Kruse control: When the current interim Seattle police chief Andre Sayles was still deputy police chief, he filed a misconduct complaint against veteran detective Beth Wareing for speaking at a press conference denouncing the conservative, anti-trans initiatives bound for November’s ballot. Wareing, who worked on child sex abuse cases, had explained how the genital exams required by the initiative banning trans girls in girls’ sports could threaten girls’ safety. Sayles complained about Wareing’s “accuracy” and “stance.” An Office of Police Accountability (OPA) interview with Sayles revealed his complaint was prompted by an email from right-wing podcaster Brandi Kruse, a booster for the anti-trans sports initiative. According to Publicola, Sayles did not read the initiative himself and only formed his opinion from Kruse’s characterization of it, reports PubliCola.
Wareing retired because of the complaint: She called it “poorly considered, unprofessional, and an attempted violation of my First Amendment rights.” Part of Sayles’s complaint alleged misconduct on Wareing’s behalf because she spoke politically as an SPD officer. In the OPA interview, Sayles admitted he had not read SPD’s policy on political advocacy.
Fred Meyer let go its prego employees: In 2023, a Vancouver, Washington Fred Meyer store allegedly penalized—and later fired—two pregnant employees for pregnancy-related absences. Before that, according to a lawsuit, the store did not make accommodations to make working easier for the women, like refusing to move one of them to a position closer to a bathroom. This all happened right around when the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act became law in 2023. Under it, employers with more than 15 people must “make reasonable accommodations to help pregnant employees stay on the job.” The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing the store on behalf of the women.
Paine Field crash: The pilot of a small plane was killed in a crash at Everett’s Paine Field on Thursday.
Hold on: Did you see former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin showcase his Minecraft world this week? He’s been working on it for over 12 years.
Poppers anyone? A garbage truck driver was hospitalized after “potentially hazardous materials were released” as the garbage truck compacted a load of Capitol Hill trash. The “vapors” were Isobutyl Nitrate, a spokesperson told the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog. CHS suspects they might be a letter off; Isobutyl Nitrate is “a heavy industrial additive and chemical reagent,” while flipping the “a” to an “i” makes “isobutyl nitrite,” the “over-the-counter recreational inhalant” more commonly known as poppers. So, which is more likely to have been in a Capitol Hill trash can?
US attorney drama continues: Who is going to be the federal government’s top attorney in Western Washington? Earlier this year, the district’s 17 sitting judges appointed Roger Rogoff as the new US attorney after Trump failed to nominate his own pick. Trump had appointed an interim US attorney, but had failed to get the guy confirmed by the Senate, as precedent dictates. As a “stopgap measure,” the judges stepped in and appointed Rogoff. He had the job for an hour before Trump fired him. Now, a US district judge has reinstated Rogoff.
The weather: Hm. Well, it’s going to be partly cloudy and not too cold seemingly… forever? When will the rain return?
A good read for your Friday: I enjoy everything this guy writes. Writer John Paul Brammer went to a psychic to get answers about why he was so unlucky in love.
Jobs: In September, US employers added just 29,000 jobs. Not ideal! That’s a sharp decline from August’s 133,00 new jobs. Unemployment ticked up to 4.2 percent.
Ebola is still ravaging Congo: An Ebola outbreak has killed 4,000 people in Congo since the outbreak was declared in mid-May. Health workers serving on the frontline say they haven’t been paid in months, and many have gone on strike since the outbreak began, further complicating containment efforts.
Amazon really wants these data centers: Local bookseller Amazon plans to throw its financial weight around and invest $1 billion in the local communities where it builds its new data centers. That will include investing in “education, job training, water preservation projects, and other local priorities.” Word, so that’s just because of the backlash, right? Do not let up on these freaks. Amazon CEO Matt Garman also stressed “the dangers” of the over 100 data center moratoriums being considered across the country. I presume he is primarily concerned about the dangers to his bottom line.
Gov. Kathy Hochul says police “failed” Cornell victim: New York’s governor has stepped in to mitigate the handling of the alleged Cornell gang rape case. Hochul said she had lost faith in the local district attorney and instead appointed the office of Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor on the case. Hochul said, “At every turn, she was failed by people and institutions with an obligation to protect her… The young woman at the center of this case deserves to know that every fact will be examined and justice pursued.” The so-called “Cornell Seven” must be shitting their pants right now.
Don’t forget: We owe the renewed attention in this 2024 rape case to dogged student journalism. The student reporters at the Cornell Daily Sun never let this case go.
ICYMI: The Seattle Times Union picketed outside their newsroom on Wednesday. The Stranger’s Hunter Pauli wrote about what they’re asking for: better wages and promises that they won’t be replaced with AI. Robots are scabs!
No vacancy at the Bay County Pet Cemetery: Nobody owns what’s believed to be the second-largest pet cemetery in Michigan (behind the Michigan War Dog Memorial in South Lyon, of course). The cemetery’s neighbor, 63-year-old truck driver Jim Giffin, has become the begrudging caretaker. His biggest issue is people are burying their pets—often holding middle-of-the-night freelance funerals for their fur babies—when there’s no more room. They’re burying them on top of other pets. State law doesn’t allow pet cemeteries to have more than 100 dead pets per acre. Bay County Pet Cemetery exceeded that number long ago.
It is October: The weather may have its doubts about the arrival of fall, but I do not. Here you go:
The post Slog AM: Fred Meyer Sued for Pregnancy Discrimination, Amazon Wants to Buy Your Support for Data Centers, New York Governor Appoints Attorney General to Cornell Rape Case appeared first on The Stranger.
