Category Archives: Seattle

‘The earlier you act, the more impact’: how Seattle tech industry led on Covid

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Technology companies rallied to apply their expertise as King county went from the US center of the pandemic to one of the country’s lowest death rates

Last year, four days after the first recorded Covid-19 death in the United States was reported in Kirkland, Washington, just east of Seattle, Microsoft leaders jumped into action – recommending that their employees in the area work from home. Two days later, Amazon made a similar declaration.

Combined, their announcements affected more than 100,000 employees in this Pacific north-west tech hub and came days before the Washington state governor’s first major Covid mandate and more than a week before the US president declared an emergency for Covid.

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These US cities defunded police: ‘We’re transferring money to the community’

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More than 20 major cities have reduced police budgets in some form, and activists are fighting to ensure that is only the start

After “defund the police” became the rallying cry of protests last summer, Democratic leaders spent months criticizing the slogan and worrying about its impact on elections. While party infighting was dominating headlines, local activists were campaigning to make the catchphrase a reality in cities across the US.

Since the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor prompted unprecedented uprisings, some racial justice groups have successfully pressured municipal lawmakers to cut police funds and reinvest the money in services. And with reformed 2021 budgets coming into effect, cities are slowly beginning to redistribute law enforcement money to housing, mental health programs, food access and other programs.

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Hiker lost in Mount Rainier whiteout dies in ER – and is brought back to life

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  • Hospital uses extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine
  • ‘I’ve got a million people to thank,’ says Michael Knapinski, 45

A hiker who was rescued after being lost overnight in a whiteout in Mount Rainier national park died in the emergency room but was brought back to life after his heart stopped for 45 minutes.

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Seattle: police seek motive after driver hits protesters, killing one

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  • I-5 freeway protest hit by car early on Saturday, driver arrested
  • Authorities say road will now be closed to protesters

One person died and one remained in serious condition after a car drove into protesters on a freeway in Seattle.

Summer Taylor, 24, of Seattle, died on Saturday evening at Harborview Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg said.

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Two women injured as car drives through Seattle protest crowd

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  • Both women in critical condition, hospital says
  • Driver in custody after incident on Interstate 5

Two women were struck and injured by a car whose driver sped through a protest-related closure on a freeway in Seattle, authorities said on Saturday.

Related: US under siege from 'far-left fascism', says Trump in Mount Rushmore speech

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Inside Chaz, Seattle’s police-free zone: ‘We’re proving the world can change’ – video

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The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (otherwise known as Chaz or Chop) was established by George Floyd protesters after the Seattle police department vacated its East Precinct building on the site. Over the past week, organizers have created a community garden, painted murals, opened free co-op grocery stores – all in an effort to push the message of Black Lives Matter forward

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‘Illegal’: mayor says Trump cannot disband Seattle’s ‘autonomous zone’ – video

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Seattle's mayor has defended the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, or 'Chaz', a space over several blocks transformed into a community without police which Donald Trump has threatened to disband.

In a tweet, Donald Trump described the protesters as 'domestic terrorists', In another tweet addressing the Seattle mayor, Jenny Durkan, and the Washington governor, Jay Inslee, he told them to 'take back your city NOW… If you don’t do it, I will.'

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Seattle artists create murals on shuttered stores – in pictures

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As businesses in Seattle closed their doors, many storefronts nailed plywood over their windows – but it created the feeling of a ghost town. So artists came together to create something beautiful and uplifting, turning these wooden coverings into murals. Sydney Pertl, who created one of the murals in Pioneer Square, says the response has been amazing

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Coronavirus US live: stimulus bill fails in Senate as experts urge Trump not to roll back social restrictions

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The death toll in New York City is now approaching 100. The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the city on Monday was 12,339 with 99 deaths. There are just over 20,000 confirmed cases in New York state as a whole and 157 deaths. For context, there are around 41,200 confirmed cases in the entire United States.

The State Department says it is trying to help around 13,500 US citizens who wish to return home from abroad during the Covid-19 pandemic. An official told reporters on Monday that the department is looking at chartering planes to repatriate Americans abroad, and priority would be given to those in need. “If we have somebody who is 70 years old with an underlying condition, such as diabetes or heart disease, that person is going to get a higher priority on one of those flights, than the hale and hearty 20 year old,” the official said.

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Mass shooting in Seattle leaves one dead and seven injured

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  • Police searching for suspect
  • Attack marks third shooting in the area in two days

Eight people were shot in Seattle on Wednesday, authorities said, and one of them succumbed to their injuries.

The Seattle fire chief, Harold Scoggins, said authorities began receiving calls at about 5pm warning of multiple gunshot victims. One person was found dead in a heavily trafficked area of downtown and five others were taken to a Seattle hospital, he said.

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Four killed in Seattle after crane collapses from new Google building

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Two crane operators and two people in cars die after machine falls from top of building under construction

Four people were killed and three injured when a construction crane fell from a building on Google’s new Seattle campus on to one of the city’s busiest streets during a storm.

The four people – one female and three male – had died by the time firefighters had arrived on Saturday afternoon, the fire chief, Harold Scoggins, said. Two of the dead were ironworkers who had been inside the crane, while the other two were people who were inside cars, the fire department spokesman Lance Garland said.

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‘We didn’t respond fast enough’: Seattle lawmakers warn New York over Amazon

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Council members urge New Yorkers to demand concessions like labor standards before company gains foothold in city

Two lawmakers from Amazon’s hometown in Seattle traveled to New York on Monday to warn the city of potential unintended consequences of the tech company’s planned new headquarters.

Lisa Herbold and Teresa Mosqueda, members of Seattle’s city council, addressed a summit of activist groups fighting Amazon’s plan for a new campus in Long Island City, Queens. They told the New Yorkers that Amazon’s presence in the west coast city had driven up housing costs, that the company had ducked efforts to make them help pay to address the crisis, and that they should resist it.

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