All posts by David Obelcz

Health and Lifestyle, Local

Sun, Smoke, and Showers loom as dry streak extends to day 45

[KIRKLAND] – (MTN) Another heat dome is building in the southwest bringing extreme heat to the western states, with a bump in temperatures for Western Washington coming. The Kirkland-Bellevue- Woodinville area will see nothing like what we had at the end of June, and we are in an era where a 90-degree day in the summer is a “new normal.”

Friday will see our region tickle 90 degrees in the hot spots such as Kingsgate, Totem Lake, and the urban canyons of downtown Bellevue. Cooler spots like Finn Hill, the Houghton Highlands, and right on Lake Washington will be around 88 degrees. East of the Cascades will be much hotter. Spokane is under an Excessive Heat Warning with a high today of 100, 103 on Friday, and 105 on Saturday.

The offshore flow that will start tomorrow will also carry with it smoke from fires burning outside of Winthrop, Washington, and British Columbia. Additionally, the circulation around the high pressure system will pull the smoke up from Oregon. There is nothing in the models to indicate the air quality will get chew or reach dangerous levels, in Western Washington, but unhealthy air is possible for the lowlands on Saturday.

Sunday will cool down due to a combination of events including vertically integrated smoke holding the temperature down, a shift to an onshore flow, and the heat dome moving westward. However, this will also pump moisture into the region making it feel sticky and adding a chance for showers and thunderstorms. The chances are slim right now, and it would require storms to drift off of the Cascades westward into the lowlands.

At 45 days, the dry streak at SeaTac Airport (KSEA) currently sits at 45 days. It seems safe to say at this point that July 2021 will tie July 2017 as the driest month in Seattle history, with just a trace of rain. However, the dry streak has a chance of ending on Sunday. The bad news for firefighters and our parched eastern half of the state is lightning is literally the last thing they need.

The long range forecast shows a growing chance for rain showers through most of next week. There is nothing definite, but I wouldn’t bet against our record streak of 55 dry days in a row falling next week. All it takes is .01 inches of rain at SeaTac Airport to end the streak.

BIPOC, Local, National

York Statue at Mount Tabor Park in Portland destroyed by vandals

Video

[PORTLAND] – (MTN) For the third time since March 2021, the bust of York, a slave that accompanied Lewis & Clark and the Corps of Discovery, was severely damaged by vandals overnight. In the most serious damage to the bust to date, York’s bust was knocked off the pedestal and his face smashed in, shattering the installation. No suspects have been identified and no one has claimed responsibility for the destruction.

https://malcontentment.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/York-Statue-Defaced.mp4
Jeannette K Grode, 43 years old, allegedly vandalizes the statue of york at mount tabor park in portland, oregon

Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery traveled from St. Louis, Missouri, to modern-day Fort Clatsop, south of Astoria, Oregon. Among them was a slave by the name of York, who William Clark owned. York became the first African to cross North America and reach the Pacific Coast in known history.

Upon their return, York is said to have asked for his freedom which Clark denied. The historical record of what happened to York after the Corps of Discovery is unclear. Still, many believe he was either sold to a new slaveholder or was granted by Clark to move to Kentucky to be closer to his wife. It is believed he died of cholera.

The monument didn’t always have a bust of York. In 1933 a statue of Harvey W. Scott, the editor-in-chief of The Oregonian and later a principal shareholder, was erected at the summit of Mount Tabor. Scott was venerated after his untimely death in 1910. However, his legacy was already being called into question when his statue was erected 23 years later.

Scott fought in a volunteer militia in the Oregon Territory from 1855 to 1856 against the Nisqually, Muckleshoot, Puyallup, and Klickitat first nations. He supported the Union and the new Republican Party editorially during the Civil War while being an outspoken critic of women’s suffrage and public education. On October 20, 2020, his statue was toppled, and in February 2021, replaced by a bust of York by unknown parties.

There are no known drawings or artwork of York, so the bust on Mount Tabor is a representation. The statue was previously vandalized in March 2021, less than a month after its installation. There were no arrests made in that incident.

Jeannette K Grode, 43 years old, vandalized the statue on June 8 while taunting witnesses. She covered the Mount Tabor Park monument in purple spraypaint while telling people to have her arrested and claiming she was racist.

The Portland Police Bureau reported on June 10 that Grode now faces four criminal charges. Criminal Mischief II is the most serious charge, a Class A Misdemeanor that carries up to a year in jail and a $6,250 fine. She was also charged with Abuse of Venerated Objects, Unlawful Applying of Graffiti, and Vandalism of Protected Park Property and Vegetation. She was issued citations instead of arrest due to ongoing COVID restrictions limiting bookings.

Health and Lifestyle, Local, National

Nine counties recommend masks again as COVID surges

[SEATTLE, Wash] – (MTN) Skagit County joined eight Western Washington counties today in recommending indoor use of masks for all people, even if they are vaccinated. Eight counties, including Grays Harbor, Callam, Pierce, King, San Juan, Jefferson, Kitsap, and Snohomish released a joint statement on Monday with the recommendation.

The CDC is widely expected to recommend wearing masks in regions with high infection rates today as COVID cases fueled by the Delta and Gamma variants, surges in all 50 states. In a report from Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, MD, and epidemiologist, COVID cases have grown 170% in the last 14 days across the United States as tracked by Johns Hopkins University.

The COVID-19 Scenario Modeling Hub, a consortium of researchers and medical professionals projects that the so-called Fourth Wave will peak in October, with daily deaths growing to 850 in the United States as the best case, and as high as 4,000 a day in the worst case. The IHME out of the Univesity of Washington projects a peak in September and the United States entering a new normal for fatalities.

On July 14, Washington state achieved its goal of 70% of eligible residents over 16 years old vaccinated. King County is over 80% vaccinated, but there remains significant gaps in South King County in communities such as Federal Way. The number of new cases per 100K has grown to 107 in Washington state, well above the target of 25.

Acute care and ICU beds remain in short supply throughout Washington due to a number of contributing factors, including COVID. KING 5 reported that emergency rooms across Western Washington are overwhelmed including Harborview Medical Center, the state’s only Level 1 trauma center, where patients are waiting as long as 90 minutes to be unloaded from ambulances.

BIPOC, LGBTQIA, Local

Racist incident at Edmonds Bar spills over into social media storm

2 Comments

[EDMONDS, Wash] – (MTN) A racist incident caught on camera at an Edmonds, Washington bar on Saturday has created a social media firestorm, catching an innocent business owner in its net. Karlos Dillard, is an author, activist, and foster care advocate who moved to Seattle in 2015 according to his online bio. On Saturday he was eating at Engel’s Pub in Edmonds at their outdoor dining area when another customer accosted him asking, “are you going to pay for your drinks because you can’t get them for free,” according to Dillard. Dillard’s husband was inside at the time picking up their food, and a credit card had been left with the bartender.

In a second video, viewed over 1.2 million times, Dillard is apparently talking to an employee of Engels, which is surprised and empathetic over what happened. According to the person who is not in the video, they discuss how leaving a credit card at the bar wasn’t a requirement.

Internet sleuths thought they had identified the man who started the incident as Dean Worthy, of Seattle, Washington. They were wrong, and now Worthy, along with his business Dean’s Home Repair is caught in the crossfire. “I’ve received over 250 phone calls this morning,” Worthy said. “I’ve been getting death threats, and they are leaving terrible reviews about my business that I worked so hard to build.”

Worthy has a passing resemblance to the man in the video, but that’s where the similarities end. Worthy and his girlfriend were nowhere near Edmonds on Saturday, as he spoke from a car show in Everett this morning. “I have over 200 one-star Yelp reviews, and I want everyone to know I’m not the man in the video.”

Dillard reported in a third video along with comments on the Internet that the staff of Engel’s Pub was supportive and not involved in the incident. As for Dillard’s calm demeanor, many commenters stated they would have taken stronger action in the situation. “I have a lot to lose,” said Dillard. “My career is just taking off. I’m young, I’m cute, I’m sexy, and I have a lot to live for. Hit a white man in a predominately white city and see what happens to you. You have to respond like me, or you don’t have a life.”

Health and Lifestyle, Local, National

24 days later, King County is asking you to mask up – again

1 Comment

[SEATTLE, Wash] – (MTN) With COVID cases climbing in King County and 90% of detected COVID cases are “variants of concern,” King County health officer Dr. Jeff Duchin is recommending to mask up once again.

“I know this is frustrating and disappointing to many,” said Duchin. “It certainly is to me. I didn’t want to be in this position. And I acknowledge that the changing communication on masking has been a real problem nationally.”

King County is one of the most vaccinated counties in the country, where 80.3% of residents 12 and over have at least one dose of a COVID vaccine. Despite those numbers, 700,000 residents of King County remain unvaccinated including the young and the immunocompromised.

On June 28, the county was logging 56 new COVID cases a day. The count has climbed to 171, a 294% increase. Test positivity had dropped to as low as 1.2% but is now up to 4.1%. That is still within an acceptable range and indicates adequate testing, but the sharp increase in just 3 weeks is concerning to health officials.

Statewide, 9.4% of all ICU patients have COVID, moving closer to the 10% red light metric.

Hospitals in King County are near capacity – but not due to COVID

The Washington State Department of Health is reporting that 90.8% of all acute care beds and 88.7% of ICU beds are occupied in King County. Normally during this time of the year utilization would be 60% to 80%. As of July 22, only 2.6% of acute care beds and 5.4% of ICU beds have COVID patients. The problem? Area hospitals are overflowing with accident and trauma patients and patients that had elective surgeries delayed last year are moving through the system.

To the south in Thurston County, there are so many traumas and accidents 911 and ambulances are overwhelmed creating service delays.

Growing concern over Delta, Lambda, and Gamma variants

The Delta variant, B1671.2 from India, now makes up 83% of all cases in the United States. Two different studies found that Delta produces 1000% to 1200% more virus load than the original COVID strain. Neither study has been peer reviewed, however, both independent reports reached similar conclusions. The variant is 200% to 225% more transmissible than the original variant and has an R0 estimated to be 3.5 to 4.0 among unvaccinated populations according to Yale University.

Lambda has been identified in approximately 700 patients in the United States in the last 14 days. The South American variant appears to be less transmissible than Delta, so it likely won’t get established within the population. In South America, Lambda is over 9% fatal, but researchers believe this may be to lower quality healthcare, and only the sickest patients getting tested.

In Illinois, Gamma is the dominant variant with cases detected in Texas and Washington. According to a CDC study released this week, Gamma is showing a “strikingly high attack rate among persons vaccinated.” The report added, “Such a low vaccine efficiency against infection by the Gamma variant was not expected.”

Skeptic Republican leaders appeal to get vaccinated

In the last week, Steve Scalise (LA-R), House Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY-R), and Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (AL-R) have appealed for constituents to get vaccinated. Alabama has the lowest vaccination rate in the county while in Louisiana, hospitals are becoming overwhelmed.

Delta, Lambda, and Gamma all appear to break through the currently available vaccinations to varying degrees. However, data indicates that almost all breakthrough cases is asymptomatic or mild. In June, the National Institute of Health reported over 99% of all COVID-related deaths were among unvaccinated patients.

According to the White House, vaccination rates are starting to increase in some of the states hardest hit by the fourth wave.

BIPOC, Breaking News, Local

BREAKING: Man charged with felony hate crime for death threats against BIPOC students at Marysville Pilchuck High School

[EVERETT, Wash] – (MTN) Snohomish County Prosecutors have charged Benjamin Richey, 20, of Lake Stevens, Washington with a felony hate crime for posting an apparent handgun in a Snapchat post with the caption, “killing minorities soon.” In a report in the Everett Herald, the former Marysville Pilchuck High School student is no stranger to the police. Charging documents indicate he has been investigated previously for hiring racial slurs at People of Color. Richey is the adult child of a Marysville Police Officer at the time of the January 28, 2021 incident.

On December 14, 2020, in an Associated Student Body Junior Leadership virtual meeting, things took an ugly turn for Marysville Pilchuck High School students. Two students during a Zoom meeting stated, “let’s kill all Black people,” and then went on to identify several Black students by name in the call.

A criminal investigation followed, and Marysville police interviewed two impacted Black families. According to police and a press release from the NAACP, one family stated they did not want to pursue charges. The two students that made the statements received suspensions from school and were transferred to a different facility.

On January 28, 2021, a different student came forward and provided images of Snapchat conversations. In one of the screenshots, one of the students involved in the December incident was brandishing a handgun with the caption, “killing minorities soon.” The student who reported this went on to state this wasn’t the first time this type of comment was made.

During the investigation, Richey told the police it was a joke. Students, faculty, and civic leaders didn’t interpret the incident that way, and the phone that was used was the same one involved in the December 14, 2020 incident.

Marysville Pilchuck High School was the site of a 2014 shooting that left five dead, including the perpetrator. Prosecutors argue in charging documents that, given this history, it was reasonable to fear harm from the social media threat.

On March 27, impacted families, the Snohomish County NAACP, and civic leaders called upon the Marysville School District and Snohomish County Prosecutors to take action against the threats.

OUR COVERAGE AND FULL INTERVIEW WITH DR. JANICE GREENE OF THE SNOHOMISH COUNTY NAACP

Richey will be appearing in court on a summons for arraignment on August 5. He is not allowed to possess or has access to firearms, he cannot contact Marysville Pilchuck High School, or violate any other laws as a condition of his release.

Local

King County Eviction Prevention and Rent Assistance program still has aid available for renters

[SEATTLE, Wash] – The situation for landlords and renters have become cloudy again as COVID cases start to grow. Another crisis is looming that we wrote about in December as multiple federal aid programs are coming to an end in the next 45 to 90 days. The economic downturn brought on by the lingering pandemic has left tens of thousands of individuals and families unable to pay rent or cover mortgages and taxes on rental property and are living on the brink of homelessness.

To meet as much of this need as possible, King County is administering a 2021 Eviction Prevention and Rent Assistance Program (EPRAP) to pay back rent and keep thousands of households safe and stable in their homes.

A total of $145 million is available to assist households in need and on July 16, King County announced that $4.3 million had been distributed. To be eligible, a renter must:

  • Be a resident of King County
  • Have a lease or proof of regular rental payments
  • Have a household income at or below 50 percent of the Average Median Income
  • Have experienced financial hardship due to COVID-19.

The program also had funds allocated to support landlords. Applicants have exhausted those funds. The program was designed to pay not only all rent unpaid as far back as January, but additionally, pay up to three months in advance with a maximum of 12 months of back and front rent paid.

The program was built on the foundations of the 2020 EPRAP response, which assisted 9,073 households and distributed $47.6 million. A smaller program has continued operating this year and since February 2021 has spent $16.5 million to keep 1,500 households stable as the larger 2021 program comes online.

A lesson learned from 2020, was to create a hub and spoke model to make funds more readily accessible. Designed with input from the community, the new Hub and Spoke program will offer another path into rental assistance by empowering community-based agencies to enroll individuals and families they already serve in their community into EPRAP. Organizations such as 4 Tomorrow are supporting the community in English and Spanish by phone and through its website.

King County residents who need rent assistance can contact the King County Eviction Prevention and Rental Assistance Program by going to the Tenant Portal. Assistance in 29 languages is also available from the main page.

BIPOC, Local, National

Despite pledge to crack down, white power items still for sale on Amazon

[SEATTLE, Wash] – (MTN) Online retailer Amazon continues to wrestle with items for sale that embolden white nationalism with dozens of vendors selling “white privilege” cards. The cards of the same design declare, “White Privilege Card Trump’s Everything,” and are described as “inspirational” by sellers.

Although some may consider it humorous on the surface, two men in California have been indicted for conspiracy to destroy by fire or explosive a building used or in affecting interstate commerce. One of the men carried the same white privilege card for sale on Amazon.

The unfounded belief the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump allegedly inspired Ian Rogers and Jarrod Copeland to hatch a plot to blow up the Democratic Party Headquarters in Sacramento, California.

When investigators searched Rogers’ house in January, he allegedly had five pipe bombs, which court documents say were live. They also reportedly seized between 45 and 50 firearms, including at least three fully automatic weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

Amazon has come under fire for selling Nazi memorabilia and white supremacist items as far as 2018. As recently as last year, Amazon said they would not sell these types of products.

Amazon’s published policies for Offensive and Controversial materials state that “products that promote intolerance based on race, religion, and sexual orientation” cannot be sold on the platform. Despite this policy, multiple sellers were offering one-day Amazon Prime delivery, and at least one was offering a coupon promotion. 

Weather

It rained so the dry streak is over! Not exactly

[Seatac, Wash] – (MTN) Our tip line blew up this morning with reports of very light rain from Renton to Everett moving through the area. The marine layer that pushed in overnight made it almost to the Cascade crest, with low clouds all the way to Skykomish. But, as of this writing, the dry streak continues.

No rain has fallen into the rain gauge at the National Weather Service Office at SeaTac International Airport, so for now, rainfall for today is 0.00. It has been 36 days since measurable rain has fallen at the airport, where weather records are kept.

The showers and drizzle moving through the region are very light, barely being picked up by radar, and not enough to move the needle on the ongoing dry conditions.

The longest dry streak in Seattle history was 55 days and happened in 2017. During that dry streak, it rained very lightly on July 27 through many areas of the Puget Sound lowlands, but officially not at SeaTac, which got a trace of rain. July 2017 was the driest month in Seattle history and even if the rain had fallen in the gauge, it is likely it would have remained the driest month in Seattle history.

If SeaTac Airport gets 0.01 inches of rain, the dry streak will end, but that doesn’t seem likely with the marine layer starting to pull back. There is another chance for some mist, drizzle, or light rain showers tomorrow, but I wouldn’t bet money on it.

Breaking News, Local

BREAKING: Prosecutors drop felony charges against 11-year old autistic child

[EVERETT, Wash] – (MTN) According to the family, charges stemming from a May 17 incident between an 11-year old child with significant autism and two Snohomish County Sheriff Deputies were dropped by prosecutors. The child, who we are not naming, was charged with two counts of assault 3. The police report never mentioned the child’s impairment and listed her as being 12 years old, not 11. In Washington state the age of culpability is 8 years old, however, the court must prove that a juvenile who is 8 to 11 years old is capable of understanding their actions and the potential consequences.

Last week we reported that an altercation with the child involving a school bus driver and an assistant resulted in a 911 call when she boarded the bus to go to school. When Snohomish County deputies arrived, the child was in the home with her mother, Lori Helmy. Deputies claim that the child charged at them, kicking one in the groin. The report says, “Due to [the child’s] size, it did not cause Deputy Watts to be immobilized.”

The report goes on to say the child struggled with both officers, called them “animals” and “pigs,” and said if she had a knife, “she would stab them with it.” The report adds, “Deputy Watts and Deputy Carson both did not have marks from the assault on them, but both had transient pain well after the incident.” 

In addition to the questions raised about age of culpability per Washington law, medical records released to Malcontent News show the child has significant impairment due to autism.

A report from Northwest Neuropsychology Learning and Behavioral Services of Bellevue from February 25, 2020, concludes that there is a “significant issue with perceptual reasoning” and “significant sensory issues that include easily hyper aroused which triggers dysregulation.” The report further states that she is “severely impaired in all aspects of community living.”

Despite the police report having her stated age wrong and her established medical history, Snohomish County prosecutors initially moved forward with the felony charges.