Alien, and Prince, and Kurt Cobain, oh my! Today So Far

• MoPOP just got a massive haul of pop culture treasures.
• Can condos help solve Washington's housing woes?
• Wildfire conditions are expected to worsen heading into August.

This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for July 27, 2023.

Quick hits

• Street racing cameras coming to 10 Seattle roads
• America's farms are desperate for labor. Foreign workers bring relief and controversy
• Surprise health inspections remain legal, for now, at ICE detention center in Tacoma

MoPOP is one Seattle feature I find myself returning to every now and then. I've already seen the sci-fi museum, and the horror exhibit, the fantasy corner, the music section, and more. There are a lot of corners to MoPOP, and it now looks like they are going to get stuffed with even more pop culture history.

The late Paul Allen is known for cofounding Microsoft and the Museum of Pop Culture. MoPOP has an impressive lineup of treasures. Turns out, Allen had a secret stash. That's how KUOW's Mike Davis puts it. Allen's estate appears to be doing a little house cleaning, and in turn, it is donating more than 4,000 items to MoPOP. The long list includes an alien suit from the movie "Alien," a script from a 1965 episode of "Star Trek," and the jacket Prince wore in the movie "Purple Rain." Then there is Jimi Hendrix's acoustic guitar, and a guitar that was smashed by Nirvana's Kurt Cobain.

So I guess I'll be going back to MoPOP. Read more here.

There's a new idea that Washington's lawmakers are playing around with that could help add more needed housing to the region, and hopefully bring costs down — condos.

OK, that's not exactly a "new idea," but the approach to condos in Washington state is getting a little bit of a remodel. Condos can be great for developers to build, cost wise. They have different rules around how property can be used. But for a few decades, barely anybody has wanted to build condos in Washington, largely because of the massive insurance cost required to build them. In the 1980s and 1990s, there were a range of lawsuits after a string of poorly constructed condos were made. That drove the insurance up on this type of housing.

That got Democrat State Senator Sharon Shewmak thinking. Her new bill gives developers a right to return to a project and fix issues before lawsuits come into play. It's an idea that got Republican State Senator Chris Gildon to sign on in support. The goal is to open up more of this type of housing in Washington, and hopefully create more first-time homebuyer opportunities. But not everybody is so keen on this approach. Read more here.

There have been more fires in Western Washington this year, keeping firefighters busy. The State Dept. of Natural Resources is concerned that conditions will only get worse in August.

Wildfires are spreading in Washington and Oregon right now. Northwest News Network notes that the Newell Road Fire in southern Washington has burned more acres than any single fire did in all of 2022 — 56,143 as of Tuesday. The fire started the way most do in our state — people.

There is a drought emergency in 12 Washington counties right now, which makes the situation more difficult. Heading into August, firefighters are expecting conditions to only worsen. In other words, be careful and don't go sparking fires out there. Read more here.

AS SEEN ON KUOW

Seven fires were intentionally set in three Seattle neighborhoods between July 13-20, including this two-alarm fire at a vacant warehouse in the 1000 block of South King Street on July 20, 2023. (Seattle Fire Department)

DID YOU KNOW?

Just in time for the new hit film "Barbie," July 27 is officially Barbie in a Blender Day. It's a "real" holiday in that it was started in 2004 and has been celebrated ever since. So feel free to put a Barbie doll in a blender today.

Photographer Tom Forsythe is perhaps best known for his "Food Chain Barbie" series, which feature Barbie dolls in a blender, a toaster oven, and basically in a bunch of other kitchen appliances. From Forsythe's perspective, it was a commentary on consumerism, beauty myths, and sexualization. But for a lot of folks, it appeared quite torturous. The folks at Mattel didn't appreciate the art, which didn't respect its most popular doll, so the company sued Forsythe. In the end, Forsythe won. The court concluded that his work was original art, and there is also this whole "freedom of speech" thing that the United States has going for it. Mattel was ordered to pay Forsythe $1.8 million in legal fees.

After the legal win, free speech activists turned the whole legal drama into an unofficial holiday, celebrating freedom of speech. You're not likely to see "Barbie in a Blender Day" on any calendar, but if you listen closely, somewhere out there, you might hear a blender running.

ALSO ON OUR MINDS

U.S. recovered non-human 'biologics' from UFO crash sites, former intel official says

Three military veterans testified in Congress' highly anticipated hearing on UFOs Wednesday, including a former Air Force intelligence officer who claimed the U.S. government has operated a secret "multi-decade" reverse engineering program of recovered vessels. He also said the U.S. has recovered non-human "biologics" from alleged crash sites.

SUBSCRIBE TO TODAY SO FAR