The Stranger

Jesse Jackson Helped Me Unlearn the Church

Marcus Harrison Green — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 15:59:00 -0800

This week, as we mark Jackson’s passing, the tributes have rightly talked about the “Rainbow Coalition,” about how he stretched the imagination of what a Black candidate could do and be in national politics, about how his run helped clear a path that others later walked. All true. Still, grief has a way of pulling the personal to the surface. For me, the most enduring legacy of that speech isn’t only what it meant for the Democratic Party. It’s what it meant for a seven-year-old Black boy sitting in his parents’ basement, watching the 1988 Democratic National Convention unfold on a flickering television, absorbing the world the way children do, through what adults do and don’t say. by Marcus Harrison Green

Most people file it away as a political artifact: the “Keep Hope Alive” speech, a concession with a crescendo that closed out Jesse Jackson’s 1988 campaign. But I remember it less as a footnote to an election and more as a key, one that cracked open a door inside me before certain kinds of cruelty could fully settle in.

Still, grief has a way of pulling the personal to the surface. For me, the most enduring legacy of that speech isn’t only what it meant for the Democratic Party. It’s what it meant for a seven-year-old Black boy sitting in his parents’ basement, watching the 1988 Democratic National Convention unfold on a flickering television, absorbing the world the way children do, through what adults do and don’t say.

My parents watched Jackson like you watch the sky after you’ve lived through storms: with hope, yes, but also with the disciplined flinch of those who know the weather can quickly change without warning. To them, his rise carried the ache of “almost.” A Black man on that stage, in that era, closer than any other had been to the center of a major party’s power, and still not quite permitted to sit at the head of the table.

I didn’t have the vocabulary for it then, but I felt the emotion: the nation’s talent for inviting us in its home just so long as we don’t rearrange the furniture. “Be grateful,” America says, “but don’t get comfortable.”

That was the late ’80s bargain. The Cosby Show reigned on Thursday nights, offering a version of Black success that was polished, upper-middle-class, and politically quiet, an American bedtime story where bootstraps were always enough and structural racism was mostly implied, never indicted. A ceiling disguised as a dream. The message wasn’t simply “look, we made it.” It was: this is the acceptable shape of Black life, this is what you can be if you stop complaining about what’s been done to you.

And then there was church, the other classroom.

Every Sunday, I sat under theology that didn’t just preach salvation; it sorted humanity. At our megachurch, Christian Faith Center, the world arrived pre-labeled: righteous and sinful, clean and contaminated. And woven through it all, like a thread that tugged at boys especially, was a narrow definition of manhood: tough, dominant, heterosexual, and unquestioning. The pastor would say there is only one choice for relationships: a man with a woman.

As a kid, you don’t call it indoctrination. You call it normal.

So when Jesse Jackson stood at that convention and spoke about gay and lesbian people as people, not as a problem or a cautionary tale, something in me shifted. The moment wasn’t loud in the way politics is loud. It was loud in the way truth is loud.

“Gays and lesbians, when you fight against discrimination and a cure for AIDS, you are right—but your patch is not big enough.”

I didn’t understand everything he meant. But I understood the part that mattered. On national television, in the bright machinery of American politics, without flinching, he placed gay and lesbian people inside the circle of concern and dignity, and he did it in 1988, when the country was still trying to treat AIDS like divine punishment instead of a public emergency.

So much of the “common sense” of that era was soaked in cruelty. Thousands had already died from AIDS, and treatment was not the world it is now. Ronald Reagan infamously delayed even acknowledging the epidemic in public. And in many churches, the disease was framed as consequence: a karmic pox for sinners, a story about them, safely distant from us.

But Jackson spoke as if the people dying mattered.

He didn’t talk about AIDS like it was happening on another planet. He talked about it like it was happening in America because it was. He talked about hospice, about rejection, about the isolation of being sick and shamed at once. He said those living with AIDS deserved compassion. Not disgust or distance, but compassion.

And in my basement, in my little body, I felt something break: not my faith exactly, but my certainty. The certainty that the adults who sounded sure must be right. The certainty that “righteousness” meant excluding people, and that dehumanization could be holy.

Homophobia often comes handed as inheritance, an “us vs. them” story wrapped in scripture, welded to gender roles, reinforced by jokes, threats, and silence. For Black boys raised in church, it can also arrive as armor. A performance of hardness meant to protect you from a world eager to hypersexualize, degrade, or erase you. The cruel logic of patriarchy: to be seen as a man, you must loudly reject anything the world codes as soft.

At seven, I didn’t have that analysis. What I had was a gut sense that something I’d been taught was not as sacred as it claimed. Jackson’s speech did not make me instantly wise. It didn’t turn me into a miniature ally with perfect language. What it did, more practically and miraculously, was interrupt the formation of a prejudice before it could harden into identity.

It kept me asking questions. And bigotry hates questions.

Jackson also modeled something rare, especially for a Black male leader navigating a country that punishes us for stepping out of line: courage that didn’t audition itself for acceptability. It would have been politically easy to ignore LGBTQ people, especially when the constituency was treated as controversial, expendable, or too risky to acknowledge. Plenty of Democrats did. Even later, under President Clinton, the country got “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, a policy that translated cowardice into law and asked queer people to make themselves smaller for the comfort of the state.

Jackson, by contrast, widened the frame.

Now, we should tell the truth about Jackson too, because it is not the enemy of gratitude. He used an antisemitic slur during his 1984 campaign and damaged a Black-Jewish alliance already under strain. Years later, he fathered a child outside his marriage, private harm that became public in a way that rippled beyond him. The man was not spotless. No one is.

But it is possible to hold the whole human and still name the consequential work they did in a particular hour.

I think about that now, older, long gone from the church I was raised me, especially knowing what later came to light about Christian Faith Center: allegations of sexual harassment, exploitation, and the familiar architecture of power protecting itself. It’s hard not to look back and see how often institutions preach purity while practicing predation, and demand moral submission from congregants while laundering their own sin in the language of “leadership.”

Jackson’s speech helped me separate faith from fear. It helped me understand that dehumanization can wear a cross, recognize that “righteousness” can be a costume, and that compassion is often the truer proof of belief than any shouted doctrine.

Near the end of that 1988 speech, Jackson offered a line that still guides me: “If an issue is morally right, it will eventually be political.”

At seven, I didn’t know I was being handed a compass. I just knew I’d seen a Black man on a national stage widen the definition of “our people.” And somehow, in the process, he widened me too.

Not into perfection. Into possibility.

So yes, let the headlines remember the campaign, the coalition, the “Keep Hope Alive” refrain. But as we mourn Jesse Jackson’s passing, I want to name this quieter legacy: that in a country, and a church culture, where cruelty could masquerade as conviction, he chose to insist on the full humanity of queer people. He did it clearly, publicly, and without apology.

And because he did, a Black boy learned that love is an ethic, not a weakness. That manhood is not forged in exclusion but in accountability. That faith, at its best, is expansive. And that interrupting inherited hatred begins with a deliberate declaration: they are people, too.

Keep hope alive, yes.

But let it be hope wide enough to hold all of us without exceptions or asterisks.

“If We’re Going to Say His Name, Then We Have to Continue the Fight”

Marcus Harrison Green — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 13:09:00 -0800

Voices from Seattle's 43rd Annual MLK Day March. by Marcus Harrison Green

Photos by John Caplinger for The Stranger

On a gentle January morning, against the backdrop of civil rights being dismantled in plain sight across the country, thousands gathered at Garfield High School, refusing silence in a nation increasingly estranged from its own conscience. The city’s 43rd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration followed its familiar rhythm: workshops in the auditorium, a rally inside the Garfield gymnasium, then a march spilling into the streets. But nothing about this year felt ceremonial. Not the moment we’re living inside, nor the theme guiding the day.

Where do we go from here?

Dr. King asked that question in the final year of his life, as the nation recoiled from its own civil rights gains and recommitted itself to war, repression, and inequality. Today, the echo of that question hits with the force of a national indictment: in 2026, one year after Donald Trump’s second inauguration—held, grotesquely, on King’s holiday—civil rights enforcement has been hollowed out, voting rights sit under open assault, and diversity itself is framed as a threat. Trans people are targeted with cruelty masquerading as policy. In Minneapolis, communities live under the shadow of federal occupation with ICE raids normalized, dissent branded as insurrection, and militarization treated as governance. History is not merely being revised; it is being weaponized.

In response, people chose presence over retreat at Garfield.

They came carrying children and clipboards, grief and resolve. They came for workshops that asked not only what is broken, but what must be built. They came for the rally with its songs, testimony, honoring community leaders, and for the reminder that courage is often quiet and collective. They came to the opportunity fair because survival, in moments like this, is not individual. And they marched—not because marching is enough, but because isolation is fatal.

Inside the gym and along the route, no single message dominated. Calls for Palestinian liberation stood beside demands for strong unions. Affirmations that trans Black lives are not negotiable moved alongside appeals for healthcare, housing, peace, and dignity. The convergence was not tidy, but it was honest. If authoritarianism depends on fragmentation, then this kind of gathering—imperfect and plural—is its natural enemy.

What this day made clear is that Martin Luther King Jr. is not honored by comfort. He is honored by continuity. By the refusal to believe that progress moves in one direction, or that rights sustain themselves. King was not only a dreamer; he was a disruptor who was most dangerous to power when he named racism, militarism, and materialism as inseparable forces.

The question, Where do we go from here?, does not map the road ahead, but it does require us to walk it together.

What follows are voices from those already in motion, through education, organizing, and the increasingly radical act of standing together in a time designed to pull us apart.

Some statements have been lightly edited for clarity.

Jamil Suleman, filmmaker and community organizer

I think one of the most important things we can do is get people together. When we’re in person, rather than stuck in the oppositional social media silos we usually operate in, and we’re actually with each other in community, that’s when some of the most positive things can happen, right?

It really comes down to organizing and protecting our community members, and having that unity we’ve always known is there. But to really see it, you have to show up. You have to be in person with everybody else. And that’s what these events help do.

That’s the legacy of Martin and everyone from that era—from the Panthers on. It was always about getting people together, getting people on the same page, mobilized and organized. That’s why there’s such a big turnout today. There’s a lot going on in the world and a lot going on in this country, and we need to show that we have the unity to stand by the principles we truly believe in.

There are organizations and people who have been doing this work for a very long time, and what we need to do is support them. We don’t have to recreate the wheel. On the hyper-local level, there are mutual aid organizations that already exist and have been helping people get what they need. We need to show up for them, learn more about them, join them, and support them in any way we can.

Aaron Dixon, co-founder and Captain of the Seattle chapter of the Black Panther Party

Well, it reminds us that we always have to keep fighting for justice and fighting for human rights—not just civil rights, but human rights. And it reminds us that we are in a state of fascism under Trump, just as we were, in part, under Richard Nixon.

I don’t think a lot of people realize that when Martin Luther King was murdered, it didn’t just lead to an explosion of people joining the Black Panther Party. It also led young people of all ethnic backgrounds to join organizations and fight for change: fight for radical change in America. King’s death was a turning point.

And there’s something else people often don’t realize: it also led to the death of little Bobby Hutton, the first person to join the Black Panther Party and the first member to be killed.

So Martin Luther King plays an important role in modern history, not just for Black people, but for America as a whole. He also came out against the war in Vietnam, which I believe contributed to the decision to assassinate him.

He’s someone we will always remember and always uplift, because he played such a critical role. And today, right now, we are living under fascism. We could use his leadership more than ever. But at the very least, we still have his memory and his legacy, and that’s something we can use to move forward, and to confront the forces of fascism we’re facing today.

Tony Benton, proprietor of Columbia City Theater and Rainier Avenue Radio

For someone like me, it means remembering that when I woke up this morning, I didn’t have to worry about dogs being sicced on me. I didn’t have to worry about fire hoses being turned on me. I didn’t have to worry about being beaten. That comfort, under these circumstances, really reinvigorated me.

It also reminds me how important it is to make sure this message continues to resonate as we move further away from Dr. King’s time, how we connect people to what it meant then, and why it still matters today. The conveniences we have now are things people worked hard for, things people were willing to die for, so that we could enjoy them today.

And then there’s just the beauty of the day itself: being around people at the career fair, everyone smiling, everyone happy, everyone being gracious, thoughtful, and empathetic. It’s really an amazing thing to be a part of.

Abdi Mohamed, community organizer

We should commemorate this day every year. As an African immigrant, we are riding on the back of Dr. King. Whatever rights we enjoy today, every part of our lives in this country is connected to the struggles he fought for. And we can’t just let that go. We have to celebrate it, we have to be part of it, and that’s why I’m here today.

For me, Dr. King’s legacy shouldn’t be something that only lives in libraries or in books. It should be part of our daily lives. We have a responsibility to educate the current generation and the generations coming after us.

And you know, Dr. King wasn’t someone who just talked and sat on a couch. He was a mover and a shaker—a community organizer, a freedom fighter. We may never be able to fully walk in his shoes, but we have to try to place ourselves there. We keep his legacy alive by teaching what he fought for, what he stood for, and by living it every day

Alex Hudson

I think in some ways it’s a touchpoint back to history, a reminder of the length and longevity of the struggle for racial justice, and for undoing white supremacy and anti-Black violence in this country. And in one sense, that’s comforting. It reminds us that this is a struggle we didn’t have to invent. That the language, the tactics, the ways of opposing these forces already exist.

But in other ways, it’s incredibly disheartening to realize that we’re still talking about the same things 50, 60, 70 years later, right? I find his speeches deeply inspiring and motivating. And as a white person, it’s also deeply sad to me that white people continue to carry this violent, destructive virus of white supremacy in our culture, and to see the pain and suffering it causes to other people, to other souls.

So I’d say: read. Read a book. Read the news. Talk to other people. Get out there. I hate to sound like a self-help quote or whatever, but go touch grass. Talk to people. Think about what it would actually mean to live in a truly just world, and then figure out how to move toward that with the people you know. Every day.

It’s simple, and it’s big, and it all adds up.

KL Shannon, community organizer

I think Dr. King’s legacy is really about what he embodied: nonviolence, peace, and fearlessness. And when I think about the pressure that was placed on him, it’s overwhelming. When Dr. King was assassinated, and they did the autopsy, they said he was only 39 years old, but his heart looked like that of a 67-year-old man. That tells you the kind of stress he was carrying.

And when he came out and spoke against the war, everything shifted. People turned on him. So for me, his legacy is about embodying that courage—speaking your truth even when you’re scared, even when it makes you unpopular.

That’s what I so deeply appreciate about Dr. King. He stood by his principles no matter what people said. He stayed committed to nonviolence. He stayed committed to peace. And that, truly is what his legacy is.

Katie Wilson, Mayor of Seattle

I think Dr. King’s legacy reminds us, especially in this moment, that it’s the responsibility of all of us to stand up for both civil rights and human rights, and to continue the struggle for racial and economic justice. It’s a moment to reflect on how far we’ve come because we have made real progress, much of it rooted in Dr. King’s work, and at the same time to reckon with how far we still have to go.

Bana Abera, organizer

I would say that not much has changed since the days when Dr. King was marching, resisting, and being arrested. So much of what he spoke about is still painfully relevant to what we’re experiencing now. If we’re truly going to honor his legacy, if we’re going to remember him and say his name, then we have to continue the fight. The struggle isn’t over. The dream he carried, the vision of freedom and equality for all people, of ending exploitation and violence against Black people and against all people. The job is not done.

Girmay Zahilay, King County Executive

His legacy means we’ve got to keep fighting. That’s what it means to me. Right now, so many people’s civil rights and human rights are being eroded, assaulted, and attacked in ways I haven’t seen in my lifetime. I know others have witnessed moments like this before, but for us, this level of explicit attack on civil and human rights feels unprecedented.

And that means we have to come together and recommit ourselves to the struggle, to change, and to fighting for one another. Everybody has a role to play in that. You don’t have to be an elected official. You don’t have to be a professional advocate. But everyone has a role in creating the change we need.

Greg Ramirez, Deputy Director SEIU6

I think it’s not just about any one day. It’s about continuing to stay active and continuing to fight for whatever struggles are in front of us, right? From a labor union perspective, of course we focus on workers’ rights but the reality is, all of these issues are interconnected. Workers’ rights, human rights, immigrant justice, all of it goes hand in hand.

Dr. King gets quoted a lot, and people like to cherry-pick what he said. But ultimately, what he was really talking about was human dignity. And that transcends everything—race, labor, all of it.

For us, it’s about continuing to show up, continuing to do the work, and trying to leave this world a little better than we found it.

Mary Puttmann-Kostecka and Matt Kostecka, medical doctor and public school educator, respectively

Mary: I think one of the best ways forward is to let go of the idea that you have to do everything, all the time. Instead, find ways to get to know your neighbors and really know your community. It’s easy now, with so much of our lives online, to lose touch with the people who live right next to us or just down the street. And when that happens, it becomes harder to understand what people around you are actually needing, wanting, or thinking.

So I’d say start there. Try something new. Show up in small, meaningful ways, and don’t feel like you have to do everything.

Matt: Sometimes we fall into a very simple archetype of who Martin Luther King was and what he stood for. My kids and I were actually listening to the Mountaintop speech on the way down here, and what really struck me was that the work wasn’t over.

By 1964 and 1965, Dr. King had shifted much more toward advocating for poor people and leading the Poor People’s Campaign. And like one of the speakers said today, if Dr. King were alive now, he’d be in Minneapolis. He’d be marching alongside the protesters there.

His work wasn’t just about equal rights under the law. It was about true freedom, real opportunity in this country, things that go beyond what happened in 1964 and 1965. And I think what I’d want educators, and parents, to teach their kids about the continuation of his work is this: first and foremost, the work isn’t done.

But it also doesn’t always have to look as grand as passing civil rights legislation or marching on Washington. It can be as simple as supporting union labor. It can be as simple as taking care of your community: cleaning it up, showing up, and doing the work right where you are.

Havika Fleming

For me, it really means coming together with people—people of all kinds, with similar beliefs and different beliefs, from different backgrounds, involved in different fights and movements, and choosing to move in solidarity and in love. Truly.

And I think we do that in Seattle by staying open and accepting people for who they are and where they come from. We try to make sure equity and equality are present and accessible to everyone, whether someone’s been here for twenty years or just arrived. We do what we can to show up for everybody.

King County Prosecutors Won't Charge Pedro Gomez

Marcus Harrison Green — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 15:08:00 -0800

Cheryl Delostrinos' case represents a structural crevasse in sexual assault crimes, caught between the limits in the definition of consent, and a jury’s willingness to believe victims. by Marcus Harrison Green

Cheryl Delostrinos, a South End organizer and abolitionist, doesn’t believe in the criminal justice system.

She didn’t believe in it on June 18, 2024, when she says she went to a strictly-professional meeting over drinks with Pedro Gomez, the one-time director of external affairs for former Seattle mayor Bruce Harrell.

She didn’t believe in it when, according to police reports, she woke up drunk and disoriented to Gomez performing oral sex on her. Or when she told him “no,” and Gomez continued to pull her toward him, lift her, and force her back onto the bed despite her repeated verbal refusals.

She didn’t believe in it when she made the police report and submitted to a sexual assault kit.

But she turned to the system anyway, because she believed it was the only way to find some accountability for what happened to her. Then she waited a year and a half for a charging decision on her case. Delostrinos was right to doubt the system’s ability to help her find justice. In December, Delostrinos learned that the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office declined to charge Gomez with a crime.

KCPAO didn’t decline to charge Gomez because they doubted her account. In fact, in a written response to The Stranger’s questions, the prosecutor’s office emphasized on five separate occasions that they do believe her.

What is at question is how her experience fits into state law. And in this case, everyone The Stranger spoke to agrees that it’s simply too limited to deliver justice in many sexual assault cases like hers. Her case represents a structural crevasse in sexual assault crimes, caught between the limits in the definition of consent, and a jury’s willingness to believe victims.

In a confidential declination memo shared with The Stranger, the Prosecutor’s Office said the case was “legally insufficient” under Washington law, meaning prosecutors concluded they could not prove the elements of rape in the second- or third-degree beyond a reasonable doubt when weighed against what they described as the “most plausible, reasonably foreseeable defense.”

For Delostrinos, the decision arrived as both confirmation and a fresh rupture. “The process of learning about the KCPO’s decision felt broken,” she said, describing how direct communication came only after her attorneys reached out, and how an SPD advocate followed up days later with information she already had. She said she was “not surprised” by the declination because, in her view, “I do not believe the criminal legal system is structured to believe or meaningfully support survivors of sexual violence, especially in cases that live in the gray areas where there is no direct video evidence of harm.”

The standard being quietly demanded of survivors, she said, is both unreasonable and revealing: “It is not my instinct, nor should it be expected, to video record an assault or a moment of non-consent while in a situation of violence.” Without that, she added, “it becomes my word against his.”

KPAO considered the possibility of charging Gomez with second- or third-degree rape, both as “alcohol assisted” sexual assault. First, they’d have to demonstrate that Delostrinos was too drunk to consent.

In the police report, Delostrinos reported that she came-to during the alleged rape, and said “no” when she realized what was happening to her.

The legal and cultural definitions of consent differ. Colloquially, we tend to learn that a drunk person cannot consent, particularly if they’re blacked out. But according to Washington state law, a victim’s intoxication isn’t enough for a charge to stick. They have to be incapacitated, and that incapacitation needs to be obvious—like someone struggling to walk, vomiting, or phasing in and out of consciousness.

Bridgette Maryman, a senior deputy prosecuting attorney for the county and chief deputy of the gender-based violence and prevention division, recognizes the limitations of this definition.

“Alcohol can cause someone to be in a blackout state where they have no memory of what happened, but they're walking, they're talking, they're driving, they're making purchases, and seeming to other people that they may be capable of consent, and that's just the reality of the way alcohol impacts us and the limits of our law as it relates to rape,” she told The Stranger. “It sucks.”

The other hurdle in this case is reasonable doubt. In Washington, like all other states, for a prosecutor’s office to press charges, they must demonstrate that they can prove the case “beyond a reasonable doubt.” In Delostrinos’ case, the DNA evidence indicated that sexual contact indeed happened. So the defense’s job would be to cast doubt on Delostrinos’ incapacitation. KPAO identified several routes that the defense was likely to take—security camera footage showing her walking steadily out of the building, a phone call to a friend where she simply called the encounter a “wild night,” and the possibility that a fight with her fiancé after the alleged rape might have motivated her to file a false report. (Yes, false reports are incredibly rare—somewhere between 2 and 10 percent of cases—but the statistical likelihood of a crime is not admissible evidence.) The legal burden of a criminal case is intentionally high and meant to avoid wrongful prosecution.

“The defense can present and argue mutually exclusive theories of the case that conflict with each other,” says Patrick Lavin, the chair of the special assault unit at KPAO. But as long as one of them can cast reasonable doubt—perhaps that a victim had a motive for making a false report, or that an assailant had reason to think they had consent—a charge can’t stick. That’s a defense attorney’s job. This is all standard, good lawyering, the KPAO lawyers emphasized to The Stranger.

And the KCPAO memo is explicitly about the legal calculus. It’s not an assessment of whether Delostrinos was harmed, but whether the case state could survive a jury instructed to acquit if they have a reasonable doubt.

“We believe Cheryl and our charging decision is in no way a reflection of the reality of what happened to her,” says KPAO’s Bella Halroyd, who wrote the charging decision. “It is merely an assessment of what we can legally prove beyond a reasonable doubt, and those are very different things. Our system is inadequate to provide healing to most survivors.”

Delostrinos is unsure whether she’ll pursue a civil case against Gomez and emphasized that she first filed charges “to create accountability by naming the harm, informing my community, and removing this person from a position that allowed them to continue using their power and platform to harm others,” she said, adding that she is “deeply grateful” for the people who navigate the system in alignment with her abolitionist values.

“I don’t know what accountability looks like moving forward,” she told The Stranger. “But I am committed to my own healing and to supporting other survivors of sexual violence in my communities.” She hopes that the act of coming forward opens the door to “deeper conversations, shared responsibility, and collective action toward safer, more accountable communities.”

Still, the declination carried its own loss: “While I would not have chosen to move forward with charges even if they had been filed, I am still disappointed that I was not given that choice,” she said. “The loss of that agency matters.”

Slog AM: CIA Strikes Venezuela, Trump Threatens Hamas, and the New Year Brings Good News for Washington Workers

Marcus Harrison Green — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 10:10:00 -0800

The Stranger's Morning News Roundup by Marcus Harrison Green

If you were worried the dead zone between Christmas and New Year’s didn’t have quite enough aggressively-unnecessary holidays, congratulations: today is Falling Needles Family Fest Day, an internet-invented occasion where you’re supposed to turn the emotional collapse of your Christmas tree into “family fun.” Suggested activities include recycling it, feeding birds, creating a fish condo, or dancing barefoot around it like a Hallmark movie. No tree? Shame a friend, an ex, or a relative you already resent into participating.

Now, let’s get to the news!

CIA Drone Strike Signals a Dangerous Escalation in Venezuela: The US has crossed a new line in Venezuela: a CIA drone strike on a port facility—reported as the first publicly-known US attack inside Venezuelan territory. And it’s happening alongside a widening campaign of lethal “drug war” strikes at sea. US officials told CNN the CIA hit a remote dock on Venezuela’s coast last week—an escalation inside the country itself. That same week, US Southern Command announced another strike on a boat in the eastern Pacific that killed two people—without providing evidence of trafficking.

Since early September, the Pentagon says it has carried out 30 attacks on boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, killing at least 107 people. The ramp-up tracks with the Trump administration’s military buildup in the region as it intensifies pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Trump has publicly touted the Venezuela strike without evidence. “There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs,” he said, insisting the target “is no longer around.”

Trump’s Gaza “Peace Plan” is Disarm or Be Wiped Out: At his Mar-a-Lago estate on Monday, Donald Trump used his sit-down with international war-crimes fugitive Benjamin Netanyahu to issue an explicit threat to Hamas: disarm—fast—or "there'll be hell to pay." Trump said he wants to move to "phase two" of the Gaza ceasefire agreement "as quickly as we can," but only if Hamas disarms, claiming they'd get "a very short period of time" to do it. He also suggested that countries backing the deal were prepared to "go in and wipe them out" if Hamas doesn't comply. The threat lands as Israel continues attacking Gaza daily throughout the supposed ceasefire, and as Trump signaled support for Israel launching new attacks on Iran, echoing Netanyahu's claim that Iran is rebuilding its nuclear facilities.

Artists Continue Bailing on Renamed Kennedy Center: The Kennedy Center’s rebrand into the “Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts” is doing what vanity projects do best: driving people away. Artists are canceling shows in protest, calling it an ego-driven takeover of a public cultural institution. Jazz group The Cookers pulled their New Year’s Eve performances, saying they won’t be part of anything that “deepens divisions.” Doug Varone and Dancers canceled their dates, saying they can’t ask audiences to enter “this once great institution” after Trump renamed it after himself. Folk singer-songwriter Kristy Lee called the move part of a broader authoritarian impulse to “ban, erase, rename, or rebrand” history. Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell dismissed the cancellations as “derangement syndrome,” accusing the previous leadership of booking “far left political activists,” which is actually a pretty fun way to describe jazz musicians and modern dancers.

Call Him Monsieur Clooney: George Clooney and his family are now officially French citizens, because even movie stars look at America these days and say, “non.” France granted citizenship to Clooney, his wife Amal, and their kids, who’ve been living there to escape Hollywood’s paparazzi-industrial complex. Clooney says France offers something truly luxurious: privacy, normal childhoods, and kids who do chores instead of branding deals. Local officials describe the Clooneys as low-key neighbors, which may be the most unbelievable part of this entire story.

Thief Returns Stolen Mandolins Due to Viral Shaming: A guy brazenly stuffed two mandolins into his jacket at a New Jersey vintage guitar shop, got caught on camera, and immediately underestimated both security cameras and the internet. After the owner posted the footage and it went wildly viral, the thief apparently experienced a Christmas miracle of conscience and returned the instruments four days later with a note that read like a chaotic apology text: “Sorry I’ve been drunk. Merry Christmas.” Cops may still press charges, but the shop says the online pile-on clearly did its job.

Oregon’s Immigration Arrests Surge: South on I-5, Oregon has gone from barely being on ICE’s radar to ground zero for Trump’s immigration crackdown. They’ve arrested at least 1,100 people in 2025, up from just 113 in all of 2024. The surge hit hardest in the summer and fall, putting Oregon among the top five states for year-over-year increases and making clear this is about hitting numbers, not public safety. Despite ICE’s tough-on-crime framing, only about a third of those arrested had criminal convictions, meaning most were just living their lives until quotas showed up at their door.

Father Released From ICE Custody But Not Free: A Puyallup father walked out of an immigration detention just before Christmas and into his family’s arms after more than two months behind bars, then clipped on an ankle monitor as the price of being home. Julian “Vicente” Ortiz Velazquez had been arrested by ICE outside a Lowe’s in November, part of the aforementioned Trump administration’s push to boost arrest numbers by targeting big-box parking lots. He has no criminal history and was actively pursuing legal status, yet was detained for weeks after doing little more than buying lumber. It’s a terrifying reminder that in this system, doing nothing wrong is not a defense.

Voters Said Climate. Ferguson Heard “Optional”: Washington Governor Bob Ferguson wants to plug a budget hole by rerouting more than $500 million meant for clean energy, transit, and climate resilience into an existing tax credit. The move raids Climate Commitment Act funds voters just defended at the ballot box, prompting environmental groups to call it an unprecedented sweep of money meant to cut pollution, not patch spreadsheets. Ferguson says it wasn’t his first, second, or third choice. But it was apparently the “uh-oh, we’re out of options” choice. The proposal now heads to the legislature, where it’s expected to get the “so you do know what climate money is for, right?” treatment.

Speaking of Climate Change: Washington is on pace for its warmest December ever, beating a record that was set just last year. Temperatures are averaging nearly 46 degrees, even as La Niña was supposed to deliver a colder winter. Instead, a parade of atmospheric rivers dumped massive rain, causing flooding while simultaneously rescuing the state from severe drought. Experts say a slow, boring drizzle would’ve been ideal, but instead, our state got chaos with few benefits.

Man Accused of Courthouse Assault Found Competent to Stand Trial: The man accused of a violent, random attack on a 75-year-old woman outside the King County Courthouse in Pioneer Square earlier this month has pleaded not guilty after the court ruled he’s competent to stand trial. The man faces a first-degree assault charge for allegedly beating Jeanette Marken with a wooden board, leaving her with broken facial bones and permanent vision loss. While his public defender flagged long-standing mental health struggles, a state evaluation cleared him to proceed, and court records show a history of prior assault convictions. A pretrial hearing is set for January 15, as the victim’s family says the attack permanently altered her independence.

Your friendly reminder that new state laws kick in January 1, and they’re mostly good news for workers. Workers who go on strike or get locked out can now receive up to six weeks of unemployment benefits, so standing up to your boss doesn’t automatically mean financial free fall. The state is also pulling more revenue from big businesses and tech giants, while passing a “right to repair” law that lets people fix their phones, laptops, and appliances instead of being forced into pricey replacements. Add new movie theater captioning requirements and easier access to emergency medical info on IDs, and Washington is incrementally rolling out changes that make daily life a little more survivable for working-class and disabled people.

To close things out, here’s my favorite New Year’s song that Christmas fully stole, slapped a Santa hat on, and pretended was theirs all along: “Deck the Halls.” The melody comes from a Welsh New Year’s carol about drinking and end-of-year chaos called Nos Galan. Only later was it Christmas-washed by a guy who was like, “What if we added holly?” to the lyrics. So anyway, enjoy the smooth neo-soul Musiq version, which is perfect for ringing in the new year, making merriment, or possibly making babies.

Slog AM: Highway 2 Will Partially Reopen, Ukraine Deal is "95 Percent Done," and Brigitte Bardot Is Dead

Marcus Harrison Green — Mon, 29 Dec 2025 10:02:00 -0800

The Stranger's Morning News Roundup by Marcus Harrison Green

Congrats, folks! You’ve made it to the final week of 2025: the year that felt less like 12 months and more like a long, haunted hallway where every door led to another novel horror. Your prize? Oh, we had one. It was hope-shaped, very small, and tragically backordered. For now, please accept this complimentary mix of step-dad humor, emotional scar tissue, and the quiet pride of knowing you outlasted whatever the hell that was.

Now take a deep breath, unclench your jaw, and welcome to a recap of the weekend that just was.

The Deal Is 95 Percent Done. The War Is Not: While Zelenskyy made the rounds in Canada and the US this weekend, Putin sent Kyiv a Saturday-morning greeting: airstrikes. At least two people were killed, 20 injured, homes were hit, and roughly a third of the city lost heat—in a week when the high temps are consistently around 25 degrees. Hours later, Zelenskyy handed Trump a revised 20-point peace plan. As of this morning: no deal. Trump keeps insisting it’s “closer than ever” and “95 percent done,” but the “thorny” part—Donbas—still hasn’t moved.

A $250 Million Scam, 78 Indictments, and Somehow It’s the Immigrants’ Fault: The FBI says it's flooding Minnesota with agents to "dismantle large-scale fraud schemes" after busting a $250 million Covid-era food-aid scam that led to 78 indictments. FBI Director Kash Patel says this is "just the tip!” The Trump regime is using the investigations to frame Minnesota's Somali community as a fraud hub. Patel has floated denaturalization and deportations, while Trump has gone back to a racist standby—calling Somali immigrants "garbage" and accusing the state of rampant money laundering. Rep. Ilhan Omar, who’s Somali American, says the community is being scapegoated and warns this may only be the beginning.

Dead, Canonized, and Still Racist: Brigitte Bardot is dead. Cue the weepy animal montages, carefully sidestepping the part where she spent decades using her fame to go after immigrants and Muslims. Bardot was a real pioneer—of being rich, famous, and relentlessly racist. French courts convicted her five times for inciting racial hatred, fining her again and again for anti-Muslim screeds, immigration panic, and racist insults. She wasn't "complicated." She was an unrepentant racist who loved animals and loathed entire groups of people. But sure—she was once fine as hell.

Kidnapping Foiled by a Dad With Zero Chill: A Texas father used the parental controls on his daughter’s phone to locate her after she was allegedly kidnapped at knifepoint while walking her dog on Christmas. He tracked the phone to a wooded area a couple of miles away and found his 15-year-old daughter and her dog inside a pickup truck with a partially nude man, at which point she escaped and her dad called the police. The man is now being held without bail.

At least 13 people were killed and nearly 100 were injured after an Interoceanic Train carrying about 250 passengers derailed near Nizanda in Oaxaca, Mexico. It’s a grim reminder that a “major infrastructure project” still has to, you know, safely work. President Claudia Sheinbaum said several victims remain in critical condition as federal officials rush in and an investigation gets underway. The train is part of the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, a flagship effort to turn southern Mexico into a global trade artery—now under scrutiny after the deadly derailment.

State officials will partially reopen about 20 miles of Highway 2 starting today, rolling out a pilot-car system from Coles Corner to Stevens Pass during daylight hours, weather permitting. The road has been wrecked since December 10 by severe flooding, debris slides, and washouts that destroyed sections of roadway and damaged bridges, particularly near Skykomish. The west side remains sealed off, with repairs expected to take weeks or months. The prolonged closure has been a financial gut punch to ski operations and tourism-dependent towns, where businesses are watching peak season slip away.

Impairment Starts Early. The Law… Does Not: State lawmakers are once again dusting off the very radical idea that maybe people shouldn’t be impaired while driving, reviving a push to lower the blood alcohol limit from 0.08 to 0.05 percent as traffic deaths keep climbing. State Sen. John Lovick says 2026 might finally be the year, with lawmakers who previously clutched their pearls now admitting they’re on board. More than 150 countries already use this standard, and the science is deeply uncontroversial: impairment starts well below 0.08. Or, as we proved last summer in our very unscientific experiment: the legal limit is too damn high, and fewer people would die if we lowered it.

About 2,855 pounds of Forward Farms grass-fed ground beef are being recalled after routine testing by the USDA found possible E. coli contamination. The recall covers 16-ounce bags made by Mountain West Food Group LLC with a “use or freeze by” date of Jan. 13, 2026, shipped to six states, including Washington and California. No illnesses have been reported, which is great news, but also a strong reminder to maybe double-check your freezer before taco night.

Seahawks Tie Record for Franchise Wins: They beat the Carolina Panthers 27-10 for their sixth straight win, despite quarterback Sam Darnold spending much of the first half, to quote my father’s colorful commentary, playing like “straight ass.” Luckily, Seattle’s defense showed up in full “absolutely not” mode, setting a franchise record by holding opponents without a 100-yard rusher for 25 straight games and limiting Carolina to a bleak 139 total yards. The offense sleepwalked through the first half (again), then woke up after halftime, set a franchise record for points in a season with 470, and pushed the team to 13 wins, tying the best regular season in Seahawks history, which last time ended in a Super Bowl run. Next up: a winner-take-all road finale Saturday at 5 p.m. against the San Francisco 49ers, with the NFC West and the top seed on the line.

Relationship Pruning Time: Because nothing says “fresh start” like end-of-year relationship pruning, a very Pacific Northwest, passive-aggressive way of saying breaking up. The New York Times rounded up 52 truly elite breakup lines to help you rip off the emotional Band-Aid. Washington state shows up strong: Seattle goes for the jugular (“It’s not me—it’s 100% about you. Unless you turn into a different person, this will never work”), while Spokane opts for the quieter devastation of a breakup that sounds like a LinkedIn recommendation (“You were a great boyfriend. I mean, I’d even write you a letter of recommendation”). Together, they perfectly capture the PNW vibe: blunt, restrained, and just polite enough to haunt you later. The takeaway? Breakups are universal, but the delivery is deeply regional, and we apparently specialize in emotional efficiency.

Slog AM: Trump Exports the War on Christmas, California Gets Another Atmospheric River, and a West Seattle Homeless Shelter Might Close Its Doors

Marcus Harrison Green — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 09:49:00 -0800

The Stranger's Morning News Roundup by Marcus Harrison Green

Happy first day of Kwanzaa! (If you don’t already know, let Michael B. Jordan and Elmo tell you all about it.) Here’s hoping everyone’s X-mas holiday was safe, full of holly, and at least one moment that reminded you why not all of us need to be around our families all the time.

Let’s rip the band-aid off the gaping nightmare national news cycle first.

Exporting the War on Christmas: On Christmas Eve, Trump ordered U.S. missile strikes on alleged Islamic State-linked militants in northwestern Nigeria's Sokoto State, framed as payback for killing "innocent Christians"—a religious-persecution storyline that plays better in US politics than it does in Nigeria. Sokoto sits in the country's Muslim-majority northwest, and as Al Jazeera's Ahmed Idris noted, it's "probably the last place many Nigerians would think" an alleged Christian genocide is happening.

US Africa Command initially suggested Nigeria requested the strike, then walked it back. Nigeria called it "ongoing security coordination"—bureaucratic fog that can mean whatever you need it to. So maybe counterterrorism. Maybe a culture-war headline delivered by missile, timed for the holiday. Maybe both. Either way, Nigeria gets flattened into a backdrop for an American story: The War on Christmas goes global.

Another atmospheric river slammed Southern California over Christmas, killing at least three people. Roads became rivers. Trees came down. Floodwater submerged cars and tore through neighborhoods. Los Angeles County officials urged residents near recent burn scars to brace for debris flows and mudslides—the kind of rain that doesn't just fill reservoirs, it strips hillsides bare. California isn't "the rainy state" the way Washington is. It's becoming the state of sudden, violent deluges: storms that blow through like a firehose, destroy what's in front of them, then disappear—leaving floods, wreckage, and a climate that only works in extremes.

A Ballroom Fit for a Lawsuit: On January 8, the White House will present plans to the National Capital Planning Commission for Trump's proposed 90,000-square-foot East Wing ballroom—a project Reuters pegs at around $400 million that’s already facing lawsuits and preservationist fury after the East Wing was quietly demolished in October. Oversight is flexible: the commission has sidestepped reviewing key parts of the project, including historic-impact questions, even as it barrels ahead. A fuller public process has been pushed to later—which is to say, after the decisions are made. What $400 million buys remains to be seen, but if Trump's taste is any guide: expect gold fixtures, gold signage, and enough self-portraits to fill a small museum.

Someone in Arkansas is flush with Christmas cash after winning the $1.817 billion Powerball on Christmas Eve, ending a three-month lottery dry spell and instantly becoming capitalism’s chosen one. A surge of last-minute, “sure, why not” ticket buying pushed it into the second-largest jackpot in U.S. history, with an $834.9 million cash option for anyone who prefers instant wealth, zero patience, and maximum chaos. The win snapped 46 straight drawings with no jackpot, proving once again that hope is a renewable resource and odds are merely a suggestion. Congratulations to our winner, who beat 292 million to one odds, while the rest of us chipped in $2 a ticket to fund public services we refuse to tax the rich for.

Now buckle up for the emotional whiplash of some mostly hopeful local news. Emphasis on mostly.

West Seattle’s only overnight homeless shelter might shut its doors at the end of the year because, brace yourself, we live in a society that can’t reliably scrape together enough money to keep 36 people from sleeping outside. The volunteer-run Westside Neighbors Shelter has been feeding about 80 people a day for six years and, during winter, offers the only overnight option in the area, but a 40 percent drop in donations has pushed it to the brink. It costs roughly $6,000 a week to keep the overnight shelter open, most of that for city-mandated security. If it closes, people don’t magically disappear; they just reappear in parks and on sidewalks, which somehow everyone agrees is worse but keeps choosing to do nothing about.

Love, Served Hot: While the rest of us were negotiating family trauma over the dinner table, Nana’s Southern Kitchen in Kent epitomized the season of giving. For the sixth straight year, the Minor family (four generations deep, plus volunteers) served up nearly 1,000 free plates of soul food on Christmas Day: no questions, no judgment, just “you hungry?” Fried chicken, catfish, pork chops, mac and cheese, the works, flowed to long lines of cars because feeding people turns out to be more urgent than pretending scarcity is natural. The tradition honors the legacy of the restaurant’s namesake, Nana, who believed in showing love and hospitality through food, especially for those in need.

Who doesn’t love a little holiday joyriding? Though preferably not involving assault and a stolen police cruiser. A suspect is in custody after shoving a Washington State Patrol lieutenant to the ground and stealing her patrol car near Northgate. The lieutenant had responded to reports of someone running across I-5, at which point the suspect apparently decided chaos, violence, and grand theft auto were the vibe. Troopers, with help from Seattle police, chased the stolen cruiser south until it was stopped in Lynnwood, and somehow, miraculously, no one was injured, suggesting the universe briefly clocked in and did its job.

Last Call, for the Last Roadhouse: After 64 years of pouring beers, booking bands, and holding court at the edge of Lake City Way, Seattle’s Shanty Tavern, the so-called last roadhouse, served its final round. On its closing night, the 94-year-old owner John Spaccarotelli, aka the patron saint of cold beer and dirty jokes, presided over a packed dance floor, a brass band going full throttle, and a roomful of people saying goodbye to a version of Seattle that keeps getting priced out. Regulars, family, and musicians mourned not just a bar, but a disappearing kind of place, one where community wasn’t a branding exercise, and everyone had a stool. Make no mistake: an era clocked out at last call.

Life Finds A Way: Elsa, a prematurely born miniature donkey, began life literally freezing in a Monroe barn, and somehow survived thanks to frantic humans, a hair dryer, and sheer spite for the odds. After losing her mother and then nearly losing her life to a horrific leg infection, her humans were handed the most American choice imaginable: euthanasia or radical, borderline-miraculous medical intervention. Cue Washington State University veterinarians saying “absolutely not today,” amputating her leg, and fitting her with a custom prosthetic. It proved yet again that when people actually try, miracles look suspiciously like competence.

How a KUOW Story Became a Weapon in the Mayoral Race

Marcus Harrison Green — Mon, 27 Oct 2025 15:47:00 -0700

His Recent Attacks on Wilson Are Sexist and Classist. They’re Also Factually Wrong, Her Family Says.

by Marcus Harrison Green

On October 21, KUOW published a story with the headline: “Katie Wilson can barely afford to live in Seattle. That's why she wants to be mayor.” The story then goes on to reveal that while she “speaks the language of the working people,” there’s something missing from her campaign narrative: “Her parents give her money,” the reporter wrote.

Harrell’s campaign seized on the idea that support from her parents undermines Wilson’s credentials as an advocate for working-class Seattleites. Two days after the KUOW article came out, Harrell sent out a press release with the headline: “Katie Wilson is Not Who She Says She Is.” It went on to say that the profile “shatters Wilson’s carefully constructed narrative: she is not a working-class Seattle resident, and doesn’t bear the stress felt by cost-pressured Seattleites.” His campaign website dedicates an entire page to the article.

And this weekend, a bunch of Seattleites got a text from the Bruce for Seattle campaign linking to the KUOW like a tabloid scandal: “Katie Wilson’s campaign built around working class identity, but parents paid her bills.”

It was a classist, sexist attack from a millionaire with a household income that falls somewhere between $500,000 and $1.2 million.

According to Wilson’s family, it also wasn’t true.

For the two decades Wilson’s been in Seattle, “we have been very apart from her finances,” Wilson’s mother, Anne Clark, tells The Stranger. “We haven’t had anything to do with supporting her materially, in any way.”

That only changed earlier this year, when Wilson told her parents that she planned to run for mayor. Clark knew that campaigns are enormously taxing, and that Wilson and her husband had been getting by without paying for childcare up to that point. She and Wilson’s dad thought they might be able to help with the stress by contributing to the cost of Josie’s daycare. “I don’t even think we cover the whole cost,” she says. And, she clarifies, she has never underwritten Wilson’s bills. “I don’t even know what her bills are.”

She says she plans to keep helping when she sees opportunities to. “This is my only grandchild. What grandparent doesn’t want to invest in their grandchild if they can?”

Clark has read the KUOW story about Wilson. She was “irritated and amused,” she says. “It made me think: I don’t know who wrote that for Harrell's campaign. But he has kids. Surely he’s invested in his kids.”

Even without the clarification from Clark, the story was a relatable one for a lot of voters. Nearly half of millennials and Gen Zers rely, in some measure, on familial support. That help may take the form of a grocery run, a lingering phone plan, a subsidized insurance premium, or the occasional rent check, small acts of intergenerational care, as wages have lagged farther and farther behind inflation.

The original story clearly lays out a narrative that Wilson would not be able to live in Seattle without her parents’ support. “Wilson presents herself as a sensible coalition-builder who runs a small nonprofit—the Transit Riders Union – and has lived a mostly working-class life. A renter and a mother, she runs on issues close to her heart. She speaks the language of struggling people,” the story reads. “But not included in the narrative Wilson tells on the campaign trail is how she affords this expensive city. The answer is simple, and arguably very Seattle: Her parents, professors in New York State, give her money.”

Wilson’s campaign reached out to KUOW to request a correction or clarification in the story. The news station said they wouldn’t add a correction or editor’s note because the article was inspiring “really interesting conversations about what it takes to live in the city,” and that they would prefer to simply do a follow-up interview. The Wilson campaign declined.

The Stranger contacted the station over the weekend to ask if they wanted to comment about their decision to not clarify the story. On Monday morning, they added an editor’s note stating that they’d added “context and an additional quote” to “further illuminate Katie Wilson’s parents’ financial support.”

The two paragraphs read:

“Before I decided to run for office, my husband and I were just kind of juggling our kid back and forth,” Wilson said. “We didn't have her in daycare because it's so expensive. But then when I decided to run, we're like, we really need childcare.”

Wilson has mentioned the exorbitant cost of child care in Seattle throughout the campaign —noting what it costs to send her 2-year-old to daycare — but without noting how she paid for it.

The changes do not address the clear narrative in the story that Wilson could not live in Seattle without her parents’ support—something she did for decades. “We stand by our reporting and plainly did not state that Katie Wilson was receiving money from her parents at any other period than what she told us herself,” the station said in a comment.

There are eight days left in this campaign season. Polls from The Stranger and Northwest Progressive Institute both show Wilson in the lead, but this election will all depend on turnout. And so for those eight days, we should expect a lot of the same: Wilson holding rally after rally trying to get out the vote, and Harrell pulling out every class-shaming, sexist half-truth he can find to make voters wonder if maybe they just shouldn’t vote this time around.

Lies, Damn Lies, and Convenient Omissions

Marcus Harrison Green — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 17:17:00 -0700

The Seattle Times Editorial Board Has Joined the Harrell Campaign and Thinks We Didn’t Notice

by Marcus Harrison Green

Look, if the Seattle Times Editorial Board wants to sycophantically cosplay as a PR firm for Mayor Bruce Harrell and call it “opinion,” that’s their kink. But when the future of the city is on the line, we should at least expect them to deal in facts.

Case in point: Sunday’s most recent Harrell fan-fiction. Written by Carlton Winfrey, who serves on the paper’s editorial board, the piece tries to make the case that Harrell is a man of the people, eager to listen to his constituents, no matter who they are or how deep their pockets are. He doesn’t pack debates with supporters, Winfrey writes, not because he’s unpopular, but because he wants to hear from his dissenters. He touts an ordinary campaign stop at Pike Place Market as a sign he’s engaging with the public. And he points to a video he made with TikToker Chappin Eze, conveniently leaving out that it was part of a series with both candidates.

And then there’s the section on race in the mayoral campaign. If you truly expected a nuanced excavation of how race, class, gender, and political ideology both collide and coexist in this race, well, I envy your meds. Instead, the piece treats race like a stage prop, dusted off just long enough to imply Katie Wilson’s campaign had gone full John McCain circa 2008 presidential election against Barack Obama, in darkening the skin of her mixed race opponent. And there, the Times dutifully reprints the mayor’s claims that a “mailer” from Common Power supporting Katie Wilson “darkened” the mayor’s skin, and the group’s director apologized. Cute story. Except, plot twist, none of that happened.

First, it wasn’t a mailer; it was a social-media graphic. Second, the Canva filter in question didn’t “darken” anyone. It made both candidates slightly orange. Think less “Jim Crow Photoshop,” more “Trump Spice Latte.” And third, the Common Power director, Charles Douglas? Never apologized, at least not publicly. Instead, he was quoted in a press release sent out Sept. 27 by the Katie Wilson for an Affordable Seattle PAC (to every major outlet, maybe the Times’ spam filter has trust issues) saying:

“As a Black man leading an organization primarily run by people of color, I know firsthand the harm caused when racial tropes are weaponized in politics. To suggest that Common Power engaged in such tactics is a sensationalist smear that reeks of desperation from a mayor who has repeatedly contributed to inequality and hurt the very communities he now claims to represent.”

And just for good measure, to ensure that there wasn’t any doubt as to his stance, Common Power sent out its own press release that same day, further quoting Douglas (that again must’ve fallen victim to the Times’ overly aggressive spam filter).

“We are two Black men who help lead an organization alongside other people of color, and we are the ones who created this debate watch advertisement. It made the candidates slightly oranger, not blacker. That’s the way fun filters are used on Instagram,” Douglas said. “Common Power is not a pawn to be used to divide and conquer the Seattle community. We immediately removed the filter from both candidates’ pictures on our posting once we received notice of objections. We're disappointed in the Harrell campaign's rushed accusation, as this matter could have easily been solved through basic communications. Good-faith leadership is needed today in America, more than ever.”

Nothing screams “independent press” like conveniently omitting statements that were sent out nearly a month ago. If this were the national press mindlessly regurgitating a sitting elected official's talking points, people would be foaming at the mouth, and rightfully so. So why should we stomach the same lazy propaganda from the editorial board of the biggest paper in our own backyard?

Now, I’m not here to tell anyone how to do their job, but maybe, just maybe, if the Times had picked up the phone instead of their glazing machine, they might’ve noticed the mayor’s claims were verifiably false, and that this was a manufactured crisis. But who needs truth when you’ve got narrative control, and that narrative favorably fluffs the guy you think should be mayor.

Slog AM: Trump is Doing Victory Laps Over Jimmy Kimmel, 11 Democratic Officials Were Arrested at an ICE Facility, Travis Decker's Remains Might Have Been Found

Marcus Harrison Green — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 09:32:00 -0700

by Marcus Harrison Green

Donald Trump is doing victory laps over Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension this week, using it as yet another excuse to threaten TV broadcasters who dare “hit Trump.” From Air Force One, he basically said: nice FCC license you got there, shame if anything happened to it. Which, yes, is completely illegal, but legality has never exactly been this guy’s love language. Jon Stewart, back at The Daily Show, roasted the whole thing, mock-saluting “our great father” Trump and lampooning the new state-approved media vibe we’re apparently living in now. Between Stewart’s monologue and the protests outside Disney studios, you can feel the country realizing we’re one FCC vote away from turning late-night TV into Live From the Ministry of Truth. Stephen Colbert, writers’ unions, the ACLU, and even Barack Obama are waving the giant red flag, calling the suspension what it is: unconstitutional government pressure.

Dems Asked to Canonize Charlie Kirk or Get Dragged: House Democrats are staring down a GOP resolution that both condemns political violence and canonizes Charlie Kirk, which is basically like being asked to light a candle for the guy who spent his career setting fires. Some Dems, like Rep. Jasmine Crockett, are flat-out refusing to play along, saying there’s nothing “honorable” about Kirk’s crusades against civil rights and queer people, while others are arguing that passing it might turn down the national rage machine a notch. Leadership is letting everyone vote their conscience, which means half the caucus is about to get smeared as pro-violence, and the other half will look like they just co-signed a Turning Point USA recruitment poster.

11 Dems Arrested for the Crime of Asking ICE What the Hell They’re Doing: Federal officers arrested 11 Democratic officials (city comptroller, public advocate, the whole crew) for trying to see what's happening inside ICE’s holding cells in Manhattan. And when ICE told them to beat it, they did the most New York thing possible: sat on the floor, started chanting, and busted out a giant banner until DHS showed up and zip-tied them like it was WrestlePalooza. And the kicker is, a judge already said those cells are probably violating the Constitution.

RFK Jr.’s CDC Turns One Vax for Kids Into Multiple, Because Chaos: A CDC vaccine panel voted to split the MMRV shot into two separate jabs, one for measles, mumps, rubella and another for chickenpox, because apparently we needed to make it even harder for parents to keep up with their kids’ vaccine schedules. The panel also voted to push back the age that these shots are approved for: from 12 months old to four years old. These moves come as RFK Jr., who continues to run HHS like his own wellness podcast, fired the old panel and stacked it with advisers who either have no vaccine background or openly hate vaccines. Public health experts say this will tank compliance and actually make kids less protected, but sure, let’s pretend this is about “safety” instead of politics. The kicker? The change doesn’t even apply to the free Vaccines for Children program, leaving everyone, including some panel members, wondering what the hell just happened.

Trump’s Approval Rating Tanks Again: Trump’s approval rating just belly-flopped to 39 percent, the lowest of his second term, and 57 percent of Americans are officially giving him the presidential middle finger, according to the latest YouGov/Economist poll. His net approval sits at a grim -18, the second-worst of his presidency, though pollsters politely remind us it could “bounce back,” like that sad inflatable clown you punched as a kid. Sure, the MAGA die-hards are still chanting his name, but nearly two-thirds of independents and moderates are looking at his job performance and saying, “Hard pass.”

Senate Turns Into Trump’s Fast-Track Rubber Stamp: The Republican controlled Senate gave Trump a giant rubber stamp, ramming through 48 of his nominees in one vote under new rules that make it easier to stack the government with loyalists. After months of Democrats slowing things down, Republicans cut the brakes entirely, turning what was once a deliberative process into a conveyor belt for Trumpworld appointments. Democrats warn this is one more step toward a Senate that exists purely to greenlight the president’s agenda, no questions asked, and Republicans are already licking their chops for the next batch.

Lisa Cook vs. Trump’s Hostile Takeover of the Fed: Trump has asked the Supreme Court for permission to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, a Biden appointee, a respected economist, and the first Black woman to ever sit on the Fed board, in what looks a lot like a hostile takeover of the central bank. The White House is leaning on thin, unproven mortgage fraud claims to oust Cook while quietly stacking the Fed with loyalists like Stephen Miran, who immediately voted for even deeper rate cuts. It’s a direct shot at the Fed’s independence and a warning flare for anyone who thought Trump’s second term wouldn’t involve turning every neutral institution into an arm of Trump Inc.

Turning Point’s Memorial Tour Kicks Off in MAGA-chella: Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow, is stepping in as CEO and board chair of Turning Point USA after his killing last week, keeping the far-right pipeline running without skipping a beat. TPUSA cast the move as a divine mandate to finish Charlie’s culture-war vision, vowing to make his project “more powerful and enduring than ever.” A public memorial-slash-political rally is planned for September 21 in Arizona, with Trump and other MAGA all-stars expected to show up.

Here Comes the Sun (Day): If you’re seeking some direct action, more than 450 Sun Day actions are set to pop off this Sunday, with climate legend Bill McKibben leading the charge and basically saying, “Enough of Trump’s fossil fuel fan club.” From solar panels on Habitat homes to electric school bus rollouts, these events are a nationwide clapback to an administration hellbent on torching climate protections and hand-feeding Big Oil. For folks near Seattle, the closest action will be at the Bainbridge Island Public Library.

And now to local news, where, believe it or not, things are mostly good, which in 2025 feels like spotting a unicorn on the light rail.

Decker Manhunt May Be Over: Authorities say they’ve likely found the body of Travis Decker, the former Army Ranger accused of murdering his three daughters, in the backcountry south of Leavenworth after a summer-long manhunt. The case, which horrified Washington state, started when Decker didn’t return the girls after a scheduled visit and ended with their bodies discovered near a campground in June. DNA testing will confirm the remains, but for now officials believe the manhunt is finally over.

Washington AG Tells Bikini Barista Mogul to Cut the Creepery: Washington Attorney General Nick Brown dropped a legal hammer on Jonathan Tagle, the guy behind the Paradise Espresso bikini barista chain, accusing him of running a decade-long nightmare factory of harassment, retaliation, and straight-up wage theft. The lawsuit says Tagle coerced women into sexual acts to get or keep their jobs, groped them, withheld wages and tips, and created a workplace so toxic it pushed employees out. The state wants him banned from ever doing this again, forced to pay back every stolen dollar, and held accountable for turning a coffee stand into a trauma machine.

One Tiny Heart, One Big Middle Finger to a Broken System: Nine-year-old Katja de Groot, who lives in Maltby, WA, is finally home after a summer so intense it makes most prestige TV look boring: heart failure, a pricey cross-country medevac, and a partial heart transplant so rare she’s basically a medical journal cover girl now. She survived thanks to what her mom calls a “domino effect” of donors, doctors, and random kind humans stepping in where America’s busted healthcare system clearly wasn’t going to. The family is begging folks to become organ donors, because in a country where getting lifesaving care can feel like buying a scratch ticket, community might be the only thing that keeps the whole row of dominoes from crashing down.

Even with suppression and censorship doing their worst, the sun still showed up today, and hope? That’s a team sport. So let’s kick it off with this:

“All of Us or None of Us”

Marcus Harrison Green — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 12:50:00 -0700

"If my people are doing something, I’m showing up—tired or not—because I know they’ll show up for me." by Marcus Harrison Green

Photos by Billie Winter

For nearly two years, every sunrise in Gaza has brought more death, destruction, and dislocation. To be Palestinian today is to live under unrelenting bombardment, displacement, and starvation, your community rendered a target by an Israeli regime that openly declares its intent of eradication. It is to watch American leaders respond not with outrage but with plans envisioning luxury “Gaza Riviera” resorts and surveillance states on the same land where children’s bones are visible from hunger and their bodies are charred by US-funded bombs. This is not a natural disaster. It is a human-made horror.

And yet, to be Palestinian is also to persist. To insist on life in the bowels of doom. To keep organizing, cooking, singing, teaching, and loving because to surrender your humanity is to surrender what can never be taken by force. There is no greater defiance than the will to live, to dance, to gather, even when the world seems indifferent to your existence.

That is what makes this year’s second annual Palestine Will Live Forever Festival all the more urgent. It arrives not only as Gaza continues to endure mass death and forced displacement, but as Black, Brown, immigrant, trans, and poor communities across the US face escalating state violence, while reproductive freedom, environmental justice, and democracy itself hang in the balance. Yes, the day will feature an all-star lineup: Macklemore, Prometheus Brown, Fem du lit, Bambu, Jamila Woods, Noura Erakat, Nikkita Oliver, and more, but it is not just a concert. It is a gathering that reminds us that our fates are braided together, that either liberation is collective or it is not at all.

Saturday will further testify that our will is not passive. It is the marrow of our survival and the pulse that refuses silence. To love one another in the face of annihilation is a political act. The festival is not merely a celebration; it is a forging. A place where joy becomes a weapon against despair, where solidarity is sharpened into strategy, and where we remember that endurance is not simply to survive, but to triumph.

The Stranger spoke with four of this year’s organizers—Maher Joudi, Gabriel Teodros, Nikkita Oliver, and Lexi Peterson-Burge—about what it means to hold space for Palestinian liberation, to model cross-movement solidarity, and to create a festival that feeds the long struggle rather than just marking a single day.

The Palestine Will Live Forever Festival takes place Saturday, September 13, from noon to 9 p.m. at Volunteer Park. Tickets are available here.

The crowd at last years Palestine Will Live Forever Fest.

This is the second year of this festival. Every day we’re seeing new horrors in the headlines and on social media. For you all, what was the onus to make sure this happened again? Why was it important to participate—whether organizing, performing, or bringing performers? What was the impetus for doing year two?

Maher Joudi: That’s a layered question, man. Personally, even leaving last year, the calls started coming in within a week—people asking if it would happen again. I assumed we’d try to run it back at the start of this year. Then a lot changed with the election of President Trump. We had real conversations about whether it should happen, especially from a safety perspective—this was around when Mahmoud Khalil had just gotten taken.

There was a lot to weigh. Ultimately, as a team, we decided it was necessary. Then we talked about intentionality—what this year should look like—because the horrors in Palestine had only gotten worse. And here in the US, our people—Palestinian, Black, Latino, immigrant—were getting taken too. The need for a day like last year’s had grown so much that it felt necessary.

Gabriel Teodros: The need to gather—and to normalize resistance—became really clear, especially around the election. Rights were getting stripped at an exponential rate: undocumented people getting snatched, transgender people getting arrested for trying to use the bathroom. The list goes on. If we were going to do the festival—and we should—we wanted it to be about collective liberation, to model how our struggles are connected and our pathways to liberation are bound together. That’s the direction we took.

Lexi Peterson-Burge: To be transparent, we as organizers have varied identities, backgrounds, and lived experiences. That informed tough discussions about whether to move forward with a second year. We had hours of conversations about protecting communities and ourselves; about what kind of organizing meets the moment; [about] whether centering joy and a celebration of culture and resistance was appropriate and safe.

We asked if it would fill the organizer cup for everyone involved—because our communities were experiencing different kinds of harm at the same time. We landed on this: The source of our communities’ struggles—oppression, genocide, etc.—comes from the same place. The festival could say this isn’t one community’s fight; it’s a collective fight against imperialism and capitalism and all the forces fueling the many ways our communities are being oppressed, historically and now.

It gave us a chance to model cross-racial, cross-cultural, cross-movement solidarity—and to center joy as resistance while keeping our people as safe as possible. It took a month or two of serious, hard conversations. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Nikkita Oliver: I actually stepped back from organizing for a couple months to be sure I was in alignment about why I was participating. “All of us or none of us” is key for me. What’s happening to our communities is due to empire, colonialism, capitalism—rooted in anti-Blackness. Our organizing has to target those structures so we don’t end up with a world where some of us get free at the expense of others.

Art and culture are resistance—doing them out loud is resistance. But we have to go further: have present organizing bodies people can plug into. We need not just mobilized communities, but organized communities. So the festival centers intersectionality, resistance, and joy while bringing in those doing hyper-local, national, and global organizing—so when people leave, they have places to plug in. It’s more than a day; it’s a galvanizing moment that feeds the uncelebrated work between the big moments. Having organizers, vendors, and movement workers present helps make that real.

There’s so much heaviness, locally, nationally, internationally. How do you balance that while planning an event that centers joy, uplifts, and mobilizes? What has that process been like?

Teodros: Helping organize has been a constant reminder of what’s possible—and that we don’t get through this time alone. I’m looking at a screen full of graphics, with Zahyr [Lauren]’s beautiful art staring back at me—what they captured is a reminder of what it’s like when our movements come together. Working on the festival has helped me get through this year emotionally. It’s that daily reminder: it’s collective liberation or not at all. “All of us or none of us”—it’s right there in the name.

Peterson-Burge: This year’s been harder for me—energy-wise, emotionally. A lot of organizers burn out, especially those with layered identities who are directly impacted by what’s unfolding. There’s a push-pull: The push is knowing you have to do something to stay whole and authentic, to show up for resistance, joy, and cultural preservation. The pull is that doing this month after month while witnessing harm drains you. Then there’s capitalism—families, bills, survival.

Still, I feel obligated to show up for my people. And a big reason I can is this group. We’re honest when something hits hard—“I need a day or two”—and we show up for each other. Without this group, I don’t know that I could keep doing something at this scale right now.

Oliver: Last year, the energy to do it came easier—even though it was exhausting. Now it’s a daily barrage: executive orders, neighbors snatched by Gestapo, worsening prison conditions, targeting of gender-expansive trans and queer people, the invisibilizing of Sudan and Congo—so much to hold as an organizer and conscious person. It’s overwhelming.

What’s kept me in it is that we’re having the hard conversations—crying with each other, sometimes at each other—and practicing principled struggle. Some won’t see the value because arts and culture are central. I’d argue without arts and culture, we don’t exist—that’s where our stories, histories, poems, relationships live. We engage culture every day—from clothes to music to what we read. Doing principled struggle in a space of art-as-resistance makes me want to keep going, even when it’s exhausting.

Also, hearing folks’ energy for it is a reminder of how important gathering is. It’s not always a 3,000-person festival—sometimes it’s dinner, a Zoom, a walk. The constant gathering matters. I’m looking forward to being in community with people who share our values and take this as a call to make our movements as intersectional as possible.

Joudi: I agree—this year is harder. I’ve probably had one-on-ones with everyone here saying that. It makes me emotional to hear it out loud.

Last year, I was excited—everything was new and fast, and I didn’t have time to grasp the magnitude. This year, with more time and intentionality, I feel pressure: to show up right for our organizing team, my community, and the global community, and to represent ourselves well. I’m the oldest or second oldest on this call, but the youngest in organizing. Every day, I’m learning how to show up with intention and authenticity.

I hoped Palestine would be at least a little better by now. It’s 10 times worse. And once you peel back layers, you can’t unsee them. Days are tougher—and organizing becomes a second job.

But to Nikkita’s point, the energy from artists, vendors, and community—people asking to be involved—has been real. Only recently did I feel the full magnitude of what this means to the community. That gives you your second, third, 10th wind when a small team is wearing a ton of hats. Knowing what this day will mean to everyone is what keeps me making calls, finishing docs, hopping on Zoom—grounded in why we’re doing it. This is the only group I could do this with—the one that teaches, gives grace and support, and helps us grow together.

MC Abdul performing at Palestine Will Live Forever Fest in 2024.

We’re seeing mobilizations globally and nationally—marches, strikes, flotillas, and more. How do you see this festival in conversation with those acts of solidarity?

Oliver: Shout out to Gabriel and Maher for the lineup ideas—that’s where intentional solidarity shows up. Who we invited and why had everything to do with the messaging artists already live in their art and movement work. The lineup alone speaks to how we aim to operate in solidarity. Palestine is at the center of why we came together, but we’re also clear that we’re resisting larger structures. We want folks to leave with a deeper analysis of what we’re fighting and how.

As an artist and cultural worker, I think about music, poetry, visual art—even the food we choose—as ways to bring us back to each other. Actions like the flotilla aim to break a siege, meet basic needs, and galvanize organized response to empire’s violence. The festival does parallel work: supporting HEAL [Palestine]’s care for children who’ve lost limbs; the Transgender Law Center’s protection of our trans siblings; La Resistencia’s frontline organizing at the Northwest Detention Center. These are tangible, often hyper-local ways to show up.

Choosing beneficiaries like Water Protectors, the Black Panther Party, and BLM Washington reflects that our struggles are interconnected. Palestinians benefit from La Resistencia’s work; Black queer folks benefit from the Transgender Law Center and the Panthers. We’re showing up in multifaceted ways—care, organizing, resistance—and that starts on stage. No matter who you hear, you’ll get that message. Deepening our analysis deepens our resistance and commitment. I hope people leave with their cup filled and a fire to act.

Peterson-Burge: I remind myself: Showing up in the streets is as important as showing up for cultural preservation, togetherness, breaking bread, teaching dances, eating the foods we’ve missed. All of it matters so we don’t lose ourselves while we fight for everyone. Creating space to preserve ourselves and our cultures is powerful, transformative, revolutionary—and necessary.

Joudi: At the core, these movements are the same: people from all walks of life standing against oppression. Forty-plus countries supporting a flotilla is all of us understanding we must stand for all of us. That’s what we embody—through many avenues. Cultural preservation is huge. Speaking as a Palestinian, erasure includes stealing our culture—claiming hummus, rewriting our history. Supporting Palestinians isn’t only about Gaza and the West Bank—there’s immediate need, yes, but Palestine lives forever by preserving our culture. That’s true for every community represented here. Preserving who we are is how we win.

For folks new to this movement or who didn’t attend last year, what do you want them to take away after attending?

Joudi: For my community: the need for collectiveness. I’ve shouted for Palestine my whole life, and I “got” interconnectedness—Ferguson in 2016—but I hadn’t truly connected the dots on intersectionality and riding for each other. Our heroes have been telling us: Leila Khaled said 50 years ago there is only one oppression. The Panthers visited Philistine and stood with Palestine. Kids in Gaza held “I stand with Ferguson” signs.

Our movements fall apart when we’re convinced to battle each other for attention. I want folks to understand it all needs to be discussed and fought for at the same time—it’s the same fucking move. The music, speakers, vendors are dope—we’ll feel good—but I need everyone to leave knowing we’re all connected against them. If you’re with them, you’re not with us. If you’re with us, you’re with all of us.

Teodros: As a musician, I want artists to walk away less afraid and less alone in speaking up for Palestine. Somehow calling a genocide a genocide is still controversial. We intentionally booked people already making bold stands for humanity. I want that—and collective liberation—to become the norm.

Culture helps by modeling it and building our own stages when others won’t book this—we have to do it ourselves. Also, let’s name it: Live Nation’s second-largest shareholder is BlackRock; Ticketmaster is part of that ecosystem—there are corporate interests in silencing artists. We can’t let them dictate culture. We do that—community, people, artists.

Oliver: It would be easy to assume we had every resource from day one. We didn’t. We showed up finding resources as we went. You can have a big vision and then call your homies and make it happen—that’s how this happened. If we want more control, we have to build it. Our communities have long built institutions outside government—mutual aid networks, survival structures—out of brilliance and necessity.

I hope folks leave thinking: We have the capacity to build our own structures for self-governance. Many hands make light work. And I hope the Black community sees our trans siblings as central to Black struggle; that we see immigrants’ fights against ICE and Indigenous fights for resources as ours too. There is no single-issue struggle. We can build what we need, together.

Peterson-Burge: I want everyone to leave feeling, “I really needed that—and I got it.” To have been in space with our people and felt joy. And then I want folks to plug into an organizing home—consistently. If you don’t have one, find one: a book list, political education classes, places to learn our intertwined histories. I want cross-pollination—Palestinian homies connecting with the Black Panther Party; Black queer siblings pulling up with La Resistencia.

Also, as a fundraising person, sustaining our movements means mobilizing the masses to support them. The festival is a vessel to move resources to under-resourced movements so our people can keep doing the work. If we can give a small grassroots org two more months of budget to keep stopping detentions, that matters. If five more people give $10 so they can buy water for volunteers, that matters. Our beneficiaries span different movement spheres to reach widely, rooted in intersectionality and collective struggle. I hope folks take action.

Is there a moment from the past year of putting this together that represents the hope of what this festival means?

Teodros: From an artist’s perspective: seeing artists meet through the festival and then collaborate. Even before the first one, watching Desirée Dawson—a Black woman in Canada—covering Samer, a young Palestinian artist’s, song, and sharing it online. Seeing Bambu and the Neighborhood Kids meet at the festival and then collaborate on music and a series of events. Maher was involved in events around the country with lineups that mirrored ours. Bringing folks together and watching them keep working—that’s meaningful.

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Joudi: Those moments were heartwarming. Where it really clicked for me—this isn’t just an event, it’s moving a movement forward—was in the last week or so. Vendors reaching out: “I missed the deadline, but I need to be there.” Artists asking to get on the lineup. Those are hard conversations—we want to keep it fresh and platform new voices—but the community’s feedback at every level has been powerful.

Even on logistics calls—like with the video wall folks—people who weren’t involved last year were hyped because of the cause. Last year, stage staff told us how grateful they were to work the festival—we’re feeling that again. Stepping outside myself, I feel grateful and blessed to help make this happen, no matter how hard the work is, knowing what it means to people and what it will do for the community.

Oliver: Two moments. First: Last year, a homie brought his elementary-aged son. I was stage-managing and saw them dancing together during Native Guns’ set. Afterward, he told me it was a transformative moment—passing down the cultural work of artists who politicized him, and watching his son be politicized by the same art, in joy. That’s joy as resistance—creating space to pass down resistance through art.

Second: During Whodinii’s set, the Palestinian community—and comrades—broke into a big circle dance. Organizers and volunteers literally lost themselves in that moment, because they knew we built a space where we care for each other. You didn’t need your head on a swivel like at a protest. It was unbridled, embodied resistance. That’s what the festival is about—and the world I hope we get.

Peterson-Burge: I was going to name that dance moment too—seeing Palestinians and other Arab folks teaching others how to do it was beautiful. Two other (selfish) moments for me: walking into the grounds that morning and seeing the banner and stage set with last year’s image—realizing, “We did that.” I had to walk off and cry. It represented weeks of late nights, fundraising, calls, crying, arguing—the whole thing—becoming real.

Then at the end, bringing all the organizers onstage, arms around each other, taking a deep breath: “Dang, we did that.” Most of us didn’t know each other closely before last year—we put that first festival together in six to eight weeks. Now these people are my family. They’re coming to my wedding. That kind of relational, transformational organizing—where I can have hard conversations and be heard—was what I needed. It’s a huge reason I’m doing this again. If my people are doing something, I’m showing up—tired or not—because I know they’ll show up for me.

Seattle Kicked Off General Election Season With Its First Forum

Marcus Harrison Green — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 16:08:00 -0700

Candidates Sweated, Voters Prayed for AC, and Harrell Claimed He Was Left of Katie Wilson

by Marcus Harrison Green

Thursday night marked the unofficial kickoff to Seattle’s general election campaign season. For the first time since the August primary, candidates for King County Executive, Seattle Mayor, Seattle City Attorney, and citywide Council positions 8 and 9 were all under the same roof, answering the same questions, seated side by side. And if your kink is candidates having the ability to make bold claims with zero followups, two-minute answers to 20-year problems, and Rachael Savage trolling North Seattle libs with her praise for Trump, only to get booed as a fascist (I mean, if it quacks like a duck), then the Haller Lake Community Club had a candidate forum for you!

The room was a crush of bodies and heat, a democracy sauna where civic virtue mingled with sweat. The audience skewed very North End and very white, “Imagine a seasoning rack that only believes in salt,” as one observer put it. On stage, though, half the candidates were people of color, which meant the dais had more flavor than the crowd. People fanned themselves with programs, campaign flyers, anything flat. A man behind me muttered, “I’ll vote for whoever brings AC.” Hard to argue with a platform that concrete.

Last night’s event was the warm up for a general election campaign cycle that promises to be heated. Each candidate faced off with their challenger for the first time, giving us an early glimpse into how they hope to run their campaign in the coming months. Moving race by race, questions flying, answers clipped short by the tyranny of the timer, here’s what we learned from this season’s preview.

Mayor: Katie Wilson vs. Bruce Harrell

The marquee matchup of the night was, of course, Mayor Bruce Harrell and Katie Wilson. This is the first time they’d been on a stage together since Wilson finished first in the August primary with more than 50 percent of the vote. It was the night’s heavyweight bout.

The first question landed on Harrell’s signature One Seattle Comprehensive Plan, the document meant to guide 20 years of the city’s growth. Harrell leaned on his familiar style of managerial command-and-data-driven assurance.

“A plan is a plan—and it’s malleable,” Harrell says. “We put a stake in the ground for 330,000 units, and we’re listening on water quality, trees, livability. We can do better.” He added that his job was to plan for growth while balancing neighborhood concerns, rattling off specifics about water rates, tree ordinances, and even cubic-foot pricing for utilities. The mayor’s approach was part technocrat, part neighborhood whisperer: I hear you, Madrona. I hear you, Mount Baker.

Wilson, by contrast, cast Harrell’s plan as both too timid and too selective. “We need more neighborhood centers, more of the city sharing growth—including ones struck from earlier drafts,” she says. “That includes the mayor’s own neighborhood, Seward Park, which somehow got pulled off the list. Build more housing and protect mature trees. We can do both.”

Wilson went further, arguing that Harrell’s version of One Seattle still leaves too much of the city insulated from change, while pushing the burden onto already-dense areas. Her framing was sharper, almost prosecutorial: the mayor’s plan is not bold enough to match the scale of the crisis.

The contrast deepened when the conversation turned to public safety. Harrell touted falling violent crime numbers and new leadership at SPD. “I won’t rest until my granddaughters can walk any neighborhood,” he says. “Violent crime, homicides, shots fired—they’re all going down. We measure everything. We’re modernizing policing.”

He pointed to his hire of Chief Shon Barnes, and, in a moment clearly designed to preempt criticism, said he personally visits precincts at 4 a.m. and 11 p.m. “I told our officers: if you don’t think George Floyd was murdered, you should not work for me,” Harrell said, reusing a refrain from his first campaign.

Wilson wasn’t convinced. She reminded the audience of the messy interlude before Barnes’s hire (former police chief Adrian Diaz’s chaotic exit, and suing of both Harrell and the City): “We lost high-integrity officers, morale cratered, and Seattle had excess homicides compared to national trends,” she says. “We need to hire more officers, yes, but also more civilian responders. And we need to finally implement accountability through the police contract.”

Her critique wasn’t just about staffing; it was about culture and structure. “Other cities have built far larger alternative response systems,” Wilson says. “We are behind. And the accountability ordinance from 2017 is still not real because it hasn’t been implemented in the contract. That is a failure of leadership.”

If Harrell came off like the guy assuring you the bus is “just five minutes away,” Wilson reminded everyone that the bus actually broke down three stops back, and leadership never called a tow truck. Harrell leaned on his greatest hits: steady delivery, lots of numbers. Wilson pressed the point that tinkering around the edges isn’t cutting it, and the moment demands urgency, not another round of wait-and-see.

But if you were looking to understand what Harrell’s strategy is going to be after his poor primary showing, the lightning round told us everything we need to know. The candidates were asked to answer, in one word, if they were to the right or the left of their opponent. Harrell initially balked at the premise (“I don’t really like the question”) before relenting with, “I’m to the left, and I can prove it with data and 1,600 pieces of legislation.” (Fact check pending.) Maybe there’s a multiverse where Mayor Harrell is Che Guevara with a city pension. But in this universe? That was late breaking news. Wilson wasn’t about to let that one slide: “I learned something new. Bruce Harrell is to my left,” she quipped, before pivoting to remind the room that “all people care about right now is results.”

City Attorney: Ann Davison vs. Erika Evans

The City Attorney race represented the clearest binary of the night: deterrence vs. treatment, lawsuits vs. alternatives.

The moderator’s first question asked why Shoreline has been more successful limiting drug use. The framing felt suspect—it’s largely understood that Shoreline simply pushed the drug use further south—but it was the perfect question to clarify the valley between the candidates.

“Our laws have to matter,” Davison says, a mantra she’s been chanting for four years. She pointed to her authorship of Seattle’s drug possession law and SOAP/SODA restrictions. She argued that focus should be on the “118 people responsible for more than 2,400 referrals” and highlighted her lawsuit against gun manufacturer, Glock.

Evans shot back that this was missing the point. “What works is going after traffickers and high-level suppliers—not criminalizing people who are unhoused or in substance use,” she says. “That’s ineffective policy.”

On the unfilled behavioral health beds due to a public defender shortage, Evans was direct: “Hire more public defenders. That’s important. It’s basic, and it’s urgent.”

Davison responded that competency restoration is a state-level gap. “We should not be walking by people and leaving it at ‘we don’t know what to do,’” she says. “I’m not in charge of housing—but I can build re-entry and diversion that actually reduces recidivism.”

City Council Position 8: Alexis Mercedes Rinck vs. Rachael Savage

Position 8 had the widest gap in the primary, Rinck bested Savage by a whopping 65 percent, and it delivered the sharpest, and most entertaining, clash of the night.

The tree ordinance question should have been a layup: candidates were asked whether they supported the city’s 30 percent canopy goal and Councilmember Rivera’s Amendment 93 to protect trees. Rinck kept it squarely on climate justice, warning about urban heat islands and underscoring the need to expand the city arborist’s office. “We need to make sure that we’re having a clear focus on getting to 30% tree canopy across this city,” she said. “These heat events are dangerous, and we don’t have the infrastructure in place to keep people safe. Expanding canopy isn’t just aesthetics, it’s climate resilience.”

Savage, meanwhile, swerved hard into her favorite culture-war cul-de-sac. “My opponent thinks that permanent, supportive housing—housing that allows drug addicts to use drugs and die in our city—has miraculous powers,” she declared, calling Housing First “a colossal failure” that “crushed businesses” and “destroyed[ed] neighborhoods.”

“I thought we were talking about trees,” Rinck snapped back.

Savage doubled down, describing Capitol Hill and Belltown as “a nightmare” and calling permanent supportive housing “a harvest for drug addicts for free.” Her refrain: “I’m a pro-police candidate. The first thing I’ll do is amend the public drug use law so police can arrest for public drug use. That protects all of us—and it helps get people into treatment.”

It was the starkest contrast of the evening: Rinck, who sees safety rooted in housing stability and climate resilience, versus Savage, who sees disorder everywhere and wants to police her way out of it.

In the lightning round, Rinck went for the jugular: “My opponent is a Trump supporter. I think everyone up here is to the left of her.” Savage, never one to duck the spotlight, leaned into the heel role, “Proudly to the right. Common sense.”

During the closing arguments, Savage’s praise of Trump and declaration that she’d left the Democratic Party over their inability to address crime, prompted a man in the back to shout “fascist” and “that she was full of shit.” Some in the crowd expressed agreement, while organizers asked for “quiet.” A man later identified as Savage’s campaign manager marched over to the man, and started screaming at him. After a tense shouting match back and forth the disruption eventually quieted.

City Council Position 9: Sarah Nelson vs. Dionne Foster

In Position 9, the divide was less combustible but still clear. Sara Nelson, often pausing to ask moderators to repeat questions, reminded the audience she supported the current tree ordinance but admitted, “The way it was rolled out was very unfortunate… it was flawed.” She leaned on her pragmatic record, saying she supported Rivera’s amendments because “we have got to incentivize smart design of housing… that’s exactly how we get past this growth versus tree mindset.”

Her challenger, Dionne Foster, countered by making accountability her watchword. She argued that she supported amendments aimed at police reform—such as restricting SPD’s use of blast balls and providing a private right of action for people harmed by SPD that Nelson voted against. “We need both adequate policing and accountability,” Foster said. She also pressed for expanding the CARE department so alternative responders don’t have to be co-deployed with police, saying, “We can’t keep asking them to do their jobs with one hand tied behind their back.”

Nelson, meanwhile, returned to the City Charter as her anchor. “Our charter requires adequate police presence in every district of the city,” she said. “That is our responsibility.”

During the lighting round, Foster stuck with a clean “Left,” while Sara Nelson finally offered, “I quite frankly don’t know what her politics are because I haven’t heard enough specifics from my opponent.” Which led the moderator to once again say “in one word.” The lightning round proved one thing: brevity is the first casualty of campaign season.

County Executive: Claudia Balducci vs. Girmay Zahilay

In the lightning round, when they were asked to say if they were left or right of their opponent, Balducci hedged with a “pretty similar,” though she joked that she was sitting to the right of Girmay. That’s been her line since the primary: that they’re vastly similar on most counts, and vote together 99 percent of the time. But since she lost to Zahilay handily in the primary, she’s been making small gestures to the right, appearing to court the Republican voters who no longer have a horse in the race.

But in the forum, they didn’t have a wide gulf between them.

On the recent Department of Community and Human Services audit that found that the county’s lax oversight potentially paved the way for fraud, Balducci was blunt: “We don’t know where it’s gone. We don’t know how much has been wasted. We don’t know if there has been fraud.” The fix, she argued, can’t wait: “We need to have an internal audit function, and we need to get on it now. The report said… we’ll finish implementing recommendations by the end of 2026. No. We need to start implementing basic financial controls immediately. This is the basic function of government, and we know how to do it.”

Zahilay argued for deeper structural reform. “Absolutely the findings in that audit were unacceptable. We need much stronger financial controls,” he said. “Like my colleague mentioned, we need a proactive, automatic audit system. I would hire a chief operating officer tasked with auditing every single department. That audit happened because one of our colleagues requested it—we shouldn’t have to wait for someone to ask. There should be internal audits automatically.” He added that his King County Delivers plan would require quarterly reports—“just like every public company does”—to track whether goals are being met.

When asked about behavioral health, Zahilay reframed the “repeat offender” narrative. “Ten years ago, King County did a study called Familiar Faces,” he said. “They looked at people who’d gone to jail four times or more in two years. Out of that population—2,500 to 3,000 people, 95% had overlapping substance use and mental health disorders. So what we’re calling a repeat offender crisis is actually a behavioral health crisis.”

Balducci countered with frustration over delays. “Voters have been very generous with King County,” she says, pointing to the five crisis care centers approved two years ago. “We haven’t opened the door to a single one of them yet.” She also noted the stalled Harborview behavioral health expansion: “We voted five years ago… not a single spade of dirt turned.” For Balducci, the issue isn’t money or ideas, but competence: “We need to push harder to deliver results for the things we’ve already promised.”

The Last Word

Former mayoral candidate Colleen Echohawk who lives in the area and attended Thursday’s event, appreciated the forum but didn’t mince words about her discomfort with how some of the questions were framed, especially the one about crime and safety on light rail.

“As a District 5 person whose family rides light rail every day, that didn’t feel real,” Echohawk says. “There was some fear-mongering going on. The way the question was phrased, it made it sound like light rail is this crime-ridden danger zone. That’s not the experience of most people I know. For a lot of us, it’s just how we get to work, how our kids get to school, how we live our lives.”

She also took exception with the way candidates were pushed to talk about “prostitution” in the neighborhood. “The framing erased their humanity and made it sound like they’re a problem to be managed instead of people who deserve rights, safety, and dignity,” she says.

Echohawk acknowledged that a few candidates stood out, though she’s undecided about who she’ll vote for come November. “Katie Wilson’s public safety answer was fantastic, and it was truthful,” Echohawk says. “[Harrell] also made strong points about housing and showing the data around what’s been built. Could we do more? Yes, but he has done a lot.”

Glaringly missing on the night was any discussion of immigration, climate change, or displacement.And without allowing for followups, a candidate could’ve claimed they pulled world peace straight out of their ass, and we would have swiftly moved on to the next question.

Democracy in Seattle, at least last night, looked like a hot room with too little oxygen and too many questions made for two minute clips. It looked like people fanning themselves with campaign flyers that doubled as sweat rags, and an audience that was, demographically speaking, a salt shaker waiting for pepper. It looked like a predominantly white audience listening to why tree canopy, police staffing, and transit safety are less separate issues than variations on the same crisis: how you build, who you protect, and what you value.

It also looked like choices, some trivial, some tectonic. Whether we confuse punishment for treatment. Whether we let slogans stand in for systems. Whether we keep treating housing as a NIMBY skirmish over buildings instead of the scaffolding that holds up everything else: safety, equity, climate survival. Ultimately, these formats have limited value. They’re “made for social media clip” spectacles, where essentially the wannabe (re) elected’s job is to simply not royally fuckup, and come across amiable enough.

The real question for the next two months, as candidates haul themselves to almost-weekly forums and debates, is whether we’ll convert all this civic heat into something illuminating, or whether we just keep sweating through our civic underwear and call it actual political engagement.

Bruxit? Port Commissioner Hasegawa First Harrell Endorser to Back Wilson After the Primary

Marcus Harrison Green — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 14:00:00 -0700

Is there a Bruxit about? As Katie Wilson's star rises, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell's political career may be sinking. The Stranger has confirmed that Port Commissioner Toshiko Hasegawa, who backed Harrell in the primary, has switched to a dual endorsement of him and Wilson in the general. And it could be just the beginning. MLK Labor Council, our county’s union of unions, confirmed that they’re set to vote on changing its sole Harrell endorsement to a dual endorsement of both candidates next week. Washington State Senator Yasmin Trudeau, former city councilmember Nick Licata, former labor leader Claude Burfect, and the Asian Pacific Islander Americans for Civic Empowerment (APACE) all plan to announce their sole support of Wilson. by Marcus Harrison Green

There may be a Bruxit brewing.

Politicos spent the primary treating Mayor Bruce Harrell’s reelection as inevitable—and the institutional endorsements followed. But after Katie Wilson claimed almost 51 percent of the vote in the primary, some of those endorsements have started shifting.

The Stranger has confirmed that Port Commissioner Toshiko Hasegawa, who backed Harrell in the primary, has switched to a dual endorsement of him and Wilson in the general. And it could be just the beginning. MLK Labor Council, our county’s union of unions, confirmed that they’re set to vote on changing its sole Harrell endorsement to a dual endorsement of both candidates next week.

We’ve also confirmed that Washington State Senator Yasmin Trudeau, former city councilmember Nick Licata, and the Asian Pacific Islander Americans for Civic Empowerment (APACE) all plan to announce their sole support of Wilson.

Hasegawa, who is running unopposed for re-election to the port, said her decision was based on several factors, including her ongoing desire for collaboration with the city, what she believes best serves Seattle’s communities of color, immigrant communities, and working-class residents in light of recent federal developments, and a conversation with Wilson earlier this week.

“After she pulled off what many saw as a surprise win in the primary, she called me to discuss what collaboration between the city and the port can look like to create economic security for our communities. She wasn’t upset [that] I had endorsed Bruce in the primary and understands it’s not personal,” Hasegawa says. “That kind of grace is rare, especially in politics.”

It’s been even rarer on social media, where prominent Harrell endorsers like Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and King County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, have been slammed in recent weeks for sticking by the moderate incumbent, in what many see as a naked betrayal of progressivism.

With Wilson now hovering near 51% in an eight-candidate primary, she’s positioned as the clear frontrunner in the general. We asked Hasegawa if more politicos might follow suit.

“I can’t speak for what other electeds will decide. For me, it isn’t about choosing between two personalities, so much as leaning in to ensure the strongest future for our city. I keep thinking about the prices of groceries and childcare. It’s our responsibility to ensure Seattle’s a city where everyday people can afford to live, where families are supported, and the cost of living is within reach for all.”

As the first high-profile official to extend a dual endorsement to Wilson, Hasegawa addressed whether backing the mayoral candidate after her primary win might appear opportunistic.

“It would have been more convenient for me to keep my head down,” she says. “For me, this was about following my convictions…We as elected officials have to collaborate in good faith for better outcomes. That’s why I made my decision.” Hasegawa says.

It’s a decision Wilson sees as growing momentum for her campaign.

“I’m thrilled to have received the endorsement from Port Commissioner Toshiko Hasegawa. This endorsement is especially meaningful to me as it’s coming from another working mom who’s run for public office. Toshiko’s work has been instrumental in creating and sustaining living wage jobs in the region, and we’re excited to partner with her on this work for the people of Seattle,” Wilson told The Stranger via text.

Additionally, Dustin Lambro, President of MLK Labor, said a motion for an endorsement of Wilson is set to come before the council at its August 20th delegate meeting, listed under “Unfinished Business.”

According to Lambro —following Harrell’s solo endorsement— the motion to endorse Wilson was first introduced earlier this year, withdrawn by its sponsor, and later postponed until August. Once before the council, such motions are the property of the full body rather than the individual who proposed them. Approval by a two-thirds majority would result in a rare dual endorsement, adding Wilson to the organisation’s earlier backing of Harrell.

Crystal Fincher, a local political consultant and host of the Hacks & Wonks podcast, says that while a dual endorsement isn’t a full abandonment of Harrell, it is an acknowledgement that worker’s interests can also be served by Wilson.

“A dual endorsement is saying that labor’s interests could be represented by either him or Katie Wilson — and maybe it’s wise to be aligned with where Seattle workers actually are,” says Fincher.

Fincher says that the primary results showed that workers across the city preferred Wilson.

“The [results aren’t] necessarily a statement that Harrell is anti-worker, but it is a statement that Wilson is pro-worker. Sometimes endorsements happen before people really know a candidate or their platform. Now that folks have gotten a better look at Wilson — what she’s running on, how she’s showing up — some are reevaluating. A dual endorsement says, ‘The people we’re fighting for see themselves in her, too. Are we aligned with that?’” Fincher says.

Wilson had already received a notable endorsement from PROTEC17, the largest union of city workers. The local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America is also set to vote on an endorsement of Wilson at their August 26th general meeting (which is anyone’s guess how that goes).

Hasegawa may be the first to cross the line, but for every progressive elected, the moment of choice has arrived: your move.

Francesca Fiorentini Says Grab a Spine (and Laugh)

Marcus Harrison Green — Fri, 01 Aug 2025 12:52:00 -0700

She’s Coming to Seattle to Roast Billionaires with Katie Wilson and Rain on Seafair’s Parade

by Marcus Harrison Green

Francesca Fiorentini has a blunt prescription for what she sees as a left stuck in an endless loop of existential psychoanalysis, that's agonizing over its ailments, fumbling for its spine, and waiting for a savior: “We need fewer podcasters and more revolutionaries and organizers.”

It might seem richly ironic coming from a podcaster–-okay, technically the comedian, intrepid journalist, social justice shit-stirrer, online influencer, who podcasts. Saying what needs to be said, what others are afraid to say, is exactly her brand and the point of The Bitchuation Room.

The Los Angeles-based Fiorentini calls Gaza’s genocide a genocide and urges her audience to do the same, roasts popular progressive podcasts like MeidasTouch for ghosting the topic entirely, lambests the human embodiment of the Daily Mail comment section, Piers Morgan, to his face for his hypocrisy, and challenges the left to not just repeat what’s popular but “to make popular what we need said.” It’s that fearlessness that has given her Fran-tifa faithful (as she calls her fanbase) the rare, iconoclastic mix of wit, rage, and clarity nearly extinct from political comedy podcasts. The manospheric Theo Von has to break out a dictionary just to define the word “convene.”

In addition to her work with Al Jazeera, Fiorentini rose to popularity as a contributor on the long-running, once-progressive internet news show The Young Turks (TYT). After nearly a decade of keeping it relevant, she walked away in March 2025 when it started flirting with “bridge-building” with MAGA. True to form, she called out what she saw as capitulations to conservatism, saying TYT founder Cenk Uygur was, “acting like a bitch.” Uygur responded with a self-indulgent half‑hour video explaining why he was “removing” her from the network. Fiorentini has happily moved on. Her fans stayed loyal to her. Not only for her politics, but her defiant, necessary gallows humor that helps wring a few ounces of joy from weeks when the news cycle itself feels like the best case against humanity. She’s not the left’s Joe Rogan (she has 250k subscribers to his 20 million) and won’t be. She’s unwilling to cuddle up to the powerful or compromise with fascists.

I don’t believe in role models, yet she manages to be mine, and one to so many others. With headlines feeling like a daily descent into the abyss, Fiorentini has been a steady reminder that though these times may be grim, we don’t face them alone. And although the left may not need more podcasters, it sure as hell needs more Francesca Fiorentinis: voices willing to cut through the noise with courage, clarity, and an unshakable refusal to surrender integrity.

You can catch the one and only this Saturday at the Rainier Arts Center in Columbia City, where she’ll be taping a live episode of The Bitchuation Room alongside Ijeoma Oluo, mayoral candidate Katie Wilson, and comedian Derek Sheen.

She spoke to The Stranger about why the left needs to loosen up, the fragile idiocy of billionaires, the crackdown on adversarial media, and what it would take to finally build a progressive media ecosystem that’s both sustainable and fearless.

[This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.]

What made you hop up I-5 and bring your show to Seattle from LA? You’ve got a strong following, but why here?

Obviously, I’m here to reboot CHAZ—sorry, CHOP. I’m calling it Frantifa, which is what I call my followers: radicals who also like to laugh. Seattle’s always had a reputation for culture and politics, so it made sense. And honestly, if we’re gonna survive fascism, we need a front that’s politically sharp and culturally fun, inclusive, and inviting.

We’ve sold out shows in Chicago, Brooklyn, San Francisco, Portland—Seattle was overdue for some love. I love grounding the show in the city we’re in, which means pulling in local activists, artists, comedians, even elected officials. That’s why I’m thrilled mayoral candidate Katie Wilson is joining us. In Chicago we had Rosana Rodriguez, a DSA-backed alderwoman. In Brooklyn, Tiffany Cabán. In L.A., we featured Eunisses Hernandez, an organizer turned councilmember. It’s about bringing all these threads together: politics, culture, comedy, and real strategies for surviving all the shit we’re up against.

On your show you’ve called out even “progressive” outlets for neutering their politics or chasing clicks. Sometimes, as you’ve noted, Joe Rogan says more about Palestine than so-called progressive media. Where does The Bitchuation Room fit into this mess?

Look, I don’t want to be the Rogan of the left. Gross. Joe Rogan is a bona fide idiot. But it’s true: a lot of media left of center is either watering down its politics or chasing clicks that end up fueling the right. I want The Bitchuation Room to be neither. I want the comedy and political analysis to be radical, unsafe—in a good way—and intersectional. Not “edgy” as in punching down or dropping slurs. Edgy as in: “abolish ICE.” “Defund the police.” “Free Palestine.”

I’m tired of just reacting to Rogan, Andrew Schulz, Theo Von—whoever the right anoints this week. We need to build our own narratives. Calls to defund the police or reinvest in communities scared the establishment because they worked. Abolishing ICE is a real, winnable demand. These are headlines we should own, not let the right dictate.

You were pioneering in the “new media” space years ago—doing podcasts, video, comedy, activism. But looking at the current landscape, with layoffs, streaming chaos, and the Colbert show gone—do you ever feel like the weary millennial auntie watching Gen Z hustle on TikTok?

Oh, totally. The media industry right now is a dumpster fire. Private equity eats up outlets, merges them, lays everyone off. Streaming guts traditional networks. And suddenly, Colbert and 200 staffers are out of work. What happens? He’ll get a podcast. Great—I have a podcast too. But we’re all fighting for scraps in the same attention economy.

Honestly, we need fewer podcasters and more revolutionaries. That’s what I try to do with The Bitchuation Room: platform actual movement leaders while keeping it funny. Because if media alone could save us, we’d be saved by now. Meanwhile, creators are handing over their content for free while Meta trains AI on it. At some point, we’re going to need a content strike—creators banding together for fair pay.

With all that, what keeps you doing this work? You’ve got a two-year-old now. Life could be easier.

I want the left to have a sense of humor again. To stop taking itself so damn seriously. We need spaces where we can talk about abolition, talk strategy, and still laugh. The right’s got comedians fawning over Trump and then turning on him when it’s convenient. Let them wallow. We need to build our own culture, our own joy.

And it’s not just about jokes. Comedy that punches up can reveal truths the powerful want buried. That keeps me going. So does seeing new creators pop up—it gives me hope. And the truth is, the show is therapy for me. I can start an episode feeling like dog shit and finish it feeling a little less like dog shit. That community, even online, matters.

You always sound grounded on the mic—even when the news is hellish. How do you stay sane enough to do it?

Oh, I don’t. The news crushes me daily. But the show helps. It’s my therapy. I try to add something—an interview, a joke, a new angle—so it’s not just more doomscrolling. And I want to model irreverence. We can cry, rage, and still mock the Astronomer CEO and his HR girlfriend. We contain multitudes. Politically, that’s when we win too, when we stop pretending we have to be just one thing.

What gives you hope that we can actually course correct as a society?

Hope’s a stretch some days. I’m not as optimistic as I was at 18, protesting the Iraq War while it happened anyway. But I believe we don’t have to live like this. The billionaires running our lives? Fragile idiots. What we’re up against isn’t human nature—it’s structures, corruption, money. And structures can fall.

The uprisings for Black Lives Matter and Palestine are signs of what’s possible. The powerful know it—that’s why they’re terrified. We just have to get Democrats out of the way long enough to fight. Some days, I fantasize about moving to Costa Rica. But I don’t want to look like I gave up. So I stay and fight.

The Bitchuation Room LIVE will take place at the Rainier Arts Center at 8 pm (doors open at 7:30 pm) on Saturday, August 2nd. Tickets can be purchased here.

City Council Ghosted the Renters Commission Last Week. Will They Show Up Today?

Marcus Harrison Green — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 10:47:00 -0700

The City Has Left Them on Read for 18 Months

by Marcus Harrison Green

However devout your atheism, for the sake of Seattle renters and what’s left of Mark Solomon’s hairline, pray that his city council colleagues actually do on Tuesday what they couldn’t manage at last week’s Housing and Human Services Committee (HHS) meeting: Show the hell up.

Last Wednesday, after an 18-month delay, members of the Seattle Renters Commission were scheduled to finally be appointed—and in some cases reappointed—to the city’s volunteer renters advisory board. Commissioners, supporters, and rental advocates filled council chambers anticipating an appointment vote, only for the process to collapse. Neither Council President Sara Nelson nor Councilmember Rob Saka attended, leaving the committee short of quorum. With former chair Cathy Moore having already resigned, the committee could afford to lose no more than two members.

“Look, people are volunteering their time. They’re not getting paid for this. We owe it to them to listen and make it happen,” Solomon, the committee’s vice chair, told The Stranger.

On paper, the Seattle Renters’ Commission exists to give renters a seat at the table of influence that too often forgets they’re there. It’s charged with advising the Mayor, City Council, and city departments on the policies that shape whether tenants merely scrape by, or live with a shred of stability in a city where north of $128,000 still has many hitting the Grocery Outlet every other week.

Nelson had informed Solomon the day before she’d be absent, without offering a public explanation. Saka, citing personal reasons, notified Solomon less than 30 minutes before the 9:30 a.m. start time that he couldn’t attend.

Solomon told The Stranger that he believed that the two had legitimate reasons for not showing up, but other council members weren’t as generous. “It’s hard for me to read this as anything other than intentional suppression of representation of renters who are at much higher risk of being displaced. The people in this city deserve people who will actually show up for them and do the work,” Alexis Mercedes Rinck, a member of Solomon’s committee and the only renter currently on the council, told The Stranger.

Rinck wasn’t alone in her exasperation. Backlash was swift from renters’ rights and anti-displacement advocates, who saw the absences as yet another attempt to stall a process neglected for nearly a year and a half under Moore’s leadership. During that time, ten of the commission’s fifteen seats went unfilled and nominees received no hearings, even as Moore attempted to advance legislation to roll back tenant protections.

“To fail to appoint commissioners in the last scheduled committee meeting before recess is to undermine not only that group’s ability to convene and meaningfully carry out its role: it is to contribute to the sense that ‘government’ has no interest in solving problems of the people, by the people, and for the people,” Alison Eisinger, Executive Director of the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness, wrote in an email to Solomon, Saka, and Nelson after last week’s debacle.

Commission confirmations are now scheduled to take place at Tuesday’s full council meeting, along with other business that was delayed due to the absences, including appointments to the Disability Commission.

Eisinger had previously pressed Moore on the need to schedule confirmations, calling her refusal to do so a “counterproductive approach to engaging constituents in the work of understanding and addressing the issues and needs of more than 50% of Seattle residents who are renters.”

Solomon, who represents South Seattle on the council, says that’s why Tuesday’s meeting is all the more urgent: “That gives us a way forward to seat these folks … we owe it to them to listen and make it happen.”

In statements, both Nelson and Saka acknowledged the frustration caused by their absences. For Kate Rubin, a commissioner whose term expired in February and who is seeking reappointment on Tuesday, their excuses rang hollow.

“I absolutely believe it was deliberate,” Rubin says. “The email from former Councilmember Moore at 2:30 in the morning confirms it.”

The recently resigned Moore’s email directly urged Saka, Nelson, and Solomon to delay the vote, though she later told the Seattle Times that her email to Solomon bounced back.

“Beyond that, there’s just been a dismissive attitude toward the Renters Commission since this new council took office,” Rubin says.

For renters’ rights advocates, it’s difficult not to interpret last week’s absences, Moore’s witching-hour email lobbying, and her earlier pushes to rollback renter protections and to remake the Renters Commission to include landlords—a shift Rubin says would further muffle the voices of a rental population that now outnumbers homeowners—as anything but a ploy to run out the clock before Moore’s replacement, Debora Juarez, takes office risking further delays in seating the commission.

While the Renters Commission is technically advisory, it does weigh in on appointments to Seattle’s Social Housing Authority—the public developer tasked with building, owning, and maintaining permanently affordable mixed-income housing. The council’s conservative bloc has historically resisted Social Housing, pushing an alternative tax measure last year in opposition to it.

Rubin says that without the backlash, she doubts the council would have moved with such urgency, fast‑tracking the confirmation for Tuesday instead of letting it languish.

Though she’s hopeful it will finally bring long-overdue confirmations, she’s clear that the work is barely beginning. Seattle’s average rent hit $2,110 last month—30 percent higher than the national average, leaving the city among the country’s priciest rental markets.

“Fully fund tenant services,” Rubin says. “The people supporting renters are underpaid, overworked, and burning out. Engage renters more in decisions that affect them, not just during 9-to-5 public comment. And create real accountability for landlords. Right now, code enforcement is complaint-based, and landlords can get away with violations just by stopping when they’re caught. Renters deserve a system that actually protects them.”

In short, even if all confirmations on the day go forward, it isn’t the finish line. It’s the bare minimum. And if the council can’t manage even that, what hope is there for a city where renters are already running out of money, patience, and most of all, time?

Slog AM: City Council Ghosts the Renters Commission, the State GOP Is Trying to Suppress the Vote, Trump's in the Epstein Files

Marcus Harrison Green — Thu, 24 Jul 2025 09:57:00 -0700

The Stranger's Morning News Roundup. by Marcus Harrison Green

Today's weather is mostly sunny with a high near 78, which means half our fair city will pretend it’s a heatwave while the other half will refuse to give up their Patagonia fleece.

Trump Hangs up Faster Than You Can Say “Flight Log”: Despite Speaker Johnson abruptly shutting down the House, this scandal just won’t die. Turns out Donald Trump was personally told by Attorney General Pam Bondi back in May that his name pops up multiple times in the Epstein files—the very same files the feds promised to release before pulling a hard U-turn. According to The Wall Street Journal, both Bondi and FBI-director-loyalist Kash Patel warned Trump, brushing off the mentions as “unverified hearsay” about his old Epstein hangouts. And Trump? He responded the way any totally innocent person would: by hanging up on CNN. With even some House Republicans now backing Dems to get those files out in the open and Ghislaine Maxwell freshly subpoenaed, the Epstein vortex is sucking DC back into its sleaze orbit. Trump, reportedly “furious,” says there are way more important stories—like his latest attempt to accuse Obama of treason. Uh huh…

Gaza Is Starving While World Leaders Stall: While world leaders churn out limp press releases and squabble over phantom “humanitarian corridors,” more than 100 aid organizations are shouting what should already be unbearable to ignore: Gaza is starving, and Israel’s blockade is to blame. In a searing joint statement titled “As Mass Starvation Spreads Across Gaza, Our Colleagues and Those We Serve Are Wasting Away,” they describe skeletal children, aid workers collapsing from hunger, and food distribution sites turned into massacre zones. As of July 13, more than 875 Palestinians have been killed while seeking food. Meanwhile, trucks packed with food, clean water, and medicine sit idle just outside Gaza—trapped by a siege designed not to fail, but to punish. “Each morning, the same question echoes across Gaza: will I eat today?” one agency rep said. The answer, too often, is no. This isn’t just a famine. It’s a war crime, and every day the world delays, more lives are lost to the politics of cruelty.

Hellfire Roast: Turns out Starbucks isn’t just serving up venti-sized lattes—it’s pouring out infernal levels of executive greed. Per the AFL-CIO’s new Executive Paywatch report, CEO Brian Niccol made 6,666 times more than the company’s typical worker last year. That’s right: six-six-six-six—a number so cursed it practically demands a goat sacrifice. While Niccol sipped nearly $98 million in compensation, the average barista scraped by on less than $15K. Starbucks claims this is because many workers are part-time, but that hasn’t stopped the company from dropping millions on union-busting lawyers and listening sessions instead of just, you know, paying people more. Workers have been striking, organizing, and dragging the company into court for years—meanwhile, Niccol’s getting a fat Trump-era tax cut on top of his stock-heavy bonus package. That mocha latte might taste a little more bitter now.

The Government Just Ghosted Your Debt Relief: So, the Department of Education just hit pause on student loan forgiveness for folks in Income-Based Repayment plans. Which means if you’ve been grinding for years thinking you were finally done, the government’s like, “Actually, we need to recalculate your trauma first.” Interest kicks back in August 1, the tax break on forgiven debt expires in January, and a Trump administration, already hostile to student debt relief, most likely slow-walking the loan forgiveness process like it's a hostage negotiation. God forbid working people catch a break without crawling through a decade of red tape and moral judgment.

Now, let us get into the tragicomedy that is our local news…

Fergie Has Some ‘Splaining to Do: While Gov. Ferguson was thwarting taxes on billionaires last budget session, he somehow missed the stack of misconduct allegations piling up against his right-hand man, Mike Webb. Axios reports that although Webb resigned this year after multiple women accused him of creating a hostile work environment, red flags on the guy go back to 2013, with state auditors raising alarms as far back as 2019 with Ferguson’s office. The paraphrased response from Ferguson’s crew at the time? No formal HR complaint, so we’re good. Political code for “If you didn’t notarize your trauma, it doesn’t count.” And the kicker? Webb’s still tagging along and flying shotgun on campaign trips with Ferguson’s team as recently as last month. Apparently, in state politics, being a powerful creep doesn’t get you canceled. It gets you extra leg room.

No Last Words, Just Lasting Rage: At his sentencing for the brutal murders of four University of Idaho students, Bryan Kohberger sat stone-faced and silent—offering zero explanation, zero remorse, and zero closure to the families he devastated. Prosecutors didn’t bother pushing for a plea deal that would force him to speak, because let’s be real: no one needed more self-serving nonsense from a guy who thinks silence makes him mysterious instead of monstrous. The Goncalves family, especially Kaylee’s sister Alivea, didn’t hold back—calling him “pathetic” and making it crystal clear he only succeeded because he attacked in the dark, like a coward. No motive, no mercy, no justice—just a courtroom full of grief staring down a man who will never give them what they actually deserve.

Court Upholds Birthright Citizenship, for Now: A federal appeals court has ruled Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship unconstitutional, echoing a previous decision from a New Hampshire district court. Essentially, Terror 47 tried to rewrite the Constitution with magic marker, and the courts just reminded him that reality still exists. The ruling simply states what every exhausted civics teacher in America has been screaming into the void: you can’t undo the 14th Amendment just because it ruins your fascist fantasy. Washington was one of the states to bring the case against the administration.

Fire in the Central District: A fire tore through Seattle’s Chinatown International Central District early Thursday, starting in a vacant home under construction and spreading to several neighboring homes, displacing multiple families. Thankfully, no residents were seriously hurt, although one firefighter was treated for minor injuries. The city is currently investigating the cause of the fire.

Can’t Win in Court? Block the Judge: Municipal Court Judge Damon Shadid just dragged City Attorney Ann Davison’s office in open court for what looks like a power-hungry, politically motivated stunt—blocking Judge Pooja Vaddadi from hearing DUI and domestic violence cases based on what Vaddadi says are straight-up lies. Davison’s move, which sidelined a newly elected judge and basically turned a voter mandate into a desk job, has now triggered a formal bar complaint and serious questions about ethics, transparency, and who actually gets to wield power in Seattle’s justice system. And now, as Davison runs for reelection with MAGA baggage and a suddenly fat campaign account, she’s facing three challengers who seem more interested in actual justice than playing courtroom politics.

Do Not Sign This Shit! In a raging case of voter suppression FOMO, Washington state conservatives are pushing a ballot initiative to literally gatekeep democracy. It's the bureaucratic equivalent of “Show us your papers, comrade,” as if the right to vote should come with a TSA checkpoint and a scavenger hunt for your birth certificate. No more checking a box. It would now be, prove you’re American enough, or get the hell out of the ballot line. Let’s just be real: the GOP doesn’t fear non-citizens voting. They fear citizens voting against them. If they can’t win your vote, they’ll sure as hell try to make it as hard as possible to vote in the first place.

Waterfront Park Officially Opens: Our Emerald City officially unveiled its latest glow-up moment with the opening of the new Waterfront Park. Yes, 50,000 square feet of vibes where a collapsing highway used to loom like a concrete guillotine. After 15 years, we get a jellyfish-shaped playground, a fountain plaza, and 270 free events later this Summer. Essentially, it’s the city saying, “Sorry about the viaduct drama, here’s some yoga and a couple of food pop-ups.”

Seattle Loves Renters So Much It Won’t Even Let Them Meet: For 18 months, Cathy Moore basically ghosted the Seattle Renters’ Commission. There were no hearings, no appointments, nothing, while she pushed bills that would’ve made it way easier to evict people. Flash forward: she resigns, and just when it looks like the commission might finally get seated, Councilmembers Rob Saka and Sara Nelson pull a classic “Sorry, can’t come, super busy avoiding the duties we were elected to fulfill” move and tank the meeting by skipping it. Meanwhile, renters—many of them volunteers who took time off work—showed up ready to serve their community, only to get hit with silence, shade, and a 404 error from Saka’s office. You can’t make this up.

Donnie Chin Honored: Ten years after Donnie Chin was shot and killed while responding to a 911 call, the Chinatown-International District showed up, not just to mourn, but to remember a man who basically did the city’s job for it. Donnie wasn’t just a first responder; he was the first responder, often beating cops and medics to the scene because the system didn’t care enough to show up for his community. And here’s the part that still stings: a decade later, his murder is still unsolved.

Your Obligatory Seahawks 411: For the 5 percent of you who actually care and the 15 percent who just want to survive small talk with your partner’s meathhead sibling, here’s your Seahawks update. They just kicked off training camp for their 50th season with a new offensive coordinator, a quarterback best known for seeing “ghosts” mid-game, and the kind of blind optimism usually reserved for football fans and people joining multi-level marketing schemes. Last year, they went 10-7 and still missed the playoffs. But hey, if the defense stays mean, the rookies stay healthy, and the offense stops self-sabotaging, they might just luck their way into the postseason.

Death gives Hogan the big boot: I’m a firm believer that you shouldn’t valorize people, simply because their heart stops beating. So, I won’t pretend Hulk Hogan was anything but what he was. He died at 71 from cardiac arrest in Florida, leaving behind a legacy as bloated and performative as pro wrestling itself. Yes, he helped turn wrestling into a pop culture juggernaut, but he also brought us sex tapes, racist rants, and more tall tales than a televangelist on mushrooms—Elvis was a Hulkamaniac? Really? Even in death, Hogan is less a man than a cautionary tale—part myth, part lawsuit, and all-American spectacle, brother.

I’ll Leave You With this: someone just randomly texted me that it’s Jennifer Lopez’s birthday. I’m not a fan, so I’m not sure why I needed that information, but apparently she’s completed her 56th lap around the sun. In honor of the occasion, and because LL Cool J is involved, here’s her most tolerable song.

Slog AM: The Tooth Fairy Lives in Seattle, a Baseball Coach Protects Players from ICE, Narcan Saved a Puppy in Lacey

Marcus Harrison Green — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 09:41:00 -0700

The Stranger's Morning News Roundup by Marcus Harrison Green

Weather: News-wise, I’m not gonna lie to you, it's gonna suck harder than a Hoover vacuum in a black hole. But while the headlines are a disaster buffet, and no, you can’t skip the sides, thank the maker for small mercies (at least if you live in Seattle): clear skies and a high of 85. Sure, the world spirals into climate collapse and political absurdity, at least the sun’s still pretending everything’s fine.

Not all of Western Washington is catching a break, though. Temps hit the 90s in some areas yesterday, and since we now live in a world where the weather is actively trying to kill us, the National Weather Service has extended its Heat Advisory through Thursday for parts of the Puget Sound region. Meanwhile, the Cascades are under a Red Flag Warning thanks to hot, dry, wildfire-friendly conditions. The NWS is basically pleading with people not to keel over in the heat, especially the young, the elderly, and anyone stuck without A/C. So here’s the plan: hydrate, avoid the sun like it’s your ex with a grudge, and try not to burst into flames before the weekend.

The Tooth Fairy Lives in Seattle: I know this isn’t the most important story, but hell, we’re going to need to start off with something light. Dr. Purva Merchant, a pediatric dentist in the 206, has been the secret Tooth Fairy for the past 20 years, quietly replying to over 6,000 email pleas from kids and parents around the world. What started as a fluke email grew into a mission to “preserve the magic”, sending whimsical, comforting responses (and a dollar or two) to reassure kids that growing up isn’t so scary. Signed off with a warm “Happy growing up,” her notes are a reminder that small acts of kindness can shield innocence in a world that’s increasingly harsh.

Fiscal Gaslighting: Senate Republicans pushed through a $9 billion Trump-backed clawback package that guts funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting, including NPR and PBS. Of course, nothing says “fiscal sanity” like cutting global health programs and public media in the middle of multiple crises. The bill passed by a razor-thin margin, with all Democrats and two Republicans voting no, and now heads back to the House. GOP leaders are calling it a commonsense move against “waste,” but let’s be real—this is about flexing power, punishing programs they politically dislike, and handing Trump another symbolic win.

But There’s Always Money for the Pentagon: Don’t worry, folks, if you thought maybe, just maybe, we’d cut a few bucks from the Pentagon’s bloated murder fund to help people not die in a flood or starve during a heatwave, think again. Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Act” cranks military spending up to a trillion dollars because apparently national security these days equates to 178 megatons of carbon emissions and enough firepower to blow up a planet we’re already cooking alive. Meanwhile, Americans are drowning, burning, or sizzling like bacon in a cast iron pan, and the response from the government is: cut food stamps, slash disaster aid, and cancel climate programs because that money is needed for bombs and billionaire tax breaks.

Central Banking, Now a Bloodsport: In true Trump fashion, a meeting that was supposed to be about crypto turned into a vent session about one of his favorite punching bags: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Trump waved around a draft letter to fire Powell like it was show-and-tell, griping that interest rates are too high and hinting (without evidence… surprise, surprise) that the Fed’s building renovation might be riddled with fraud. While some insiders say he’s just trolling, MAGA loyalists like Rep. Anna Paulina Luna are already cheering for Powell’s head on a pike. If Trump actually goes through with it, it’d be an unprecedented assault on Fed independence, and a reckless flex that could rattle the entire economy.

Coincidentally, Maurene Comey, daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, has been fired from her role as a federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York. She helped put Epstein’s partner in crime, Ghislaine Maxwell, behind bars and led separate cases against both Epstein and Sean “Diddy” Combs. Apparently, her last name was too much baggage for an administration hellbent on revenge and image control. No explanation given—just another quiet purge from a Justice Department that’s starting to look more like a loyalty cult than a legal institution. All of this comes as Trump World scrambles to bury the Epstein case, and maybe anyone who ever tried to expose it.

Trump Melts Down Over Epstein “Hoax”: In a chronic case of being unable to put the genie back in the bottle, Donald Trump continues his meltdown over the Epstein files after his own supporters refuse to let the story die. Trump, never one to handle being questioned (especially by his own base), went full unhinged boomer on Truth Social, rage-posting like a rejected Reddit mod and calling his supporters “weaklings.” He went on to accuse them of falling for a “radical left” scam. Meanwhile, MAGA loyalists and Republican heavyweights, from Marjorie Taylor Greene to Mike Johnson are demanding transparency, forcing Trump into the awkward position of disowning the very conspiracies he once perpetuated. Elon Musk, never one to miss a messy moment, chimed in to mock Trump’s “hoax” claims, basically telling him: if it’s fake, release the damn files. While I’m not holding my breath, if we’re lucky, this Epstein fiasco could do what no indictment or insurrection ever could: split MAGA from its messiah.

Thanks for Your Service! Now Let’s Deport Your Dad: Narciso Barranco, a father of three U.S. Marines, was just released after spending weeks in federal custody for the crime of… mowing a lawn while undocumented. ICE agents tackled him outside an IHOP, pinned him to the ground, and accused him of assault with a weed whacker. However, no assault charges were filed, of course, just the usual “you don’t belong here” charge from a country built entirely by people who didn’t belong here. His son, a Marine vet, picked him up and said what we’re all thinking: “We give everything to this country, and they still come for our parents.” Welcome to America, where the flag-waving never stops, but the compassion sure as hell does.

Israel has killed 93 Palestinians in just the last 24 hours, striking civilians sheltering in schools, and even a church. An Israeli tank shelled the Holy Family Church, killing two women and injuring a disabled child and the parish priest, because apparently no place is sacred anymore. In Khan Younis, what was billed as “aid” turned into horror when guards with the U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation allegedly fired tear gas into a starving crowd, triggering a deadly stampede. Survivors aren’t buying the PR, demanding not food drops under fire, but open borders and the basic right to survive.

Pickleball for the Housed, Silence for the Displaced: A 54,000-square-foot indoor pickleball facility, Pickle at the Palms, is now under construction in the Interbay neighborhood, on the former site of Salmon Bay Village, a city-sanctioned RV and tiny home community for unhoused residents. The project, led by Seattle Storm co-owner Ginny Gilder and her family, promises a “premium” experience for pickleball enthusiasts, but has raised uncomfortable questions about what happened to the roughly 50 people displaced when the site shut down in May. While developers talk about community and the rise of America’s trendiest sport, nearby residents like 82-year-old Penny Fuller are asking the more pressing question: “Where do those people now live?”

Puppy Saved by Narcan: In a moment that somehow manages to be both heartbreaking and weirdly hopeful, a Lacey paramedic had to administer Narcan to a puppy likely exposed to fentanyl during a police investigation in a parked car. The little guy was unresponsive, barely breathing, until a small dose of the overdose-reversing drug brought him back. Within minutes, he was awake, tail wagging, and licking everyone like he just saved them. He’s now in the care of animal services.

To Leave You On: Yeah, this story’s a few days old, but it needs to be dragged back into the spotlight because it’s the kind of thing that slips into silence if we let it. Youman Wilder, founder of the Harlem Baseball Hitting Academy, had ICE agents roll up unannounced to a kids’ baseball practice on the Upper West Side and start interrogating his players, mostly Black and Latino teens, about where they and their parents were from. Wilder stepped in like any decent human should, told the armed goons the kids would be exercising their Fifth Amendment rights, and called the whole thing what it was: state-sanctioned intimidation. But here’s the part that guts you, speaking on MSNBC, he said what hurt most wasn’t the agents, but the people around them who said nothing. “I saw cowards,” he said. “And I hate to say that as somebody who loves their city.”

Ultimately, this isn’t just about ICE or one coach. It’s about what happens when cruelty shows up in public, and the crowd looks down at their phones. If we want to resist the machinery of fear and control that defines our current regime, then courage can’t be rare. It has to be reflexive, and not a one-person act.

The Undocumented Socialist Alien Who Keeps Saving America

Marcus Harrison Green — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 14:37:00 -0700

Conservatives hate him. Puppies love him. Welcome to James Gunn’s Superman

by Marcus Harrison Green

A summer blockbuster about an undocumented alien with unyielding socialist values who continuously bails out a country clearly undeserving of him. Is it any wonder that James Gunn’s Superman movie, released Friday, is reflexively triggering fascists to demand people claw out their corneas rather than be subjected to its “woke proselytizing?”

Even before its release, the outrage coming from the conservative content mill branded the film a beta male cuckfest, wishing it the ultimate cinematic kiss of death: that it bombed harder than Disney's live-action remake of Snow White (ouch). And for what? Simply because Gunn, the film's director and screenwriter, had the gall to emphasize Superman's ties to the immigrant experience in America. After all, he did migrate from another planet with dubious legality.

He then had the sheer audacity to suggest that the character's ultimate trait isn't his ability to fly, bench-press skyscrapers, or shoot laser beams from his eyes, but this ultra rare thing called human kindness. And for that, sight unseen, there exists a manufactured campaign working overtime to discourage anyone from seeing the latest iteration of society's most recognizable superhero.

After seeing the movie, I’ll admit it, if I were them, I’d do the same damn thing. Because the most consequential battle of our time isn’t being fought with bullets or ballots, but through narrative: who gets to shape it, who gets erased from it, and what values it enshrines. It’s a fight to define what constitutes strength and justice, what gets labeled as truth. And most crucially, who gets to be recognized as fully human, fully American, and fully worthy of concern.

In a time when the right openly applauds mass cruelty and cheers people being rounded up like cattle in Los Angeles parks, while its religious arm dares to somehow preach with a straight face that empathy is actually toxic, Superman might be the closest thing a commercial, mass marketed, big-budget Hollywood film will come to challenging the creeping fascistic world view taking hold in our society.

Of course, it is not revolutionary. But in a cultural moment where authoritarian ideology is sliding into the mainstream and weaponized to justify displacement, surveillance, and state-sanctioned violence, a story that dares to center decency, dignity, and radical care for strangers begins to feel almost subversive. When the dominant narrative tells us to harden our hearts, even a commercial myth about an immigrant who uses his power to protect the vulnerable can feel like a social gesture toward a strength rooted not in control or conquest, but in the quiet insistence that love, justice, and solidarity still have a place in public life.

Superman, created in the 1930s by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, two children of Jewish immigrants, was at the time a deliberate response to a climate of rising xenophobia and fascism. Through him, Siegel and Shuster aimed to show that immigrants weren’t a threat. They were people who shared the same moral aspirations as their new neighbors (wishful thinking, even then), and who could help shape a richer, more creative, more just society.

Superman was a symbol of America’s potential: a nation that doesn’t merely tolerate uniqueness, but thrives because of it. His mission, which actor David Corenswet, who portrays him in the film, recently described as standing for “truth, justice, and all the other good stuff.”

There’s plenty of the latter throughout the film. It's fun, delightfully weird, and values-affirming (if your values are humanitarian). And although Gunn has claimed his film is apolitical, mainly to avoid harming its commercial viability (he is trying to build a cinematic universe, after all), at its core, the film stands in direct opposition to the politics of despair and resignation. It rejects the idea that cruelty is inevitable or that hope is naive.

Thankfully foregoing Superman's origin story (dude’s been around for nine decades, you should know by now: home planet blew up, sent to Earth, raised by Kansas farmer, got it), the movie is refreshing for a comic book film in that you don’t need to have sat through 20 hours of preexisting IP in order to understand it.

The film kicks off with the bruised and battered Superman being saved by super dog Krypto (who should be charged for scene-stealing grand larceny throughout the film). From there, the film leans into some familiar but modernized character motifs. There’s Lois Lane, played with sharp wit by Rachel Brosnahan of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, who passes the Bechdel Test and brings a refreshing shift in focus. Her relationship with Clark Kent is present, but it’s maybe her third priority. Her real drive is clear: She’s determined to be the best reporter at the struggling Daily Planet, and if the super-fling fizzles out? So be it. She’s got bigger stories to chase.

Then there’s Superman’s perennial nemesis, Lex Luthor, played gamely by Nicholas Hoult. He portrays Luthor like he’s spliced together the ruthlessness of Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Peter Thiel into a menacing, smarmy, calculating villain. The result is a Luthor who feels tragic, but never once sympathetic, a rare feat.

It’s Luthor who sets the central conflict in motion: A poor, under-resourced nation of mostly brown people is threatened with mass slaughter by a hyper-militarized, aggressive country fully backed and blessed by the United States government. Subtle, right?

When Superman chooses to protect the weaker nation from annihilation, he immediately becomes a target of the US itself, which promptly outsources his takedown to, you guessed it, Luthor. Again, very subtle.

The movie ultimately works because, unlike others behind recent big-screen attempts (yes, we’re looking at you, Zack Snyder), Gunn actually understands who Superman is. He’s not a god. He’s not an Ayn Rand–inspired stoic individualist. And he’s certainly not a Messianic savior figure (an ironic interpretation, given the character’s Jewish origins). In contrast to Snyder’s grim and brooding interpretations in Man of Steel (2013) and Dawn of Justice (2016), this version of Superman offers something both rare and urgent: a vision of benefic masculinity.

He is a narrative counterweight, a reminder that power, at its best, exists to serve, not to be served. He could rule the world if he wanted to. But he chooses to protect it.

Because, as his creators intended from the very beginning, he embodies something profoundly countercultural: a misfit, an outsider, a do-gooder who’s a little corny, a little naive, and still utterly committed to doing the right thing, even in a world that grows more cynical, and less appreciative of his presence, by the day.

In that way, Superman may be the most human superhero ever created. And in Corenswet’s portrayal—grounded, vulnerable, and deeply principled—we finally see that full humanity come alive. It’s fitting, and long overdue, that the first Jewish actor to play this deeply Jewish-coded character does so with a sincerity that honors both the myth and the men who created it.

The weight of that milestone didn’t fully hit me until about 30 minutes into the film, when my rowmate at the screening began to cry. After the credits rolled, I asked her why. Through tears, she explained the Jewish concept of tikkun olam: the call to repair the world through acts of kindness and justice.

Part of her emotion was sparked by seeing a Jewish actor finally portray a character born from the imaginations of two Jewish children of immigrants. Much like I felt when Black Panther was first released, she felt a deep emotional resonance in seeing her identity reflected with care and dignity. But what moved her most was the story itself: a hero, created by those who knew exile and otherness, using his power to protect vulnerable, besieged people.

If you gave James Gunn a dose of truth serum, he might admit that the endangered nation under siege in the film was clearly a stand-in for Gaza. For her, it wasn’t just a superhero fantasy—it was a moral call, a plea for more Jews, and for everyone, to raise their voices for the people being slaughtered there. A reminder that our identities, our histories, and our stories should compel us toward ethical action. Toward aiding those in danger. Toward building a more just world.

Full confession: Superman has always been my favorite superhero. He has been since I was 8 years old, sitting cross-legged by the fireplace while my father, exhausted from working two jobs to keep a roof over our heads and pay my school tuition, read Superman comics to me. It was his way of expressing love, through stories of a man who could fly, yet chose to walk alongside us.

Those moments were moral instructions on power and responsibility. My father, a Black man navigating a world that often refused to see his full humanity, used Superman to teach me that strength isn’t about domination; it’s about restraint, empathy, and service.

Through those stories, he showed me that privilege, whether inherited, earned, or stumbled into, is never neutral. It demands something of us. Our measure is not by what we possess, but by what we choose to do with it.

It’s why this latest Superman film, entertaining as it is, is the most vital and resonant version we’ve ever seen on screen. More than just a blockbuster, it offers a desperately needed counter-narrative to the dystopian propaganda that saturates our culture today. Whether it’s streaming from YouTubers or broadcast from the White House, we’re being told, over and over, to look away.

Look away from the terror inflicted on immigrants.
Look away from the erasure of trans lives.
Look away from the legislation that grinds the poor further into poverty.
Look away from the murdered children of Gaza.

This is propaganda designed to demoralize. A narrative architecture built to dull our senses, normalize violence, and convince us that compassion is weakness and justice is impossible. It tells us that resistance is futile, that cruelty is common sense, and that apathy is the only way to survive. It asks us to bow our heads in resignation, to stop believing in the possibility of change, and ultimately, to give up on one another.

But this film insists on something else. It reminds us that power, when guided by love, is liberating. It centers care as strength, hope as practice, and solidarity as our only way forward. It’s not just a story about a man who can fly. It’s a reminder of what we are capable of when we choose to show up with courage, again and again, even when the world tells us not to bother.

Unbow your head and, as the film’s tagline says: Look up.

Slog AM: House GOP Pulls an All-Nighter, FEMA's Leaving States on Read, King County Assessor Gets Arrested

Marcus Harrison Green — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 09:43:00 -0700

The Stranger's morning news roundup. by Marcus Harrison Green

Partly Cloudy Day: Our weather today will be mostly cloudy in the morning, before handing us a partly sunny illusion of hope, with highs around 71. That’s what we’ve come to call summer in these parts if you're into emotional compromise. So wear the light jacket in the morning, switch to a tee later, and enjoy this rare meteorological miracle before the clouds remember they have beef with you.

House GOP Pulls All-Nighter to Move Deadly Bill Forward: While you were sleeping, House Republicans were busy trying to pass a spending bill packed with tax breaks for the rich and deep cuts to social programs, including $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and food assistance. By 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, they were still scrambling for votes to pass “the rule,” a procedural hurdle required to bring the bill to the floor. Normally, the majority party backs its own rules, but House Republicans are now so chaotic they’ve started mutinying against themselves. Inspiring stuff. By midnight, the rebellion was fading, and the bill looked likely to pass.

As of this writing, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is entering his sixth hour of speaking in an effort to stall the vote. He said they only need four Republicans with “John McCain levels of courage” to stop the bill. Whether anyone in this Congress has that kind of backbone remains to be seen. Not holding our breath. The bill is headed to a final House vote.

FEMA’s Communication Blackout Is Leaving Disaster Response in Chaos: As hurricane season approaches, FEMA has slammed the door on communication, leaving state and local emergency officials scrambling for answers. From Wyoming to North Carolina, emergency managers say they’re being “ghosted” by FEMA, with vital questions about emergency funding going unanswered. Internal memos reveal top FEMA brass ordered staff to route all inquiries from Congress, the White House’s budget office, and the National Security Council through the acting FEMA administrator. Regional teams have even been told to limit what they share with local partners until supervisors approve it.

The result? A dangerous information bottleneck that’s delaying billions in emergency grants and could cripple disaster response just when it’s needed most. Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is tightening her grip on FEMA as the Trump administration plans to phase out the agency after hurricane season and shift disaster responsibility to the states. State and local officials warn this silence and confusion will cost lives. The DHS calls claims of a communication ban “fake news,” but FEMA insiders say the memos tell a different story. If FEMA won’t talk, who will answer when disaster strikes?

Big Gulag Energy: A new lawsuit says the Trump admin illegally deported Maryland father Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia after a judge told them not to, and he was immediately thrown into El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison. Upon arrival, a guard allegedly told detainees, “Welcome to CECOT. Whoever enters here doesn’t leave.” So that’s... encouraging. There, guards tortured him for months. According to newly filed court docs, they beat him, denied him sleep and bathroom access, and forced him to kneel for nine-hour stretches under 24/7 lights. Now he’s suing Marco Rubio, Pamela Bondi, Kristi Noem, and other Trumpworld cosplay cabinet members. The feds only brought him back last month, just in time to charge him with human smuggling. Asked about it, DHS mouthpiece Tricia McLaughlin called it a “sob story” and mocked reporters for asking. Charming.

DHS and FBI Warn of Lone Wolf Threats Ahead of July 4: Federal agencies are warning of lone actors and small extremist groups targeting July 4 events nationwide. In a joint statement, the FBI and DHS said, “These individuals are often motivated by a broad range of racial, ethnic, political, religious, anti-government, societal, or personal grievances.” While listing every grievance under the sun, they conveniently tiptoed around the fact that most of these so-called “lone wolves” are white American men with a penchant for violence and plummeting down YouTube rabbit holes, including the recent police-impersonating gunman who killed Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman. There are also concerns about copycat attacks inspired by recent violence such as the Texas-born assailant who rammed a crowd in New Orleans earlier this year, killing 14.

The statement also noted that unauthorized drones add another layer of risk to public safety and event security. Officials urge vigilance as the nation prepares for July 4 celebrations, though it’s been years since America was a place where people could gather in groups without fearing violence.

Freak-Offs and Failed Convictions: Sean “Diddy” Combs just swerved a legal freight train, sort of. After a seven-week federal trial filled with graphic testimony, he was found not guilty Wednesday on racketeering and sex trafficking charges but still landed two felony convictions for transporting people across state lines for prostitution. The feds painted him as the baby-oil-soaked kingpin of a criminal sex ring, complete with drugs, violence, and “freak-offs” filmed like twisted episodes of Black Mirror. His defense? Yes, he’s an abuser, but most of these encounters were just consensual kinky fun with girlfriends, and the government was on a puritanical overreach mission. But don’t cue the victory lap just yet: a federal judge denied him bail, citing his “propensity for violence,” so he’s still behind bars and looking at up to 20 years in prison. Turns out “Bad Boy for Liife” hits different when the bars aren’t metaphorical.

Criminology Student Convicted of Idaho Murders: Bryan Kohberger, a criminology Ph.D. student who went from studying serial killers to becoming one, pleaded guilty to the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students in a plea deal that takes the death penalty off the table but locks him away for life. Prosecutors laid out a grim, calculated plan involving late-night stalking, a military-style knife, and a disturbingly spotless getaway, but still couldn’t explain why he did it or how someone that creepy went unnoticed for so long. The victims' families were split: some were furious that he won’t face execution, while others are relieved to avoid years of retraumatizing courtroom theater. So we get closure without clarity, a killer without a cause, and a case that feels more like a tragic true crime podcast with no final resolution.

Bench the Bigotry, Not the Kids: In what I’m sure doesn’t portend a judicial decision crowdsourced from the pits of hell, the Supreme Court just RSVP’d to the next round of the culture war, agreeing to hear two cases about whether states can ban transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports. These cases, out of Idaho and West Virginia, are a bad-faith legal tug-of-war over equal protection and the right of trans kids to just exist and compete like everyone else. Fresh off blessing restrictions on gender-affirming care, the Court’s signaling it’s ready to weigh in on yet another front in the right-wing campaign to legislate trans people out of public life and follows Penn outright banning trans athletes.

Assessor of Poor Judgment: King County Assessor John Arthur Wilson got himself arrested Wednesday night for allegedly stalking his ex-fiancée and violating a restraining order because apparently, the bar for public office is now somewhere beneath the jail itself. Just hours before his arrest, the man was posting glam shots from an upscale restaurant, toasting what he called a “great day.” Wilson, of course, claims the arrest is all “political,” because in 2025, accountability is synonymous with another deep-state conspiracy.

Wrong Guy, Same Brutality: Vidal Palomar, a disabled father of three who fled cartel violence in Mexico, was violently arrested by ICE in Lynden, despite having no criminal record and, according to his attorney, being the victim of mistaken identity. Eyewitness video shows agents throwing him to the ground twice, even with a disabled placard clearly in view, and when he finally demanded to see a warrant, it showed a photo of someone else. ICE then allegedly offered him $1,000 to "just admit guilt and leave," because apparently failures of due process now come with a cash bonus. Palomar’s arrest has sent shockwaves through Whatcom County’s Latino community, where the message is loud and clear: being undocumented and brown is enough to get you disappeared.

Vote Wilson: In case you missed our mayoral endorsement, here’s the TL;DR: Bruce Harrell came in promising housing, police reform, and grown-up leadership, then promptly handed us more sweeps, tech bro distractions, and tantrums when asked basic questions. Turns out the real graffiti problem is the one scribbling over his own promises. Meanwhile, Katie Wilson actually has a plan to house people, fund services, and not spiral into finger-pointing every time things get hard. She’s smart, steady, and gives a damn (my own mama has even given her support) so let’s retire Bruce and give Seattle a mayor who doesn’t need a babysitter.

Raleigh is an All Star! Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh just went full Super Saiyan and got named an All-Star starter for the first time because when you hit 33 home runs before July, people notice. That’s third-most ever before July 1, right behind Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire (aka the Avengers of the steroid era). Raleigh’s basically carrying the Mariners on his back with a 1.024 OPS, 4.5 WAR, and even stealing bases now because apparently he woke up this season and chose MVP-level violence.

Bald and Back, Baby! A bald eagle in Tacoma just pulled off the ultimate comeback story. Rescued starving and grounded in May, it got the full wildlife VIP treatment and took flight again Wednesday like it never missed a beat. This bird had broken bones, was dehydrated, basically one step away from starring in a wildlife tragedy but thanks to the good folks at PAWS and Featherhaven, it’s back in the skies, hopefully reconnecting with its eagle boo.

Look, I don’t know what it is about Postmodern Jukebox covers, but they get me every, single, time. Like, why does a jazzed-up, gospel-fied version of U2 hit harder than catholic guilt on a Sunday morning? I can’t explain it. But here we are. So let’s start the day right:

State Attorney General Nick Brown on Fighting Trump

Marcus Harrison Green — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 16:13:00 -0700

We spoke with Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown, one of the few top state officials calling out Trump’s actions for what they are: fascist. In his position, Brown, who recently threatened to sue over the administration’s latest travel ban targeting majority-Black and Brown nations, may soon be one of the only legal guardrails standing between this city and a federal agency unleashed with impunity. He talked with The Stranger about the country’s descent into fascism, his ability to fight against it. by Marcus Harrison Green

In the last week, while the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement descends on workplaces, thousands across the country have taken to the streets in anti-ICE protests, pushing back against the ideology that children with brain cancer, breast cancer survivors, parents with newborns, third graders, and farmers keeping the economy are more terrorizing than masked federal agents who vanish people off the streets without warning, warrants, or due process.

National headlines fixate on California—where Trump has deployed 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines in a dystopian show of force even the LAPD finds alarming—but Seattle isn’t standing still. There have been protests outside immigration courts throughout the week, and on Saturday, June 14, the same day Trump plans a self-fellating birthday parade to celebrate both his 79th year and ostensibly the 250th anniversary of our imperial war machine, more than 1,800 protests are planned nationwide, including two taking place simultaneously in Seattle: a march from Cal Anderson to Seattle Center and a rally at UW’s Red Square.

Seattleites have every reason to stay alert. Recent reports say that the administration has directed ICE to deploy special tactical units in blue cities, including here, and it’s been barely a month since SPD cracked down on counter-protesters at an anti-LGBTQ rally, while far-right agitators were given a pass. Even as protests erupt nationwide, officer conduct is scrutinized far less than the people they claim to serve and protect.

Against this backdrop, we spoke with Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown, one of the few top state officials calling out Trump’s actions for what they are: fascist. In his position, Brown, who recently threatened to sue over the administration’s latest travel ban targeting majority-Black and Brown nations, may soon be one of the only legal guardrails standing between this city and a federal agency unleashed with impunity. He talked with The Stranger about the country’s descent into fascism, his ability to fight against it.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Washington has historically declared itself a sanctuary state. What does that really mean when federal military units are being used to support ICE? How would you uphold our sanctuary commitments in that context?

Well, I generally avoid using the term “sanctuary” because it means different things to different people, and it’s not defined in any of our laws. That vagueness can be risky in terms of what people think it entails.

What I will say is this: for generations, Washington has been a state that supports immigrant and refugee communities—whether someone has legal status, temporary status, or no status. We’ve reaffirmed, through state policy, that our law enforcement agencies are here to enforce criminal law, not civil immigration law. Many local jurisdictions have taken that same approach.

We’ve seen the president try to challenge those kinds of policies elsewhere. His administration even issued a so-called list of "sanctuary jurisdictions" last week—which they quickly retracted because it was riddled with errors.

But I think two things can be true: we can keep our communities safe and enforce our laws without becoming an arm of ICE or the federal government. And honestly, most of the law enforcement officers I’ve spoken to don’t want to be immigration agents. A lot of federal law enforcement officials feel the same way—they’re being pulled into immigration work because the president is fixated on it, instead of focusing on more pressing public safety challenges.

Our laws are under scrutiny, yes, and we’re facing threats. That’s part of why I brought a lawsuit against a county sheriff in Adams County who violated the Keep Washington Working Act. We were in court on that case just today in Spokane, and I feel confident about our path forward. We are committed to defending state sovereignty and making sure our resources are used where they belong—not on attempts to erase immigrants or undocumented people from our communities.

If the federal government were to deploy the National Guard or US Marines to suppress anti-ICE protests in Washington, as has happened in California, what legal recourse would your office pursue to protect the rights of Washingtonians?

As a legal matter, at least from my observation, the president is abusing his authority once again. You can only mobilize the National Guard under very specific conditions—you need both a substantive and procedural basis to do so. From what I can tell, none of the three substantive criteria for doing so are present in this case.

And procedurally, the president is required to work through the Governor’s office. According to all the reporting and the lawsuit California filed, none of that process was followed. So, to me, it appears clearly illegal.

If the same fact pattern were to happen here in Washington, we’d likely be in a very similar legal position to California—and I expect we’d challenge it too. If there were a truly substantive situation that required federal assistance, and if the president followed the law and worked with the Governor here to coordinate deployment, that might be legal. But if he acted here as he did in California, we would absolutely challenge it.

Can the Attorney General’s Office intervene if federal authorities begin detaining activists or organizers under the guise of “national security” or “immigration enforcement”? What limits (if any) exist on that power?

Yes and yes.

First, I think it's essential that people continue to protest and have their voices heard. Communities are rightly energized and scared right now—and they should not cower in the face of that fear. We need to preserve the spirit of protest, but we also have to be smart about how we do it. We don’t want to hand the president an excuse to escalate things, as he has in California.

We’re monitoring what’s happening in other states and doing everything we can to support our partners, including the Governor’s office. We're trying to assess what might unfold this weekend. Now, we don’t represent individuals, but we do have a duty to defend state law and state authority. If federal officials violate our laws or people's rights, we have a role to play. What that looks like will depend on the specifics.

Look, immigration enforcement has existed for over a century. Previous administrations, including Biden’s and those before him, have deported people. But what we’re seeing now is something different. It’s authoritarian. We're talking about people being kidnapped off the street, visas revoked for speaking out, workplace raids that disregard human dignity. That demands a much more urgent and active response from state officials.

Are you in communication with city attorneys or local mayors about a united legal response should ICE, CBP, or the military begin coordinating actions in their jurisdictions?

Not specifically in response to what might happen this week, but yes—we’re in regular communication, especially with larger jurisdictions where more of this activity tends to occur. I spoke with the Mayor this morning about the situation in California and what that might signal for us.

Sometimes we join legal challenges together. More often, we coordinate with other states on lawsuits, since each AG has different responsibilities. Information-sharing and collaboration are important, even if we’re not always signing on to the same litigation.

This county has a long and painful history of federal force being used to suppress Black, Indigenous, immigrant, and working-class communities—from the civil rights movement to Standing Rock. Have you taken any lessons from that history in shaping your approach today?

Absolutely. I was really struck this morning watching the president say that protesters will be met with “huge force.” We’ve gotten numb to his rhetoric, but we shouldn't be.

The idea of a president so reflexively opposed to protest and First Amendment rights—especially in light of our history—is terrifying. The communities most targeted by authoritarianism are always the most vulnerable. Trump has built his political career on attacking communities of color, dehumanizing marginalized people, and fostering a culture that legitimizes hate.

One of the reasons I value being a lawyer is because, during the civil rights era, the courts were a bedrock of progress. The Supreme Court was—at times—an institution the Black community could turn to for protection of our rights. We’re not in that moment now. The Court is moving in the wrong direction. But the legacy of Brown v. Board of Education, of district judges ruling in favor of the least powerful—that matters. It shows what’s possible.

That’s why I believe attorneys general have a vital role right now. We have tools to fight back. I said this recently, and I don’t say it lightly, but I don’t know how anyone can look at the last five months and not start to see fascism. The suppression of dissent, the rewriting of history, the targeting of opponents—these are textbook signs. We have to oppose this with every legal and moral tool we have.

I recently spoke with a woman—she's been a US citizen for over 40 years. English isn’t her first language, and she told me she’s scared to leave her home. She’s brown-skinned, and for the first time, she said she’s afraid to attend a protest because she might be profiled, abducted, or disappeared. So this is less a question for the attorney general and more for you as a citizen: What would you say to someone like her—someone who feels like the government no longer protects them, and maybe never did?

First, I’d say: this moment is not her responsibility.

People like her shouldn’t have to carry the burden of fixing this. I don’t want to minimize her fear—it’s absolutely real. When the president, the Secretary of Defense, and the US Attorney General are all leaning into authoritarianism, the last thing we should do is expect those most at risk to stand on the front lines.

We will get past Trump. This country will survive. But our moral fabric—that can unravel quickly. And it’s going to take more than lawyers to repair it.

Those of us in safer positions must step up. We have to be the voices for those who are afraid. We have to tell the truth about what’s happening—loudly and often—because we’re already losing our grip on it.

Former City Councilmember Sawant Announces Run for Congress

Marcus Harrison Green — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 14:33:00 -0700

Former Seattle City Councilmember and proud socialist Kshama Sawant launched her congressional campaign for the state’s 9th District Monday morning outside the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building, flanked by members of Workers Strike Back and a healthy dose of indignance at establishment democrats. by Marcus Harrison Green

She’s back.

Taking aim at 15-term incumbent Adam Smith, Sawant slammed the 9th District Democrat as a “warmonger” for his votes backing the 2002 Iraq War, his unflinching support for Israel’s assault on Gaza, being bankrolled by AIPAC, Boeing, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX—and his recent fanboying over “anti-woke” crusader Christopher Rufo, all while hand-wringing about the so-called “radical left.”

Smith has called for the arrest of “left wing” fascists who support a ceasefire in Gaza.

“He sounds more like a Republican than republicans,” Sawant said, quoting from a social media comment about Smith. The congressman has agreed with Rufo’s stance that leftist ideas have had undue influence over America’s cultural institutions.

But Smith wasn’t the only democrat Sawant called out on Monday. She lambasted progressive darlings Washington state representative Pramila Jayapal, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and even Bernie Sanders for what she sees as blind loyalty to a Democratic Party that sold out the working class long ago and never looked back.

“Everybody knows Democrats like Adam Smith, and Republicans too, are owned, lock, stock, and barrel, by Big Pharma and corporate donors. That’s why, if we want to win, we have to flip the script on both billionaire-backed parties,” Sawant said. “We need to build a militant, independent movement that fights unapologetically for working people, and lays the groundwork for a new party, not one beholden to capitalist interests. Under this system, the billionaires own everything: the wealth, the land, and yes, the politicians.

Sawant previously served on Seattle City Council for a decade (2014 - 2024), surviving a recall bid in 2021. Her platform is centered around policies she says that that same party has largely failed to deliver, including affordable housing, rent control, and universal health care. The latter of which is why her and Workers Strike Back announced that they’d be working towards a 2026 ballot measure that funds health care for Seattle residents by expanding the pre-existing Jumpstart Payroll tax on large businesses.

“This is a fighting strategy to break through the political gridlock. If we can win real victories in even one city or state, it can serve as a battering ram to force national change. That’s how Canada won its universal healthcare system—starting in just one province, Saskatchewan, before expanding it nationwide,” said Sawant.

On the steps of the federal building, Sawant was joined by about two dozen supporters including Jonathan Rosenblum, Rizwan Samad, and Shirley Henderson. Several of her supporters who spoke Monday said they live in Adam Smith’s district, which includes South Seattle, Kent, Skyway, Auburn, parts of Bellevue, and Federal Way.

Most voiced deep frustration with Smith’s position on Gaza, citing it as a major point of disillusionment.

“This man can’t hear…Can’t see the suffering. It’s time for District 9 residents to vote against this warmonger. We are better people. We cannot support genocide, “ said Samad, who shared that he’d reached out to Smith in the past to change the congressman’s stance on Gaza to no avail.

Rosenblum, a fellow D9 resident and vice President of the National Writer’s Union, who’s worked with Sawant since her first city council run, echoed the call for a moral reckoning in the district.

“Adam, if you are listening, this is for you. I am an active Jewish community member. Your threats will not stop me. They will not stop my Jewish friends, nor our Palestinian allies, and our allies in the broader movement. Your threats only embolden us to fight on for justice in Palestine,” said Rosenblum.

On Monday, Sawant made clear that while she’s running to represent the 9th District, she is not interested in representing those who support Israel’s actions in Gaza. When two media members in attendance echoed right-wing talking points asking her to denounce Hamas, she dismissed the question as a distraction from the real issue: the tens of thousands of Palestinian lives lost since October 7, 2024.

But it wasn’t just Gaza that fueled supporters’ opposition to Smith. It was what they view as a broader failure by establishment Democrats to meaningfully resist the Trump administration. For Henderson, the co-owner of Squirrel Chops, Smith embodies a party more comfortable with compromise than confrontation, even in the face of rising authoritarianism.

“We are seeing a complete lack of fightback from the Democrats—who are, in fact, carrying out similar attacks themselves at the state and local levels across the country. They’re cutting state and city budgets for essential services and refusing to tax the rich to fund what working people need,” said Henderson. “Just recently, Democratic Governor Bob Ferguson, backed by a Democrat-dominated state legislature, approved millions of dollars in cuts to social services and attacks on public sector workers.”

Smith, a Ranking Member of the House of Armed Services Committee, previously faced challenges from his left in two of his last three campaigns. Most recently defeating community organizer Melissa Chaudry last November with 65% of the vote.

Slog AM: Boeing Cash Grab, Cap Hill Crisis Center, and Ben & Jerry's Co-Founder Cuffed in Congress

Marcus Harrison Green — Thu, 15 May 2025 09:40:00 -0700

The Stranger's morning news roundup. by Marcus Harrison Green

Weather: Alright, so here’s the deal, today’s weather is basically Seattle saying, “Oh, you wanted sunshine? How about some rain and 58 degrees instead?” For the next 7 days we’ll be trapped inside the backdrop of a sad indie film, where the main character just got dumped and the soundtrack is just endless, soul-crushing drizzle. So yeah, it’s Thursday!

All the President’s Billionaires: Donald Trump kicked off his latest cash grab in Riyadh, where US arms deals flourish and corrupt presidents go to announce they’re done pretending to care about democracy or the rule of law. (And specifically, that he would be dropping sanctions against Syria.) The crowd of Saudi royals and American tech CEOs gave him a standing ovation. Trump’s declaration of a new world order landed perfectly in a place where protest gets you prison time. And he’s just getting started. Next stops: Qatar and the UAE. Why? One White House trip planner put it plainly: “All three have a shit ton of money. It’s really that simple.” Trump says he’s forging diplomatic ties but what he’s actually doing is chasing cash. A $400 million luxury jet from Qatar? Gift? Bribe? Semantics.

Dealmaker in Grift: Trump landed in Doha just in time to announce a $96 billion “deal of the century” with Qatar for up to 210 Boeing jets, while lining up a palace in the sky as a parting gift for his presidential library. Qatar’s prime minister claims it’s just a “government-to-government transaction,” but even some Trump allies are calling it what it is: influence peddling at 30,000 feet. The White House, meanwhile, is hyping him as “dealmaker in chief,” while Boeing, still limping from safety scandals, strikes, and tanking orders, saw its stock tick up a half percent.

Freedom as a Concept, It’s All Just Vibes Now: Just as the official death toll in Gaza surpasses 53,000, with one-third of them children, Trump declares he has “concepts for Gaza” that he thinks are “very good!” His big idea: the US should take Gaza and turn it into a “freedom zone.” “Let some good things happen, put people in homes where they can be safe, and Hamas is going to have to be dealt with,” Trump said. It’s unclear who he means by “people,” since he has already called for Palestinians to be pushed out of Gaza. Trump said he would be proud to have the US control Gaza—because nothing says "Make America Great Again" like 24 miles of fresh Mediterranean coastline real estate.

Ben & Jerry’s Co-Founder Gets Cuffed for Calling Out Congress: Ben Cohen—the Ben in Ben & Jerry’s—got arrested yesterday at a Senate hearing for daring to call out Congress for funding bombs that murder kids in Gaza while cutting Medicaid for kids right here in the US. Cohen and seven other protesters were hit with charges of “crowding and obstructing” after they disrupted the hearing to demand that food and medicine be allowed into Gaza, which is now teetering on the edge of famine. But lest we forget, Cohen’s been calling out US complicity in inhumane policies for years—including backing Ben & Jerry’s decision to stop selling ice cream in the occupied territories. But sure, let’s slap him with a potential 90 days in jail and a $500 fine for caring more about starving kids than imperialism.

Chemicals Are Forever (in Our Drinking Water): The EPA is gutting key parts of its long-awaited limits on toxic “forever chemicals,” giving utilities more time and even less accountability. Finalized in 2024, the Biden administration’s rules were expected to cut PFAS exposure for 100 million people and reduce cancer risks. Now, limits on three PFAS types are being scrapped and “reconsidered,” while utilities have until 2031 to meet even the most basic standards. It’s the latest move in EPA chief Lee Zeldin’s deregulatory spree. He’s already rolled back rules on coal, climate, and EVs, all part of his mission to, in his words, “drive a dagger through the heart of climate-change religion.”

Pro-Life, but Not Pro-Livelihood: For the life of me, I will never understand how the same people screaming “pro-life” are making it impossible for anyone to actually afford life in this country. Case in point: Child care costs have shot up 29% since 2020, and now families are paying more to keep their kids alive than to keep a roof over their heads—or, you know, to send them to college someday. But instead of actually fixing the child care crisis, the Trump administration is tossing around a $5,000 “baby bonus,” like that’s gonna cover a lifetime of skyrocketing expenses. Meanwhile, caregivers are still making poverty wages while parents are drowning in debt — but yeah, sure, let’s pretend a one-time check will fix everything.

Voting Rights Act Gutted Yet Again: So, a federal appeals court just decided that regular people can’t sue under the Voting Rights Act anymore in seven Midwestern states—you know, the same VRA that was literally designed to protect voters from racist election policies. Now the only ones who can bring these cases are the DOJ, which under Trump is basically ghosting civil rights work. And guess what? This whole mess started with North Dakota’s legislative maps allegedly screwing over Native American voters. But hey, if you thought the VRA still had teeth, this ruling just yanked ‘em out and handed them to the Supreme Court’s conservative majority.

Valley Medical Closing 5 Clinics: Valley Medical Center is about to shut down two inpatient units and five clinics in Kent and Renton by the end of June, and yeah, that means hundreds of jobs are on the chopping block while South King County loses even more access to health care. The reason? State and federal funding cuts, plus a $25 million operating loss that Valley says is basically bleeding them dry. And because Valley’s a public hospital without a big corporate safety net, they’re feeling the squeeze even harder — which means more layoffs and service cuts could be coming, not just here but across the state. But hey, our rich get to stay rich, instead of taxed (and still be quite rich).

Family Sues SPS for Death of Son: The family of 17-year-old Amarr Murphy-Paine is suing Seattle Public Schools, saying the district was didn't do their job to protect students when they failed to lock down the campus after reports of a masked student shooting a teacher with a pellet gun earlier that same day. Amarr was shot and killed trying to break up a fight in the parking lot, and now his family’s asking why the hell no one took the earlier incident seriously. Meanwhile, Seattle police have made no arrests and have no answers, but plenty of thoughts and prayers—because that’s always been super effective at preventing gun violence.

Traffic Camera Cash Grab: Our city is about to crank up its traffic camera game after the City Council unanimously said yes to slapping more automated cameras in places like parks, hospitals, and ferry lines—basically anywhere people love to speed. The goal? Supposedly to curb speeding and fund Vision Zero, the city’s big plan to eliminate traffic deaths by 2030. Mayor Harrell’s expected to sign off on it, and those cameras could be up and snapping in 30 days.

Cap Hill Could Get a Crisis Center: So King County wants to put a 24/7 crisis center on Capitol Hill—a place where people in mental health crises can actually get some help instead of being tossed in a jail cell or left to rot on a sidewalk. Naturally, of course, some business owners are clutching their pearls, saying the area’s already “stretched thin,” like they’re not already stepping over people in crisis every damn day. But hey, let’s keep pretending that ignoring the problem is working out great for everyone. Maybe if we just gentrify the suffering enough, it’ll disappear. Sounds like a solid plan.

Ambassadors Coming to Chinatown: The city is rolling out a shiny new ambassador program in the Chinatown International District with $1 million in city and Asian American Foundation money to cover basics like cleaning, crisis help, and pointing tourists in the right direction. And get this—they’re starting in June with just three ambassadors. THREE. For a whole neighborhood dealing with prolonged challenges, including crime, addiction, and boarded-up businesses. Meanwhile, Mayor Bruce Harrell says that it’ll provide “regular, visible, and reliable support,” but without a dedicated funding source, it’s more like a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. And yeah, after years of empty promises, many in the CID aren’t exactly holding their breath. And yes, while this is better than more cops, what happens when the money runs out and it’s back to business as usual?

Seahawks Drop Schedule with Cringe-Worthy 90s Throwback: The Seahawks (and the rest of the NFL) just dropped their 2025 schedule in elaborate fashion, because clearly, we all needed another overblown, testosterone-fueled spectacle pretending to be news. But even if you’re like me and only pretend to care about football as an excuse to bond with your career military dad—instead of, you know, actually talking through our feelings like none emotionally maladjusted adults—the best part of this whole charade is this gloriously cringey 90s action figure parody video. It’s awkward, it’s weird, and yeah, it’s way more entertaining than the NFL’s annual schedule release, which they hype up like it’s some kind of cultural event instead of just, “Hey, here are the dates you can pay us to watch young men give each other CTE for your viewing enjoyment.”

Goodbye… for now. As an elder millennial, I still carry that old-school journalist gene that says you never make the story about yourself. But I also believe you honor a relationship in how you say goodbye. Today’s my last day at The Stranger—at least as its interim news editor. I'll be staying with the team as a contributing editor, but as I step into my mercenary, vagabond freelance lifestyle, I want to take a moment to thank the Noisy Creek and Stranger crew, especially a few folks who made these past few months one hell of a ride.

Nathalie Graham, I know we only officially overlapped for a few weeks, but it was a pleasure to work with you, to edit your work. I can’t wait to see what you’ll do next—it’s going to be tremendous. Vivian McCall, being around your brilliant mind and purposeful journalism forced me to step up my game. This city is damn lucky to have you as a reporter, and so am I. Charles Mudede, I’m grateful for your affirmation and support in this role. Being around you has made me a better thinker, writer, and appreciator and scrutinizer of life. How could it not? Shane Wahlhund, thank you for pushing me out of my comfort zone and introducing me to creative heights I never would’ve reached alone. Emily Nokes, just being in your orbit made me feel cooler. Christian Parroco, you kept this whole operation together behind the scenes with such grace and patience—work most people never even see. Megan Seling, if anyone’s the heartbeat of this place, it’s you. Your passion for this work and this city is palpable, and it’s been an honor to work alongside you.

And to Hannah Murphy Winter—what a ride. I always knew what to expect from you as an editor and a colleague: everything you had. Thank you for that. Thank you all.

With that, I’ll leave everyone on a high note with a song matching my mood…

The Ethics Code Showdown

Marcus Harrison Green — Fri, 09 May 2025 16:03:00 -0700

If the council's ethics code is overturned, elected officials could openly vote on legislation even if it directly impacts their financial interests, clearing the way for landlords to vote against renter protections, restaurant owners to oppose minimum wage increases for delivery drivers, and developers to influence zoning laws that benefit their own projects. Critics argue that if Moore's proposal passes, this shift would erode ethical safeguards, making it easier for council members to prioritize personal financial gain over public interest. by Marcus Harrison Green

Forget Netflix. If you crave drama, just turn to the Seattle City Council’s Governance, Accountability, and Economic Development meeting.

Thursday’s meeting had everything: bickering between council members, an impromptu press conference, attempts to remove people from the chamber, even a cameo from former city council member Kshama Sawant.

What warranted all this? The committee was discussing a proposal to amend the city’s ethics code, allowing council members to vote on legislation even if they have a financial interest in the outcome.

Moore only introduced the bill last week, and Thursday’s meeting was already the third public scrutinization of the controversial bill. Commenters—including former council member Kshama Sawant—voiced strong opposition to it at both Tuesday’s full city council meeting, and Wednesday’s Seattle Ethics and Elections meeting.

Cathy Moore, who introduced the bill, argues that the change arose out of concern for disenfranchising the voters represented by a council member who may have to recuse themselves due to perceived financial interests, such as what happened last year when Nelson’s push to roll back wage protections for app-based delivery drivers collapsed after ethics concerns forced former Councilmember Tanya Woo to recuse herself, stripping Nelson of the majority she needed. A similar fate met Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth's proposal to extend tip credits for small businesses, as potential conflicts involving both Woo and Nelson emerged.

Under the current iteration of the bill, a council member would file a conflict of interest disclosure with both the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission (SEEC) and the city clerk, and then post it on the city website. Some of these requirements are preexisting.

“This bill doesn't remove the disclosure requirement, it enhances it,” Moore said during Thursday’s meeting.

Tiffany McCoy, the co-executive director of House Our Neighbors, doesn’t buy the disenfranchised argument, nor the focus on additional disclosure being an adequate replacement for recusal. Every Seattle voter actually has three council members representing them: their district council member and then two at-large members, currently Council President Sara Nelson and Alexis Mercedes-Rinck. “No matter what neighborhood you live in, we are still all part of the city. I'd rather my city council member not take a vote that they’re going to benefit from financially,” says McCoy.

Landlords and homeowners are already disproportionately represented on the council. In a city where nearly 52% of the population are renters, its city council has only one lone renter on it, Mercedes-Rinck.

Elise Orlick, the Executive Director of FairVote Washington, says that the outpouring of public forums throughout the week should signal to both the city council and other jurisdictions across the state that there's a renewed focus on governmental transparency and trust. “Ethics codes are a democracy protection,” says Orlick, who is an outspoken proponent of ranked-choice voting both nationally and locally. “We need a much broader array of financial interests and different types of diversity on council.”

Concern about this bill has made it all they way to Olympia. Ahead of Thursday’s meeting, Democratic chairs belonging to the 32nd, 34th, 36th, 37th, 43rd, and 46th Legislative Democrats sent a letter to city council members in strong opposition to the bill, stating, among other things, that they “will not stand by if you try to rig the system in your favor.” The letter continued: “To support this proposal is to declare ethics optional; that conflicts of interest should be no barrier to power, and that the public good is of no concern. This is the language of autocracy, and it has no place in Seattle.”

Thursday’s meeting was scheduled to end at 4 p.m. but didn't finish until a little after 5 p.m. due to a rancorous back-and-forth between committee chair Sarah Nelson and former councilmember Kshama Sawant, an unplanned five-minute recess that members of Workers Strikes Back used as an impromptu pep rally, and a series of cantankerous exchanges between Nelson and councilmember Dan Strauss during a Q&A with Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission members.

Not one of the 28 people who spoke during the opening public comment period (21 in person and 7 online) spoke in favor of the legislation.

Many of the commenters brought up the fact that states such as California require recusals from their elected officials during any appearance of conflicts of interest. Others brought up the fact that the code had been unchanged for 45 years without incident, and others called out the timing of the change to coincide with impending votes on renter protections. One also told the council to prepare for mass protests should this bill pass.

As applause began to erupt after every commenter in opposition to the bill, committee chair Nelson told those in attendance to please refrain from clapping between speakers, but the directive made many in attendance clap louder after speakers, out of defiance. As clapping continued after each commenter, a visibly exasperated Nelson again addressed those in attendance, asking them to “be respectful.”

Sitting in the audience and addressing Nelson directly, former city council member and current organizer with Workers Strike Back (WSB), Kshama Sawant, responded with, “Are you respecting workers?”

After agreeable shouts from WSB members in the audience, an irritated Nelson pounded her gavel saying, “I will repeat, please do not clap between speakers. This is disruptive behavior to interrupt the meeting.”

WSB members soon chanted, “When workers are under attack, what do we do? Fight back,” a chant that would be repeated sporadically throughout the remainder of public comment.

Having lost order, Nelson pounded her gavel calling a five-minute recess as she and other council members momentarily headed back to their offices.

Sawant and members of WSB took the opportunity to hold an impromptu press conference, standing in front of the public comment lectern. Sawant pointed at councilmember Bob Kettle as he walked back to his office, saying, “Look at this coward. Why don't you stand and listen to people.” Clearly agitated, Kettle smirked and waved her off.

During her speech, Sawant called out Democrats both locally and nationally for their betrayal of the working class, saying they were carrying water for landlords who own real estate. She name-checked local real estate developers Greystar, AvalonBay, and Essex Property Trust. She then rattled off a list of local renter protections she said were under threat of being rolled back should Moore’s bill go into effect, allowing landlords on the council (Maritza Rivera and Mark Solomon) to not have to recuse themselves from votes, including: a prohibition on winter evictions, capping renter late fees at $10 a month, six months' notice for rental increases, and requiring landlords to pay eviction rental assistance, and banning school-year evictions of children.

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After Sawant finished her speech, Nelson and the other committee members returned to the dais, with Nelson warning the group that she would ask them to be removed if they continued to be disruptive.

Sawant then responded with, “You know what disrupts children's lives? Eviction.”

Additional outbursts provoked Nelson to tell someone who appeared to be City Council security to remove her and other WSB members. But after a brief stalemate, when it became apparent neither Sawant nor WSB members planned to budge, the security person asked Nelson what she wanted to do.

She relented and resumed the meeting with Sawant and WSB members still in their seats.

Later in the meeting, the council was joined by a commissioner from the SEEC, along with its chair Zach Pekelis, and executive director Wayne Barnett.

Barnett laid out the current ethics code, contrasting it with Moore's new bill. He told the committee (consisting of Nelson, vice-chair Kettle, Joy Hollingsworth, Solomon, and Rivera) that he felt our current ethics code was stricter here than in other places he had worked, including Boston. When it was Pekelis's turn to speak, he raised concerns echoed by a public commenter from the previous day's SEEC meeting. He suggested that if the bill were to pass, the council might consider delaying its effective date until 2028 to allow voters to decide if they should be re-elected under the new ethics codes, rather than changing the rules midway through their terms.

But shortly after, the meeting turned contentious once again. This time, the friction came between two council members, Dan Strauss, who though not on the committee was invited to ask questions of the SEEC representatives. While they’ve treated each other professionally the last few months, Strauss and Nelson have also been openly hostile to one another, with many interactions on the dais dripping with “go fuck yourself” subtext.

On Thursday, Nelson interjected several times while Strauss questioned Barnett and Pekelis about the proposed changes to the ethics code. Addressing Barnett, Strauss brought up an email exchange The Stranger reported on last November between Nelson, Barnett, and former councilmember Tanya Woo.

In the exchange, Nelson requested clarification on the Ethics Code's recusal requirements, citing concerns over how financial interest is determined in council decisions, including future legislation on zoning and landlord-tenant laws. Nelson criticized Barrett for his request for Woo to recuse herself from legislation, calling his interpretation as too rigid and potentially setting a precedent she found problematic. Barnett stood by his decision, emphasizing that his rulings were based on a "plain meaning" interpretation of the law, while Nelson accused him of misconstruing her intent and ignoring her calls for clarity.

In reference to the email, Strauss asked Barnett if he feels like he’s “put in the middle at times,” when it comes to when a city councilmember's desires bump up against the ethics code.

Barnett paused and responded that he feels like he's “doing his job.”

Strauss replied back that, “From my perspective, it seems like you're being put in a tough place.”

The line of questioning irked Nelson. “It seems like you're trying to get into someone else's mind,” she said. “Please be direct with your questions.”

She then chided Strauss, telling him to, “Please refrain from being disrespectful to your presenters.”

Nelson and Moore have few allies so far. Even Mayor Bruce Harrell isn’t behind it, telling The Stranger in a statement: “As I made clear when a similar bill was previously considered in 2018, I do not support this proposal that appears to diminish the City’s strong ethics rules. As mayor now and as a former councilmember, I have always taken the rules of recusal very seriously. When legislative issues arise where an elected official stands to financially gain, there must be a clear, objective line to demonstrate to the community that decisions are being made solely with the public interest at heart. Simple disclosure does not accomplish this; recusal does. As trust in institutions continues to erode, Seattle must continue to set the example for strong ethics protections as a cornerstone of good governance.”

As the meeting finally ended an hour after it was scheduled to, the fate of the legislation remains up in the air. Nelson and Moore are likely in favor of it, with Strauss and Mercedes-Rinck likely against it. Other council members have yet to tip their hand on how they’ll vote.

“It’s a very heated, controversial topic,” Moore said during Thursday’s meeting. “We are trying to get work done and do the business of the city.”

If Thursday revealed anything, it’s that the business of this city is far more than the cold, calculated tug-of-war of process and policy. It’s a fierce struggle for the very right to shape the future. The question, then, isn’t just about getting things done; it’s about whose work is deemed worthy and whose voice is relegated to silence, dismissed like so much noise. In a city where power has a way of protecting itself, the demand for accountability isn’t a mere political stance, it’s a demand for democratic dignity. One far from being satiated in Seattle.

Slog AM: Cops Who Killed Tyre Nichols Walk Free, Gates Foundation Plans to Close, Ferguson Signs Rent Cap

Marcus Harrison Green — Thu, 08 May 2025 09:34:00 -0700

The Stranger's Morning News Roundup by Marcus Harrison Green

Weather: Today will be mostly sunny with a high of 63 degrees. Enjoy it while it lasts, because the rain’s just backstage, doing vocal warm-ups for its big return in the next few days.

Gates Foundation Calls It Quits: Mark your calendars for December 31, 2045. That’s when the Gates Foundation will be shutting its doors for good. Since 2000, they’ve thrown over $100 billion at public health and claimed to have cut worldwide childhood deaths in half, because nothing says progress like fixing problems with the same obscene wealth that helped create them. Bill Gates, in full humblebrag mode, told the New York Times, “We went from 10 million childhood deaths to five million,” and insists they’ll keep shrinking that number because apparently, “the Golden Rule was not repealed.” In the next 20 years, he plans to spend down the entire endowment of the foundation, and much of his personal wealth, he told the Times. Nothing says do unto others like hoarding enough cash to play God for a couple more decades before peacing out.

Ferguson Signs Rent Cap: Well, lookie there, Governor Bob Ferguson can do something remotely progressive. Yesterday he signed a law capping rent hikes at 10% a year for most tenants, making Washington the third state to put rent stabilization on the books after Oregon and California. So now, landlords can only jack up rents by 7% plus inflation or 10%, whichever is lower. New buildings (12 years old and younger) and certain owner-occupied properties are exempt. Most folks are celebrating because, hello, no more outrageous rent hikes, but others, like the landlord advocacy group Rental Housing Association, are freaking out, claiming it’ll kill the housing market. Right… Bottom line: it’s a win for renters, but we’re just scratching the surface of the housing crisis.

Judge Says No to Libya Deportations: The Trump administration is reportedly planning to deport migrants to Libya—yes, Libya, the place that happens to have a Level 4 travel advisory for crime, terrorism, and armed conflict—using US military planes to ship people off like Amazon Prime for human suffering. Fortunately, a federal judge quickly reminded Terror 47 that shipping human beings off to a war zone without notice or a chance to contest it blatantly violates his order, but hey, when has the law ever slowed down the empire? Judge Brian Murphy, who had already blocked the administration from deporting people to countries other than their own, made it clear: “The Court sees none,” when it comes to any doubt that these deportations would break the law. Meanwhile, Libya itself is saying, “We never agreed to this,” but since when has consent ever mattered to Trump?

Cops Who Killed Tyre Nichols Walk Free: Three former Memphis cops—Demetrius Haley, Tadarrius Bean, and Justin Smith—just walked free on all state charges, including second-degree murder, for the 2023 beating death of Tyre Nichols. Now, let’s get this straight: they were convicted of witness tampering in federal court but somehow (mostly) skated on civil rights violations—because apparently, beating a man to death just isn’t quite enough evidence. Civil rights lawyers called it, “a devastating miscarriage of justice,” which is the polite way of saying, “What in the actual fuck?” Meanwhile, the DOJ found out Memphis cops have basically been running their own Fight Club with a badge—so maybe, just maybe, it’s time we stop acting shocked when the system does exactly what it was designed to do.

We Got A New Pope: It’s official. This morning, white smoke billowed from the Vatican chimney, meaning we officially have a new pope. Behind locked doors, a conclave of 133 cardinals decided which one of them is holiest, like a cosmic game of Catholic bingo. Any minute now, he'll step onto that balcony, wave to the masses, and remind us that God is watching...but apparently only through their eyes.

Stagflation Nation: The Fed just rang the stagflation alarm as the U.S. economy sags under Trump. Inflation’s creeping up, jobs are shaky, and the culprit—surprise!—is “volatile trade activity,” a.k.a. Trump’s tariff chaos. In a flailing attempt at distraction, Trump is hyping a sad little trade deal with the UK, while U.S. trade officials lean on countries battered by those same tariffs to make room for Starlink internet service, sold by Nazi-loving absent-daddy Elon Musk.

DOGE Wants Your Data: In more Musk news, what could go wrong with a massive, centralized government database run by the Nazi-saluter? According to the Washington Post, Musk’s little doges are quietly hoarding personal information on Americans. Civil rights advocates and some federal employeees are are warning this isn't just hacker bait — it’s a handy little tool for targeting political enemies or screwing with access to public services.

Columbia University Crackdown: On Tuesday night, more than 100 students at Columbia University occupied Butler Library, renaming it the Basel Al-Araj Popular University in honor of the slain Palestinian intellectual. Their demand: that Columbia divest from Israeli apartheid and genocide. The response: riot cops and repression. According to NBC News, NYPD and Columbia security trapped protesters inside the building and refused to let them leave unless they handed over their IDs. Protesters reportedly laughed at the demand. At least 78 people were detained. “We refuse to go down quietly,” said the students in a post-raid statement.

UW Suspends 21 Students: The Columbia crackdown comes just as the University of Washington suspended 21 students accused of occupying a new engineering building in protest of the school’s partnership with Boeing, a company whose weapons have been used in Israel’s assault on Gaza. Police arrested at least 31 people during that occupation, with the university claiming "significant damage" to equipment—though no full estimate has been released. Some students are now banned from all UW campuses. Student group SUPER UW said in the social media statement that many students sustained injuries from the SPD, “some to the extent of hospitalization.”

Adios High-Capacity Magazines: The Washington State Supreme Court just upheld the state’s ban on high-capacity magazines, shrugging off a lower court’s gripe that it was unconstitutional. In a 7-2 decision, the justices declared that magazines packing more than 10 rounds aren’t “arms” protected by state or federal constitutions, meaning the 2022 law stands—no buying or selling these ammo hogs in Washington, though you can still hang on to the ones you’ve got. Justice Charles Johnson wrote that high-capacity mags aren’t crucial for self-defense and Gov. Ferguson pointed out their outsized role in mass shootings and insisted that sensible gun laws don’t trample your right to pack heat. Maybe if you need 30 rounds to feel safe, the problem isn’t the magazine—it’s you.

Medicaid Cuts Threaten Care Facilities: Trump’s cutting Medicaid, and guess what? Long-term care facilities in Washington, like Edmonds Care, might close, leaving millions of elderly and disabled folks out in the cold. A simple 5% cut would force massive layoffs and could shut down 65% of these places—people would have nowhere to go. And with the number of seniors needing care on the rise, this isn’t just bad, it’s a crisis. If you care about your fellow humans, maybe pick up the phone and tell your reps to stop treating human lives like they’re the damn Squid Game.

From Real Housewives to Holocaust Memorial: So, Trump decided to swap out Biden’s picks for the Holocaust Memorial Council with his usual lineup of sycophants, including—wait for it—Real Housewives of New Jersey star Siggy Flicker. Yes, you heard that right. The same Siggy whose stepson was arrested for storming the Capitol on January 6th is now in charge of overseeing a museum dedicated to one of the darkest periods in human history. If you watched her on TV, you know she probably believes “Never Forget” is a trending hashtag, not a solemn mission.

Behold, LimeGliders: Seattle is now the first city to roll out LimeGliders—scooters that look like bikes, because why not make transportation even more confusing? Lime’s betting big on the Emerald City to test out their latest and greatest, using our city’s hills, rain, and general weather chaos as the ultimate proving ground. So now you’ve got 3,000 of these LimeGliders on the streets, alongside e-bikes and stand-up scooters, all while we’re trying to stay at the top of the micromobility game. Just don’t forget your helmet, because when you inevitably eat it, at least you’ll have some protection while questioning your life choices!

Next Step in Council Ethics Changes: Later today, the City Council’s Governance, Accountability & Economic Development Committee will be deliberating on whether to ditch the whole “recuse yourself if you’ve got skin in the game” rule. You know, that pesky ethics thing that says if you might make a few bucks off a vote, maybe don’t vote on it? Instead, they want council members to just disclose their conflicts and keep right on voting. It basically amounts to, “Yeah, I might get rich off this, but at least I told you first!” If you’re downtown today at 2 PM, maybe swing by City Hall, grab the mic during public comment, and remind them that ethics aren’t just vibes—they’re rules for a reason. Should the proposal pass out of committee, it could head to a full council vote as early as May 20.

Yes, as I mentioned to kick off Slog AM, the sun is shining today, so it might feel a little odd to suggest a morning sing-along to "Can You Stand the Rain." But damn it, it’s R&B singer Desmon Dennis’ birthday, so shout out to him and his soulful cover of New Edition’s ultimate slow jam.

The Downfall of the Climate Savior Who Never Was

Marcus Harrison Green — Fri, 02 May 2025 16:25:00 -0700

Elon Musk Was Created by the Government He's Trying to Destroy

by Marcus Harrison Green

There’s a special glee in watching the real-time, self-induced demise of the world’s richest man. Elon Musk, once crowned the boy-king of tech utopianism, has become a tragicomic emblem of what happens when unfettered power meets zero accountability and even less empathy. On Wall Street, his house of electric cards is collapsing: Tesla profits are down 71 percent, shareholders are restless, and even the once-smitten business press are using words like “panic.” And this week, Tesla’s notoriously sycophantic board reportedly—if only for a fleeting moment—considered the heretical notion of replacing him as CEO.

In Washington, his soon to be concluded reign as head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leaves a legacy of bureaucratic arson: mass firings, dismantled aid programs, and a chainsaw routine at CPAC that felt like ketamine-laced performance. And still, with the bodies of his bad decisions piling up behind him, Musk went on Fox News to cry about how unfair it all is. He’s no better than a plantation boss bemoaning the loss of free labor, or a robber baron lamenting the bad press after forcefully putting down a strike. Yet, he dares to ask for sympathy. But this isn’t just the fall of a tycoon. No, it’s the flailing, unhinged collapse of a worldview: one that treats governance like a meme, human beings like data points, and compassion as a virus to be eradicated.

It wasn’t that long ago that Elon Musk was the liberal poster child for Green capitalism, the magical thinking that climate change, economic stagnation, and job scarcity could all be solved by sleek electric cars and billionaire jaunts to space.

In 2015, President Obama used his penultimate State of the Union address to give Musk and his companies a glowing verbal body rub for pushing green tech innovation. Two years earlier, Obama’s Department of Energy handed Tesla a $465 million taxpayer-backed loan, which helped the automaker finally post a profit in 2013. And while liberals went apeshit when Trump turned the White House lawn into a literal “Tesla showroom” during a March event, it’s worth remembering Obama personally toured a SpaceX facility back in 2010 to show his love for public-private bromance in aerospace and renewables.

Even before his courtship with the Obama administration, Musk had been glazed by progressive institutions, honored by the National Wildlife Federation, and handed the Global Green Product Design Award by none other than Mikhail Gorbachev.

And before he cozied up to Trump, Musk made a brief show of conscience by quitting Trump’s advisory councils over the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord. He even declared “climate change is real” and called the move “not good for America or the world.”

Naturally, that principled defiance didn’t stick. And now, Musk’s favorability rating, among everyone, not just liberals, is nestled somewhere between shingles and prostate cancer. His Teslas are dotted with Nazi insignias, and protests against him and his dealerships grow by the week.

Besides gifting us gems like “Elon can oligargle dez nutz,” the nationwide protests against the world's richest man may have been the official nail in the coffin in the collective hallucinations that Green capitalism was ever a panacea for our climate and labor crisis, and that Elon Musk was ever anything more than a self-enriching opportunist.

“I think the days when people thought we could solve the climate change and crisis by driving an overpriced Tesla are dead,” jokes Thea Riofrancos, Strategic Co-Director of the Climate and Community Institute.

Alas, we deified Musk, only for him to unsurprisingly be revealed as a false messiah.

There’s already been plenty written about Musk and his fellow tech overlords (Bezos, Zuckerberg, Andreessen), and whether they were always oligarchs in disguise, ready to buddy up beside a conveniently right-wing government (a hard yes on that one). Musk is who he’s always been, which is the same as all high-level capitalists: a self-important, mendacious fuck, willing to choose whatever path is most beneficial to him, all others be damned.

As much as we’ve all basked in the collective schadenfreude over the past month—watching Teslas and Cyber Trucks get defaced with Nazi swastikas (which, for the record, is not a hate crime, no matter what the New York Times may suggest), it’s hard not to feel a little twinge of collective complicity. After all, we did allow taxpayer money to flow straight into his pockets in the first place.

With Musk, we convinced ourselves we were investing in a climate Messiah, the next "great man" who would steer us toward a utopian green future. We imagined he would be the hero of the climate crisis, the one who would save us from ourselves. Instead, we handed him the keys to unfathomable wealth, elevating him to the point where he now wields influence on par with the president. And what does he do with that power? He uses it to decimate anything that threatens his stranglehold on the future. We didn’t bankroll a savior, we created a monster. A monster who has turned the very tools of democracy that enriched him, into weapons to dismantle democracy itself.

As the Washington Post recently reported, Musk primarily built his fortune and business empire from $38 billion in public coffers, both from federal and local governments. In fact, he's drawing from the trough again as he stands to be rewarded handsomely from Trump's recently proposed $1 trillion Pentagon budget, which will enrich musk and other defense contractors, while education, arts, Medicaid, Social Security, health and everything else, not in the purview of our oligarchic overlords, stands to suffer.

Of course, perhaps it's simply the playbook of most rapacious capitalists propelled up a ladder through luck, stomping on the hands of others and assistance through the public purse, only to set fire to the thing, scorching it whole behind them once they reach the top.

“Tesla and SpaceX would not exist today without help from the government. People need to bear that in mind, when governments give tax breaks to billionaires, that means governments either need to spend less on other things, like schools, healthcare, and housing, or they need to raise taxes on the rest of us, so we end up paying for Musk largesse," says Jonathan Rosenblum, a longtime labor activist and union organizer with UAW.

To Rosenblum’s point, Musk has been draining public resources long before he “volunteered” to lead the Department of Government Efficiency. Every dollar handed to Musk is a dollar diverted from essential public services: schools, transit, and healthcare. The opportunity cost of those subsidies isn’t abstract; it’s real, and it goes straight into his pockets. And it’s done at the expense of workers and unions.

“Doge is merely accelerating this track record of theft. In protesting the Tesla brand, people are properly drawing the connection between Musk’s obscene wealth and his thieving ways,” says Rosenblum.

It’s true that few have taken more and given less back to the public than Musk. After receiving billions in taxpayer support, Musk has built a business model on suppressing worker organizing. From illegally firing union supporters at Tesla’s California plant to targeting software workers in New York, his managers have followed a consistent playbook of intimidation and retaliation.

“People are rightfully angry that the richest man in the world is collaborating with the most powerful man in the world to steal our retirements, our healthcare, and our educational opportunities. Musk is obscenely rich today in part because of the massive public subsidies he has pursued aggressively over the years,” says Rosenblum.

Along with other rapacious billionaires, Musk has also led a full assault on the National Labor Relations Board over the last two years. Through his companies, Tesla, SpaceX, and X, he’s repeatedly violated labor law: threatening Tesla workers with the loss of stock options if they unionize, banning union t-shirts on the factory floor, and illegally firing employees at SpaceX and X for organizing or speaking out.

These violations led to multiple rulings from the NLRB against Musk’s companies. But instead of complying with the law, he chose a path that reflects a long American tradition: when the rules don’t serve the powerful, fuck it, dismantle the rules altogether. Through SpaceX, Musk filed a federal lawsuit challenging the very constitutionality of the NLRB, which was created during the New Deal to ensure that working people, especially the most underrepresented, had a voice in the workplace. Make no mistake, this wasn’t just a legal maneuver; it was an ideological assault aimed at erasing one of the few remaining tools of federal protection for labor rights. It’s a stark reminder that in this country, the powerful often see accountability as optional, and when facing it, will do everything they can to rewrite the terms of democracy in their favor.

Today, Tesla stands as the largest non-union auto manufacturer in the U.S. It’s become a model of how to scale production while locking workers out of a voice on the job. Nor is this just a domestic issue. Tesla has refused to sign collective bargaining agreements even in union-strong countries like Germany and Sweden. That’s what we’re subsidizing with our public dollars: a global campaign against workers' rights.

Tesla, despite ranking ninth in earnings among U.S. automakers, commands a $1.25 trillion valuation, largely propped up by the aforementioned public subsidies. A functioning NLRB threatens that business model by giving workers a say in how those government-supported workplaces operate. By working hand in hand with Trump, Musk is pushing an agenda that would gut the NLRB, firing judges, paralyzing enforcement, and rendering union protections meaningless.

The goal is clear: create a legal and political environment where companies like Tesla and SpaceX can violate labor law with impunity, silencing workers while continuing to extract billions from the public. If Musk succeeds, it won’t just be his workers who suffer, it will be a decisive blow to what little remains of labor rights in the private sector.

What we’re seeing is a coordinated attack on the labor law infrastructure itself, with Musk playing a leading role. With Trump openly dismantling collective bargaining rights for federal workers, nominating anti-union lawyers like Crystal Carey to the NLRB, and firing Board members like Gwynne Wilcox to disable its function, corporate America is being given the green light to ignore labor law altogether. Utah’s recent ban on public sector bargaining and the Michigan case where an employer refused to recognize a union election, citing the chaos at the NLRB, are early signs of what’s to come. Employers like Musk are watching closely and acting quickly. If the courts uphold this unraveling of the NLRB’s authority, we won’t just witness more union-busting, we’ll see the total erosion of the right to organize in America.

“Unions, when they’re doing the right thing, are the most effective force for change,” says Kate Bronfenbrenner, a labor scholar at Cornell University and leading expert on unionizing strategies.

That’s exactly why she says Musk sees unions as such a threat. His attack on them follows the standard anti-union playbook: surveil, delay, intimidate, retaliate, and then challenge legal frameworks. What sets Musk apart is that he’s scaled up these tactics using the vast resources of his corporate empire along with leveraging the machinery of government to further erode labor protections. “He’s firing people in these agencies meant to keep corporations accountable so that there won’t be any checks and balances,” Bronfenbrenner says.

Musk is attempting to deliver the death blow to a labor movement that’s been under attack for decades. The decline didn’t start with him; it was set in motion under Democratic administrations that claimed to support workers while advancing trade deals, deregulation, and immigration policies that weakened labor’s power. Bronfenbrenner is quick to point out that neither President Obama nor Clinton were true friends of labor. The former was the “deporter-in-chief” of immigrant workers, and the latter spearheaded NAFTA, which undermined organized labor and decimated working-class jobs in America.

“Unions haven’t been holding Democrats accountable. They’ve been so scared of having anti-union folks in office that they take for granted that Dems will do right by them,” she says. “We can’t dance around the subject anymore. Labor has to have its own party and educate workers.”

This is why, at a time when only 6% of private sector workers are in unions—compared to 32% in the public sector—she argues that the public must be educated on what fascist authoritarians of the past did to labor. Figures like Franco and Hitler didn’t just target marginalized communities; they first dismantled unions, understanding that weakening labor was the first step toward unleashing full-scale assaults on broader societal freedoms.

“Unions have to stand up for trans workers, and immigrants. The rank and file can’t start thinking they’re safe, they aren’t. They have to have the courage to stand up and be in front of this struggle,” she says.

Public protesting and shaming are fine, but what workers and the general public really need to do, according to Bronfenbrenner, is truly hit Tesla, and all corporations that would assail labor rights, where it hurts.

“We have to use power, not shame. We have to interfere with supply chains. Whatever you’re doing has to cost enough to a corporation for it to do the right thing,” she says.

But the fight against Musk, and whatever corporate misanthrope will come after him, ultimately boils down to whether labor can convince enough of the public that their flourishing is dependent on a greener and more democratic future.

“Can’t assume workers want a revolution. Workers want better lives,” says Bronfenbrenner.

Don’t we all.

Stranger Suggests: Today's Hardest-Hitting Rap Outfit, the Return of a Seattle Treasure, and ALLLLLL the May Day Protests

Audrey Vann — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 14:45:00 -0700

One really great thing to do every day of the week. by Audrey Vann WEDNESDAY 4/30

Clipping., Counterfeit Madison, Dead Channel Sky

(MUSIC) One of the hardest-hitting, most politically minded rap outfits playing out right now has to be Clipping. The LA three-piece consists of the MC Daveed Diggs and production duo William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes, and they do be comin’ for your preconceived notions of what the hip-hop genre can be. Diggs’s flow can reach breakneck speeds hard to understand—they’re so fast!—which are then woven into a production style that pulls from noise, jungle, hardcore (both punk and UK), and so much more. It’s a challenging, exceedingly rewarding listen. Interestingly, Counterfeit Madison is opening, with their music akin to Black spirituals with pop sensibilities. (Neumos, 7 pm, all ages) NOLAN PARKER

THURSDAY 5/1

May Day

There are several May Day demonstrations around the Puget Sound—touch up your signs and fill the streets! MEGAN SELING

(PROTEST) May Day (or International Workers’ Day) does not belong to parades or platitudes. It belongs to the people: to the janitors who clean glass towers before dawn, to the caregivers who tend to our elders, to the undocumented workers whose sweat undergirds billionaires’ profits, and to those who have always been told they are lucky just to be here. But luck has never built movements. Struggle has. And right now, the struggle could not be clearer. Both locally and nationally, this year’s May Day will be a nexus of labor and immigrant rights—a moment shaped by struggle, sharpened by history, and (hopefully) set ablaze by the fire of solidarity. You can go to Cal Anderson for We Make America Work, where labor leaders from SEIU 775, 1199 NW, Local 925, Local 6, and other unions will join with elected officials and thousands of rank-and-file members; in Tacoma, there’s a march to the Northwest Detention Center; and another demonstration at the King County Superior Court, where more than 200 lawyers will gather to retake their oath. If you can’t make Thursday’s events, Olympia will be hosting an All Labor March on Saturday. Check out all the details here. MARCUS HARRISON GREEN

FRIDAY 5/2

Denzel Curry, Kenny Mason, 454, CLIP

(MUSIC) On his sixth studio album, King of the Mischievous South, Florida rapper Denzel Curry goes back to his roots with features from his Southern hip-hop colleagues Kingpin Skinny Pimp, 2 Chainz, Juicy J, Project Pat, and Ski Mask the Slump God. The result is irresistibly catchy, refreshingly playful, and would pair nicely with Doechii's Alligator Bites Never Heal. If you need any more reasons to love Curry, he has also been a strong advocate for Palestine (we love a politically educated king). He will be joined by punk-inspired rapper (and collaborator) Kenny Mason, psychedelic rap artist 454, and "sad girl rap" queen CLIP. (Showbox SoDo, 8 pm, all ages) AUDREY VANN

SATURDAY 5/3

Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebration

(COMMUNITY) You'd be hard-pressed to find a better way to kick off Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month than attending this annual cultural celebration. Throughout the day, the main Armory stage is the place to watch performances like lion dance, taiko, hula, kung fu, and more, including the crowd-favorite hum-bow eating contest. Other schedule highlights include a reading of Kelly Goto's book, Seattle Samurai: A Cartoonist's Perspective of the Japanese American Experience, a hands-on Hawaiian art activity led by Malia Peoples, and screenings of the 2023 short film She Marches in Chinatown about the creation of the Seattle Chinese Community Girls Drill Team in 1952. In between, snag some tasty bites from Loumpia and adorable greeting cards from Bright Spot Design. (Seattle Center, 11 am–5 pm free, all ages) SHANNON LUBETICH

SUNDAY 5/4

Ryann Donnelly: Body High

See Ryann Donnelly read from her new book at Hotel Sorrento May 4. AUTHOR PHOTO BY JORDAN ROBIN

(BOOKS) Seattle remembers Ryann Donnelly. She was in the band Schoolyard Heroes and also Weekend, an electro-pop-punk duo that recalled, in my imagination, the best sections of Donna Haraway's A Cyborg Manifesto. Then, in 2010, Donnelly moved first to New York City and finally to London, where she obtained a PhD in art history—she's now a professor in the Art History department at University of Sussex. Though she returns to Seattle frequently, "every time [she comes] back it feels like [she's] been gone for a decade." Donnelly also misses "the houses made of wood." Despite being new-looking and all, Seattle misses her too. But we can see Donnelly this Sunday during her book event at the Sorrento Hotel. Her second major work, Body High: Death, Drugs, and Eva Ess, examines radical body-related art from the '60s as a remedy for the grief "she felt for a doomed relationship." Donnelly will read from this work, which contains history, theory, poetic provocations, and some fearlessly personal stuff. (Hotel Sorrento, 5 pm, free) CHARLES MUDEDE

MONDAY 5/5

The Princess Diana Collection Pop-Up

The People's Princess but the Fashion Queen. COURTESY OF MOPOP

(FASHION) From the jaw-dropping "revenge dress" to the red sheep print sweater to her slouchy sweatshirts paired with bike shorts, Diana, Princess of Wales, sparked frenzies with her show-stopping looks and is still remembered for her iconic personal style today. Get a once-in-a-lifetime chance to take a peek at a dozen genuine items worn by the People's Princess at this pop-up before they go up for sale with Julien's Auctions. The collection includes Diana's 1989 Belville Sassoon floral day dress (which she frequently wore to philanthropic engagements), her 1989 Rayne Green satin evening pumps, and more. (MoPOP, May 1–13, free with museum admission) JULIANNE BELL

TUESDAY 5/6

Lucinda Scala Quinn: Mother Sauce

Lucinda Scala Quinn will sign books at Book Larder May 6. COURTESY OF HACHETTE BOOK GROUP

(FOOD/BOOKS) In her newest book, Mother Sauce: Italian American Family Recipes and the Story of the Women Who Created Them, home cook and author Lucinda Scala Quinn rightfully gives Italian American matriarchs their long-overdue flowers and credits them with founding the comforting cuisine we all know and love today. She shares over 100 classic recipes, including baked ziti, sausage and pepper hoagies, chicken marsala, and cannoli, and credits the women who created them, so you can cook like a nonna in your own kitchen. Quinn will discuss her book with local cookbook author Hsiao-Ching Chou. (Book Larder, 6:30 pm, all ages) JULIANNE BELL

May Day Is the People’s Day

Marcus Harrison Green — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 13:18:00 -0700

Both locally and nationally, this year’s May Day will be a nexus of labor and immigrant rights—a moment shaped by struggle, sharpened by history, and (hopefully) set ablaze by the fire of solidarity. by Marcus Harrison Green

May Day (or International Workers’ Day) does not belong to parades or platitudes. It belongs to the people: to the janitors who clean glass towers before dawn, to the caregivers who tend to our elders, to the undocumented workers whose sweat undergirds billionaires’ profits, and to those who have always been told they are lucky just to be here.

But luck has never built movements. Struggle has. And right now, the struggle could not be clearer.

Just weeks before his 100th day in office, President Trump inked three executive orders soaked in cruelty and contempt—targeting immigrant communities, attempting to break the will of sanctuary cities, and militarizing law enforcement to act with even greater impunity. One order even insists that truck drivers prove their English proficiency.

Earlier this month, during the wee hours of morning armed ICE agents raided Mt. Baker Roofing in Bellingham like they were storming a battlefield, not a job site. Thirty-seven workers were seized. Tomas Fuerte, speaking through fear and grief, described being corralled “like we were criminals.” But the only crime committed that morning was the brutal separation of laborers from the jobs they had worked, the families they had built, and the communities they had helped sustain.

This is the charged atmosphere in which this year’s May Day arrives: inevitable, insistent, and alive with the echoes of past struggles and the urgency of current ones.

Cal Anderson, 12 p.m.: “We Make America Work”

At 12 pm on May 1st, Cal Anderson Park will be the heart of a protest against the Trump administration’s anti-worker, anti-immigrant agenda. Under the banner We Make America Work, labor leaders from SEIU 775, 1199 NW, Local 925, Local 6, and other unions will join with elected officials and thousands of rank and file members to reclaim the day from the powers attempting to erase them.

There will be puppets, 15 feet tall and hand-built by immigrant workers. There will be speeches. But most importantly, there will be bodies. Brown, Black, white, queer, disabled, old, young. All carrying a resounding message that the only thing more powerful than the cruelty of the state is the solidarity of the people.

This march is one of over 30 coordinated across the nation, part of a movement demanding not just higher wages or better hours, but a future. A future where dignity isn’t a privilege of the wealthy, but the baseline for every human being who works, dreams, and dares to love this country enough to demand it be better.

Tacoma, 4 p.m.: From the Tollefson Plaza to the Detention Center

Kicking off at 4 pm, a fierce coalition of labor and immigrant justice groups will march on one of Washington’s most shameful monuments to dehumanization: the Northwest Detention Center (NWDC).

“Stand Up for Worker and Immigrant Rights!” organizers cry. And they mean it. Marchers will gather at Tollefson Plaza and head to the gates of the NWDC—a place that has drawn lawsuits, legislative scrutiny, and national condemnation for the way it cages people like animals under the guise of “immigration enforcement.”

Including La Resistencia, Extinction Rebellion Seattle, Tacoma DSA, they will march not only against Trump’s policies but against the moral rot that allows profit to be made from pain as GEO, the NWDC’s owner does. This is not just a protest. It is a reckoning.

Because what is happening in that detention center is not a mistake. It is a choice.

Seattle, King County Superior Court, 12 p.m.: Law Day

And still, the resistance does not end in the streets.

At the King County Superior Court, more than 200 lawyers will gather to retake their oath. Not just as a gesture, but as a vow. A vow that when judges are attacked, when due process is denied, and when the legal system becomes a tool of repression rather than protection, they will not sit quietly.

This National Law Day event, led by Judge Ketu Shah and supported by the Washington State Bar Association, includes attorneys from across the state—public defenders, former legislators, immigration advocates, state prosecutors, and more. It is a reminder that every institution, every profession, every lever of power must be reclaimed by those with the courage to wield it for the true public good.

Because while it’s true that justice is not always found in courtrooms, when it is found, it is because people fought for it to be there.

May 3rd, Olympia, Washington State Capitol, 12 p.m.: All Labor March

Fortunately, for folks who work normal hours and can’t make Thursday’s events, May Day actions will stretch into the weekend, as the struggle of working people never clocks out. On Saturday, May 3rd, the All Labor March will bring together a united front of workers, immigrants, and families at the Tivoli Fountain of the Washington State Capitol at noon. Organizers say this march is a call to reclaim what belongs to the public: schools, healthcare, housing, and dignity. They also say it’s to remind the few who hoard power that the many are awake and rising.

Whether you plan to gather in the streets or observe from afar, let May Day remind us: there is no true freedom without the freedom of immigrants. No workers’ rights without immigrant rights. No justice that does not begin at the margins, where the most vulnerable among us labor, resist, and dream.

It is why we must choose to speak for those who are silenced, to stand for those who are now hunted, and shout to this nation that the hands that built it are still clenched into fists.

May Day is not a holiday. It is a covenant. A promise forged in struggle and continuously renewed each year in the streets, on the picket lines, and in the small acts of solidarity we offer one another.

Slog AM: Trump Celebrates His 100 Days, SPD's Hiring Spree, and We've Got a Women's Hockey Team

Marcus Harrison Green — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 09:20:00 -0700

The Stranger's morning news roundup by Marcus Harrison Green

Weather: Today will be mostly sunny with a high of 64 degrees, which means the goddess Ishtar is in a good mood, just not good enough for 70. Go outside, bask in that filtered nuclear radiation we call sunshine, and remember: the planet’s still spinning… for now.

100 Days of This Shit. Trump marked his first 100 days by dancing to “YMCA” in Michigan, grinning through the lowest approval rating of any president in 80 years. In those hundred days, he’s gutted the government to make room for billionaire-led privatization, weaponized antisemitism to justify mass detention and deportation, and pushed strategy-free tariffs with zero investment in the infrastructure needed to bring back manufacturing jobs. He’s deporting children. Tearing families apart. Sending people to El Salvador prison camps without due process. Slashing cancer research. Eliminating food safety rules. Resegregating the federal workforce. Scrapping USAID—setting the stage for 25 million preventable deaths worldwide. And it’s only been 100 days.

Meanwhile, in California: Kamala Harris is expected to speak out against Trump tonight as she inches toward a run for CA Governor. But don’t expect a bold stand against authoritarianism from someone who campaigned with a Cheney and voted to fund the genocide in Gaza. Meanwhile, Tim Walz is out on a self-described “listening tour,” sharing that Harris chose him in part to help “code talk” to white guys. Who says DEI is dead!?! And while the political class postures, 55,000 LA County workers are on strike. After being offered zero percent cost-of-living raise—even as the county pours millions into a new downtown skyscraper—clerks, janitors, healthcare workers, parks staff, and social workers are shutting it all down. Libraries, public restrooms, clinics: closed. It’s the first time SEIU Local 721 has gone countywide. “This is the workforce that got LA through wildfires, pandemics, and every crisis in between,” said union president David Green. “We’ve had it.”

Bird Flu Crisis: The US is dangerously underreacting to the spread of bird flu, warn virologists from the Global Virus Network. Since March 2024, the virus has hit all 50 states and Puerto Rico, leading to the deaths of tens of millions of poultry and infecting over 1,000 dairy herds. It’s already killed one person and sickened 70 others, all from animal-to-human transmission. Experts say it’s only a matter of time before the disease spreads between humans unless the US ramps up its response. With a high mortality rate, the clock is ticking on us avoiding a full-scale pandemic.

Columbia Student Freed: Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi walked into what he thought was a citizenship interview—and the government threw a bag over his head like he was in a goddamn spy novel. Why? Because he dared to protest genocide, and apparently that now qualifies as a “national security threat.” A judge thankfully freed him this morning, calling it McCarthyism 2.0.

SPD on Hiring Spree: Seattle’s police department is on a hiring spree—60 new officers so far this year, and they’re aiming for 200 by the end of 2025. Because, obviously, the best way to fix systemic issues is to just hire more people who are part of the system. They’re offering massive bonuses and fast-tracking recruits to fill the gap left after the 2020 protests. And in a stunning move for diversity, they’re aiming for 30 percent women in the force by 2030. Because, when you’re getting your neck stepped on by boots and tear-gassed during protests, it’s great to know at least the people doing the stepping and gassing are as inclusive as possible.

Finally, hockey equity! Look, I could care less about hockey—I mean, I do care less, I’m actively caring less right now—but I’m all in for equity in sports. So consider me tepidly thrilled that Seattle just landed a Professional Women’s Hockey League team. The team’s called “PWHL Seattle” for now, which isn’t so much a name as it is a Wi-Fi password. But they’ll be wearing emerald green and cream—basically if a matcha latte laced up skates and came to fight. They’ll play at Climate Pledge Arena with the Kraken and the Storm, making it the most woke arena in America: zero emissions, 100 percent chance of fan-led chants of "defund the refs." And yes, we’re already warming up our passive-aggressive hockey hate for Vancouver, because nothing brings people together like sports-fueled regional resentment.

Funding cuts coming to Higher Ed: Washington’s public colleges are about to get hit with some major funding cuts because when there’s a budget deficit, why shouldn’t education be one of the first things on the chopping block, I guess? The University of Washington is bracing for a 5 percent funding reduction, and Washington State University is scrambling to figure out how to stretch its resources to keep serving students without totally falling apart. Meanwhile, a new law (SB 5785) is about to slash financial aid for students—especially those at private schools—and leave many students without the grants they rely on to get an education. Of course, this disproportionately affects students of color and low-income students. Way to sure the people who can least afford it bear the brunt of the financial “sacrifice.”

Our air quality sucks. A recent report revealed that Seattle’s air quality is the equivalent of inhaling into a barbecue pit every time you take a breath. The city just ranked 9th worst in the U.S. for short-term particle pollution, which is a fancy way of saying, “Hey, want to take a deep breath of wildfire smoke and industrial fumes?” And, of course, half of America is now living with air so toxic, it’s like Mother Nature’s version of a deep fryer. Meanwhile, the White House is considering weakening pollution rules, which is exactly what we need—more smog and fewer rules. Makes perfect sense, right?

Literers, Beware! State lawmakers voted to more than double a fine on litterbugs. Starting this summer, if you get caught tossing a grocery bag’s worth of trash, you’re looking at a $125 fine—plus a potential $93 for leaving it on the highway. So basically, you’ll be paying more for your trash than you do for your streaming services. But this isn’t just about keeping our state pretty. In 2022, Washington had nearly 38 million pounds of litter dumped every year. That’s almost five pounds per person. We’re shelling out $12 million a year just to clean up after people who treat the roadside like their personal dumpster. If you're chucking trash out your car window, I don't feel bad for you—I feel bad for the squirrel that has to live next to your empty Taco Bell bag. Seriously, get a grip and use a trash can.

Volcano primed to erupt! So there’s an underwater volcano off the coast of Oregon that’s acting up, and it might erupt for the first time in years (so far, it's erupted in 1998, 2011, and 2015). Scientists are seeing some signs—earthquakes, magma buildup—but don’t freak out, they’re not expecting it to cause the next Pacific Northwest apocalypse. It’s not like a land volcano that’s gonna send shockwaves and tsunamis; this thing’s got water on top of it, so it’s more like a minor inconvenience than a catastrophic event. Still, if it blows, it’ll be a rare chance to witness something the world’s barely seen, so let’s just sit back, relax, and watch nature do its thing.

Be grateful for the sun. From the film itself to the soundtrack, I can’t get enough of Ryan Coogler’s masterpiece Sinners, so I’ll leave you with this lushly haunting track from the movie that’ll make you grateful for seeing the sun no matter what unique hell the day has in store.

Slog AM: Trans Athlete Ban Fails, It’s Earth Day, and Vote in the Special Election!

Marcus Harrison Green — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 09:05:00 -0700

The Stranger's morning news roundup. by Marcus Harrison Green

Weather: Happy Earth Day! Today’s forecast: sunny with a high near 60. It’s perfect weather for pretending we’re not hurtling toward climate collapse. So get out there, hug a tree, recycle your plastic, and try not to think about how Exxon knew in the '70s.

Born Into Freedom, Dad Denied It: Dr. Noor Abdalla and political prisoner Mahmoud Khalil welcomed their first child yesterday. Khalil had requested a two-week furlough from his detention in Louisiana to be present for the birth. Per the cruelty of the Trump regime, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official named “Mellissa” denied Khalil’s request.

Religious Freedom Means Never Having to Learn Anything: The culture war circus is back at the Supreme Court, where Justices are weighing whether books with LGBTQ+ characters in public schools trample on religious freedom. A school board in Montgomery County, Maryland okayed five storybooks to promote tolerance—scandalous!—but some parents claim that just seeing queer people in print violates their religious beliefs. They're arguing that a) parents should control what their kids learn and b) the Constitution guarantees them the right to not be mildly uncomfortable in a pluralistic society. With a bench stacked by Trump and dominated by justices molded in Catholic schools, odds are good that the Court will carve out some religious opt-out.

Venezuela Fires Back at Bukele's Prisoner Swap Scheme: Venezuela’s attorney general, Tarek William Saab, went scorched earth on El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, branding him a “neo-Nazi” and “serial human rights violator” after Bukele proposed a prisoner swap with Nicolás Maduro. Bukele offered to trade 252 Venezuelans deported by Trump to his US-backed concentration camp, CECOT, for an equal number of political prisoners held in Venezuela—also naming out activists and journalists swept up in last year’s crackdowns. “The only reason they are imprisoned is for having opposed you and your electoral fraud,” Bukele posted on X to Maduro. Saab hit back on state TV, calling the offer “cynical,” accusing Bukele of narcissism, and demanding details on who’s detained, their legal status, and medical conditions.

Trans Athlete Ban Fails, Barely: In yet another attempt to legislate bigotry under the guise of "protecting sports." The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA), the state’s high school sports governing body, almost passed a rule banning trans girls from girls' sports. The WIAA came just one vote shy of greenlighting this retrograde policy. And just for kicks, they also floated a separate “open” division—because what’s more inclusive than institutionalized exile? That gem of social engineering lost in a blowout, 13 votes for and 40 against. Let this be your latest reminder: trans bigotry isn’t just a DC export, it’s alive, well, and still trying to run drills in your local gym.

Now let's pass it to Hannah Murphy Winter for a blurb cameo:

Good news! On Friday evening, the US District Court for the Western District of Washington ruled that, whether you’re an insurance company or a healthcare provider, you can’t deny gender-affirming top surgery to trans kids and then turn around and provide it to cis kids. In a ruling against Premera Blue Cross, the judge found that it was a violation of the discrimination clause of the ACA. “The court determined in no uncertain terms that Premera Blue Cross’s policy categorically denying safe, evidence-based, and effective health care…is discriminatory and unlawful,” said Lambda Legal’s Omar Gonzalez-Pagan. “In fact, the court could not have been clearer. As it wrote in the ruling: ‘The Court need not choose between the divergent interpretations of the term 'sex' because, under either view, Premera’s medical policy facially discriminates on the basis of sex.” Someone tell Seattle Children’s that…

ICYMI: Despite the aforementioned good news, our Vivian McCall wrote a follow-up about Seattle Children's Hospital deciding to still yank gender-affirming surgery for patients under 19. The decision led to more than 550 health professionals and advocacy groups calling them out for breaking the law and promoting harmful, outdated views, while vowing to take legal action. But, in true "we don’t give a damn" fashion, the hospital's gone radio silent, leaving trans youth and their families twisting in the wind.

Seattle’s War on Tents (and People in Them): The Seattle Times reports that the City is absolutely crushing it—if “it” means shattering records for homeless encampment sweeps because nothing says progress like forcing people into a perpetual state of fear and displacement. But hey, as long as your Golden Retriever has a poop-free patch of grass in the park, who cares if people are overdosing and dying in the street? A little dehumanization is a small price to pay for vibes, right?

Ferguson Signs 35 Bills, Still No Wealth Tax: Gov. Bob Ferguson signed 35 bills into law yesterday, proving once again that bureaucracy can move fast, at least if it’s got caffeine and a legislative majority. From blocking out-of-state National Guardsmen from playing Weekend Warrior on our turf, to making sure pets aren’t left behind when the climate crisis comes knocking, to making sure your local casino is only moderately shady, it’s a buffet of, "Hey, that actually makes sense." Somewhere in there, they even found time to fight a burrowing shrimp, because in Washington, we fight fascism, crustaceans, and any attempt to pass a wealth tax with equal gusto.

Special Election, Today! Let’s keep it a buck, you probably thought that ballot that showed up in your mailbox this month was either junk mail or a coupon for a Domino’s 2-for-1 (what disgusting pizza, btw). And even if you did crack it open, chances are you had no idea we were voting today, let alone on what. But don’t worry, we’ve got your back: our SECB guide breaks down why you should vote NO on the fingerprint renewal measure, because handing over your biometric data to the government in this dystopian hellscape? Yeah, hard pass. Just make sure you drop your ballot in a box by 8 pm or slap a stamp on it before midnight, or it’s just another piece of paper lost to the surveillance state.

Our EIC in Action: If you’ve got a pulse and a brain, swing by Town Hall Seattle tonight at 7:30 pm. Our editor-in-chief will be moderating a conversation for Earth Day. You’ll hear from local leaders fighting the good fight on climate and equity, and meet some grassroots folks actually doing the work!

And to mark the occasion, I’ll leave you with this wonderfully appropriate song by the late, great Marvin Gaye:

A Decade of Debate Ends in Silence

Marcus Harrison Green — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 17:11:00 -0700

In 2015, city council chambers swelled with hundreds of Hookah Lounge supporters and detractors, there to shout down, up, and over each other as Seattle considered closures and regulation of the “after-hours lounges.” On the table was a bill from then-Mayor Ed Murray to completely shutter the doors of all Seattle Hookah lounges, now and forever. by Marcus Harrison Green

Lounge owners and supporters claimed that the legislation was racially and ethnically targeted; Critics of the lounges countered that they were a primary culprit for health and public safety concerns—at best, a tobacco promoter, at worst a catalyst for criminality. City officials argued that hookah lounges had become magnets for violence, claiming that shuttering them would make streets safer and cut down on late-night shootings. But critics said the policy unfairly singled out businesses largely run by immigrants and people of color, deflecting attention from deeper issues driving gun violence, and casting broad suspicion on already marginalized communities in the process.

Supporters and critics alike carried their protests from the meeting hall to the stairways outside the chambers, forming opposing lines that faced each other and shouted their positions across the divide. The confrontation exposed generational and community rifts, and marked the apex of a dispute where race, class, community safety, and business interests collided.

In the end, the city backed down, and most hookah lounge owners were simply fined and issued warnings for violating state laws that prohibit smoking in public spaces and workplaces—regulations the Seattle lounges had attempted to sidestep by branding themselves as private clubs.

But that was nearly a decade and at least seven deaths ago. Contrast that with yesterday’s ho-hum city council meeting that saw a unanimous passage of a bill regulating after hours locations (6-0, with councilmembers Cathy Moore, Maritza Rivera, and Dan Strauss absent), a nearly empty chamber (I counted about a dozen people including city employees and media), and where, if you listened closely enough, you could hear a mite crapping on a roll of Charmin between city council member speeches.

The bill is a legislative response to a March 30 shooting in Capri Hookah Lounge’s parking lot in the wee hours that left two people dead. Following the shootings, the fifth at the location since the summertime, the lounge was declared a “chronic nuisance” in a letter Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes sent to Capri’s owner. After being threatened with a $500 daily fine by the city for allegedly serving liquor without a license amongst other violations, Capri announced Monday that it was shutting down for good.

The bill also cited the deaths of five other people that took place in or around Hookah Lounges over the last decade, including Donnie Chin and Francisco Escatall.

Hookah lounges have been embroiled in public safety debates since at least 2005, when Washington voters approved Initiative 901, banning smoking in public spaces, including bars. Some lounges, often open later than traditional bars, found a workaround by identifying as “private clubs,” skirting the ban and becoming lightning rods of controversy ever since.

Critics of hookah lounges often paint them as tinderboxes for violence, claiming they draw in already-intoxicated patrons after bars close, an alleged recipe for trouble. They point to city data from last year showing more than 35 shootings tied to so-called “after-hours” clubs, with more than 800 rounds fired. But supporters push back, calling that narrative a problematic trope. For many, they say, these lounges are more than nightlife. They’re cultural hubs and community spaces for people who often have few others as they serve a largely Islamic clientele religiously prohibited from drinking.

Tuesday’s ordinance, introduced by councilmember Bob Kettle, representing Magnolia, Downtown, and South Lake Union (and three hookah lounges), sets stricter rules for after-hours nightlife lounges open between 2 and 6 a.m., restricting attendance to patrons 21 years or older, allowing law enforcement and city inspectors access during business hours, and prohibiting alcohol sales or consumption during those hours unless venues have an extended-hours liquor license. It also requires lounges to shut down entirely between 6 and 10 a.m., and makes lounge owners submit detailed written safety plans, including security protocols, emergency procedures, and staff training requirements.

With the intent of baking accountability into the bill, Councilmember Alexis Mercedes-Rink included an amendment that requires the City’s Finance and Administrative Services to submit an initial implementation plan by June 1, 2025, and to provide annual public reports on how the ordinance is being enforced. These yearly updates—due each December—must detail what enforcement actions have been taken and what outcomes they've produced.

The bill passed with a whisper.

Reactions from city elected officials—and those seeking to replace them—reflected the same energy that was in the room yesterday, though they ranged from celebratory to to skeptical.

“We have two of these after hours establishments in D2 now that Capri closed, and I’m tired of adding another name to the list of people who died,” says Mark Solomon, who represents South Seattle on the council. Solomon told The Stranger that the ordinance was a “long time coming” and that the bill brings Hookah lounges and other after hours establishments in line with standard regulatory practices. “This is not about targeting immigrant communities or POC establishments. This comes down to community safety for patrons and safety for folks in the neighborhood. We’re not in the business of closing down a business just to close it down.” Solomon says.

Joy Hollingsworth, who represents the Central District, says that the bill was less contentious than in previous years because it was developed with input from local business owners and community members.

“The reality is that late-night gun violence doesn’t just affect the neighborhoods in which they happen, it ripples across our entire city and undermines responsible business owners who are working hard to build a nightlife scene that is safe, vibrant, and sustainable. We owe it to them, and their patrons, to prioritize public safety to allow our city's nightlife to thrive,” says Hollingsworth.

Both Hollingsworth and Solomon represent districts that collectively experience higher incidents of gun violence than elsewhere in the city.

Eddie Lin, a candidate running to replace Solomon in D2 says he doesn’t believe this ordinance won’t reduce gun violence, though he would’ve voted for it.

“I'm deeply saddened and frustrated because I do not see our City rising to this moment with the urgency it requires,” says Lin. “People need and deserve safe places to gather and socialize, and so it's fair and necessary to regulate these businesses and require them to have meaningful safety plans in place.”

His fellow candidates struck similar tones.

“We need to stop the violence. There are ways to do that and the proposed legislation could be one tool in the toolbox,” says Adonis Duckworth, running in D2. “We shouldn't over regulate places that are already safe, but we can't allow shootings to keep happening at establishments that have a pattern of violence.”

Jamie Fackler, another candidate in the district race, struck a note of caution, saying he wants to see how it plays out. “The root cause of gun violence doesn't seem like it comes from hookah lounges or people who partake in using hookahs,” he says. “But I hope the legislation does what it's intended to do and doesn't harm small business owners in the process.”

City Attorney Ann Davison offered no such equivocation, practically doing verbal backflips in her gleeful statement celebrating the legislation’s passage. “I believe this tool will address the rise of place-specific gun violence caused by unlicensed venues. This legislation can’t come soon enough for our city as we look to save lives,” Davison’s statement read.

Her opponents in this year’s city attorney race were much less effusive.

“This is a surface level response to a problem with deep roots,” says Rory O’Sullivan, a city attorney candidate, who was supportive of ordinance and Rinck’s amendment.

He cautioned against viewing this as a gun violence prevention victory through measures that he says largely impact a small number of businesses owned by people of color.

Nathan Rouse, who is also running against Davison, had a lukewarm response to the legislation.

“We’ve already seen with laws like SOAP and SODA that reactive legislation often fails to make us safer,” Rouse says. “If these measures prove effective at improving public safety, I will happily support them as City Attorney. This just can’t be another political move that looks tough on crime but does little to address the root causes.”

It’s hard not to reflect on the stark contrast between Tuesday’s City Council meeting and the one a decade ago and not ask: what changed? Has one narrative finally triumphed over the other? Were the detractors right all along? Did hookah lounges need to “clean up their act”? Or are they just the most convenient targets of blame in a city desperate to do something about a crisis with no easy fix? As a city, have we become so inundated, so emotionally and politically drained by the relentless crises of this country, that we’ve lost the capacity to confront the epidemic of gun violence with the depth and seriousness it demands? And so we’re left grasping for any solution, no matter how incomplete, just to feel like we’re doing something?

“People are tired, man. People are exhausted, I’ve been using that word more than ever,” says Cortez Charles, a youth violence prevention specialist and community organizer based in South Seattle.

Charles represents the paradox faced by many in the South End— folks who’ve stood on both sides of the hookah lounge debate, weighing community safety against cultural expression. In the end, he backed more regulation because it felt like the least harmful option in a system that persistently offers underresourced communities only a narrow set of imperfect choices.

“Our community is hurting, it’s been hurting. Lives are being lost. These regulations are in the best interest of our communities, but why are they focusing on these places, instead of building something more in our community?” Charles asks.

After ten years, all we seem left with is the same old questions.

State Workers Won’t Let Ferguson Balance the Budget on Their Backs

Marcus Harrison Green — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 13:08:00 -0700

Hundreds of Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) members packed the rotunda on Wednesday to remind Ferguson that their salaries aren’t just spreadsheet items: they’re livelihoods, rent checks, daycare bills, and precarious stability. They staged a sit-in outside Ferguson’s office, then marched to the governor’s mansion to confront him, however, he was gone, working from his Seattle office. by Marcus Harrison Green

They were loud. They were angry. They were Union Strong.

After this week, it should be crystal clear to Gov. Bob Ferguson that state employees aren't begging for a tax on the ultra-wealthy to patch up Washington's budget hole. They're demanding it, loudly enough to shake the state capital.

The people shouting down Ferguson’s door are the same people who answer phones at state agencies, care for people with disabilities, help folks re-enter society after prison—many had canvassed and voted for him. And they are fed up with what they see as the governor’s betrayal of the working class and his political appeasement to the state’s wealthy, evidenced by his rejection of a wealth tax.

At the heart of the clash in Olympia is Ferguson’s proposal to furlough state workers as a fix for Washington’s staggering $16 billion budget shortfall, while dismissing a wealth tax as “untested” and legally uncertain, while being mum on other progressive revenue measures. WFSE and other unions aren’t buying it, arguing that the governor’s plan shifts the economic burden onto the very workers who keep the state functioning, while the ultra-wealthy remain shielded from even modest tax increases.

“I am an administrative assistant. We are the glue of our organizations—we make things happen behind the scenes. Many of us are some of the lowest-paid workers in the state. Most of us are women. I take home about $1,500 every two weeks. If I weren’t married, I couldn’t afford this job,” says Kelly Powers, a WFSE member who spoke at yesterday’s protest.

Powers, who voted for Ferguson, slammed his proposed cuts, calling them a “self-inflicted recession” at a time when the economy is already reeling from the volatile nature of the Trump administration’s economic asininity. She’s especially affronted by Ferguson’s proposal of a five year moratorium on state worker’s ability to negotiate their health care packages.

“Tell me how do we pay for housing, food, gas, and healthcare on less and less, while the richest Washingtonians pay nothing more?” she asks.

Wednesday’s actions were applauded by many Democratic state legislators, including those who have supported raising progressive revenue.

“Though I was excited to see Washington state public employees and other working people protest at the State Capitol, it’s disappointing that they have to make use of these tactics in order to be heard,” says Rep. Shaun Scott of the 43rd LD. “That some state lawmakers and the Governor’s office are considering cuts to social services and furloughs of public employees is unconscionable. I was proud to join yesterday’s sit-in at the Governor’s office, and will continue working from inside the institution of the State Legislature to tax the ultra wealthy to fund services we all use.”

Rep. Brianna Thomas, whose 34th legislative district covers West Seattle and Vashon Island, also denounced the governor’s propositions.

“I want the governor to keep his promises. I will not balance the budget on the back of starving children. I will not balance the budget on the backs of those who need kidney dialysis. I will not balance it on the backs of our immigrant community who need support. I will not balance it on the backs of kinship caregivers who can barely afford to raise their grandchildren,” Thomas told The Stranger. She also spoke at Wednesday’s protest.

The demonstration action caught the eye of at least one national civil rights leader.

“This is an example of how to organize our strengths into compelling power so that the government cannot elude our demands. I’ll take it further and say that so any power structure cannot elude our demands,” says Dr. Bernice A. King, who was in town for a housing equity event hosted by Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King & Kittitas Counties.

Invoking her father Martin’s economic justice message from his book Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community, King says that like all states, Washington requires leaders with a “people-centered” sensitivity to the needs of the electorate.

“A creation of a budget shows you who someone represents. Are you representing the people or are you representing powerful lobbyists?” she told The Stranger.

With Democrats still locked in budget negotiations and state workers poised for further direct action before the legislative session ends on April 27, we’ll soon see.

Protect Immigrants, Tax the Rich

Marcus Harrison Green — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 13:43:00 -0700

Anderson is living in hell. Ever since President Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, Anderson* has hopped from couch to couch of friends and good Samaritans willing to put the undocumented immigrant up for a night or two. For those 10 weeks, he’s been separated from his infant son—choosing to be away from him for weeks, rather than risk being separated for a lifetime. “I’m not doing good at all. We’re in wild times,” he says. “I keep asking, how do we survive amongst all this?” by Marcus Harrison Green

It’s a good question with no clear answer. In the last two months, Anderson, who asked to use a pseudonym for his safety, watched a deluge of federal acts explicitly meant to make him afraid: Trump’s vow to deport millions; Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest of more than 33,000 immigrants; the detainment of Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil; the deportation of the entire family of a 10 year old who was recovering from brain cancer surgery; Trump blatantly defying a judge’s order to return 200 Venezuelan migrants from El Salvador; And heard government anti-immigrant propaganda broadcast on a local pop station.

And most recently, the Trump administration has expanded its anti-immigration agenda, calling for “enhanced vetting” to deport visa and green card holders that don’t support their policies. Locally, there’s also been the jailing of local Washington community members Lewelyn Dixon, a UW lab tech, and Alfredo “Lelo” Juarez Zeferino, an activist farmworker. And then Anderson watched in terror Wednesday as ICE agents raided a Bellingham roofing company to detain and then funnel 37 immigrant workers into the notorious Northwest Detention Center.

We are widely perceived to be a sanctuary state, and outside of Gov. Ferguson’s late-January press conference—an elaborate bit of Kabuki theater at El Centro De La Raza, where he signed an Executive Order ensuring that children ripped from their undocumented parents would have “uninterrupted access” to education—many elected officials have done decently in the protector capacity.

Attorney Nick Brown recently sued Adams County for violating the Keep Washington Working Act, which limits local law enforcement from aiding in immigration enforcement. City Attorney Ann Davison also joined a lawsuit with other sanctuary cities threatened with the loss of federal funding unless they comply with immigration enforcement. (Though that’s been criticized as an election-year plot). And it appears that a bill allowing people to use paid sick leave to attend immigration proceedings for themselves or family members seems likely to pass the state legislature.

However, the state’s most profound impact is as a financial bulwark for our migrant communities. Lawsuits, marches, and proclamations are critical demonstrations of support. However, they’re mostly reactive, not provident. What’s most needed now, is financial endurance through choppy economic waters certainly ahead.

“People resisting is good, but we need actions that aren't just one-offs. Immigrant organizations are so inundated right now, and we need more resources to meet the needs and remain strong institutions that serve as a counter to the right,” says Roxana Nourouzi, the Executive Director of One America. Her organization, like most serving immigrant communities today, has been overstretched and in need of donations. So much needs to be funded, including refugee settlements, citizenship initiatives, and childcare services. Washington must put its money where its rhetoric has been all these years. Community-based organizations like Nourouzi’s and the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network routinely step in whenever state support falls short, providing critical services with limited resources. As needs grow, a stable stream of public funding is critical to bolster the networks these groups have built to serve immigrant and refugee communities across Washington.

Cue the Washington Legislature this budget season. Last week, Democrats in both chambers unveiled their budget proposals, both, thankfully, include new revenue rather than rely solely on cuts. But this stance clashes with Governor Ferguson’s penny-pinching plan, which aims to close our state’s multi-billion-dollar shortfall with about $4 billion in cuts. As he put it, “We’re not going to tax our way out of this thing.”

Ferguson once said that the Trump Administration’s, “disregard for the basic human rights of immigrant children and families is breathtaking.” Well then, those children and their families need an equally breathtaking counterreaction. To paraphrase the dead enslaver on the $100 bill, “Show me where someone puts their money, and I’ll show you what they value.”

"Immigrants are not only valuable community members to us in Washington State, but they’re also a vital part of our workforce and huge economic contributors. For example, they’ve contributed about $145 billion to our state GDP. They are taxpayers, and that’s speaking directly about the undocumented population. In 2022, they provided almost $1 billion in local and state taxes annually,” says Kaitie Dong, Senior Analyst for the Washington Budget & Policy Center.

His reluctance to build a new, progressive revenue stream, and absolute dismissal of a wealth tax as “novel” and “difficult to implement” is all the more appalling at this moment. Our immigrant neighbors, friends, colleagues, and community members are under extraordinary attack by a Republican regime determined to eliminate them from this country. If we cannot rise now to meet this crisis with extraordinary action, then when exactly will we? It leads me to ask, what is the point of having a Democratic governor at all, then?

“The Senate and House have proposed several commonsense progressive revenue solutions that would help protect the people in our state from massive budget cuts. The governor needs to center the needs of everyday people in our state by ensuring the ultra-wealthy and corporations actually pay what they owe in taxes,” says Dong. “If they don't enact these new forms of revenue, every dollar cut in the state budget is essentially a dollar taken away from our communities, which include our immigrant friends and neighbors.”

A new report from the Washington State Budget & Policy Center released on Thursday showed that allowing the deportation of the 325,000 undocumented people who call Washington home would be an economic catastrophe, stripping $100 million per year from state and local tax revenue, according to the report. A further crackdown on immigrant communities would send shockwaves through the industries that feed, build, and care for this state—farming, restaurants, caregiving, domestic work, and construction.

Given immigrants' essential role in our state economy, sustaining key sectors such as agriculture, construction, restaurants, and healthcare, Dong says Washington has a responsibility to protect and support an immigrant community that contributes far more than it receives, a fact mirroring the broader contributions of immigrants throughout the country.

“Immigrants are huge taxpayers in our state but do not receive vital social benefits, including Medicaid, including unemployment insurance. This community is being targeted and we have treated them unfairly for decades,” says Dong.

With the state facing a multi-billion budget shortfall, and the threats on higher education, Dong doesn’t see shoring up support for our immigrant communities as radical, or a lower tier priority. On the contrary, it’s one of the most practical things the state can do to not exacerbate its current economic woes.

“If we were to deport ten percent of the undocumented community here, we would lose $100 million per year in state and local revenue. Contrary to dominant narratives, we would actually see job opportunities decline because immigrant workers actually help produce more jobs than they take,” she says.

This is why she supports the state Democrats’ recent budget proposals for progressive revenue, unveiled last week. Dong hopes it will do more than just strengthen programs that support immigrant communities; such as legal aid, assistance for newly arrived migrants, and support for unaccompanied children. She also wants a permanent expansion of health insurance for undocumented Washingtonians, and the extension of unemployment benefits they currently can’t access.

As this week sees Washington legislators hold hearings debating who exactly should pay for our budget follies, and what communities will experience the most pain, it’s hard not to hear Reed’s rhetorical question echoing from every hiding place housing our immigrant community.

“How do we survive this?”

Unless our legislators find the guts to tax the rich, they won’t.

Video of Police Shooting at Southwest Precinct Shows a Quick, Violent Escalation

Marcus Harrison Green — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 16:11:00 -0700

Over the weekend, the Seattle Police Department (SPD) released surveillance and bodycam video of an officer-involved shooting that took place in the secure parking lot of the department’s Southwest Precinct facility on March 19. After a brief standoff with officers, Urban Andrew Seay, 36, was shot dead by Officer Kyle Hay. The death has been listed by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office (MEO) as a homicide. Hay has since been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. by Marcus Harrison Green

Over the weekend, the Seattle Police Department (SPD) released surveillance and bodycam video of an SPD officer shooting a man in the secure parking lot of the department’s Southwest Precinct facility on March 19. After a brief standoff with officers, Urban Andrew Seay, 36, was shot dead by Officer Kyle Hay. The death has been listed by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office (MEO) as a homicide. Hay has since been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.

Per the SPD’s Blotter blog, Seay’s wife called 911 just after noon last Wednesday and told dispatchers that her husband had been making suicidal statements and was in the Home Depot parking lot abutting the precinct. Surveillance video then shows Seay scaling the fence of the precinct’s secure lot. He is then approached by officers who ask him to exit the lot and direct him to a door in the fence.

Upon reaching the door, he stops, turns around, and draws a small folding knife. At this point, officers put distance between themselves and Seay, commanding him to drop the knife. One officer draws a taser and tells Seay, “Hey, stay down on the ground, please. Go ahead and put the knife down.”

Officers then begin asking one another to group up further from the suspect and locate a “40” —short for a 40mm launcher, a less lethal weapon that fires either a large sponge-tipped slug or a number of smaller rubber pellets; it’s meant to stop subjects with pain and impact.

Seay backs away before rounding two parked police cruisers. As he comes around the cruisers, he begins moving towards the group of officers at a walk. A chorus of officers says, “Hit him with the 40! The 40, the 40,” as Seay speeds up. Video from another officer’s bodycam shows that officer firing off one 40mm round from behind and to the right of Seay. Almost simultaneously, Hay, who was directly in Seay’s path, begins firing his service pistol, killing Seay.

Police Chief Shon Barnes, in a statement immediately after the shooting, said, “Officers attempted de-escalation tactics to include the deployment of a less than lethal device. Those efforts were unsuccessful, and ultimately an officer, one officer, discharged his firearm, striking the person.”

Besides the egregious use of passive voice here, it’s worth noting that if Hay had decided his colleague’s 40mm cannon wasn’t going to do the trick, he did so in a matter of milliseconds. His pistol shots ring out about 600ms after the 40mm shot, based on a Stranger analysis using VidTimer. Human reaction time is about 250ms, so it’s not impossible that Hay saw the less lethal round miss, saw Seay closing with him, and shot the way police officers are trained to: at center mass until the threat has ended. But it’s safe to say that, while less lethal methods were deployed, the process of determining whether those methods had worked was quite literally split-second.

At least one local police accountability group believes Hay could have done more to defuse the situation.

“We believe strongly in de-escalation and de-escalation training. One of the main tenets of that training is time, distance, and cover. I did not see those tactics employed in this interaction, and it's disappointing,” says Dom Campese, a spokesperson for the Washington Coalition for Police Accountability (WCPA).

Officially, whether the shooting proves justified or not will be a matter for the Office of Inspector General (OIG) to determine. OIG did not respond to The Stranger’s request for comment. But Hay has previously been the subject of 13 Office of Police Accountability investigations—four for use of force, though none of those were sustained.

Seay’s death very much appears to be a “suicide by police,” though Campese takes issue with that phrase, as he believes it’s misleading.

“If someone is in a mental health crisis, the goal is for law enforcement to help with the crisis, not to exacerbate it, and all too often, they're willing to oblige [the person wishing to die]. I think ‘suicide’ kind of takes away from the fact that the officers are killing the person. It's not suicide,” he says.

The released video does not show officers aggressively pursuing Seay or pinning him in. They are predominately asking him, in a calm, polite manner, to please just leave the parking lot.

For Campese, the situation recalls the cases of Herbert Hightower and John T. Williams, both killed by police while holding knives. Fifteen years after police shot John T. Williams, a deaf Native American woodcarver who was also holding a small folding knife, our police officers still haven’t figured out how to incapacitate someone like that without killing them. And it’s certainly not for a lack of spending on less lethal technology, or a lack of distribution. In 2023, SPD showcased their investments in new less lethal weapons, including the BoloWrap, new tasers, and the 40mm launcher used in last week’s shooting. Real Change reported at the time that SPD said they expected every officer to carry at least one less lethal weapon.

WCPA pushed for House Bill 1310, which passed in 2022, that required new hires to complete de-escalation training within the first 15 months on the force, and ongoing training thereafter. But Campese argues that unless departments start holding officers accountable for failing to follow that training, there’s little hope for those affected by these kinds of shootings.

In the case of Seay, officers on the scene had both a taser and a 40mm cannon trained on Seay. They knew he was suicidal. He brandished a knife for several minutes before making any attempt to approach an officer. In theory, they could have popped him with a foam or three round the second he unfolded his knife. Why, in the end, was the 9mm the weapon they went with?

“You just really wish someone would take action here,” says Campese. “Maybe the new chief is the one to do it.”

If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, help is available—call or text 988 or the King County Crisis Connections Hotline for confidential and free support 24/7.

Slog AM: UW Declares Hiring Freeze, Canada Announces Retaliatory Tariffs, and Gov. Ferguson Might Cut Food Bank Funds

Marcus Harrison Green — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 09:23:00 -0700

The Stranger's morning news roundup. by Marcus Harrison Green

Weather: Imagine a day of sunshine, butterflies, birds, and bees harmonizing in rapturous melody as blue fills the sky on the cusp of spring. Forget about it. Just like yesterday, today will be cloudy and soggy, with a high of 50 degrees.

Ukraine Ceasefire (Maybe): The US lifted its suspension of military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine after the country said it was open to an immediate 30-day ceasefire with Russia. The suspension of weapons aid followed the recent shitshow Oval Office meeting between Trump, Vance, and Zelensky. Trump’s lapdog, Rubio, stated that Washington would now present the ceasefire option—which includes no security guarantees for Ukraine—to the Kremlin. "He wants to be a president of peace," said Rubio, speaking out of both sides of his mouth about a man who had Mahmoud Khalil disappeared via ICE this week and who continues to fund the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Escalating Trade War: Canada’s just said, “Oh, you want 25 percent on steel and aluminum, US? Hold my beer.” “The 51st state” has announced it will impose 25 percent tariffs on nearly $30 billion worth of US imports, including steel, aluminum, computers, and sports equipment. Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc stated the move is a direct retaliation for the Trump administration's trade policies, targeting goods like machinery and consumer products. And not wanting to let Canada have all the fun, the EU has announced it will impose trade “countermeasures” on up to $28 billion worth of US goods.

Education Dept Cuts: The Department of Education continues to crush its to-do list this week. Last night, it fired another 1,300 workers via email, halving the agency’s workforce and gutting the department’s Office for Civil Rights. Education Secretary Linda McMahon is spinning this as an effort to "deliver services more efficiently"—or, translated from billionaire-speak, “more efficiently dismantle crucial support for grants, scholarships, and services for children with special needs, all while pandering to the so-called 'parental rights movement.'” According to the goals of Project 2025, the department’s next moves are expected to include ending Title I, eliminating free school meals, and making book banning a federal priority. Lawsuits are pending.

Toxic work environment: A House subcommittee hearing ended abruptly yesterday after Texas Republican Rep. Keith Self intentionally misgendered Democratic Rep. Sarah McBride. McBride, the first transgender person elected to Congress, has been the target of hateful attacks from her Republican colleagues since her term began in January. The 71-year-old Rep. Self addressed McBride as "Mr.," prompting Democratic Rep. Bill Keating to criticize him, saying, "Mr. Chairman, you are out of order," and adding, "Have you no decency?" Butt-hurt by that backlash, Self immediately adjourned the hearing to continue his anti-trans attacks on X. Real work getting done by the ruling party.

UW Hiring Freeze: In anticipation of federal funding cuts, the University of Washington has frozen non-essential staff hiring and limited future faculty hiring. Following the UW’s financial mitigation guidelines, departments are exploring ways to reduce spending by 5 to 10 percent. There are currently no plans to implement a furlough strategy, though Governor Ferguson, in his “anything and everything but tax the rich plan,” proposed saving $300 million by requiring most state employees to take one furlough day per month over the next two years.

Ferguson cutting food banks: Because he’d rather literally take food out of the mouths of the poor rather than tax the rich, Gov. Fergusion’s big idea to plug our $15 billion budget hole is to cut food bank funding. God forbid we ask billionaires to chip in while we raid the canned goods aisle. I guess he believes people can fill their empty stomachs by photosynthesis.

Davison Adding Staff: Well, Disney on Ice must be touring hell. I actually have some sympathy for Ann Davison (and my therapist thought these last two months were lucrative). Seattle dared to defy Trump, so now the feds are yanking funds, killing jobs, and packing up shop like a sore loser taking their ball home. That’s left the City Attorney’s office scrambling to keep up with all the legal battles. Look at the bright side: At least we’re creating some jobs… in the exciting field of suing our own government!

Starbucks Strike: The coffee might be hot, but the labor disputes are boiling. Joining a six-city strike, baristas at the University Way Starbucks walked off the job all because the coffee giant refused to finalize a fair union contract three years after workers won their vote. The strike came a day after UW students rallied on campus to demand the university stop serving Starbucks until the coffee titan settles a fair contract with wages for baristas. Meanwhile, Starbucks execs keep raking in millions, proving once again that while they may run on caffeine, their business model runs on hypocrisy.

Tacoma Toxicity: It used to be the “aroma,” but apparently, nothing quite says Welcome to Tacoma like a bunch of mystery barrels marked with toxic waste just chilling downtown. But no one seems to know where they came from. The city says the barrels are on private property, and the business supposedly responsible isn’t talking. Maybe this is Tacoma embracing its Fallout era?

In a time of climate and ecological emergency, we've seen fire and we've seen rain. Happy Birthday, James Taylor.

Tanya Woo Is Back!

Marcus Harrison Green — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 11:45:00 -0700

Tanya Woo has filed to participate in the Democracy Voucher program as a candidate for Seattle’s District 2 race, along with previously announced candidates Eddie Lin and Adonis Duckworth. by Marcus Harrison Green

Whelp, there might be three rock-solid certainties in life: death, taxes, and Tanya Woo running for office.

Woo has filed to participate in the Democracy Voucher program as a candidate for Seattle’s District 2 race, along with previously announced candidates Eddie Lin and Adonis Duckworth. Though Woo has not officially announced her run for D2, she tells The Stranger that she's currently exploring the option.

"Over the past few months, we’ve seen some positive changes in Little Saigon, but there’s still more work to do. Among my projects, I’ve continued advocating for community and look forward to seeing my council budget items that will fund safety ambassadors, the mobile treatment van and We Deliver Care deployed," she says. "Many people have been dropping off their Democracy Vouchers to me, and I want to make sure I’m following the rules, so I signed the pledge."

However, shortly after receiving that statement from Woo, The Stranger confirmed with a spokesperson from the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission that Woo is officially filed as a candidate for District 2 and, as of this afternoon, is now listed as an active campaign on their website.

Should she run again, it will mark Woo's third city council run in less than three years. To recap her brief political odyssey, Woo first ran against then-D2 incumbent Tammy Morales in 2023, eventually losing to Morales in a tight race. The conservative-leaning city council then appointed Woo to the citywide District 8 seat after Teresa Mosqueda vacated it to serve on the King County Council. Woo held the seat for nine months before running for re-election against Alexis Mercedes Rinck, who decisively throttled her in November, winning nearly 60 percent of the vote.

After Tammy Morales announced she’d be stepping down from her city council seat in January, there was speculation that Woo might either seek to be appointed to or run for the district seat again, though, she was noncommittal when speaking to KUOW in December. However, she did express concerns about the lack of Asian representation on the council, despite Asians making up the largest ethnic group in the city.

After watching the electorate vote against her twice, one of Woo’s opponents greeted her apparent run with a bit of a shoulder shrug. “While Tanya’s commitment to public service is laudable, voters have made it clear on multiple occasions that they want a leader with deeper connections to the people and values of our communities,” said D2 candidate Adonis Duckworth in a text to The Stranger.

One former Woo supporter, speaking on the condition of anonymity, insisted that a third time would most definitely not be the charm for Woo should she choose to run again.

“At this point, Tanya Woo isn’t running for office— she’s speed dating the electorate,” they said.

This article has been updated to reflect Tanya Woo's comments on a potential third run for city council.

Slog AM: Trump Wants Gaza, Seattle Children’s Halts Trans Teen’s Surgery, and It’s Snowing!

Marcus Harrison Green — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 08:46:00 -0800

Seattle's only news roundup by Marcus Harrison Green

If pure evil were a basketball team, it’s now officially racked up enough victories over the past few days to be considered the Chicago Bulls dynasty of the late 90s. But don’t despair [insert some delusionally optimistic sounding nonsense bastardized from a Mel Robbins TikTok that still allows you to hold a shred of dignity]. Now is the time to be stalwart, not think of expatriating! [Note: We’re totally fucked. Double-check Asana for the time of Thursday’s Costa Rican citizenship meeting].

Weather: What exactly can I tell you that you can't already see looking outside your window? There’s snow! Icy streets have already caused multiple crashes and spin outs across King County, so if you absolutely have to hit the road this morning, please be careful! Scattered snow showers will continue throughout the morning before the temperature rises ever so slightly, bringing rain. Seattle public schools are all going remote instruction today with a two-hour delay.

Trump wants to take over Gaza: Yesterday, Trump stood alongside war criminal Netanyahu as he unveiled his plan for renewed American imperialism. In a stark reversal of his 2016 vow to withdraw the US from the Middle East, Trump floated the idea of seizing control of Gaza, displacing the Palestinians—whose homeland it is—and transforming the area into a luxury seaside real estate project, branding it “the Riviera of the Middle East.” This “long-term ownership partnership” would require US troops on the ground and massive tax dollars—a plan Americans, still decrying the cost of eggs, might not be too eager to support. Trump called Gaza a “demolition site,” conveniently ignoring the context of how that might have happened, as he casually suggested forcing Palestinians into exile in Egypt and Jordan. Critics have rightly denounced the proposal as ethnic cleansing and a blatant violation of international law. (And by "critics," we mean "people with eyes"). And this is week three. Buckle up.

CIA Offers Buy Out: The teardown of the administrative state marches on, and in a twist I never saw coming, I find myself oddly aligned with CIA personnel. On Tuesday, the Central Intelligence Agency offered buyouts to its entire workforce as part of a "holistic strategy to infuse the Agency with renewed energy," according to a CIA spokesperson—who, let’s be honest, might not have a job next week. New CIA Director John Ratcliffe is aggressively aligning the agency with Trump’s priorities. Federal employees who’ve considered taking buyouts have received contracts stating that by accepting the deal, they "forever waive" the right to take legal action against their agency. Unsurprisingly, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and two other unions have filed a complaint, calling the buyout offer "arbitrary and capricious" and a violation of federal law.

RFK on Track to Become Health Secretary: With the nomination passed along for consideration to a full vote on the Senate floor, the odds seem ever in his favor. Upon approval, the anti-vaxxer conspiracy theorist would oversee an 80,000-person workforce and the $1.7 trillion U.S. Department of Health and Human Services—or at least until Musk locks him out of the system. North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis called Kennedy a “disrupter”—a buzzword Shark Tank has ruined for all of us—and suggested, “It’s time to put someone in there who’s going to go wild.” Exactly what millions of Americans on Medicare and Medicaid have been praying for.

Kremlin Asset Tulsi Gabbard Also on Track: The Senate Intelligence Committee advanced the nomination of Cruella de Vil cosplayer Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence on a party-line vote of 9 to 8, with all committee Republicans in support. Gaetz crashed and burned, so that every other nominee could soar! If confirmed by the full Senate, the former Democrat and noted Islamophobe would manage a budget of more than $70 billion and oversee 18 intelligence agencies.

Families Sue Trump for Banning Gender-Affirming Care: Seven families, alongside plaintiffs PFLAG and GLMA, filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging Trump’s executive orders halting federal support for gender-affirming health care for transgender people under 19. The ACLU and Lambda Legal, representing the plaintiffs, are seeking to block the order, calling it “unlawful and unconstitutional” in a court filing. They argue the order, one of the most aggressive federal attacks on transgender rights to date, withholds federal funds previously authorized by Congress, violates anti-discrimination laws, and infringes on parental rights. Like challenges to state bans, they also contend the policy discriminates by allowing federal funds for the same treatments when not used for gender transition. Kristen Chapman, a plaintiff who moved from Tennessee to Virginia to access care for her 17-year-old daughter, Willow, saw their scheduled Medicaid-covered appointment canceled the day after Trump signed the order. The lawsuit, filed in Baltimore federal court, aims to block what advocates call a full-scale assault on transgender existence. As the case progresses through the courts, attention will turn to which hospitals take a stand and which quietly comply.

Seattle Children’s Halts Trans Teens Surgery: Relatedly, as our resident badass Vivian McCall reported, Seattle Children’s Hospital just pulled the plug on a transgender teen’s top surgery at the last minute—allegedly to appease a Trump executive order that treats gender-affirming care like some kind of national security threat. The hospital won’t say outright what’s happening, but scrubbing its website of trans healthcare info is about as subtle as a drunk magician. Meanwhile, the teen’s family isn’t waiting around to see how bad it gets—they’ve seen this movie before, and spoiler alert: it doesn’t end well.

Donkeys Are Alright! Two Bellevue donkeys, Juan and Julio, missing since they were stolen from their barn Sunday afternoon, were found alive and well in Fall City after a good Samaritan tipped off the cops on Tuesday. King County Sheriff's Office and the Bellevue Police are now working to reunite the donkeys with their owner, Allison Smith who’s still reeling from the theft of her trailer and the distress caused to her horse, Ozzy. And though the animals have been reunited, her original message to all would be donkey thieves still applies: “Get your own f***ing donkey.” I couldn’t agree more.

Rinck Running for Reelection: Seattle City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck is running for a full four-year term because, as we know, fighting for housing affordability, community safety, and basic human dignity is still considered a radical act in this town. After winning a special election in 2024 with 58 percent of the vote, she’s back with endorsements from over 30 local leaders and a stubborn refusal to let greed and bureaucracy grind this city into dust. With a background in fiscal policy, human services, and emergency response, she’s actually trying to solve problems instead of passing ineffectual legislation (SODA zones, Drug ordinance, etc.) that crushes our city’s soul.

Duwamish Given Chance at Recognition: Last week, a US District Court told the Department of the Interior to stop dragging its feet and reconsider the Duwamish Tribe’s petition for federal recognition. The decision gives the tribe the chance to present new evidence that shows they’re still the same Duwamish Tribe that signed the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott. It’s a small win for them, but it’s a win—now the tribe has the shot at not only recognition but also federal benefits. That is if there are any benefits left to go around after this administration gets done.

Metro Installs New Safety Barriers: King County Metro is installing new protective barriers between bus drivers and passengers to improve safety, following increasing concerns about driver assaults, including the deadly stabbing of Shawn Yim in December. The new barriers are more secure and durable than previous ones, with locks and reinforced designs to reduce the risk of attacks. These upgrades are part of a broader effort to address safety concerns, with plans to retrofit around 1,300 buses at an estimated cost of $15 million.

A Special Place in Hell: Not gonna lie, these two stories have me questioning my abolitionist bonafides and overall belief in humanity but here they are. Cameron James Taylor, a Seattleite and former US Army soldier, was sentenced to 87 months in prison for sexually assaulting a 5-year-old child at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. This conviction is part of a history of criminal sexual offenses, including prior convictions and an "Other than Honorable" discharge from the Army. Following his sentence, Taylor will be required to register as a sex offender and serve 10 years of supervised release. On the same day Taylor was sentenced, a Seattle woman was charged with second-degree murder after allegedly beating her 14-year-old son to death for not completing his chores. The boy suffered over 1,100 injuries from hours of abuse.

We Need Love: Okay, so desperately needed abrupt subject change: Charles Mudede and Daudi Abe recently explored how early rap was all about post-puberty testosterone and barely a shred of emotional depth. Men—boys, really—talking about everything but love. Then LL Cool J drops "I Need Love" in ’87, and boom! Vulnerability enters the game, shaking up the whole rap world. Fast forward decades later and we’ve got everything from Method Man and Mary J. Blige's “You’re All I Need” to Missy Elliott’s “Work It,” where rap isn’t just about being tough; it's about longing, desire, and even joy. Who knew? Turns out, love has been creeping into hip-hop all along, making us rethink what it means to be “hard.” Check out the entire rundown here.

And in that vein, here’s a throwback from the one and only Miss Lauryn Hill:

Slog AM: Trump is Flooding the Zone, Sue Rahr Has Her Last Day as Police Chief, Bob Kettle Melts Down

Marcus Harrison Green — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 08:23:00 -0800

Seattle's Only News Roundup by Marcus Harrison Green

Look, I’d love to assure you that we’re not living in hell. But let’s be honest, can anyone really tell the difference at this point?

Flooding the Zone: Trump’s attacks on the less than 1% of transgender people in the U.S. continue unabated. Yesterday, he signed an executive order ending gender-affirming care for youth. For a deeper dive into how harmful this order is, check out this piece by The Stranger’s Vivian McCall. The language in this order is wild, friends. My partner can’t get over their claim that there are “countless children begging to grasp the horrifying tragedy that they will never be able to nurture their children through breastfeeding.” You know, a totally common childhood dream! Court challenges have already begun, with more expected to follow. This is a good time to remember that "flooding the zone" is literally Stephen Miller's strategy on domestic policy. The point is to overwhelm us with extreme actions, so we're spread too thin to respond to everything.

Fork in the Road: Trump continues his agenda to destabilize and dismantle the federal workforce. On Tuesday, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management emailed over 2 million federal employees, giving them the option to resign by February 6. The email warned that most agencies would be downsized, with many workers furloughed or reclassified to “at-will” status—essentially making them easy to fire! The message, with its echoes of McCarthyism, emphasized that remaining employees must be “reliable, loyal, and trustworthy” to the Trump administration—a plan that was clearly stated in Project 2025. The text of the email was strikingly similar to the one Elon Musk sent to Twitter (now X) employees when he took over the platform. And, as we all know, look how well that has turned out!

Crypto Capitol: This morning, Trump Media, the parent company of Truth Social, announced its expansion into financial services. The new fintech venture, branded Truth.fi, will focus on investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and more. Donald Trump indirectly owns 114,750,000 shares of the company, held in a revocable trust. Truth.fi follows the launch of Trump’s grifty shitcoin, a cryptocurrency with no utility, that debuted just in time to cash in before the Inauguration and resulted in on-paper gains of billions. From Trump-branded boots to “God Loves America” Bibles, to memecoins—scammers gonna scam. If only Trump’s dad had told him he loved him.

This Family Fight Beats Yours: Caroline Kennedy, the only surviving child of President John F. Kennedy, aired the famous family’s dirty laundry in a searing letter to select Senators. She called her cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a “predator,” unfit to be the nation’s health secretary. Thanks to Caroline, we can add to the growing list of Kennedy-related images. We already had driving with a whale skull on car and dumping a dead bear into Central Park; now we have “he put baby chickens and mice in the blender.” Totally not serial killer vibes, right? Lawmakers will question Kennedy at his confirmation hearings today and tomorrow, but given that they passed Pete Hegeseth, there’s little reason to believe Kennedy won’t squeak by—even with his pro-choice, anti-vaxx, HIV-denialist leanings.

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Weather: Our streak of 40-degree days continues, and as the late, great Stringer Bell would say “Ain't nobody got nothing to say about a 40-degree day.” It’ll be partly cloudy throughout the day, with a high of 45 and a low of around 35 degrees. It’ll be dry for the next two days but expect rain to return on Friday and last through the weekend.

Top Cop Shuffle: Seattle’s police chief carousel keeps spinning, and today, Sue Rahr officially grabs her complimentary tote bag and steps off. Rahr temporarily replaced the embattled Adrian Diaz who has a pending $10 million discrimination lawsuit against the city. Up next: Shon Barnes, straight from the bustling crime capital of… Madison, Wisconsin. He’ll officially start tomorrow. New face, same machine. Nothing changes.

Tacoma Police Chief Out: SPD isn’t the only police department experiencing upheaval at the top. Tacoma’s police chief Avery Moore is out, wrapping up a two-year stint with a resignation letter full of warm fuzzies and a track record that includes a $1,000 international phone bill scandal. City leaders act surprised, but the police union says he’s been MIA for two months. Another chief down, another long search ahead, and the same myriad problems waiting for the next one.

Closing the Clergy Loophole: Washington lawmakers are once again trying to close the loophole that lets clergy keep child abuse confessions secret, but the Catholic Church is digging in, crying "religious freedom" while kids stay at risk. The bill would finally make priests mandatory reporters, but opponents claim forcing them to choose between the law and excommunication is unconstitutional. Same fight, different year—meanwhile, children keep paying the price.

Starbucks CEO Rolling in it: In yet another sign that we’re living through a new gilded age, Starbucks’ new CEO Brian Nikol raked in a jaw-dropping $96 million in just four months because, you know, union-busting and ensuring no one can use the bathroom in one of your stores without making a purchase is really hard work. Meanwhile, part of his deal ensures he stays cozy in Southern California, commuting to Seattle on the company dime, all while planning layoffs to “reduce complexity.” Nothing says leadership like cashing in while cutting jobs. It must be that premium roast hypocrisy.

Council Clash Over Stadium Housing: In case you missed it last week, Seattle’s City Council brawled over a plan to allow housing near the stadiums, with Council President Sara Nelson fast-tracking a proposal critics say is a handout to billionaire Chris Hansen. Supporters call it an economic boost, while opponents, including the Port of Seattle, argue it threatens industrial jobs and public safety. The meeting hit peak chaos when Councilmember Bob Kettle lost his temper over a vague suggestion he wasn’t thinking for himself. Yes, nothing says “independent leadership” like a full-scale public meltdown.

Candidate for King County D5 Seat: Steffanie Fain, a trustee at Harborview Medical Center, announced her candidacy for King County Council District 5 on Tuesday. She is aiming to replace Dave Upthegrove, who vacated the seat after becoming Public Lands Commissioner. Fain's website says her campaign will focus on public safety, homelessness, and affordability, with a core principle of “compassionate accountability.” While she is running to permanently fill the seat, King County Executive Dow Constantine recently selected three finalists to serve the remainder of Upthegrove’s term.

Alright, if your brain needs a little palate cleanser might I recommend Great Migrations: A People on the Move? It’s a brand-new, four-part documentary series from the one and only Henry Louis Gates Jr., the same guy who brought us Finding Your Roots (which, by the way, makes you feel terrible about not knowing the name of your great-grandparents).

“We’re Going to Triumph, Even Though We Are Afraid”

Marcus Harrison Green — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 12:14:00 -0800

Nearly four thousand people gathered in the frigid chill of a Seattle morning for the 2025 Martin Luther King Jr. March and Rally. They came, as they have for the last 42 years, to remember, to demand, to insist upon their right to hope. But this year, the march struck a searing juxtaposition with events unfolding 2,700 miles away in the nation’s capital. by Marcus Harrison Green

Photos by Patty Tang

In Washington D.C, Donald Trump stood before the world once more, mouth full of lies, a demagogue returned to power by a nation still unable—or unwilling—to reckon with itself. Within hours, the familiar machinery of cravenness was back in motion: Insurrectionists welcomed home as heroes, rolling back transgender rights, and rescinding Diversity Equity, and Inclusion measures at the federal level. All this on the same day meant to honor a man who gave his life for the vision that we might, one day, be better than this.

Patty Tang

Here in Seattle, on a balmy January day, people came—Black, brown, white, queer, trans, immigrant, and native—to bear empathetic witness to each other, to find, if not hope, then at least endurance. Some marched because they could not accept that a man people roundly rejected four years ago could return to power. Others came because, while there may be a ceasefire in Gaza, we are still complicit in the ruins that remain. Others came for a fleeting inoculation from what is sure to be four years of horror directed at our trans and immigrant communities. And others came to find a community, recognizing that alone, rage will exhaust us too soon. Bearing this marathon of madness will require a gentleness many have forgotten, a humility few embrace, an acknowledgment of each other’s pain, and a grappling with contradictions inextricably linked to the human condition.

Patty Tang

This is America, in all its contradictions: one crowd marching for justice, and another cheering its undoing. Yet, both are authentically this nation. Both testify to a deep truth: We are a country captive to profound and unrelenting trauma. Whether we will heal or die from it will not be decided by one election or one man but by our willingness to stand together, with and for each other, in a way that refuses to accept the suffering of any community as the cost of survival.

It is not hatred alone that will destroy us, but the quiet, creeping acceptance of it as normal.

Here are some voices from the MLK Day March speaking to that fact.

Some statements have been lightly edited for clarity.

Patty Tang

Chris Lovings, organizer with Seattle Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression

During this time, we need each other. So the fact that there are thousands marching for a common cause, to stand against what's happening is really valuable. But also moving forward, we're going to have to collaborate together as a community. Another reason I'm here is I'm a part of an organization that's focused on community control of the police. Something we have to do with a federal administration that is going to be fighting against so many rights, at a time when so many people need help.

What gives me hope is all the people that are here today, and all the community organizing that is going on. Advocating together is the only way that we’re going to get the world that should be, rather than the world that we have right now.

Patty Tang

Cliff Cawthon, community organizer

I'm out here today because I am deeply frustrated, angry, and ashamed because of where we're at as a country, right now. I’m feeling the need to be in solidarity and at least do something, rather than just sit there and be furious. There are a lot of vulnerable people at risk: Black and brown people, gay and trans people, and women around this country. We need to take action. That Trump is being inaugurated today is a slap in the face to everything King stood for.

Trump is the epitome of white privilege. He’s someone who has denigrated everyone who has not historically been privileged in this country and even denigrated his own voters to their face. And yet, at the same time, there are people in this country who could not stand to vote for a black woman who had a plan. I saw her flaws, believe me, but Trump's presidency really is a slap in the face to all the people who have fought for me and for my wife, and for my friends to be able to stand here, educated, free, with a real chance in life.

Patty Tang

Monica Mendoza-Castrejon, community organizer

What's happening today with the inauguration is an absolute disgrace but I carry forth Dr. King's vision, and I'm here because I want to keep on fighting for and dreaming of that vision, and for everything that he stood for, and everyone that he was fighting with. I'm here because I don't want that dream to end.

The Executive Orders Trump’s planning are scary. But I’m not just worried for myself. I'm a queer Chicana who was born to formerly undocumented Mexican farm worker parents, and I'm worried about my family. However, I still have faith that we're going to triumph, even though we're afraid. I don't think he's smart enough, and I don't think the people that he's around are smart enough to carry forward everything he wants to do. But we are smart enough, we are strong enough and we are brave enough to carry forward what we want to do.

Even if the government doesn't have us, we have us. We the people have each other. I have seen a rise in mutual aid. I've seen a rise in collective action that is going to carry us forward. It’s not going to be electing some different head of state, or celebrity icon. No, I see blossoming collective action, and I know that's going to keep us safe, whatever this government does or doesn’t do.

Patty Tang

Deuante Damper, LGBTQIA+ advocate

Honestly, today I really wasn't thinking about the country. I was thinking about Seattle as a whole community. So the question to all of us here is, what are we going to do with that legacy? Are we going to keep it going? Are we going to keep on organizing? Are we going to prioritize? Are we going to be inclusive? And above all else, are we going to love one another? I don't want to be laser-focused on what's happening in the [Trump] administration, because regardless of whoever was going to be in office, we still would have to fight. We still would have to look at policies and figure out how they were impacting the most marginalized.

I grew up never feeling safe. It's always been a fight for me as a Black, gay man. At the end of the day, racism has always been blatant and in our face. Now it's in office. Misogyny has always been in our face. Now it's in office. So the question is what are we doing right here to continue to prioritize Black women, and queer community members — especially trans community members, who have really been under attack.

Who's supporting this bullshit? There's a lot of community members that have been supporting that, and I mean locally, so it's time to start holding their fucking feet to the fire too.

Patty Tang

Dionne Foster, community member

Like many people today, I’m also in distress. For me, being in community is healing. I had this moment this morning where I was looking at my phone and it says, Trump is pulling us out of the Paris climate accords.

I thought, well, I can stay here and look at this and be feeling these emotions by myself, or I can come out and be with this community here. That felt like the antidote. Just being alone isn't what I need at this moment. And even being here for the last little bit, running into people and seeing their brilliance, seeing all the connections. It was recharging.

Today is an indicator of Seattle. I've seen so many people from different backgrounds, and even seeing people today with signs that said, “Today we rise against Project 2025.” To me, it's saying that our community here is coming together to stand against the potential harms that we're going to face from the federal government and that cities and communities are more important now than ever.

It's going to be a very long road. Honestly. I think many folks are rightfully deeply concerned about the second Trump administration, and deeply concerned about the potential impacts of it being long-lasting. That means our commitment to each other, our commitment to policy change, and our commitment to doing what we can at the state or local level also has to be stronger and long-lasting.

Patty Tang

Patty Fong, CID resident

My mother was an immigrant from Hong Kong. I'm upset with the idea of mass deportations. I don't believe the Trump administration when they say they're going to arrest only people who are here because they've committed a crime. I think a lot of innocent people will get caught up in the net.

I don't like Tom Homan, Trump’s immigration czar. I think he's a very cruel man. He's not against deporting entire families, and now Trump wants to deny birthright citizenship to children who are born to parents who don't have legal immigration status. So, I really decry the cruel direction that this country is taking.

Locally, I live in the CID. It's an economically oppressed neighborhood that’s politically powerless. We're rising up to say, don't treat us as a dumping ground anymore. Stop being racist. Someday, I envision a gateway down Jackson Street, connecting the Central District, Chinatown, and Pioneer Square, right down to the waterfront. I'd like to see all of us united as a city, so we can celebrate the multicultural and multiethnic diversity of Seattle. That's what I'm fighting for. But I’m just one person.

Patty Tang

Ann Okwuwolu, community organizer It Takes a Village

I’m here to talk to people—no matter their skin color, community, or age—because I want to know how prepared we are for emergencies. One day, something might happen, and I want to make sure we're ready. I have an organization called 'It Takes a Village: AMSA Edition,' and my goal is to eventually secure funding to build a hub. This hub will have everything people need when disaster strikes—no matter what kind of emergency it is.

But I don’t want it to be just for emergencies. I want the hub to be an everyday resource, something so ingrained in our lives that when something happens, people will know exactly where to go. They'll say, 'Let me get to the hub!' It will have food, showers, sleeping areas, and resources for youth, kids, and older adults. It will be accessible to everyone, with charging stations and more.

That’s why I’m out here talking to people—asking, 'What do you need in an emergency?' When disaster hits, we’re all in our individual homes at first, but then we come together. Some have kids, some have pets, others have allergies or special needs. We often get so focused on our own daily lives that when an emergency happens, we realize all the things we didn’t think about.

My goal is to help us prepare for those 'what if' moments—so we don’t face unnecessary challenges when they come. How ready can we be? That’s what I want to find out.

Patty Tang

Joy Pearl, 16, Mercer Island BSU president, immigrated from Uganda

I was here today because I needed to be reminded about what Martin Luther King fought for, especially because today is when Trump is getting inaugurated. And I felt like that was wrong in some way, that it was today. I wanted to be here to be reminded of our values, of what the people before us vote for.

Seeing everyone here today gives me hope, especially knowing that people are still supporting the Free Palestine movement even after the ceasefire. It reassures me that our generation has hope for the future.

Paul Benz, Street Minister Operation Nightwatch

In moments like this, we must carefully examine history—how it rhymes and repeats. Right now, with statements coming from Trump and those behind Project 2025, including pastors and members of the New Apostolic Reformation, we need to look to our own history and call out the modern-day Reich for what it is. That’s exactly what we’re facing.

To those who claim Trump is the Messiah or that he’s been called by God, I challenge them with a crucial biblical principle: Trump has never repented for his actions. Not once. In fact, many pastors have opposed him—and continue to do so. I am one of them. Jesus said, “Whatever you do unto the least of these, you do to me.” If I claim to love my neighbors—especially those who are poor and suffering—yet do nothing to help them while supporting a man like Trump, then I am a liar.

This conversation connects directly to Matthew 25, where Christ speaks about identifying with “the least” among us—asking, “When I was in prison, did you visit me? When I was hungry, did you feed me? When I was naked, did you clothe me?” Our responsibility is not to pity or indulge a savior complex but to ask: What is causing their oppression? Who is benefiting from it? We must speak out, take action to improve their lives, change unjust laws, and physically stand with them against harm.

Liz Shriver, ninth straight year attending

My wife and I came out today. We've come almost every year since we moved here nine years ago from Philadelphia.

We definitely wanted to be out today because of the bizarre intersection of Inauguration Day. But I think it just means we have to show up even more. What a great opportunity to show up in our own communities and completely disregard the nasty human who has found his way into that job that he will have for a limited time, yeah, before he goes to prison.

Today is really a feeling of longevity like we have to keep showing up year after year after year after year. It's not something we could do once and then set it down. So I think it gives that feeling, not only of hope and excitement for the future, but of a sustained fight.

Andra Kranzler, facilitator for discussions on the African American Reparations Committee

This space gives us an opportunity to have meaningful conversations with one another. We come together as a community—intersectional and intergenerational—where we can share our thoughts, concerns, and ideas for solutions. I believe that if we had already done the work of healing, we wouldn’t be experiencing a so-called "peaceful transition of power" of what is, in reality, a coup.

But in moving forward, I believe the first step is to truly listen to one another. Right now, we have the resources to address much of the pain and suffering around us. It’s not just a moral issue; it's also a critical and practical one. People need to read, analyze what they’re reading, and seek the truth. Our leaders must be committed to truth and facts, but ultimately, it comes down to us—how we choose to spend our time and where we choose to show up.

I'm incredibly grateful for this space because I’ve seen so many of my community members show up. It reminds me that I’m not alone in imagining a more just world.

I've been told that as a Black person, I can’t afford to be hopeless—I have to be hopeful.

Patty Tang

Slog AM: Capitol Rioters Set Free, ICE Raids Underway, Warming Centers Ready to Go

Marcus Harrison Green — Tue, 21 Jan 2025 09:00:00 -0800

Seattle's Only News Roundup by Marcus Harrison Green

Whelp, that happened. Trump, “saved by God to make America great again,” kicked off his first day as the 47th President of the United States with a flurry of executive orders, wielding his signature big Sharpie like a pro. Whether you dealt with those pangs of existential dread by way of drowning them in booze, talking it out to a teletherapist, or marching in the streets (no judgment from someone who partook in all three, at times simultaneously), we got through the first day of the Trump administration, now only 1,459 of these suckers to go…

Meanwhile, Melania, back in her role as First Lady, showed us how to ward off predators and defend borders—one oversized hat at a time. She’s not an icon, she’s complicit! Alright, let’s get into it.

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Good Day for Seattle Cops, Bad Day for Capitol Ones: Trump pardoned around 1,500 defendants, including six officers from the Seattle Police Department who formed the largest known cop contingent at the January 6 Capitol riot. With a stroke of his pen, Trump erased all consequences for his supporters, among them Caitlin Everett and Alexander Everett—the only two SPD officers fired for trespassing Capitol barriers that day. Federal inmates serving related sentences are set to be released shortly, as the pardons cover those convicted of assaulting Capitol Police with pipes, poles, and chemical sprays. The "QAnon Shaman," the spear-wielding, bare-chested rioter, plans to "buy some motha f***in' guns" to celebrate his newfound freedom.

I JUST GOT THE NEWS FROM MY LAWYER...
I GOT A PARDON BABY!
THANK YOU PRESIDENT TRUMP!!!

NOW I AM GONNA BUY SOME MOTHA FU*KIN GUNS!!!
I LOVE THIS COUNTRY!!!
GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!!
J6ers are getting released & JUSTICE HAS COME...
EVERYTHING done in the dark WILL come to light! pic.twitter.com/g9pwc7v9EQ
— Jake Angeli-Chansley (@AmericaShaman) January 21, 2025

Let’s Rewrite History: Fourteen members of the extremist groups—Proud Boys and Oath Keepers—had their sentences commuted, erasing over 100 years of prison time. They walk free, but their convictions—almost all for seditious conspiracy—remain on the record. Among them is Enrique Tarrio, leader of the Proud Boys. Tarrio’s family issued a statement Tuesday, announcing his release late Monday from FCI Pollock, a medium-security federal prison in Louisiana. Meanwhile, the Proud Boys marked Inauguration Day by marching through the streets of D.C., carrying pro-Trump and anti-Antifa signs.

Speaking of Erasure: Trump ordered that the federal government will recognize only two genders, defined by "biological sex," with an Executive Order titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” The directive mandates that federal agencies use the term "sex" instead of "gender" and requires the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security to "ensure that official government documents, including passports and visas, reflect sex accurately.” (Stay updated on these changes with Stranger writer Vivian Mccall, who will be updating our document guides as we know more). The order also prohibits taxpayer dollars from being used for gender-affirming health care and introduces provisions for "privacy in intimate spaces"—banning gender-affirming housing in facilities like prisons and detention centers.

Bye, Bye DEI: The Trump administration has called diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs “illegal and immoral discrimination programs.” The order states that Americans deserve all taxpayer resources to be allocated “only on making America great,” which apparently involves placing an American flag on Mars. That one’s for Elon, baby!

ICE Raids Are Coming: Immigration agents are set to begin nationwide raids today to arrest and deport undocumented migrants, according to Trump’s former border czar, Tom Homan. Homan emphasized that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will now fully enforce immigration laws after being limited for the past four years. While he did not specify locations or whether sanctuary cities would be targeted, he confirmed that the raids would happen across the U.S. The actions are part of new executive orders signed by Trump to enforce his draconian immigration policies.

DOGE Already Down a Dumbass: Mere hours after Trump was sworn into office, Vivek Ramaswamy, who was supposed to help lead the "Department of Government Efficiency,” aka DOGE, suddenly decided to bail, leaving Elon Musk holding the bag. Ramaswamy is supposedly leaving to run for Ohio governor. Meanwhile, Musk, the world’s richest guy, is now in charge of the whole operation, even though his companies have massive government contracts. Oh, and did I mention Doge is being sued for violating transparency rules? Off to a roaring start so far.

Passing it over to HMW for a second, who talked to some local abortion advocates yesterday.

Rest in Peace: Just hours before Trump's inauguration yesterday, Cecile Richards, the former president of Planned Parenthood, passed away from an aggressive brain cancer. “This morning our beloved Cecile passed away at home, surrounded by her family and her ever-loyal dog, Ollie,” her family wrote. Richards was only 67 when she passed away. Richards retired from Planned Parenthood in 2018, but she emerged as a powerful voice when Roe was overturned in 2022. “If I have one regret from my time leading Planned Parenthood,” she wrote that year, “it is that we believed that providing vital health care, with public opinion on our side, would be enough to overcome the political onslaught.”

“Every Moment Spent in the Struggle Changes the World”: As news of her death broke through the din of yesterday’s inauguration, I reached out to local abortion advocates about her legacy. Rebecca Gibron, the CEO of our regional chapter of Planned Parenthood, called Richards “a visionary whose leadership fundamentally reshaped the reproductive health landscape.” Amelia Bonow, the founder of Shout Your Abortion said: “Cecile Richards dedicated her life to service and was completely undeterred by bad news, whether it be political or her own terminal cancer diagnosis. Her participation was not contingent on whether she’d be around to see the big wins; like every good organizer, she lived with the conviction that every moment spent in the struggle changes the world.”

Auburn Man Among the Confederacy of Dunces Set Free by Pardon: In yet another reminder that MAGA morons walk among us, Ethan Nordean, an Auburn man and Proud Boys leader who got 18 years for seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6 riot, had his sentence wiped clean by none other than President Trump. That's right, the guy who tried to overturn an election is now handing out pardons like Halloween candy, making sure his foot soldiers get off scot-free. Washington state had about 30 folks wrapped up in this mess, and Senator Patty Murray ain't too thrilled, calling it a “sad day for America.” No surprise that when you let the arsonist back in the firehouse, things start burning down again.

Weather: It’ll be cold all day with a high of 42 and a low of 29 degrees, but at least we’ll start with some sunshine before the afternoon clouds roll in. Been enjoying the relatively dry weather we’ve been having this month, which is on track for the driest January in 40 years? It could change starting Thursday, with the potential for a few showers.

Warming Centers in King County: A reminder that with sub-freezing temperatures expected to continue through Thursday, King County has opened up warming centers. Emergency daytime and overnight shelters, including libraries, are available, with transportation options provided to shelter sites. King County libraries are open to the public during regular hours, while Seattle Public Libraries will reopen today after being closed for MLK Day. Warming centers and shelter locations are accessible for those in need throughout the week.

CA Preparing for New Wildfires: Winds in southern California picked up again on Tuesday morning, sparking new wildfires as firefighters continue battling blazes from earlier this month. The extreme fire weather, with gusts reaching up to 100 mph, has kept fire crews on high alert. So far, the California fires this year have already killed at least 27 people and destroyed thousands of homes. Authorities issued warnings for explosive fire growth due to dry conditions and strong winds, while evacuations were ordered for several small fires.

66 Dead after Fire at Turkey Ski Resort: A fire at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Kartalkaya, Turkey, killed at least 66 people and injured 51 others during the country’s winter holiday season. Many families, including children, were vacationing at the 12-story ski resort hotel when the fire broke out before dawn, sending thick smoke and flames through the building. Survivors reported a lack of fire alarms and clear fire escapes, with some escaping through windows. Authorities have detained four people, including the hotel’s owner, and an investigation is underway.

Thousands flock to MLK Day March: Thousands gathered at Garfield High School for the 42nd annual Martin Luther King Day march and rally, celebrating Dr. King's legacy while taking a strong stand against Trump's agenda and Project 2025, the far-right initiative aimed at radically reshaping the federal government. Participants carried signs calling for an end to war and efforts to stop Trump, highlighting concerns over threats to diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as potential mass deportations. While Seattle is often seen as a progressive stronghold, speakers emphasized the city's deep connection to national policies that impact communities across the country. Yours truly went to the march—keep an eye out for a post later today, highlighting the voices of people there.

Let there be light: Who says there’s no light from the darkness? On January 25, Seattle will see its first 5 pm sunset of the year. That’s right, after months of feeling like extras in Nosferatu, we’re slowly crawling back to the light, gaining about an hour of daylight by the end of January. But wait, it gets even better! February and March will bring even more sunshine, with March delivering the biggest boost, thanks to our old frenemy, daylight saving time, on March 9. By the end of March, sunsets will hit 7:38 pm, and we can all pretend, for a little while at least, that Seattle isn’t a damp, overcast wonderland.

Fall City Quake: Monday at 1:35 pm, the earth decided to give Fall City a little shake—a 3.5 magnitude quake, about four miles northeast. Thankfully, it was no biggie. No damage, no injuries—just a little reminder that Mother Nature's got a few tricks up her sleeve. Geologists say real damage doesn’t happen until we hit a 4 or 5, so for now, just another day in the Pacific Northwest.

PRELIM Earthquake: M3.6, 7.4 km ENE from Fall City, WA at 2025/01/20 13:35 PST https://t.co/3ffNFNT0hi
Did You Feel It?: https://t.co/cokbjMnpRV pic.twitter.com/Qhv2QQtx4s
— PNSN (@PNSN1) January 20, 2025

Possible Dementia Treatment: Science is still a thing! In a groundbreaking study, experts are urging the repurposing of existing medications, including antibiotics, antivirals, and vaccines, to address the global dementia crisis. With the number of dementia cases expected to nearly triple by 2050, the study suggests that using drugs already approved for other conditions could expedite the search for effective treatments. Research led by the University of Cambridge and the University of Exeter found promising associations between certain medications and reduced dementia risk, including anti-inflammatory drugs and vaccines. However, while these findings offer hope, experts emphasize that clinical trials are crucial to confirm the potential of these repurposed drugs in combating dementia.

Song to start your day: It’s my opinion, no fuck it, it’s an indisputable fact that David Ryan Harris is the most underrated musician of his generation. Disagree? You’re wrong. But if nothing else, here’s a song to infuse your morning with a jolt of joy.

Seeking Justice in a System She Seeks to Abolish

Marcus Harrison Green — Thu, 16 Jan 2025 10:19:00 -0800

Cheryl Delostrinos has accused the Mayor’s former Director of External Affairs of sexual assault. Her journey highlights the conflict faced by women of color in seeking justice. by Marcus Harrison Green

Pedro Gomez, the former Director of External Affairs under Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell has been accused of rape in the second degree, according to a police incident report obtained by The Stranger. Gomez, who abruptly resigned from his position last week, is now under scrutiny as the King County Prosecutor's Office Special Assault Unit reviews the allegations.

The allegation stems from an encounter between Gomez and Cheryl Delostrinos on June 18, 2024, when the two met for a planned business meeting over drinks near City Hall. According to a police report, the evening ended at a Lake Union apartment where Delostrinos later woke up, disoriented and intoxicated. She allegedly found herself in bed with Gomez performing a non-consensual sex act on her. News of the police report was first reported in the Northwest Asian Weekly.

In an exclusive interview with The Stranger, Delostrinos recounted the events of June 18 involving Gomez, her conflict as an abolitionist grappling with the criminal justice system, and her urgent call for accountability.

In our interview, Delostrinos described a difficult personal decision-making process to report the alleged assault. In addition to the inherent challenges of coming forward with these allegations, Delostrinos, a prison abolitionist and woman of color, faced profound internal conflict about the criminal legal system, but she told The Stranger that her concerns for community safety and the need to hold Gomez accountable led her to report the alleged incident.

“Part of the reason I went through the entire [criminal justice] system and process was to provide evidence so people can believe me and understand what’s happening. I’m speaking publicly because I want to lean on the community,” she says. “As a leader in our community, I’m asking: How are we holding this person accountable? And how are we keeping our community safe?”

“It takes tremendous courage for any survivor to come forward,” says Elizabeth Hendren, an attorney representing Delostrinos from the Sexual Violence Law Center. “Their personal lives are routinely opened up for examination and criticism, and the process is very painful and taxing. We frequently see survivors attacked and shamed by their own communities and by the courts when they choose to hold the people who have sexually abused them accountable.”

She adds that survivors of color often face systemic disbelief and harsher criticism for perceived imperfect choices around their victimization —an added burden Delostrinos knew all too well when she decided to speak out. And because of that, she says, her reason to come forward was very clear.

“I'm not here to take him down. That's not the goal. I am speaking out and talking about what happened to me, to [make visible] the violence against women, and that it could happen to anybody,” says Delostrinos.

Strictly Business

A burning van first brought Delostrinos and Gomez into each other’s orbits back in December 2023 according to the police report.

At the time, Gomez’s role placed him at the intersection of community engagement and city governance. Acting as a public liaison, he represented the Mayor’s office, and was required to coordinate with the City’s Budget Office, City Council, and central staff. In this public facing role, Gomez would regularly meet with community members to address concerns. It’s how Gomez and Delostrinos originally connected with each other.

Delostrinos has spent her life devoted to building community power, as an organizer, dancer, co-founder of Au Collective, a dance collective devoted to eradicating systemic racism by creating a safe space for femmes, queer, and trans people of color to present their own stories and make art accessible to the communities they come from. It was this passion for community that inspired her to pursue a business degree and work as Director of Development for Young Women Empowered (Y-WE), a South Seattle-based nonprofit focused on life enrichment and skill building for women, trans, non-binary, and gender-expansive youth.

After one of Y-WE's vans was vandalized and set on fire, the organization’s leadership reported the suspected arson to the Seattle Police Department.

Receiving no follow-up from SPD for weeks, according to her statement in the police report, Y-WE leadership reached out to the mayor's office for assistance and was eventually connected to Gomez, as a representative of Mayor Bruce Harrell’s office.

After scheduling a meeting, Gomez, Delostrinos, and another Y-WE director, all met in late February to discuss the arson and how the city might be able to help the organization.

During the meeting, Gomez shared that he was a business owner of Kolors Studio. “He had expressed to me that he was somebody in the community doing really awesome things as an entrepreneur, and some of the things he was talking about really aligned with a lot of work that I was focusing on in supporting Black and Brown owned businesses,” Delostrinos told The Stranger.

The three discussed a possible partnership between Kolors and Y-WE, and scheduled another meeting to flesh out more details of the possibility.

Delostrinos, her colleague, and Gomez would next meet for a 90-minute discussion at Kolors studio in March of 2024. Gomez was joined by his business partner, and during the meeting, brought out a bottle of tequila for a celebratory drink. Delostrinos accepted out of politeness, but her colleague declined, stating to police that she passed on it because she felt uncomfortable due to the power imbalance with Gomez working at the mayor’s office, according to the police report. Still, the two both left excited at the potential of partnering with Kolors.

According to her statement in the police report, Delostrinos and Gomez met twice after that: once shortly after, when he asked if Delostrinos might be interested in working at Kolors; and again in May, when he invited her to a campaign party for Nick Brown that he hosted at Kolors, where he suggested they meet up again to talk more about Delostrinos, who was attending graduate school at the University of Washington Foster School of Business, joining the Kolors team.“At the time, I was going on a lot of informational interviews and connecting with people in community, nothing seemed out of the ordinary,” she says. “Every time we met was specifically about business,” she says.

Until it wasn't.

We Can’t Do This

Delostrinos remembers the morning of June 18, 2024, as just another Tuesday. After graduating from the University of Washington's Business School, she’d hit the ground running, catching up with neglected business contacts and leaving no stone unturned on career prospects.

Still interested in pursuing a job with Kolors, she and Gomez had agreed to meet at Charlotte Restaurant & Lounge at the Lotte Hotel less than a block away from Gomez's City Hall office, according to her statement in the police report.

Scheduled to meet at 4:30 pm, Gomez was running late so Delostrinos had already ordered a margarita when he arrived about 15 minutes later from a barbecue he’d been attending at the mayor’s office, according to the police report. He shared that he’d already been drinking at the barbecue, and then ordered a shot of tequila for himself.

“He asked if I wanted one. I told him no. And he was like, well, I'll get one for you, and if you don't finish it, I'll finish it for you,” she says.

According to the police report, the two talked about Kolors needs and its investors, with Gomez name-dropping several prominent figures he and his company were associated with. The conversation turned to the public sexual assault allegations against former chief of police Adrian Diaz, and Gomez commented that was the reason he made Kolors a “safe space” for women.

Delostrinos told police that the conversation soon turned to a restaurant called Mercado Luna on Capitol Hill, where Gomez claimed he was an investor. He then ordered another shot of liquor and asked her if she wanted another. She said no because she was driving. But Gomez ordered another for her anyway, telling her he’d finish it if she didn’t. Delostrinos says she felt pressured to drink it.

Having drank, but eaten little at the cafe, Gomez asked Delostrinos if she wanted to go to Mercado Luna. At that point, Delostrinos told police that she didn’t suspect that Gomez was hitting on her, but feeling too tipsy to drive at the moment, she accepted a ride in Gomez's BMW to the restaurant. She told police that she texted her fiance her whereabouts, as the two typically did if one was going to be out a little later than planned.

As soon as they entered the restaurant, Delostrinos said she needed to use the restroom. Already going beyond her typical two-drink maximum on a weekday, she intended only to eat at the restaurant. However, when she returned to the table, she was surprised to see an unwanted margarita and a shot of Mezcal waiting for her, according to her statement in the police report.

At the restaurant, Gomez seemed very familiar with the restaurant staff and introduced her to the owner, but, she told The Stranger, the vibe started to feel a little off. “After a while, I started to feel like I wasn't safe. I texted my fiancé and best friend like ‘I just wanted you to know that I'll probably need a ride at some point.’”

According to the police report, she also texted her fiancé that she was uncertain about Gomez's intentions, but that she was okay and making business moves.

At this point, according to the police report, Delostrinos shared she was drunk, and unsure whether or not she had finished her drinks. She told police that she did recall eating there and Gomez asking her why she was attracted to her fiance.

The report shows that she called three Lyfts that night, at 10:10 pm, 10:18 pm, and 10:24 pm, but never got into any of them.

According to her statements in the police report, the time leading up to being in Gomez's South Lake Union apartment is a bit of a blur. She ended up back in Gomez’s car after not getting into a Lyft, and then at an apartment at Dexter Apartments.

Delostrinos reported that she later found herself at Gomez’s apartment on his bed with some of her clothing removed and damaged. She regained consciousness while Gomez was performing nonconsensual sexual acts on her, according to her statements to the police. According to the police report, she verbally told Gomez “no, I don’t want to do this” but Gomez proceeded to attempt to nonconsensually force his way on top of her and kiss her. She got off the bed and struggled to find her phone and belongings.

In her statement to the police, she then describes a struggle: She sat down at a table in the apartment, stating they were supposed to have been “discussing business, not this.” Gomez offered her a drink, which she did not accept, and then, according to the police report, continued to pull her towards him, lift her, and throw her onto the bed. She repeated, no, she didn't want to, and got off the bed again to find her phone. She told the police that her purse was in Gomez's car, and she couldn’t recall whether or not she went with him to retrieve it, but she was able to get her phone and finally call a Lyft home. She found that her fiance had previously texted her several times, but he hadn't heard back from her.

Speaking to investigators in September, Gomez gave his version of the night. He stated that their June 18 encounter was the first time he and Delostrinos had hung out and that they both drank until the bar closed in Belltown. Afterward, he told the police, the two decided to get more drinks at his apartment, where he says Delostrinos initiated a kiss, but he was uncomfortable because of her relationship, and he rejected it.

Police found that the apartment Gomez took Delostrinos to was not actually leased to him, though he was listed as an emergency contact on it.

Delostrinos told police that she returned home at 1:30 am. Her fiance told the police that he could smell alcohol on her before she reached the doorway of their bedroom, where she stumbled in. He told investigators that he was shocked at the sight, as he'd never seen Delostrinos this drunk before.

“I was inebriated and non coherent when I got home,” she told The Stranger. “I'm called the grandma of all my friends because I literally go to bed at 8:30 pm every day. So for me to be out at 1:30 in the morning—it's just out of character for me.”

Her fiance told police that Delostrinos told him what had transpired that evening.

Delostrinos woke up feeling awful the next day, with an extreme headache, severe dehydration, bruises on her body, and vomiting several times throughout the morning, according to the police report.

She texted her best friend to tell her about the previous night. Delostrinos coordinated with a friend's husband to retrieve her purse back from Gomez, according to the police report.

According to her statements in the police report, Delostrinos expressed to her friend that she was fearful of the power dynamics present— Gomez was, after all, in a high position at the mayor's office, and had previously boasted of being connected to powerful people — she knew the immediate next step.

When asked to respond to Delostrinos' allegations and the public police report, Gomez’s attorney, Joshua R. Saunders, provided The Stranger with the following statement:

“Pedro Gomez has been an advocate for equity and social justice for his entire career. He has done nothing wrong and strongly denies these allegations. We are confident that he will be fully exonerated when all of the facts are known.”

Making Violence Visible

“Being somebody that has supported survivors of sexual assault, you always want to have as many options as you can—whether or not you're going to move forward. I've told enough people in my life to go get a rape kit done that I knew it was something I had to do as well,” Delostrinos says.

The process of getting a rape kit done is inherently invasive. She describes a grueling nine-hour process of different nurses, many of them male, popping in and out of a University of Washington hospital room, probing and asking her deeply invasive questions about her body less than 24 hours after experiencing the trauma of assault. It’s an experience, she says, she was only able to endure with the support of her fiance.

“If he wasn't there, I would have been like, ‘fuck this’. On top of that, I was emotionally and physically distressed. If I didn't have an understanding of why it was important for me to be there, I would have left in 30 minutes,” she says. “I'm someone who has resources and knows this process. I can't imagine being someone who went through a horrific experience with no support or knowledge of why different men are walking into the room asking about what just happened.”

What was worse, she says, was that she wouldn't be able to see the results of her rape kit unless she filed a police report.

Delostrinos is an abolitionist, and she was hesitant to trust a criminal justice system she believed was focused on punishment, as opposed to any true restoration and healing of survivors of sexual assault.

It was a system that disproportionately incarcerated people of color and destroyed the lives of folks from marginalized communities while providing leniency to the powerful. By utilizing that same system, would she be validating its legitimacy?

What's more, Delostrinos said that Gomez occupied multiple identities and was a Mexican man at a time when problematic, racist, and false narratives of Latino criminality had caused wildfire with at least a plurality of the electorate, intensifying during the most recent presidential election.

“It's a really complex situation because of the multiple intersectional identities, when you're going through this system, they don't really care about us. Our [local communities of color and gender expansive communities have] seen that time and time again, but I wanted to make an intentional decision about what accountability would look like in terms of this harm,” she says.

Her decision to file a police report five days after the incident was principally driven by concern for others within her larger community. With Gomez’s access to community members and the assertion that he was creating a “safe space” for women of color, Delostrinos says she felt an obligation to protect other women of color from future abuse from Gomez.

“At the heart of most sexual violence is a misuse of power. There are many ways a person can have power—sometimes it is through a formal position, but sometimes it is informally gained through a community reputation. It is critically important that we understand this, and have clear and consistent processes in place, whether legally or through our communities, to make sure the people we put in power are not abusing it,” says Hendren.

Even with Gomez's resignation from the city, he is still a prominent fixture within the greater Seattle Community as an entrepreneur with being the co-owner of Kolors Studios, a co-working and production space primarily serving communities of color.

Prior to being named the Director of External Affairs, Gomez worked in various external roles at The City for more than a decade, including as the Director of small business development in the City’s Office of Economic Development, and last year was named one of the Puget Sound Business Journal’s 40 under 40 honorees, awarded to rising stars in the local business community.

In an email to The Stranger, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office says that the City was informed of the investigation into the alleged sexual assault on September 24, and the City promptly placed Gomez on paid administrative leave pending the results of the investigation. Gomez was also barred from contacting City employees, engaging with community partners, or entering municipal offices while the investigation remained active.

The spokesperson further stated that the mayor’s office became aware on January 6 that the Seattle Police Department had referred the case to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. That same day, Gomez submitted his resignation, preempting any review of the allegations or subsequent action by the mayor’s office in response to the report.

Gomez had no prior reported allegations of sexual assault against him, according to the same spokesperson.

“Mayor Harrell believes that sexual assault and harassment are wholly unacceptable[…] Our office works to bring attention to power dynamics, recognizing that those from historically marginalized communities can most feel their impact. We always encourage survivors to come forward. The mayor appreciates the courage of this individual in sharing this with SPD.”

A King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office spokesperson says they are waiting for additional information from law enforcement sources in the coming weeks and expect to make a charging decision once that information is received.

“Community safety has always been at the forefront of what my goal for doing this is a part of the accountability process is removing a person from a position when they can potentially harm our community,” the spokesperson says.

Another driving force behind her decision to come forward was the urgent need to spotlight the pervasive harms of gender-based violence, a crisis increasingly normalized by the election of a president found civilly liable for sexual abuse—a president that has hand-picked cabinet nominees facing accusations of rape and sexual assault, underscoring the systemic nature of the issue and the stakes of remaining silent.

“I wanted to make visible the violence against women and that this could happen to anybody. This was a business meeting. This was somebody I knew. This was somebody in my community, in my activist community. I'm not looking to take him down. I'm looking to lean on the community to ask how we're holding this person accountable,” says Delostrinos.

From her perspective, she doesn’t want perpetrators of violence to get what they "deserve", in the punitive sense, but the assistance they need to overcome a pathology where harming women for sexual gratification is okay.

For her, the issue of violence against women is not just a personal pathology but a systemic failure, woven into the fabric of a culture that commodifies bodies and normalizes harm. She rejects the simplistic, punitive notion of giving perpetrators what they "deserve" and instead advocates for the need to address the root causes of their behavior. This means challenging the toxic ideologies and structures that enable violence, providing the resources and support necessary to fundamentally reshape destructive patterns. Justice goes beyond punishment to dismantling the systems that perpetuate harm in our society.

In her case, she's found some of her own needs met in the ensuing months with the help of her network within the local social justice space. Of the 50 women she estimates she shared her story with, nearly 95% have, in turn, shared their own experiences of sexual assault—many for the first time.

By contrast, Delostrinos notes that many of the trusted men in her circle have expressed shock that this could happen to someone they know, highlighting the extent to which even many well-meaning cis men are unaware of the prevalence of sexual violence in the lives of women close to them.

Many of the questions they ask are what cis-straight men should be constantly asking themselves: What’s our role in fixing this? How do we make sure the people in power are held accountable? And how do we, as men, start noticing the subtle ways violence gets normalized in the world around us? And, how do we contribute to that violence, even if implicitly?

Those answers are not the product of mere navel-gazing, but of a willingness to sit with the weight of silence, to listen with an openness that demands humility. They require the kind of time that is not spent, but invested—the kind of time that is borne out of a desire for deep reflection and honest conversation. Only then can we begin to unravel the truths that live within us and between us.

“Some of the things that happened to these women and gender-expansive people I've spoken with happened to them as children. They're now in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, and I'm the first person they opened up to,” she says.

These conversations have served as a needed social balm to her and also illuminated the limitations of society's grace when it comes to current support offered to victims of gender-based violence.

“We don't know how to support victims, and that's why there aren't enough people coming forward talking about the harm trauma and PTSD they experience every day. We have so much grace for the predator that when it comes to the victim, we see them as someone who's broken,” says Delostrinos.

She shares that she suffers from PTSD as a result of the alleged assault. It’s prevented her from attending informational or networking interviews and has led her to decline job opportunities.

That’s why she laments a society beholden to a criminal justice system that prioritizes neither the transformation of the perpetrator nor the healing of the person they’ve harmed. It is not a system built for acts of repair. Unfortunately, it's the system we have for now.

“So much violence is in the gray area in our society, it's the hug that's a little too long. It's your boss touching you inappropriately, or your friend objectifying someone. So many cis, straight men have been socialized like this,” she says. “It's why all of us have to have these conversations, so we can start building and creating safer spaces for people like me, for victims to not only have the justice they deserve, but the healing they deserve.”

If you or someone you know have been a victim of sexual assault, below are local resources to get the assistance you need.

988: the behavioral health and suicide support line, available 24/7.

Legal counsel at the Sexual Violence Law Center: Contact them by calling 844-991-7852, or emailing legalline@svlawcenter.org.

Harborview Center for Trauma and Abuse: Provides trauma-specific evaluation and mental health treatment for survivors of sexual violence.

King County Sexual Assault Resource Center: Provides advocacy for survivors of sexual assault.

WashingtonLawHelp.org: A free legal resource library that includes many legal information packets for survivors.

Additional reporting by Hannah Murphy Winter.

Editor's Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Gomez was previously the Director of the City’s Office of Economic Development. He was the director of small business development in the City's Office of Economic Development. It also stated that in his most recent role, he was a liaison between the Mayor's office and HHS, which was incorrect. Both have since been corrected in the story.

The Stranger’s Cookie Countdown: Day 21

Marcus Harrison Green — Sat, 21 Dec 2024 12:12:00 -0800

We're counting down to 2025 by sharing some of our favorite cookies on Slog every day in December! by Marcus Harrison Green

After nearly four decades of life on this dreary blue marble spent dodging mounting idiocy, there’s no mystery more perplexing than this: Why in the holy hell would anyone willingly choose to stuff cookies into their mouth?

They are hands down the most overrated dessert in the history of human creation, and it’s not even close. These little sugar bombs are nothing more than edible shame discs, consisting of sugar, flour, butter, and regret. As a snack, they’re the equivalent of Ed Sheeran: All the charisma of a dried wet nap but inexplicably able to attract a zealous flock of followers.

There should be a stronger word than hatred for my feelings about these Type 2 diabetes catalyzers. If we’re living in a computer simulation, then cookies are our petty programmer's way of doling out karmic justice for all my unpunished misdeeds, transgressions, and times I wished ill on every single one of my exes’ spouses on their wedding day.

I was of the belief that being assigned this cookie countdown was itself a punishment for all those little moments of spite.

But then—boom—a glitch in the matrix. Lo and behold, the shock and sheer mind-bending disbelief I experienced when I bit into a Hood Famous Ube cookie. Hand on heart, for a moment, I thought I’d died and gone to some alternate universe where cookies are actually worth eating. What the hell was this? Flavor? Joy? A cookie that didn’t taste like a lie besieged by sugar? I was floored.

Repeat after me: There is no other cookie other than the Ube cookie. This little purple confection isn’t just a dessert—it’s the color of royalty, nodding to the fact that it is the apex, the pinnacle, the final form of what a cookie was meant to be.

It’s not too sweet, not some sugary, soul-sucking mess. No, this cookie knows balance; call it the Buddha of baked goods. Added bonus? Your body won’t be feeling that slow, creeping death toward a future filled with daily insulin shots.

Ube is the closest approximation of heaven that a non-practicing atheist like myself will ever experience. Do yourself a favor, wander down to Hood Famous, and load up on what is quite literally the world’s only cookie. FACTS. Ube is the bear hug for your soul and taste buds so desperately needed in this current hellscape we call life. Get yourself one, and bite into some salvation.

We're counting down to 2025 by sharing some of our favorite cookies on Slog every day in December! Because life is hard, and sugar helps. Will things get weird? Maybe! There may have been a small fire during the first photo shoot! But hopefully, you'll also discover some new favorite treats to enjoy this season. Track our daily recommendations here! 🍪

A White Man’s Burden Is Everyone Else’s

Marcus Harrison Green — Fri, 08 Nov 2024 15:32:00 -0800

No one has ever gone broke betting on whiteness and patriarchy in America. by Marcus Harrison Green

No one has ever gone broke betting on whiteness and patriarchy in America.

What else to make of Donald Trump’s re-ascension to the White House? How else can we metabolize this madness and glee that MAGA-lovers are feeling at this moment? “Your body, my choice,” white nationalist Nicholas Fuentas gloated post-election. Later in the week, Black people were assaulted in mass by racist text messages invoking slavery by an anonymous sender.

Before and since his re-election on Tuesday, there has been a glut of think pieces exploring the wayward shift of people of color toward Trump. The implicit message is to blame the 46 percent of Latinos, the 20 percent of Black men, and the 12 percent of LGBTQ voters for his return.

Let’s cut the nonsense. A second Trump term and the calamity it will surely produce is not the result nor fault of Americans who are historically and still to remain, marginalized. It is not the fault of Arab Americans, Black Americans, or Latino Americans - whose marginal increase in support from men within those groups wasn’t enough in itself to secure Trump the White House.

No, it’s the clearest example of Occam's razor.

Trump increased his votes amongst men this election, with 55 percent casting their vote for him this week. So did 60 percent of white Americans. Men haven’t given the majority of their vote to a Democrat in 60 years, and the Republican party has owned the white vote for more than a decade.

Trump’s impending presidency is a product of white supremacy and the patriarchy it feeds.

The fault lies with too many white Americans who would cling to the promise of power they believe they’re entitled to, rather than link their fate to anyone else’s humanity. It is their lust for exclusionary dominance atop a racial caste.

Whatever your opinion of Kamala Harris, she was never going to win a majority of white men. No Democratic, let alone progressive presidential candidate, has received a majority of their vote in 60 years, but way to task a Black woman with the impossible. This isn't to excuse the feckless and inept Democratic party. It is to say that a Trump rise should be impossible no matter the political party.

Trump is projected to win the popular vote with roughly 74 million ballots cast for him, a figure closely mirroring his failed 2020 campaign. Nearly 85 percent of Trump’s voters were white, unchanged from 2020. Sixty percent were white men.

In our history, if we only counted white men’s votes, we would never have had the enforcement of the Civil Rights Act, the expansion of health insurance, job-protected family leave, marriage equality, and (as paltry as it is) an increase in the Federal minimum wage. Each achievement happened under presidents they rejected.

One can argue that due to their voting propensity as a group, we lack universal healthcare, free college tuition, and a national living wage. Policies that would be beneficial to them and the entire country.

When it comes to marginalized communities, our existence in this country will always be precarious unless enough white men decide to be communally human instead of uniquely superior.

And that is a decision they have made in the past.

At a time of chattel slavery when Black men were auctioned like cattle and only white men could vote, there were enough of them in 1865 to pass the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments - abolishing slavery, extending civil rights, and presenting the right to vote (at least to Black men), without one Black vote.

With an all-male constituency, there were enough of them in 1919 to pass the 19th Amendment enfranchising women with the right to vote, with no women eligible to vote.

With a predominantly straight Congress and Senate, there were enough of them in 2022 to protect marriage equality via the Respect for Marriage Act.

In the lead up to the election, the way our media coddled White men’s sense of self-worth at the expense of the concerns of others during this campaign was as repulsive as it was farcical.

Now, I do have sympathy for the plights of white men who our media has fixated on this last year. Their life is hard. They are experiencing increased loneliness, addiction, economic anxiety, and the list goes on. But the thing is, life is no less hard for women who still make 84 percent less than men. Or Native Americans, who have the highest addiction rates in the country. Or Black women who are more than twice as likely to die during their pregnancy than their white counterparts. Or Black men, who are still more than three times more likely to be killed by police.

Yet, at one time or another during this campaign, all of these groups were publicly scolded, shamed, and patronized for not enthusiastically supporting Harris. But not white men. We spent hours of podcasts and gallons of newspaper ink on their support for exploring their newly discovered malaise.

Meanwhile, the coalition of the historically marginalized still voted as a majority to reject Trumpism.

Trump’s presidency is built on the myth of white male exceptionalism. From the way Trump’s economic plans were hailed, you’d think he magically transported the whole of this nation from the breadline to the penthouse during his first term. His economic agenda is not one of mass prosperity. It includes deficit-widening tax cuts for the rich, inflationary tariffs, and mass deportation that will devastate the construction and agriculture industries, at least. Nor did he pretend that he was anything other than he was: unapologetic in his brutality of women, disdaining of trans people, hater of immigrants, and dismissive of racial prejudices.

Upon news of his reelection, the top 10% of wealthiest Americans saw in $64 billion increase in their net worth. Pardon my skepticism of them anticipating a mass redistribution of capital to our poorest.

This country will only reach its final form when enough white men reject a myth of ultra-individualism, superiority, and dominance in favor of a saga of solidarity. A saga that is difficult, challenging, occasionally infuriating —but ultimately hopeful.

On Tuesday, we saw that happen in our majority-white state of Washington, and our majority-white city of Seattle. Both dived deeper blue on Tuesday.

Many pundits and commentators are wary of discussing race at patriarchy at the moment. But it is precisely because we have failed for generations to seriously consider those duel poisons and their lingering effects that we have arrived at this point.

If we accept that the only recourse we have to better this country is to bow to the whims of recalcitrant white men then where exactly does that lead us other than the hell we’re already in?

We Know How to Save Our Kids, So Why Are We Letting Them Fail?

Marcus Harrison Green — Fri, 27 Sep 2024 13:54:00 -0700

The County has a roadmap to end youth detention. Why aren't they using it? by Marcus Harrison Green

If we know how to stop our kids’ mutation into monsters, but willfully disregard that knowledge, what exactly does that make us?

That question has consumed me for more than a decade. It recently found new flesh with the inescapable orgy of stories documenting the rise in juvenile crime across the region. According to local news networks this week, shootings, armed robbery, and carjackings signify the onset of puberty as much as a swollen larynx.

Coincidentally, the timing of the stories synchronized with a unanimous King County Council vote earlier this month to keep the Judge Patricia H. Clark Children and Family Justice Center permanently open. For those living in an underground survival bunker over the last two decades, the center is the youth jail at the heart of the decade-long No New Youth Jail campaign.

The same youth jail that Republican candidate for Washington Attorney General Pete Serrano said he wanted to ensure wasn’t shut down during last week’s debate, stating that—along with schools and parents—the state needed to “discipline our kids.”

No mention of how the state needs to provide for their well-being.

I've covered the quest against the jail’s construction since King County voters first passed a funding measure in 2012 to replace a previous dilapidated facility. Ensuing years hence brought countless protests at Seattle City Hall and county council chambers against erecting the center. Protesters wanted the cost of the building—$240 million—reallocated for non-incarceration-based programs for youth.

Responding to the intensity of those protests through the years, I’ve seen the county’s position on juvenile detention evolve from regrettably necessary, to aspirationally rare, to wholesale abolishment, to this month’s boomerang to back where we began.

At least that’s the takeaway from the council’s vote, which should be noted as nonbinding and directed at King County Executive Dow Constantine's stated goal of closing the facility and ending youth detention as we know it.

“Utopian” is what King County Council Member Reagan Dunn called that prospect during this month’s public meeting. Dunn filed a motion last spring to continue the center’s operations through 2028.

He partially blamed the uptick in violent crime committed by juveniles on that strategy. He has this much correct: youth crime has risen. Last year, 177 violent felonies were committed by juveniles that included murder, drive-by shootings, and rape. One thing left omitted: Every single one of these crimes has happened while the County still employs incarceration as a primary response to youth crime.

Instead of blaming a strategy to diminish incarceration that has not been fully implemented, fully funded, or fully committed to, you'd think he and other King County Council Members might be the first to admonish and blame our current system, which is still heavily focused on a carceral approach that has resulted in a 61% rise in juvenile bookings last year, and the same percentage rise in bookings so far this year—returning us to the incarceration levels of 2019.

Why is there no demand for him to mount a defense of that system, one that goes beyond the lazy explainer that unless the youth are punished primarily with incarceration then an orgy of violent nihilism will run rampant on our streets unless we punish youth with incarceration? Detention is practiced today yet it has failed to deter youth from committing crimes.

Can you imagine Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on a quarterly earnings call, blaming a steady dip in revenue and sales year after year not on their present business strategy but on the one they’re thinking of potentially deploying? He'd be ridiculed and bound for urgent cognitive testing.

Why absurd in that case but rational in ours?

How would we judge that same CEO if he had a step-by-step guide to help his company succeed, yet chose not to use it? We know that, even as the County has deployed yet another committee to make recommendations on how it can reach its goal of zero youth detention, we already have a nearly 300-page roadmap to Zero Youth Detention that is publicly available and has been in the County’s possession for at least four years.

It has provided a detailed, realistic, and practical approach to reducing juvenile crime, both violent and otherwise, that is not centered on incarceration. Strengthening cognitive behavioral health services, individually tailored intervention programs, and residential treatments centers are but a few options.

But they leave that roadmap virtually untouched.

That logic seems to go unchallenged when four out of five children locked up in the county’s detention center are, on average, children of color. Contrastingly, that same category makes up just a tick more than a quarter of the county’s entire youth population.

How easy it is for them to be collateral pawns in the game of “what’s most likely to get me re-elected at a time my constituency is all-in on carceral punishment as a solution for our social ills, and reduction in incarceration was so five minutes ago.”

I understand the instinct and reflection that comes with the need to feel safe, secure, and protected at whatever cost to whomever else. I understand the need for redressment of harm to be a precondition of forgiveness. A friend of mine was killed by a youth in 2017. For a time I wanted nothing more than that young man to be caged for as long as he possibly could, or to suffer the same fate as my friend. I understand the animal reflex inherent in most of us that activates a perverted lust for immediate vengeance over gradational accountability.

That same instinct leads us to snatch hold of a shortsighted solution without considering the social poisons we’ve squeezed into the roots of our future. Thanks to studies conducted by the Sentencing Project, we know that confinement in juvenile detention centers reduces the likelihood of graduating high school by 28%. We know that every day spent in incarceration increases a youth's likelihood of recidivism by one percentage point. We know that incarceration leads to higher rates of rearrest, and criminality into adulthood. We know incarceration retraumatizes already traumatized children whose brains are developing until they are 25.

We know all this, and yet we indulge in lazy solutions, calling effective alternatives Utopian. What Orwellian madness are we living in?

No, we cannot release the children who are currently detained tonight if they have nowhere to go except the environment that put them in jail in the first place. And will there be truly rare and horrific cases such as Colt Gray, the 14-year-old suspected of opening fire and killing four people at his Georgia high school, requiring removal from the general population, unfortunately, yes.

There is no overnight fix to a system that has been in place for centuries. But there is a bridge to a future that puts guidance, healing, and transformation at the heart of juvenile justice. And it’s a bridge that our County is refusing to cross.

The data has not changed. The science has not changed. The empirical evidence has not changed. The fact that our children need resources, care, attention, and actions—not words—has not changed simply because our attitudes to anything that appears lenient have hardened.

So instead we choose a path that greases the supply chain of criminality instead of disrupting it. A path that leads broken children into hard-to-repair adults. A path that foreclosed on the possibility of a different future.

I ask again, what does that make us?

Community as Rebellion

Marcus Harrison Green — Fri, 20 Sep 2024 15:30:00 -0700

Palestine Will Live Forever: A Benefit Festival for Palestine is Saturday, September 21, at Seward Park Amphitheater. by Marcus Harrison Green

For nearly a year, Palestinians living in Gaza have faced an endless torrent of death and destruction. Since the October 7 attack by Hamas, more than 40,000 people (at least 16,456 of them children) have been killed in Israel’s assault on the Gaza strip. In all, The Lancet medical journal estimates the death toll will reach more than 186,000. Simultaneously, at least 115 Palestinian children have been killed in the West Bank, triple the number in the previous year, in an area that is ostensibly not a war zone.

During that year, much of the world has viewed Palestinians solely through the lens of suffering—war-ravaged, oppressed, displaced. Yet reducing their existence to grief alone erases the spectrum of emotions animating them. Even amidst genocide, joy can be more than a rejection of oppression; it can be a defiant assertion of humanity, a reminder that life can flourish even in the bleakest times.

It can also be a radical rebellion, a transgressive claim to happiness in the face of constant erasure. And so can community. That belief was the catalyst for this weekend’s Palestine Will Live Forever benefit concert, the brainchild of Gabriel Teodros and Maher Joudi.

Taking place this Saturday, September 21, at the Seward Park Amphitheater, the benefit will feature performers including Calina Lawrence, Essam, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, the Native Guns, Nikkita Oliver, Macklemore, and Ijeoma Oluo. All proceeds will be evenly split and donated to Palestinian aid organizations, including Pious Projects, HEAL Palestine, UNRWA, and Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.

Allow me to address those I’ve already seen and heard dismissing this festival online as something it is not.

I understand the emotionally pitched feelings as we near the one-year anniversary of October 7. I ask readers skeptical of this festival to grapple with this: What does it mean to excuse the disproportionate suffering and mutilation of hundreds of thousands of people who had nothing whatsoever to do with the terror attacks that day? It means a radical abandonment of an empathy that is not zero-sum but reciprocal. Without that class of empathy, what can be our future except for indefinite death and destruction?

Ijeoma Oluo will speak at this weekend's Palestine Will Live Forever benefit concert. Marcus Ingram/Getty Images

What I believe this concert to be is pro-life in the truest sense of the word and a reminder of humanity in tragically inhumane times. Compassion for the Palestinian people—a people who Israel is not at war with, according to its emissary to the United Nations—does not require a renunciation of the pain of the families who lost loved ones in Hamas’ attack or a belief in anything beyond the death and desecration of Palestine ceases.

For Teodros and Joudi, the hiphop showcase stands as much more than music; it is a lifeline. For Teodros—a former KEXP radio host, musician, and writer—art has always been a tool to ignite change, blending hiphop with a deep connection to global struggles. Maher, a Palestinian-American organizer, father, and community leader, has brought this concert to life not just to raise funds for Gaza, but to remind the world that Palestinians have not forgotten their claim to all that life bestows: Jubilee and affirmation.

Along with nearly a dozen other organizers, they’ve created a music festival that amplifies defiance and hope, asserting that even in the face of unimaginable loss, Palestinian art, expression, and music remains a form of resistance. In a world determined to erase Gaza, and censor advocacy for it, they ask: What does joy look like when survival itself is rebellion? What does it mean to insist on the right not just to live, but to thrive? I spoke with both to get that answer.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Both of you have long been outspoken about Palenstinain rights and self-determination even before the genocide now taking place in Gaza and the ongoing atrocities in the West Bank. Why did you feel that the vehicle of a hiphop festival in Seattle’s South End was an effective way to harness the emotions of this moment that has seen so much death, displacement, and destruction?

Joudi: It’s funny that you ask that question because I actually posted a video about doing a music festival in the midst of this that was posted on Instagram. It’s difficult… The dichotomy of living as a Palestinian America in America is hard. You're just trying to live life.

I have two kids. I have a family. I have a job. I'm personally blessed. But this is at the forefront of your mind every day you wake up. You’re thinking about Palestine at all times. You could be doom scrolling all day, you're talking to people about it. It leaks into every conversation that you have, and it really starts to dictate how you look at the world. So, the decision to even proceed with this didn't come easy.

I have been a hiphop head my whole life. That’s the music that I’ve run to in times of joy and times of trauma. Hiphop is the first place that I ran to to find music that spoke about Palestine. It introduced me to so many artists that I never even knew existed.The language of resistance found within hiphop, particularly Palestinian hiphop, pulled me through some really dark shit.

The way that these young Palestinian artists were able to mesh trauma with resistance, I was just like, we gotta try to figure out how to get these guys out here. Like, if I feel this way, I know everybody else does.

What artists are you most excited about performing?

Teodros: The first one that comes to mind is Suheir Hammad. Having her share her poetry at the festival is such a big deal, especially at this time. She doesn't perform much at all, so it’s rare to even see her on stage. She was my introduction to all things Palestine because I read her book Born Palestinian, Born Black sometime in the late ’90s. And I would say this as an Ethiopian American hiphop artist, Suheir is the first person of any background that I felt gave me permission to stand in all of my truth, share every part of my story, and see that none of it contradicts. That’s what I felt when I saw her tell her own story.

Joudi: The first time I heard her was on Def Poetry Jam in 2001. She performed a poem that spoke to being Palestinian after 9/11. I was a 20-year-old Palestinian kid in America and the towers had just fallen. That was a heavy load. I remember listening to that poem probably daily for six months, and it brought me to tears every single day. Suheir is definitely beyond this world for us as a community. But I also want to highlight some others we’ve met on this journey we’ve been on the last two months, including a brother by the name of Abe Batshon, out of Texas. After five minutes of talking to this guy, he put a battery in us to just go. He was like, “I don't think you guys understand, how important this is.” That was the sentiment of so many people we talked to when we brought up the idea of doing this.

Why did you feel this concert was so needed locally?

Joudi: We live as Palestinians every day. And everyday, I feel so grateful to be Palestinian, regardless of what we've already gone through, and what we're going through. The all-encompassing thing with this festival is it quickly morphed into being not just music (yes, they're all musical artists) but we were recently on a three-hour Zoom call talking about our messaging. It’s not a party. It’s a part of our resistance. These artists were very much hand picked because of what their message to the world is and what that message means in this current dynamic that we Palestinians find our lives in.

So in some ways the concert is also cathartic?

Joudi: It’s definitely cathartic. At least it’s cathartic for me. When the genocide in Gaza started in October, I was left grasping for straws and trying to figure out how do I make a difference? I ended up connecting with a few other Palestinians trying to meet with congressionals to have our voice heard, and we started doing political advocacy work. We met with [Seattle] Mayor Bruce Harrell in November. We started meeting with [Washington Senators] Maria Cantwell's and Parry Murray's offices.

But the political stuff can be so depleting. There is no energy given back. So, when we started doing this, it felt like an energy boost because as much work that’s gone into it, it really fills my cup in a world where my cup has been leaking since 2000.

Teodros: We’ve been getting messages from people all around the map. It’s definitely starting to feel like a destination kind of festival. One of the things that Abe said to us that really stood out to me was that it's the first time he’s seen this many Palestinian hiphop artists from different generations share a stage. We have folks who are our age, along with artists like Sammy Shiblaq, who is in his twenties. You got to look out for him because his delivery, his cadence, his whole vibe is different from anybody else on the bill. He’s from Detroit and definitely has his own style.

We’re highlighting the Palestinian artists because we should. But there's also a lot of artists, like myself, who aren’t Palestinian but who have just been very outspoken in solidarity for years and years. We have Native Guns (Bambu, Kiwi, and DJ Phatrick), Rell Be Free, and Macklemore, who have all been consistent on Palestine.

Hiphop celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. One of the themes of the celebration was how, at its best, hiphop is an art form of resistance. What are your thoughts on that in relation to this concert?

Teodros: There’s a film that came out in 2008 called Slingshot Hip Hop, and it's all about hiphop in Palestine. That film is one of my favorite documentaries about the hiphop period because it showcases the way that the spirit of this thing that we grew to call hiphop has translated into different places as a music of struggle, a music of resistance, a music that fights for liberation.

In this documentary there's this group called DAM who are known as Palestine's first hiphop crew. They’re discussing watching Tupac’s video for his song “Holler If Ya Hear Me.” He’s rapping in a place that looks like a place where the group was. Just that imagery of hiphop provides permission for the group to tell their own stories. Seeing that film was just so deep to me.

One of my favorite memories of hiphop culture is that I got to connect in a real way to other hiphop artists from Palestine and learn about their real stories from them in person. They’re not being interviewed on CNN. The most powerful expression of hiphop that I've seen in my life is hiphop from Palestine. I mean to be from a place where you’re living under apartheid and you're facing tanks and you've got nothing but rocks, and you're rapping to tell your story. This is what's important about this culture to me. It’s a movement for freedom. Our movement for freedom as people of color in America is intrinsically tied up with the struggle for Palestinian Liberation.

Joudi: There’s a reason growing up that I felt a connection to NWA and Public Enemy, but I didn't feel a connection to the Red Hot Chili Peppers or Nirvana, even though I lived in Seattle. Hiphop talks about struggle and trauma in the bloodline that is generational. These are conversations that resonate with the Palestinian diaspora. The first visuals that I saw when Ferguson, Missouri popped off after the death of Michael Brown was of teenagers in the Gaza Strip holding up signs that said I stand with Ferguson. They related their struggle to what was going on there. All of our liberation struggles are connected. If you only try to solve one, you'll never solve any of them, right? Hiphop helped me bridge that gap before anything else.

So how important do you think the imagery of this festival is with all of the bad faith arguments and flat out misrepresentation found in many mainstream media sources around the movement for Palestinian liberation?

Joudi: The greatest form of rebellion is community. People who want to engage in bad faith can say what they want to say. Thankfully, I’m around people whose opinions I value, who support us, and so all the rest of it just fades away. No struggle was ever won with anybody rocking with the mainstream anyway. I mean, it wouldn't be a struggle if it was.

There are definitely days where that stuff could get to you, and you get frustrated, for sure. The gaslighting is really crazy. But the reason why this time feels different is because we previously lived in a world where we had to just listen to whatever mainstream news told you. There was no other resource. What made this so crazy is we got cell phone videos from day one showing us what was actually happening. So you put that side by side with what CNN is showing you, and you call bullshit right away. You know what I'm saying? Like we have real news, not CNN, not Fox. Now we got real news.

Teodros: On top of that, hiphop is storytelling. We are centering Palestinian stories at the end of the day in the service of Gaza. And I feel like that’s what legacy media misses. They never put a microphone in front of Palestinian people's faces, ever. They never center the voices of the people living through this shit. What brought me to hiphop, was that I never saw my story reflected in the media period. So what do you do? You tell your own story. You start writing raps. You do graffiti. You do all these accessible forms of art that come from Black innovation here in America. I feel like hiphop was social media before social media.

I want to be clear that this is in no way to minimize either the rise in antisemitism or anti-Palestinian bigotry that have both increased since the October 7 attacks. But I want to ask about a few local social media personalities on the right who have tried to paint the festival as anti-semetic for taking place in the Seward Park neighborhood, which has a large Jewish community. Do you want to address that at all?

Teodros: It’s typical. The conversation around this festival started in a coffee shop in the South End. I'm born and raised in the South End. Seward Park is a place that we all went to growing up, for everything from Pista to Hispanic Seafair. So hosting it in Seward Park just made sense. The Amphitheater is a venue that's accessible, where we knew we could bring a pretty big crowd, and we wanted to do this outdoors. It’s a neighborhood that houses Jewish and Muslim communities amongst so many others. Yes, this is a Palestinian issue but this is also a human rights issue that touches all our communities. Anyone who doubts that should come out on September 21 and see for yourself. Some of the loudest voices we have in support of the festival are Jewish.

So what’s your vision for this festival after this year?

Teodros: Whenever I think about an event of this scale, I like to think about the relationships and bonds that are built through bringing people together and through time seeing what that grows into. We're bringing a lot of people together that have never shared a stage or even met each other. But that's one of the main superpowers that we have as artists and organizers, bringing people together over a shared experience, a shared mission, a shared vision. And once you bring those people together and they connect over something that's real, it's like seeing what they do with that is just, is really exciting.

Joudi: I'm excited for what the future is for all the reasons that Gabriel shared. I also think that there's going to be momentum that we have to capitalize on afterwards, both community locally and nationally. A lot of these artists are coming from a lot of different places, and I think have found avenues to express themselves through music but maybe don't have the community around them to organize beyond that point. I hope to provide an avenue for them to find a community in us and in people that are like minded and have come together for this festival, to be able to move and continue to push the message, to continue to educate, to continue to organize, to continue to resist beyond just the festival. I think if we do all of this and garner this much momentum and then just let it fizzle out afterwards, then I don't think we've completed our job. I think we've left a lot on the table.

I just hope everybody that comes to this festival gets involved, if they're not already with the Palestinian cause in any and every way they can. There's a lot of artists I love that haven't spoken up, and I don't know why but I really hope this kind of festival inspires more artists to use their voice for justice. We do all of this in service of our people in Palestine, whether it’s marching, having meetings, or showcasing our art. All of this is in service to them and their resistance.

Palestine Will Live Forever: A Benefit Festival for Palestine is Saturday, September 21, at Seward Park Amphitheater, 1-8 pm, $30, all ages.

This article was updated on Sept. 23, 2024 with images from the event.