Stay cool Seattle: Today So Far

• August heat wave could set records.
• Seattle City Light turned the power back on.
• Washington's GOP has a new leader.

This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for Aug. 15, 2023.

Quick hits

• Just how hot was July? Hotter than anything on record
• Why lasers could help make the electric grid greener
• If you never got a Covid booster, get one now: experts say

You may have noticed that it's quite hot outside. As a longtime Northwesterner, anything above a scorching 70 is hot to me, but with thermometers reaching into the 90s, we're talking about temperatures that could be cause for alarm. Records could be set. This heat wave will continue until at least Wednesday at 11 p.m. That's when the local heat advisory ends. But as the National Weather Service told KUOW, keep in mind that a lot of these forecasted temperatures are for around Puget Sound waters. It will be a bit warmer more inland. Don't forget to check on pets and your more vulnerable neighbors. Maybe find a fountain, and eat some watermelon.

On top of the heat, it's possible that wildfire smoke from the Sourdough Fire, up in the North Cascades, could drift our way this week. Thankfully, however, that fire is no longer threatening hydroelectric dams and transmission lines. Seattle City Light has resumed power production at three such dams. Protective barriers have been established around transmission lines and the dams, but Seattle City Light says it could shut them down again if the fire moves back into the area. This wildfire has burned more than 2,500 acres so far. The timing is great, given the heat wave, so Seattle can power all the ACs and cooling centers needed over the next couple of days.

Washington state has a new GOP leader. State Republicans just elected Jim Walsh of Aberdeen to replace Caleb Heimlich, who just stepped down. You're likely to hear Walsh's name around GOP news moving forward. It's unknown yet if he will juggle his duties as a state representative and as the leader of the state GOP, or if he'll step down as a legislator. So far, Walsh has indicated that, under his leadership, the state party will focus on getting more Republicans to vote in elections, while trying to win over independents who might not firmly stand with the Democrat Party.

AS SEEN ON KUOW

Taylor Brooks admires "Nocturne," an offset lithograph print from the portfolio of Charles White, on July 26, 2023. Brooks, Seattle's African American Collection and Community Engagement librarian, curated an exhibit at the Central Library, featuring White's work alongside prints from artist Elizabeth Catlett. The prints are part of the African American Collection housed at SPL's Douglass-Truth Branch. (Katie Campbell / KUOW)

DID YOU KNOW?

On this day in 1969, the now famous Woodstock music festival opened. A lot of pop culture history has emerged from this four-day festival — Jimi Hendrix playing the National Anthem; Richie Havens singing "Freedom"; the fact that it was a massively attended, generational event. But not a lot has been said about the aftermath of the festival.

The event didn't actually take place in Woodstock, New York. Instead, it happened at a dairy farm in Bethel, about 60 miles away. After the festival was over, the town of Bethel collectively said: "No way are we doing that again!" The dairy farmer who rented out his land for the festival wouldn't do so again for any follow up events. Bethel's town "supervisor" who approved the Woodstock event, lost his reelection. The town, as well as the state of New York, passed local laws preventing similar festivals from happening again. And there were 80 lawsuits from neighboring farms against the organizers. Luckily, there was a movie made about the event that earned some money. Those funds helped pay the settlements.

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