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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Seattle area grad Lily Gladstone becomes first Native American actress nominated for an Oscar
Arts & Life
Lily Gladstone poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Killers of the Flower Moon' at the 76th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 21, 2023.Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/APLily Gladstone has made history as the first Native American person nominated for an Oscar in the best actress category.
Gladstone, a member of the Blackfeet Nation who attended Mountlake Terrace High School, was nominated for her portrayal of Mollie Burkhart in Martin Scorsese's film "Killers of the Flower Moon." The movie is a Western crime drama based on David Grann's book "The Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI," which documented the real murders of members of the Osage Nation in 1920s Oklahoma.
In the film, Gladstone plays an Osage woman married to Ernest Burkhart, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, whose family is systematically murdered for their money.
Gladstone also became the first Indigenous person to win a Golden Globe for best actress earlier this month.
The Oscars will be awarded on March 10.
Gladstone moved to Washington from Montana in 1997 and graduated from Mountlake Terrace High School in 2004. That's where she cultivated a love of acting, according to an interview she gave to the community news site MLTnews in 2012.
"For me, faculty and my friends understood the aspects and differences of a person's learning style, and many of my teachers supported my acting, and me personally — they knew the importance of finding a home," Gladstone told MLTnews, noting particular teachers: "Jeanne Brzovic, Heather Hillman, Mr. Marino, Ellen Antonelli, Nancy Payne, and Professor Ross."
In an interview with ABC News Tuesday, Gladstone said the moment was overdue, recalling those who came before; Gladstone is the first Native American actress nominated for an Oscar but the fourth Indigenous person to earn a nomination in the category.
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Fire strikes Ilwaco fishing community at mouth of Columbia River
Politics
A fire broke out at Ilwaco Landing in the small fishing town of Ilwaco, Wash. early Jan. 22, 2024.A fire gutted a seafood processing facility in the fishing town of Ilwaco, Wash., Monday, delivering a major blow to the local community.
Nobody was injured in the fire.
Ilwaco is a small fishing town on the mouth of the Columbia River. Fishing is its primary economy. It's known for charter fishing, crabbing, and other seasonal business.
RELATED: A career of dangerous rescues on Washington's 'Graveyard of the Pacific'
According to KMUN's Katie Frankowicz, hundreds of crabbing pots were stacked and ready for the crab season opener next week — all were lost in the fire. The facility is owned by Bornstein’s Seafoods.
“Last year’s crab season was not the best and there was no albacore this summer, and now their pots burn up just before they get ready to go fishing," Butch Smith, chair of the Port of Ilwaco Board of Commissioners, told local radio station KMUN. "It’s just a perfect storm of a disaster if I’ve ever heard one.”
Smith also said that he has reached out to U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), as well as U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) for any potential aid for the fishermen at the facility.
"Thank you to the brave firefighters and first responders on the scene at the Port of Ilwaco," Cantwell said in a statement following the blaze. "This is devastating news for the entire community and I am continuing to monitor the situation closely. The waterfront is the heart of Ilwaco and the local economy. My prayers are with the entire community, including the cannery workers and fishing families who rely on the docks for their livelihoods.”
As the flames continued Monday afternoon, the Pacific County Sheriff's Office shut off nearby roads, and warned locals that, "The smoke is also hazardous and should be avoided." By 5 p.m., the fire was mostly knocked down, and local roads were reopened by 9 p.m.
While there is stretch of charter fishing businesses, restaurants, shops, and a marina at the Port of Ilwaco, the Ilwaco Landing stands apart to the west of the port. The fire did not reach the neighboring structures.
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'I'm not complete without him.' Seattle family members of Israeli hostages speak out
Politics
Temple De Hirsch Sinai in SeattleCourtesy of Temple De Hirsch SinaiFamily members of Israeli hostages spoke out this weekend in Seattle and pleaded for all of those kidnapped to be released, noting that is has been more than 100 days since Hamas abducted Israeli soldiers and civilians during an attack.
Under the hashtag #BringThemHomeNow, Romi Cohen address the room at Seattle's Temple De Hirsch Sanai Sunday, explaining where she was on Oct. 7 — in a safe room with her family, except for her 19-year-old twin brother Nimrod.
RELATED: Seattle dad with children in the Israeli army hopes for peace, but supports war
"We knew my brother was in the area, close to the border with Gaza, so we texted him and we didn't receive any response," Romi said. "Then, after a few hours, we we saw a video on YouTube that was released by Hamas. And in that video, you can see him being taken captive with his friends. I remember seeing his face and recognizing him, and I just froze on the spot, and seeing his scared face and how confused he was, and it just, it made me so, so scared."
Romi said that she and her twin brother were very close, and "did everything together."
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Washington state braces for deepfakes ahead of 2024 elections
Politics
Washington state's top elections official is urging voters to be vigilant against artificial intelligence and deepfakes as the presidential election, among others, intensifies in 2024.
"We have several high-interest elections this year, which creates a target-rich environment for these bad actors to subject voters to deepfakes and other misinformation,” Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said in a statement.
The warning comes shortly after robocalls mimicking President Biden's voice targeted New Hampshire voters ahead of that state's Tuesday primary. The fake voice told voters to skip the primary election, stating “your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday.”
New Hampshire's attorney general has received multiple complaints about the calls. In Washington, Hobbs is now bracing for potential frauds here as the state's March 12 primary approaches.
RELATED: New Hampshire is investigating a robocall that was made to sound like Biden
“The disturbing situation we’ve seen in New Hampshire’s campaign is just the tip of the iceberg for 2024. These false messages will get more polished and harder to tell from real ones. Voters must remain vigilant and skeptical, and turn to trusted information sources to verify things that just don’t seem right.”
The Secretary of State's Office confirmed there have been no suspected deepfakes reported in Washington so far in 2024.
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Humor from horror: Alaska Airlines takes jokes for Boeing blunder
Business
This image taken Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024, and released by the National Transportation Safety Board, shows a section of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 that is missing panel on a Boeing 737-9 MAX in Portland, Ore. Federal officials are investigating Boeing's oversight of production of a panel that blew off a jetliner in midflight last week.NTSB via Associated PressAlaska Airlines has been made the butt of recent jokes after a door plug blew off one its planes in mid-air earlier this month, though the issue originated with the plane's manufacturer.
This past weekend, Saturday Night Live featured a mock ad for Alaska Airlines with the slogan, "You didn't die and you got a cool story."
"You know those bolts that, like, hold the plane together? We're gonna go ahead and tighten some of those," SNL guest host Jacob Elordi said, referencing an issue airlines found on other planes in their fleets after the Boeing 737 MAX 9 was grounded.
RELATED: FAA says airlines should check the door plugs on another model of Boeing plane
Alaska and United Airlines, both of which have the 737 MAX 9 in their fleets, have found planes with loose bolts. Alaska and United are the only U.S. carriers that fly the plane with the piece that detached mid-air.
But that issue isn't an airline problem as the SNL skit seemed to suggest.
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Last known set of remains connected to Green River Killer case identified
Law & Courts
"Bones 20",the final unidentified victim of the Green River Killer has been named; Tammie LilesKing County Sherriff's OfficeOne of the final mysteries surrounding the Green River Killer was solved Monday as investigators confirmed, through DNA testing, the person whose remains were known as “Bones 20” has a name: Tammie Liles.
Liles, who went missing at the age of 16 in 1983, was originally identified as a victim through dental records in 1988. Part of her remains were found at the Tualatin Golf Course near Tigard, Oregon in 1985, along with those of another woman.
Gary Ridgway, dubbed the Green River Killer, was arrested in 2002 — 20 years after beginning his decades-long killing spree. In an agreement to avoid the death penalty, he led investigators to sites where he'd dumped some of his victims' bodies and helped solve some of the murders. One of those locations was on Kent-Des Moines Road, where the rest of Liles' remains — then unidentified and referred to as "Bones 20" — were found.
It would take law enforcement another 22 years to make the connection between Liles’ remains identified in 1988 and “Bones 20,” which were initially thought to belong to another, unidentified person.
Typical DNA matching compares about 20 markers. It can also only make identical DNA matches, or matches between a parent, child, or sibling. The DNA testing that recently identified Liles was conducted by Othram, a forensic sequencing laboratory that specializes in identifying human remains and helping law enforcement solve violent crimes.
Othram CEO David Mittelman said the company took samples with 100,000 DNA markers from Liles’ remains and found a match through a third or fourth cousin. When scientists have significantly more DNA markers, like the profile Othram created, it’s easier to match relatives as distant as fifth or sixth cousins, Mittelman said.
RELATED: 'She’ll forever be a child'. DNA testing identifies teen victim 4 decades later
Of Monday's news, King County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Eric White said there is a “great sense of relief and accomplishment for our major crimes detectives that have been working on this for decades.”
However, the case isn't closed, White added.
“Even with the identification of Tammie Liles, we will still continue to look and see if there are more victims out there. This does not represent that we're done looking for victims or that these are the only victims," he said. "We're still keeping an open mind.”
RELATED: Youngest Green River Killer victim identified 37 years later
In December 2003, the Green River Killer, Gary Ridgway, was convicted of murdering 49 women and girls, including Liles, between 1982 and 1998. However, investigators believe he killed 65 people or more.
Ridgway is serving 49 consecutive life sentences for murder at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla. According to the King County Prosecutor’s Office, if Ridgway is convicted of additional murders outside of Washington state, he could face the death penalty. On April 21, 2023, Washington state Governor Jay Inslee signed legislation removing the death penalty from the state’s law.
RELATED: Missed crime lab evidence could've stopped Green River Killer decades earlier
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Republican initiatives you’ll be voting on in Washington state
Politics
A voter drops off ballots on Tuesday, November 5, 2019, at the NewHolly Neighborhood Campus on 32nd Avenue South in Seattle.KUOW Photo/Megan FarmerSix initiatives backed by Washington state Republicans could be on their way to voters’ ballots in 2024.
“These initiatives would significantly change the policies laid out in Washington right now and the state’s trajectory on things like climate change,” Northwest News Network reporter Jeanie Lindsay told Seattle Now.
Hit the play button above to hear Jeanie Lindsay’s full conversation with Seattle Now host Patricia Murphy, and keep reading for key take-aways
The initiatives are the work of a number of high-profile Washington Republicans. They were filed with the Secretary of State’s office by Jim Walsh, a lawmaker representing Aberdeen in the House of Representatives and Washington State Republican Party Chair. The group Let’s Go Washington, backed by Republican mega-donor Brian Heywood, funded the process of collecting signatures needed to advance the initiatives to the state Legislature.
The group gathered more than 320,000 signatures from Washington voters for each initiative. Three have already been verified by the Secretary of State’s Office. The next stop is the state Legislature, where lawmakers have the option to respond before sending them to voters.
Two of the initiatives would repeal part or all of landmark Washington laws passed by the Democratic supermajority in the Legislature over the past three years: The Climate Commitment Act and Washington’s Capital Gains Tax.
The Climate Commitment Act created Washington’s carbon emission auction, where companies operating in the state bid for credits that allow them to release carbon pollution. The law reduces the number of credits available each year to reduce carbon emissions in the state.
In its first year, the program brought in $1.8 billion. That money goes towards climate projects including low-emission transportation, clean energy jobs and habitat restoration. Critics of the law say it has contributed to Washington’s high gas prices in the time since it went into effect.
Initiative 2117 would ban the state from enacting any cap and trade program and repeal sections of the Climate Commitment Act.
The state’s capital gains tax is the target of Initiative 2109, which would entirely repeal the law. It taxes money made by individuals on the sale of long-term assets (like stocks and bonds) over $250,000. In 2022, roughly 3,800 households met the requirements to pay the tax. It brought in $900 million in revenue.
“State law says the money from the capital gains tax goes to school construction, and then it goes into a state funding account specifically for education, including early learning and childcare,” Lindsay said. “So it's a pretty significant chunk of change that the state would no longer have access to, if the capital gains tax is taken away.”
The other four: Parents’ bill of rights, police, payroll and income taxes
Initiative 2081 would create a so-called "parents' bill of rights," outlining parents' authority over their children’s schooling. It would allow parents to request academic, medical and mental health records from schools, some of which are currently shielded by privacy laws.
Initiative 2113 would roll back restrictions on when law enforcement officers can engage in car pursuits, an issue the legislature has revisited several times in recent years.
Initiative 2124 would allow residents to opt out of the state’s 0.58% long-term care payroll tax enacted in 2022. It funds benefits for people in the state who need in-home or residential medical care.
And Initiative 2111 would ban income taxes in Washington, something already illegal according to courts’ interpretations of the state’s constitution.
Before the initiatives move onto voter ballots this November, lawmakers in Olympia have a chance to respond.
Lawmakers’ first option is to accept the initiatives and enact them as written.
“That isn't going to happen,” Lindsay said. “These proposals [are targeting] democratic priorities, so the Legislature is not going to adopt these.”
But lawmakers could add an alternative option to the ballot, giving voters the choice to reject a proposal, accept a proposal, or vote for an alternative presented by lawmakers. Regardless, Washington voters will be the ones making a final decision in November.
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Are Washington state Republicans fully behind former President Trump?
Politics
Former President Donald Trump appears in court for his arraignment, Tuesday, April 4, 2023, in New York.AP Photo/Timothy A. Clary via PoolRepublicans in Congress have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to keep Donald Trump on Colorado's primary ballot, but only one of two GOP representatives from Washington state have signed on to the effort.
Last month, Colorado's Supreme Court threw Donald Trump off the state’s primary ballot, calling him an "insurrectionist" involved in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. That case is now slated to be in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 8.
RELATED: WA Republican Newhouse won’t say if he’ll endorse Trump in 2024
Challenges to placing Trump on ballots across the USA are largely based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars anyone from running for office if they have engaged in insurrection. Trump's challengers state that he did exactly that on Jan. 6.
This week, a supermajority of Republicans in Congress signed an amicus brief to support Trump's place on Colorado's ballot. Included among the signers is Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington state's 5th Congressional District.
Trump's supporters argue that the former president can't be an insurrectionist because he "quickly" called for peace. The amicus brief also states that the court in Colorado "adopted a malleable and expansive view of 'engage in insurrection,' which will easily lead to widespread abuse of Section 3 against political opponents."
RELATED: What inspired 8 WA voters to challenge Trump's presence on the primary ballot?
Absent from the signatures is Washington's only other Republican representative in Congress — Rep. Dan Newhouse from Washington's 4th Congressional District.
In an interview with C-SPAN this week, Newhouse also would not commit to backing Trump for president, even if he's the GOP nominee. Newhouse did say that, “it's critically important that Republicans return to the White House,” that it was too early to determine support for Trump, and that he is "waiting to hear from the American people and who our options are going to be."
Newhouse was among 10 Republicans in the U.S. House who voted to impeach Trump in 2021. Of those 10, eight either did not run for re-election or faced GOP competition and were voted out of office. Newhouse kept his job in Congress.
Another Washington Republican, Rep. Jaimie Herrera Beutler, also voted to impeach Trump. She was ousted after being challenged by a far-right candidate and failing to receive enough primary votes in Washington's 3rd Congressional District.
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Seattle light rail riders report delays, crowds amidst repairs
Sound Transit's 1 line is operating on a limited schedule from Jan. 13 to Feb. 4, 2024. This chart shows the approximate service that will be available on weekdays and weekends.Sound TransitWork to repair damaged rails on Sound Transit's 1 Line is causing delays and overcrowding.
Salvador Aranda commutes daily on the train. He said he’s seen delays on his trip between Angle Lake and Westlake.
"If I miss the one that goes all the way straight, that puts me about 30 minutes behind on my arrival to work," Aranda said.
RELATED: Price tag for Seattle's streetcar connector skyrockets even higher
"You can see there's a lot of people that are stressed because they don't know what's going on," he added. "Some of them are just completely clueless, like me, for the first few rides."
Riders with bikes, like a man who gave his name to KUOW as Stoney, may have an even tougher time getting on crowded trains.
Floyd Blanton is a frequent light rail rider who told KUOW his typical commute takes a matter of minutes. He knew the delays were coming, but wasn't expecting the capacity to be what it has been.
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Snowpack status check: How are Washington's mountains after the cold snap?
Environment
A map showing snowpack levels for Jan. 18, 2024, provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It shows how much snowpack the Pacific Northwest has compared to the median for the day recorded between 1991 and 2020.An abysmal December stretch of warm weather added up to a lot of nothing in Washington's mountains, which went into 2024 lacking significant snowpack.
The region relies on that snowpack to store water until it is needed in the summer months. With many regions reporting below 50% normal snowpack, concerns were mounting.
RELATED: Early January storms bring much-needed snow to the NW
After the recent extreme cold weather, mountain conditions are looking up — and icy. Washington is up to about 73% of normal snowpack for this time of year. That's still lower than experts like to see.
“We started out quite low in terms of in our precipitation and had higher temperatures early on in winter, which leads to lower snowpack, and we already were starting out with a deficit in terms of last year, from last year’s drought," said Caroline Mellor, with the Washington State Department of Ecology.
Meanwhile, Oregon's snowpack is at about 105%. But Matt Warbritton with the U.S. Department of Agriculture told Northwest News Network that current levels could change for better or for worse.
“Just because we have near-normal snowpack right now doesn’t mean that will last,” he said, “especially if we have warmer temperatures.”
The current El Niño system has kept temperatures quite warm this season.
In Washington state, the Olympics, North Cascades, and areas east of Okanogan have concerning levels of snowpack. According to the Department of Agriculture, there are some regions across Washington, Oregon, and Idaho that are reporting more than 70% of regular precipitation (snow), and a handful of areas report more than 90%.
Mellor told Northwest News Network that, “People should continue to pray for snow. While things are starting to look better, we still need a significant amount of snow.”
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Price tag for Seattle's streetcar connector skyrockets even higher
Government
A map of the Culture Connector streetcar line as it connects to the First Hill and South Lake Union lines.City of SeattleExpanding Seattle’s streetcar along First Avenue would cost an estimated $445 million. That's an increase of $192 million from the city's last cost projection.
The streetcar system expansion — the "Culture Connector" — would connect the city's two other lines, in South Lake Union and First Hill. The new connection would operate in its own lane of traffic from Westlake to Pike Place Market, and to Pioneer Square.
A new consultant report states the additional line would likely cost more than three times the original 2015 estimate of $143 million. Consultants behind the report point to inflation and increased construction costs among factors in the latest, much higher price.
RELATED: Could a streetcar be the key to reviving downtown Seattle's arts and entertainment scene?
It’s not the first time the price tag has gone up. After then-Mayor Jenny Durkan called for an outside cost review of the project, the 2018 estimate ballooned to $252 million.
Many proponents of the plan have said the First Avenue line would be the missing link, connecting the two other streetcar lines. Both of the city's streetcar lines have been plagued by low ridership from their beginning. Proponents hope that a connection would make the system function as a whole, boosting ridership.
Current Mayor Bruce Harrell has recently hyped the proposed connection, arguing that it would help foster an arts district in Seattle, and help revitalize downtown.
RELATED: Seattle light rail is about to get heavy for those who don't pay the fare
Still, the project would be a massive undertaking at a time when far fewer people work in downtown office buildings, and when attendant ridership on the other streetcar lines still has not rebounded to pre-pandemic levels.
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Former King County sheriff sees 'a new era of policing'
Sue Rahr, left, with police officers.Courtesy of the Washington State Criminal Justice Training CommissionFormer King County Sheriff Sue Rahr says policing doesn't attract people who want to be the "hero" anymore — and that's a good thing.
Law enforcement officials and advocates in Seattle have blamed a negative public perception of police for difficulty recruiting and retaining officers.
"I think that definitely discourages the people coming into policing that do it because they want to be the hero and they want people to admire them," Rahr said. "I think we are reaching more recruits that want to come into this to do something good. They're not looking for the adventure and the hero status. They're looking at their community and saying, 'I want to make this better.'"
KUOW series: Seattle's policing dilemma
Those new recruits are looking at the profession in a different way, one that Rahr said gives her hope.
"We are at the front of a new era of policing," she told Soundside's Libby Denkman. "The people that we want to get into law enforcement in 2024, we're targeting a different demographic."
Things like the "Defund" movement of recent years are not the core of what's driving staffing challenges today, Rahr argued, and she urged caution for those who assume that's the case.
That may be news to officials like Mike Solan, president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild.
He recently spoke to KUOW, too.
Solan said progressive politics and a lack of support for police have undermined recruitment and retention efforts in Seattle.
“We mustn't forget about the ambitions of the activist class and how they want to paint police officers in this city," he said, though he's hopeful those "bad vibes" won't continue under the newly formed City Council, which is expected to more centrist than its the last incarnation.
Public perception of police is just a small piece of the story, though — the smallest, in fact, according to Rahr.
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