You heard it on KUOW | Tuesday, Feb. 19

February 19, 2019 / 8:35 am

caption: Pedestrians cross 2nd St. at the intersection of Pike St., on Tuesday, November 21, 2017, in Seattle.

A roundup of the news by KUOW reporters.

State of the City

Mayor Jenny Durkan is scheduled to give the State of the City at noon Tuesday. Durkan's second time giving this address comes after the city worked through historic winter storms.

Over the past year her administration also faced the ongoing homelessness crisis, major business decisions including Amazon's HQ2 announcement, and starting Key Arena renovations.

Construction boom continues

The cranes and construction booming all around Seattle will stick around for at least the next four years.

A new Downtown Seattle Association study shows there are more than 65 major construction projects underway now. There are another 60-plus scheduled to start in the next few years.

They include hotels, the Convention Center expansion, and transit projects. But the vast majority are residential buildings, either apartments or condos.

caption: A portion of the Alaskan Way Viaduct is demolished on Monday, February 18, 2019, at the Columbia St. on ramp near the intersection of Columbia Street and 1st Avenue in Seattle. 1.4 miles of the roadway, weighing roughly 122,000 tons, will be demolished.

Emergency shelters to remain open

Facing another cold week in Seattle, officials are keeping open emergency homeless shelters.

The city's Human Services Department will keep hosting 550 beds in cold-weather shelters through Friday.

Lows are forecast in the mid 30s this week in Seattle, dipping below freezing Wednesday and Thursday nights.

Amazon makes environmental commitment

In a news release, Amazon says it wants to make half its shipments net carbon-neutral by 2030.

It would offset pollution that happens during shipments through solar and wind farms, less bulky packaging and other programs.

Amazon has said its long term goal is to be powered by 100-percent renewable energy, but has not provided a goal-date, despite numerous media requests.

Cancer Round-up

The weed killer Round-up is under scrutiny in a new scientific study for links to causing cancer.

The University of Washington led study shows exposure to the herbicide increases the risk of some cancers by more than 40 percent. The study was published in the online journal Mutation Research/Reviews in Mutation Research.