Seattle news

• Headline of the Day: "SeaWorld Employees Place Orcas In Plastic Bags Of Water While Cleaning Tanks"

  10-11-2015 23:56 via thestranger.com
  
  Yeah, yeah, it's an Onion headline. Clickbait!! But just look at the picture. The picture alone is worth it.
  You heard yesterday's news about SeaWorld, right? As the New York Times clarifies, it's not that SeaWorld San Diego won't keep orcas in captivity anymore, it's just that they just won't be making them do "tricks."[ Comment on this story ][ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]
  
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• Homeless man pleads not guilty to raping woman on sidewalk

  10-11-2015 23:54
  
  BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — A homeless man has pleaded not guilty to charges he followed an intoxicated woman home and raped her on a Vermont sidewalk. Thirty-one-year-old Peter Handy entered the plea in Vermont Superior Court on Monday to charges of sexual assault without consent. Investigators say Handy had the woman’s phone number written on […]
  
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• Washington state’s government integrity rating has slipped. Why?

  10-11-2015 23:01
  
  Washington state fell to 12th place among the states in a recent report by The Center for Public Integrity on government integrity. That’s down from third place in the group’s 2012 rankings. Why the slip?
  
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• Currently Hanging: The 140-Year-Old Cult Painting of Butter

  10-11-2015 22:01 via thestranger.com
  
  Now at Seattle Art Museum: Antoine Vollon, Mound of Butter, 1875/1885. Courtesy of the National Gallery of Art
  Antoine Vollon is a name I'd never heard before when a Seattle Art Museum spokeswoman whispered to me about one of his paintings.
  "You have to see Mound of Butter," she said. We were at the press preview for the traveling exhibition Intimate Impressionism from the National Gallery of Art. "It's the entire staff's favorite."
  I had my doubts, but the title was mildly suggestive and syllab
  
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• Jon Grant Concedes City Council Race to Tim Burgess, Claims Credit for Pushing Burgess Left

  10-11-2015 22:00 via thestranger.com
  
  Jon Grant: "de facto 10th city council member?" courtesy of jon grant
  Tenant advocate Jon Grant has officially conceded to Council President Tim Burgess in the race for citywide council Position 8. Results showing a decisive victory for Burgess have held since the election last Tuesday, with Burgess currently leading Grant by about 16,000 votes and 10 percentage points.In his concession, Grant credits his campaign for forcing Burgess leftward on issues like tenant protections, homeless encampmen
  
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• Donald Trump’s global calls for boycotts, from Starbucks to Italy, from Mexico to Glenfiddich

  10-11-2015 21:21
  
  The imprisonment of Seattle student Amanda Knox, a wind farm off his golf course in Scotland, the design of Starbucks holiday coffee cups — all have triggered a similar response from 2016 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Trump calls for a boycott of the offending country, department store, TV network, or whiskey. Donald Trump:  The boycott kind of 2016 presidential candidates.  (Matthew Cavanaugh/Getty Images) “I have one of the most successful Starbucks in T
  
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• Medical Records to Launch Techno Sub-Label, Transfusions, Next Year

  10-11-2015 20:50 via thestranger.com
  
  Transfusions: Pumping new blood into Seattle's technoscape. design by Tyler Jacobsen
  Good news for Seattle's electronic-music scene: Dr. Troy Wadsworth, head of the reissue-oriented Medical Records*, plans to launch a techno sub-label in 2016 called Transfusions. It will augment what is already a strong contingent of local techno imprints, which includes MOTOR, Knightriders, Peloton Musique, and Further (though the latter is not exclusively techno-centric). Wadsworth says that Transfusions will
  
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• About That Balloon Butt on the Cover of This Week's Stranger

  10-11-2015 20:31 via thestranger.com
  
  I love this week's cover image, a very balloon-y sort of photo, shot by local artist Charlie Schuck. What you should do now is go look at the rest of the show, online at Digital Sweat Gallery. It's all about the "belfie":
  "Belfie: a ‘bottom selfie’—a photographic self-portrait featuring the buttocks, usually posted by female celebrities on social media networks."
  CLICK HERE TO VIEW ALL OF THE LOVELY BELFIES (possibly NSFW)[ Comment on this story ][ Subscribe to the comments on
  
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• Seattle Is Now One of the Richest Cities in the United States

  10-11-2015 20:28 via thestranger.com
  
  There used to be an old and rather ugly Greyhound bus station somewhere around here. Charles Mudede
  According to Bloomberg's analysis of government data for the 100 largest metropolitan areas, Seattle's Gross Metropolitan Product (GMP) is only behind that of San Jose (number one), San Francisco (number two), and some Connecticut suburb beloved by Wall Street bankers (number three).But bankers do not really make anything, and most of their money does not go into or is made from investments in the
  
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• Billy on the Street: The Shonda Rhimes Obstacle Course!

  10-11-2015 20:13 via thestranger.com
  
  I absolutely ADORE Billy Eichner's series Billy on the Street, but I especially ADORE Billy's celebrity obstacle courses (especially this one featuring Julia Roberts). This time around, Billy invites pal Amy Sedaris (Strangers with Candy) to run his most challenging course ever: SHONDALAND, which of course is based on mega successful TV producer Shonda Rhimes (Scandal, Grey's Anatomy, How to Get Away with Murder). THRILL to the sight of Amy conquering such inventive obstacles as Shonda's "Wig Mo
  
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• In Food News: Zhu Dang Has Closed, Zoi Antonitsas Is Leaving Westward, and More

  10-11-2015 19:36 via thestranger.com
  
  Capitol Hill's Zhu Dang has closed.Zhu Dang
  While new restaurants continue to open every week in Seattle, this week brings news of a few notable closures and changes.Zhu Dang Is Now Closed
  Zhu Dang, one of the many restaurants to open on Capitol Hill last year, has now become one of the first to close. The restaurant, which served what it called "updated Chinese food with a Northwest vibe," shut down after last Saturday's dinner service. Zhu Dang opened last December in an impressive, highly des
  
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• King County Library defeats New York, sorts 12,572 books in an hour

  10-11-2015 19:28
  
  The King County Library System materials warehouse staff raced their New York Public Library counterparts in a “sorting smackdown,” to see who could sort the most books in an hour.
  
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• Baristas and Fast Food Workers Blocked Traffic in Front of Pike Place Market This Morning to Demand Fair Scheduling

  10-11-2015 19:22 via thestranger.com
  
  About 75 people marched in front of the Starbucks at Pike and First today to demand changes to the way companies like Starbucks schedule their employees. HG
  As part of a national day of action on workers' rights, Seattle fast food workers, baristas, and activists marched from Westlake Park to Pike Place Market at sunrise to demand changes to the way their scheduling works. Workers said they often get notice of their schedules, or changes to their schedules, with less than a week's advance notice
  
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• Secret "Dark Money" Spending Is Ten Times Worse than What it Was in the Last Presidential Election

  10-11-2015 19:19 via thestranger.com
  
  Oh, for the days when this was the worst Koch you had to worry about. lev radin / Shutterstock.com
  Senator Tammy Baldwin (she's great; you like her) recently sent around a fundraising email telling donors that "dark money spending is 10 times what it was at the same point in the 2012 election cycle. And in 2012, it ended up topping $308 million."
  You might not know exactly what "dark money" is, but it certainly sounds like something dangerous, doesn't it? That's because it IS something dangerous
  
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• Stephen Hawking cancels public events due to ill health

  10-11-2015 19:18
  
  LONDON (AP) — Cambridge University says celebrated physicist Stephen Hawking has been forced to cancel several public engagements because of ill health. The university said Tuesday that the affected public appearances include the BBC’s annual Reith Lectures, which Hawking was scheduled to record on Thursday at the Royal Institution in London. The university did not […]
  
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• Gum wall gets naked in early-morning steam cleaning

  10-11-2015 19:09
  
  Clouds of Juicy-Fruit smelling steam rose and blew through Pike Place Market’s Post Alley early Tuesday, as two men in protective suits and masks raked and sprayed down the 20-year-old gum wall.
  
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• Florida teacher saves choking boy in social studies class

  10-11-2015 19:07
  
  PORT ORANGE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida teacher is being hailed as a hero after performing the Heimlich maneuver on an 11-year-old student in her social studies class. The teacher, Corey McCormack at Silver Sands Middle School in Port Orange, told The Daytona Beach News-Journal (http://bit.ly/1GV3UD3) she saw Timothy Monahan stand up last Thursday with […]
  
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• New Orleans music legend Allen Toussaint dies at 77

  10-11-2015 18:35
  
  New Orleans pianist and performer Allen Toussaint, who penned or produced such classics as “Working in a Coal Mine” and “Lady Marmalade,” has died after suffering a heart attack in Spain.
  
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• Vietnam veterans’ bond strengthened by kidney donation

  10-11-2015 18:24
  
  "He would do the same for me," says a Port Orchard man who underwent surgery in New York last week to help his Army buddy.
  
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• The Morning News: Two Close City Council Races, New Moves on Affordable Housing, and Chipotle's Reopening

  10-11-2015 17:55 via thestranger.com
  
  West Seattle's District 1 candidate Shannon Braddock (left) is leading Lisa Herbold by just 95 votes. We'll find out more at today's 4:30 p.m. ballot drop. SECB
  Two City Council Races Are Still Nail-Bitingly Too Close to Call: District 1's Shannon Braddock is leading long-time Nick Licata aide Lisa Herbold by just 95 votes, and at last 3,261 ballots have yet to be counted, Heidi reports. In District 2, incumbent Bruce Harrell leads Tammy Morales by 401 votes, and 2,402 ballots remain uncounted.
  
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• Missouri just latest campus where athletes prompting change

  10-11-2015 17:50
  
  COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — College athletes are learning the power of teamwork goes beyond scoring touchdowns and winning conference titles. The Missouri football team banded together to add some high-profile heft to a campus protest that resulted in Monday’s resignation of Tim Wolfe, the president of the state university system. Wolfe was under scrutiny for […]
  
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• Required Viewing: Maddow On "Kill the Gays" Pastor and the GOP Candidates Who Love Him

  10-11-2015 17:40 via thestranger.com
  
  Rachel Maddow did a long, impassioned piece on the "religious liberty" conference held last weekend. Somehow most of the media doesn't think it's news that three GOP candidates attended an event where the clearly unhinged organizer called for the execution of gays and lesbians—including their colleagues Anderson Cooper, Rachel Maddow, Shep Smith, Frank Bruni, et al. (And one of those candidates could be our next president... at least according to Jamelle Bouie at Slate.) Says JoeMyGod...
  
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• Runaway wildfires turning Forest Service into ‘fire department,’ chief complains

  10-11-2015 17:21
  
  More than half the Forest Service budget in 2015 went to fighting fires, and the percentage could climb much higher. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack also says he’s “tired of fussing with Congress” over funding for restoration work that could prevent fires.
  
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• Police: 8-year-old girl tried to smoke pot at Ohio school

  10-11-2015 17:20
  
  PATASKALA, Ohio (AP) — Police in central Ohio say an 8-year-old girl was caught trying to smoke marijuana by lighting a plastic baggie of it in a restroom at her elementary school, and they’re working to determine where she got it. Police in Pataskala, east of Columbus, report the girl tried to discard the marijuana […]
  
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• Activists say ending SeaWorld orca shows not enough

  10-11-2015 17:10
  
  SAN DIEGO (AP) — Animal rights activists applauded SeaWorld’s plans to end its orca shows at its San Diego park but said the company should phase out its captivity of killer whales altogether. SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. announced Monday that it will end orca shows at its San Diego park after visitors at the tourist attraction […]
  
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• Who uses Pronto bikes? Men, tourists and people who like to ride downhill

  10-11-2015 16:31
  
  10 things we learned from Pronto bike-share data, which has been shared with the public for a data-visualization contest called the Pronto Data Challenge.
  
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• Pasco man who was World War II POW dies at age 92

  10-11-2015 16:26
  Vincent DeLiso of Pasco, who spent eight months as a German prisoner in World War II and survived a death march across occupied Europe, died early Monday at the age of 92.
  
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• Officials remove wolf from state endangered species list

  10-11-2015 16:20
  
  PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon wildlife officials have voted to remove the gray wolf from the state’s Endangered Species Act list. The state’s Fish and Wildlife Commission voted 4-2 to delist the wolves during a Monday meeting in Salem. Eighty-one wolves now live in Oregon. State biologists said the species is not in danger of […]
  
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• UW, NASA deploy scientific blitz to study rainy Olympic Peninsula

  10-11-2015 16:00
  The OLYMPEX project will use aircraft, radar, weather stations and volunteers with rain gauges to improve local forecasts and ground-truth satellite data.
  
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• Readers: Vote for your favorite Education Lab IQ question

  10-11-2015 15:00
  
  From your 60 questions -- thanks to all the contributors -- we've honed the list to four finalists.You will pick the winner.
  
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• Pullman weighs temporary pot moratorium

  10-11-2015 06:08
  
  A six-month moratorium is being considered to allow for more time to look into the issue of new marijuana operations.
  
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• Neighbors challenge sale of old golf course to Northshore schools

  10-11-2015 05:26
  
  The sale of a 104-acre park by Snohomish County to the Northshore School District for a future school is raising the ire of neighbors and the city of Woodinville, who have filed lawsuits saying the public didn’t get a chance to weigh in.
  
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• Veterans Day a time to thank a brave but vanishing breed

  10-11-2015 04:55
  America’s World War II veterans are slipping away nationwide at the rate of one every three minutes.
  
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• Veterans Day: What’s open, what’s closed

  10-11-2015 04:45
  
  Many businesses and government offices will close or operate on a holiday schedule Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015, to observe Veterans Day.
  
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• Climbing like a girl? That’s a compliment

  10-11-2015 04:39
  
  Ballard resident Peggy Luce Gudgell was the second American woman to climb Everest, and she’s never gotten the recognition she deserves.
  
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• A successful Seattle prosecution under Matthew Shepard-James Byrd hate crime law

  10-11-2015 04:27
  
  A Bremerton man received a 30-month jail sentence on Monday, after being charged and pleading guilty under the seminal Matthew Shepard James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crime Prevention Law, a statute named for a Wyoming college student beaten to death and an African-American who was dragged three miles behind a pickup truck by white supremacists. “The Department of Justice will continue to vigilantly protect the rights of victims who are targeted simply because of their sexual orientation: Six years
  
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• As winter storms approach, City Light stresses preparedness

  10-11-2015 04:25
  
  As winter storms approach, City Light stresses preparedness
  
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• Two Seattle council races remain close

  10-11-2015 04:14
  
  Two Seattle council races remain close
  
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• Climate change could force 100 million people into “extreme poverty” by 2030: World Bank

  10-11-2015 03:45
  
  The “shock waves” of global warming could force 100 million people into “extreme poverty” within 15 years, according to a just-released report by the World Bank. “Global warming is borne unevenly, with the world’s poor woefully unprepared to deal with climate shocks such as rising seas or severe droughts,” the report concluded. President Obama in Kotzebue, Alaska, on Sept. 2, a journey above the Arctic Circle to survey impacts of climate change on native
  
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• Seattle council approves fees portion of ‘grand bargain’ for affordable housing

  10-11-2015 03:34
  
  The Seattle City Council approved legislation Monday related to what officials are calling a “grand bargain” between developers and affordable-housing advocates.
  
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• Teen in Lakewood crashes stolen car, killing 10-year-old friend

  10-11-2015 03:28
  
  Police say a 14-year-old took his family's car without permission Monday and ran it into a utility pole and tree, injuring himself and three of his friends.
  
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• Community Transit measure holds on to lead in latest vote count

  10-11-2015 02:40
  Snohomish County bus-funding measure continues with 50.9 percent “approved” votes.
  
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• ‘Motorcycle gang’ cries defamation after shootout suspect called member

  10-11-2015 02:28
  
  A Tukwila-based motorcycle club – an outlaw biker gang to police – has sued a Seattle broadcaster claiming its members were wrongly associated with a notorious thief and shooting suspect.
  
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• Latest Ballot Drop: Still No Answers in Close City Council Races for West Seattle and Southeast Seattle

  10-11-2015 02:07 via thestranger.com
  
  Shannon Braddock (left): Still in the lead—barely—in West Seattle's District 1. SECB
  As ballots from last week's election continue to trickle in, the races for a city council seat representing District 1 (West Seattle) and District 2 (southeast Seattle) remain too close to call.In District 1, where no incumbent was running, business-backed candidate Shannon Braddock now leads lefty Lisa Herbold by just 95 votes. That's slightly tighter than the 104 votes that separated them on Friday
  
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• Seattle firefighters fought house fire near Eastlake Monday afternoon

  10-11-2015 01:58
  
  Fire crews fought a house fire near Boylston Avenue East and East Lynn Street, according to the Seattle Fire Department's twitter.
  
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• Two races for Bellevue City Council seats remain close

  10-11-2015 01:52
  Bellevue City Councilmember John Chelminiak continues a slight lead while newcomer Vandana Slatter has a narrow advantage over her opponent, Michelle Hilhorst.
  
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• Chipotle sites could reopen Wednesday after E. coli cases

  10-11-2015 01:48
  
  Chipotle restaurants in Washington could reopen as soon as Wednesday after tests found no sign of E. coli linked to an outbreak and the restaurant chain agreed to extensive steps to ensure safety, health officials said.
  
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• Braddock, Harrell hang on to leads in close, undecided City Council race

  10-11-2015 01:38
  
  Shannon Braddock saw her lead in the Seattle City Council District 1 race largely evaporate in two big vote counts on Friday, falling from more than 600 votes to a bare 105 vote advantage over opponent Lisa Herbold. Braddock Braddock fared a bit better as more votes were counted on Monday, her lead dropping slightly from 105 to 95 votes. The Washington election system, requiring only that votes be postmarked on election day, has led to days-long, sometimes weeks-long vote counts in which close r
  
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• City Council Passes New Fee on Developers and Sets Stage for More Housing Affordability Work Next Year

  10-11-2015 01:29 via thestranger.com
  
  Downtown Seattle is among the areas of the city where, beginning next year, developers will have to pay fees to fund affordable housing. West Coast Scapes/Shutterstock
  With time running out before an brand new Seattle City Council takes office, the current council today set the stage for two major housing affordability policies that will come to fruition next year.You may remember the so-called "Grand Bargain"—a truce of sorts between developers and the city about how to require developers
  
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• Victim in Bremerton homicide identified

  10-11-2015 01:20
  
  Victim of Bremerton homicide identified as87-year-old Floyd Zumwalt.
  
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