KUOW Blog
News, factoids, and insights from KUOW's newsroom. And maybe some peeks behind the scenes. Check back daily for updates.
Have any leads or feedback for the KUOW Blog? Contact Dyer Oxley at dyer@kuow.org.
Stories
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From 'unreasonable scrutiny' to hope: Why Seattle's police union president is optimistic
A collage of a Seattle Police patch on an officer's uniform against a newspaper texture background. Original photo courtesy of the Seattle Police Department.The Seattle Police Officers Guild has hope that things will get better around town for the first time in a long time. Why? There's a new City Council at City Hall.
"We, for a very long time, have not had the political support from our elected leaders in this city," SPOG President Mike Solan recently told Soundside. "And the 2020 movement, the Defund movement, really hindered our ability to be an effective police force. And we’ve lost, since 2019, 700 officers."
KUOW series: Seattle's policing dilemma
Solan adds that Seattle police officers have been without a labor contract with the city for more than three years. It's all added up to a sour mood among officers. Solan places a lot of the blame on progressive politics in the city, and a past council that was largely unsupportive.
"We remain extremely hopeful and optimistic that those bad vibes from before won’t resurrect on this current council,” Solan said.
Novembers election put seven out of nine council seats up for grabs. Most of the winning candidates are viewed as more moderate. Some have promoted greater support for hiring police officers. In fact, KUOW reported in July that council incumbents distanced themselves from 2020's Defund the Police effort, sensing its unpopularity among voters. Councilmember Dan Strauss even sent campaign mailers stating, "Defund the police was a mistake."
RELATED: 'Defund the police' in the campaign spotlight
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Trump will stay on Washington state's ballot in 2024
Politics
Former President Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower in New York on Tuesday, April 4, 2023.AP Photo/Bryan WoolstonA Thurston County Superior Court judge ruled Thursday morning that former President Donald Trump will remain on the Washington state primary and general ballot in 2024.
"The court is denying the request of the petitioner electors to take any action that would direct the Secretary of State to remove former President Donald J. Trump's name from presidential primary ballots," Thurston County Superior Court Judge Mary Sue Wilson said in court.
Judge Wilson added that the same decision goes for placing Trump's name on the general election ballot in November.
RELATED: What inspired 8 WA voters to challenge Trump's presence on the primary ballot?
Last week, eight Kitsap County voters filed a challenge to placing Trump on the ballot. They cited state regulations and the recent decision in Colorado that bumped Trump off the ballot in that state. Judge Wilson said that Colorado's ruling only pertained to that state's law, and not election laws in Washington.
There were two state election regulations that were part of the complaint, but the judge concluded that they did not allow the judge to take action in this case, and direct the Secretary of State to correct election errors.
The Secretary of State’s office asked the court to make the ruling Thursday. This comes as the eight Kitsap County voters challenged Trump’s eligibility on the ballot shortly before the deadline to speak up. The judge had five court days to respond to their motion, and ruled shortly before the deadline. Wilson announced her decision, 15 minutes after hearing oral arguments from both sides.
Speaking with KUOW, Frankey Ithaka, who spearheaded the challenge for the eight voters, said that they brought the challenge based on Trump's actions on Jan. 6, 2021. They argue those actions add up to insurrection and should bar the former president from office.
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What to expect from UW football's new coach Jedd Fisch
Sports
New Washington head coach Jedd Fisch laughs during an NCAA college football press conference to introduce him to the community, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, in Seattle.Lindsey Wasson / Associated PressThis is going to hurt for University of Washington football fans to hear. But it has to be said that the recent loss of coach Kalen DeBoer was, on some level, to be expected.
What should fans expect now? Recruiting, recruiting, recruiting, and according to Danny O'Neil with The Dang Apostrophe, that's what UW football is now focused on.
RELATED: Is it worth keeping a college football program, even if it's losing money?
Coming off a successful season that brought the Huskies to the national championship, Coach DeBoer is now leaving UW football to become the new head football coach at the University of Alabama.
“We like to think of (UW) as one of the elite, cornerstone programs. We are, but not in comparison to Alabama," O'Neil told Seattle Now. "Alabama plays in the Southeastern Conference, which is considered the best quality of college football. The Big 10, where the Washington Huskies are moving, is the richest, but the SEC is where the most future NFL players are, and Alabama has two of the winningest coaches in college football history. Kalen DeBoer is going to replace one of them.”
DeBoer is being replaced by coach Jedd Fisch from the University of Arizona, and while UW may lose some players along with DeBoer, the team is also likely to gain new players who will come to Seattle for coach Fisch.
“College football is different than it was even 10 years ago. It’s easier for players to move schools," O'Neil said. "It’s always been fairly easy for coaches to move schools, but because of the volume of money involved ... you used to have five conferences, now there are really just two top conferences. The shape of the sport is starting to resemble a pyramid … everything is becoming more fluid at the college level.”
What to expect from UW football under Coach Fisch
From coach Jedd Fisch, O'Neil says UW fans can expect "a polished, buttoned-down approach. A sharp offensive mind.” But perhaps Coach Fisch's most attractive quality is what he can do off the field.
Fisch's resume covers roughly 20 years. Previously, Fisch worked under head coach Pete Carroll as the Seahawks' quarterback coach in 2010. As a college coach, he has been known as a "relentless recruiter," O'Neil said. Fisch has been able to bring high school players to the University of Arizona when it didn't have much momentum. Still, under his coaching, the team had 10 victories last season.
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WA Republican Newhouse won’t say if he’ll endorse Trump
Politics
Republican Congressman Dan Newhouse is ready to go at the 2022 Yakima Sunfair ParadeDavid Hyde KUOWDonald Trump just smoked the competition in the Iowa Caucuses, but Republican Congressman Dan Newhouse of central Washington won't say if he’ll endorse the former president, even if Trump ends up being the GOP's 2024 nominee.
Newhouse was one of just 10 Republicans in the U.S. House who voted to impeach Trump after the January 6 attack.
On Wednesday, C-Span host Mimi Gerges asked Newhouse about this year's presidential race. Newhouse was emphatic about wanting President Biden out.
“I think it's critically important that Republicans return to the White House,” he said.
But what about Donald Trump returning to the White House? Newhouse would not commit to support him even if Trump ends up being the Republican pick.
Mimi Gerges: Would you support Donald Trump if he was the Republican nominee?
Dan Newhouse: I think it's very early to make that determination. Like I said, I am waiting to hear from the American people and who our options are going to be.
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Reporter's notebook: What inspired 8 WA voters to challenge Trump's presence on the primary ballot?
Politics
Former President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, in New York.Mary Altaffer / Associated PressLast week, a challenge to former President Donald Trump's place on Washington's 2024 ballot was filed just before the state's deadline for voters to officially speak up. Frankey Ithaka, who is spearheading the effort for eight state voters, said that after hearing a segment on KUOW, they realized "the timeline was kind of tight."
RELATED: Trump's place on Washington state's ballot challenged by 8 voters
Ithaka recently spoke with KUOW's Kim Malcolm about their challenge to Trump on the ballot, and noted that the idea initially started with another interview Malcolm aired a week prior. That interview was with Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, who commented that no Washington voters had filed any challenges around Trump, and the deadline was fast approaching.
"And given that any registered voter could make this challenge … I’m a registered voter," Ithaka said, adding that they didn't want to simply think someone else would do it and move on.
“It’s sort of like when you’re driving on the freeway and you see a burning house, and you think somebody else has called 911. I wanted to make sure somebody filed (a challenge).”
RELATED: Where the Republican presidential candidates stand on Donald Trump
Ithaka argues that the issue surrounding Trump goes beyond political divides, and notes that similar challenges in other states have been filed by Republicans.
“When your own party is filing to make sure you don’t get on the ballot, because that’s how concerned they are about you being president again, that says something," Ithaka said. "That’s not just Democrats. That means something.”
The argument fueling these challenges is based on the 14th Amendment, which prohibits people who have engaged in insurrection from running for office. Challenges to placing Trump on the 2024 presidential ballot have been filed in 30 states, largely with the support of two left-of-center nonprofit groups — Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, and Free Speech for People. Some Republicans also have been behind the effort, though not exclusively.
Republican John Anthony Castro has filed challenges to placing Trump on the ballot in 27 states, according to The New York Times. Before this, in August 2023, two Conservative academics — William Baude with the University of Chicago, and Michael Paulsen with the University of St. Thomas — wrote a paper in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, promoting that the third section of the 14th Amendment should bar Trump from being on a presidential ballot, based on his actions on Jan. 6, 2021.
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Kitsap judge declines to hear Trump ballot challenge, but effort continues in Washington
Politics
Judge Jeffrey Bassett declines to hear a challenge to placing Donald Trump on the 2024 ballot on Jan. 16, 2024, saying that plaintiffs will have to pursue the effort in Thurston County, where the state Capitol is located. Also present were Frankey Ithaka, who represents eight voters to filed the challenge, as well as representatives from the Secretary of State's Office, the Washington State Republican Party, and the Kitsap County Auditor.TVWWashington voters aiming to keep former President Donald Trump off the 2024 presidential ballot will have to wait a little longer to know if their challenge will move forward in the court.
RELATED: Trump's place on Washington state's ballot challenged by 8 voters
On Tuesday, Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Bassett denied the case, saying that the Kitsap court was not the correct venue for the issue. That doesn't mean the effort has ultimately been rejected, however.
"Thurston County is the seat of our state government, legislative, judicial and executive branches," Judge Bassett said. "I'm concluding today that given their unique position as the seat of our state government, we are not the appropriate site for this action today and I decline to hear it."
Eight voters filed a challenge last week in both Kitsap and Thurston counties. Frankey Ithaka organized the ballot challenge effort, and told the judge they filed in both counties because all voters live in Kitsap, but they intend the challenge to go statewide and therefore also filed in Thurston County, where the Capitol is located.
"So we should go to Thurston (County), do our case in Thurston, on Thursday?" Ithaka asked in court.
"Yes," Judge Bassett said.
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Tanya Woo sees support – and controversy – in bid for open Seattle Council seat
Politics
Courtesy of the Tanya Woo campaignLast fall, Chinatown International District activist Tanya Woo lost the race to represent South Seattle by a few hundred votes. Now, Woo’s bid to win the appointment to replace former Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda is gaining traction and generating controversy.
Last year, Woo campaigned on a pledge to improve public safety in South Seattle neighborhoods, like Little Saigon. She also promised to listen carefully to all voices in District 2’s diverse communities. But she was unable to unseat her progressive opponent, incumbent Tammy Morales, and lost by 1.55%.
RELATED: Sharp disagreements between Morales and Woo in Seattle Council race
After she lost, Woo’s supporters started floating her name for the open council job, with some pointing out that there are no Asian-American voices on the current city council.
That campaign started to bear fruit last Friday, when three city council members said Woo was their top choice. Then, Publicola reported about a leaked letter in which political insider Tim Ceis urged local business leaders to back Woo. The letter was directed to wealthy individuals who had spent millions on political ads last year to try and elect more business-friendly moderates, like Woo, to the Council.
“The independent campaign expenditure success earned you the right to let the Council know not to offer the left the consolation prize of this Council seat,” Ceis said.
That statement provoked criticism by some on social media.
"Tim Ceis continues to think he and his big corporate allies run this city regardless of what the public interest is or wants," wrote Robert Cruickshank on X.
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SCOTUS won't hear case challenging the WA capital gains tax
Politics
The Washington State Supreme Court upheld the new capital gains tax in a 7-2 decision in early 2023.NW News NetworkThe U.S. Supreme Court announced Tuesday it won't hear a case challenging Washington's capital gains tax.
A conservative think tank, Freedom Foundation, filed a petition in August asking the court to weigh in, questioning the state's constitutional authority to tax out-of-state transactions under the federal Commerce Clause.
RELATED: WA initiative supporters turn in signatures to repeal capital gains tax, carbon auctions
“We live in a lawless state where the governor and state Supreme Court justices routinely ignore state laws and the state constitution,” Freedom Foundation's Executive Vice President Brian Minnich said.
Washington's state's capital gains tax applies to sales of assets like stocks and bonds that are worth more than $250,000. It brought in nearly $900 million of state revenue in its first year, after being upheld by the Washington State Supreme Court last spring. That funding is largely earmarked for school construction, child care and early learning.
Republicans in the state Legislature, including House Minority Leader Drew Stokesbary (R-Auburn) also say they're disappointed but unsurprised that the country's highest court won't take the case.
"It really hinged on the dormant Commerce Clause … it's a concept that even some of the conservative Supreme Court justices appointed by Republicans have expressed some skepticism toward," Stokesbary said. "It is of course disappointing – disappointing that legislative Democrats essentially got away with the word games they played."
Supporters of the tax, meanwhile, are celebrating the court's rejection.
"The court's decision today is a huge victory for Washington kids and families," said Treasure Mackley, director of Invest in Washington Now. "For the first time in a very, very, very long time, the wealthiest in Washington state are being asked to pay what they truly owe."
A recent report shows Washington no longer has the most inequitable tax code in the country, in part, because of the capital gains tax – the state now ranks second, behind Florida.
But even though the court challenge is over, the capital gains tax is still unsettled. Critics are optimistic about the proposed ballot initiative aiming to repeal the tax that looks likely to head to Washington voters this November.
RELATED: Seattle eyes its own potential capital gains tax
[Copyright 2024 Northwest News Network]
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WA lawmakers consider whether to tweak or repeal laws governing police chases
Crime
Patrol cars and ambulances are shown at the intersection of Third Avenue and Pine Street on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020.KUOW Photo/Megan FarmerRegulating police vehicle pursuits emerged as a highly charged issue at the state Legislature in recent years. Lawmakers enacted strict regulations in 2021 in the wake of widespread anti-police protests, then loosened those restrictions slightly last year amidst reports of suspects brazenly fleeing police stops.
The issue is back on the agenda during this session, in the form of an initiative and other legislative proposals.
Steve Strachan, executive director of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, said he’s seeking multiple tools from lawmakers to find what he sees as the right balance on vehicle pursuits.
“We don’t want more pursuits," Strachen said. "We just want to send a strong message to people who choose to flee that that’s a bad idea and they’re going to get caught.”
Strachan said police pursuits are “inherently dangerous” and should be limited. But he said “the law changes that we saw in 2021 along with a large suite of police reform bills has changed sort of the environment that we’re seeing out there with driving."
“The changes led to a marginal decrease in the number of pursuits but it led to an exponential increase in the number of people fleeing from lawful traffic stops and fleeing from scenes of crimes,” he said.
This year, “we have proposed having greater flexibility in ability to pursue,” Strachan said, “but also to really kick up technology and greater sentencing and greater consequences for both adults and juveniles if they choose to flee from the police.”
This could include mandatory monitoring, mandatory sentences, and impoundment of vehicles, “because that’s going to be meaningful to a lot of people,” Strachan said, and then using fixed cameras to track stolen vehicles.
Strachan said the main goal is to curb reckless driving and traffic deaths.
State Sens. John Lovick (D-Mill Creek) and Manka Dhingra (D-Redmond) have advocated for strict limits on police vehicle pursuits in the past because of the dangers they present. They are now sponsoring SB 6200, which contains some of the increased penalties sought by WASPC.
Their bill would make people arrested for fleeing police subject to the same penalties as street racing. Vehicles used to attempt to elude the police would be subject to impound. Those arrested for that crime would be subject to mandatory home monitoring, and if convicted could face longer probation.
“Eluding the police is a public danger on our streets, just like illegal racing is," Sen. Dhingra said in a statement. "Sen. Lovick and I have been working with the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs in the interim to ensure we are holding people accountable for this unsafe behavior. This bill is the result of that work. It aligns the penalties for eluding with the penalties for illegal racing.”
Legislators also have to decide how to respond to Initiative 2113, which was recently certified by the Washington Secretary of State’s office. That initiative would repeal state restrictions on pursuits and allow local law enforcement to decide whether “the safety risks of failing to apprehend or identify the person are considered to be greater than the safety risks of the vehicular pursuit under the circumstances.”
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Washington state AG sues to block Kroger-Albertsons grocery merger
Business
Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson announces an antitrust lawsuit challenging the merger between grocery companies Kroger and Albertsons in January 2024.Courtesy of Washington State Attorney Generals OfficeWashington is challenging the merger of grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons, the first state to file suit to block the $25 billion dollar deal.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson says the merger is bad for Washington consumers. His office filed a lawsuit in King County Superior Court on Monday.
RELATED: Warning of higher grocery prices, Washington AG sues to stop Kroger-Albertsons merger
More than half of all supermarkets in Washington state are currently owned by either Kroger or Albertsons.
Ferguson, who’s running for governor, says a merger would eliminate head-to-head competition between the two largest grocery operators in the state.
“If Kroger and Albertsons merge, they will, simply put, dwarf the competition," he said.
Ferguson argues that means fewer choices for shoppers. He says he’s not convinced that the companies’ offer to sell 413 stores would solve the issue. He notes the buyer, C&S Wholesale Grocers, currently operates 23 stores nationwide and lacks the infrastructure to become a large-scale operator.
“The newly combined Kroger Albertsons brands will be immediately positioned to outcompete their former supermarkets while they transition to their new owner.”
Ferguson argues that the situation is similar to the last major grocery merger in 2015 where the divestiture failed. In a joint statement, Kroger and Albertsons calls the AG’s decision to sue premature. The Federal Trade Commission is still weighing the merger.
Read the full story on Washington's challenge to the Kroger/Albertsons merger here.
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Airbnbs, short-term rentals face uncertain future following crackdown in Port Angeles
The City of Port Angeles is deciding how to regulate short-term rentals that show up on Airbnb and Vrbo.
Port Angeles has a zoning rule that doesn’t allow short-term rentals in some areas. But it was unclear, and not enforced, according to short-term rental owners.
Then last year, more than 100 of those owners got cease and desist orders from the city, threatening fines of $500 a day.
Shireen Hutchison was among them.
“We didn't realize we were illegal because we had gone to the city in 2016 and asked if there was any rules or regulations for short-term rentals in Port Angeles. And we were told, 'Nope — none,'" she said.
Her family had come to rely on that income, especially after Hutchison's husband became permanently disabled after being catapulted by a tree during a forestry accident.
“We had been operating [the short-term rental] and then to get this letter saying we needed to shut down," Hutchison said. "It was surprising, devastating.”
Some people in the area blame short-term rentals for the local housing shortage.
"It's so hard to get professionals to move here, because there are no [long-term] rentals," said Darlene Schanfald, a resident of Sequim.
Schanfald said she'd consider living in Port Angeles, but cannot, for the same reasons.
“I'm hoping that they would ban short-term rentals,” she said in reference to the Port Angeles City Council.
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Bremerton leans on nimble passenger ferry amid long wait for new vessel
Government
Fast ferries connecting Bremerton, Washington with Seattle.Kitsap TransitIn Bremerton, Wash., residents and businesses are reeling from the news that they won’t get their second state ferry back again until 2028.
That’s devastating to local businesses and residents. Some depend on services, jobs, and entertainment based in Seattle. Others depend on tourists arriving from Seattle.
RELATED: Washington State Ferries confirms service disruptions will continue for years
Though the loss of half its ferries continues to hit Bremerton hard, there is a silver lining: The workaround has long-term benefits.
Car ferries are expensive because they're big. Smaller, passenger-only ferries, like the ones run by Kitsap County, are much cheaper.
Originally, it was Kitsap taxpayers who voted to create their county's nimble fleet of passenger-only boats. That service began in 2017. In 2023, state funds allowed Kitsap's fleet to add more sailings. Since then, ridership has surged. The Bremerton-Seattle line saw a 54% increase.
Bremerton Mayor Greg Wheeler called the expanded service an overwhelming success.
"We have literally put people back to work, help them maintain their jobs, maintain connectivity," he said.
Wheeler said his community still needs its other big car ferry back, for freight, tourists, and car-dependent residents. There are seniors living outside of Bremerton, for example, who must drive to the V.A. hospital in Seattle, he said. For a person in that situation, the car ferry is a lifeline.
But the future lies with the small passenger boats, which are more in line with the city's plan to center development around transit, rather than cars, he added.
“I just see this potentially having an opportunity to expand what we do and be better at it."
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