Your dollars, your values: Today So Far

• Seattle Bakery is about more than vegan treats — it's about mutual aid.
• The King County Republican Party plans to take Rudy Giuliani on a tour of Black Lives Matter protest sites.
• Covid cases are on the decline in western Washington, but hospitalizations are still going up on the east side of the state.

This post originally appeared in KUOW's Today So Far newsletter for Jan. 26, 2022.

What issues do you care about? Now ask yourself where your dollars are going.

Seattle's Lara de la Rosa cares about a few key things — veganism and mutual aid are at the top of the list. When the pandemic hit, putting a strain on some communities more than others, she decided to leave her biochemistry lab gig and go into baking. The result is Lazy Cow Bakery, which uses its proceeds to fund a local mutual aid project, also founded by de la Rosa. Lazy Cow not only puts out plant-based treats, but the bakery also supports a free pantry and fridge geared toward the local Latino community. It's also part of a larger trend of people putting their dollars where their values are. KUOW's Ruby de Luna has the full story here.

Also, check out KUOW's previous reporting on mutual aid in the city.

This story got me thinking about something I often say: "Support your local geekonomy." That's what I call it when I intentionally bring my dollars into shops that I feel are doing good somehow. For example, regular readers of this newsletter have probably figured out by now that the writer behind it is a pretty big nerd. In the corner of the world where I interact (filled with pop culture and geek allure) I've found that not all are as welcoming as I'd like. So I make the trek to Outsider Comics, or Distant Worlds Coffeehouse, or play pinball at Raygun Lounge — places I feel put a little light into the world in their own unique ways.

Maybe you're not a vegan. And maybe you're not a nerd. So what corners of the world do you interact with? And where do your dollars go?

Speaking of where dollars are going — Rudy Giuliani is coming to town to help fundraise for the King County Republican Party. The local GOP's fundraising dinner in March will feature Giuliani, who helped lead President Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election. Only about 8% of Seattle voters went for Trump in 2020. One of the event's organizers told KUOW that while Giuliani is in town, King County GOP plans to take him on a tour of Black Lives Matter protest sites. Read more here.

And you know that I can't leave you without a pandemic update. We've got some mixed news today — Covid cases are on the decline in western Washington, but hospitalizations are still going up on the east side of the state. This reminds me of a recent conversation. We all have dealt with friends and family during this pandemic who maybe don't understand the situation beyond their immediate bubble. Someone I know went into quarantine after testing positive for Covid; likely Omicron. They commented that it wasn't as bad as they thought, and that they've fought off colds and the flu worse than this. Which prompted my comment: "That's great! For you."

While some ride out Covid at home, watching reruns on the couch, eastern Washington hospitals are severely strained. Crisis standards of care have been declared in neighboring Idaho, and Washington's strained hospitals may be called up to help. So while it's great that our local wave appears to be on the decline, don't forget that not everyone is having such an easy time riding it out.

Have a comment or want to reach out to me? Send me an email at dyer@kuow.org.

As Seen on KUOW

Since 2014, students, teachers and parents at the Monroe school Sky Valley Education Center said something didn’t seem right. People were getting sick — having cognitive problems, cysts, and cancer diagnoses. A new report finds that it's due to toxic chemicals known as PCBs. And the school has known about them for years. (Steve Ringman / The Seattle Times)

Did You Know?

Among the many changes prompted by the pandemic is how we've been having babies. Specifically, the rates of home births across the country spiked in 2020.

Compared to 2019, home births went up 22% across the United States. In Washington state, they went up by 25%. The rates of U.S. home births in 2020 were highest in May (45%) and in December (39%)

The numbers come from an analysis by QuoteWizard, which looked at CDC's Vital Statistics Report.

Subscribe to Today So Far here