Sue Bird's last Storm game (potentially): Today So Far

• Throughout her WNBA career, Sue Bird's jersey proudly stated "Seattle."
• It's National Farmers Market Week.
• Anxiety over last week's primary election hasn't subsided. If fact, it's become more intense in some races.

This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for August 8, 2022.

I'm not much of a football fan, but I know who Russell Wilson is. I'm not much of a golfer, but I know the name Tiger Woods. I might not personally be into sparkly vampires, but I am well aware of Edward roaming the Olympic Peninsula in "Twilight."

And I'm not much of a basketball fan, but I certainly know who Sue Bird is. That's the thing about people who do great things, or moments that are so culturally significant they become part of our collective awareness. Sue Bird is a four-time WNBA Champion and five-time Olympic gold medal winner — to name just a few of her many accolades. Throughout her WNBA career, her jersey proudly stated "Seattle."

That, and more, is why a sold-out audience at Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena chanted "Thank you Sue" Sunday, as Bird played her final regular season game with the Storm. After Bird was drafted by the Storm in 2002, she became synonymous with Seattle sports, a hometown hero, and a point of local pride. Through time, the city will always remember a class of athletes whose names are known among fans and and non-fans alike — Ken Griffey Jr., Ichiro, Payton, and Russell. And now, Sue Bird. Read more here.

While this was the last regular season game for Bird, those who still want to see her on the court may have a chance with the playoffs ahead.

It's a good thing that National Farmers Market Week takes place over a whole week, and isn't just a day, because it takes a whole week to get through all the markets across Seattle.

Like many cities, Seattle has a lot of pros and cons. The farmers markets here are a major point in the pro category. If you miss the University District Famers Market on Saturday, then you can catch the market in West Seattle on Sunday, or the one on Capitol Hill if that is more convenient. If that doesn't work for you, then you have Columbia City Wednesday and Lake City Thursday. Ballard's farmers market is always on Sunday, rain or shine. And that's just a handful of the markets spread across the city.

In honor of the week of gratitude, the Seattle City Council just issued a proclamation of appreciation to the local farmers markets and all they contribute to the community.

“Just last year, providing more than $1.2 million in local food, to food insecure households in Seattle, through programs like Fresh Bucks and SNAP Market match," said Jennifer Antos with the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance.

Antos adds that our local farmers markets are a go-to source for directly connecting producers with residents. Read more here.

Anxiety over last week's primary election hasn't subsided. If fact, it's become more intense in some races.

Many of the Republicans who voted to impeach former President Trump have retired or lost elections since then. Two such Republicans are in Washington state. Dan Newhouse was one and he just secured his spot on the November ballot, despite facing GOP challengers from his right (who have already started embracing conspiracy theories in response).

But the fate of the GOP incumbent from Washington's 3rd District, Jaime Herrera-Beutler, remains unknown. She faces a primary challenge from Trump-backed Joe Kent, who embraces election conspiracy theories and has had to distance himself from white nationalists in his orbit. The results in this race are rarely seen outside of a Kshama Sawant election. Initial results favored Herrera-Beutler, but Kent has narrowed the gap between them as more votes have been counted in the days since the election. As of Friday, Kent was just 257 votes behind Herrera-Beutler. Thousands more are waiting to be counted in that race.

More election results are being released later today. Read more here.

AS SEEN ON KUOW

At many hospitals, providers let patients know when a pregnancy might not be viable and start the conversation about whether or not to terminate it. They try to intervene well before the patients’ lives are in danger. But at many Catholic hospitals in Washington, policies don’t allow providers to act until the threat to the woman’s life is more immediate. That's the problem Alison ran into when her pregnancy sent her to an ER, multiple times, "writhing in pain." Read more here. (Megan Farmer / KUOW)

DID YOU KNOW?

Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough passed away Sunday at the age of 89. McCullough was known for his best-selling historical biographies from John Adams to the Wright Brothers (he also moonlighted as a film narrator from time-to-time).

All of McCullough's popular works were written on a typewriter. Yep. Even as modern desktop computers overtook the writing scene decades ago, McCullough continued to clack out his work on a 1946 Royal KMM typewriter. He originally bought the typewriter in the 1960s for $25 and kept it operational ever since. While modern authors send manuscripts to editors at the speed of an email attachment, McCullough's write ups were sent via pages that he personally pressed his words into.

"It's an amazing piece of American manufacturing. There is no planned obsolescence built into this one at all," McCullough once said of his Royal typewriter.

"They say, 'you can go so much faster on a computer.' Well, I know that. I don't want to go faster. If anything, I'm probably better off going more slowly. And I like the sound of it, I like the bell ringing at the end of a line."

ALSO ON OUR MINDS

At CPAC, some Trump supporters aren't totally in love with the idea of a 2024 run

Donald Trump's ongoing legal and political issues might be too much baggage for some conservative voters. During the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas this week, some attendees said all the controversy following Trump could be a liability as they weigh who could possibly run against President Joe Biden in 2024.

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