PNW cyclist in the Tour de France Femmes: Today So Far

• Seattle Mayor Harrell gives SPD a deadline to assign lingering sexual assault cases to detectives.
• The FBI is now investigating a Seattle nonprofit employee for misusing funds.
• A Seattle-based cyclists is riding in the Tour de France Femmes.

This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for July 29, 2022.

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell has signed an executive order instructing the Seattle Police Department to conduct a review of its investigations bureau. The subtext of this order is, "Why has SPD lagged, or not moved, when it comes to many sexual assault cases?" as well as, "Cut that out." The order also sets a deadline — every reported felony crime of violence with sufficient evidence has to be assigned to a detective by the end of August. This aims to cover the backlog of sexual assault cases that Seattle has sitting around. Read the full story on this here.

The order comes after reporting from KUOW's Ashley Hiruko, along with The Seattle Times, that uncovered an internal memo indicating that SPD halted investigations of such crimes amid staffing shortages. This left victims on the shelf, waiting for any resolution of their case. Mayor Harrell responded to the news by calling it "unacceptable." And the police sergeant who wrote the leaked memo came under investigation by the city's Office of Police Accountability.

Read the latest on this story here.

The FBI is now investigating an employee of Community Passageways for misusing funds. The nonprofit works with Seattle and King County for youth programs such as violence prevention, and alternatives to incarceration.

Community Passageways started in 2016. Since then, it has taken in millions in grants and contributions to fund its efforts. The organization tells KUOW that the FBI notified it in May that one of its employees was under investigation. That employee has since been fired. Community Passageways says it is attempting to recover money. KUOW's Amy Radil has the full story here.

A true Northwesterner is competing in the Tour de France Femmes. Before Veronica Ewers went pro, she worked at Seattle Children's Hospital, went to college in Oregon, and grew up in Idaho.

"This is my first full year as a pro, and first year at the world tour level," Ewers told KUOW's Kim Malcolm. "And there are so many women who are significantly more experienced in the women's peloton who have worked so hard. So I definitely cannot comprehend how much it means to them — having worked so hard to be finally having the women's Tour de France."

"It's just so overwhelming and beautiful. I hope it inspires all of these little girls and young women, and even adult women to know that there's progress being made, that we can do anything, and that there's space for women to be as competitive as men."

When Ewers spoke with KUOW, she was ranked 13th out of 130 riders. Check out the full conversation here.

AS SEEN ON KUOW

Montlake Cut was a popular place for boaters and swimmers to cool off as temperatures reached above 90 degrees on Tuesday, July 26, 2022, in Seattle. More photos of Seattleites beating the heat here. (Megan Farmer / KUOW)

DID YOU KNOW?

This is the first year of the Tour de France Femmes, but it is not the first time cycling events have been held for women in France, which is one of the most famous places for cycling competitions.

There was a Tour de France for women in 1955. And more were held from 1984 through 2009. Activists groups and women cyclists have attempted to get another competition going ever since.

The Tour De France Femmes is an eight-day event, which starts and ends in Paris, concluding on the Champs-Élysées.

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