[KIRKLAND] – (MTN) The forecast next week is looking cool and damp after the first 3 weeks of May have produced only 2/3 of an inch of rain and April dropping less than an inch. The first 14 days of 2021 were exceptionally wet, with 5.74 inches of rain falling at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, before a slow drying out with average rainfall in February, and below average in March.
On Sunday the marine layer will be even stronger than today, with a chance of drizzle over the lowlands. The day will stay cloudy, with some sun breaks in the afternoon and highs below normal from 62 to 65 degrees through the Kirkland-Bellevue-Woodinville region.
Sunday night through Tuesday is looking rather wet, and if the forecast model holds, we’ll exceed April’s rain total by Tuesday morning. Monday will have showers through the day and highs only 58 to 61 through our area. Monday night showers will turn to steady rain overnight, before tapering off Tuesday morning. Tuesday will have sun breaks again in the afternoon, with highs from 61 to 63.
Wednesday through Friday is further out in the weather models, but for now, Wednesday is looking like the best day next week. The marine layer will hold on with clouds in the morning, and then moisture will move back in late during the day. Highs will be 66 to 69, giving us a normal late-day May.
Thursday and Friday are also looking wet.
If you’re wondering about Memorial Day weekend that forecast is too far out to be accurate. For now, the computer models are favorable for Saturday and Monday. The models for Sunday don’t look like a washout, but there is a lot of disagreement on how much moisture will be in the area.
[KIRKLAND] – (MTN) Less than an inch of rain fell in April at Seatac International Airport (KSEA) and halfway through May, only .52 inches has fallen so far, and more than half of that on May 4. With temperatures tickling 80 degrees on the eastside today, it is easy to ignore the growing deficit as our dry season inches closer.
Significant drought is already gripping the nation from eastern Washington to Minnesota, south to Texas, and then back west to California. In Los Angeles, the Palisades Fire has grown to more than 1,000 acres with mandatory evacuations ordered in fire-ravaged Topanga. In April, during a near historically early fire weather alert, a dozen fires popped up in western Washington, with one burning in Auburn for almost a week.
Only the Cascade and Olympic Mountains ranges are normal in the state of Washington, as drought conditions grow through the rest of the state
Monday will be cloudy and much cooler, with temperatures in the low 60s. Monday night and into Tuesday morning, rain will move in with .25 inches possible on the eastside. Rain will gradually give way to clouds but some drips are possible into Wednesday morning.
The long-range forecast is more seasonable with temperatures in the mid-60s to around 70, but the dry weather pattern returns. The Puget Sound lowlands get most of its water from snowpack melt in the summer months, and the snowpack was at or near record levels this year.
The continued dry weather will increase wildfire risk as the summer progresses. In 2020 wildfires tore through the western side of the Cascades from Oregon to Washington, shrouding the area in dark clouds of smoke for weeks.
[KIRKLAND] – (MTN) A growing list of major retailers are making masks optional for individuals who have been fully vaccinated in a flurry of website updates and press releases. Starbucks has announced that starting Monday, vaccinated individuals don’t have to wear masks in their United States locations unless local rules require them. On Friday, Costco, Walmart, and Sam’s Club adopted the same policy. Sam’s Club is a membership-based warehouse store owned by Walmart and is similar to Costco. The retailer closed its western Washington locations several years ago.
Apple, Target, CVS, and Walgreens indicated they were maintaining requirements to wear a mask for now, but are evaluating CDC guidelines and might update their policies. Kroger, which owns QFC and Fred Meyer’s announced they would continue to mandate masks at its locations as did Home Depot.
Locally, Metropolitan Market issued a statement that masks are optional for fully vaccinated customers. PCC, a co-op-based grocery chain with 15 locations has also made masks optional for fully vaccinated customers.
Retailers, restaurants, bars, gyms, and other public businesses in King County are still in Phase 3 under the Safe Washington reopening program and can operate at 50% capacity. The Safe Washington reopening plan announced in March was essentially scraped by Gov. Inslee yesterday, with a new plan moving all counties to Phase 3 on May 18, and Washington state to full reopening on June 30.
The United States has administered over 250 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines nationwide. As of April 17, Washington state has administered more than 6 million doses, and over 43% of residents over 16-years old are fully vaccinated.
In King County, you can visit the Department of Health website to find a vaccination clinic, and many locations now support walk-up appointments. You can also visit the Facebook Group, Find a COVID Shot WA if you need language or technology assistance in making an appointment.
[KIRKLAND] – (MTN) In an update on its corporate website, Trader Joe’s announced that fully vaccinated customers will no longer be required to wear masks in stores unless a local area guideline requires them. The grocery retailer, with 530 locations, is one of the first in the nation to officially adopt the policy in alignment with CDC guidelines on mask-wearing announced earlier this week.
“We encourage customers to follow the guidance of health officials, including, as appropriate, CDC guidelines that advise customers who are fully vaccinated are not required to wear masks while shopping,” the website said after it was updated on May 14.
Individuals who have been fully vaccinated no longer need to wear masks indoors or out, according to the CDC with certain exceptions. Masks are still required in situations such as using public transport, visiting a hospital or prison, living or working in a homeless shelter, or being in areas where people are densely congregated. On Thursday, Governor Jay Inslee announced that Washington state would adopt the CDC guidelines on mask-wearing. Businesses can set their own policies on mask-wearing and checking for proof of vaccination.
Trader Joe’s has locations in Kirkland, Bellevue, Redmond, and Sammamish, along with multiple locations in Seattle, and stores in Shoreline, Edmonds, and Everett in our local area.
Retailers, restaurants, bars, gyms, and other public businesses in King County are still in Phase 3 under the Safe Washington reopening program and can operate at 50% capacity. The Safe Washington reopening plan announced in March was essentially scraped by Gov. Inslee yesterday, with a new plan moving all counties to Phase 3 on May 18, and Washington state to full reopening on June 30.
The United States has administered over 250 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines nationwide. As of April 17, Washington state has administered more than 6 million doses, and over 43% of residents over 16-years old are fully vaccinated.
In King County, you can visit the Department of Health website to find a vaccination clinic, and many locations now support walk-up appointments. You can also visit the Facebook Group, Find a COVID Shot WA if you need language or technology assistance in making an appointment.
[KIRKLAND] – (MTN) Angelyiah Lim is graduating from Juanita High School next month, a future University of Washington Husky, and the 2020 recipient of the Lee Johnson Community Service Award presented by the Kirkland Chamber of Commerce. Since 2003, the Lee Johnson Community Service Award has been given to a Lake Washington School District high school student who has provided outstanding service to the eastside. Winners of the award receive a scholarship and a donation to a local non-profit, which this year went to the Lake Washington School Foundation.
Last year Lim, along with classmates Fiona Wang and Aleksandra Cholewinska started an organization called Awareness for Homelessness. What started as a clothing drive in the age of COVID blossomed into over $11,000 in received donations, and the distribution of over a thousand sanitary kits to homeless shelters and organizations serving the eastside and Seattle.
“We donated to 11 different homeless shelters, including pet shelters and orphanages,” explained Lim. “We had a clothing drive last year and one this year that our trainees for the next board also did. And we’ve raised over 1500 clothing items.”
The students training to take the reigns next year collected more than 800 articles of clothing in April that were distributed to Tent City 3 in Seattle and Tent City 4 in Bellevue. “In Seattle, we have the third-largest homeless population in terms of cities in the United States. That also extends to the eastside,” Lim continued. “There are a lot of people experiencing homelessness in this area. We might not see it all the time. There are many different definitions of homelessness and it does not just mean that you’re living on the streets.”
Awareness for Homelessness recently released a children’s book, to open up the discussion about the unhomed, and to raise awareness to a younger audience. The book, “Lending a Hand,” is being provided free by the organization.
Brett Johnson of Lee Johnson Auto Home Auto Group expressed pride in Lim’s accomplishments. “When the Kirkland Chamber created this award in our dad’s name, it was extremely important to our family that each year a Kirkland High School student that was selected was involved in extracurricular activities, and did their best to help their community. Without a doubt, [Angelyiah] has shown to be an outstanding recipient for this year.”
Lim will be attending the University of Washington in the fall, she said, “I recently committed to University of Washington and its interdisciplinary honors program.”
[KIRKLAND] – (MTN) Terren Cason is angry, and his wife rattled after a man accosted her at their business over a Black Lives Matter sign and stole coffee without paying. They opened their business MMMJavalicious at 124th and 116th in Kirkland during the height of COVID and have built a following of loyal coffee drinking customers.
Opening a hospitality business during that period was a significant gamble. In 2020, 40% of all Black-owned small businesses failed, according to the Small Business Administration.
The Casons, both military veterans, work together and share parenting duties with their recently born son. It was while Terren was tending to his child, the incident happened.
A man arrived to order a drink, and at first, everything seemed normal to his wife. As the man reached over to provide his credit card to pay he stopped, and asked, “Is that your sign?” At first, Cason’s wife wasn’t sure what sign he was talking about, but the man clarified he was asking about a Black Lives Matter sign in a flower pot – one that Terren Cason’s cousin had made.
When she confirmed, the man screamed, “I think you need to find out who Antonio Junior. Go look him up and fuck off!”
He sped off, taking his coffee with him. Their business does have security cameras, but they are not angled to catch license plates of vehicles.
Who was “Antonio Junior”
Antonio Mays Jr., 16, died on June 29, 2020, at 3 AM, less than 48 hours before multiple police departments and Seattle City Parks swept CHOP. On that night, Mays and an unnamed 14-year-old teen stole a white Jeep, crashed through street barricades erected by the city of Seattle, and slammed the Jeep into concrete barriers outside the East Precinct police station at 12th and Pine.
A gun battle erupted. When it was over, Mays was dead, and the 14-year-old with him was critically injured.
Tension was already high among the few people remaining in CHOP that night. Another person had driven through the ball fields at Cal Anderson Park earlier in the evening, and the city’s deadline for a sweep on June 28 had come and gone.
There have been no arrests made in the shooting of Antonio Mays Jr., nor has there been any definitive connection to Mays and Black Lives Matter or any other organization. It has never been officially established why they drove through city street closure barricades, struck the wall outside the East Precinct, or started shooting.
The legacy of segregation creating race on race crime
Many numbers are tossed around in social media memes to build political narratives. A common misconception is Black on Black crime versus other races. According to the most up-to-date numbers available by the FBI, when violent crime is broken down along racial lines, white on white and Black on Black crime is almost at parity. Declaring, “Black on Black crime is an issue,” while ignoring nearly identical numbers along white identifying racial lines creates a red herring.
These numbers shouldn’t be surprising given the United States history of slavery, segregation, and redlining carrying over into modern zoning laws. Many neighborhoods in America remain racially homogenous. In Seattle, segregation and redlining created the Central District and the International District. Foundationally, Seattle zoning laws created in the 1920s remain the bedrock of housing and commerce decisions today. If you live in a racially homogenous neighborhood, victims of crime in that neighborhood will likely be homogenous.
The legacy of exclusion and zoning laws has impacted 2021 Kirkland, where neighborhoods such as Juanita-Firs and Kirkland Heights had whites-only covenants. Sixty years later, Kirkland is 1.4% Black in a state that is only 4.4% Black, even though the United States population is 13.4% Black. Before Oregon became a state in 1859 and Washington became a state in 1889, the Oregon Territory was declared whites only in 1844 when the provisional government voted to exclude Black settlers. During that era, modern Washington state was part of the Oregon Territory. These legacy decisions directly impact current racial distribution.
Terren and his wife live in the area. “The vestiges are still active with racism,” he said. “They try to change the faces of it. All the vestiges are still there.”
For the Casons, more than a cup of coffee
Terren Cason’s desire for social justice goes beyond his military service – it is built in his DNA. His grandmother is Leah Royster, a civil rights advocate who worked for equality in Uptown Manhattan.
MMMJavalicious in Kirkland has three Black Lives Matter signs on their business
“I feel my wife was targeted because she is a woman, versus if I was in the stand,” Cason said. “Why did he need to express his views so combatively and then steal from a business? What sense is there in ‘I don’t like his views, so I’m going to steal from him?'”
Cason continued, “You can oppose Black Lives Matter, but why then steal from a business. She didn’t even understand the point. She was appalled and surprised but didn’t understand what that has to do with [him] having a coffee.”
This challenge isn’t unique to the Kirkland Black-owned coffee stand. In Shoreline, Black Coffee Northwest had to close for two days in March to add additional cameras and more secure windows for the drive-thru after a series of similar incidents.
As for the Black Lives Matter signs, including the one hand-made by Terren’s cousin in the flower pot, they will remain.
“Some people think about placing their views and their money over people’s lives.”
Our live webcast from the former Seattle Anarchist Jurisdiction
Content Warning
Editor’s Note: This show contains videos of events that some viewers may find disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised. Additionally, our remote connection had issues at a couple of points in the show – we apologize for the experience.
The show from April 29, 2021, featured David Obelcz and our co-host Jennifer Smith.
Mike Solan is unhappy with a police officer’s experience at Chocolati
King County is getting $62 million in federal funds to aid the unhomed
Joe Biden addresses a joint session of Congress
Follow-ups and corrections
Correction on the Bothell stabbing story
Pierce County Council has announced they are pausing the investigation of Sheriff Ed Troyer
Update on the arrest of 73-year old Karen Garner
Royal’lee Wallace murder investigation
Seattle’s Indian population mobilizes to support their homeland during COVID crisis
Kirkland postal carriers start a food drive
Native Americans petition for the return of wild Bison in Montana
[KIRKLAND] – (MTN) After 15 months of COVID, the restaurant and hospital industry continue to struggle, but Eastside Restaurant Support and a consortium of 10 Chamber of Commerce are out to change that. Eastside Restaurant Support Week will run from April 19 to April 26, encompassing almost all of eastern King County. Each day has a different theme. To participate, you take a picture of your meal and share it on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, with the hashtag #eastsideeats. A $100 gift card will be given to one person every day during the event.
EASTSIDE RESTAURANT WEEK WITH ANGELA ROZYMN OF EASTSIDE RESTAURANT SUPPORT AND SAMANTHA ST. JOHN OF KIRKLAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
“This has been quite the time for our local businesses. They have a great attitude, they have adopted to every restriction that has put in front of them for good reason, said Samantha St. John, CEO of the Kirkland Chamber of Commerce, “Now it’s time for us to do our part, to really make sure that they don’t go under after they have really stepped up to the plate to keep us safe.”
Typically, restaurant weeks feature specific restaurants with special menus meant to highlight culinary skills and food presentation. “We wanted to do something different than your typical restaurant week,” Angela Rozmyn founder of Eastside Restaurant Support explained. “We haven’t asked [restaurants] for separate menus or discounts. We want you to go out and support them full price, but check out maybe a new restaurant that you’ve never tried before.”
Eastside Restaurant Week has a different theme for every day of the event. Additionally, because this is Ramadan, there is a special category for after sunset and before sunrise. “There’s nothing on the restaurant side that they have to do to participate as a restaurant,” said St. John. “They just need to sit back and watch the customers come in.”
“Just find a local restaurant, take a photo of it, and hashtag #eastsideeats. Put it on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and make sure the post is public.”
Eastside Restaurant Week has a different theme each day and is supported by over a dozen organizations – Monday 4/19 Italian-Greek-pizza, Tuesday 4/20 Asian, Wednesday 4/21 healthy, Thursday 4/22 Burgers and brews, 4/23 Mexican-Latin American-South American, Saturday 4/24 Indian, Sunday 4/25 indulgences, Monday 4/26 Black, Indigenous, person of color and/or women-owned, from 4/19 to 4/26 Ramadan for after sunset or before sunrise
The event involves the entire eastside from Bothell to Renton, from Duvall to Black Diamond. Participants are asked to get takeout over dining in or delivery if it is possible. King County COVID case numbers continue to increase and organizers don’t want to drop the county back to Phase 2 restrictions.
With the amazing weather we are having this week, Rozmyn added, “It’s beautiful outside right now and things are really starting to look up and be hopeful as far as where we’ve come over the last year with COVID, but things are really tough for our restaurants still.”
[KIRKLAND] – (MTN) A Washington state man pleaded guilty today to federal hate crime and conspiracy charges in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
Cameron Shea, 25, a leader of the neo-Nazi Atomwaffen Division, pled guilty to federal conspiracy and hate crime charges for threatening journalists and advocates who worked to expose anti-Semitism. Shea was arrested on February 26, 2020, in Kirkland, Washington outside of the Totem Lake Fred Meyers where he worked. The FBI made the arrest with support from the Kirkland police department.
CAMERON SHEA NEO-NAZII AND WHAT IS ATOMWAFFEN
Shea pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit three offenses against the United States: interference with federally-protected activities because of religion; mailing threatening communications; and cyberstalking. He also pleaded guilty to one count of interfering with a federally protected activity because of religion.
Shea and three co-conspirators were charged with conspiring via an encrypted online chat group to identify journalists and advocates they wanted to threaten in retaliation for the victims’ work exposing anti-Semitism. The group focused primarily on those who are Jewish or journalists of color. The group created posters, which featured Nazi symbols, masked figures with guns and Molotov cocktails, and threatening messages, to deliver or mail to the journalists or advocates the group targeted. Local KING 5 reporter Chris Ingalls did several reports on Atomwaffen and was a target of the organization.
Shea will be sentenced on June 28 and faces up to 15 years in prison.
[KIRKLAND] – (MTN) Over the past year, racial incidents have occurred in multiple suburban school districts highlighting inequality in our schools. In Kirkland, old wounds reopened from an incident at Juanita High School, while in Marysville, an ongoing criminal investigation is looking into death threats at Pilchuck High School.
In Marysville, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Department is investigating racist threats made by a relative of a Marysville Police officer. The unnamed 20-year old allegedly used the account of a Marysville High School student to send a Snapchat image holding a handgun, with the caption “Getting ready to kill minorities.” The Snapchat account used was the same account of a 16-year old student suspended earlier this year for making death threats to Black students in a Zoom meeting.
Our coverage and full interview with dr. janice greene of the Snohomish county naacp
“You have our kids getting ready to go back to school. They’re going to be face-to-face, you’ve got people threatening their lives and there’s doesn’t seem to be anything happening,” said Dr. Janice Greene, President of the Snohomish County NAACP. “Children of color are going to [that] school. They don’t feel protected. They can’t. How do you learn in that environment?”
Located about 30 miles north of downtown Seattle, Marysville borders the Tulalip Indian Reservation. The community has experienced rapid growth in the last 20 years, with more than 65,000 residents calling the city home. Once known as Strawberry City with a quaint downtown, Marysville has transformed into a bedroom community next to a vast outlet shopping center and sprawling casino complex. Before COVID-19, bumper-to-bumper traffic clogged Interstate-5 with commuters, gamblers, and shoppers.
When Marysville officials learned that a police officer’s relative made the threat, the county sheriff department took over the case. Officials say that the investigation will conclude in April. However, Washington governor Jay Inslee has ordered a return to in-class instruction by April 19, 2021.
“You’re sending our kids back into school with threats hanging in the air,” Dr. Greene went on to say. “People are not being held accountable with that. People not having to deal with the consequences of their behavior.”
Dr. Greene also talked about the challenges for victims of racial incidents. “I’m concerned about the way we keep pulling our young people that are racially traumatized out in front of people to tell their story over and over again. So we retraumatize our children.”
She added, “I’m going to say Marysville right now is at the crux of it, but that’s not. They’re not the only ones.” To both those points, Kirkland’s Lake Washington School District highlights both of these challenges.
An incident at Kirkland Juanita High School has remerged. In early 2020, a conflict between students devolved into a Black student being called a racial slur. A school guard who intervened is also accused of using a racial slur in the incident. In that incident, it isn’t clear what action the District took against the guard or offending student. As COVID-19 gripped the region less than two-months later, community attention shifted to remote learning.
Over the summer, the high school wrestled with its mascot, “The Rebels.” Some viewed the imagery as too close to the Confederate flag. Historically, a rebel was picked as the mascot because Juanita High School was founded as an alternative learning school. During the 1980s, the artwork of the mascot was modified to add stars and bars with more than a passing resemblance to the Confederate battle flag. In the end, students voted to eliminate the mascots and become the ravens.
We reached out to the Lake Washington School District for additional information, and they released a statement. “Lake Washington School District has been made aware that there are concerns being shared in the community about an incident that occurred over a year ago at Juanita High School. The District is reviewing the incident in further detail and has communicated directly with stakeholders on this matter.”
“Lake Washington School District is committed to providing safe and inclusive learning and working environments for our students and staff.”
We reached out to the parties involved, but none of them wanted to comment on the record. Our ongoing investigation has learned that a public records request was recently made into the incident.
As for the next steps, Dr. Greene had a clear vision for Marysville. “We would like to see appropriate charges and actions for the young people that made the threats [and] for the 20-year old that was holding the gun. We’d also like for Snohomish County [to] put some type of oversight so that we can see what’s going on outside of the school districts. So you have a community-type oversight, so we can address these issues when they come up.”
In both communities, it appears fast action won’t be forthcoming. Students are returning to classrooms after a polarizing election year and George Floyd’s death. Protests in more than 650 cities and towns across the United States erupted – including Kirkland and Marysville. Students have interacted within tighter groups over the last year due to COVID. Polarized conversations on politics and race are unreconciled, just as children and teens are coming back together to learn. It can be a powderkeg, and historically, Marysville Pilchuck High School is no stranger to gun violence.
Journalists, activists, and researchers defending the First Amendment
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