traffic infractions instead of criminal cases.
A spokesperson for Seattle Municipal Court said Thursday that Judge Vaddadi will remain in this role as long as the Seattle City Attorney’s Office continues to file affidavits disqualifying her from future criminal cases.
RELATED: Why is Seattle’s rent so high? Justice Department investigates possible price fixing
Earlier this month, Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison said her office will seek to exclude Vaddadi from all future criminal cases after encountering “a pattern of biased rulings.”
A memo from Davison's office stated, “The resounding input from attorneys that have appeared in [Judge Vaddadi’s] courtroom believe that her decisions demonstrate a complete lack of understanding, or perhaps even intentional disregard, of the evidence rules, even on basic issues.”
In an interview with KUOW, Judge Vaddadi, speaking on her own behalf and not for the court, denied any bias and said Davison never raised those concerns before seeking to have her disqualified.
“That’s why it did come as a surprise because in my head, in my heart, I have been impartial in every way that I have approached each case that comes in front of me,” Vaddadi said. “I only look at the facts before me, I only look at the law, and I do my balancing with community safety and what’s best for the defendant that’s in front of me.”
She said the criminal division of the city attorney's office has not supplied the case numbers that would allow her to examine the rulings they object to, but she would welcome the chance to discuss those concerns. In the meantime Vaddadi said handling parking tickets and traffic infractions is the best way to ease the strain on the court created by the city attorney’s actions.
“Technically it’s not a demotion, honestly I wouldn’t consider it one anyway,” Vaddadi said. “And judges in other jurisdictions do cover infractions so it’s not outside of what a judge does.”
Vaddadi said Seattle Municipal Court is somewhat unique in that parking tickets and traffic infractions are usually handled by appointed magistrates rather than by elected judges. But some of those magistrates may now be assigned to criminal cases to rebalance the workload.
“I really just want to help the best way that I can here,” Vaddadi said. “I would love to sit in my own courtroom to do the criminal cases that I’ve been elected to do. But ultimately I am a part of the court and – I don’t want to just be sitting around doing nothing.”
The city attorney disputes Vaddadi's version of events. A spokesperson for Davison's office told KUOW that Vaddadi was given prior warnings about concerns related to her performance. "At least one of the conversations – in which specific concerns were raised – took place in August of last year," Tim Robinson, communications manager for the Seattle City Attorney's Office, wrote in an email to KUOW.
Experts say prosecutors and defense lawyers routinely file "affidavits of prejudice" to disqualify judges from individual cases. But it’s a rare step to block a judge from all criminal matters.
This week, the court announced the response from the municipal court’s Presiding Judge Faye Chess.
“Under court rules, the Presiding Judge has reassigned Judge Vaddadi to handle traffic infractions and parking tickets since she is unable to hear criminal cases in formal court due to the affidavits,” court spokesperson Gary Ireland said.
The Seattle City Attorney’s Office, as well as the King County Department of Public Defense, declined to comment on the judge’s reassignment.
Prior to her election to the bench in 2022, Vaddadi worked for seven years as a public defender and practiced in Seattle Municipal and King County Superior Courts.
RELATED: Week in Review — The legislative session, a plan for growth, and a Seattle judge disqualified
This post was updated on 3/22/24 with Judge Vaddadi's response to the reassignment announcement, and on 3/25/24 with a comment on her statement from the Seattle City Attorney's Office.
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Put cops back in school and shut down the street, Garfield High parents say after another Seattle shooting
Education
Melanie Skinner (left) and Karen Emmerman Mazner (right). Garfield High School parents held a demonstration Wednesday, March 20, 2024 along 23rd Avenue in the wake of a shooting at a nearby bus stop. Parents argue that school, city, and police officials are not doing enough to find solutions to gun violence in Seattle.Clare McGrane / KUOWFiona is familiar with gun violence around Seattle's Garfield High School. The 17-year-old senior has sheltered in place while in a classroom, at basketball practice, and while jumping hurdles on the school's track — all in response to shots fired nearby.
Listen to this full story on Seattle Now
Still, when her mom called to let Fiona know that her friend was shot at a nearby bus stop on March 13, it came as a shock.
“My heart, like, immediately dropped … I was so sad," Fiona said. "I know they are going to be alright, but still — the PTSD and this ongoing cycle. Nothing has been done. I dunno, it needs to stop.”
RELATED: 7 graphics on kids and guns in the Seattle area
At around 2:40 p.m. that day, someone fired a gun from a light-colored SUV toward a bus stop near Garfield High School where many students were standing, according to the Seattle Police Department. A 17-year-old girl was shot in the leg and injured. She was not the intended target.
Such incidents are now familiar to the Garfield High School community. The school has experienced frequent shootings in recent years. For example, a series of altercations put Garfield and other nearby schools on lockdown last October. In June, three nearby shootings that did not involve students prompted another lockdown.
Garfield parents have had enough.
On Wednesday afternoon, some parents organized a demonstration to call attention to local gun violence, and to urge city leaders to take greater action. Some parents say they have solutions, despite what they perceive as little movement from city leaders.
“We feel a little forgotten here," said Melanie Skinner, Fiona's mom and an organizer of the event.
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Cougar that attacked women was 'pretty fat,' didn't act out of hunger, vet says
Environment
Cyclists from the Recycled Cycles Racing team pin down a young male cougar with a bike, as one of them calls 911. The cougar had attacked their friend Keri Bergere before this photo was taken.Courtesy of Keri BergereFive women who fought off a young male cougar on Tokul Creek trail north of Snoqualmie "did the right thing," according to a veterinarian with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The cougar attacked Keri Bergere, 60, while she was cycling with her friends, sinking its teeth into her jaw and pinning her to the ground. The other women fought it for 45 minutes before a Fish and Wildlife officer made it to the scene and shot the cougar.
RELATED: A cougar attacked them. They fought back for 45 harrowing minutes
At one point, Auna Tietz, 59, found a 25-pound boulder, the size of a large melon, and dropped it on the cougar's head several times. The cougar released Bergere about 15 minutes into the struggle, giving her time to scramble away.
Dr. Kristin Mansfield told KUOW the blows Tietz dealt with the heavy rock may have stunned the animal, giving her friend the chance she needed to get away.
"You do what you can with what you have available, and it's a really good chance that that was a significant action that they took to slow him down," Mansfield said.
Once the cyclists got the cougar off Bergere, they were able to pin it under one of their bikes. Officer Chris Moszeter arrived at the scene, and he shot the cougar between the shoulder blades. In an exclusive interview with KUOW, the women said it was a heartbreaking moment.
Mansfield said that gunshot wound "obliterated" much of the evidence of the women's struggle with the cougar.
One of the women had a two-inch knife and used it to stab the wild cat, for example, but the gunshot wound made it difficult to see those lacerations. The state necropsy did note several wounds on the body.
Read the full necropsy:
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Why is Seattle’s rent so high? Justice Department investigates possible price fixing
Following allegations of price fixing among large landlords who use a third-party service to set rental prices, the U.S. Department of Justice has opening an investigation.Following reports of alleged price fixing in the rental market, including in Western Washington, the U.S. Department of Justice is opening a criminal investigation into a third-party service used by large, corporate landlords.
The alleged scheme involves a company called RealPage, which sucks up proprietary data from landlords and spits out pricing recommendations. The service has also caught the attention of Western Washington leaders.
RELATED: AI tool helps Seattle landlords collude to keep rents high, report alleges
King County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda is familiar with how technology can increase rents. When she was on the Seattle City Council, she helped shut down another tech company that operated like “Ebay for renters.”
“We heard a lot about this in the University District where prospective renters were going to apply for a rental unit online, and in real time, they would see the rental asking price scale up in front of their eyes, like Ebay," she said.
Moratoriums on that technology, including one in Seattle, appeared to have been effective. That company is no longer in business. The use of a different third-party technology to set rental prices is at the center of the DOJ's investigation.
The DOJ probe will look at a company called RealPage, which allegedly uses an algorithm to turn landlords' private data into recommendations on how high to set rent, which are then shared with all subscribers to its market analytics service.
If true, it could mean that multiple landlords are colluding on rental prices, though that collusion is hidden under the hood of RealPage's technology.
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'Overturning historical trauma.' Tulalip Tribes celebrates new laws supporting Native education in Washington schools
Education
Washington state Sen. John McCoy, D-Tulalip, is sponsoring the Native American Voting Rights Act.Courtesy of John McCoy's officeWashington Governor Jay Inslee signed into law 21 bills surrounding tribal resources and acknowledgements at the Tulalip Resort Casino on Tuesday, including two related to Native American education programs in K-12 schools.
HB 1879 renames the state’s Since Time Immemorial curriculum on Native American history, culture, and government in honor of late Democratic state lawmaker and Tulalip Tribes member John McCoy (luliaš). McCoy sponsored a bill establishing the original curriculum, which was adopted in 2015 — a decade after McCoy first proposed legislation the for the program.
McCoy, who died last year at age 79, championed various laws related to tribal rights and sovereignty. A computer programmer by trade, McCoy also helped the Tulalip Tribes build its digital infrastructure with high-speed internet and computers.
RELATED: This is how you create a curriculum the Tulalip way
“I think the thing he’s done is not only building those bridges, but opening those doors for tribal leaders to come in and tell their side of the story,” said Tulalip Tribes Chairwoman Teri Gobin. “If we’re not in telling our stories, somebody else is telling it.”
McCoy, whose father had been among many children punished for speaking Indigenous languages at Native boarding schools, also advocated for the presence of tribal language education in Washington’s public schools. Inslee signed a bill Tuesday backing the creation and expansion of those programs in K-12 schools, along with literacy supports for Indigenous students.
RELATED: 'I'm still healing.' Boarding school survivors recount stories of abuse, trauma
State Rep. Debra Lekanoff (D-Anacortes), who was present at Tuesday’s signing, said the new legislation takes a step in reversing Native American cultural erasure by the school system.
“It sets a foundation to be able to build language programs within public school systems that help bring the language back to Native American tribes and … overturn the historical trauma of how education was used to destroy who Native Americans are,” she said.
RELATED: What hides in the records from WA Catholic Native boarding schools? Tribes may soon find out
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Seattle Public Schools' latest budget proposal: Tapping into reserves, changing school start times
Education
From left, Maxwell Demas, 7, Gwen Yerkan, 9, and Hazel Demas, 9, take a picture before their first day of school on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, at Daniel Bagley Elementary School in Seattle.KUOW Photo/Megan FarmerSeattle Public Schools might dip into its reserves for a second year in a row — and borrow money from other district funding pots — to cover the majority of a projected budget gap of more than $100 million next year.
That's according to district leaders' latest proposal, unveiled Wednesday, to balance the budget for the 2024-25 school year.
In all, the district would use $32 million of its ending fund balance, then borrow between $25 and $35 million from its capital building fund. That's called an interfund loan, and the district would need to repay the fund, with interest, by June of 2026.
On Wednesday, Superintendent Brent Jones repeatedly acknowledged tough decisions lie ahead.
"Please know we are carefully considering all perspectives as we navigate these complexities and strive to make decisions that are in the best interests of our students and staff," he said.
Other proposals in the financial plan include changing school start times from a two-bell system to three bells in 2025 — something parents rebelled against the last time it was proposed.
The district has operated on a two-bell system since the 2016-17 year, as part of an effort to start the school day later for teens, who need more sleep than younger kids.
But district officials now say switching back to three bells would shave about $9 million from its transportation budget — largely because about 80 fewer buses would be needed daily.
The district also proposes cutting central office staffing and spending by about $8 million, and saving about $7 million by reducing school staffing.
The plan also suggests the school board delay the repayment of the rainy day fund they drained to cover last year's $131 million budget deficit.
The district also may once again charge students to participate in sports. The district hasn't collected athletic fees since 2015, when the district received $2.7 million to cover transportation costs. But now, district officials say the change could generate up to $1.1 million in revenue.
No school closures are slated for next school year, but they might be part of a multi-year plan expected out in May.
The school board won't vote on next year's budget until July.
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As Seattle lost 10K Amazon employees, the company added corporate workers in Bellevue
Business
"Hello world," says an Amazon office tower at the company's Seattle headquarters.Monica Nickelsburg / KUOWAmazon’s Seattle headcount shrunk significantly over the past few years, while the tech giant steadily added employees in nearby Bellevue.
At its peak in 2020, Amazon employed about 60,000 corporate workers in Seattle, a company spokesperson told KUOW. Today, Amazon has about 50,000 employees in its home city. Amazon attributed the decline to a combination of layoffs and relocations.
RELATED: Disaster relief delivered by Amazon
Meanwhile, Amazon has grown to nearly 12,000 corporate employees in Bellevue, where the company says its future growth will be concentrated.
“I think that the Eastside in general has a reputation for being more business friendly, so that's definitely an attraction to invest there,” said Elliott Krivenko, a real estate analyst with CoStar Analytics.
The numbers, which were first reported by the Puget Sound Business Journal, reflect a shift in growth strategy Amazon first signaled in 2019 following a series of political battles with the Seattle City Council. Amazon plans to grow to 25,000 employees on the Eastside, including its critical worldwide retail operations team.
The shift has helped Downtown Bellevue’s commercial real estate market fair better than average for the region, according to Krivenko.
“Downtown Bellevue is still outperforming,” he said. “The vacancy rate is a lot lower than it is elsewhere in the Seattle Metro and there has been quite a bit of leasing of late. The first quarter of 2024 has been the strongest quarter that I've seen since fall of 2020 and would be a stellar quarter anytime in history for that submarket.”
It’s a shift Krivenko expects to accelerate when Bellevue is connected to Seattle via light rail. The East Link Extension from Seattle to Redmond is expected to open in 2025.
RELATED: First stretch of light rail service arrives in Bellevue in April 2024
“Once we have that line going across the lake, I think that's going to be the real game changer because then it won't really matter if you choose to work in Bellevue and live in Seattle or vice versa,” he said. “That's a one seat to ride fairly easy to hop on the train and get to one side of the lake or the other.”
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NHL on the Eastside? New hockey arena discussed by Seattle Kraken and Kirkland
Sports
The Seattle Kraken play a game at Climate Pledge Arena. To meet the region's growing interest in hockey, the NHL team says it needs to build more facilities and has proposed building a community hockey center in Kirkland.Juan Pablo Chiquiza / KUOWThe Seattle Kraken are courting Kirkland city leaders for a proposed multimillion-dollar community hockey facility on the Eastside that meets NHL standards.
"Kirkland recently received a proposal from the Seattle Kraken NHL team to build two regulation NHL ice rinks and ancillary support facilities ... at the former Houghton Park and Ride site that is now owned by the City," Kirkland City Councilmember Jon Pascal wrote in a recent Facebook post.
RELATED: Kirkland is the 3rd best city to live in the USA (and Sammamish ain't too shabby either)
If such a proposal is embraced by Kirkland, the team's home games would still be played at Climate Pledge Arena, and the Kraken would still maintain its offices and facility in Seattle's Northgate neighborhood (at Starbucks Rink, which can accommodate up to 600 fans to watch practices).
"To meet the rising demand and to connect with fans across the region, the Seattle Kraken is exploring the construction of additional ice facilities," a Kraken spokesperson said in a statement. "We have submitted a proposal for the development of two community-centered ice rinks at the existing Houghton Park and Ride location."
The spokesperson also noted that the potential Kirkland facility is "a direct response" to the region's growing interest in hockey. It could be used for youth and adult skating and hockey, figure skating, and other events.
RELATED: Climate Pledge becomes first sports arena to earn zero carbon certification
Currently, it's just a proposal as Kirkland leaders discuss how to use the public space that was once a park-and-ride. City documents state that any potential public-private partnership with Seattle's NHL team would be for long-term use.
The old Houghton Park and Ride site is located at 7024 116th Avenue NE, sandwiched between residences to the east, and I-405 to the west.
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