A duel: Investigators say a King County Sheriff's deputy was investigating a suspicious vehicle in Shoreline around 2 am Sunday when he and a 34-year-old man both fired guns and were both shot, according to the Seattle Times. The cops haven’t explicitly said whether the deputy shot the man, but a statement from the Independent Force Investigative Team, which will investigate the shooting, said "both the subject and the deputy fired their weapons, and both were struck." Both were released from the hospital Sunday night, and the 34-year-old man was booked into jail.

The city is now using cameras to deter illegal dumping: SPU tells KOMO the cameras will be motion-activated and will play "an illegal dumping message" before capturing images if motion continues in the area. The first camera in the pilot program is in West Seattle. This thing is going to confuse a lot of raccoons. 

Speaking of garbage: The International Space Station successfully dodged a piece of trash this morning. Still got it: 

 

Habitat for Humanity gets into the mid-rise condo game: The nonprofit opened its first mid-rise building in Capitol Hill over the weekend, with 13 condos available to those making 80% or less of area median income, KIRO reports.

City elections: Last week, Phil Tavel jumped in the race to fill the seat Council Member Lisa Herbold plans to leave open. The same Phil Tavel who wanted to slow-roll funding for homeless services when he ran for the same seat in 2019? Yes, that Phil Tavel. 

Cops used a bike helmet law to bag poor people: Last year, King County recognized that fact and repealed the law. Nevertheless, according to a recent study, 85% of local riders wore helmets on bikes and scooters, which is high compared to survey data on the issue, according to the Seattle Times. Riders of rental bikes and scooters dragged down the number a little, as fewer people turtle up on those conveyances. 

Bainbridge is lowering speed limits: Slow your roll on Bainbridge Island, where the city is lowering speed limits on certain streets from 25 mph to 20 mph, according to KING 5.

Sex studies: How does Portland do it? Where do they do it? And what do they use when they're doing it? Find out by reading the results of the Portland Mercury's 2023 sex survey. The Stranger will release Seattle's results later this morning. Update: Here they are! Dig in. 

State Senate passes bill to increase penalty for drug possession: A bipartisan group of senators in Olympia voted for a proposal to make drug possession a gross misdemeanor instead of a misdemeanor, meaning those charged for drug possession would face longer sentences and higher fines. 

The bill attempts to "encourage" and "nudge" police and prosecutors to offer treatment instead, according to the Seattle Times. But if defendants fail to comply with treatment, they can face longer sentences, which is the fucking dumbest tack they could possibly fucking take. For the umpteenth time: longer sentences DO NOT reduce crime. In fact, they can INCREASE crime. While 14 brainless Democrats voted for the measure, others did their research and said it would do little to help people with substance use disorders.

Publicola reports that the amendment to impose longer sentences on people who fail to complete treatment came from Sen. Mark Mullet (that fucking guy) with input from Sen. Jesse Salomon (that fucking guy). University of Washington researcher Caleb Banta-Green explained the problem with their approach to the outlet: “You don’t treat substance use disorder. You manage it as a chronic relapsing condition. One of the challenges when the criminal legal system is involved is that if you have a return to use, you’re a failure and you’re committing a crime. Rather than: you’re showing symptoms of your disease and we’re going to continue to provide you care."

Former Puyallup police officer charged with rape: Puyallup police officer Niamkey Ange Amichia was fired last week after he was arrested for alleged rape, the Tacoma News Tribune reports. A woman said she met 32-year-old Amichia online in October. She said he picked her up at her apartment, drove her down the road, and raped her. DNA from the woman's exam also matched specimens from an unsolved Connecticut rape case from 2016, the TNT reports.

Biden calls for voting rights at Selma anniversary speech: During events commemorating Bloody Sunday, President Joe Biden called on Congress to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to "make Election Day a holiday, register new voters and strengthen US Justice Department oversight of local election jurisdictions with a history of discrimination," Reuters reports.

Speaking of Biden: The AP talked to Democrats who aren't feeling excited for the 80-year-old president to run for reelection. Only 37% of Democrats said in a  recent poll they want Biden to seek a second term. But who else is there? "So far, only Democratic activist and author Marianne Williamson has entered the 2024 primary field, the AP reports. "Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the son of the late New York senator and known for railing against vaccines, met with New Hampshire voters on Friday. He’s also leaning toward a bid." Bernie says he'll back Biden. 

Meanwhile at CPAC: In a straw poll, conservatives at the conference chose Kari Lake—who ran for governor of Arizona, lost, and refused to accept her loss—as their vice-presidential pick. Sounds like standard GOP batshit nonsense to me, but maybe I would understand “the nuance” here if only I could extricate myself from my liberal bubble!! 

Trump continues confederate campaign: The man went into full-on revenge mode, telling the CPAC audience that he embodied their "retribution" against those who have "wronged and betrayed" conservatives. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis skipped the conference and instead spoke at the Ronald Reagan Library in California, where he misled the audience about the reasons for pandemic migration patterns and criticized life-saving lockdowns.

Oh, and this guy said he wanted to "eradicate" trans people, but see he AKCHUALLY said he wanted to eradicated "transgenderism," you woke idiots!! Jeez, where's the freaking NUANCE in this discourse??? 

Cops arrest 35 in Atlanta as "cop city" construction site burns: Atlanta's plan to clear forest to build a huge playground for police continued to face resistance from activists over the weekend after a concert turned into a clash between cops and protesters, the BBC reports. Cops say protesters threw "rocks and firebombs," and then the SWAT team went in to arrest everybody. The scene: 

Another train derailment in Ohio: A Norfolk Southern train derailed in western Ohio Saturday, but officials say no hazardous chemicals leaked from the train, the Washington Post reports. Tankers were carrying "residual amounts of diesel exhaust fluid" and "residual amounts of polyacrylamide water solution," which the county called "common industrial products shipped via railroad." The head of the state's Environmental Protection Agency said one "PVC [polyvinyl chloride] pellet car" had "affected the soil" and the agency would make sure soil underground wasn't affected.

In honor of the release of sex survey results from The Stranger and The Mercury, I leave you with Momma's "Bang Bang," an absolute rip-off of every Garbage song on the planet, but there are worse things in this world.Â