Sunday, June 16
Seattle Nice: Is NPR (and KUOW) too Woke?
On last week’s episode of the Seattle Nice podcast, we discussed the state of the national media, which Sandeep and David argued has become too one-sided—specifically, too left-wing—and lost listeners as a result of this trend toward “activism.” I disagreed, arguing that not every “argument” has two sides, including those that news outlets once considered matters for dispute, such as the presence of women in the workplace and the right to birth control.
Monday, June 17
Diaz Comes Out as Gay to Right-Wing Radio Host, Who Says this Proves His “Innocence”
Former police chief Adrian Diaz, facing allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination by multiple women, came out as gay on KTTH host Jason Rantz’ show this week, in an interview in which both host and guest suggested being gay is a defense against charges of sexually harassing or behaving inappropriately toward women.
Tuesday, June 18
A review of a potential alternative test for police recruits concluded that a test used by small cities and towns in Washington state is not appropriate for Seattle; would not speed up police hiring; and “is not an option” because the company “does not want to provide police testing services for the City of Seattle right now.”
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Wednesday, June 19
Former Deputy Mayor Harrell Pulled Over in North Seattle: “Stop and Frisk at a Grander Scale”
Former senior deputy mayor Monisha Harrell was pulled over in Greenwood and given a verbal warning for having a clear plastic license plate cover. She described the stop as a clear example of the kind of racial profiling the Seattle Police Department pledged to reduce in 2022, when the department adopted a new policy barring police stops for some minor violations, such as missing or obscured registration stickers.
Thursday, June 20
Seattle Councilmembers Cathy Moore, Rob Saka, and Sara Nelson want to cut funding for a new program, part of Mayor Bruce Harrell’s proposed 2024 transportation levy, that is supposed to pay for community-initiated transportation safety projects. Instead of letting communities identify and develop projects themselves, Saka and Moore proposals would put more funding into a program for council members to decide which neighborhood projects get funded in their districts.
Friday, June 21
Afternoon Fizz: Encampment Removal Recommendations, Transportation Equity, and Police Testing
City Councilmembers Bob Kettle, Joy Hollingsworth, and Sara Nelson declined to sign recommendations from a Board of Health Workgroup that include restrictions on encampment sweeps. The city’s Transportation Equity Workgroup says cutting the new neighborhood-initiated transportation program further marginalizes communities that lack a voice at city hall. And: The head of the company that provides Seattle’s police test, which is harder to pass than its competitors, explains how it works.