New details about the shooting in Bend, Oregon. A 66-year-old grocery store employee tried to disarm the shooter, but he was killed in the struggle, police say. His actions likely spared other people from being killed. According to CNN, the shooter was 20-year-old Ethan Blair Miller, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene. Online posts indicate that his original plan included a school shooting. The incident was one of four mass shootings on Sunday. Elsewhere, gunfire killed three people and injured one in Detroit, injured six people in Los Angeles, and injured another six people in Albany.

Looking good, Queen Anne. There’s an effort underway to convert the temporary Crockett Plaza pop-up to a permanent installation, and it’s looking very attractive indeed. The street is centrally located, already serves as a frequent site of community gatherings, has no driveways, and is a perfect candidate for conversion to a pedestrian paradise. Who wants to bet we can get this done before Pike Place?

The bikes will be back. This morning I noted that a bunch of bike sharrows were removed from streets in Rainier Valley. Now I have confirmation from SDOT that the scratched-out paint was only temporary, and that they’ll be returned once a little street maintenance (basically sealing the streets to prevent future damage) is complete. Similar work is expected around Rainier Beach and Greenwood, which were specifically chosen because they're part of the bike network.

Anticipate delays. The airport is going to be jumping this Labor Day, with crowds expected to be 10% bigger than last year (that’s 90% of what they were pre-pandemic). The worst day will be Friday, September 2. Get there early, don’t drive, and take advantage of the airport’s free service that lets you reserve a time for security screening so you don’t have to wait in line.

Here comes school. We’re just over a week away from the start of school (the first Wednesday of September, which is the 7th this year) and Gay City is hosting a school supply drive for QTBIPOC students. They’re looking for new backpacks, pens and pencils, glue, folders, calculators, hygiene items, and more. You can drop off items or buy them directly from the school’s Amazon wishlist. 

Mark your calendar for September 23. That’s when The Seattle Public Library will host Legendary Children, a celebration of local ballroom culture. They’ll stream it online, but for the full experience you’ll want to head down to Olympic Sculpture Park for the show.

Free bus! 
rides, that is. Starting on September 1, riders under 19 can get on buses, trains, ferries, paratransit, and more for absolutely free. Kids will be getting special ORCA cards through schools, and special student IDs and phone apps are expected in 2023. The free rides are available statewide, and King County’s portion will cost about $31.7 million, paid for by the Democrats’ Move Ahead Washington bill. 

Hey! Listen! Seattle Parks & Rec will hold three listening sessions next week to get community feedback about plans for who can and can’t use the multi-use path through Green Lake Park. There’s been some conflict over a new policy banning wheeled users, essentially forcing kids and vulnerable park-goers into a dangerous vehicle-adjacent lane, so expect these meetings to get spicy. 

Norwegian Tesla owners are planning a hunger strike until their cars are fixed. This list of issues with Teslas reads like a collection of Victorian medical infirmities: “Intense screeching noise.” “Bubbles in the seats.” “Loose decorative moldings.” Tesla owners are hoping to get the company's attention with a high-profile hunger strike, though if the company didn't care before I don't know why they would start now. Anyway, good luck to those hungry suckers.

It won’t be long now. Head down to Freeway Park this Friday for a free screening of In the Heights, which I personally prefer to Hamilton, but what do I know.

Local gals make good. Two hot-to-trot Seattle ladies are hitting the big time! Lovely debutantes Jinkx Monsoon and BenDeLaCreme were just signed by big-time talent scouts from Innovative Artists, plucking them from their hum-drum daily lives and catapulting them into the glitz and glamour of showbiz! If that don’t get the boys’ tongues wagging, then I’ll get on the trolley back to Hackensack.

Time is running out for your free tests. There’s only a few days left to order some free COVID tests from the federal government, since Congress didn’t think it worthwhile to pay for any more. Insurance companies are still supposed to reimburse you for any that you buy out-of-pocket, but good luck figuring out how to get them to do that. (WA's insurance commissioner says to call your insurer to do that.) Luckily, Washington state's free test program is still going strong. 

A bad time to be a boat. I am SO sorry to direct you to the ad-laden KING 5 website (get ready to click a whole constellation of close-buttons and notification-begs), but that’s the only place I could find this new footage of the Cathlamet ferry crashing into a structure last month and crumpling its picklefork (the bit that sticks out at the front so that under normal circumstances you can get a nice view). Honestly, the video's not much to see, and it is pretty blurry and low-res. The boat won’t be back in service until sometime next year, so maybe they can take this opportunity to upgrade the cameras. For a less stressful look at one of our ferries, feast your eyes on this very pleasant clip from Mike Reid Photography: