Slog AM: Suburbs Battle Over Light Rail Priorities, ExxonMobil Has Always Sucked, and Amazon Loses Labor Battle (Again)
Love to live in this ‘city’: Due to some construction delays, Lynnwood and Bellevue are facing each other in competition to be the next leg of Sound Transit’s planned expansion of light rail service, the Seattle Times reports . How much longer do we have to pay the price for previous generations of Seattle NIMBYs refusing federal money for a real subway? At least until the end of next year, when Sound Transit claims all currently delayed stations should finally be operational.
New lawsuit against SPD: The Seattle Times reports that the four people police arrested for using charcoal to write protest-related messages on concrete barriers outside the East End are now suing the city. Their complaint alleges that an unnamed “executive mayor” worked with an SPD deputy chief to circumvent the King County Jail’s restrictions on booking nonviolent offenders on Jan. 1, 2021, when the four plaintiffs were arrested and put in prison. They were released the next day and never prosecuted.
Come on, KUOW: Our local public radio station aired this absurd regurgitation of the “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” line from Republican state Sen. Phil Fortunato in response to the latest push for gun violence prevention laws. But they ran it without any critical context. Namely, as Rich reported as part of our Big-Ass Legislative Forecast , there’s very little a Republican can do to stop any kind of policy short of throwing a big tantrum. If you feel compelled to hold up a helpless, whining baby, then at least educate your audience on how little his NRA talking points matter to the bottom line if kids are going to be a little safer at school.
More of this, please: There are many reasons to like State Senator Yasmin Trudeau, but this kind of accessible public education on how to participate in the legislative session tops my list right now. You can do this for any bill you like, not just the Washington Future Fund.
I know you’re as excited as I am that the #WashingtonFutureFund has a hearing this Monday! #waleg pic.twitter.com/zWu3iBjofn
— Sen. Yasmin Trudeau (@SenatorTrudeau) January 13, 2023
Listen up young people: A group of students from a Bellevue High School government class are helping to push for fairer pricing, reports KING 5. They recorded several examples where products marketed to women were more expensive than those aimed at men and then asked state Sen. Manka Dhingra (D-Bellevue) to do something about it. The bill will have its first reading on Monday.
Grab your (metaphorical) grip: The Associated Press reports that a new study shows that ExxonMobil’s own scientists predicted the effects of global warming with “equal or better accuracy than government and academic scientists.” One of the study’s authors claims the new research “gives us airtight evidence that Exxon Mobil accurately predicted global warming years ago, then turned around and attacked the science behind it.” Of course, Exxon’s spokesperson denied the claims.
The cost of doing business: The $1.6 million fine was the largest the judge could legally impose on the Trump Organization, which should tell you all you need to know about whose interests our legal system really serves.
Donald Trump’s company was fined $1.6 million as punishment for a scheme in which the former president’s top executives avoided personal income taxes on work benefits — a symbolic blow, hardly a crippling one for an enterprise boasting billions of dollars. in assets. https://t.co/CXn1xEL6em
— Associated Press (@AP) January 13, 2023
Just let them bargain already, Jeff: The National Labor Relations Board certified the Amazon Labor Union’s victory at the company’s Staten Island warehouse this week, reports Yahoo! Finance. Bosses say they are already planning to appeal, but labor law experts say the plans are just more delaying tactics unlikely to change the outcome.
All the cool kids are doing it, Mr. Bezos: Unlike Amazon, CNN reports that Apple began bargaining sessions with workers at its first unionized store this week. The bargaining process could take more than a year, but the union representative for workers at the Maryland store told CNN that workers are optimistic about winning higher wages, better working conditions and “being a part of that process decision makers in matters that affect them every day.”
No one’s going to take your stove away, you weirdo: But there’s a very good case to be made for replacing it if you don’t like inhaling toxic fumes. Get the full story from Vox.
Gas stoves are a health problem. It’s no surprise that federal agencies are finally recognizing it. https://t.co/cl5ZDjaMP7
— Vox (@voxdotcom) January 12, 2023
Corrupt software responsible for FAA glitch: NBC News reports that Transportation Department officials have determined that a piece of corrupt software caused the glitch that grounded all flights for several hours Wednesday morning. Eight contractors had access to the software, but whether the corrupted file was the result of malicious intent or simply a mistake remains under investigation.
Russian generals reshuffle: In an apparent power struggle among Putin’s top military leaders, the Associated Press reports that the Russian dictator has demoted the general who oversaw the last three months of the conflict in Ukraine. Some analysts told the AP that the move also signals against criticism from Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose prisoner-turned-mercenaries have taken an increasingly prominent role in the conflict as Russia’s main army continues to suffer heavy losses.
The bright side of all this California rain: The LA Times reports that the entire state has escaped “extreme drought” as measured by the US Drought Monitor. The latest series of atmospheric rivers have dumped literally trillions of gallons of rain across the state, leading to the first time since April 4, 2020 that California has avoided the Drought Monitor’s most severe classification.
Let’s end AM with an ode to all that blessed precipitation from the band that defines (at least to me) what my dad affectionately referred to as “big brother rock.”
