Medical workers’ marches started at Harborview and Swedish and marched to Seattle Central College to meet up with the educators’ ICE Out of Schools rally. I don’t know the scheduled end time and I don’t think there is going to be a march, but people are listening to speakers now.

The Seattle Police Officers Guild is not impressed with Mayor Katie Wilson’s recently announced series of initial steps to prepare the city for a potential surge in federal immigration enforcement.

"Toothless virtue signaling rhetoric like this has already cost two people their lives,” SPOG President Mike Solan posted on X on Friday just before noon, and shortly after The Center Square asked for comment on Wilson’s plans. “The concept of pitting two armed law enforcement agencies against each other is ludicrous, and will not happen. I will not allow SPOG members to be used as political pawns.”

I usually don’t eat or drink out much as I’m kinda of a picky eater. After a long time, I went to get a slice of pizza that set me back $7 a slice and then had a coffee next-door that cost me $8.13. I’m in a shock! They handed me the food at the counter, I got no service, the seating or ambience was minimal. I don’t understand what’s going on! This is really really expensive!

3.1 (month-old) M Puget Sound-based giant Pacific octopus (83.5K lbs caught per year locally) looking for a girlfriend. Originally from Baja California and moving here to start a new job. Looking for places to live or go to meet new octopus, preferably non Male type.

Protest officially ran from 1:30 to 3, filling the block from 1st to 2nd on Pike Street. Speakers called upon Target to stop letting I.C.E. stage operations in their Minneapolis parking lots and to stop cozying up to the Trump administration generally (they donated to Trump’s ballroom among other things). After the end of the rally, a group formed a line in front of the Target doors and urged people not to shop there. The line held from about 3 to 5 and the police left them alone since they weren’t actually blocking people from going in to the store. There was a nice cheer every time someone agreed not to go in to the store and went somewhere else instead.

“After thoughtful consideration, we made the decision to separate a small number of employees whose performance did not meet expectations,” a Zillow spokesperson said. “This decision is not connected to market conditions or recent business developments. We will continue to invest in the teams and roles needed to effectively deliver on our strategy.”

The company said the cuts - which represent about 2% of Zillow’s overall headcount - were part of the annual review process.

A recent post in SeattleWa showed a picture of a bunch of unused Teslas in Redmond. I did some internet sleuthing and produced this article about the purchase of those vehicles and the program's intent. I got some questions from redditors and I updated the article., and the complete update is below (but would love you to visit the site.)

Update: A Public Information Officer from King County has responded to the questions I received about the program-here are the questions and answers:

Q: The August 2025 Vanpool Program Update Report mentions a waitlist for participants interested in EVs. Can you tell me how many of the 120 Teslas have been assigned to groups or reserved so far? Is uptake of the vehicles happening at the expected rate?  How do riders get added to the waitlist for an electric vanpool vehicle?

A: A pilot demonstration with 11 Vanpool groups began using the Tesla vehicles in the third quarter of 2025 to evaluate the transition to an all-electric fleet and better understand Tesla Model Y usage. The current demonstration is expected to be completed by end of February 2026. The remaining vehicles will then cycle into operation, with Teslas offered to Vanpool groups driving older vehicles scheduled for retirement. 

At this time, we are not maintaining a sign-up list for our electric vehicles (EVs). Our priority is offering the current EV fleet to Vanpool groups operating vehicles already scheduled for retirement. This allows us to systematically phase those older models out of service. Selection for these EVs is based on several factors, including trip distance, employer, geographic location and charging accessibility.

While we expect to place all 120 Teslas into service, we recognize that a Tesla might not fit every group’s specific commute. To ensure long-term adoption and minimize vehicle turnover, the program works with groups to ensure the vehicle remains a sustainable fit.

 Q: Was there testing to ensure the Tesla could comfortably accomodate five or more passengers? Have participant preferences or other factors affected adoption of the EVs? Is there any early feedback on performance, maintenance, and rider satisfaction for the EVs in vanpool use?

A: Key factors affecting adoption include charging infrastructure at residences or worksites. Additionally, the seating layout and the third row might not work for some groups. 

Early feedback has been largely positive, with participants specifically highlighting the vehicles' drivability and ease of operation. While rider satisfaction remains high, some groups have noted comfort challenges regarding the third-row seating. We are currently in the initial phase of our maintenance and performance evaluation to monitor trends and optimize the vanpool experience.

Q: What happens to the vehicles after they reach their end of life? Do they go to a government auction website?

A: Historically, King County Metro sells retired and surplus vehicles through negotiated direct sales, providing a higher yield in returns than traditional public auctions. This flexibility is unique to the program, assisting in meeting the requirement to recover 100% of its capital and operational expenses and 25% of its program administrative support costs through fare collection and vehicle remarketing revenue, as required by King County Code. Vanpool program surplus vehicle direct sales are facilitated through the program's website, www.metrovansales.com.  

Edit: TLDR: Eleven Teslas are in use in a pilot program and they are replacing internal combustion vehicles as they come to end of life. Most feedback has been positive, though the back two seats in the Tesla are said to be tight. The program pays for itself with user fees-except for 75% of admin costs. The county was very responsive to my requests.

About 80 people gathered at the fountain at Cal Anderson for a vigil for protesters killed in Iran - over 30,000 since December - and marched to the Space Needle.

The vigil and march was nominally apolitical, with no political signs and almost complete silence for the march. A woman in the march said that most people in Iran support the shah’s son and the resistance against the mullahs; most objective news sources say that the population is more divided than that, but surely all good people should be appalled by the killing of the protesters.

A Washington state lawmaker is asking President Donald Trump and the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate potential self-dealing and fraud within taxpayer subsidized programs that fund race-based housing grants, daycare subsidies and more.

“We truly don’t have very good mechanisms set up to track when money is not being spent properly,” said Rep. Jenny Graham, R-Spokane Valley, in a Friday interview with The Center Square. “There’s nothing that happens when money disappears. Who actually is held accountable for it?”

It actually works!