Man, the Seattle City Council really thought that they could just roll back gig worker protection and there wouldn’t be any opposition. Conservative as they are, none of the new slate ran on it. They just saw some bullshit on KOMO or whatever.

So whoopsadoodle, there was pushback and now they’re delaying the vote. The bill is bad and unpopular and in a decent society, that would be enough to make sure it stays defeated. But sadly we are going to have to keep vigilant. If you live in Seattle and want to let your City Council member know you oppose this, you can let them know here. I recommend calling, or send a request via US mail, but an email will work.

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

I have mentioned it over at Bluesky, but in case you aren’t one of the couple dozen people inexplicably following me there: Let The Kids Dance! KUOW’s podcast about the teen dance ordinance is really great. I’m sure it’s the nostalgia, but man it worked on me. Now that it’s done and therefore bingeable, go take it for a whirl. Especially if you grew up in or around Seattle in the 80’s and 90’s.

– Happy? Eid Al-Adha, graduates.

– Does any satire site have the hit rate of The Needling?

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

The proposal to make part of Denny Blane no longer a nude beach is probably misguided. But as I am nothing if not helpful, let me propose a couple of compromises. First make the whole place a Porkey Pig beach. Everyone will be required to wear a shirt and go bottomless.

If that doesn’t satisfy you, let me suggest the left half clothed beach. I believe wit the right (or left!) tailoring and maybe some velcro, we can have a beach where adults see half as many nipples. Will ut be comfortable? No. Will anyone be happy? Also no. The perfect compromise.

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

– I don’t like this nebulous maybe there will be delays on the 1 Line. It’s not part of my commute, but I have taken it a couple times this week and it has been fine. I would prefer knowing though to plan ahead better.

– Also, there seem to be more 3-car trains recently. Has anyone else noticed that?

– Boeing, get your shit together challenge.

– Donald Trump is such a creep.

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

– Are you hyped for trailhead direct? It’s coming May 25.

– Thomas and Dexter will be better protected for pedestrians.

– Bad Apples

– The best time to get vaccinated or boosted is when the shots were first available. The second best time is now.

From the state party that brought us conspiracy theories about voters in 2004 to opposing democracy in the current platform comes throw some more Bob Fergusons on the ballot. Maybe confuse the voters. Maybe one of them can siphon off some cash that was meant for actual Bob Ferguson. What bullshit.

Anyway, please get vaccinated or boosted if you’re eligible.

– Have I mentioned that I am excited to read this book? I picked up a copy and am excited to dig in.

– Seattle should have more density for its own sake, but also, yeah, the state is probably not going to fund as many things if we fuck around.

– Good news for Pioneer Square. A quick response to overdoses will hopefully get people helping.

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

– It’s Give Big if one of your favorite local charities participates, now is a good time to give.

– This TwinRay story is bananas.

– Bikes on the West Seattle Bridge.

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

– I feel like there is always talk about retrofitting Seattle buildings for earthquakes. So it’s a bit surprising that therr are still 1,100 or so buildings that still need to be upgraded.

– BG’s new book looks interesting.

– The zebra story is truly delightful.

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

– Oh man, our electricity infrastructure.

– Oh man, our electricity consumption.

– Let’s go already with e-bike rebates.

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

– Look, I give the Seattle City Council a lot of shit, but who can fault a call for more civility? (In case you missed the reference)

– I mentioned light rail on the Eastside, but I haven’t had the chance to check out Wilburton Station yet. Will have to give it a try some day.

– I liked this interview with Anna Zivarts, and look forward to reading her new book.

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

Look.. I wanted to report on the new light rail line on the Eastside. It looks great. Can’t wait for it to be properly connected. But instead, the Seattle City Council are being fuckos.

I mentioned the Sara Nelson sponsored bill to repeal the gig workers protections in the last open thread. But The Stranger had one detail that stood out to me. “Her law undermines enforcement by eliminating penalties on companies who fail to pay workers, denying them the right to sue companies for breaking the law and cutting provisions that protect workers against retaliation.”

Wage theft is a huge problem. A quick Google didn’t turn up much recent info, but this post from 2018 has information from the Economic Policy Institute that has it as by far the largest form of theft. And the City Council, specifically Councilmember Nelson, ran on being tough on crime. Yet here they are making it easier to get away with it.

Tough on crime, my ass.

– Burien, what are you doing?

– Seattle’s Transportation Plan passed the City Council nearly as proposed. Seattle Bike Blog has the details.

– And speaking of the City Council, I wish if they were going to move this quickly to repeal worker protection for gig workers, they would have had the decency to campaign on it.

– New humpback calf, your argument is irrelevant.

– Please wash your hands right now and get vaccinated or boosted if you’re eligible. If you haven’t yet, better late than never.

I have taken my bike or my feet over many foot and cycle bridges. And, I try to be grateful for it, but it can be… hit and miss. Some of them do a great job and many are scary and unsafe.

That said, the one that opened in Redmond looks like its a good one. It’s important to have methods of transportation other than a car around transit stations. Still, it looks like it goes over 14* lanes of highway; If you want to get people out of their cars, there’s a way to go.

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

* The picture wasn’t of the road, so maybe 14. 14ish.