Drop off your ballot by Tuesday the 4th. Tomorrow as this is posted. People on social media are saying that dropboxes are better than the Post Office. These municipal elections determine what happens in cities and counties all over the state. If you’re in Seattle, I hope you vote for the left slate.

It’s the Friday before the election. Get your ballot postmarked, or better yet at this point, dropped off by Tuesday. Good, good.

Anyway, Microsoft Office changed their icons and I do not like it. I first noticed it at work, and thought, maybe it looks better on a phone. No. No it does not. I’m sure a lot of thought went into it and no I couldn’t do it better. I imagine that I will get used to it, eventually.

Anyway, that’s the most important bit of local tech company news.

• SNAP benefits run out at the end of the month if the government remains unfunded. And while Washington State is doing some things to fill the gap, your local food bank could use some cash. If you’re looking for one, you can’t go wrong with the Ballard Food Bank.
• This story about a biodigester is pretty cool.
• Spokane’s solution to homelessness is pretty awful.
• What was the point of running on auditing the budget, if you’re just going to not?

The election season is upon us. You should have received your ballot by now. Get your ballot postmarked or dropped off by November 4. If you’re anything like me, you were able to get most of your ballot done pretty quickly, and then got to School Board, and sort of froze. I still don’t know who I am voting for, but here are some voter guides:

• First off, The Stranger. Especially for Seattle area endorsements, they remain the most important, even if less so than at their height.
• Fuse do a great job statewide.
• The Urbanist!

Who are you voting for? I voted the left slate for Seattle, especially glad to vote for Katie Wilson and Erika Evans. Whoever you vote for for King County Executive is the right choice, but I went with Girmay Zahilay. And I am still trying to figure it out for School Board.

Heeeey, the election is coming up. Get your ballot postmarked or dropped off by November 4. And, hey, you don’t have to just vote. There’s still time to walk a few precincts. Or whatever your favorite candidate wants. Or the coordinated campaign.

Big things like Seattle mayor could use your help. But man oh man, nobody appreciates you like a lower profile campaign.

And if you can’t do that, you can still tell your friends. Or donate, but it’s kind of late for that. Politics is not just a spectator sport.

Coming to you from the bus, where I can see the ear buds why are you playing music from your phone? Are they just for show? Gaaaah.

• Portland is a great city. So different from the one in Trump’s head.
• Seems like not a great contract if it doesn’t have accountability for Seattle police officers
• I was having difficulty logging on after the upgrade, so I didn’t mention it when it came out, but Keezy Young’s Hello Sunshine is great and good for spooky season.

Game 7, are you excited? This year’s M’s have been pretty special.

I moved here as a kid, but with a different team. So I didn’t live and die with them the same way as some of you did, but they have been a staple of the city. But I was here for the Griffey years. And 116 wins. And so many Almost Live! jokes in the lean years.

The fans who stuck with them through terrible seasons deserve this one. The fans who saw bad games in a bad Kingdome deserve this season. The fans who want to games in the middle of the playoff drought deserve this season.

Of course sports isn’t about deserve. And game 7 on the road is not going to be easy. Go M’s.

• Your ballot was mailed out this week. Get your ballot postmarked or dropped off by November 4.
• Find your No Kings protest here. Tell me your favorite sign from past events in the comments.
• We really should stop building new roads until we get up to date on maintenance of existing ones.
• This article going through Lunarium’s tea list is a delight, even as a wet sider who has never been to Lunarium.
• I appreciate AG Brown’s proposed law to protect immigrant workers, here’s hoping the legislature picks it up in the next season.

• I don’t know who has Mayor Harrell’s ear to convince him that 10 foot AI screens are what the people want, but swing and a miss.

• I hope to see some of you at the No Kings rally on Saturday. Not sure if I’ll be at the one in Seattle or the suburban town where my parents live. I look forward to seeing your signs and at least a few inflatable animal costumes.
• Apparently Seattle government didn’t think taking money from education to pay for police was happening enough.
• Most of you probably don’t listen to Within the Wires, but now that it’s the last season, maybe here’s your chance.

East Marginal Way is open once again. At least a bicycle path. Cars, tomorrow. I took the bike trail on Saturday, and it was nice with no cars, anyway.

Great review, Carl! Anything specific?

• The more connections the better, so this is nice to have. Seattle’s bike network is really filling out.
• Genuinely much nicer than the bike lane that was at grade before.
• East Marginal Way has a reputation as being a bit grimey. I don’t think this will fix that.
• It’s kind of narrow and there’s a fence on either side: I imagine it will feel more cramped when there are more bikes and you’re next to car traffic.
• With that fence, it means that people biking to jobs within that corridor will have to take the road. Also, presumably there are emergency response plans, but it doesn’t seem like the best place to have an accident that requires an ambulance.
• Jack Perry Park is the second best Port of Seattle park named after a Jack. But it’s still got great views and that stand of madronas is pretty neat. It’s somewhat more accessible now, so go check it out.

Good morning you lovelies (and uggos). I re-download the WordPress app and the bullets look funny. Hope it comes out better, or I can find the settings to go back.

• All the construction on East Marginal Way is done and you can go bike without any cars… in this weather… for a few days.
• No uniformed cop at Garfield
• I also liked Hush season 1, if you haven’t listened to it. And I am excited about season 2.
• Food vouchers for WIC recipients in Seattle and King County during the shutdown.
• All this drama in the East Precinct could have been avoided by not giving the position this violent asshole.

I guess I got out of the habit of making these things. Anyway, thanks to Washington being one of the West Coast vaccine states I was able to get my flu shot and COVID booster yesterday. I have got those shots at the same pharmacy, last year so maybe my insurance is on record with them. But! Nobody asked if it was up to date or anything like that. Go make an appointment of you aren’t vaccinated or boosted this year.

Look who’s back. Anyway…

Before the Viaduct was closed, there was an off ramp that I always said was the place I would die. Cars would not slow down enough for city traffic, let alone pedestrians. But in the shadow of the former Viaduct, there is a new place where I think I am going to die.

Specifically people taking an illegal right turn to the Coleman Dock. Between infrastructure clearly meant to indicate don’t turn and 2 signs, you have to be the worst kind of asshole driver to do it. And yet, all the damn time. I have seen so many close calls.

I don’t know if there’s a fix with infrastructure keeping people better separated from cars. Or cameras. Or emphasis patrols. But damn, it needs something.

And just to be clear: This isn’t a cars versus bikes and pedestrians thing. Most cars follow the signs and get there with the lights. People making the illegal right turn are cutting in line in front of them, as well as being dangerous.

– I used to end these with a reminder to get vaccinated or boosted if you’re eligible. Still applicable in Washington.

– An interesting look at Flock Safety and surveillance in Spokane County.

– Every county should put restrictions on ICE.

– Anyway contact your legislator or member of Congress.

Almost called it Monday, but fortunately I corrected it before I hit post so Darryl didn’t have to fix my basic calendar mistake this time. Anyway:

– Trump repealing the roadless rule would be very bad indeed.

– Tacoma Children’s Hospital not doing gender affirming care is gross.

– Seattle can pump the breaks on more surveillance.

– I tried, but I can’t get into men’s soccer in the US. But congrats to the Sounders and booooooo to Inter Miami specifically.

– The people who had to be involved with ICE taking wildland firefighters off of an active fireshould all, at a minimum, lose their jobs.