What gardeners need to know before the cold weather arrives in the NW ... eventually: Today So Far

• Gardeners should be on the alert: Winter is coming ... and this year will require some special attention.
• Someone is poisoning wolves in northeastern Washington.
• SeaTac is the latest city to up its minimum wage these days.

This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for October 11, 2022.

Gardeners should be on the alert: Winter is coming, and this year will require some special attention.

That's according to Seattle's favorite gardener, Ciscoe Morris, who notes that the very dry summer, leading into a cold winter, could set up some unique conditions.

"If they go into the winter season too dry, and then we get a cold winter, which they're saying we might get, that could have some detrimental effects for sure," Ciscoe told KUOW's Soundside.

Ciscoe's top winter gardening tip this year: Mulch. Skip the beauty bark. It's best to get some fresh wood chips or even compost. And when the temps start sticking around the 40s, it's best to harvest any tomatoes or other crops that have held on longer than usual with this warm October weather.

Ciscoe has more tips for Northwest gardeners heading into winter. Check out Soundside for more.

SeaTac is the latest city to up its minimum wage these days. Like others around Washington state, it's largely spurred by severe inflation. The new wages go into effect in January 2023.

Seattle is slated to up its minimum wage to between $16.50 and $18.69, depending on the size of the business, and whether or not the employer contributes to medical benefits. Washington state's minimum wage will rise to $15.74, making it the highest state-level minimum wage in the country.

SeaTac's new minimum wage of $19.06, however, will make it the highest in the USA regardless of state or city, SeaTac officials say. The city is upping the pay by 8.66% to keep up with inflation. Read more here.

Someone is poisoning wolves in northeastern Washington. Last February, Stevens County deputies discovered four dead wolves while they were out on a snowmobile patrol. Two more wolves were found the following month. Toxicology reports have confirmed the wolves were poisoned. It's not an anomaly and other wolves were poisoned in eastern Oregon in 2021. It is unknown if these two incidents are connected.

The wolves are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act. In Washington state, it is a gross misdemeanor to illegally kill a wolf, which could result in a year in jail or $5,000 in fines. Read more here.

AS SEEN ON KUOW

The newly promoted Jonathan Batista joined the Pacific Northwest Ballet as a soloist last year, and says moving to the highest rank as a ballet dancer last month means the world to him and the Black dance community. (Courtesy of Angela Sterling)

DID YOU KNOW?

October is Italian-American Heritage and Culture Month. It has been honored by presidential proclamations since George H.W. Bush in 1989. Also, Bill Clinton in 1993, and Barack Obama in 2010.

I'd like to point to one particular Italian-American who has greatly influenced tween and teenage pop culture since the 1990s, especially for those who watched the WB and the CW (and he also fits for LGBTQ History Month, which is also October). Greg Berlanti got his start in the TV industry writing for "Dawson's Creek" in 1998. He eventually created Berlanti Productions and began producing and writing TV shows — most of which aired on the CW — from "Everwood" to "Eli Stone" (a super fun show that was cancelled too soon). You may be most familiar with his work bringing DC Comics to TV. Whether it's "Arrow," "The Flash," "Supergirl" or others, Berlanti has been charged with making DC's characters palatable for TV (it's perhaps some of the only palatable material DC has put on any screen in recent years, even if it is written for tweens). He also helped bring Archie Comics to TV via "Riverdale" (side note: Archie Comics was originally drawn by artist Bob Montana, another Italian-American. Montana gave Archie characters their signature look in the comic strips). Starting with a same-sex kiss that he wrote for "Dawson's Creek" in 2000, Berlanti is also credited with bringing LGBTQ characters and storylines to mainstream TV throughout his career.

ALSO ON OUR MINDS

Key Senate races tighten with a flood of GOP ad spending

With exactly four weeks left for ballots to be cast in the 2022 midterm elections, the landscape for control of the Senate is shifting again. The field has moved slightly back in Republicans' direction, in part, because of a natural tightening closer to November as the races come into focus for more people, but also because of a deluge of television advertising in key races supporting GOP candidates.

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