A bombshell in the Seattle political scene—Police Chief Carmen Best has announced her retirement. “The [Seattle City] Council gave us $1.6 million to hire the best, brightest, and most diverse. Now they want me to lay off 100 of those officers. I can’t do that,” Best said during a Aug. 11 news conference. Best’s announcement […]
World War Bonsai: Remembrance & Resilience on view now
FEDERAL WAY — The Pacific Bonsai Museum is hosting a free, virtual, live event, “Branch Out,” on Wednesday, Aug. 19 at 6 p.m. about its newest exhibit, which runs through Oct. 21. “World War Bonsai: Remembrance & Resilience” presents the untold history of bonsai artists working in the World War II-era and how they changed […]
A-pop! — White people who do and say racist things — and the white friends who love and forgive them!
In this column, there’s a lot of white nonsense. You have been forewarned!
How one climber is calling our racism in the outdoor industry
By Hannah Weinberger / Crosscut.com REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION In December 2019, Boulder, Colorado-based web developer and climber Melissa Utomo approached Seattle’s Recreation Equipment Inc. (REI) with a proposal to change the functionality of its Mountain Project app, a crowdsourced climbing route finder. Utomo read an article about sexist climbing route names, and realized Mountain Project […]
Hong Kong postpones elections by a year, citing coronavirus
By ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced on July 31 that the government will postpone highly anticipated legislative elections by one year, citing a worsening coronavirus outbreak in the semi-autonomous Chinese city. The Hong Kong government is invoking an emergency ordinance in delaying the elections. Lam said […]
First Asian giant hornet found in WA state trap
BLAINE, Wash. (AP) — Washington state agriculture workers have trapped their first Asian giant hornet. The hornet was found July 14 in a bottle trap set north of Seattle, near the Canadian border, and state entomologists confirmed its identity on July 29, according to the Washington State Department of Agriculture. The Asian giant hornet, the […]
Woman’s body found—Police say it’s a homicide
TACOMA — Police are investigating the death of a Tacoma woman as a homicide. The body of Diana Davis, 50, was found on Aug. 5 near Snoqualmie Pass. She was reported missing from Tacoma on July 27, and her car was found two days later engulfed in flames. Her daughter has started a crowdfunding effort […]
Trader Joe’s says no to changing ethnic-sounding label names
By JOHN ROGERS Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Trader Joe’s, which said in July that it was moving to change the names of some of its products after an online petition denounced them as racist, now says it will stick with labels like Trader Jose’s and Trader Ming’s for Mexican and Asian food. “We […]
SAM names Priya Frank Director Of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
The Seattle Art Museum (SAM) announced on Aug. 10 the appointment of Priya Frank as Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, a new position on the museum’s executive team. Frank has been at SAM since 2016. This new role grows out of Frank’s ongoing work at SAM to integrate racial equity into the museum’s strategic […]
Mayor Durkan appoints interim SPD chief
Deputy Chief Adrian Diaz will serve as the interim police chief for the City of Seattle beginning Sept. 2. Diaz has served in the department for over two decades. He began his career in SPD as a patrol officer, and served with the Bike Unit and as an undercover officer with the Anti-Crime Team before […]