Monthly Archives: December 2020

BIPOC, Editorial, Health and Lifestyle, Local, National, Weather

Malcontentment Happy Hour: December 21, 2020

Video

Our live webcast from the Seattle Anarchist Jurisdiction

The show from December 17, 2020, featured guest host, Jennifer Smith.

  • Record high, record rain, and snow?
  • Uneven enforcement of Cal Anderson Park closure results in 7 arrests with one injury at Cal Anderson Park
  • Two new strains of COVID-19 in U.K. and South Africa, U.S. holds off on a travel ban, and vaccination delays
  • Seattle Police Department destroys Mutual Aid supplies including food, clothing, and bedding during Cal Anderson Park homeless sweep
  • A $900B stimulus deal is signed by the House and Senate and goes to Trump’s desk
  • The name of the team Atlanta Braves becomes a political issue
  • “Behind the Pole,” Cal Anderson Park homeless sweep
Breaking News, Local, Weather

Intense cold front could bring burst of lowland snow

UPDATED – official high at KSEA was 59 degrees.

[KIRKLAND] (Malcontent News) – After setting an official record high of 59 degrees on December 21, an intense cold front could bring a brief but intense burst of snow into the Puget Sound Lowlands. The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Advisory for a storm system dumping one to two inches of rain through the afternoon into the lowlands. Areas of poor drainage and clogged storm drains could create pockets of urban stream and street-level flooding.  

At 3:00 PM, it was 55 degrees with heavy rain at Seatac Airport, while less than 100 miles to the north, it was 34 degrees with heavy snow in Bellingham. A cold front moving from the north will bring dramatically colder air, and a Converge Zone is expected to form in the next couple of hours. Forecast models indicate that temperatures could drop 20 degrees in two to three hours.

The challenge of forecasting a Convergence Zone is determining its exact location. Colliding winds moving north and south through Puget Sound are left with nowhere else to go but up, creating bands of intense precipitation that can be just 10 miles wide. Areas in these zones can see heavy rain or snow, with calm conditions a few miles away. Typically these zones appear on the King-Snohomish County line. Original forecast models had the zone forming north of Everett today, but current models and weather radar indicate it could develop much further south. 

Areas that get heavy snow could see 1 to 3 inches of accumulation, which will likely melt quickly because surface temperatures are too warm. The intense snowfall could create short term travel problems with reduced visibility and slippery spots on less-traveled roads. Today’s weather system is very similar to storms that moved through the area on November 13, 2003, and November 27, 2006. The November 27 system crippled the Seattle area, turning highways and roads into parking lots filled with abandoned cars. 

Health and Lifestyle, National

Millions take to the skies for the holidays

United States air travel reached levels not seen since Thanksgiving, with over three-million air passengers passing through TSA checkpoints in the last three days. Analysts are estimating ten-million air passengers will travel over the next week. The holiday air travel is happening despite pleas from local, state, and federal officials to stay home, as hospitals across the nation become overwhelmed with COVID patients.

Earlier today, Governor Jay Inslee of Washington announced travel restrictions for people from the U.K. and South Africa. In the U.K., officials have identified a new strain of COVID that is more contagious but not more lethal. The variant in South Africa is also a new strain and targets younger victims with worse symptoms. Over 40 nations had issued travel bans to and from the U.K. and South Africa by Monday evening. The CDC has the two countries at a level 4 alert: “do not travel,” while the U.S. State Department has issued a level 3 alert, “travel not recommended.”

The Washington travel restriction is not a ban. Still, people traveling from the U.K. or South Africa must self-quarantine for 14 days after their arrival. According to the website, FlightsFrom, there are 13 scheduled direct flights between Seattle and London this coming week.

On Friday, a United Airlines flight from Orlando to Los Angeles diverted to New Orleans due to an onboard health emergency. The male passenger died, and the CDC may start advising others on the flight to seek a COVID test. According to eye witness accounts, the man was in poor health with breathing difficulty when he boarded the plane. His wife told officials he had COVID-like symptoms but elected to board the aircraft anyway. 

The United States is leading the world in daily COVID infections, total infected, daily deaths, and total deaths. 

Local

Seattle Police arrest 7 at Cal Anderson Park while park closure goes largely ignored

A day after the Seattle Police Department provided security for City Parks to clear a homeless encampment in Cal Anderson, dozens played soccer, tennis, skateboarded, and walked dogs through the closed park. Much of the yellow tape surrounding the park had been taken down or passed under, while area residents walked past large red “Park Temporarily Closed” signs. On Sunday, all that changed when Seattle Police confronted a group of black-clad soccer players, arresting seven.

According to the Seattle Police Blotter, SPD received complaints about people in the park at 4:30 PM. Officers confronted a group playing soccer clad in black. Officers claim an individual spit at them, and during the arrest, six more were arrested for trying to de-arrest the individual. Multiple videos shot from different angles do not support SPD’s version of the story. Independent journalists captured videos of two other people being thrown onto the ground by Seattle Police. In one video, an officer comes from behind, grabs the hood on the sweatshirt, and pulls a man to the ground. In another video, another person is knocked down, striking their head on a pole.

That individual laid unresponsive on the ground for 15 minutes before an ambulance arrived, despite pleas to provide medical assistance. They were rushed to an awaiting ambulance by the Seattle Fire Department, and their condition is unknown at this time. Seattle Police state that the incident was an unrelated medical emergency. This is the third timed SPD has claimed a protester injury is an unrelated medical emergency in so many weeks.

Seattle Police left the scene by 6:30 PM, and there were already others playing soccer and walking dogs within Cal Anderson Park.

Health and Lifestyle, Local

COVID Outbreak at Life Care Center in Marysville

[MARYSVILLE] (Malcontent News) – Life Care Center of Marysville reports a COVID outbreak at the 97-bed facility north of Seattle. In a notice that went to family members on December 18, officials said 19 patients and eight staffers have tested positive, with six residents testing positive in the last 24 hours.

According to Life Care Center, COVID positive patients will be placed in isolation, while residents who “are not medically stable” will be placed in the hospital. Internal policy requires temperature screening and questionnaires for staff. However, temperature screening will not identify asymptomatic carriers.

Snohomish County Health District and Life Care Center has not responded to our requests for comment at the time of publication.

Health and Lifestyle, National

EXCLUSIVE: Delays in Pfizer COVID shipments due to second dose concerns

[SEATTLE] (Malcontent News) – Malcontent News obtained a memo from state officials indicating the federal decision to reduce vaccine allocations is to preserve the supply for second injections. The Pfizer COVID vaccine requires two doses, 28 days apart, to become effective. Pfizer has stated that 28 days is relative and can be moved by a couple of days, but there isn’t a clear understanding of the impact of a longer delay. If the period between the first and second injections is too long, all initial doses will go to waste.

Late last week, confusion emerged across the United States as multiple governors reported their vaccine allocations were being reduced 30% to 50%. Health and Human Services clarified that some states such as Iowa and Texas would see no such reduction, while other states such as Florida and Washington would. In Washington state, King County will receive no vaccine shipments for the week of December 21. King County was the first location in the United States to have a mass outbreak of COVID, and includes the cities of Seattle and Bellevue. 

On Saturday, General Gustave Perna, the chief operating officer for Operation Warp Speed, took full responsibility for the delay. He cited FDA regulations requiring all batches to be certified, followed by a 48 hour waiting period as the source of uncertainty. “At the end of the day, I accept responsibility for the miscommunication,” Perna said during a press conference. In contrast, Pfizer indicated they have millions of doses sitting in warehouses waiting for shipping instructions.

The Trump Administration, Health and Human Services officials, and leadership within Operation Warp Speed have issued contradictory and muddled messages since mid-November. In another worrying sign that a long winter awaits Americans, officials identified two new strains of COVID in the U.K. and South Africa. Both appear more contagious than current widespread strains, and the South African variant seems to be targeting younger people. Despite other nations banning travel to and from the U.K. and South Africa to prevent transmission, the United States has taken no such action. 

BIPOC, Editorial, Health and Lifestyle, Local, National

Malcontentment Happy Hour: December 17, 2020

Video

Our live webcast from the Seattle Anarchist Jurisdiction

The show from December 17, 2020, featured guest host, Jennifer Smith.

  • Cal Anderson Park, “we got nowhere else to go”
  • Jaguar Private Security and threats received
  • Seattle Police “Use of Force” draft documents open for public review
  • Anti-mask is not pro-freedom
  • State vaccine allocation reduced by 40%
  • The radicalization of Forest Machala
  • Chief Wahoo is no more
Local

32 trash bags and 51 shelter referrals after Cal Anderson Park sweep

[SEATTLE] (Malcontent News) – At 7:34 AM on Friday, the LRAD announcements started that the unhomed and activists had 15 minutes to leave Cal Anderson Park. At day’s end, all that remained were 24 arrests, 32 clear trashbags of personal belongings, and at the most, 12 people place into semi-permanent or permanent housing. As darkness and cold rain fell over the park, SPD officers sat in cruisers parked on the ballfields with the park ironically barricaded by yellow tape. 

According to Sgt. Randy Huserik, Seattle Police Public Information Officer, Seattle Police’s role on Friday was “to provide security for Seattle Parks Department employees.” During the 17 minutes between the first LRAD announcement to vacate the park and officers moving in, SPD declared a tent with resources for the unhomed was available on Broadway Avenue. When people went to the location, no tent or city employees were present.

In the minutes after the sweep, Malcontent News cameras walked through the cleared encampment and found no one checking belongings. At 8:59 AM, a convoy of city vehicles and garbage trucks arrived. Eleven minutes later, park employees started moving through the shattered compound. Ninety minutes after that, dump trucks and backhoes were pulverizing belongings and tents. The city should have saved items, including undamaged plastic furniture, tables, and bicycles, that witnesses saw thrown away. City officials indicated that 32 clear plastic bags of personal belongings were available to be claimed by their owners. 

According to KOMO, a local ABC affiliate, 51 people who were unhomed at Cal Anderson Park were “referred” to possible housing solutions in the days leading to the raid. In the same report, the city stated eight received referrals to tiny homes or hotels, 6 to youth or young adult shelters, 32 more to hotels, and one went back to Olympia. The city could not provide information on the other three placement referrals. At the most, 12 received referrals for semi-permanent or permanent housing or secured their own solution based on that information. Youth and young adult shelters only provide temporary placement. Hotel vouchers aren’t permanent placements and typically last only for days. The disposition of the person who went back to Olympia is unknown. 

The reality, as has been the case after other homeless sweeps, most of those removed will be back on the streets in the weeks to come. In another report on KOMO last night, the station asked their viewers if they thought the homeless would return to Cal Anderson Park. Ninety-five percent responded, “yes.”

Weather

Miserable weekend ahead with three storms passing through Puget Sound

[KIRKLAND] (Malcontent News) – An atmospheric river of energy flowing across the Pacific and will point a firehose at the Puget Sound lowland this weekend. A cold front will bring a burst of rain on Friday night, but that’s only a preview for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. A Flood Watch is in effect for King County, with 3 to 5 inches of rain predicted for the Cascades.

For the Kirkland-Bellevue-Woodinville area, heavier rains will arrive between 2 PM and 4 PM tomorrow and continue into the evening. For the lowlands, you can expect half-an-inch of rain. South winds will increase through the day, reaching their peak between 10 PM and midnight. The National Weather Service has not issued a Wind Advisory, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see one issued for Saturday night into Sunday morning.

Sunday is more of a showery day with calmer winds, but over the 24 hours, another 3/10 to half-inch of rain will fall. Monday is looking like another washout with steady rain for most of the day, turning into showers in the early evening. Another half-inch of rain could fall, and it will also be windy.

Tomorrow would be a good day to check any local storm drains to make sure they are clear of leaves or debris. On Saturday night, it is possible for spotty power outages, especially in the usual trouble spots such as Finn Hill in Kirkland.