Seattle news

• Assistant attorney general who advised on prisoner-release error resigns

  11-02-2016 23:44
  
  Attorney General Bob Ferguson said he has accepted the resignation of Assistant Attorney General Ronda Larson, who advised Corrections officials years ago not to hand calculate prison sentences — something that might have stopped inmates from being released too early.
  
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• Paris Is Building the "Most Ambitious New Subway Project in the Western World"

  11-02-2016 23:35 via thestranger.com
  
  Seattle will vote on a light rail expansion package this fall. SDOT
  Right now, a tunneling machine is burrowing under Paris, digging 40 feet a day to create a massive expansion of the Paris Métro. Henry Grabar explains "the most ambitious new subway project in the Western world" in The Atlantic:The extension of Line 14 is but the first leg of the Grand Paris Express, a $25 billion expansion of the century-old Paris Métro. By the time the project is completed in 2030, the system wil
  
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• Savage Love: Intropervert Dumps Extropervert

  11-02-2016 23:15 via thestranger.com
  
  JOE NEWTON
  Gay male in my late 20s. I recently ended things with a guy. Our relationship started as a strictly sexual one. We're both involved in the kink scene in our city and have interests that align in a particularly great way. Quickly it became clear there was a real connection. The next two months were great! I had a toothbrush at his place within three weeks. But early on, I noticed that he was a much more extroverted person than I was. He would laugh loudly at movies, work the room at p
  
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• Washington State Fines Two Marijuana Growers For Using Prohibited Pesticides

  11-02-2016 22:56 via thestranger.com
  
  Pesticides on your pot? Finally, some answers. Cannabis Plants / Shutterstock
  A little over a month ago, two of Washington’s largest cannabis producers were quietly barred from all sales, pending a Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) investigation into illegal use of prohibited pesticides. According to documents obtained by The Stranger, New Leaf Enterprises, makers of the popular Dama line of products, and BMF Washington LLC, whose cannabis is used by brands including Liber
  
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• Massive gas leak near Los Angeles plugged after 16 weeks

  11-02-2016 22:48
  
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — A blowout at a natural gas well that leaked uncontrollably for 16 weeks and drove thousands of residents from their Los Angeles homes was plugged Thursday, a utility said. While the well still needs to be permanently sealed with cement and inspected by state regulators, the announcement by Southern California Gas […]
  
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• Nordstrom plans massive new flagship store in Manhattan

  11-02-2016 22:45
  
  Seattle-based retailer Nordstrom has released plans for a shiny new flagship store in Manhattan, New York.
  
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• Sample Dilla's Hiphop Masterpiece, Donuts, on Its 10th Anniversary

  11-02-2016 22:20 via thestranger.com
  
  Dollars to donuts, you love this figurine.
  Can it really be that J Dilla's vastly influential hiphop album Donuts came out 10 years ago this month? It appears so. Donuts remains a paragon of sampladelic production techniques, combining unexpected structural shifts, sophisticated beat science, and an unerring ear for the deepest soulful vocal snippets. For an example of the latter, check out what Dilla does with Eddie Kendricks's "My People... Hold On" on "People." Another instance of Dilla's gen
  
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• Street Seen: The Anarchist v. The Window Washer

  11-02-2016 22:15 via thestranger.com
  
  There's three pieces of paper pasted to the window of the now-closed Capitol Hill Value Village. The "Is That Jennifer Lawrence?!?" is pasted in between two "Destroy Capitalism" signs. A window washer responds on one of them… photo kelly oWho really is "making the better world" in this debate? [ Comment on this story ][ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]
  
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• Ted and Heidi Cruz Worship the God of Freedom, Individual Liberty, and Jew Hunting

  11-02-2016 21:51 via thestranger.com
  
  Mrs. Ted Cruz:
  “We are at a cultural crossroads in our country, and if we can be in this race to show this country the face of the God that we serve—this Christian God that we serve is the foundation of our country, our country was built on Judeo-Christian values, we are a nation of freedom of religion, but the God of Christianity is the God of freedom, of individual liberty, of choice and of consequence.”
  ThinkProgress:
  He Was Just Doing the Lord's Work, says Ted's Preacher Bu
  
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• Garth Greenwell's Novel What Belongs to You Is Brilliant (and Full of Gay Sex)

  11-02-2016 20:55 via thestranger.com
  
  Garth Greenwell. MAX FREEMAN
  The rumors are true: This book is brilliant. In the sense that a fire is brilliant. The outside world seems to melt around its hot core of feeling.
  
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• That'swhatshesaid Receives Third Cease and Desist, This Time from Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

  11-02-2016 20:19 via thestranger.com
  
  DPS has joined Samuel French's gripecore solo project, "C&D Music Factory." Also, yes, I'm running out of photos of Erin Pike.Tim Summers
  Tuesday* evening Peter Hagan, president of Dramatist Play Service Inc., another titan in the theatrical publishing industry, sent the creators of That'swhatshesaid a cease and desist letter regarding five of DPS's properties referenced in the play. They are: Other Desert Cities by Jon Robin Baitz, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by Christopher Durang,
  
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• Depressed? A smoker? Blame your Neanderthal ancestry, UW study says

  11-02-2016 20:12
  
  New research from the University of Washington finds DNA from ancient hominids can raise the risk of depression, tobacco addiction and heart attack — but only by a tiny margin.
  
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• Study: Neanderthal DNA may influence modern depression risk

  11-02-2016 20:07
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — A new study says a person’s risk of becoming depressed or hooked on smoking may be influenced by DNA inherited from Neanderthals. Researchers found evidence that one bit of Neanderthal DNA can boost the risk of tobacco addiction, while others can slightly raise or lower the risk of being diagnosed with […]
  
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• The Definition of Insanity: Gay Republicans

  11-02-2016 20:05 via thestranger.com
  
  Every four years gay Republicans slime out from under their rocks to remind us that the Democratic candidate wasn't always perfect on LGBT issues. They then implicitly (and sometimes explicitly) pivot to this nonsensical argument: Since your guy/gal wasn't always perfect on LGBT issues, the LGBT community should vote for the Republican who was terrible on LGBT issues then, is terrible on LGBT issues now, and who has pledged, if elected, to remain terrible on LGBT issues forever.Think Progress:
  T
  
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• Okay, Candidates, Hit us With Your Best Political Dirty Tricks

  11-02-2016 19:58 via thestranger.com
  
  "Now, I'm not saying Ted Cruz is android sent from the future to kill Bill and Ted, but..." Crush Rush / Shutterstock.com
  We're finally getting to the good stuff: South Carolina, a sort of political torture chamber designed to inflict maximum punishment on presidential candidates. For some reason, this is the state where tricks get dirty and campaigns get mean, with some really underhanded, cruel, unethical behavior.
  "It’s a little different here,” said a local strategist, now workin
  
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• City Officials Have a Spending Plan for Emergency Homelessness Money, but Show No Signs of Stopping Encampment Sweeps

  11-02-2016 19:58 via thestranger.com
  
  City human services staff say they offer services when they evict homeless encampments of three or more people, but not always when they evict just one or two campers. HG
  Mayor Ed Murray and the Seattle City Council have agreed on how to spend a pot of emergency money to address the city's homelessness crisis, but the two sides remain divided on how the city is handling people sleeping outside.
  At a committee meeting yesterday, council members voted to approve a spending plan for about $2.3 mill
  
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• Ski report: Soggy, sloppy conditions will prevail during holiday weekend

  11-02-2016 19:52
  
  Skiers and snowboarders who reside in the Pacific Northwest learn how to deal with ever changing conditions, and the upcoming holiday weekend will require suitable water repellent gear and adapting to sloppy, wet snow. A strong ridge of high pressure has weakened, and now a warm front with elevated freezing levels – 3,500 to 8,500 […]
  
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• Throwback Thursday: Don’t miss this Swiss Landmark

  11-02-2016 19:41
  
  Sketched Nov. 21, 2012 You may look at this sketch and think I went to Switzerland, but I only had to go as far as Issaquah to enjoy a delightful Alpine scene. The authentic Swiss-style Edelweiss Chalet, home to Boehms Candies since 1956, was built by Julius Boehm, an Austrian immigrant who relocated his chocolate […]
  
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• Pickathon Slab Sessions, Episode 6: Summer Cannibals

  11-02-2016 19:39 via thestranger.com
  
  Travis ButtonHere's the latest Slab Session from Pickathon! We've posted a few of these already—intimate performances that were shot at last summer's Pickathon on the mythic "slab" at Pendarvis Farm, a short hop away from the rest of the festival. This new clip is a very special one, featuring a stripped-down, brand-new track from Summer Cannibals. "Simple Life" is actually an as-of-now unreleased song from the Portland group, with this rendition serving as a premiere of sorts. It features
  
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• Feds reviewing endangered-species status for orcas

  11-02-2016 19:38
  
  The southern resident orca population, which frequents the Salish Sea, was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 2005. The population is now at 85 whales, far below the recovery goal.
  
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• The Adult Diaper Market Is About to Take Off

  11-02-2016 19:30 via thestranger.com
  
  That's the headline of the day, courtesy of a Bloomberg article someone just sent us. The company Kimberly-Clark "has been aggressively running... fashion-style marketing pitches in mainstream magazines and on television, because adult incontinence is a market that’s recently become too big—and lucrative—to remain in the shadows."
  The company also produced a rap video of people under 50 dancing around in diapers and, I have to say, it's kinda catchy. I also learned from this ar
  
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• Person of Interest: Mohammed, The Capitol Hill Flower Man

  11-02-2016 19:06 via thestranger.com
  
  KELLY O
  
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• Report says I-405 tolls made traffic worse, WSDOT, other group disagree

  11-02-2016 18:49
  
  A preliminary assessment of four sections of Interstate 405 shows that tolls have led to slower traffic in general purpose lanes with more congestion. WSDOT is not impressed.
  
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• 2 teen brothers plead not guilty to Jungle shooting charges

  11-02-2016 18:40
  
  Two brothers, 17 and 16, charged with felony murder forallegedly shooting five people in The Jungle have pleaded not guilty.
  
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• Low snow in Anchorage may move Iditarod sled dogs farther north

  11-02-2016 18:39
  
  The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race begins with a fan-friendly slow jaunt through Anchorage, but another low snow year in Alaska is playing havoc with the start of the nearly-thousand mile race.
  
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• Oregon reports Zika-virus case in woman

  11-02-2016 18:24
  
  Stressing that there is no danger to the public, Oregon health officials say a woman in Oregon has been diagnosed with a travel-associated Zika-virus infection.
  
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• Morning News: Seattle Is a City of Bad Drivers, Man Slashed in University District Starbucks

  11-02-2016 17:43 via thestranger.com
  
  This is our city of bad drivers.Max Herman/shutterstock.com
  A Report by Insurance Company Shows Seattle Drivers Are Really, Really Awful: Data collected by Allstate, a company that commands about one-tenth of the car insurance market, showed that drivers in Seattle on average have 6.9 years between collisions. For Kansas City, a town with good drivers, the average is 13.3 years. Boston, however, has a worse record than Seattle. The average in that city is 3.9 years. (Seattle and Boston have lots
  
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• Hanford LIGO observatory key to discovery of gravitational waves

  11-02-2016 16:50
  
  LIGO Hanford’s staff of 40 scientists, engineers and technicians are searching for gravitational waves from violent, astronomical events such as collisions between black holes or exploding stars.
  
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• Breakthrough: Scientists detect Einstein’s gravity ripples

  11-02-2016 16:43
  
  Scientists at Hanford and in Louisiana announce they have finally detected gravitational waves, the ripples in the fabric of space-time that Einstein predicted a century ago. Scientists likened the breakthrough to the moment Galileo took up a telescope to look at the planets.
  
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• Powerful California coastal panel ousts top executive

  11-02-2016 12:24
  
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — The powerful agency that manages development on California’s coastline fired its executive after a lengthy and, at times, emotionally charged meeting that veered from accusations about the influence of developers and lobbyists to discussions on the mundane inner workings of government. The California Coastal Commission voted 7-5 Wednesday to dismiss Executive […]
  
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• Occupiers at Oregon refuge say they’ll turn themselves in

  11-02-2016 07:39
  
  BURNS, Ore. (AP) — The last four armed occupiers of a national wildlife refuge in eastern Oregon said they would turn themselves in Thursday morning after law officers surrounded them in a tense standoff. The development came as Cliven Bundy — who led a Nevada standoff with federal officers in 2014 and who is also […]
  
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• Man stabbed in Seattle U-District Starbucks

  11-02-2016 07:18
  
  Witnesses followed the suspect out of the store until officers found him in another business a few blocks away, police said.
  
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• Senate investigator in prisoner releases notes DOC knowledge of ‘ongoing issue’

  11-02-2016 07:07
  
  The brief meeting with a state Senate committee was attorney Mark Bartlett’s first public session with lawmakers since being hired to investigate the mistaken early release of prisoners.
  
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• Seattle first hires black teacher in 1947 — and her students brought her flowers

  11-02-2016 05:55
  
  Thelma DeWitty was one of two black teachers hired in 1947 in Seattle.
  
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• EMP Museum’s battle of the bands ready to kick off

  11-02-2016 05:51
  
  The 15th annual Sound Off! Battle of the Bands is under way at EMP Museum, with 12 bands competing in the semifinals on Feb. 13, 20 and 27 and finals on March 5.
  
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• Amid Zika fears, local family shares reality of microcephaly

  11-02-2016 05:44
  
  Leah and Travis Wright of Pasco had never heard of Zika virus when their daughter, Isla, was born with microcephaly two years ago. But they say the raging global outbreak has inspired them to share their experience of love and hope.
  
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• Conservation group reaches deal to buy Bothell golf course

  11-02-2016 04:39
  
  The conservation group Forterra announced its purchase of the 89-acre Wayne Golf Course along the Sammamish River on Wednesday. Former Bothell Mayor Joshua Freed had bought the back nine year and planned to build luxury houses on it.
  
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• Pilots, astronauts help students see path to the stars

  11-02-2016 04:04
  
  Aviation and space are part of the lifeblood of the Seattle area, and an event this past Saturday at the Museum of Flight was about changing the image of who can design, fly and manage those enterprises.
  
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• UPDATED: The FBI Is Moving in on the Remaining Oregon Militants

  11-02-2016 03:34 via thestranger.com
  
  A view of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, where the FBI is closing in on the remaining four militants occupying federal buildings. Claudio Del Luongo/Shutterstock
  The FBI is closing in on the small group of militants who remain at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.
  From The Oregonian:
  A friend of occupier David Fry was streaming on YouTube through an open phone line with the occupiers as authorities made what appeared to be a final push to end the 40-day old occupation.
  Besides David F
  
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• UPDATED: Oregon Standoff Ends As Final Occupier Surrenders

  11-02-2016 03:34 via thestranger.com
  
  A view of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, where the FBI is closing in on the remaining four militants occupying federal buildings. Claudio Del Luongo/Shutterstock
  The FBI is closing in on the small group of militants who remain at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.
  From The Oregonian:
  A friend of occupier David Fry was streaming on YouTube through an open phone line with the occupiers as authorities made what appeared to be a final push to end the 40-day old occupation.
  Besides David F
  
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• BREAKING: The FBI Is Moving in on the Remaining Oregon Militants

  11-02-2016 03:34 via thestranger.com
  
  A view of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, where the FBI is closing in on the remaining four militants occupying federal buildings. Claudio Del Luongo/Shutterstock
  The FBI is closing in on the small group of militants who remain at the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.
  From The Oregonian:
  A friend of occupier David Fry was streaming on YouTube through an open phone line with the occupiers as authorities made what appeared to be a final push to end the 40-day old occupation.
  Besides David F
  
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• Panel OKs Northwest power plan focused on energy efficiency

  11-02-2016 03:32
  
  A regional council Wednesday approved a new power plan for four Northwest states that will place a big emphasis on energy efficiency to meet new electrical demand.
  
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• A strange thing seen on Mars that might actually mean something

  11-02-2016 03:13
  
  Stonehenge, Bigfoot, floating spoon, iguana, light flashes, ghost woman ... you name it, it's been "seen" on Mars (and you can see them in the gallery above). And now there's the cauliflower fields of Gusev crater.
  
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• Free Will Astrology: For the Week of February 10

  11-02-2016 01:20 via thestranger.com
  
  feSTA/Shutterstock
  AQUARIUS (Jan 20–Feb 18): "We all have the potential to fall in love a thousand times in our lifetime," writes Chuck Klosterman. "It's easy. But there are certain people you love who do something else; they define how you classify what love is supposed to feel like. You'll meet maybe four or five of these people over the span of 80 years." He concludes, "A lover like this sets the template for what you will always love about other people." I suspect that you have either
  
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• This Anti-Transgender Bathroom Bill Couldn't Get Through the Republican-Controlled State Senate

  11-02-2016 01:12 via thestranger.com
  
  This guy—Democratic Senator Jim Hargrove, who represents Hoquiam—voted for the bill. wa.gov
  The right-wing backlash against basic human rights protections for transgender people is in full swing, but bill by bill, it's being defeated. This afternoon, SB 6443 narrowly went down in the GOP-controlled State Senate, thanks to relatively-moderate Republicans Senators Andy Hill, Steve Litzow, and Joe Fain, who defected to the side opposed to anti-trans bigotry. (Democratic Senator Jim Harg
  
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• Savage Love Letter of the Day: Using "Crazy" Like That Is So Gay, Dan, Really Lame

  11-02-2016 01:06 via thestranger.com
  
  I am a longtime listener/reader/general admirer of yours. Largely credit my healthy, satisfying sex life to self-acceptance stemming from your advice.Lately, though, there's one thing that's been bothering me, and I notice it in nearly every episode of the podcast: Your go-to explanation for when someone does something shitty or even just kind of inexplicable is often that they're "crazy." Look, I'm not one of those people who wants to nitpick every colloquial expression, but I cringe every time
  
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• Savage Love Letter of the Day: Using "Crazy" Like That Is So Gay, Dan, And Pretty Lame

  11-02-2016 01:06 via thestranger.com
  I am a longtime listener/reader/general admirer of yours. Largely credit my healthy, satisfying sex life to self-acceptance stemming from your advice.Lately, though, there's one thing that's been bothering me, and I notice it in nearly every episode of the podcast: Your go-to explanation for when someone does something shitty or even just kind of inexplicable is often that they're "crazy." Look, I'm not one of those people who wants to nitpick every colloquial expression, but I cringe every time
  
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• 'Bathroom bill' aimed at transgender persons fails in state Senate

  11-02-2016 00:48
  
  The Washington state Senate, on a 25-24 vote, has defeated legislation that would have repealed a new rule allowing transgender people to use restrooms and locker rooms of the gender with which they identify.
  
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• State Supreme Court Refuses to Rethink SeaTac's $15 Minimum Wage Law (UPDATE)

  11-02-2016 00:42 via thestranger.com
  
  Airport workers celebrated a $15 victory in December. As of Tuesday, it seems that Alaska Airlines' last objection to $15 was denied by the state Supreme Court.Working Washington
  Sorry, Alaska Airlines. The state Supreme Court says it's time to face the music: You're going to have to pay airport workers $15 an hour.
  In 2013, Alaska Airlines, BF Foods, Filo Foods, and the Washington Restaurant Association sued the city of SeaTac, arguing that Prop 1—the city's minimum wage law—shouldn
  
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• State Supreme Court Refuses to Rethink SeaTac's $15 Minimum Wage Law

  11-02-2016 00:42 via thestranger.com
  
  Airport workers celebrated a $15 victory in December. As of Tuesday, it seems that Alaska Airlines' last objection to $15 was denied by the state Supreme Court.Working Washington
  Sorry, Alaska Airlines. The state Supreme Court says it's time to face the music: You're going to have to pay airport workers $15 an hour.
  In 2013, Alaska Airlines, BF Foods, Filo Foods, and the Washington Restaurant Association sued the city of SeaTac, arguing that Prop 1—the city's minimum wage law—shouldn
  
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