Where are we gonna put that airport? Today So Far

• Where are we gonna put that airport in Washington state?
• The 2023 wildfire season in the Northwest to be among the worst in the USA.
• The 50th anniversary of when the Seattle City Council took its first steps for gay rights.

This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for June 13, 2023.

I said it last week, and I'll say it again: Now is a good time to make sure you're stocked up on air filters. All those N95 masks from the pandemic could also come in handy this summer. Fingers crossed that this prediction will fall flat, but as of now, experts expect the 2023 wildfire season in the Northwest to be among the worst in the USA.

"With the lower and mid elevations, where most of the timber and burnable material is, it's been in drought and it seems to be worsening week by week," said John Saltenberger, manager with the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center. "That's why, first and foremost, we're anticipating the fire threat in Washington to be probably the greatest in the nation at this point."

The Northwest Interagency Coordination Center is the agency in charge of organizing wildfire responses across Washington and Oregon. Western Washington has already begun taking action — various burn bans have emerged, including in our area. Read more here.

Washington's Legislature formed a commission in 2019, tasked with finding a location for a new regional airport. Their final recommendation is due on June 15. They're not going to make it.

If you've followed the news over the past year, you know why. The commission narrowed in on three potential locations in Western Washington. It didn't get an opportunity to narrow further to one spot, because opposition to the idea was so fierce.

"We recognize and acknowledge the deep levels of anxiety that people have in this decision, we recognize that people feel threatened by this work," said Commission chair Warren Hendrickson at the group's final meeting last Friday.

So this commission was never able to take off, but that doesn't mean this story is permanently grounded. The state Legislature began priming a new engine for this effort last session. Another workgroup was established which will start over from square one. Get ready for another round of potential airport sites in our region, along with another round of opposition to those ideas. Olympia correspondent Jeanie Lindsay has the full story here.

This June is not only Pride month — 2023 is also the 50th anniversary of when the Seattle City Council took its first steps for gay rights.

Councilmember Jeanette Williams sponsored a bill in 1973 that made job discrimination illegal based on marital status, political ideology, and sexual orientation. This was the first time in Seattle that gay rights were mentioned in law. The ordinance passed. In 1975, Seattle expanded these protections to housing.

There was pushback, however. SOME group spearheaded an effort to knock down the laws in Seattle. The group was literally called "SOME" — Save Our Moral Ethics. They got Initiative 13 on the ballot in 1978, which would have nixed Seattle's protections for gays and lesbians when it came to employment and housing. It also proposed to shut down the city's Office of Women's Rights. By a two-to-one margin, Seattle voters rejected the initiative.

Through it all, Councilmember Williams is credited with championing gay rights while on the dais. KUOW's David Hyde has the full story here.

AS SEEN ON KUOW

Former Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird, in green, stands with her family as her jersey number is lifted into the rafters during a ceremony following a WNBA basketball game between the Storm and the Washington Mystics, Sunday, June 11, 2023, in Seattle. (Lindsey Wasson / Associated Press)

DID YOU KNOW?

On April 15, 1967, actor Leonard Nimoy showed up in Medford, Ore. in full Spock costume to be the grand marshal of the town's Pear Blossom Parade. It was a big deal for the small town. Spock was on the front page of the Medford Mail Tribune the next day (this newspaper ceased operations in January 2023). It was also a big deal, in a way, for "Star Trek." At the time, the show was between its first and second seasons, and its ratings were struggling. Local appearances like this were encouraged to drive up publicity. It worked ... a little too well. Nimoy's experience in Medford is why he never appeared as Spock in public again.

While the first documented "Star Trek" fan convention was in 1969, Spock's appearance at the parade in Medford has been seen as the first fan gathering. As Nimoy recalled in his 1995 memoir, "I am Spock," after the parade, he was led to a bandstand in a local park where he and officials expected a couple hundred autographs would be handed out. Instead, thousands of people showed up in Medford that day to see Spock. The bandstand started to sway as the crowd swelled and pushed against the stage. Nimoy became concerned that someone would be crushed. That's when police were called to escort Nimoy through the crowd and away from the park. He later wrote, "I made sure never to appear publicly again in Vulcan guise. But the crowds still kept coming."

Nimoy also served as marshal for the Portland Rose Festival's Grand Floral Parade that year.

The show could not get the ratings that studio officials wanted and was cancelled after its third season. Which has become a tradition in TV — the greatest shows often get cancelled way too soon, despite fervent fan bases ("Firefly," "Freaks and Geeks," "Pushing Daisies," "Arrested Development," "Veronica Mars" ... it happens a lot). But time often embarrasses TV executives. "Star Trek" has now become one of the most popular franchises in TV history. In fact, the second season of "Strange New Worlds" debuts Thursday, June 15.

ALSO ON OUR MINDS

LGBTQ+ creatives rely on Pride Month income. This year, they're feeling the pinch

In recent years, businesses big and small have seen June as an opportune time to position themselves as inclusive and to show their support of LGBTQ+ communities with Pride Month campaigns. This year is different. Backlash has driven many brands to pull back on their more visible Pride marketing efforts, experts say. Queer creatives and influencers say they're feeling the fallout.

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