– Ugh. A state House committee passed a bill to weaken the rules on when police officers can get involved in chases. I would urge you to contact your legislator and let them know that you want fewer high speed chases in Washington neighborhoods.

– Can’t get enough urban forests.

– You, yes you. Wash your hands right now. And get vaccinated or boosted if you’re eligible.

Barring any weirdness it looks like I-135 has passed. Because of the way initiatives are set up they will have to fight for funding. But I hope that a victory as well as maybe some left candidates will inspire real action. As well as the actual value of the initiative.

Anyway, please wash your hands right now. Right now. Right…now. And get vaccinated or boosted if you’re eligible.

If you’re in a jurisdiction that’s having a special election, get your ballot postmarked or dropped off by Tuesday. If you’re in Seattle, please vote for the social housing initiative. If you’re in King County, separately, there’s an online ballot for King Conservation District. An important, if kind of silly, election. I voted for Porter, but I don’t really have a strong opinion on the others.

And, hey, it’s Valentine’s tomorrow. So you might as well get voting done today. Save yourself any hassle.

Anyway, please wash your hands right now. And get vaccinated or boosted if you’re eligible.

Hey, you. Yeah you. Do you qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit? Are you close? Might as well see if you’re eligible for the Washington Working Families Tax Credit.

And hey, wash your hands right now. And please for goodness sake, for goodness sake get vaccinated or boosted if you’re eligible.

A little over a week ago, one of my coworkers got COVID. It was probably the most prolonged time I have spent with someone who had it. And still, I have continued to test negative. So, please get vaccinated or boosted if you’re eligible.

Those of you in King County, who are you voting for in the Conservation District election? It is very silly that we have this weird pseudo election, but we have an obligation to try to get the best people in positions like that.

Anyway, please wash your hands right now. And get vaccinated or boosted if you’re eligible.

– Narcan at libraries has been a thing. I am not 100% sure what the advantages of having it in a vending machine are, but I trust advocates.

– Get flippin’ vaccinated or boosted already. Goodness sake.

– I had never heard of resilience hubs before reading this article. Interesting.

– Look at all the chemicals we’re dumping in Puget Sound.

– The last 747 has been manufactured. I am surprised how nostalgic I feel about it.

– The bills on what to do about possession of drugs (item 1) is interesting. It doesn’t seem likely to pass, but you can write your legislator in favor of Senator Dhingra’s decriminalization bill.

– Good news for bike infrastructure.

– Fred Clark is good people. Drop him a few dimes if you can spare them. And if you haven’t, go read the Left Behind series.

– Anyway, please wash your hands right now. And get vaccinated or boosted if you’re eligible.

I think it’s a good idea to sue car companies that make products that are easy to steal. If it makes a difference, that seems like a better thing for everyone. But I guess only if it pressures them to make a change.

I don’t know that a city makes more sense than states or the Federal government. But those haven’t done it, so don’t let the perfect get in the way of the good.

I don’t know, maybe next we can design our way to not needing cars at all.

Anyway, please wash your hands right now. And get vaccinated or boosted if you’re eligible.

Good morning. Some municipalities have elections coming up soon. If you live in Seattle, you should be getting your ballot for the social housing initiative soon. I would encourage you to support it.

Anyway, please wash your hands right now. Right now. And schedule yourself or your family to get vaccinated or boosted.

Has anyone else had Orca Cards be too sensitive? The other day mine tapped off and then immediately back on. I tried to tap that again but it just said I had already tapped. A line was forming behind me and I have a monthly pass, so it didn’t cost me anything. But I imagine it would be annoying if it was taking money out of my account.

Anyway, please wash your hands right now. And get vaccinated or boosted if you’re eligible.

– Were you in SeaTac Airport or Swedish on First Hill recently? You might have been exposed to measles. If you got your MMR as a kid, or as an adult, you should be fine. But here are Public Health Seattle & King County’s recommendations if you were exposed.

And speaking of being vaccinated, get your COVID-19 initial dose or booster if you’re eligible. The vaccine itself and the bivalent booster are modern miracles.

– There’s a bill to have the minimum wage cover prisoners in Washington State. If you think this is a good idea, hey, you can contact your legislator.

– I have passed the asphalt plant in Kenmore many times growing up nearby. Good to see that it’s being cleaned up.

– After a decade on the City Council, Kshama Sawant has certainly earned moving on. Still, I don’t think if her replacement lasts a decade, whoever they are, that they will be able to point to anything like the minimum wage or renter protection that she has produced.

– Glad we’re renaming some gross things.

– I don’t know what to make of the reporting of deaths in tiny house villages.

Wash your hands right now. And get vaccinated or boosted if you’re eligible.

– Full service Amtrak to Canada’s Vancouver. Very nice.

– I liked this article about implementing the Organics Management Law. A lot of getting into the weeds on everything from building facilities to all those stickers on your fruit.

– I am excited to see how unlimited vacation works out for Microsoft (First item under “Last Week in Corporations”). Hopefully it goes well for productivity and for employees. (I wrote, but didn’t publish this before the news of the layoffs. So addendum: Oof).

– Good information on possible Ballard Station options.

– Man, fuck Jim Jordan.

– Please wash your hands right now and get vaccinated or boosted if you’re eligible.

– I am fascinated by all of the ways homeless people in the Seattle area survive despite the cities and counties not doing nearly enough. This story about people sleeping rough in SeaTac is another example. Geez.

– Please wash your hands right now. And get vaccinated or boosted if you’re eligible.

– Social media doesn’t seem very healthy for children. I don’t know if a lawsuit is the best remedy, but it will be interesting if it gains traction.

– I have not had any of these bagels. Perhaps it’s time to change that.