Jayapal asks for a mulligan: Today So Far

• Congressmember Pramila Jayapal is asking for a do-over after a letter was sent to President Biden this week.
• There was a lot of talk about the Mariners' success recently, but it's not the only Seattle team that has reached great post-season heights this year.
• Fall has struck us fast. The sun will set after 6 p.m. for the last time tonight, until March 2023.

This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for October 26, 2022.

Mulligan! Congressmember Pramila Jayapal is asking for a do-over after a letter was sent to President Biden this week.

Jayapal led the letter effort that included the signatures of 29 other lawmakers. In general, they requested that Biden switch up his strategy around the war in Ukraine. The lawmakers asked for a more "proactive diplomatic push" for a cease-fire and felt that direct negotiations with Russia could be needed.

But ... after the letter was delivered and made headlines, Jayapal asked for it back, with a sort of "let's just forget about this" kind of vibe. Basically what happened was that there was pushback from fellow Democrats. The midterm elections are just around the corner and some Republicans are running on the position that the U.S. shouldn't be writing blank checks to Ukraine. There was some concern that the Democrats' messaging would be conflated with GOP positions.

"The proximity of these statements created the unfortunate appearance that Democrats, who have strongly and unanimously supported and voted for every package of military, strategic, and economic assistance to the Ukrainian people, are somehow aligned with Republicans who seek to pull the plug on American support for President Zelensky and the Ukrainian forces," Jayapal said in a statement. "Nothing could be further from the truth .... As such, it is a distraction at this time and we withdraw the letter.”

In her statement, Japayal accepted full responsibility for the incident and said that the letter was drafted months ago and was released without "vetting." The letter did seem timed for this part of the year, however, since it did mention how the Russia/Ukraine region would be heading into the colder months. Read more here.

There was a lot of talk about the Mariners' success recently, but it's not the only Seattle team that has reached great post-season heights this year. The OL Reign competed in the first playoff game for the National Women's Soccer League last weekend. More than 21,000 fans attended the game.

OL Reign won't be moving forward this season, but its fans remain elated about the progress the team has made in its 10 years. It started playing games at a stadium in Tukwila, then Memorial Stadium in Seattle, then Cheney Stadium in Tacoma. Now, the team is kicking on Lumen Field.

"The silver lining was that people from Tacoma and Olympia and further south in the Sound really came out for the Reign in an awesome way," said Jai Hillard, with the Reign's Royal Guard, the team's fan club that beats drums and chants during games. "And now that we've moved back to Seattle, and we're at Lumen Field, you see that there are just so many people from all over who come to the games."

Read more here.

Fall has struck us fast. The sun will set after 6 p.m. for the last time tonight, until March 2023.

We had that extended Augtober until the rain recently arrived with cool temps. It sort of created an illusion of an extended summer. The Earth has continued its journey around the sun, regardless. Now, the sun is going away. Depending on who you ask, tonight or tomorrow night is the last time the sun will set past 6 p.m. in the Seattle area until March 2023.

Get those blankets and candles out. We're going into the dark for the next five-ish months. The good news is that it will only be a couple months until the Vikings out in Poulsbo will light their massive bonfire in order to reignite the sun and ward off the frost giants. So the days will only be getting darker and darker for so long, before things start brightening up again.

YOUR GROCERY STRATEGY

I'm going to add in one last thing in today's newsletter. Of all the requests I've made for TSF reader tips, asking for grocery shopping strategies has garnered some of the most passionate responses. A lot of readers brought up Trader Joe's. Like Jonathan, who says he rarely shops at stores like Safeway or Fred Meyer because he has access to Trader Joe’s.

Whitney says "Two words: Grocery Outlet," and further notes that the folks at the Central District location "are always pleasant, fun and often willing to chat about whatever's on their — or your — mind."

Gary consults weekly ads to determine his shopping list. This takes him around to Safeway, QFC, Trader Joe's, Grocery Outlet and more in order to get the best prices that week. Judy uses this same strategy, but primarily goes to Kroger stores — Freddys and QFC. This is partially for gas points to help with gas prices.

Judy notes that she moved to Seattle from Ohio where Kroger purchased Big Bear stores years ago. In her anecdotal experience, those stores disappeared and prices didn't improve. So she's keeping a close eye on the potential Albertsons / Kroger merger. Aside from shopping strategies, concerns over prices, food deserts, and availability were also shared by TSF readers.

AS SEEN ON KUOW

Kacie Bray is CEO of the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce. She says that since an outburst of public criticism in July, over open drug use, theft, and vandalism, the city has increased police patrols, started offering reimbursement for shattered windows, and has installed new public lighting. (Amy Radil / KUOW)

ALSO ON OUR MINDS

Washington reaches settlement in chicken conspiracy lawsuit

Tyson Foods is one of 19 producers the Washington State Attorney General sued, alleging the companies colluded to rig the price of chicken. Tyson is by far the largest of the three producers that have settled so far.

SUBSCRIBE TO TODAY SO FAR