We’ve got a new SDOT Director. His name is Greg Spotts, he comes to us from LA, and he rides a bike and takes transit. So far so good! His appointment was announced at a mayoral press conference today in the blazing hot weather (that we caused by covering our city in asphalt and cars). So anyway, Greg, about that crosswalk that still hasn’t been painted at N 83rd and Greenwood…

Hey Bruce, how about those bridges? As part of his SDOT announcement, Mayor Bruce said he’d take a tour of the city’s bridges today, which is probably just his way of describing how he commutes home. Anyway, watch your step!

Maybe the plane just wanted to cool off. A cute little airplane decided to become a cute little submarine today. 

We’re getting $1 billion to fight wildfires. A new fund will spend $200 million per year nationwide to identify at-risk areas and mitigate fire risk. It’s sorely needed, especially in weather like this. Currently, Washington is fighting a 589-acre fire near Nilles Corner and a 1,200-acre fire near Stayman, among other fires. Air quality in Seattle has worsened over the course of the day today; it's expected to stay in the "moderate" zone for the next few days.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it’s hot out. The villains of the day are all the landlords threatening to fine or evict residents who install air conditioners. Good grief! Please continue doing whatever you can to stay cool. Will’s roundup had a bunch of good advice. Mudede was extolling the virtues of heat pumps on a staff call today. Heat pumps are basically air conditioners that can go in reverse if you want to make a room hotter. I got some great popsicles from M2M—they're fruity and made by a company called Melona, which for a moment I thought was the name of Worf's favorite opera.

What should we do with the SR 99 tunnel? It’s turning into a massive money-hole. Can it be fixed? I dunno, but this sure looks like a funner use:

Do you like environmental planning? Well, then you’re in luck, because the state of Washington is currently hiring an Environmental Planner for the Puget Sound Partnership. In this role, you will be coordinating plans to recover damaged ecosystems, and also answering annoying questions from me whenever I have to write an article about salmon.

That seems sub-optimal. Why is your rent so high? Sometimes, it's because of a bunch of weird little fees that add up. Seattle’s tacking an extra $200,000 onto the cost of 50 new homes just so the builders can stage construction stuff in a parking area … a parking area that the City would otherwise let people use to store their private cars for pennies. Sure hope that cheap parking is worth paying extra rent!

Congrats to UW artists. The University of Washington’s 2022 Graduate Showcase is now live! Check out the great work that students have been working on here. I like Rowen Foster’s peculiar creatures.

Don’t get your monkeypox info from social media. Not even from doctors on social media. Maybe you saw the thing from an Ohio MD about how it’s “game over” once sewer-rats start spreading monkeypox in San Francisco? Bullshit. As it happens, I have reported on wastewater management for over a decade, and I have owned pet rats, and there are multiple parts of that assertion that are absurd. Here’s a full breakdown of why you don’t have to worry about monkey-rats. And, if you ever want me to talk your ear off at a party about the FASCINATING history of American sewage systems, then please just say the word.

Joe Manchin will graciously allow us to destroy the planet slightly slower. I don’t know how we wound up with a system of government in which one coal baron has the sole power to stop wildly popular measures to protect the planet from burning to a crisp (just kidding, I do know—it's the same reason this country does everything, racism). But anyway, Joe Manchin–somehow the most important person in Washington–approved a compromise bill that will reduce the deficit and invest in carbon reduction. It’ll also include money for gas pipelines. Of course it will.

Worst take of the day award goes to British writer Sarah Ditum: This one’s making me pull my hair out in frustration. “I love this one aspect of a culture, let me completely misrepresent it and draw stigma to the marginalized group that created it.” Anyway, here’s my response in tweet-thread form.

Gee, I wonder why all those Facebook employees updated their LinkedIn profiles last month? On a companywide call at the end of June, Mark Zuckerberg said they’d be implementing tougher performance standards and firing a bunch of people. He also reportedly got annoyed when someone asked if they’d still get the same vacation time. If the CEO of a company makes his employees feel completely unappreciated, I can think of at least one person who's not qualified for his job.

Bothell, now in t-shirt form. I’m doing a little t-shirt giveaway over on Twitter, including my brand new design that asks the question on everyone’s lips: