A hard wind is gonna blow: Today So Far

• Heavy weather is likely to knock out power throughout Western Washington. Be prepared.
• More electric substations have been vandalized, burglarized, or attacked. Whatever to call it, unknown people are knocking out service.
• 80 cars per day were stolen in Pierce County last month.

This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for December 27, 2022.

You all know I'm big on preparing for the worst, so get out those candles, make sure your flashlights are working, and just in case, make sure you have plans to stay warm. The wind is blowing.

Let's add this up. High winds + recent ice storm + heavy rain = power outages. It basically comes down to all those factors sending trees into power lines (and onto cars, homes, etc.).

The National Weather Service has issued a high-wind warning for our region. We're expecting 40 mph winds, and gust up to 55 mph, from 1 p.m. today through about 1 a.m. tomorrow. That might not sound like a lot, but it's enough to do some damage, and at the very least, knock your lights out.

"Damaging winds will blow down trees and power lines," the NWS warns. "Widespread power outages are expected. Travel will be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles ... People should avoid being outside in forested areas and around trees and branches. If possible, remain in the lower levels of your home during the windstorm, and avoid windows. Use caution if you must drive."

As of this morning, Seattle City Light had a few hundred customers without power. Puget Sound Energy had a few thousand. It's a similar story for Tacoma Public Utilities. That's an improvement from over the weekend. But utility crews haven't just been running around taking care of branches in power lines over the past few days. Another round of attacks on substations in Western Washington were carried out in Pierce and King counties over the holiday weekend.

Three substations were attacked outside of Tacoma early Sunday, knocking out power for about 15,000 customers. A fourth substation was set on fire Sunday night. Tacoma Public Utilities called the incidents attacks. PSE said it was vandalism. The Pierce County Sheriff's Office called them burglaries, further stating, “It is unknown if there are any motives or if this was a coordinated attack on the power systems."

It's worth noting that, while local officials are wary of terms like "attack" or "terrorism," such incidents are not new. The weekend's outages are part of an ongoing trend of assaults on substations in Washington and Oregon. At least nine substations have been targeted since November, and at least two with firearms. The FBI will not say if it is investigating the incidents, but local utilities say they are cooperating with the law enforcement agency. KUOW has previously reported that a security specialist with the Bonneville Power Administration recently issued a memo, stating that online extremists have encouraged such incidents and have provided instructions for how to take out substations.

In other crime news, about 80 cars per day were stolen across Pierce and King counties last month. That's the latest takeaway from the Puget Sound Auto Theft Task Force. A total of 39 cars were stolen last Wednesday alone, just in Pierce County.

A big chunk of these thefts are of Kia and Hyundai cars. I reported on this a few months back — these models have a fault that is being exploited by thieves. Basically, anyone can crack open a steering wheel column and use a simple USB cable to turn the ignition, no key required. The whole operation could be carried out in less than a minute, and instructions for how to do all this have spread far and wide on the internet. So if you have a Kia or a Hyundai, it's a good idea to invest in some extra car theft devices, like one of those steering wheel locks, or a GPS device, etc. Or do what I do and make your car appear so derelict that no one would want to touch it. Nina is always telling me, "You need to clean the car. You should wash the car." And I'm like, "What? Do you want it to get stolen?!"

Across Washington state, 41,330 vehicles were stolen between January and November of this year. According to the task force, this is a dramatic spike that began a couple years ago. Before that, car thefts generally numbered less than 30,000. Read more here.

AS SEEN ON KUOW

Jeff Hummel (left) and Matt McCauley (right) posing with the remains of a dredged plane that they recovered from the floor of Lake Washington in the early 1980s, shortly after high school. (Courtesy of Matt McCauley)

DID YOU KNOW?

The first performance of jazz music in Washington state was on June 10, 1918 at Washington Hall in Seattle. By the 1920s, there was a considerable public backlash against jazz, many arguing that the music alone was as much of a threat to society as narcotics or alcoholism. According to History Link, "jazz intoxication" became a common term thrown around by religious leaders, politicians, and media to describe how much of a "moral degradation" the genre was. It's notable that during this era, there was an obvious distinction between the jazz scene and other music genres. For example, Seattle had two musicians' unions, one for white performers, and one for everyone else. Jazz was being performed at select clubs in town, primarily in the redlined areas. Jazz was also on the rise at the same time as speakeasies during prohibition.

In 1933, state Rep. William A. Allen, from West Seattle, came up with a solution, of sorts. He proposed HB 194, which aimed to set up a commission to study jazz intoxication. It further proposed that if harmful effects were discovered, a jazz ban be developed, plus, "All persons convicted of being jazzily intoxicated shall go before the Superior Court and be sent to an insane asylum." The bill did not pass, and jazz paranoia would eventually subside. After all, rock n' roll was just around the corner, and folks would shift their fears to that genre ... then the hippy folk music scene ... then disco ... and punk rock ... and then hip hop ... then the whole thing with Tipper Gore and the parental advisory label on albums ... then grunge ... then Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, yada yada yada, Lil Nas X.

ALSO ON OUR MINDS

At least 50 people have died across the U.S. in 'once-in-a-generation storm'

A massive winter storm that's killed about 50 people across the U.S. is expected to claim more lives as the frigid weather continues into the week. More than half the deaths occurred in western New York, in what Buffalo's mayor called a "once-in-a-generation storm."

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