Category: Seattle, Washington Local News

The U.S. Justice Department is scrutinizing the midair blowout last month of a Boeing door plug on an Alaska Airlines flight, in a move that could expose the company to criminal prosecution, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The DOJ is examining whether the Jan. 5 incident falls under the government’s 2021 deferred-prosecution agreement with the company over two previous fatal crashes of its 737 MAX jetliner, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing a confidential matter. 

If prosecutors determine that the Flight 1282 door plug blowout constitutes a breach of that agreement, then Boeing could face criminal liability, the person said. 

Boeing shares fell in after-market hours.

Under the terms of the $2.5 billion settlement, the company adopted a compliance program designed to prevent it from deceiving regulators, including the Federal Aviation Administration. Boeing agreed to comply with the settlement and cooperate with the government for a period of three years, after which the charge would be dismissed. The Alaska Air accident took place two days before the expiration of the deferred-prosecution agreement. 

If prosecutors determine that Boeing’s handling of the door plug incident over Portland violated the 2021 agreement, they could tear it up and bring criminal charges against the company. The Justice Department has six months to determine whether Boeing satisfied the conditions of that deal and needs to seek court approval to dismiss the matter.

The Justice Department’s review is being handled by the fraud section along with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle, which is near the company’s Renton production facility where Boeing assembles the 737 model. 

The Justice Department and Boeing declined to comment.

Boeing disclosed in a filing earlier this year that the reporting period under the deferred-prosecution agreement expired in January. The Justice Department “is currently considering whether we fulfilled our obligations under the (agreement) and whether to move to dismiss the information, which motion will require court approval,” Boeing said in the filing. 

Boeing has faced heightened scrutiny from regulators, lawmakers and customers after a fuselage panel covering an unused door flew off while an Alaska Air Boeing 737 MAX was airborne. All 171 passengers and six crew escaped without serious injury. Investigators later determined the jet was delivered without four bolts needed to lock the door plug in place.

The FAA issued an ultimatum to Boeing earlier Wednesday over the near catastrophic accident, giving the plane manufacturer 90 days to devise a plan to fix what it called “systemic” quality-control issues. The deadline follows a blunt report mandated by Congress assessing shortfalls in Boeing’s safety culture. The report found that steps the planemaker had taken to bolster safety following the 737 MAX crashes weren’t working as intended. 

The 2021 agreement not to prosecute Boeing over the 737 MAX jetliner crashes, which was announced in the waning days of the Trump administration, sparked intense criticism, including from victims’ families. The deal absolved Boeing’s senior executives from responsibility for the two crashes, which killed 346 people. Of the $2.5 billion settlement, only $243.6 million was a criminal penalty, while $1.77 billion was reserved to reimburse MAX customers and $500 million for victims’ beneficiaries. Prosecutors didn’t appoint an outside monitor.

Boeing faced a single criminal count for misleading U.S. regulators who certified the MAX’s design. The settlement focused narrowly on the actions of two former Boeing employees involved in drafting pilot manuals. One of them, Mark Forkner, was charged with lying to the FAA about whether modifications on the 737 MAX would require airline customers to give their pilots additional training. Following a three-day trial, during which the defense claimed their client was being scapegoated by Boeing, Forkner was acquitted.

Aviation accident investigations rarely lead to criminal charges in the U.S. The National Transportation Safety Board, an independent agency within the Transportation Department, holds primary responsibility for investigating accidents and lacks the power to levy charges. Criminal authorities such as the Justice Department get involved only when there is evidence of an intentional act.

A criminal probe has the potential to derail or delay the NTSB’s probe of the door plug incident. There have been multiple instances in recent decades that parallel criminal probes into transportation accidents resulted in roadblocks to the NTSB’s work. The NTSB’s mission to gather facts in the hope of preventing future accidents also depends to a large degree on the cooperation of witnesses, who could be less forthcoming if involved in a criminal investigation.

Bloomberg’s Ryan Beene, Alan Levin and Julie Johnsson contributed to this report.

The conversation is posted below, or you can listen to the Crosscut Reports podcast. Both have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Crosscut: Why does Washington have a presidential primary when the candidates are usually chosen before March?

Hobbs: According to state law, both political parties in the state submit names to us. We just turn it around and put it on the ballot. The contest still goes on. The national convention happens for both political parties sometime in July and August. It depends on how many delegates are assigned to the candidate. So we chose in March, and that’s where we’re at.

So is the primary in Washington mostly about the delegates and not so much about the candidates?

Well, it’s both because the political parties use the primary as a means to allocate delegates to the convention. Now, obviously, you have, you know, one on the Democratic side. I mean, there’s two others that are on the ballot, with Biden. But I mean, for all intents and purposes, he is the incumbent. And then of course on the Republican side, at this moment in time, Trump seems to be the front runner. So, you know, I can only assume but then there’s Nikki Haley. So I’m sure that Haley’s probably going to get some delegates. And of course we’ve got other names on the Republican primary ballot, because these people dropped out after the Republicans submitted their names. So there might be a couple of delegates for those other ones too.

Our presidential primary process has changed over the last decade. Can you talk a little bit about the history of our primary?

Not too long ago, in the past, it was by caucus. And over time, we’ve changed that to a primary system. We have to accommodate both parties, because it’s a party nomination process. And that’s just the way it is. And that’s backed by the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court. And so we run this primary election for both political parties. People always get upset once every four years. Because they get the ballot, and they realize they have to pick a side. And they’ve got to sign to attest that they’re voting as a Democrat or voting as a Republican. But look, it’s not me. Don’t get mad at me. It’s the way I have to conduct this.

And that’s according to state law and federal law.

Yes. In fact, by Supreme Court decisions.

The previous Secretary of State, Kim Wyman, and other political leaders talked about moving the primary even earlier to get Washington more into the mix of states that decide the nominees. Is that something you’re interested in? Is it still being debated when we have our primary?

I usually try to take directions from both political parties, how they feel. And though there was talk on the Democratic side to move it, it never, never really came up as a strong point. And so that’s where we’re at right now. Who knows, maybe in the future, both parties might want to move the primary, but I kinda hope they don’t. Just to keep it the way it is so we don’t make too any changes.

And changes are complicated, right, for you.

Well, changes are complicated, because when we print the ballot, and what’s going on the calendar, you know, if it gets too close to another election, now you have to print two ballots. So, yeah, it can get complicated.

And it’s not an option to just say, ‘Oh, we don’t want to have a presidential primary.’ You already said that the Supreme Court has decided.

It’s a party nomination process. I mean, I suppose if both parties decide, Hey, I’m gonna go back to the caucus system, and then we’re out. I mean, maybe in the future, they go back to that, but I doubt it. Both parties actually support the primary.

Yeah, and the caucuses became a problem as our state continued to grow. People found it hard to participate.

Right. Not everybody can just take the time to go to a caucus meeting.

Well, let’s talk about the 2024 election more generally. You’ve talked about efforts to fight misinformation about elections, and some other people are talking about the need for more election security. What more can Washington do to fight misinformation and give voters of this state confidence that their elections are secure?

Sure, you know, the one thing that all the voters can do, any citizen can do, is simply just ask questions and reach out to their local county auditor, reach out to my office, we’ll tell you what’s going on with the elections. Or if they don’t trust us, they can physically go down to the election center and actually see the ballots being processed.

Do you need to make an appointment to do that? Or can you just show up?

A lot of times, you can just show up. In fact, I don’t know of any county where there’s an appointment process. I think you just show up.

How is this election going to be different from the one four years ago, and not just because of COVID?

Well, the main thing is the amount of misinformation that happened four years ago and the fact that you have a population that doesn’t trust elections. So in a KING5 poll two years ago, 35% of Washingtonians didn’t trust the election. So we have to change the way we talk about elections. In the past, secretaries of state and election officials would say, ‘Hey, don’t forget to vote.’

We’re really good about telling you about not forgetting to vote, but we didn’t do a very good job of telling you the life cycle of the ballot. That’s what we have to do now. We have to tell people, ‘Hey, don’t forget to vote. But hey, did you know the tabulation machines are not connected to the Internet? Did you know that our state is part of ERIC, which is the Electronic Registration Information Center and that other states are tied to that, and that if you move to another ERIC state, and you register there, we’ll know about it?’

We know about when people die, and all of a sudden the ballot shows up, right? And it’s supposedly from this person, but we will know about it. And by the way, probably 99% of the time, when you get a ballot from someone that is deceased, it is because the spouse has voted for them. It’s usually kind of a sad moment because they’re just trying to keep their loved one in their memories. And unfortunately, we catch it because we check every signature. And so we notice the signature is slightly different. But, like I said, 99% of the time it’s a sad story.

That is sad. I had a friend who was going through a divorce and one of the reasons was that her husband insisted on voting for her. I told her that’s illegal.

Yeah, that is illegal and we would have caught it if they would have signed it for her.

In November, we reported on some white powder showing up in the mail at a number of elections offices. Do we know anything more about what happened and have any changes been made as a result of that incident?

We don’t. We know it’s an ongoing investigation. That’s all I can pretty much tell you. And that in some instances, or most instances, that white powder was fentanyl, or mixed in with other white substances, probably baking soda. But there have been some changes, we immediately put out the word to our 39 counties that if you want to access some funds, to maybe get some PPE, you know, like goggles and gloves and everything. But a lot of counties already had from COVID that PPE. I know that King County put in an eyewash station within their election center. And so definitely, there are counties that are making adjustments because of that.

You supported a bill in the Legislature last year to make harassing an election worker a Class C felony. That bill passed the House but did not get a hearing in the Senate. Is it being reconsidered this year?

It is in fact. It is sitting in the Senate, and it is scheduled for a hearing. And I was told by the chair that she plans to move it out as soon as possible. So I think this is our year to get it through.

So what would that bill do?

Oh, just like you said it would apply a Class C felony to harassment election workers.

Do we have a lot of that happening in Washington, or is this a precautionary thing?

Enough where we have county auditors and election workers who are afraid to come to work or overly cautious during election season? I’ve myself had two or three threats, threats on social media, that most of the time law enforcement is not going to react to. But people should not be harassed when they’re just trying to do their job.

And isn’t that part of the misinformation campaign? The harassment is sort of a result of that.

It is, because you have a segment of the population that feels like, you know, it’s the election workers, it’s the auditor that’s actually trying to change the election. That’s simply not true.

You talked a little bit about combating misinformation in informing the public? What methods are you using to get that information out? TV commercials, ads on the internet?

Yeah, there’s a couple of ways that we’re tackling misinformation. The one thing I’ll like to tell people the best way to tackle misinformation is with the truth. And that’s why now we are modifying our message by telling people, you know, obviously we remind them when to vote. But we follow up with, Hey, you know the tabulation machines are not connected to the internet? Are part of ERIC? Why don’t you go to your election center and actually see the process going on.

Those are in TV ads. It’s in radio ads. It’s when you fill up your car at the gas station, sometimes the screen on the gas pump, that’s going to have something. There’ll be digital ads. We even have grassroots efforts — people going out in the community and talking about this. It’ll be in different languages. So yes, we are definitely trying to push back.

We also use a third-party vendor called Logically that scans social media and looks at the trends out there. So for example, we’ll get a report and it says these are the trends about elections, these are the messages that are being talked about. So far, nothing big, right? But I’m sure that could happen as we go into 2024. Because you have misinformation generated not just at the local level, but you also have misinformation generated from adversarial state actors, like Russia would be an example of a country that does that.

And so we might get a report that the trending message is, ‘Hey, did you know that they’re hacking in two tabulation machines?’ Well, if I see that it’s really trending, then we can put out our own messages on social media, reach out to the news media, so that we can get that corrected by saying, ‘Hey, this is what people are saying. But it’s not true, because the tabulation machines are not connected to the internet. And oh, by the way, if you want to verify that, come down to the county auditor and actually look at the tabulation machine.

What are your thoughts about ranked-choice voting, and why do you feel that way?

Oh, I have lots of feelings about ranked-choice voting. I’m completely against ranked-choice voting; I used to be for it. But when you occupy this office, you have to take a step back and look at how elections affect everyone. Right? You know, the top three things, transparency, accessibility and security is what I look at. And then just with my own personal situation, my mom came to this country, she didn’t know any English. You know, we both learned by watching Sesame Street. And then my middle son is a child with special needs. So imagine, if you will, a naturalized citizen where English is not their first language, receiving a ballot, where they have to vote by ranked choice? How are they going to do that? They don’t know how to do that.

The other thing is we put voters’ guides out, but whether a community receives a guide is based on a federal trigger. In those places where for most people English is not their first language, like communities like Skagit where there’s a large Hispanic population, they’re not receiving a voters’ guide. So there’s going to be people who are going to be disenfranchised because they’re going to get this ballot, not realizing, oh, I’ve got to do it by ranked-choice voting.

And then I think about my son with cognitive disabilities. Now, he can vote. He’s over the age of 18. He has every right to vote, but the way he votes is he looks at the voters’ guide, he probably doesn’t read it all. Because of his cognitive disability, he probably goes off the pictures. And then he marks his ballot. And it’s very simple for him because he just colors in the bubble. Now, if I gave him a ballot where he had to do ranked choice, it’s going to be very difficult, if not impossible.

Now the advocates will tell you, Hey, secretary, you know, look, everyone’s participating, even naturalized citizens. But the issue is they’re not taking full advantage of their vote, because with ranked-choice voting, in order to take full advantage of your vote, you have to rank them all. Well, all you’ve got to do is look at the New York City mayor’s race. And notice that white affluent communities in New York took full advantage of their ballot, but other areas did not. And that’s why I am no longer for ranked-choice voting because you will disenfranchise people. They will not take full advantage of their vote because they don’t understand what they’re doing.

Is there anything else that you’d like to talk about, about the election or Legislature or your office?

Oh, yeah, certainly there’s actually another bill that we’re trying to oppose right now that is eliminating odd-year elections. And I get what the advocates are trying to do. Because even years you have a higher turnout; I get it. And, you know, we are constantly trying to have higher turnout every year including the odd years. But the problem is, if you move everything to an even-year election, you’re going to start having drop-off in the middle of the ballot, because now your ballot’s two or three pages, because your PUD commissioner, your sewer district commissioner, your water commissioner are all at the bottom. And people are not going to go that far. That’s why we went from even-year-only to spreading it out because people were dropping off. The state used to do that.

And then instead of a voters’ guide, you’re gonna have a voters’ tome. And then now, you know, voting is fun. I think it’s fun. Maybe I’m biased because I’m secretary of state, but you know, it’s a civic obligation. Everyone, everyone should do it. So you’re taking a 15-to-20-minute exercise and now you’re making it an hour. People just don’t have time to do that. And you’re drowning out the local official. You know your listeners right now, you know what I’m talking about? Because you drive around town, you see the yard signs out there. Imagine if everybody’s yard sign was out there. Right. So now your school board member is getting drowned out. Your local city council member can’t buy a radio ad because everyone’s buying up all the time on the air. It’s not good for the democratic process.

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The Seattle Police Department (SPD) came to City Hall Tuesday to help Council President Sara Nelson shut up her political enemies, which included asylum-seekers and their lefty allies. The groups attended the public comment period of the meeting to ask the City once again to fund housing for hundreds of Venezuelan, Angolan, and Congolese refugees who will face homelessness if they do not win more funding. 

According to SPD, police arrested and booked six protesters on suspicion of trespass. Cops also charged one of the protesters with obstruction. Over the phone, one of the jailed protesters, JD, said one of the other protesters was undocumented.

In their sweeping condemnation of the protesters, the new conservative council, who had to delay their vote to rename a street, demonstrated their intolerance for the kind of democratic participation that was pretty common before COVID-19, and that former socialist Council Member Kshama Sawant once encouraged. 

“We need to move away from this egregious and divisive rhetoric,” said Council Member Rob Saka, who promised to listen to “community” while campaigning. “That might have played before in that last council. Not today. Doesn’t work with this council.”

Weird that some of the newbs on council would say they would “listen to community” whenever they didn’t want to answer a reporter’s question during campaign and now, here community is, going through the appropriate channels, and CM Nelson limits public comment and cuts the feed. https://t.co/Y2RfaUCUK3

— Hannah Krieg (@hannahkrieg) February 27, 2024

At the beginning of the meeting, Nelson announced that she would limit public comment to just 20 minutes. Why? She didn’t want to hear from the people—asylum-seekers and anti-surveillance advocates—who showed up to testify at the meeting. 

The city council typically asks that commenters speak to an item on that meeting’s agenda, which included a resolution to rename a street after State Senator George Fleming, the second Black senator ever elected to that body. However, with the refugees’ precarious housing situation and the council’s upcoming vote on wasteful surveillance technology, both issues apparently felt timely for the public regardless of what was on the council’s calendar. 

Still, Nelson said she did not “really want to participate in conversation that should be had with county leaders, state leaders, federal leaders.” She reminded asylum-seekers that Tukwila already promised to pay for a new heated tent they could move into by the end of the week. Plus, King County announced a $1 million grant that will one day pay a nonprofit to house them. 

Though she tried to excuse her decision on a technicality, she still couldn’t resist taking a jab at the left in order to sell it to the normies. She accused lefty activists, particularly Stop The Sweeps, of exploiting the plight of the Tukwila refugees to advance their own anti-surveillance agenda. Her proof? Some Instagram infographics asking people to sign up for public comment Tuesday to support demands to house people and reject ShotSpotter. She called the show of solidarity “craven political opportunism.” 

Public commenters fired back. 

“I appreciate the outside agitator trope thrown out by a certain council member,” said Lauren, a regular public commenter who Nelson would probably count among the “craven.” 

Lauren explained that the group’s two demands were related. If the council spends less money on toys for cops to track residents, then they can spend more money on dignified housing for asylum-seekers and other low-income people feeling the heat of the housing crisis. That’s how budgets work. 

Lauren yielded most of her time to give more refugees a chance to speak, but only a handful of commenters, many lobbying off-topic for a repeal of Seattle’s minimum wage for gig workers, spoke before the 20 minutes ran out. 

Nelson then tried to move on to the agenda, but the public commenters begged her to keep listening to them. They chanted over her until she called for a five-minute recess at around 2:37 pm. The Seattle Channel’s feed returned briefly at 2:45 pm, but it cut out again as Nelson had not yet regained control of the council chambers. 

The live feed continued at 2:56 pm. Before Nelson ended the stream for a third time, she called for security to clear the room. She allowed members of the media and anyone who did not “contribute to the disturbance” to stay. According to eye-witnesses, six protesters stayed in council chambers against the orders of security. Others gathered outside chambers, yelling and pounding on the windows.  

Via streetphotojournalism, here’s what it looks like on the scene with a few protesters holding it down in City Hall pic.twitter.com/C6POaELrFe

— Hannah Krieg (@hannahkrieg) February 27, 2024

At least six police officers came to remove the protesters. City Council spokesperson Dana Robinson Slote told The Stranger she did not know who called SPD, but typically security would call cops for back-up in these cases. It is unclear exactly how many people cops detained or whether the cops arrested those people and booked them into jail.

The Seattle Channel did not return to its broadcast until 4:01 pm. At that point, Nelson’s decision to ignore the asylum-seekers, ostensibly to save time, cost the council an hour and a half. 

With order restored by the violent arm of the state, Nelson said the council could continue to do the “work of the people.” But “the people” stood outside the chambers and continued to pound on the windows while yelling, “Shame on you.” 

The council tried to carry on with is business, but when Council Member Tammy Morales introduced her resolution, Council Member Cathy Moore interrupted. She said she felt physically threatened by the protesters, who she thought may break the windows. She called for the cops to arrest them, even though they left willingly when security ushered them out.  

In a statement, a city council spokesperson said “to be clear – [the] disturbance was caused by a group of protesters and not refugees.” It is not clear how the City made that distinction. 

Over the phone, one of the jailed protesters, JD, felt as if the council dismissed the concerns of the asylum-seekers and vowed to “keep holding these people to the fire” until the City finds a solution. 

Bennett, another arrested protester, said he “hates how this country treats immigrants, and that if he were a refugee he’d want people getting arrested for him.

Nelson did not respond to my request for comment, but with the council’s power to revoke public comment, who knows how inviting she will be of conversation in City Hall in the future. It is becoming more and more clear everyday that Nelson and her cronies are opposed to hearing from the left, even through the so-called appropriate channels. 

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Associated Press declared former President Donald Trump the winner of Michigan’s Republican primary based on an analysis of initial vote returns from a cross-section of the state. With the victory, Trump is now a perfect five-for-five in presidential contests in which he appeared on the ballot.

The AP declared Trump the winner at 9:00 p.m. ET, when polls closed in the final four counties in the westernmost part of the state’s Upper Peninsula. At that time, Trump had 65% of the statewide vote, more than double the 31% his nearest competitor, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, had received.

By the time polls closed, nearly 134,000 votes had already been tabulated from 20 counties across the state. The votes came from every major geographic region in the state, with the bulk coming from Oakland and Macomb counties in Detroit’s northern suburbs, and from southeastern Michigan.

Trump built an early lead once the first results came in from Oakland at about 8:08 p.m. and had won every subsequent vote update by the time the last polls closed at 9:00 p.m.

At the time he was declared the winner, the former president was far ahead in every geographic region — and by almost three-to-one in more conservative northern Michigan.

In the state’s last competitive Republican primary, Trump won 72 of Michigan’s 83 counties, en route to a 12-percentage-point win. He saw his worst performance along the state’s western border, losing to Sen. Ted Cruz in Kent County — home to Grand Rapids, historically the GOP stronghold in the western side of the state — and its surrounding counties. But at the time the race was called Tuesday, Trump was slightly ahead in Kent.

Tonight’s primary elections also marked the first major statewide race since Michigan expanded early voting and allowed for early tabulation of absentee ballots last year. Approximately 1 million voters cast a ballot in either the Democratic or Republican primary before Election Day.

The National Weather Service has issued a Wind Advisory for Wednesday, February 28.

URGENT – WEATHER MESSAGE

National Weather Service Seattle WA 150 PM PST Tue Feb 27 2024

Tacoma Area-Hood Canal Area-Seattle and Vicinity- Bremerton and Vicinity- Including the cities of Tacoma, Shelton, Seattle, Bremerton, and Silverdale 

WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM TO 7 PM PST WEDNESDAY…

* WHAT…South winds 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 45 mph expected.

* WHERE…Tacoma Area, Hood Canal Area, Seattle and Vicinity and Bremerton and Vicinity.

* WHEN…From 4 AM to 7 PM PST Wednesday.

* IMPACTS…Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… Use extra caution when driving, especially if operating a high profile vehicle. Secure outdoor objects.

If the two genocidal geriatrics leading the polls this primary season do not excite you, then you’re in good company. Most Americans do not like the top choices in 2024, since they’re the exact same choices we had in 2020, except now they’re that much older. 

Feels bad. 

We’re just kinda wondering: In a country of more than 330 million people, is the Democratic party’s answer to American fascism really a guy who bent over backwards to help Israel displace and annihilate Palestinians, flout International Court of Justice orders to prevent genocide, and continue apace with an illegal occupation? A guy who lurched hard to the right on immigration, using Trump-era rules to limit asylum-seekers and promising executive action to limit access to asylum even further? A guy who failed to fully cancel student debt, who rejected court reform even after Dobbs and multiple corruption scandals, who let US Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema take his job for the first two years? A guy who’s older than Pop Tarts and credit cards?

A quick glance at the sane side of the ballot reveals that, yes, in fact, that guy, President Joseph R. Biden Jr, is the best that Democrats think they can do against former President Donald Trump this year. 

The other options just suck. Democratic Congressman Dean Phillips is a corporate “gelato tycoon” who’s basically self-funding a campaign to increase his name recognition. Self-help author Marianne Williamson seems fun at parties, but she’s already suspended her campaign. Writing in “Ceasefire” or “Mickey Mouse” simply amounts to throwing away your vote–according to state law, officials only have to tally write-in votes from candidates who filed “timely declarations” of a write-in candidacy and who also exceed the number of votes earned by the second-place candidate. In other words, no one is going to see your write-in vote. 

But the Washington State Democratic party did provide an option on our ballots that allows voters to express our disapproval of war crimes without throwing the country out with the bathwater: “Uncommitted Delegates.”

What are “uncommitted delegates?” Um, give us two short paragraphs to explain.

To win the Democratic party’s presidential nomination, a candidate must rack up 1,968 delegates at the Democratic National Convention in August. Washington State will contribute 92 delegates to that national tally, and the state party will award a certain share of those delegates to any candidate that wins more than 15% of the primary election vote. 

Uncommitted delegates simply do not have to cast a vote at the convention for a specific presidential candidate during the first round of balloting the way delegates who pledge to vote for a certain candidate do, so they can make noise in a very public way if the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians hasn’t stopped by then. 

And Washington’s uncommitted delegates likely wouldn’t be alone. In Michigan, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib launched an informal campaign asking people to select uncommitted delegates to support the call for a ceasefire. With about 200,000 registered voters who identify as Muslim in a state that Biden only won by a little more than 150,000 votes in 2020, he will be paying attention. 

Campaigns to vote uncommitted in other states, including right here in Washington, are revving up as we speak.

But let’s be real. If Biden lives to see the convention, he’ll likely win the nomination, and Washington’s uncommitted delegates will serve only as a measure of our primary electorate’s disapproval. But unlike a protest vote for Phillips or a throwaway write-in vote, voting for “uncommitted delegates” delivers a message to Biden in a language he can hear and understand. 

Sure, even we screaming socialists must admit that Biden has chalked up some impressive wins while working with a functionally divided government. He signed the Inflation Reduction Act, which included a historically large investment in combating climate change. He signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, which included the “largest investment in public transportation in history.” He helped execute a soft landing after inflation shot up. After Uvalde, he signed a gun safety law that the NRA hated. We can buy birth control over the counter now. And, though he could be doing much more, he’s the most pro-union president we’ve had in recent memory.

But the potential benefits of pressuring Biden to do the right thing on the global stage outweigh the potential benefits of backing him outright in the primary. 

First of all, though presidents hold the most direct power over foreign policy decisions, they almost never have to heed public opinion on those issues because of the structure of the national security apparatus and the fact that voters tend to focus on domestic concerns at the ballot box. Joining a movement to vote for uncommitted delegates to support a ceasefire gives us the rare opportunity to speak directly to the president on this issue, and the humanitarian disaster unfolding in Gaza is simply far too dire not to take advantage of that opportunity. 

That said, we’re aware of the potential folly here. Looking at the polls, 82% of Democrats approve of Biden’s performance in office. That means there’s a real chance that voting for uncommitted delegates will quantify the exact size of the “ceasefire left” as part of the Democratic base, which will show Biden exactly how little he may need to care about us. And will winning Washington 80% to 20% instead of 90% to 10% scare him into doing the right thing on foreign policy and immigration? Probably not. 

But, again, Trump and Biden are basically tied in the polls right now. In a race with margins that tight, Biden needs everyone to knock doors, to make phone calls, to email family members who live in swing states. And if he wants that level of support–especially from the youth and from other members of the winning Obama coalition–then he’s going to have to respond to our demands in real, material ways. And he should want that level of support, since that work will do a hell of a lot more to help his electoral prospects than touting a Washington primary endorsement months ahead of the general. 

Look, we know Biden is the answer to the general election question because Trump would be worse in every conceivable way. He’s worse on Israel, he’s literally “planning militarized mass deportations, and detention camps” at the border, and on social media he repeatedly promises to destroy the “radical left.” With Republicans favored to take the Senate and maintain control of the House, he’ll have all the power he needs to do whatever he wants for who knows how long.

But let’s make one thing clear: The reason we will eventually have to make that easy but somewhat depressing choice is because white men designed our institutions to preserve white power, which Trump so totally embodies. The electoral college that elects the President continues to dilute the Black vote, as the “framers” designed it to. The President and the Senate, a minoritarian body that inflates the power of white voters, seat the members of the Supreme Court. Using judicial review, the Supreme Court–perhaps the most minoritarian institution in government–holds an ultimate veto over the legislative and executive branches. Though the House of Representatives most directly represents the people, they face reelection every two years, which means they’re not incentivized to solve problems. Until we abolish the electoral college, abolish the Senate or at least the filibuster, and reform the Supreme Court, then none of this governance shit is going to get any better. 

A Trump victory would set back those goals indefinitely, and a Biden victory keeps them in reach. But right now, it’s the primary. And if we can’t push the likely Democratic nominee to do what we want now, then when can we push him? 

Vote uncommitted delegates. 

The Stranger Election Control Board is Hannah Kreig, Vivian McCall, Charles Mudede, Ashley Nerbovig, Megan Seling, a tipsy go-go dancer in a jock strap, and Rich Smith. 

Continuing a legacy 

While Hill has been undergoing a crash course in running and publishing a community newspaper to give The Black Lens an initial push forward, the coalition is still planning to hire a permanent editor with journalism experience.

“The one thing Sandy didn’t get the opportunity to do is take [The Black Lens] to the next level, so it wasn’t something she didn’t have to carry on her own,” Hill said. 

Williams was both the editor and the face of the publication for years. She founded The Black Lens in 2015 to provide a different perspective on the news. The publication sought to answer her question of what the news would look like if Spokane’s Black residents covered it. 

Williams was involved in every aspect of the process, including delivering copies of the newspaper to various pickup points at Black churches and businesses. 

The Black Lens was part of Williams’ public service efforts. She also served as executive director of the Carl Maxey Center, a nonprofit that runs programs and services to improve the lives of Spokane’s Black residents. Williams put The Black Lens on one-year hiatus back in early 2022 so she could focus more on the center. 

The visible impact of her work helped both the nonprofit and the newspaper gain credibility among the city’s Black community and other allies and community members in Spokane. 

“She created so many relationships with so many people in Spokane, and her integrity was unmatched. It’s not surprising to me that there are so many people that want to continue her vision and support it,” said Renika Williams. 

In the weeks leading up to the newspaper relaunch, No-Li Brewhouse, a Spokane brewery, donated $10,000 and challenged other small businesses to donate. 

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley was friends with Williams and connected with her during protests following the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Those conversations led to the Spokesman-Review publishing stories from The Black Lens.

Curley also encouraged the Williams family to resurrect and sustain the paper so it wasn’t on the back of one individual, as it was with Williams when she ran the paper alongside her other work. 

“I can’t let her legacy die,” he said. 

Along with single copies being distributed in local Black businesses and churches, the Spokesman-Review will include the publication monthly in its Sunday edition. 

Current and former Spokesman-Review editors and writers are also aiding The Black Lens with monthly contributor meetings, where potential writers and other contributors come and learn about the paper’s mission and how to craft stories and other media content and also volunteered time to do various jobs, such as copy editing and design.

Curley is also on the board of a nonprofit, Comma Journalism Labs, that will aid the publication in developing a model to fund and sustain community-backed independent journalism. One goal is to bring and replicate this model to other communities and cities, Hill said. 

Curley had already worked with Williams following the Black Lives Matter protests in Spokane to get grant funding for a race and equity reporter that would write for both the Spokesman Review and The Black Lens. 

The funding for a full-time editor is also approved. The goal is to get funding for a third full-time production position by the first anniversary of the paper’s re-launch. This position would do the work that is being donated by the Spokesman-Review journalists. 

But while Comma would provide support for The Black Lens, the publication would operate under a separate nonprofit. 

Ultimately, Curley said, The Black Lens is and will remain an independent entity, not a product of Spokesman-Review.

“All we’re doing is making sure [The Black Lens re-launch] happens because we care for it,” he said. 

For Gardner, the NAACP president, even a temporary hiatus was difficult. The community is determined to work and ensure the publication isn’t at risk of closing down. The temporary loss of an outlet that reliably printed news and information about community events was a massive blow to the city’s Black community. 

Hill said small businesses also were impacted because The Black Lens was a key source of gaining and retaining customers. One of the publication’s key features is a Black business directory. 

“We’re really more eager to put our arms around making sure the publication is not just stood up but thrives,” Gardner said. 
 

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peru declared a health emergency in most of its provinces on Monday due to a growing number of dengue cases that are occurring at a time of higher than usual temperatures caused by the El Nino weather pattern.

According to the nation’s health ministry, the number of dengue cases registered during the first seven weeks of this year is twice as high as during the same period in 2023 – with more than 31,000 cases recorded.

“This is a grave problem,” health minister Cesar Vásquez said last week, before the emergency was declared. “And it is getting out of hand.”

The health emergency will enable the nation’s government to transfer funds faster to the affected regions and also transport doctors and nurses. It will cover 20 of the country’s 24 provinces, including regions that surround the capital city of Lima.

A dengue epidemic last year put Peru’s public health system under strain as thousands sought care in emergency rooms.

The disease is spread by Aedys Egypti, a mosquito that reproduces in hot and humid conditions.

Although most dengue cases present light symptoms, the disease can cause severe headaches, fevers and muscle pains.

Last year, a dengue epidemic in Peru killed 18 people, while in the first two months of this year 32 Peruvians have died from the virus.

In December, the World Health Organization said that Peru’s 2023 dengue epidemic was linked to rains and hot temperatures that helped mosquito populations to grow, especially in the north of the country.

After suffering through more than a decade of sky-rocketing rents, this year “hundreds” of tenants descended on Olympia to support a bill to reduce rent gouging. The Members of Color caucuses in both the House and the Senate prioritized the bill. Seattle’s LGTBQ communities also went on the march to voice their support at district town halls, tired of landlords pushing them out of their traditional gayborhoods. The YIMBYs, who care about housing supply more than anyone could possibly care about housing supply, came out in strong support of it, and took care to combat concerns about the legislation threatening that housing supply. The fucking Seattle Times Editorial board wrote an op-ed in support of it. 

And yet today, two Democratic dudes with key positions in the all-powerful Senate Ways & Means Committee decided not to take action on the bill, effectively killing a proposal that would have brought a modicum of financial stability to millions of renters in Washington. Those two dudes were Sens. Kevin Van De Wege, who is running to replace Hilary Franz as Public Lands Commissioner, and Mark Mullet, who is running to the right of Bob Ferguson for governor. Both valiantly declined to respond to a request for comment. 

In January, Sen Annette Cleveland became the first conservative Democrat to articulate her objections to this—let’s face it—pretty middle-of-the-road legislation. As I explained in an article shortly after she released her statement, her objections made no sense, condescended to her colleagues and to people of color in general, and contravened academic consensus on the issue. 

By the sounds of it, Mullet and Van De Wege didn’t even do the work Cleveland did to understand the legislation. In a press conference today, Rep. Alvarado said she talked to Van De Wege, who expressed “generalized concerns about housing supply, but nothing specific.” Rep. Strom Petersen, who has led on tenant issues in the last few sessions, said he spoke with the senator, too, and asked if he needed any amendments to move him, and Van De Wege couldn’t think of any, despite the fact that he’d co-sponsored the Senate’s version of the legislation, which capped rent hikes at 15%. 

Alvarado added that the bill enjoyed “broad support” in the Senate, but the body’s current committee structure—which includes Cleveland casting a deciding vote in the Senate housing committee, and a Ways & Means committee stuffed with Republicans and conservative Democrats—was such that a few senators could kill a bill that would have helped millions. 

Both Reps also expressed disappointment in the Senate’s general unwillingness to engage on the issue. By contrast, House members were ready to negotiate the height of the cap, the length of the construction exemptions, the notice requirements, and several other parts of the bill to get something through, Alvarado said. 

Nevertheless, Rep. Alvarado vowed to reintroduce the legislation next year. “We will not give up,” she said.

Seattle Rep. Nicole Macri, who has carried versions of the proposal in the past, also vowed to keep up the pressure while recognizing the consequences of the Senate’s decision. “I won’t stop working until we have stable rents in this state because that is what the working families of Washington deserve. But today my thoughts are with the hundreds of thousands of renters who lost big today and to them I can only say I am sorry.” 

After some of these corporate stooges retire and/or forfeit their seats in the Legislature to peruse their adorable electoral ambitions, renters might just win something next year if they keep fighting. But, given the fact that renter representation in the Legislature hovers in the low single-digits, that fight will always be uphill.