Final day of warm weather: Morning! Today's temperature should climb to about 66 degrees, and the National Weather Service expects today will be our last 60-degree day this March. But before you groan, Charles makes a very good point that this freakish warm weather should bum everyone out. We should be wishing for gloomy, almost freezing March days. Revel in the return of the drizzle this week and shun the sun.
Cure your ballots: The presidential primary ballot in Washington requires every voter select their party affiliation, an extra step that some people forgot to do. To make sure your vote counts, Hannah tells you how to cure your ballot before the deadline on Thursday, March 21. So go pick your party! It could mean the difference between sending President Joe Biden a bunch of delegates or sending him a message with a few uncommitted delegates. Unfortunately, if you do pick Democrat on your ballot, one of those "In this household, we believe" signs will spontaneously appear in your window/yard.
https://t.co/qaaBLNLC9F pic.twitter.com/v1RiNv4Ypy
— Sadé Never Chills (@NowChillSade) March 19, 2024
SPD Officer threatens to pull woman out of her car by her hair: During a low-level traffic stop, Officer Richard Bonesteel asked a woman to roll down her window, which she explained she couldn't do because the battery was dead. Bonesteel then asked the woman to open her car door. When she asked why, he responded, “I’m going to talk to you. Either that or, or we can talk like this through your fucking warrant, and I’m going to break the window and pull you out by your hair," according to a story by DivestSPD. The Office of Police Accountability said Bonesteel unnecessarily escalated the stop. DivestSPD's reporting shows that women who have dated Bonesteel have called the cops on him. Meanwhile, the city council thinks we should pay for Bonesteel's housing.
Seattle Public Library reduces maximum digital holds limit: Starting today, people cannot put on hold more than 10 e-books and e-audiobooks at a time, down from 25. The library made the change because digital library books effectively run on a subscription model and have started to exponentially increase costs for our public libraries. If people already have books on hold, then they'll stay in place, but people can't place new holds until they're under the new limit. Also, people can still place holds on up to 25 regular old books. However, in order for people to check out these tangible books, the City needs to actually hire librarians.
Our library workers are right! We should be extending library hours & social programs, not cutting funding & understaffing them.
— Councilmember Tammy J. Morales (@CMTammyMorales) March 18, 2024
We must pass new progressive revenue this year that ensures corporations and the wealthiest are paying their fair share.
➡️https://t.co/y0P5BPcsWQ pic.twitter.com/UztTk56uF8
Report cops who run red lights: The Office of Police Accountability (OPA) makes it pretty easy to report cops who break traffic laws. People can make a practice of snitching on cops for bad driving by just remembering what, where, and when the incident happened. I know, our accountability system sometimes feels like a crap shoot, but, at minimum, reporting these cops creates a paper trail for us reporters to follow. Plus, who doesn't love to snitch on cops?
Speaking of seeing someone and saying something: The Stranger has brought back its I Saw U column. It's like Missed Connections but with people who read and know about The Stranger, aka the only people you want to connect with. The dating apps are dead. Long live I Saw U love notes.
Sasquatch-quality video of Kate Middleton surfaces: In the latest development of the "missing" future queen of England, TMZ published a video of Middleton walking with Prince William through some farm store in Windsor. However, the low quality of the video has only fueled the conspiracy flames, with people now claiming the palace has replaced Middleton with a body double. Honestly, I think Queen Elizabeth held this whole operation together with her tiny handbags and pearls.
That ain’t Kate….
— Andy Cohen (@Andy) March 19, 2024
Great to see passengers looking so happy and relaxed this morning. ✈️ pic.twitter.com/4u35dXnvhU
— Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) March 19, 2024
Congress does its job: Congressional leaders announced Tuesday they had agreed to a deal to keep the federal government funded through the fiscal year after negotiators reached an agreement on funding for the Department of Homeland Security. The details of the deal have yet to be released, but it'll probably mean a lot of spending on border enforcement.
Violence continues in Haiti: As political leaders in Haiti work to create a new presidential council, which would select a new prime minister and council of ministers, violence in the country continues. Human rights advocates have asked Haiti's neighbor, the Dominican Republic, to stop deporting people fleeing the violence back to Haiti, according to the Associated Press.
Trump civil case puts his assets at risk: A judge in New York has ordered former president Donald Trump to pay $464 million in a civil fraud case. Trump wants a private company to guarantee the fine as he continues his appeal of the court's decision, meaning a company would promise to pay the court the hundreds of millions in fines if Trump loses his appeal. However, no company wants to do it. If Trump doesn't pay soon, the New York Attorney General could start to seize Trump's assets.
A funky base line: Tierra Whack's new album, World Wide Whack, deserves a moment of your attention. Also, I've already memorized her Shower Song, and it's literally the perfect wake-up-and-more song. Enjoy your Tuesday, everyone.