Category: Seattle, Washington Local News

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The slide presented during the Sound Transit Executive Committee meeting on Feb. 26 showed the financial challenge facing the agency.

Sound Transit 

At its February 26, 2026, meeting, the Sound Transit Board of Directors approved a sweeping new sustainability plan and addressed a daunting $34.5 billion “affordability challenge” as the agency prepares for a massive influx of riders for the upcoming World Cup.

The board officially adopted Motion No. M2026-06, which implements the 2026–2030 Sustainability Plan. A central pillar of the motion is a commitment to end the purchase of fossil fuel-propelled revenue fleet vehicles by 2030. Sustainability Director Amy Shatskin noted that while the agency has already seen a 16% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions since 2019, this new phase focuses on “deepening our work” through fleet decarbonization and climate resiliency.

However, the path to sustainability faced criticism from the public record. In a letter submitted to the board, Martin Westerman joined others in “opposing motion number M2026-06 while highlighting the need for lower carbon and more sustainable transit solutions,” according to a summary of written comments provided by the board clerk.

Community Demands and Fiscal Realities

The board’s ambitions are set against a sobering financial backdrop. Chief Financial Officer Alex Craig reported that the agency must bridge a $34.5 billion gap in cost savings or new funding to deliver the full ST3 program. Chair Dave Summers attributed these “headwinds” to a massive escalation in construction costs, which have risen over 70% in just the last six years.

The “Purple Shirt” contingent from Issaquah dominated the public comment gallery, urging the board to keep its promises to East King County. “Voter trust is fragile,” warned Issaquah City Councilmember Kevin Nichols, noting that his city is ready to partner on costs to ensure light rail reaches the area. Other residents, like Michelle Greeno, told the board they had made major “life decisions” based on the promise of future transit.

The board also heard from members of the Chinatown International District (CID). Betty Laauo and Brian Chow urged the agency to correct the name of the “International District/Chinatown Station” to “Chinatown International District Station” to reflect the neighborhood’s actual name.

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Special Report: Welcoming the World – World Cup Preparedness

As Seattle prepares to host six matches at “Seattle Stadium” (Lumen Field), Sound Transit officials detailed a “worst-case scenario” planning model to handle international crowds.

Service and Logistics:

• Increased Frequency: On match days, the 1 Line and 2 Line will run every 8 minutes until 1:00 AM, creating a 4-minute combined frequency in the downtown core.
• Station Strategy: To manage crowds, FIFA will implement a “robust perimeter” starting in mid-May. Sound Transit will use a “preferred station approach”: south-end riders will use Stadium Station, north-end riders will use Pioneer Square, and east-side or mobility-impaired riders will be directed to the International District Station.
• Multi-Day Passes: A new 3-day Orca pass pilot will launch in June to ease fare payment for visitors.

Passenger Experience:

• Wayfinding: The agency is pivoting to icon-based communications and multilingual signage to assist non-English speaking visitors.
• Amenities: “Throne Labs”—innovative, high-tech bathrooms—will be deployed at three locations across the system.
• Staffing: Station ambassadors, increased security, and “fair engagement staff” will be stationed on platforms to manage the anticipated “intensity” of match days.

Strategic Advisor Juan Huer warned that June 19th will be particularly high-intensity, as Seattle will host both a FIFA match featuring the US Men’s National Team and a Mariners game simultaneously.

Dear ICE and CBP Agents,

Resign. Quit. Retire. Think about it. If you quit now, you can at least say you got out when the shit got crazy. If you continue to work for ICE or CBP, however, you will fuck yourself over in multiple ways.

You are probably not very bright, so I’ll try to make this simple: Nobody likes you.  

Do you need to get something off your chest? Submit an I, Anonymous and we’ll illustrate it! Send your unsigned rant, love letter, confession, or accusation to ianonymous@thestranger.com. Please remember to change the names of the innocent and the guilty.

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In Harry Lighton’s debut feature based on Adam Mars-Jones’ 2020 novel Box Hill, the life of a sheltered twenty something named Colin (Harry Melling, Harry Potter) is forever changed the moment biker Ray (Alexander Skarsgård, The Northman, Infinity Pool) unzips his leather pants in a dark alley on Christmas Day, freeing a massive, pierced, dangling cock.

The two quickly enter into an all-consuming, 24/7 dominant/submissive relationship. Colin follows Ray’s rules, becomes his devoted pet. But when the relationship begins to unravel, the power dynamics are not to blame. Like any other relationship, it’s bad communication. Apart from all the kinky sex, Pillion is almost family friendly and it is easily one of my favorite queer films of the last several years.

BDSM in Hollywood is often played for laughs and scares, or portrayed as exotic and perverse, as in the case of Fifty Shades of Grey. Lighton cited Secretary and The Duke of Burgundy as films he had in mind while making Pillion, but went for a more relatable route. “I always wanted Pillion to have enough of a foot in realism, that you weren’t, as a viewer, able to distance yourself from the character in the way I think that I personally do in those films, by dint of the tone,” he told Letterboxd. 

Pillion doesn’t exploit gayness either, or make sexuality the friction in these men’s lives. Colin’s parents are enthusiastically supportive of his queerness, but just want to see their son treated right outside the bedroom. In that way, they’re a stand-in for viewers who might not know boot-blacking from anal beads, but can read the conventional love story between the lines of this unconventional relationship.

I’d bet a reasonably open-minded family could watch it together. Alexander Skarsgård could do it: He watched it with his dad Stellan Skarsgård (Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Dune) at Telluride Film Festival. As Stellan succinctly put it, “I have no problem seeing him do BDSM, that’s not a problem. If he acts badly, I have big problems.”

US Speedboat Boat Shot By Cuba: A shootout between a Florida-registered speedboat and a Cuban border patrol vessel left six people dead and four injured. The Cuban government accused the heavily-armed “Cuban residents of the United States” in the speedboat of trying to infiltrate the island for “terrorist purposes.” They were carrying guns, Molotov cocktails, bulletproof vests, and camouflage, the Cuban government said.

Gatesgate: At an internal Gates Foundation town hall Tuesday, Bill Gates apologized to staff for endangering the foundation with his yearslong connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Gates acknowledged first meeting Epstein in 2011 to raise money for global health, three years after the financier was convicted for soliciting a minor for prostitution. Gates continued to see the financier until 2014. Gates also admitted to two affairs, which Epstein tried to use as leverage over him, he said. Gates never got his money for global health.

Will They, Won’t They: Normally, Super Bowl winners are invited to the White House. But Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said the team hasn’t gotten an invite, though he expects one. The White House has indicated they will invite the Seahawks. But will the team accept? Macdonald wouldn’t commit, but a league source told the Seattle Times the team was initially inclined to accept. The Super Bowl was weeks ago.

Murder Charge in Capitol Hill Shooting: Daniel John Carlee, 41, was charged with murder for allegedly shooting 38-year-old Solomon Thompson in Friday night’s Capitol Hill shooting. King County prosecutors said Carlee instigated the fight. Before shooting Thompson, he told a witness, “I’m going to shoot him.”

Another Teen Shooting: Police arrested two teens with a handgun  after a shooting in Mount Baker that put Franklin High School on lockdown. As a precaution, students at John Muir Elementary sheltered-in-place. Police are still looking for two more suspects.

Temu Sesame Street: A 27-year-old man in Ohio has been dubbed “Oscar the Grouch” after a sanitation worker found him hiding from police in a trash can. It was caught on tape. Now, I’m no fan of surveillance, but…this was entertaining.

Weather: Partly sunny with a high near 51 and a chance of on and off rain. Wind gusts will be as high as 25 miles per hour. Tonight will be mostly cloudy with a low around 42 and a 30 percent chance of rain.

What Are the House and Senate Doing with Our Money? The Seattle Times compiled key takeaways from the state Senate and House budget proposals, including how lawmakers are accounting for the not-yet-passed millionaires’ tax, how they’ll use Climate Commitment Act money, what’ll happen with House’s proposal to eliminate occupational, speech and physical therapy coverage and instead provide a limited, one-time rate boost for certain long-term care facilities, and more. 

Jeff Galloway: Galloway, the 1972 U.S. Olympic runner who inspired amateurs and pros alike with his “run-walk-run” strategy, died yesterday from a hemorrhagic stroke. He was 80.

Nobody Likes Newsom: California Gov. Gavin Newsom is offending everybody. He’s on a book tour right now—another effort to cast off his reputation as a liberal elitist to position himself as the Democratic frontrunner in 2028. But he’s just pissing everyone off. Conservatives accused Newsom of suggesting that Black people weren’t smart while talking to the Black mayor of Atlanta, Andre Dickens. Liberals are mad about Newsom’s CNN interview, where he said Democrats should be “more culturally normal” and stop spending “a disproportionate amount of time on pronouns, identity.”

LA Superintendent Investigation: The FBI raided the home of Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho and the district’s headquarters. A source told the Associated Press that the warrants were served as part of an “ongoing investigation.” The district hasn’t provided further information, but said it is cooperating with the investigation.

Bummer: A state bill to lower the legal driving limit from 0.08 blood alcohol content to 0.05 blood alcohol content died in the House yesterday. The bill, sponsored by Sen. John Lovick, would’ve been a good idea, given that drunk driving kills people.

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Congrats  you lushes, winos, drunkards, sots, and tipplers. A bill to lower the legal driving limit from a 0.08 percent blood alcohol limit to a 0.05 blood alcohol limit (BAC) has failed for the fourth year in a row. Despite passing the Senate, it floundered in the House Committee on Community Safety. 

It’s not such a wild idea, even if the only US state with a 0.05 percent BAC limit is buttoned-up, prudish Utah. From a global point of view, we’re way outside the norm—eighty four of the world’s countries have a 0.05 BAC limit or lower. The unholy union of Big Alcohol and Big Automobile in the US of A has kept reform efforts in check across the country, driving something we like to call vehicular manslaughter. In 2023, Washington saw 800 driving deaths—a 30-year high. Over half of those deaths were linked to impaired driving. 

Sure, we at The Stranger are known to partake in potent potables. We can put ’em away just like the rest of you. Yet, after a bit of science last summer, we were radicalized. The bill’s prime sponsor, Sen. John Lovick, a former state trooper who’s been advocating for years to lower the BAC, is right.

In an experiment, we combined alcohol and Mario Kart to see how drinking impaired our driving without tearing up these streets. Most of us came away shocked at just how drunk we felt with a BAC at 0.05, let alone 0.08 percent. We were also shocked at how bad we were at Mario Kart. Except Vivian, who got drunker than anyone. Oh, how the mighty fall.

The experiment had flaws, like how it wasn’t real science. Or how Charles Mudede, who does not have a license and has never driven, could not comprehend how to use a Nintendo 64 controller. His BAC also mysteriously dipped down toward the end of the test. Regardless, it was enough to assure us that a 0.05 percent BAC was plenty drunk.

There’s always next year, Sen. Lovick!

If you’re an adventurous cook, chances are you’ve made an Ottolenghi recipe! Yotam Ottolenghi is a chef, author of nine bestselling cookbooks, including Jerusalem, Plenty and Comfort, co-owner of 12 restaurants and delis, mostly in London, and a columnist for The New York Times and The Guardian

This story is adapted from The Nosh with Rachel Belle newsletter. If you’re not a subscriber, you can sign up here.

I had a delightful, thoughtful conversation with him for the latest episode of my podcast, Your Last Meal, and he was so articulate and centered, I hardly had to do any editing (behind the scenes fact: I usually do a LOT of editing!). 

You may know Ottolenghi for his recipes – tahini-laden, pomegranate molasses-drizzled, vegetable-forward dishes with complex, layered, global flavors. But how much do you know about Ottolenghi the person? 

Listen to the new episode to learn (among other things):  

• What Yotam did for work before finding his way to a food career (he has multiple graduate-level degrees in non-culinary subjects!). 
• His most mortifying food-related memory. 
• Why he argues that cooking is not an art form and food is not art.  
• The nickname has father gave him as a food-obsessed kid!  

We also talk about the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen, where a group of diverse, talented cooks create and test recipes for cookbooks, the website and publications. I love how transparent Yotam is about the test kitchen, careful not to take credit for every recipe, despite having his name on the door.   

Lastly, I’d like to share the recipe for Ottolenghi’s Clementine Almond Syrup Cake, the dessert he chose for his last meal. 

It comes from his cookbook, Jerusalem, co-written with Sami Tamimi, the Palestinian chef Yotam started his empire with. Yotam grew up in a Jewish neighborhood in Jerusalem and Sami grew up in a Muslim quarter of the city; they met decades ago, working at a bakery in London, and I love that they came together through a love of food.  

Right now is the perfect time to make this cake, since citrus is in season! 

For newsletter-exclusive content, including my Taste of the Town Q&A with a notable Pacific Northwest person (this week it’s Paris Jackson, host of The Newsfeed),  subscribe below!

Have a food- or drink-related question? (Need a restaurant rec? Have a mystery that needs solving?) Send me a note: rachel.belle@cascadepbs.org 

XO 
Rachel Belle 

Last night, Trump delivered the State of the Union, in which he spoke for 1 hour and 40 minutes. Thankfully, Stranger editor Hannah Murphy Winter watched the whole thing and is here to summarize:

Unsurprisingly, Trump’s State of the Union wasn’t a speech, it was a show. Like Bob Barker telling contestants to “come on down!” he trotted people through Congress like props: the Team USA men’s hockey team, military vets, victims of violence that he claims was done by undocumented immigrants. The Republican side of the chamber were a willing studio audience. They repeatedly broke into chants of “U-S-A,” stood up and cheered when he told them to, and made sure to make a clear contrast between them and the Democrats, so Trump could tisk and tut at how shameful it was that Democrats didn’t back his common sense agenda. 

But did he say anything? The SOTU is usually used to unveil important new agendas from the executive, but the speech itself was extremely light on actual policy. He stared down the Supreme Court justices at the front and told them he’d be using his presidential power to restore his tariff program. He called Venezuela our “new friend and partner” after bombing them and capturing their president. He celebrated the “end of DEI in America.” He claimed that we were a “dead country” before he took over, and once again claimed that this should be his third term in office. All things we’ve heard before, and all things that shouldn’t feel normal on a national stage. (Or any stage, really.)

My Hockey State of the Union: As a long-time hockey fan who has struggled to remain a hockey fan in the face of, you know, the NHL consistently being full of misogynistic bootlickers, I had some thoughts about the current state of the sport. TLDR: Men bad, women good.

Amazon’s Moving Out: In May, Amazon will vacate the seven-story, 251,000-square-foot building on Terry Avenue that it has occupied since 2014. Good! Maybe there will finally be room on the 8 during rush hour! But don’t assume it’s due to staff shortage after the company laid off 2,300 Washington employees in October and another 2,200 in January. Amazon is still building new offices out in Bellevue.

Nurses Are Moving Out, Too: Hundreds of nurses are leaving the US to work in Canada, citing Trump’s politics as an impetus, according to NPR. Last year, the Trump Administration said it would reclassify nursing as a nonprofessional degree. This isn’t gonna help our national healthcare worker shortage.

CARE Says Cops Don’t Care: Yesterday, Amy Barden, the head of Seattle’s Community Assisted Response and Engagement (CARE), said that the contract the City signed with the police officers’ union is getting in the way of her team helping people in need. According to the Seattle Times, “Alison Holcomb, Mayor Katie Wilson’s chief public safety adviser, said they’re consulting with the city attorney’s office on how to interpret the contract.”

Will Ferguson Get His Ferries? The Washington State Ferry system is in a bad way. Boats are old and broken and in dire need of updates. But the new transportation spending proposal doesn’t include the $1 billion Gov. Bob Ferguson wants to borrow to modernize the fleet. I have an idea of how to solve this, actually. I can’t be the only one who would watch the fuck out of a Below Deck-style reality show centered around the ferries, right? Think of the drama! Someone call Andy Cohen. 

Oh, Thank Goodness: Sure, the Mexican army just killed one of the country’s most notorious cartel leaders, and the cartel has retaliated by going on a violent rampage with more than 70 attacks reported across more 20 states, including at least 60 incidents of arson, but FIFA president Gianni Infantino has “complete confidence” the country can host World Cup games in June. “We are convinced that everything will turn out for the best.” Tell that to the more than 70 people who’ve died. 

More Epstein Files Fallout: Former Norwegian Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland is reportedly in critical condition after attempting suicide. Two weeks ago, Jagland was charged with “aggravated corruption” after the latest batch of Epstein files. He denied all charges.

Cute Palette Cleanser: The New York Times’ Vows section profiled Eleisa Rossel Aparicio and Thomas Lucas Wolter, the couple who got for real married during Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl show. They look so happy! 

Cottage Palette Cleanser: The Heated Rivalry “cottage” will be available to rent via Airbnb starting March 3. But that couch looks uncomfortable, tbh.

If You Care: This year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees are Phil Collins, Lauryn Hill, Mariah Carey, Oasis, Pink, the Black Crowes, Jeff Buckley, Melissa Etheridge, Billy Idol, INXS, Iron Maiden, Joy Division/New Order, New Edition, Sade, Shakira, Luther Vandross, and the Wu-Tang Clan. Cool, I guess! I mean, it’s a list of very good artists! But I do not give a shit about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Sorry, Cleveland. 

And now, I will use that news as an opportunity to post one of the greatest songs and music videos of all time. 

But you should also watch his performance of the song at Live Aid in 1985. That cringe he does when he hits that wrong key in front of 160,000 people? He’s such a relatable dork, I love him so much.

Information from Seattle Police Department

You are invited to influence the Seattle Police Department’s safety approach for your neighborhood during our third “Our City, Our Safety” conversation of 2026!

On March 11, 2026, please join Seattle Chief of Police Shon Barnes and leaders from SPD’s Southwest Precinct to have a frank conversation about safety. 

Please join us! Mark your calendar for 6:00-7:30pm at Southwest Teen Life Center (2801 SW Thistle St, Seattle, WA 98126) on March 11, 2026!

At Our City, Our Safety, you’ll be able voice your hopes and concerns about public safety in your neighborhood to help co-develop ways that we can do better – from upcoming community engagement programs to approaches to crime prevention.

If you have a friend, relative, co-worker or colleague who you think might like to join, please share this invitation with them.

Information from Seattle Police Department

You are invited to influence the Seattle Police Department’s safety approach for your neighborhood during our third “Our City, Our Safety” conversation of 2026!

On March 11, 2026, please join Seattle Chief of Police Shon Barnes and leaders from SPD’s Southwest Precinct to have a frank conversation about safety. 

Please join us! Mark your calendar for 6:00-7:30pm at Southwest Teen Life Center (2801 SW Thistle St, Seattle, WA 98126) on March 11, 2026!

At Our City, Our Safety, you’ll be able voice your hopes and concerns about public safety in your neighborhood to help co-develop ways that we can do better – from upcoming community engagement programs to approaches to crime prevention.

If you have a friend, relative, co-worker or colleague who you think might like to join, please share this invitation with them.