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Queen of Our World
Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe will be at Third Place Books Lake Forest Park Tuesday, April 16. by Adam Willems With just a handful of pages to go in Thunder Song, a series of essays from award-winning Coast Salish author Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe, LaPointe asks her reader, “Are you listening yet?” She breaks the fourth wall, but she isn’t speaking for just herself. With poignant essays that center her own experiences, the Coast Salish landscapes, livelihoods, and people who were lost to colonialism—while unapologetically celebrating those who survive—LaPointe sees herself preventing Indigenous erasure in multigenerational company. She traces the ongoing struggle from Chief Seattle, to her great-grandmother and namesake, Upper Skagit elder Vi taqwšəblu Hilbert, to herself. In an interview with The Stranger, LaPointe, who says she read The Stranger as “a little twerp on the rez” and decorated her bedroom walls with its print covers, picks up where her previous book, Red Paint, left off. She discusses the forms of loss that inform her writing, revisits her experiences as a Native punk rock artist, and highlights the local communities and groups sustaining her today. Place is a big part of what your book is about—everything from “the landscape of your identity” to “the landscape of your body”—but there’s also such an emphasis on time. You write how, in the thick of lockdown, “All these white women on Pinterest are baking loaves of sourdough, and I am trying to time travel.” Which is a great zinger, but is also reflective of how you’re connecting pandemic loss to how Chief Seattle must have been grieving, and naming the fact that you’re the descendant of survivors of smallpox. So I’m curious how much the reality and compartmentalization of the COVID-19 pandemic is something you’re consciously trying to emphasize in these essays. [Laughs] Not to just like, you know, outwardly throw shade to all the people making sourdough, but there came a time where I felt like, as a Coast Salish person still living on the reservation, it felt different, it hit different. I remember crawling out onto my roof and seeing construction stopped for months; things are already so hard to get done on the reservation or to develop. And then it would be frustrating and almost rage-inducing, to see people on social media in their “baking era” while thinking about, you know, my ancestor Comptia Koholowish, who was the sole survivor of smallpox that wiped out her entire village. So it wasn’t like a cute break from work for me. Writing about it was absolutely intentional and something I was grappling with. You write that, “To honor grief, one must first acknowledge loss.” There’s a lot of acknowledgment of loss in your book: the loss of landscapes, of your great-grandmother, the list goes on. It seems like something that really strings this book together. You have this refrain, “Are you listening yet?” And I feel like a big part of that is you trying to say, “Look at how much loss is around you—everything from tulips, which reshaped the geography of Skagit Valley in settlers’ image, to, like, sourdough eras.” This is such a great point. Your observation means a lot to me because I think the through line of these essays is this confronting of erasure. Even the city that I was so enamored with and couldn’t wait to get off the rez to get to: It erases something. As an adult, I learned more about the landscape of Seattle. Settlers literally had to bring in dirt from elsewhere to build it up. Settlers had to transform the tide flats to make them livable. There’s grief and loss, even anger, sometimes, over the erasure of people who were here and thriving. You know, Pike Place Market is built over a place where there were abundant shellfish gathering, and, even worse, I’ve heard that there were burial sites. This place that I was so enamored with is also just another kind of representation of erasure. In the essay “Reservation Riot Grrrl,” you mention the old-school femme attendee in the crowd of a local punk concert who was a total shithead to you, a time capsule for what the punk scene looked like 15 years ago. How have you seen these spaces change, and where do you think they’re headed? I 100% see it changing; these spaces were predominantly white dude spaces and white feminist spaces. I love that you brought up that show, because the crowd was multigenerational, part of the crowd was brown and Native folks, and then of course, the woman who was really nasty to me, an older-generation probably OG riot grrrl. She wasn’t quite getting it right. And so to see these two generations butted up against each other in the same space was frustrating at one point, but also gave me hope for the future of punk spaces that even just 15 or 20 years ago I felt really outside of. Now I see Native bands coming up, I see more representation and less of a white boy party, and I think that’s really exciting. Speaking of music, how do you see it influencing your writing? It seems you’re multi-hyphenate in many of the same ways that your great-grandmother was: being really skilled in music, writing, and storytelling.  Well, major props to my great-grandma, because she was my biggest inspiration and influence. She was incredible. Someone asked me once, “You have punk in the title of your memoir [Red Paint: The Ancestral Autobiography of a Coast Salish Punk]. How would you apply that term to your great-grandma or your ancestors?” If you think about activism and the things that drew me into punk when I was younger, she was the OG activist. She literally saved a language from extinction and did a lot of language revitalization activism. So I feel like I have to give her a lot of credit for that.  And in the early days where Red Paint leaves off, I had never been able to be in a band. That had to do a lot with the crowd that I was hanging out with in my teens and twenties. It wasn’t until my thirties that the folks in Medusa Stare approached me and said they wanted me to be in their band. And that was really empowering for me. It lined up with that point in my life when I was burning my entire life down and walking away. I think it inspired my writing, supported it, nurtured the little voice in me saying, “Hey, you can be loud.” I finally had permission. And I think that that absolutely carried over into my writing, where I was less intimidated to write about the things I wanted to write.  When I was writing Thunder Song, I was playing music with Kari, who was the drummer of Medusa Stare. When we started playing music together, it was just a two-piece and it was super weird. I think we got a review once in Razorcake that was like, “If you want a slumber party with your girlfriends and watch The Craft and have a séance, they’re great for that.” I thought that was the coolest review ever. So it was just really experimental and strange.  Kari would write music and be like, “Do you have lyrics for this?” My essay about tulips in Thunder Song came out of a song because I had more to say about that. I think that my relationship with music, and especially my connection with Kari, nurtured my writing process. It seems like your initial contact points for both punk and writing were really empowering. You talk about having punk songs making you feel less alone. And then you describe the experience of contributing to a zine as a teenager, cutting up a shitty ex-boyfriend’s nudie magazines that he gave you into a collage. It sounds like the relationship between music and writing was kind of there for you, even before working with Kari. Punk was like a gateway drug into poetry for me. As a teen runaway and alternative high school dropout—who does that?—I didn’t arrive at writing through any academic way. I didn’t go to college until I was in my mid-twenties. So the first time I heard bands like Bikini Kill, that kind of opened this doorway. I heard spoken word, and then Sylvia Plath—so predictable, right?—and then I got real into the confessionals. And then I wanted to see more performance poetry and then and then it just grew and grew and grew from there. So both really connected you with a community, even if they’re imperfect? Definitely. The “Reservation Riot Grrrl” essay is half a love letter to Riot Grrrl. Even though it ended by the time I had stumbled upon it, that movement still had such an impact on me and fired me up. It opened up doorways into more of the underground DIY kind of music scene that was in Seattle, which saved my life in a lot of ways.  Are there communities or groups sustaining you now in the Seattle area? When I think of community, it’s impossible not to think of the Native Pathways Program. I started teaching with them last year. It’s so incredible. To be in community, especially academic community, and to be able to teach creative writing at a program that is geared for Native students and Indigenous pedagogy… it feels like a family to me. Even yesterday, I drove out to the Peninsula College House of Learning, the longhouse there, to see my friend and coworker have her first big art opening. It was so badass. Her photos were all of Indigenous women, and were multigenerational. Being in that space, walking around the gallery, and seeing all of my buddies while she was playing this cover of Blondie’s “Heart of Glass,” but singing it in a traditional language, I was like “I am where I need to be.”  What do you hope people glean from Thunder Song? It’s not just “Please listen to my stories and my experiences.” I hope there’s more visibility of the culture, the language, the people who were here pre-contact. I hope the book shifts their thinking about what it means to be a guest on this land, to occupy Coast Salish territory. There are really beautiful things happening around the city, like Real Rent Duwamish, the yəhaẃ Indigenous Creatives Collective, that can help people shift how they are occupying this territory.  And hopefully, that should carry over in the sense that attempted genocide is not unique to the Coast Salish experience. Settler-colonial trauma happens all over the world. I guess I’m hoping that people pick up this book and experience some of these stories, some of these histories, and can try to see the world through a more decolonial lens.  Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe will be at Third Place Books Lake Forest Park Tuesday, April 16. Tickets are available at thirdplacebooks.com.

Ticket Alert: Missy Elliott, Aerosmith, and More Seattle Events Going on Sale This Week
Plus, Fuerza Regida and More Event News and Updates for April 11 by Audrey Vann Go, get ur freak on—Missy Elliott will embark on her first-ever headline tour this summer with Ciara, Busta Rhymes, and Timbaland. Aerosmith will also walk this way on their Farewell tour and you won’t want to miss a thing! Plus, California-based regional Mexican quintet Fuerza Regida have dropped dates for their Pero No Te Enamores tour. Read on for details on those and other newly announced events, plus some news you can use. Tickets go on sale at 10 am unless otherwise noted. ON SALE FRIDAY, APRIL 12 MUSIC 49 WinchesterThe Showbox (Wed July 31) Aerosmith: PEACE OUT The Farewell TourClimate Pledge Arena (Sun Nov 24) Air SupplyMarymoor Park (Sun July 14)

Doggy Day Care Workers Bite Back After a Ruff Eight Months at the Bargaining Table
If the owner of a doggy day care downtown doesn't concede to worker demands, they may soon go on strike, leaving potentially hundreds of dogs without care right as spring travel picks up. by Hannah Krieg Doggy day care workers at Downtown Dog Lounge say they are up against a real-life "Cruella De Vil" in their eight-month struggle for a fair union contract. But these workers are biting back. The workers, who are organizing with UFCW 3000, ask customers, dog-lovers, and other working people to sign their petition to get the owner, Elise Vincentini, to stop dragging her feet. “[Vincentini] thinks if she waits long enough, we’ll just give up and walk away,” said Justin Kahn, a “Pack Leader” at Downtown Dog Lounge. “But that’s absolutely not going to happen.” If Vincentini does not agree to a contract that meets their demands in their upcoming bargaining sessions this week, then 60 workers may soon go on strike, leaving potentially hundreds of dogs without day or overnight care right as spring travel picks up.  In a phone interview, Vincentini said she's not dragging her feet. She said she will keep bargaining in good faith whether they threaten to strike or not. From her perspective, the union is wasting time at the bargaining table on silly things such as the right to wear tube tops and crocs. "We're here for the safety of the dog," she said. "So if the union is fighting for the safety of the dogs and the employees, I'm all ears, but I really haven't heard very much about that at all." Sit! Stay! Roll Over to Worker Demands! After winning their union election almost a year ago, the Downtown Dog Lounge workers are still fighting for four core demands: Higher wages, a safe dog-to-worker ratio, standardized emergency protocols, and regular workplace maintenance.  According to a recent wage scale provided by workers, Downtown Dog Lounge workers make between the City-mandated minimum wage of $19.97 and $25 an hour. That puts the company’s best-paid, full-time worker’s annual income at about $52,000 before taxes, which falls well below 60% of Seattle area median income (AMI). That means every single Downtown Dog Lounge worker qualifies for many of the City’s and County’s low-income programs, resulting in taxpayers potentially subsidizing Vincentini’s low wages. Workers think this reality is particularly unfair because the business received $1.13 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans in 2020, according to Propublica.  Vincentini told The Stranger that she's happy to give them a raise. She believes her wages are already "at or above" market rate. She said they also enjoy other perk,s such as holiday pay and the privilege of bringing their dog to work at no cost.  Not only do they feel underpaid, the workers feel overworked to a point that they feel jeopardizes dog safety. The International Boarding and Pet Care Services Association recommends a ratio of 15 dogs to one worker. At the Ballard location, workers claim that one employee may be responsible for 20 to 30 dogs at a time. Even worse, at the South Lake Union location, workers claim an employee may be responsible for 30 to 50 dogs at a time.  For overnight care, workers say Downtown Dog Lounge may staff just one person to look after as many as 75 dogs.  Vincentini disputed those claims. She said that Downtown Dog Lounge sticks to a ratio of one worker to 20 to 25 during the day, with about a quarter of those dogs in crates at a time. She said the workers' numbers fail to consider the watch of groomers, bathers, and other positions. At night, she usually staffs two people once they reach 70 dogs, which she said is better than other places.  But the workers' safety concerns don’t stop there. They also want Downtown Dog Lounge to establish better emergency protocols. Worker Elsie Hedberg told The Stranger that Vincentini created a fire safety plan a couple of years ago that instructed workers to put up to 15 dogs on a very long leash and then walk them to safety. When the team practiced the protocol with five to ten dogs, Hedberg said that one dog got tangled up and choked by the long leash. If they had not been quick enough to cut the dog off the leash, the animal could have easily died, she said.  Vincentini remembers that incident but said Hedberg greatly exaggerated it. She said the point of drills is to work out the kinks, and obviously the workers conducting the drill did not properly use the leashes, which she said many other dog caretakers use. She said Downtown Dog Lounge is constantly updating its safety protocols regardless of the union contract.  While not included in the four demands on their website, day-to-day safety seems of concern to workers, too. In a now infamous Slack exchange last November, workers fought Vincentini on her suggestion that the company put rocks in the dogs’ food bowls instead of buying new slow-feeders. Vincentini claimed she had fed her dogs using that method since 2002. “This is the safest method, it’s cost effective and impossible for a dog to chew,” she said, sending a photo in Slack of her dog eating kibble around a large rock. Her workers raised concerns that the dogs may break their teeth or the rocks may not be sanitary. Vincentini told The Stranger that the staff "boo-hooed" her out of the idea, and to her knowledge Downtown Dog Lounge does not use the rock method. Finally, the workers are also fighting for more regular maintenance to the Downtown Dog Lounge facilities. When asked to name specific maintenance requests, Hedberg said, “Everything… it feels like the buildings are falling apart.” Another worker, Maribeth Fletcher, sent pictures to The Stranger showing temperatures from 48 degrees to 90 degrees in their boarding facilities. According to the Animal Welfare Act, dogs should not be boarded at temperatures below 45 degrees Fahrenheit or above 85 degrees Fahrenheit for more than four consecutive hours. The allegedly poor temperature regulation worried Fletcher so much that she told her friend to cancel a boarding reservation. Vincentini said that "things break" and Downtown Dog Lounge tried to address temperature issues as soon as possible.  Workers in the Dog House Workers told The Stranger that the bargaining team hasn’t made much headway on any of their demands because of Vincentini’s antics. They allege that she derails focus to smaller details such as dress code and she retaliates against workers when they push for their demands. For example, Fletcher said she used to be the go-to on-call worker, and she was always working overtime. Then, in September, after Vincentini learned Fletcher was on the bargaining team, management cut Fletcher’s hours so that she basically only works when someone calls out sick or during busy seasons. According to screenshots of documents The Stranger reviewed, Fletcher lost her benefits in March because she no longer worked enough to earn them. She enrolled in COBRA health insurance even though she does not make enough money to pay for it.  Fletcher felt that Vincentini seemed poised to fire her several times since September. According to screenshots of a November 2023 Slack message, Vincentini threatened to fire Fletcher over an anonymous post on Facebook showing temperatures in the Ballard facility at a borderline unsafe 48 degrees Fahrenheit. Fletcher admitted she took the picture, but someone else posted it after she sent it in Slack. In January, Downtown Dog Lounge launched an investigation against Fletcher related to the Facebook post and other allegations of rule-breaking, including bringing too many dogs to work and not clocking out in a timely manner, adding up to about 12 extra hours, according to a letter from the Ballard general manager. Vincentini said the investigation is ongoing. Fletcher speculated that management is targeting her because she’s older than many of the other workers and has more experience in animal care and child care. She said she knows what’s safe, what’s unsafe, and she’s not scared to speak out. “The moment you show you’re not an absolute sycophant, [Vincentini] is watching you and she has a target on your back,” she said.  Vincentini rejects Fletcher's characterization. "We have had no retaliation toward any of our employees," she said. "[Fletcher] makes a lot of accusations that are not true as you can see." The workers believe their petition will pressure Vincentini to act.  Vincentini said she's not giving the petition much thought. "We started this business out of my love for animals, and I have treated my employees exceptionally well. Unfortunately, this group of people feels differently, but my focus is and always will be on my client, employees, and the dogs," she said.  So far, only about 270 people have signed the petition, but in a city with more dog parents than, well, actual parents, the workers have a broad base of dog-lovers to sic on their boss.  One signatory wrote that she stopped taking her dog to Downtown Dog Lounge because he could “feel that stress.” She continued, “Please take care of your staff, they are lovely and deserve the best!” Another signatory also said she stopped taking her dog to the Downtown Dog Lounge. “I can't trust a place to take care of my pet if they don't take care of their workers,” she wrote. Another signatory told Vincentini, “I love my dog, and when she needs care I insist that there be sufficiently well-paid and unstressed workers to care for her. I will not use your services until your conditions improve for staff and pets. Please get a grip.” Fletcher told The Stranger that their customers understand that better working conditions for them means safer conditions for their dogs. “We’re not at [Downtown Dog Lounge] because we love how [Vincentini] treats us or because we get paid so well,” she said. “We’re here because we care about these dogs.”

The Seattle Public Library Announces 1,500 Hours of Closures in the Next Eight Weeks
They're reducing libraries because they won't tax the rich. by Hannah Krieg This morning, the Seattle Public Library (SPL) announced 180 days of library closures from April 12 to June 2, adding up to nearly 1,500 hours of cuts to a critical public service. All branches will be closed one day per week, with a few exceptions. Madrona-Sally Goldmark, Montlake, and Wallingford will be closed twice a week. The Capitol Hill branch will be closed Sundays and open two hours late Thursdays. The Central Library Downtown and the Ballard, Deldrige, Greenwood, University branches will remain open as usual. The announcement comes days after SPL closed seven libraries, about a quarter of the system, in one day due to staffing shortages exacerbated by a hiring freeze on all departments except for “essential” positions such as police officers, firefighters, and social workers in the new dual dispatch program. Mayor Bruce Harrell instituted the freeze to prevent deepening the City’s quarter-billion-dollar budget deficit.  With the green light from the Mayor's office, SPL will use these next eight weeks to hire 12 more mostly temporary staff members and then reassess the service cuts. SPL spokesperson Laura Gentry said she could not guarantee the libraries will return to normal service if they hire 12 staffers by June 2.  Gentry emphasized SPL’s respect for its partnership with the Mayor’s office in this decision to cut service. The Mayor funds 60% of the library’s budget, so it’s important to maintain a good relationship, but some library workers wish the higher-ups would take a more adversarial position. “[SPL] doesn’t want to burn bridges with the Mayor, but the Mayor is burning bridges with us when he closes our libraries instead of funding them,” said a library worker at a small branch who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. Workers who spoke to The Stranger worried that these cuts serve as a “dress rehearsal” for an austerity budget from the Mayor’s office later this year.  1,500 Hours of Public Good Gone The City is denying Seattleites 1,500 hours of learning, checking out books, applying for jobs, talking with neighbors, sheltering from bad weather, and, though librarians should not be de facto social workers, perhaps overdose prevention, workers said.  “The Mayor recognizes the critical importance of library access and the role libraries play supporting Seattle communities,” Mayoral spokesperson Jamie Housen said in a text. “We are working closely with SPL to address staffing challenges and create schedule stability for patrons and workers.” Gentry told The Stranger that SPL tried to be strategic in its closures by staggering them, spreading them geographically, trying to protect important programming, and maintaining service at high-volume libraries. The libraries will still manage to operate above pre-pandemic levels, Gentry said.  Gentry said SPL has dealt with staffing issues for a long time, far predating the hiring freeze. Typically, the department operates at a 4% vacancy rate, which amounts to about 25 to 30 positions out of an authorized 705. As of April 10, the SPL carries 67 vacant positions for a rate of 9.6%, more than double the normal amount.  As a non-executive department with its own hiring authority, SPL technically does not have to abide by the Mayor’s hiring freeze, but Chief Librarian Tom Fay instituted a freeze to keep in step with the Mayor, Gentry said.  SPL and Harrell agreed on 12 exemptions to the non-executive department’s self-imposed hiring freeze. Those exemptions would bring SPL to a vacancy rate of 7.8%, leaving 55 positions still open. Gentry said the department will hire two regional managers who will likely join SPL permanently and 10 other librarian positions that will likely be temporary.  Gentry said SPL does not want to hire too many people permanently because they do not know how their budget will change when Harrell unveils his draft budget later this year in the face of a large revenue shortfall. She could not comment on SPL’s budget requests for 2025-2026.  Library in Limbo Gentry also could not speak to what the City should do to pay for the library to stay fully operational, at least to the standards approved in the 2019 library levy, which pays for 30% of SPL’s budget. More than 70% of voters approved the levy with the top-billed intention to keep all libraries open Sunday at noon. For the next eight weeks, Beacon Hill, Broadview, Capitol Hill, High Point, Lake City, Magnolia, and Rainier Beach branches will be closed at that time.  Gentry suggested that concerned patrons could donate to the Seattle Public Library Foundation to support local libraries, but some library workers told The Stranger that calls for charity don’t cut it.  “This is super disappointing, and it’s important to remember that this is a choice,” said a library worker from the Central Library. “Service cuts are not some naturally occurring phenomenon.” The library worker suggested the city council revisit the seemingly abandoned report from the Progressive Revenue Stabilization Workgroup to find ways to fund struggling programs. The council has been very shy to call for new taxes on big business or the wealthy—probably because that’s who got them elected.  But they sure did make a point in a March meeting of the Libraries, Education and Neighborhoods committee to talk about how much they love libraries. The committee members shared anecdotes about their childhood memories at libraries, including Chair Maritza Rivera, who said the library was the only place her mom would let her go alone in the “inner city.” Rivera, self-proclaimed library-lover, did not respond to my request for comment about the closures.  Another library worker told The Stranger that people will be pissed that the libraries are closing —“Everybody loves the library! What the hell are you doing?”— but she said their anger should not stop there. The Mayor has shown he doesn’t care about hugely popular, critical public services, so prepare to fight for every single City program you care about come budget season.

Slog AM: Biden Backs Israel Against Iran in Potential Regional War, 20 Unions Tell City to Defend Gig Worker Minimum Wage, Five New Dog Parks You Can Go to INSTEAD OF Cal Anderson
The Stranger's morning news roundup. by Hannah Krieg Seattle vibes coming in STRONG: I hope you got a chance to bask in the sun yesterday because Seattleites will have no such opportunity today, according to the forecast from Weather.com. This morning, expect cloudy skies and temperatures crawling from the high 40s to low 50s. At around 4 pm, you should start to see some showers that will carry on into Friday morning. I hope Charles enjoys himself :) Good morning, folks. The sun is rising over increasing clouds ahead of the next disturbance. We'll see rain and showers return to western Washington as the day progresses. #wawx pic.twitter.com/2UbTSynzpn — NWS Seattle (@NWSSeattle) April 11, 2024 Uh oh: After Israel bombed Iran's embassy in Syria earlier this month, Iran may bomb them right back. Israel has vowed to retaliate against Iran’s retaliation, so some fear regional war may be on the horizon. President Joe Biden has already picked a side, saying the US's commitment to protect Israel is still “ironclad.” Hamas: The Israeli army killed three sons of Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh in northern Gaza yesterday on Eid al-Fitr. Haniyeh said that Israel has killed around 60 of his family members, including a number of his grandchildren, in its continued bombardment of Gaza.  Pay up: Remember how I told you that the Seattle City Council may repeal or massively change a three-month old minimum wage ordinance for gig delivery drivers? Well, the campaign to keep the minimum wage is heating up! MLK Labor Council sent a letter to Mayor Bruce Harrell and the Seattle City Council demanding that they resist the corporate call to roll back the basic protection. The letter also called out the council for not including workers but rather a lobby group backed by Uber in its closed-door discussions about changes to the policy. Twenty unions signed onto the letter, including political power players such as UFCW 3000 and SEIU 775.  I’d like a word with the labor champions: I’m not sure when the city council will vote on the minimum wage ordinance. Central staff still has to submit draft legislation, the council president has to put it on the calendar, the bill has to go through committee, yada yada yada. But when it does, I’m looking directly at the council members who got money from both labor and big business: Council Members Joy Hollingsworth, Cathy Moore, and Dan Strauss. The only member not to receive campaign donations from big business, Council Member Tammy Morales, spoke up immediately against the rush to change or repeal the bill. I basically expect nothing but ghoulishness from purely business-backed Council Members Rob Saka, Maritza Rivera, Bob Kettle, Tanya Woo, and Sara Nelson. But Hollingsworth won UFCW 3000's endorsement, and labor, for better or for worse, crowned Moore and Strauss the labor candidates in their races. This issue will test their loyalties. One more thing: The minimum wage issue also highlights the differences between the candidates in the citywide seat. Appointed Council Member Woo, who launched a campaign to be elected to that seat, has kept quiet on the issue, but her competitor, Alexis Mercedes Rinck, went to public comment earlier this week to support the protection.  Went to City Hall today during my lunch break to show support for our gig workers! #FightTheFee pic.twitter.com/eRDOYDwtdu — Alexis Mercedes Rinck (@Alexis4Seattle) April 10, 2024 ICYMI: Cops and courts reporter Ashley Nerbovig read the proposed contract between the City and Seattle Police Officers' Guild so you don’t have to! She found a whole lot of nothing for anyone who does not have their tongue on a boot at all times. Yesterday she wrote that the contract kills any hope that Seattle will start up a real police alternative even though everyone and their mother, including Mayor Bruce Harrell, promised alternatives during their campaign. Hate to see it! The City did something I like: Seattle’s getting five new dog parks, and, no, Cal Anderson is still not one of them. Please fuck all the way off to one of the actually designated dog parks! And not one of them is Cal Anderson https://t.co/XRdfNsXIHd pic.twitter.com/qP829UNmJN — Hannah Krieg (@hannahkrieg) April 10, 2024 Another one: Last night, Council Members Rob Saka and Tanya Woo openly criticized the Mayor's exceptionally conservative Comprehensive Plan, a roadmap for the city's housing growth over the next 20 years. Those two join Council Member Tammy Morales, the sole progressive, in advocating for more housing than the Mayor's office proposed. Urbanists, keep yelling at your council members. It's working.  LETS FUCKING GO ROB https://t.co/y3cIvAKdCz — Hannah Krieg (@hannahkrieg) April 11, 2024 Gun show loophole: The Biden administration announced today that the president used executive powers to change some definitions to require smaller arms dealers to register for a federal selling license and run background checks before selling guns. Now Biden says that Congress needs to “finish the job” and pass a law requiring universal background checks. New ad just dropped: After Arizona State Supreme Court upheld an 1864 law that made performing an abortion a felony, Biden is rolling out new campaign ads to target women in distress. In the 30-second ad he says: “The question is—if Donald Trump gets back in power, what freedom will you lose next?” He goes on to promise to "fight like hell to get your freedom back.” I'm sorry, but who was president when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade? Sure, Trump's appointments did it, but I just don't believe him when he says he will fight like hell. Like why not start now?  Do or die: The Hill wrote that former President Donald Trump faces a "do-or-die moment" in his ongoing effort to delay the start of his hush money trial until after he wins the election in November. He's tried everything, and you would to if you thought that the presidency could stop the clock on four criminal trials while you're in office! But with judges rejecting more of his trickery this week, he may be running out of options. Russia: Russia fired 82 airstrikes on the largest power-generating plant in Kyiv this morning. The plant's destroyed, power's down, but nobody died in the initial attack, according to CNN.   O.J. Simpson is dead: The famous football player and murder trial defendant fell to cancer.  Let’s just get ahead of this: The Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce released findings from its new “quality of life” survey. Participants rated quality of life in Seattle a 4.24 out of 10. Would have been kinda cool if it was 4.20, but whatever. I looked at the questions, and I gotta say it does not seem as if the Chamber cares about normal peoples’ quality of life so much as they care about building a case against taxation. The survey found that 60% of the 700 respondents think taxes are “too high,” and 76% want the City to reprioritize funding rather than institute new taxes. So, in tying taxes to quality of life, the Chamber will dishonestly use these numbers to suggest that taxes make Seattle a worse place to live, which is untrue because taxes fund every public good the City offers—libraries, lifeguards, food programs, enforcement of labor laws, enforcement of renter protections, etc. Maybe ask if they value those services! Plus, the Chamber will use its findings to fight against taxes that hit the big businesses they represent, not fight against regressive taxes that actually burden the average person. If the Chamber cared about quality of life, then they would stop bugging me with this nonsense.  You need to see it: I’m sorry, but if you haven’t seen JoJo Siwa’s new music video, you’re missing foundational material.

Stranger Suggests: Eliza McLamb, Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe, Pizza Week, Tina Fey & Amy Poehler: Restless Leg Tour, DREAM TEMPLE (for Octavia)
One really great thing to do every day of the week. by Adam Willems WEDNESDAY 4/10   DREAM TEMPLE (for Octavia) (VISUAL ART) Artists Mia Imani and Mayola Tikaka call upon the extraordinary visions of Octavia Butler for this installation, which features a low-lit resting space, an altar, and imagery of Black rest. Head to King Street Station to contemplate Butler's visionary worlds, which counteract intergenerational trauma and stress often experienced by Black people with a "portal of healing and imagining." By the way, Butler prophesized an eerily accurate, destabilized world in 2024, so Imani and Tikaka's rest space has arrived just in time. Throughout the exhibition, visitors can engage with rest rituals, hear interviews, and watch performances by the artists. (King Street Station, 303 S Jackson St, Wed-Sat through May 23, free, all ages) LINDSAY COSTELLO THURSDAY 4/11   A Special Event with Steve Almond: How to Conquer Writer’s Block and the Other Evil Voices Inside You Steve Almond will be at Hugo House Thursday, April 11. COURTESY OF THE AUTHOR (BOOKS) Earlier this week prolific author Steve Almond hosted a class at Hugo House to help writers overcome some of the most common—and most annoying—creative obstacles. If you missed it, do not fear! Tonight Almond will join Stranger co-founder and former publisher Tim Keck to discuss Almond's new book Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow: A DIY Manual for the Construction of Stories and also offer hard-earned insight regarding the creative process. Are you plagued by writer's block? Fighting imposter syndrome demons? Dying to tell your story but worried you'll piss off friends, relatives, and/or enemies? Almond can help! Bonus: The bar will be open (with both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options) and Hello, Robin is bringing cookies, which is perfect because, in my personal experience, nothing gets the creative juices flowing faster than heaps of sugar. (Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 7 pm, free) MEGAN SELING FRIDAY 4/12   Eliza McLamb (MUSIC) I am a regular listener of the feminist philosophy/pop culture podcast Binchtopia—a "Binchie" to be precise (IYKYK)—so, the fact that I will be in the presence of my parasocial bestie Eliza McLamb this week has me shaking in my boots. If you know anything about her podcast with Julia Hava, then you know that McLamb is incredibly insightful about the trials of girlhood, which is the heart of her debut album, Going Through It. Exploring female friendships ("Glitter"), parentified children ("Bird"), social media addiction ("Modern Woman"), and being mythologized by boys ("Mythologize Me"), the album chronicles her own experiences of growing up through tender folk-tinged lullabies and ferocious indie rock anthems. She will support the album alongside the LA-based indie rock project Mini Trees. (Barboza, 925 E Pike, 7 pm, $16-$18, all ages) AUDREY VANN SATURDAY 4/13   Tina Fey & Amy Poehler: Restless Leg Tour (COMEDY) Few comedic roles live on in the public consciousness like Tina Fey's Liz Lemon and Amy Poehler's Leslie Knope—even if you've somehow never watched a single episode of 30 Rock or Parks and Recreation, you know damn well who they are. The comedy queens, who, unsurprisingly, are also BFFs, will celebrate 30 years of camaraderie with jokes, stories, and "conversational entertainment," which I hope involves Tina eating her night cheese. (WaMu Theater, 800 Occidental Ave S, 3 and 6 pm, tickets were still available for both performances starting at $111.50 at press time, all ages) LINDSAY COSTELLO SUNDAY 4/14   Jim Gaffigan: Barely Alive Tour (COMEDY) Despite being nominated for seven Grammys, Jim Gaffigan still feels like an everyman—like, I think I could talk to him about my landlord's refusal to replace my broken dishwasher, and he'd at least attempt to understand it. I'm probably completely wrong, but you know what I mean, right? Anyway, the relatively family-friendly dude will crack some jokes about his impressive food consumption and the trials and tribulations of daily life on this tour. (Promotional materials report that he lives in Manhattan with his wife and five "loud and expensive" children, so prepare for anecdotes about their antics.) (Paramount Theatre, 911 Pike St, April 11-14, tickets were still available for multiple nights starting at $39.50 at press time, all ages) LINDSAY COSTELLO MONDAY 4/15   Stranger Pizza Week 🍕 The Primo at Ballard Pizza Co. SLU. COURTESY OF BALLARD PIZZA CO. (FOOD) More than a dozen Seattle-area restaurants are participating in The Stranger's Pizza Week from April 15-21. We've got spots from Northgate to Kirkland to Burien and everywhere in between all slinging slices for just $4 and whole specialty pies for $25. To name a few: 32 Bar & Grill is offering a lobster pizza, Big Mario's has the OG Ranch (with both ranch and buffalo sauce!), Kobo's serving up a Yuzu Smoked Salmon pie, and Stevie's Famous is keeping things simple but still undeniably delicious with slices of CHEESE!, a cheese pizza with a naturally leavened sourdough crust. Yum! (Various locations, April 15-21, see the full list of participants here) THE STRANGER'S PIZZA-LOVING PROMOTIONS DEPARTMENT TUESDAY 4/16   Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe with Tayi Tibble—Thunder Song: Essays Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe will be at Third Place Books Lake Forest Park Tuesday, April 16. Photo by BRIDGET MCGEE HOUCHINS  (BOOKS) With just a handful of pages to go in Thunder Song, a series of essays from award-winning Coast Salish author Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe, LaPointe asks her reader, “Are you listening yet?” She breaks the fourth wall, but she isn’t speaking for just herself. With poignant essays that center her own experiences, the Coast Salish landscapes, livelihoods, and people who were lost to colonialism—while unapologetically celebrating those who survive—LaPointe sees herself preventing Indigenous erasure in multigenerational company. She traces the ongoing struggle from Chief Seattle, to her great-grandmother and namesake, Upper Skagit elder Vi taqwšəblu Hilbert, to herself. Read more in our interview with LaPointe here and then see her Tuesday night at Third Place Books Lake Forest Park in conversation with poet Tayi Tibble. (Third Place Books Lake Forest Park, 17171 Bothell Way NE Lake Forest Park, 7 pm, all ages, free) ADAM WILLEMS

Proposed Contract Kills Any Hope for Real Police Alternatives in Seattle
Instead of creating serious police alternatives that could save the City money and help alleviate staffing shortages at the department, the MOU outlines civilian roles that look more like personal assistants to cops and that protect cushy positions wholly unsuited for some of the City’s highest-paid employees. by Ashley Nerbovig When he ran for Mayor, Bruce Harrell promised to find ways not to send a gun and a badge to every single little call fielded by the Seattle Police Department (SPD). But a draft memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the City and the Seattle Police Officers’ Guild (SPOG) that details the expansion of civilian work within SPD falls well short of fulfilling that promise. Instead of creating serious police alternatives that could save the City money and help alleviate staffing shortages at the department, the MOU outlines civilian roles that look more like personal assistants to cops and that protect cushy positions wholly unsuited for some of the City’s highest-paid employees. According to the language of the agreement, which SPOG briefly posted online on Friday alongside a copy of the overall tentative collective bargaining agreement, the police union agreed to allow civilians and former law enforcement officers to help with about 18 different tasks normally performed by SPD officers. Among other things, SPOG graciously allowed civilians to handle the chores of delivering mobile fingerprint readers to cops, performing mail runs, and delivering messages (except death notifications).  SPOG also agreed to allow civilians to review automated traffic safety camera violations, which capture people running red lights or speeding through school zones. Tapping non-sworn workers to do that job could actually be really helpful. In 2023, SPD cost the City about $4.3 million in revenue when its officers failed to review about 100,000 tickets over two years. At the time, SPD blamed staffing shortages for their failure. However, though SPOG said civilians can now help out with that task, the union stipulated that the City had to “preserve” five positions in that unit for cops. In March, SPD assigned just three officers to review traffic citations. On average, the City pays those officers $68 an hour, or $141,700 a year, to review photos and sign off on citations.  SPOG’s insistence that the City allow the department to maintain at least five police officer positions for that job makes sense when you look at who SPD has stashed in that department in the past. Before the roster began listing him as an unavailable person, SPOG Vice President Officer Daniel Auderer spent some time reviewing parking tickets after video emerged of him laughing at Jaahnavi Kandula’s death. A look at recent rosters shows that several officers who worked in the photo unit either had an active OPA investigation at the time, appeared to be close to retirement, or both. The union's push to set aside five of these positions for bad apples and senior officers with six-digit salaries looking for busy work shows that the union values diversity in its administrative jobs over the City’s interest in keeping the community safe.  Other restrictions throughout the MOU clarify that civilians in the department act as subordinates to the police, not as police alternatives. For instance, the agreement strictly prohibits civilians from responding to wellness checks on people dealing with mental illness and substance abuse disorders, the very calls supposedly meant to be handled by Seattle’s new Community Assisted Response and Engagement (CARE) team. Non-sworn SPD staff can respond to some 911 calls, such as ones about noise complaints and missing persons, but only if a sergeant has screened the call first. Under the agreement, civilians can field calls without a sergeant's approval if they involve a landlord and tenant dispute so long as that dispute involves no confrontation or disturbance, emergency food and shelter requests, less than $750 in property damage, and features no related witnesses, suspects, evidence, or malicious harassment. And just to wrap all of this up in a nice bow, the MOU emphasizes that employing civilians to do any of this work “will not prohibit officers from doing any of the functions identified above.” So the public can still expect to pay a median salary of $58 per hour for officers to carry messages, check the mail, and pick up lost property.

Please Stop Calling the Cops on My Geo Tracker
Whoever you are, can you let my car die in peace? by Anonymous I drive a Geo Tracker, a car that resembles a squished Jeep or a Hot Wheel magically enlarged. Men–mostly named Kyle and Matt–tuck handwritten notes under the windshield wipers asking if I want to sell. I do not want to sell. Why would I? This car reaches blistering speeds of 95 miles per hour. She ran great until she didn’t. The engine began shrieking to life when temperatures dropped below 50 degrees. I had to crawl over the passenger seat every time I drove because the driver’s side lock broke in an ice storm. A rain leak molded the carpet so severely I’m convinced new antibiotics could have been discovered. I cut out the carpet with a utility knife and decided the bare metal floor looked cool and industrial, or something. The final straw came when a coolant leak spewed onto the engine and evaporated into hot, sweet-smelling white clouds. The failure coincided with a pricey medical bill, temporarily beaching my car on the street.  That’s when a neighborhood busybody first reported my car abandoned. In Seattle, any car that has not been moved for 72 hours can be reported and ordered to move to another block. Then the parking cops come, they chalk the tire, and they slap a red label on the windshield. It’s more than annoying.  Despite fixing my car, the reports are still happening. My tires are lousy with yellow cop chalk. I think it’s because a neighbor just hates the look of my car, or maybe they think I’m parked in what should be their spot on the street.  I don’t drive daily, and if I do, I try for a spot in front of my place like everyone else on this block–and yet I don’t see chalk on their tires. I even informed the last officer I caught slapping a sticky red label on my windshield that the car did in fact have an owner–me. The officer said he had no choice but to answer the complaints, allowing for this weird campaign to continue. My ugly, sweet ride is not long for this world. Whoever you are, can you let her die in peace? Do you need to get something off your chest? Submit an I, Anonymous and we'll illustrate it! Send your unsigned rant, love letter, confession, or accusation to ianonymous@thestranger.com. Please remember to change the names of the innocent and the guilty.

Slog AM: Gun Sales Down in WA, Another Boeing Whistleblower Emerges, Poll Shows the Message on More Housing Isn't Working
The Stranger's morning news roundup. by Rich Smith They're not getting the message: In a recent poll, only 26% of Washington voters agreed that "building more units of housing in my community will help stabilize the price of housing where I live," according to a Seattle Times analysis. As the Times mentions, in other surveys majorities of Washington voters embrace more density, and so the results from this poll may simply be catching voter cynicism about home prices ever coming within reach, which is understandable. Building new housing will only slow the rate of price increases, but that's better than not building enough and then watching housing prices skyrocket, so it's worth building more everywhere. Two women accuse UW football player of rape: Tylin "Tybo" Rogers faces rape charges after he allegedly matched with women on Tinder late last year and sexually assaulted them, according to KING 5. Though the team suspended him in November of 2023, he was "allowed to return" in mid December and went on to play a bowl game and a national championship game. "Officials said there were multiple emails within the UW Athletic Department confirming Rogers should be taken off the team's travel roster for the Pac-12 championship game, but there was no documentation of reasons for the move," the outlet writes.  Kinda fun:  The power to amend the Washington State Constitution is on the ballot this year.All Dems need to do is hold their current seats (possible), pick up four seats in the Senate and eight in the House (plausible), and elect a Dem Governor (probable). #waelexhttps://t.co/fXr0AoyDit — The Stranger 🗞 (@TheStranger) April 9, 2024 Gun sales down in Washington: After the state banned AR-15s, instituted a 10-day waiting period, and required training before purchasing death machines, gun sales this quarter "as measured by background checks were about half of what they were in January and February" of last year, the Seattle Times reports. At the national level, sales dropped "by only about 11% through the first three months of the year." Good! Related: The Washingtonians who lined up to buy guns before all those restrictions took effect are "more willing to kill to advance political objectives," according to a new "mega-survey" of nearly 13,000 Americans, the Guardian reports. About 56% of those who report carrying a loaded gun every day or almost every day said "violence was justified in the pursuit of a range of specific political objectives." When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time, etc.  Seattle is about to waste so much money on this stupid fucking cop toy: And we're very likely going to be surveilling Black and brown neighborhoods at disproportionally high rates.  BREAKING: Boston Police records show nearly 70% of ShotSpotter surveillance technology alerts led to dead ends.ShotSpotter poses a substantial threat to civil rights and civil liberties – almost exclusively for the Black and brown neighborhoods.https://t.co/qfOSCu0MEy — ACLU Massachusetts (@ACLU_Mass) April 9, 2024 Cornish's Kerry Hall up for sale: The big, white building with the terracotta shingles in North Capitol Hill where the likes of Reggie Watts, John Cage, and Jinx Monsoon developed their geniuses will be sold to the highest bidder. The arts college will invest the money "into Cornish’s existing facilities and operations," reports the Puget Sound Business Journal. I hope it becomes the consulate for some cool country, just like the old Harvard Exit building nearby.  New playground in Ballard opens on 4/20: "Called The Cove, the playground has nautical-themed play equipment, safety surfacing, seat walls, new trees, and utility updates," reports My Ballard. Perhaps wisely, the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department's ribbon-cutting ceremony, complete with "performances and vendors," only lasts until 3 pm.  I just want an airplane that does not fall apart, but that standard may exceed Boeing's capabilities, at least as far as its 787 and 777 planes are concerned. According to the Seattle Times, an engineer named Sam Salehpour will testify next week before a US Senate committee regarding "risk of premature fatigue damage and structural failure" on those jets. Boeing denies the allegations. Give Mudede the Pulitzer already:  #BREAKING: The Seattle Times finally admits @mudede was right about Boeing's downfall. https://t.co/gLI5CVHOAx — The Stranger 🗞 (@TheStranger) April 9, 2024 You can still get an abortion in Arizona through May, but it's looking dicey after that. On Tuesday, the state's Republican supreme court upheld a law from 1864—before Arizona was even a state—banning "nearly all abortions," reports the New York Times. According to the judges, the repeal of Roe v Wade unlocked enforcement of the "territorial-era" law, and subsequent abortion laws in the state do not supersede it. For now, the Arizona supremes paused enforcement while lower courts hear challenges to it and Democratic lawmakers work to delay implementation.  Arizona's governor, Doug Ducey, is trying to distance himself from the Arizona Supreme Court ruling that revived a Civil War-era near-total abortion ban.Anyway, the justices highlighted in yellow were appointed by Doug Ducey. https://t.co/3nsEGpFcpK pic.twitter.com/h0BawaCdmb — Ashton Pittman (@ashtonpittman) April 9, 2024 Inflation ticked up a little: According to Wednesday morning's numbers, inflation sits at 3.5%, which is up 0.3 points year-over-year and up 0.4 points from last month, the Washington Post reports. Analysis now expect the Fed to keep interest rates steady until later in the year.  Those eclipse glasses don't expire: You can hold onto them until 2044, drop them off at a Warby Parker store before the end of the month as way to route them to Astronomers Without Borders, or cut out the lenses and recycle the frame, according to the Washington Post.  God is dead: Nobel prize-winner Peter Higgs, who described how the boson particle, aka the God particle, connects everything in the universe is dead. This line in the BBC's obit got me: "He was a shy man who was uncomfortable with the attention his theory brought him. When the announcement was made, he wiped a tear from his eye, but told journalists: 'It's very nice to be right sometimes.'" Gaza updates: On Tuesday, Israel bombed the Nuseirat refugee camp in the strip's central area, killing 14, Al Jazeera reports. Despite Israel saying otherwise, the United Nations Relief Works Agency says, “There has been no significant change in the volume of humanitarian supplies entering Gaza or improved access to the north." And as Hamas takes a look at the most recent ceasefire proposal, the US plans to meet with Israeli officials "in a couple of weeks" to continue discussions on the upcoming invasion of Rafah.  Throwback to the yeehaw moment: This song returned to me this week, and I honor that return here: 

Seattle Times Admits Mudede Was Right About Boeing's Downfall
Why was Charles so right about this bad business in the first place? by Charles Mudede True, aerospace reporter Dominic Gates, didn't mention my name in his longish article "Boeing’s long fall, and how it might recover," but he did (fucking finally) mention the negative impact Boeing's decade-long buyback bonanza had on the relationship with labor and, ultimately, the production of planes. Before that article, posted on April 7, there was no mention of buybacks from Gates and other business reporters employed by Seattle Times. The whole matter was, according to their judgment, entirely irrelevant. A lot of hot air. Fanciful even. But five years after the crashes, and during a year (2024) Boeing is facing increasing government and industry-wide scrutiny for a number of high-profile fuck ups, Gates finally got around to saying what I said in 2017: Boeing’s leaders delivered gushers of cash to shareholders through stock buybacks and dividends — $68 billion since 2010, according to Melius Research — rather than investing in future all-new airplanes. There you have it. And it's coming out because the Seattle Times has nothing to lose. They are kicking a horse that's on the ground. This was not the case in 2017 or 2012. Why? As an industry analyst explained to me in 2019, if the Seattle Times published a negative piece about Boeing, then the then-Chicago-based company would have closed the doors on its reporters. The result? You can find it in this post, which does not mince words: "Seattle Times Systematically Misinformed Readers About Boeing Until It Was Too Late." What you must ask yourself at this point is: "Why was Charles so right about this bad business in the first place? Why did he mention buybacks back in the wilderness of 2017, a full seven years before it was mentioned in the Seattle Times?" The answer: I knew what to look for. Let's begin with the Everett Herald's 2017 post "Boeing says it plans to lay off hundreds of engineers." It's by Dan Catchpole. Upon reading it, I found this key passage: Boeing executives have promised to keep sending more cash to shareholders and to boost profits to about 15 percent of revenue, more than 50 percent above the company’s performance last year. They also pledged to continue spending billions of dollars to buy back issued shares, driving up the value of outstanding shares. Now, how did I recognize the importance of buybacks? Because I read the books of real economists. Meaning, I read not the economics you find in most universities or in academic journals and also newspapers. We call that sort of rubbish neoclassical (or orthodox) economics. It can be dismissed not so much as fiction (as it has some realism in it) but as the anthropology of a very small, and always dwindling, tribe called People with Way Too Much Money. The neoclassical school calls this tribe homoeconomicus. The economics I read and follow is called heterodox. And an economist in this school, which includes Marxists, Keynesians, Post-Keynes, Kaleckians, Minskyians, and so on, is Mariana Mazzucato. She is a  neo-Schumpeter (Joseph Schumpeter, a conservative economist, is now in the heterodox camp). Neo-Schumpeterians examine the sources and dynamics of technological innovation. I read Mazzucato's book in 2013, and its pages revealed an astute thinker. Her point was this: the market is not the source of innovation; the state is—the state funds research in universities and (problematically) the military. These public investments drive innovation. The market, on the other hand, was spending less and less on research and development (R&D). Why? And this was the passage that opened a door I didn't even know existed: Activist investor Carl Icahn is at it again, this time writing an open letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook and urging the company to buy back $150 billion of its own stock.His idea: Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) shares are extremely undervalued, so now's the time for the company to invest in itself — and increase the value of its investors' stock holdings. Buybacks come down to the company using its cash not to invest in research or workers but to buy back its own stock, and this makes shareholders richer because the value of their stock rises. This is, of course, state-permitted stock manipulation. The upshot? Because shareholder greed knows no limit, the executives of a company (who are also shareholders) are forced into the vicious cycle of raising the cash buybacks demand. And a bunch of this needed cash is tied up in wages. The link between the buybacks and the layoffs is here established. Boeing was caught in this vicious cycle when its planes started falling out of the sky. Because I'm a Marxist (in the analytical sense, and not at all the historical materialism sense, which is filled with a lot of Victorian/Hegelian humbug), I begin with the fact that the subject of economics is capitalism. How does it work? How does it begin and end the day? What are its vital components? One component, for example, concerns the point at which the falling rate of profit and relative surplus value meet. The latter describes how a technological innovation gives, when first applied by a manufacturer, a vast advantage over competitors using older technology. But eventually, the competitors catch on and adopt the innovation. This brings an end to the extraordinary profits, and the profit rate begins to fall until it's, once again, normal. Something like this happened in modern finance, the dominant form of capitalism in our day. One such innovation in this market was buybacks. They exploded in the previous decade and raised stock prices way above their actual value. Fine. But because a Marxist knows they are dealing with a structure that is cultural, they know it is readable. An innovation in this economy is going to spread. If rentiers apply buyback pressure on pharmaceutical corporations and those in tech, they are going to do the same with the aerospace industry. And, sure enough, they did. This is where we are now.

What Should I Do Down There?
A new episode of the Savage Lovecast. by The Stranger A woman’s boyfriend wants her to play with his ass. But she doesn’t know where to begin. Fingers? Tongue? What should she do down there? A woman keeps getting harassed by men in cars jacking it and watching her creepily. What can she do in these unpleasant moments? On the Magnum, Dan chats with journalist Ben Ryan about the effects of PrEP in gay sex culture. As DAN PREDICTED, with the rise of PrEP use, HIV infections plummeted, but other STIs are on the rise. Are condoms dead? Not so fast. Finally, a lesbian couple is planning to have children. First one will carry the baby, then it will be the other one’s turn for the second child. The mother of the woman who will carry the first baby blurted out that she was excited to be the bio grandmother. The non-bio mom-to-be was offended, and she doesn’t know how to let it go. When they have their second child will the grandmother love the child as much? Here’s the story from the intro. width="100%">

Washington State Democrats Could Win Supermajorities in 2024
The ability to amend the state constitution in a way that fixes so much broken nonsense is on the ballot. by Rich Smith The 2024 election cycle looks very good for Washington State Democrats.  The party currently boasts sizable majorities in the State Legislature, holding 29 of 49 seats in the state Senate and 58 of 98 seats in the State House. With Donald Trump at the top of the ticket scaring the bejeezus out of normies, and with favorable new political boundaries, Democrats appear poised to increase those majorities. If they defend a few easily defensible seats and win a handful of plausibly winnable seats, they could even secure supermajorities in both chambers. Assuming voters elect a Democratic Governor, which seems probable, Democrats would then have the power to amend the state constitution—provided they all agree on what they’d like to change. “It’s pretty exciting, heavy stuff to think about what kinds of things might be possible for us,” said state Sen. Jamie Pedersen, who chairs the Washington Senate Democratic Campaign committee.  In phone interviews, both he and his counterpart in the House, Rep. Monica Stonier, mentioned changing the school bond threshold to a simple majority, codifying abortion protections, and adjusting some language to allow the state to experiment with universal basic income programs.  But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Over the phone, Washington State Democratic Party Spokesperson Stephen called winning legislative supermajorities "a stretch goal," but he felt bullish on increasing majorities in both chambers and adding some progressive politicians to the Senate to help win vital legislation the old guard spiked last session. To achieve those goals, the party plans to recruit candidates in every race and to stand up offices in all corners of the state. And for the first time, this year they've launched a constituency organizing program to build support among core populations within the party, including Latino, native, Black, and young voters.  But will they be successful? Let's see! Please join me on a little romp through the state's electoral battlefield.  Easy D for the Senate This year Senate Democrats must defend three seats, thanks mostly to the somewhat adorable political ambitions of a few conservative donkeys. The good news is all those seats look pretty easy to defend. Over in east King County’s 5th Legislative District, state Sen. Mark Mullet tilted his lance at Attorney General Bob Ferguson in the race for Governor, leaving the senate seat wide open. One of Mullet’s counterparts in the House, State Rep. Bill Ramos, has called dibs. Ramos, a skilled campaigner and fundraiser, currently leads the field with nearly $100,000 raised. Though redistricting made this district a touch more conservative, in 2020 Biden won the 5th with 57% of the vote, and in 2022 Ramos beat a Republican with 59% of the vote share. Should be fine. Over on the peninsula, State Sen. Kevin Van De Wege, who helped kill the anti-rent gouging bill in Olympia this session, is pursuing a job as Washington’s Public Lands Commissioner, which leaves open his seat in the 24th Legislative District.  Rep. Mike Chapman, one of that district’s representatives in the House, currently faces Republican Marcia Kelbon in the contest to fill the vacancy. Biden only won the district 54% to 45%, making it the toughest hold for Senate Dems, but Chapman will benefit from his seven years of incumbency and his compelling story as the hero who stopped the Millennium Bomber back in 1999. Moreover, right now nearly 70% of Kelbon’s haul comes from her own pocket and from the pockets of Senate Republicans, which is not suggestive of a grassroots movement of peninsular conservatives begging for change. Down in the 28th Legislative District, which covers the Tacoma ‘burbs, Democratic state Sen. T’wina Nobles is staring down a challenge from Republican Maia Espinoza, who ran a few failed campaigns that only revealed her tenuous grasp on the truth. Biden won the district with 57% of the vote in 2020, and Nobles beat a Moms for Liberty freak in her 2023 school board race with 60% of the vote, so she should be in good shape. The Path to 33 Democratic Senators Senate Dems could pick up four seats this cycle, and they’d need to pick up all of them in order to win the constitutional majority. Some of those pick-ups will be tough, though. Up in the 10th Legislative District, which covers the islands, Island County Commissioner Janet St. Clair aims to give incumbent Sen. Ron Muzzall a run for his money, which stands at a quite considerable $243,000. (St. Clair has raised $50,000 so far.) Back in 2020, Democratic challenger Helen Price Johnson only fell to Muzzall by 1,800 votes. The pandemic prevented her from door-knocking, and though she raised more than half a million dollars, it might take a bit more than that to unseat an incumbent. Some dedicated door-time and money in this race could push St. Clair over the edge, especially given the fact that Democratic House Rep. Clyde Shavers won here in the last cycle. Over in the Yakima Valley, the state's 14th Legislative District looks a whole lot better for Democrats than it used to, thanks to a court redistricting. Biden won in the newly drawn district with 56.6% of the vote, whereas he lost by a point in the old version of the district. However, as an analysis from Andrew Hong at Northwest Progressive Institute (NPI) points out, Sen. Patty Murray actually lost the newly drawn district in 2022 “by a wide margin (43%-57%),” which means Dems will need to hustle and invest cash money if they want to turn out the majority Latino district. Despite the challenges of making headway in a new district, Pedersen said the 14th “feels very possible.”  Right now, he looks to be correct. The process of redrawing the state's political maps displaced incumbent Republican state Sen. Curtis King, and no Republican has filed to run for the senate seat yet. Meanwhile, the Democrats have put up former OneAmerica Board Chair Maria Beltran, who was “born and raised in Yakima and has recently worked for the state House Democratic Campaign Committee,” according to the Yakima Herald-Republic.  Thanks again to redistricting, two opportunities now present themselves in southwest Washington. According to NPI’s analysis, the 17th Legislative District now leans Democratic by a couple points. On top of that, Republican state Sen. Lynda Wilson decided not to run for reelection this year—all of which makes the district highly competitive. Anti-abortion nut Rep. Paul Harris, who represents the 17th in the House, is seeking the promotion to the Senate, but Pedersen said the Dems plan to throw “a really exciting” candidate into the race soon that may trouble his plans. The nearby 18th Legislative District, which now pretty tightly covers the north Vancouver suburbs after redistricting, is looking swingy as well; Biden only lost the district by two points in 2020, and in 2022 a Democratic House candidate came within five points of winning an open seat there. Last week, incumbent Republican state Sen. Ann Rivers announced her retirement—another casualty of redistricting. At the moment, that leaves Trumpy Republican Brad Benton as the the GOP’s best shot to fill the void. Twelve-year Battle Ground City Council incumbent Adrian Cortes has stepped up for the Democrats in that race. He’ll have an uphill battle, but the money and attention that will certainly attend the Congressional race down there between Trump-humping Joe Kent and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez may trickle down-ballot and give Cortes and whoever runs in the 17th a boost. Defending the House The state House of Representatives features double the number of lawmakers, and they’re all up for reelection, so the field is a little more dynamic. Attaining the constitutional majority here may be tougher, too. To do that, House Dems need to defend nine seats—four of which look exceedingly easy to defend—and then pick up eight seats. In terms of geography, the defensive and offensive lines more or less track with those in the Senate. Rep. Stonier said the House Democratic Campaign Committee will “keep its eye on” candidates running in four perennial swing districts—Federal Way’s 30th LD, the Tacoma area’s 28th LD, Issaquah’s 5th LD, and Covington’s 47th LD. About a month out from the filing deadline, it looks like she doesn’t have too much to worry about. Down in the 30th, Melissa Hamilton, a “data systems coordinator” and babysitter at Faith Family Church challenged two-term Democratic House Rep. Jamila Taylor. Biden won 59% of the vote here in 2020, so it seems like an easy lift for Taylor.  Over in the 28th, Republican math teacher and firefighter Gabe Sachwitz will try to best two-term Democratic House Representative and firefighter Daniel Bronoske. Sachwitz lost a 2022 race to the district's other Democratic representative, Mari Leavitt, 58% to 41.6%, so he’ll need more than luck. Republican carpet store owner Mark Herr will take on Rep. Leavitt this year, hoping for better results. Right now, mostly Democrats crowd the open seat in the 5th Legislative District. High school teacher Landon Halverson is the only Republican gunning for it, and he’s touting an endorsement from Reagan Dunn. Over in the 47th, so far Rep. Debra Entenman has drawn a Republican challenger named Stephanie Lawson, a landlord who recently lost a school board race. The Dems face tougher challenges up north and on the peninsula. Up in the islands, a pretty formidable Republican Arlington City Council Member Yvonne Gallardo seeks to give three-term Democratic incumbent Dave Paul a run for his money, while a somewhat less formidable Carrie R. Kennedy will try to topple newly elected Democratic Rep. Clyde Shavers. We'll see if anyone else jumps in that race.  Over in Whatcom County, Stonier said she’s heard of GOP candidates ready to run at Democratic Reps. Alicia Rule and Joseph Timmons, but they have yet to announce. In the 24th, a little flood of Dems jumped at the chance to fill the open seat Rep. Chapman will leave in his wake, including legislative aide Adam Bernbaum (who worked in state Sen. Van de Wege’s office), Sequim School Board President Eric Pickens, tribal leader Nate Tyler. They’ve all raised about the same amount of money. Republican prosecutor Matthew Roberson is the only Republican in the race so far, and he’s only raised a couple thousand.  The Path to 66 Opportunities to expand the House Democratic majority pop up all over the state, and they need to win eight seats to secure a supermajority. Like Reed at the state party said, that seems like a stretch, but it's not impossible.  As I mentioned earlier, redistricting made the 14th and 17th Legislative Districts more Dem-leaning, but the changes in the 14th were more dramatic. The new lines there knocked out incumbent House Republicans Gina Mosbrucker and Chris Corry, which means they’ll have to move back into the district or run where they now live in the 17th and 15th districts, respectively. (Corry decided to run in the 15th; no word yet on Mosbrucker’s moves.) Dems who jumped in to fill the potential voids include Washington State Human Rights Commissioner Chelsea Dimas and Department of Natural Resources External Affairs Manager Raúl Martínez. Green Party perennial candidate Liz Hallock is running there as an independent. Down in the 17th District, which now looks like a little top hat on the Hood River with the brim extending from Camas to near The Dalles, Republican Rep. Paul Harris’s attempt to ascend to the Senate leaves an open seat. Stonier said the party was talking to “a couple candidates” about running to fill it. So far, former Clark County Charter Commissioner Terri Niles is running as a Democrat, and failed Republican candidate Hannah Joy is running again, too. Neither candidate has raised any money yet. In 2022, Niles lost to Republican House Rep. Kevin Waters, but with the district a little more favorable to Dems and no incumbent to run against for this position, Niles might have a shot. In the next-door 18th Legislative District, Democrat and public school teacher John Zingale is taking a run against one-term incumbent Republican Greg Cheney. Last cycle, Zingale fell to the other Republican Rep in this district, Stephanie McClintock, by nearly five points. Again, the slightly better partisan lean for Dems in the district and the big-ticket Congressional race here could boost Zingale to victory. The Dems don’t have anyone yet to face off against McClintock, but she’s new to the role and will be worth challenging. In the 26th Legislative District, which covers Gig Harbor, Republican Rep. Spencer Hutchins declined to seek an a second term, which leaves his seat open. Democrat and attorney Adison Richards, who lost to Hutchins in 2022 by a mere 735 votes, will make a run for it. His competition includes Republicans Jim Henderson and Jesse Young. Henderson is both a landlord and a lobbyist for landlords, and Young is a hothead who formerly represented the district before he lost to Democrat Emily Randall in a senate race. I’m very much looking forward to that primary battle. Stonier said she’s currently working to find someone to challenge incumbent Republican Rep. Michelle Caldier, who recently appealed findings in an investigation that showed her bullying staff. As you can tell if you’ve made it all the way to the bottom of this post (congratulations), lots of stuff could go sidewise with these House seats, but with the wind at their backs, it doesn’t seem impossible for the House to hold its current majority and pick up all these seats. Regardless, Stonier says they’re gearing up for a fight: “We’re all lifting weights. We’re doing lunges, we’re doing yoga in the morning, and we’re meditating at night,” she said.

Rhythmic Magic by Fiona Apple’s Drummer, Amy Aileen Wood, and Eclectic Seattle Beatsmith JP Lenon
The best new music to hit Dave Segal's inbox this week. by Dave Segal Amy Aileen Wood, “Rolling Stops” (Colorfield) I'm not in the habit of writing about Grammy-winning drummers, but Amy Aileen Wood is a special case. She provided beats and co-production for Fiona Apple's wildly lauded Fetch the Bolt Cutters and has worked with St. Vincent, and now the LA-based musician's branching out as a solo artist with an auspicious debut album, The Heartening (out May 3). Wood's instrumental arsenal promises interesting results, and she delivers. Besides a drum kit and piano, she plays balafon, kalimba, octobans, many synths (including Buchla and Moog), gamelan strips, gong strips, LinnDrum, and various percussion tools. Her accomplices include Ms. Apple on vocals for three songs, ex-Soul Coughing upright bassist Sebastian Steinberg, and bassist Pete Min, who co-wrote and co-produced The Heartening with Wood. The vibe here is similar to that on solo LPs by exploratory drummer/percussionists such as Glenn Kotche, David Van Tieghem, and Glen Velez: genre tags are elusive, structures are loose, experimentation is paramount. The Heartening is neither strictly rock nor electronic music, though it has elements of both, with oblique hints of gamelan. This stylistic slipperiness keeps your ears on their toes (imagine that). "Hiccups" is a subtly unsettling art song with fascinating percussion generated from gamelan strips and augmented by eerie wisps of Steinberg's autoharp. If you like all this newfangled chamber jazz coming out this decade, you'll dig "Number Zero," which is marked by Wood's dexterous and strange beat patterns and kalimba and Nicole McCabe's beautiful, low-lit saxophone ululations. Fiona Apple fans will want to scope "Time for Everything," on which she emits distinctive laughs, gasps, and groans while a bizarre strain of junkyard electro-pop clatters and bangs behind her. No conventional singing allowed here, thankfully. However, what is allowed are Kelsey Wood's stunning hymnal chants on the serpentine, seductive avant-pop of "Slow Light."   Things get really strange with "The Learning Problem," whose rhythmic convolutions and punchy unpredictability, as well as abrasive, warped tones recall mid-'90s Autechre. Wood's slogan seems to be "always leave 'em baffled." The album's first single, "Rolling Stops," features Apple's scatting and cooing vocals, and its haunting, fractured jazz pop may make Kate Bush and Björk's more normcore fans run for the exits. However, I trust that you, reader, are more than equipped to enjoy the skewed maneuvers Wood orchestrates here. The Heartening is a dazzling debut that may be too much of a wizardly studio creation to take on the road, but I hope I'm wrong.  JP Lenon, “Jovian Trench” (self-released)  It's time to give a different drummer some love. Seattle's JP Lenon came to my attention during an interview this year with Afrocop keyboardist Noel Brass Jr., who also plays on the former's new full-length, Freewave, Lenon's seventh album since 2014. Somehow, his work has eluded my radar, but I'm immensely enjoying catching up with it via Lenon's bountiful Bandcamp page. Besides the command/manifesto on said page, "make it funky," there's little info about Lenon online, but his music speaks articulate volumes.  Going back to his early recordings, we find that Visitor Volume One (2014) is pretty much a library-music album full of inventive funk and acute, mood-setting atmospheres. It can hold its own with the best of Heliocentrics and Natural Yogurt Band's output. Cosmic Radiation explores an otherworldly strain of reggae (2015) while Visitor Volume Three (2020) detours into instrumental hip-hop territory, bolstered by Far East Asian tonalities that would impress DJ Krush. Such effortless versatility and rhythmic savvy point to Lenon being the Pacific Northwest's Sven Wunder.  On Freewave, Lenon and crew delve into myriad modes of jazz with utmost skill. "Pulse (beginnings)" ushers us in with exquisitely delicate and celestial ambient jazz, and your pulse rate will be dropping posthaste upon hearing it. The wonderfully titled "Surfing the Vortex" purveys rolling and tumbling spiritual jazz capped by a gorgeous sax solo by Jackson Cotugno. The mellow, contemplative jazz of "Introspection" doesn't ask much from you, but rather gently urges you to chill the fuck out and worry about nada.  "Freewave" itself is eventful astral jazz full of inquisitive bass motifs from Owen Thayer (or is it Alex Dyring?), radiant keyboard drones and sparkling clusters from Brass Jr. and Charles Wicklander, and gently oscillating Electric Wind Instrument by Cotugno. It's redolent of Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi band at their most serene. Dim the lights for "Interplanar"'s downtempo jazz funk, with Thayer's seductive bass line causing erotic friction with those crystalline keyboards and EWI. These musicians are operating on a supremely high level at which virtuosity's put in the service of lubriciousness.  Freewave's peak occurs on "Jovian Trench," which sounds like Miles Davis's In a Silent Way band cutting a library record designed to score a complicated criminal enterprise with erotic undercurrents. The skeins of suspense and intrigue run deep. After several listens to Freewave, I have to shake my head in disbelief that Mr. Lenon is not signed to a prestigious label. <a href="https://jplenon.bandcamp.com/album/freewave">Freewave by JP Lenon</a>

Slog AM: Republican City Attorney Ann Davison Loses in Court, Full Tilt Ice Cream Scales Down, High-Capacity Magazine Ban Ruled Unconstitutional
The Stranger's morning news roundup. by Ashley Nerbovig Morning! Everyone should expect a dreary weather day, with a chance of showers before 10 am, followed by a brief pause, and then another chance of showers after 11 am. On the whole, the National Weather Service says the day will be partly sunny with a high near 53 degrees. No eclipse today, but I hope everyone enjoyed the one yesterday: Actual footage of the full eclipse in real time. pic.twitter.com/d48zJyGDaU — carol leonard (@laughingcat2016) April 8, 2024 Eclipse reminded me of her (she blocked me) — Brock (@brockomole) April 8, 2024 Superior Court sides with Municipal Court Judge Pooja Vaddadi: On Friday, a King County Superior Court judge found that SMC Judge Pooja Vaddadi acted legally when she disqualified an assistant city attorney from prosecuting a case. As I reported, the case appeared to spark Republican City Attorney Ann Davison's office decision to start disqualifying Vaddadi on all criminal cases moving forward. The higher court's ruling is embarrassing for Davison; sucks when you use public funds to take something petty to court and fail. Rather than prove anything in court, Davison's office has chosen to sideline Vaddadi using a mechanism that requires very little evidence to eliminate her as a judge. Her office still can't point to any cases to back up the claims of anti-prosecution bias they made against Vaddadi at the end of February. But I just sent another email to the CAO asking for the case numbers, so we'll see what they say. BREAKING: Higher court backs up Judge Pooja Vaddadi. The court found Vaddadi did not error when she disqualified an assistant city attorney from prosecuting a case. https://t.co/gbRis2nqTW — Ashley Nerbovig (@AshleyNerbovig) April 5, 2024 Washington State Supreme Court pauses ruling on high-capacity magazine ban: On Monday, a Cowlitz County Superior Court judge ruled that Washington's ban on the sale of high-capacity magazines was unconstitutional. Attorney General Bob Ferguson asked the state Supreme Court to allow the ban to stay in place while his office appeals the lower court's ruling. The WA Supreme Court obliged, and so the ban will remain in effect until the court hears arguments. In 2022, Washington State lawmakers made it illegal for Washington gun shops to sell magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds at a time. Full Tilt scales down to just Columbia City location: After the death of Full Tilt owner Justin Cline, his wife and Full Tilt co-founder, Ann Magyar, announced that the business plans to remain open in Columbia City but will stop most of its other operations. In the announcement, Magyar thanked the community for embracing the business. "But now Justin is gone, and it just isn't the same without him. It's time for Full Tilt as we know it to end," she wrote.            View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Full Tilt Ice Cream (@fticecream) WA State GOP files even more initiatives: The WA GOP now wants to end Washington's sanctuary city protections, return to the days of being able to evict people without reason, and repeal a bill that seeks to phase out gas service among other things, according to the Seattle Times. Shasti Conrad, chair of the Washington State Democrats, called the series of initiatives the WA GOP has filed this year a "ploy" to bolster Republican turnout. For those three latest initiatives to make it to the ballot, Republicans need to secure a little more than 300,000 signatures in three months. Unfortunately, that's not that hard, and they'll probably succeed. Speaking of repeals, delivery app companies love the $5 fee: Even if the Seattle City Council rolls back minimum wage protections for delivery drivers, the companies refuse to guarantee they'll end the $5 delivery fee they imposed, according to Eater Seattle. They've only promised to "explore" ending fees. The apps suck. They've created an unprofitable business model, and the only way they can survive is by bullying cities into allowing them to skirt minimum wage law. Gig companies are not even promising to eliminate the fee that everyone is complaining about if Seattle City Council repeals the minimum wage btw. DoorDash said they may "explore" a "reduction." That's all. The "fixes" or potential repeal could be for nothing. via @EaterSeattle pic.twitter.com/yEPnmmhNaF — Hannah Krieg (@hannahkrieg) April 8, 2024 Trump heads to criminal court: The former president may face four criminal trials ahead of Election Day this year, and the first up starts next week, according to CNN. This one has to do with falsifying business records to cover up hush money paid to Stormy Daniels in 2016. Not the most interesting of the four cases, which accuse him of falsifying business records, hiding classified documents, and scheming to overturn the 2020 election.  Switzerland's lack of climate policies violate human rights: The European court of human rights has said that Switzerland's lack of strong climate policies has violated the rights of some of the country's older women, according to the Guardian. The court calls itself the "conscience of Europe," which like, OK, calm down. In any case, the court said that the Swiss failed to combat climate change and that other members of the Council of Europe have a legal responsibility to take action on the issue.  Speaking of the climate: In March, the temperature in Antartica rose by 101.3 degrees Fahrenheit over its seasonal average, according to Mother Jones. As scientists pointed out, that's "tolerable" for somewhere with sub-zero temperatures, but it's like Seattle going from 50-degree days to 151.3-degree days. I mean, it's really not good. Meanwhile, the Washington GOP's out here like, "Grrr don't make us slowly phase out gas stoves, so mean of you, grrrrrrr."  Missouri prepares to execute Brian Dorsey: Dorsey killed two people in 2006 while in a "psychotic state." His current attorneys have argued he received ineffective counsel during his original trial. About 70 prison staff members, including a former warden, asked for the Governor to stay Dorsey's execution, according to the Washington Post. But Republican Missouri Governor Mike Parson denied the request. He's scheduled for execution at 6 pm EST Tuesday.  Revisiting Peep Show: Someone the other day reminded me about the song "Flagpole Sitta" by local band Harvey Danger, whose frontman you may remember from his years of writing and editing here at the Stranger, and it took me a second to realize I recognized it because it's the intro theme to Peep Show, which I'm now rewatching. I was going to just drop the "Flagpole Sitta" music video, but I wanted to link to my favorite clip from a different show staring the same people. Really took you all on a journey. 

The Top 41 Events in Seattle This Week: Apr 8-14, 2024
Tina Fey & Amy Poehler, The Last Dinner Party, and More by EverOut Staff We may be in the full-blown chaos of Mercury retrograde, but don't let that stop you from getting out and about this week. We've cherry-picked the best things for you to do, from Laufey to The Last Dinner Party and from Tina Fey & Amy Poehler: Restless Leg Tour to Jim Gaffigan. TUESDAY LIVE MUSIC LaufeyLaufey is single-handedly making vocal jazz cool again. The Icelandic singer-songwriter has garnered the attention of Gen Z with her instrumentally sparse songs about young love in self-discovery. The songs are pithy enough to go viral on TikTok while also traditional enough to play while having dinner with your grandparents. She will stop by to support her sophomore album, Bewitched, alongside singer-songwriter Grace Enger. AV(Paramount Theatre, Downtown Seattle)