What were all those fireworks all about?: Today So Far

• Why did someone put on a massive fireworks display in Puget Sound?
• Study finds drinking wells contaminated after decades of nearby military exercises.

This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for September 20, 2022.

Everyone living on the shores of Seattle, or around the eastern side of Bainbridge Island, probably had the same thought Saturday night: "What the hell was that?!"

A massive fireworks display erupted across the night sky from a barge moored close to the north end of Bainbridge. The show could be seen, and heard, across Puget Sound in Ballard. That's right — these weren't the rockets folks bring home for the Fourth of July. These were massive, barge-level fireworks for sky-high displays.

Fireworks in July — sure, that's to be expected. But the thunderous commotion on September 17 startled a few folks. And it created quite a mystery. Where did it come from? Why? KUOW's Isolde Raftery looked into it and got a few answers ... which opened up more questions.

In short, someone hired a professional fireworks company to put on the show. The Seattle Fire Department approved a permit to load the explosives onto a barge, which departed Shilshole Bay before the show.

But why? Theories have been thrown around, like how it was Gov. Jay Inslee's anniversary (Inslee is overseas right now). Or perhaps it was for the reopening of the West Seattle Bridge? Probably not.

I put on my thinking cap and came up with a few theories of my own as to why the fireworks show happened:

• "M*A*S*H" debuted on Sept. 17, 1972. Could this could have been the work of a sitcom super fan?
• The long awaited season 5 of "Cobra Kai" debuted the week prior, and there is a passing remark about Bainbridge Island in the opening show. It also stars Seattle actor and restaurateur Yuji Okumoto. Perhaps a karate fan got excited?
• It was Baz Lurhmann's birthday. We all know this auteur filmmaker is a fan of flashy lights and spectacle. Maybe a Bainbridge birthday blast was in order. (It was also Dustin Nguyen's birthday, aka Harry from "21 Jump Street" which was filmed just over there in Vancouver, BC).
• Someone on Bainbridge ordered up a fancy light show because, let's be honest, it's Bainbridge Island.
• Ancient aliens.

Any thoughts or theories of your own? Check out the full story here.

The U.S. military is now providing bottles of water to about 100 homes in the Yakima Valley after it was proven that Army exercises resulted in poisoning local wells.

If this sounds familiar, a similar story has unfolded on Whidbey Island (and a lot of other places near military bases) where a particular firefighting foam was used, mostly in training exercises to practice putting out real fires. Without getting too sciencey, the foam has a chemical in it (called "PFAS") that is pretty toxic. It leads to increased risks of cancer, lowered immunity, and other health issues. And after decades of using this foam, its chemicals have made their way into the surrounding environment, including drinking water wells.

Which brings us back to the homes in the Yakima Valley, near the Army’s Yakima Training Center. A new study concluded that the water for these homes is contaminated. So we can now add the cost of enough bottled water for hundreds of people to drink and cook with to future military budgets. Read more here.

AS SEEN ON KUOW

A diesel sheen spreads from the Aleutian Isle, newly lifted to the surface on by a crane Sept. 17, five weeks after sinking off San Juan Island. (Fisheries and Oceans Canada)

DID YOU KNOW?

We're not very happy around Washington state. Then again, we're not the worst in the USA.

The latest pop assessment from the nerds at WalletHub ranks the most and least happiest states and Washington comes in at 22nd. WalletHub factored for things like work hours, adequate sleep, sports activities, adult depression rates, volunteer rates, divorce rates, safety, and income growth (the only category Washington ranked high in).

When I think about it, I suppose it sort of makes sense with the obvious rain around here. There is also the amount of time spent in traffic, which I personally find depressing. Depending on who you ask, Seattle ranks about 14th or 10th for worst traffic. WalletHub's own assessment places Washington at 45th when it comes to decent traffic.

Perhaps the only thing more depressing than our traffic is trying to navigate Sound Transit's website to try to understand how it works, only to find out the Sounder stops running at 5:30 p.m. for northbound and 6:30 p.m. southbound — seriously, someone has to have brought this up before; no one in their right mind thinks this makes sense. This schedule works for Dolly Parton and no one else. Just thinking about it bums me out.

Just because I know you're curious, Hawaii is the happiest state (we probably didn't need a study to figure that out), and West Virginia is the least-happiest state in the nation.

ALSO ON OUR MINDS

Why your bad boss will probably lose the remote-work wars

Many American bosses have seen the writing on the wall, recognized the ample benefits of allowing remote work, and have given their employees what they want. Call them the good bosses. But, of course, there are still many holdouts. My friend's boss, for one.

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