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Happy Halloween, you monsters. As a nod to our old trick-or-treating days, I recommend we all try to find candy bowls in as many adult places as possible today. Wander around town gripping an old pillow case and take fistfuls of mints and lollipops while you’re at the bank or leaving a restaurant. But if you’re looking for something else to do with your Tuesday, then check out our list of ghostly and ghoulish events happening tonight.
Today’s weather: A cloudy, chilly night everyone. Sunset starts at 5:53 pm. During the day we’ll be in the mid-50s, but tonight temperatures drop to 41. Good luck to the shirtless Kens and short-sporting Roy Kents out there tonight.
Netanyahu doesn’t plan to cease any fire: Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says it’s “time for war” as the United Nations agency in charge of Palestinian refugees says, “an immediate humanitarian cease-fire has become a matter of life and death for millions,” according to the Associated Press. UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell put the numbers of children dead in stark terms, saying that 420 kids “are being killed or injured in Gaza each day.” Gaza continues to lack medicine, food, water, fuel, and the streets are overflowing with sewage, according to UN reports.
Cops can’t lie as much: A new Seattle Police Department policy takes effect Wednesday that limits when officers can use ruses, aka lie to the public. The policy allows wiggle room for ruses in some circumstances, but it does seem pretty clear cut in some areas. Ruses can’t be used while investigating misdemeanor property crimes, and cops can’t make promises for leniency in prosecution. Plus, cops have to document their lies. The policy comes in response to a couple high-profile cases of ruses gone wrong, including in 2020, when cops made false claims about a gathering of armed Proud Boys, which led to the establishment of CHOP.
Woman leaves dream job with NASA because of Florida’s anti-transgender laws. Viv drops another incredible installment of her “Forced Out” series, which looks at transgender refugees as they leave their bigoted states for more accepting ones. This week, she shares the story of Robin Witt, who helped launch rockets for NASA until she moved to escape the Sunshine State’s authoritarian politics.
City drags feet on helping victims of police violence: I wrote about how the City never got around to standing up a workgroup meant to study how to provide services to the people and the families of people hurt and killed by cops. City Council Member Teresa Mosqueda says she plans to roll over the money for the workgroup to next year, but some of the people who pushed for the legislation remain concerned about the City’s commitment to starting the program.
An “affected persons program” would be useful: The Office of Police Accountability website has a “Thank-a-Police-Employee” button but not a “what-to-do-if-a-cop-kills-a-loved-one” FAQ. If you’re a victim of domestic or sexual violence perpetrated by a cop, getting help can feel unsafe. The City’s victim support program gets its funding from the Seattle Police Foundation, and those victim advocates are embedded within the Seattle Police Department. We basically provide no support mechanism to families after a cop kills someone, but we do spend millions defending cops in lawsuits against people they’ve hurt. Now that’s public service!
“Seattle Fire Fighters have NOT endorsed Rob Saka.” In a statement to the Seattle Times Monday, Fire Fighters Local 27 President Kenny Stuart called campaign mailers showing the guild’s logo among Saka’s endorsements a “lie.” An independent expenditure committee sent out the mailers on behalf of Saka, who is running to replace Council Member Lisa Herbold in District 1. The drama in this race runs hot as labor and big business duke it out. Hannah wrote about the dollars pouring into all the races last week.
Trump donors DID contribute to Saka’s campaign through the Elliot Bay Neighbors IE. The IE can spend unlimited money on candidates and so far its raised $287,000 with an average contribution of more than $3,400… pic.twitter.com/orWb9TbQWM
— Hannah Krieg (@hannahkrieg) October 26, 2023
This county runs on sewage: The King County Wastewater Treatment Division wants to take the warmth from the sewer system to heat private buildings, according to KING 5. The pilot project seems pretty cool and won’t cause the buildings to smell or anything. It doesn’t sound right, but I don’t know enough about sewage to dispute it.
No one prepared for student loans to restart: The US Department of Education withheld payment for the largest federal student loan servicer after it failed to tell people they needed to make a student loan payment, according to NPR. Student loans started up again this October after more than a three-year hiatus, and it’s become a nightmare of errors with people waiting for hours on hold to get help. Glad we’re still doing this.
Can a city official block you? A case before the US Supreme Court Tuesday tests whether public officials can block people from viewing their personal social media pages, according to NPR. The case stems from an incident in Michigan, where a man sued a unelected city manager for blocking him on social media. The issue gets muddy when government officials use their personal pages to speak in their official role.
Homeschooling is the “fastest-growing form of education”: The Washington Post analysis shows rapid growth in the number of kids getting homeschooled. Washington has seen a 33% uptick in the number of kids enrolled in unconventional settings, and a 78% uptick in California. Some worry about the future societal impact of having so many kids outside the formal education setting. But then again, we could say the same thing about me working out of this studio apartment most days. Keep looking at this hideous yellow wallpaper. (Eds note: I’m officially concerned.)
A Blink-182 resurgence: The band dropped a new album, and it keeps the 90s and early aughts alive. Enjoy!