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Releasing voting registration information, federal agents, and the Kraken this week

caption: Jasmyne Keimig, Jeannie Yandel, Carolyn Bick and Monica Nickelsburg ready to discuss the week's news
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Jasmyne Keimig, Jeannie Yandel, Carolyn Bick and Monica Nickelsburg ready to discuss the week's news
kuow photo/ sarah leibovitz

Jeannie Yandel reviews the week's news with Geekwire civic editor Monica Nickelsburg, staff writer for the Stranger Jasmyne Keimig, and freelance journalist with the South Seattle Emerald, Carolyn Bick.


This week saw Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler tear gassed by federal agents at a protest in his own town. On Thursday Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced that agents have also been stationed in Seattle, without consent from local officials. Why are these agents here? And are their actions legal?

Plus, you can't have a day ending in Y without more coronavirus news. This week Governor Inslee rolled back parts of the state's reopening plan, including restrictions on bars, weddings, funerals, and gyms. But is that enough to stop cases from rising?

Also, King County Executive Dow Constantine has pledged to end youth detention by 2025. He also said he would be closing the downtown Seattle Jail located on fifth avenue. Why will it take five years to close these facilities? And what will be done with the people currently living inside them?

In other law enforcement news, eight Seattle Police Department officers are registered to vote using their precinct, instead of their home addresses. One of those eight officers is Seattle Police Officers Guild president Mike Solan. Why weren't the officers addresses verified by the county when they registered? And will they be held accountable for voter fraud?

Additionally, tech companies Apple and Microsoft have announced big efforts to go greener. Microsoft aims to be carbon negative in the next decade, by 2030, and remove its historical carbon emissions by 2050. Apple announced that by 2030 every device it sells will have a net-zero carbon impact. Amazon is already so committed to its climate pledge that it paid to have our new hockey stadium named after it. But what do these pledges actually mean? Will they help curb the effects of climate change?

Finally, we have a new sea creature in Seattle. The city's NHL team is officially named The Kraken. Will being named after a mythical beast be enough to make our panelists care about hockey? (Spoiler alert: no.)

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