Slog AM: Biden Backs Israel Against Iran in Potential Regional War, 20 Unions Tell City to Defend Gig Worker Minimum Wage, Five New Dog Parks You Can Go to INSTEAD OF Cal Anderson – Top Seattle

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Seattle vibes coming in STRONG: I hope you got a chance to bask in the sun yesterday because Seattleites will have no such opportunity today, according to the forecast from Weather.com. This morning, expect cloudy skies and temperatures crawling from the high 40s to low 50s. At around 4 pm, you should start to see some showers that will carry on into Friday morning. I hope Charles enjoys himself 🙂

Uh oh: After Israel bombed Iran’s embassy in Syria earlier this month, Iran may bomb them right back. Israel has vowed to retaliate against Iran’s retaliation, so some fear regional war may be on the horizon. President Joe Biden has already picked a side, saying the US’s commitment to protect Israel is still “ironclad.”

Hamas: The Israeli army killed three sons of Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh in northern Gaza yesterday on Eid al-Fitr. Haniyeh said that Israel has killed around 60 of his family members, including a number of his grandchildren, in its continued bombardment of Gaza. 

Pay up: Remember how I told you that the Seattle City Council may repeal or massively change a three-month old minimum wage ordinance for gig delivery drivers? Well, the campaign to keep the minimum wage is heating up! MLK Labor Council sent a letter to Mayor Bruce Harrell and the Seattle City Council demanding that they resist the corporate call to roll back the basic protection. The letter also called out the council for not including workers but rather a lobby group backed by Uber in its closed-door discussions about changes to the policy. Twenty unions signed onto the letter, including political power players such as UFCW 3000 and SEIU 775. 

I’d like a word with the labor champions: I’m not sure when the city council will vote on the minimum wage ordinance. Central staff still has to submit draft legislation, the council president has to put it on the calendar, the bill has to go through committee, yada yada yada. But when it does, I’m looking directly at the council members who got money from both labor and big business: Council Members Joy Hollingsworth, Cathy Moore, and Dan Strauss. The only member not to receive campaign donations from big business, Council Member Tammy Morales, spoke up immediately against the rush to change or repeal the bill. I basically expect nothing but ghoulishness from purely business-backed Council Members Rob Saka, Maritza Rivera, Bob Kettle, Tanya Woo, and Sara Nelson. But Hollingsworth won UFCW 3000’s endorsement, and labor, for better or for worse, crowned Moore and Strauss the labor candidates in their races. This issue will test their loyalties.

One more thing: The minimum wage issue also highlights the differences between the candidates in the citywide seat. Appointed Council Member Woo, who launched a campaign to be elected to that seat, has kept quiet on the issue, but her competitor, Alexis Mercedes Rinck, went to public comment earlier this week to support the protection. 

ICYMI: Cops and courts reporter Ashley Nerbovig read the proposed contract between the City and Seattle Police Officers’ Guild so you don’t have to! She found a whole lot of nothing for anyone who does not have their tongue on a boot at all times. Yesterday she wrote that the contract kills any hope that Seattle will start up a real police alternative even though everyone and their mother, including Mayor Bruce Harrell, promised alternatives during their campaign. Hate to see it!

The City did something I like: Seattle’s getting five new dog parks, and, no, Cal Anderson is still not one of them. Please fuck all the way off to one of the actually designated dog parks!

Another one: Last night, Council Members Rob Saka and Tanya Woo openly criticized the Mayor’s exceptionally conservative Comprehensive Plan, a roadmap for the city’s housing growth over the next 20 years. Those two join Council Member Tammy Morales, the sole progressive, in advocating for more housing than the Mayor’s office proposed. Urbanists, keep yelling at your council members. It’s working. 

Gun show loophole: The Biden administration announced today that the president used executive powers to change some definitions to require smaller arms dealers to register for a federal selling license and run background checks before selling guns. Now Biden says that Congress needs to “finish the job” and pass a law requiring universal background checks.

New ad just dropped: After Arizona State Supreme Court upheld an 1864 law that made performing an abortion a felony, Biden is rolling out new campaign ads to target women in distress. In the 30-second ad he says: “The question is—if Donald Trump gets back in power, what freedom will you lose next?” He goes on to promise to “fight like hell to get your freedom back.” I’m sorry, but who was president when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade? Sure, Trump’s appointments did it, but I just don’t believe him when he says he will fight like hell. Like why not start now? 

Do or die: The Hill wrote that former President Donald Trump faces a “do-or-die moment” in his ongoing effort to delay the start of his hush money trial until after he wins the election in November. He’s tried everything, and you would to if you thought that the presidency could stop the clock on four criminal trials while you’re in office! But with judges rejecting more of his trickery this week, he may be running out of options.

Russia: Russia fired 82 airstrikes on the largest power-generating plant in Kyiv this morning. The plant’s destroyed, power’s down, but nobody died in the initial attack, according to CNN.  

O.J. Simpson is dead: The famous football player and murder trial defendant fell to cancer. 

Let’s just get ahead of this: The Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce released findings from its new “quality of life” survey. Participants rated quality of life in Seattle a 4.24 out of 10. Would have been kinda cool if it was 4.20, but whatever. I looked at the questions, and I gotta say it does not seem as if the Chamber cares about normal peoples’ quality of life so much as they care about building a case against taxation. The survey found that 60% of the 700 respondents think taxes are “too high,” and 76% want the City to reprioritize funding rather than institute new taxes. So, in tying taxes to quality of life, the Chamber will dishonestly use these numbers to suggest that taxes make Seattle a worse place to live, which is untrue because taxes fund every public good the City offers—libraries, lifeguards, food programs, enforcement of labor laws, enforcement of renter protections, etc. Maybe ask if they value those services! Plus, the Chamber will use its findings to fight against taxes that hit the big businesses they represent, not fight against regressive taxes that actually burden the average person. If the Chamber cared about quality of life, then they would stop bugging me with this nonsense. 

You need to see it: I’m sorry, but if you haven’t seen JoJo Siwa’s new music video, you’re missing foundational material.

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