Category: Seattle, Washington Local News

The Mossback’s Northwest video series launched its 11th season last fall, covering topics ranging from the mystery of the Mima Mounds to World War II espionage to Seattle’s Princess Angeline.  

The Mossback’s Northwest video series launched its 11th season last fall, covering topics ranging from the mystery of the Mima Mounds to World War II espionage to Seattle’s Princess Angeline.  

In October, Cascade PBS hosted a live event to celebrate the season premiere, featuring Mossack’s Northwest host Knute Berger, Mossback podcast co-host Stephen Hegg and executive producer Sarah Menzies.  

In this bonus episode of the Mossback podcast, Berger, Hegg and Menzies kick off the season by digging into the fascinating stories on deck, the evolution of the series over time and the thinking and planning that goes on behind the scenes.  

Get ready for the next season of the Mossback podcast! Weekly episodes drop starting March 4 on CascadePBS.org or wherever you get your podcasts, alongside new, extended-cut video versions available on YouTube. 

For more on all things Mossback, visit CascadePBS.org. To reach Knute Berger directly, drop him a line at knute.berger@cascadepbs.org. And if you’d like an exclusive weekly newsletter from Knute, where he offers greater insight into his latest historical discoveries, become a Cascade PBS member today. 

—

Credits

Hosts: Stephen Hegg, Knute Berger

Producer: Sara Bernard

Story editors: Sarah Menzies, Adam Brown

Live event recording: Resti Bagcal

Hosts

Knute “Mossback” Berger is an editor-at-large and host of “Mossback’s Northwest” at Cascade PBS. He writes about politics and regional heritage.

Knute “Mossback” Berger is an editor-at-large and host of “Mossback’s Northwest” at Cascade PBS. He writes about politics and regional heritage.

Stephen is formerly a senior video producer at Crosscut and KCTS 9. He specialized in arts and culture, and produced Mossback’s Northwest and Crosscut NOW.

Stephen is formerly a senior video producer at Crosscut and KCTS 9. He specialized in arts and culture, and produced Mossback’s Northwest and Crosscut NOW.

Men ruin everything, so I wasn’t surprised when they finally ruined hockey. It was death by a thousand disappointments—a sexist comment from Don Cherry here, a years-long cover-up of systemic sexual abuse there. Seeing the USA’s men’s hockey team party in the locker room with Kash Patel and laughing at President Trump’s quip about the women’s team—their peers, their fellow gold medal-winning teammates—well, it was hardly the first time my joy was extinguished by men behaving badly. Especially as a long-time hockey fan.

When I started following the Nashville Predators nearly 20 years ago, it was love at first shootout. I knew the league wasn’t perfect. The NHL’s history is loaded with unchecked toxic masculinity and blatant abuse of power, just like so many other sports (and industries and communities and organized religions) in America. But I still loved it, as a fan and a journalist, and focused on the storylines and the players whose politics, or at least ethics, seemed more aligned with my own. Like how goalies always look a little sad while their teammates are on the other end of the ice. And some players resemble surprised red pandas when doing a jump screen in front of the net. I found my own fun.

Which isn’t to say I kept my disappointment to myself. I wrote several pieces about my complicated relationship with the sport for Nashville’s alt-weekly, Nashville Scene, and was very vocal on social media and the Scene’s weekly hockey podcast about the team and the league’s missteps. But it got exhausting. I was constantly berated by readers and listeners—“KeEp poLiTiCs OuT oF hOcKeY”—and lectured by the Predators’ media relations department more than once. I was denied press access after writing about a player’s domestic assault charge—and the team’s lack of accountability—that, ironically, came months after the franchise launched an “Unsilence the Violence” campaign. In one especially frustrating meeting, one player told me, on behalf of the whole team, that I am essentially unwelcome. As a fan, I was bummed. But as a journalist, I was pissed.

But then the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) expanded into Seattle. My hockey spark reignited. I started to follow the team a bit, and excitedly, but with a healthy amount of hesitation, began to dip my toe back into sports reporting. Sure, the Torrent are currently last in the standings, but a) I’m a Preds fan, I’m used to that, and b) there are some legit world champions on the team—with the medals to prove it!—who are fun as fuck to watch no matter the final score.

Last Thursday, it felt unreal to sit among fellow hockey fans at Rough & Tumble to watch Team USA—featuring five Torrent players—beat Canada in overtime for the gold. Torrent Captain Hilary Knight with that tying (and Olympic record-breaking!) goal with two minutes left in the game! Megan Keller with that filthy dangler for the win! There was hugging and crying and free champagne, and not once during those celebrations did I have to feel conflicted about rooting for an accused rapist. It was incredible. 

On Sunday, the men’s team won their gold medal game against Canada in a similar dramatic fashion. I watched, I cheered, and I cried when the players brought Johnny Gaudreau’s jersey out on the ice for a victory lap. But then they ruined it. As they do. Within minutes of the men getting their medals, the internet was flooded with videos of FBI Director Kash Patel slamming a beer while one of the Tkachuk brothers put his gold medal around Patel’s neck as if to chant “one of us! one of us!” In another video, the team is huddled around a phone, with stars in their eyes, as they take a call from President Trump. When Trump makes a shitty joke about how he guesses he’ll have to invite the women to the White House, too, all the men laugh. No one defends their Team USA teammates, no one speaks up for the incredible athletes who have had to work harder with far fewer resources to accomplish what they accomplished. It was gut-punching. And it was what I’d come to expect from the sport. 

But over the past 48 hours, something else has happened. A new feeling. As those videos continued to circulate, people started to hold the men accountable. Thousands have pointed out the hypocrisy, the disrespect. When the NHL posted a video of the men’s team deplaning after landing in the US, the comments quickly filled with support for the women’s team. Keith Olbermann demanded that the men publicly apologize, calling them “stupid, self-absorbed, and misogynistic.” Someone started a petition for the men to turn down Trump’s invite, and another posted USA Hockey’s contact information on Reddit, urging fans to call and email to complain. Hundreds of commenters claimed they did. When the women’s team declined Trump’s half-hearted invitation to watch Tuesday’s State of the Union, Flavor Flav invited them all to a giant bash in Las Vegas.

The women’s gold game broke viewership records on Thursday—more than 7.7 million people watched Keller crush Canada’s dreams, and I have no doubt a large swath of those viewers fell in love with the sport just as I did 20 years ago. The men’s actions on Sunday left their mark on fans, too, but probably not the way they hoped they would when they won the gold medal for the first time since the Miracle on Ice in 1980. Instead, their crappy, predictable behavior just underscored that hockey fans deserve better. Which isn’t to say the PWHL is perfect. Minnesota Frost player Britta Curl, for example, recently partnered with a transphobic organization, FIERCE Athlete. But she’s the exception in the league, not the standard. (And her league-mates let her know that.)

Thank you, Team USA, for giving all of us disenfranchised hockey fans a reason to love the sport again.

Lorenzo Rizzo is the new chef at Casa Italiana in Burien. He brings a world of experience to the role and has ambitious plans to bring more foods (and people) to what has become a northwest landmark.

Photo by Patrick Robinson

The kitchen at the Casa Italiana, Italian Cultural Center in Burien has a new heartbeat, and it pulses with a global rhythm. Lorenzo Rizzo, the newly appointed chef, is redefining the center’s culinary identity by drawing on a life story that spans continents and transcends traditional communication barriers. Born in Montecorvino Pugliano, a small town in Salerno, Italy, Rizzo’s path to Burien was anything but direct, winding through the hospitality scenes of Germany, England, Ireland, Spain, Aruba, and New York.

A Unique Foundation: The Language of Connection

Rizzo’s “cosmopolitan” perspective—a term often applied to him during his decade in New York—was forged in a home where communication was visual. Raised by deaf parents, Rizzo’s first language was sign language, a skill he still uses to communicate with his family in Italy via video calls. This upbringing, he believes, gave him a unique “vision” for understanding diverse people.

“In my personality, maybe something the influence was totally different because they give me more opportunity to understand other cultures in a different way,” Rizzo explains regarding his parents. He views food as the ultimate extension of this communication: “The best way to understand another culture is travel, meeting people… and food and wine”.

A Global Resume Meets Local Passion

Rizzo’s professional pedigree is as varied as his passport. He grew up in his family’s restaurants in Salerno and Munich, later attending hospitality schools in both Italy and the Alps. His career includes a tenure with Jumeirah, a luxury hotel brand from Dubai, where he worked at iconic resorts in Ireland and Mallorca, Spain.

It was in Galway, Ireland, that he met his wife, a Venezuelan orthodontist; they later moved to Brooklyn, where their son was born, before eventually finding a home in Washington. “Washington absorbs you very well,” Rizzo says of his new home. “I’m really in love with Washington”.

Elevating Casa Italiana: Quality Over Quantity

At Casa Italiana, Rizzo is starting with a focused menu of panini, salads, pastries, and authentic Italian coffee, emphasizing high-quality ingredients imported directly from Italy. His current offerings include a gluten-free chocolate almond Caprese cake and a Burrata salad featuring heirloom tomatoes.

Rizzo is firm about his culinary standards, often prioritizing authenticity over convenience. For instance, while he will press a sandwich if a guest insists, he generally advises against it for certain ingredients. “I’m trying to selling not a lot of stuff—less but great stuff,” he says. “I want the people come back for my product… and the quality stuff, that’s what we’re using”.

His plans for the café now newly named Rizzo Piazza are ambitious. Within the next few months, he intends to introduce:

• Aperitivo Evenings: Friday nights featuring wine, beer, and elaborate “antipasto platters” that include fried elements like arancini and croquettes.
• Expanded Menu: Lasagna and baked pasta dishes once the kitchen capabilities are stabilized.
• Enhanced Coffee Program: New drinks like the “Spatulino,” an espresso topped with tiramisu foam.

The Lorenzo Rizzo Kitchen Experience

Central to his vision is the integration of his catering business, the Lorenzo Rizzo Kitchen Experience. (Find them on Instagrame here) This venture will serve as the engine for the café’s growth, supplying prepared items like lasagna and specialty pasta trays for customers to take home.

For those hosting events, Rizzo offers a “Pasta Bar” featuring trays of Mafaldine with a beef and pork ragu or Cavatellito with pork sausage and mushrooms. He also brings his love for Spanish cuisine, his favorite food, to the catering side, offering authentic paella.

Ultimately, Rizzo’s work at Casa Italiana is driven by a philosophy of balance. “You work for your life. You don’t live for your work,” he asserts. By bringing his global expertise and “German-style” professional discipline to the Italian Cultural Center, he is not just serving food; he is building relationships. “I’m very lucky because people love me,” he says, “and this is cool”.

Web: CasaItalianaCC.org
Email: info@CasaItalianaCC.org
Phone: 206-735-7152

Location: 13028 First Ave. S.
Burien WA 98168

Lorenzo Rizzo is the new chef at Casa Italiana in Burien. He brings a world of experience to the role and has ambitious plans to bring more foods (and people) to what has become a northwest landmark.

Photo by Patrick Robinson

The kitchen at the Casa Italiana, Italian Cultural Center in Burien has a new heartbeat, and it pulses with a global rhythm. Lorenzo Rizzo, the newly appointed chef, is redefining the center’s culinary identity by drawing on a life story that spans continents and transcends traditional communication barriers. Born in Montecorvino Pugliano, a small town in Salerno, Italy, Rizzo’s path to Burien was anything but direct, winding through the hospitality scenes of Germany, England, Ireland, Spain, Aruba, and New York.

A Unique Foundation: The Language of Connection

Rizzo’s “cosmopolitan” perspective—a term often applied to him during his decade in New York—was forged in a home where communication was visual. Raised by deaf parents, Rizzo’s first language was sign language, a skill he still uses to communicate with his family in Italy via video calls. This upbringing, he believes, gave him a unique “vision” for understanding diverse people.

“In my personality, maybe something the influence was totally different because they give me more opportunity to understand other cultures in a different way,” Rizzo explains regarding his parents. He views food as the ultimate extension of this communication: “The best way to understand another culture is travel, meeting people… and food and wine”.

A Global Resume Meets Local Passion

Rizzo’s professional pedigree is as varied as his passport. He grew up in his family’s restaurants in Salerno and Munich, later attending hospitality schools in both Italy and the Alps. His career includes a tenure with Jumeirah, a luxury hotel brand from Dubai, where he worked at iconic resorts in Ireland and Mallorca, Spain.

It was in Galway, Ireland, that he met his wife, a Venezuelan orthodontist; they later moved to Brooklyn, where their son was born, before eventually finding a home in Washington. “Washington absorbs you very well,” Rizzo says of his new home. “I’m really in love with Washington”.

Elevating Casa Italiana: Quality Over Quantity

At Casa Italiana, Rizzo is starting with a focused menu of panini, salads, pastries, and authentic Italian coffee, emphasizing high-quality ingredients imported directly from Italy. His current offerings include a gluten-free chocolate almond Caprese cake and a Burrata salad featuring heirloom tomatoes.

Rizzo is firm about his culinary standards, often prioritizing authenticity over convenience. For instance, while he will press a sandwich if a guest insists, he generally advises against it for certain ingredients. “I’m trying to selling not a lot of stuff—less but great stuff,” he says. “I want the people come back for my product… and the quality stuff, that’s what we’re using”.

His plans for the café now newly named Rizzo Piazza are ambitious. Within the next few months, he intends to introduce:

• Aperitivo Evenings: Friday nights featuring wine, beer, and elaborate “antipasto platters” that include fried elements like arancini and croquettes.
• Expanded Menu: Lasagna and baked pasta dishes once the kitchen capabilities are stabilized.
• Enhanced Coffee Program: New drinks like the “Spatulino,” an espresso topped with tiramisu foam.

The Lorenzo Rizzo Kitchen Experience

Central to his vision is the integration of his catering business, the Lorenzo Rizzo Kitchen Experience. (Find them on Instagrame here) This venture will serve as the engine for the café’s growth, supplying prepared items like lasagna and specialty pasta trays for customers to take home.

For those hosting events, Rizzo offers a “Pasta Bar” featuring trays of Mafaldine with a beef and pork ragu or Cavatellito with pork sausage and mushrooms. He also brings his love for Spanish cuisine, his favorite food, to the catering side, offering authentic paella.

Ultimately, Rizzo’s work at Casa Italiana is driven by a philosophy of balance. “You work for your life. You don’t live for your work,” he asserts. By bringing his global expertise and “German-style” professional discipline to the Italian Cultural Center, he is not just serving food; he is building relationships. “I’m very lucky because people love me,” he says, “and this is cool”.

Web: CasaItalianaCC.org
Email: info@CasaItalianaCC.org
Phone: 206-735-7152

Location: 13028 First Ave. S.
Burien WA 98168

I have a complicated question. I’m a woman in my 30s who has been married for a few years to my husband. We are very much in love and have a wonderful relationship. We met when I was in college, and worked at the same place together. Eventually, we became friends. We maintained a long-distance connection after I moved away, we fell in love, and then the rest is history. But during the time that we were friends, I had a mildly physical, mostly emotional affair with our boss, who was much older than us and married at the time. The boss and I never had sex. We only made out a few times and exchanged dirty messages. This didn’t last very long. By the time my husband and I were actually dating, my affair with my boss had been over for years, so there was never any overlap between them or any infidelity on my part.

My husband knows that I had an emotional affair with an older man during that time period, but I never told him who the older man was. I didn’t tell him because I felt shame about it. I also didn’t know HOW to tell him, even though he is a really rational, emotionally intelligent man. I am still worried that telling him would hurt our relationship or that he would think less of me due to the age gap between our former boss and me. But recently, my husband has expressed an interest in reaching out to our old boss. He is proud we are married, and he wanted to let this boss know because he thinks that the boss will find our story heartwarming. I don’t think the boss would say anything about our affair to my husband, and I honestly think my husband is correct in how he thinks the boss will receive the news of us being married. I actually do think it would warm his heart.

Should I tell my husband about this affair before he reaches out? Or should I let him e-mail the boss without telling him? Is this something I should have told my husband years ago, or is it okay for me to have kept this to myself? It feels icky to let my husband reach out to our old boss and share life updates without him having this information. But I am also concerned that telling him could ruin our amazing relationship.

Brooding Over Serious Secret

Got problems? Yes, you do! Email your question for the column to mailbox@savage.love!

Or record your question for the Savage Lovecast at savage.love/askdan!

Podcasts, columns and more at Savage.Love

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Tap: Screw your ORCA card. You can use your credit card or digital wallet to pay for all Sound Transit services. Eventually, tap-to-pay will be expanded to Washington State Ferries, Kitsap Fast Ferries, and the King County Water Taxi.

Fraud? According to progressive advocacy group Invest in Washington Now, someone is tampering with the official testimony record on the millionaires’ tax. As Nathalie wrote yesterday, the group confirmed nearly 38,000 duplicate sign-ins and 100 impersonations. State Sen. Victoria Hunt’s name was put down and she’s the bill’s co-sponsor! Not too sly.

Tukwila Says ICE Out: As ICE seeks to expand its detention centers, Tukwila City Council voted 7-0 to ban the construction of new correctional and detention centers for the next six months to a year. SeaTac passed a similar ban earlier this month, and city Councils in Seattle, Burien and Renton are considering them as well.

Yale is closed. The right turn lane from eastbound Denny Way to southbound Yale Avenue is closed for I-5 construction until March 20th. This will suck for a lot of people.

Weather: We’re partly sunny with a 30 percent chance of rain after noon. High of 47. On and off rain looks likely to ’til Saturday.

Close Your Eyes and Pretend You’re at Zoo Tunes: The summer lineup includes Belle and Sebastian playing “If You’re Feeling Sinister”, Pavement, the Mountain Goats, Jason Isbell, Courtney Barnett (with Built to Spill), the Breeders, and more. Tickets go on sale this Friday.

Even More Exciting: The State of the Union is tonight. Are we watching?

The US Women’s hockey team isn’t. They declined President Donald Trump’s invitation for logistical, not political, reasons. Most of the team didn’t arrive in the states on a commercial flight until late yesterday. The men’s team arrived earlier on a charter plane to Miami, but it’s unclear if they’ll attend either. Trump joked that he’d be “impeached” if he didn’t invite both teams.

Chicago named a snowplow “Abolish ICE.” The other five winners of the annual “You Name a Snowplow” contest are “Stephen Coldbert,” “Pope Frío,” “The Blizzard of Oz,” “Svencoolie,” and “Caleb Chillems.” A record 39,000 people voted in this year’s contest.

Did Kristi Noem make up a cannibal? The Homeland Security Secretary told an absurd story on Fox News last summer: The US had deported a maneater who (for lack of pretzels?) began to eat himself on the flight home. At the time, The Intercept was unable to confirm any details about the story, but now they know it’s a lie for sure. Three federal law enforcement officials told the site that the entire story was fabricated. A DHS spokesperson said Noem had heard the story from an air marshal. “Asked if the story came from Noem or the U.S. Marshals, one official was unequivocal: ‘Noem.’”

Related: Remember when Trump couldn’t stop talking about the “late, great Hannibal Lecter” at his rallies for no conceivable reason?

Silence of the Lamb! Has anyone ever seen The Silence of the Lambs? The late, great Hannibal Lecter is a wonderful man. He oftentimes would have a friend for dinner. Remember the last scene? Excuse me, I’m about to have a friend for dinner as this poor doctor walked by. I’m about to have a friend for dinner. But Hannibal Lecter. Congratulations. The late, great Hannibal Lecter. We have people that are being released into our country that we don’t want in our country.

This addled mind is considering war with Iran.

Karma: Emails show author and guru Deepak Chopra was bosom buddies with Jeffrey Epstein. The two talked frequently between 2016 and 2019, the year Epstein was arrested for running a sex-traffacking ring and sexually abusing girls, and arranged several meetings at Epstein’s properties. On two occasions, Chopra encouraged the sex criminal and financier to bring his “girls” on international trips. It’s unclear if Epstein accepted his offer. CNN has more.

Tips: “Today” host Savannah Guthrie’s family is offering up to $1 million for information that leads to Nancy Guthrie’s recovery. The 84-year-old was kidnapped from her Tucson home nearly a month ago.

Capitol Hill Block Party is back for its 28th year with the most gayotic lineup yet. While last year’s festival featured electronic-leaning headliners (Thundercat, Porter Robinson, 100 gecs), this year dives back into the pop sphere with gems like MUNA, Magdalena Bay, Wet Leg, and Parcels, plus DJ sets from Trixie Mattel and Tinashe. The festival will once again be 21+ in an effort, according to Daydream State, to “[optimize] the footprint across the Pike/Pine corridor to deliver an elevated fan experience while supporting neighborhood flow and local businesses.”

They’ve also expanded to three days this year (compared to last year’s two-day festival), splitting up mainstage acts to hopefully avoid Chappell Roan-sized crowds (I was there, and I was afraid for my life—can someone please make commemorative shirts that say “I Survived Chappell Roan at CHBP 2024?”)

Here’s the full lineup:

Visit the CHBP website for complete pricing and programming information.

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Passport is our extended library of captivating dramas, inspiring arts performances, thoughtful documentaries, trusted news and more. Donate to support public media in your local community and enjoy the member benefit of Passport.

Watch with

Passport is our extended library of captivating dramas, inspiring arts performances, thoughtful documentaries, trusted news and more. Donate to support public media in your local community and enjoy the member benefit of Passport.

Watch with

Passport is our extended library of captivating dramas, inspiring arts performances, thoughtful documentaries, trusted news and more. Donate to support public media in your local community and enjoy the member benefit of Passport.

Watch with

Passport is our extended library of captivating dramas, inspiring arts performances, thoughtful documentaries, trusted news and more. Donate to support public media in your local community and enjoy the member benefit of Passport.

“98,000 CON & CLIMBING” read an email blast from anti-tax activist Tim Eyman this afternoon. Supposedly 98,000 people have signed up to speak against the millionaires’ tax since its introduction in the Senate. 

Sounds impressive the day before its first hearing in the House, Tim, but here’s the thing: nearly 38,000 of those signatures (& climbing?) may be fraudulent, according to progressive advocacy group Invest in Washington Now.

It’s also illegal, both criminally and civilly.

Invest in Washington Now along with the Washington Education Association and SEIU 775 sent a letter to Attorney General Nick Brown and Bernard Dean, the chief clerk of the House of Representatives, to investigate what the hell is going on and who the fuck is pulling the strings. A spokesperson for the attorney general said they received the letter but had not reviewed it yet. 

The millionaire’s tax would put a 9.9 percent tax on an individual’s income earned over $1 million. It could bring in $3.5 billion each year. According to public polling, 61 percent of Washington supports it. But not Brian Heywood, the millionaire hedge fund manager who has also testified against the bill and will likely leverage a referendum campaign against it as he is wont to do.

He told the Stranger that he doesn’t believe in the alleged fraud, or the 100 people who say they were impersonated. 

“Even with their wildest claims, this is still the most unpopular bill in history,” Heywood said in a statement. “These attempts to minimize the concerns of voters don’t change the outcome, it just emphasizes how desperate they are to downplay the clear and historic rejection.” 

Had Eyman heard about these claims? Did it change his mind, or his talking points? 

“Denial — not just a river in Egypt 🙄,” Eyman emailed in response. He included the link to his testimony against the bill in the Senate Ways and Means committee where he called it “the jealousy bill, the envy bill, the covet bill” because it “takes money away from people who earned it and gives it to people who didn’t earn it.” 

He is wearing six anti-income tax stickers on his person. That we can see. 

Will the clones attack the House Finance Committee hearing at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning? We’ll have to wait and see.