🌧️ Have we hit peak Seattle?

Light Rail Shutdowns Remind Us ‘We Could Have Had It All’

Maintenance and construction shut down light rail service on Sunday between Capitol Hill Station and Stadium Station. Shuttle buses were used to fill the gap. [Capitol Hill Seattle Blog]

• More Closures Ahead Until the End of the Year: These closures will be for repair, maintenance, and to integrate the 2 Line. A list of closure times is available at the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog.
• This Could Have Been Different: If you’re feeling frustrated by the shutdowns and limited options for public transportation, you aren’t alone. Virgil Gay Bogue and Warren G. Magnuson were, too. Both men tried to build ambitious public transportation systems in Seattle.
  • 1912: Bogue proposed an urban rail network that business interests, newspapers, and citizens were suspicious of. It was ultimately rejected. [Seattle Channel / Seattle Transit Blog]
  • 1970: Voters rejected a proposal to build a 30-station subway with four lines operating out of Downtown Seattle. Former U.S. Senator Slade Gorton called it “the stupidest vote the people of Seattle ever cast.” In case you want to go crazy looking at how good this would have been, here’s a drawing of it.
  • 2019: History repeated itself, again. [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]
• We went deep on Seattle’s lack of a coherent train system today on the episode, as well as talking about why right now is peak Seattle and also ‘Cuffing Season.’

🪧 Seattle’s Mayor-Elect Joins Picket Line: In case you missed it, Starbucks workers are currently on strike, and Katie Wilson joined their picket line to show her support. She assured the striking employees that she would not be buying anything from Starbucks and urged the rest of the crowd not to either. [KUOW]

🥵 Heat Dome Damage is Still Being Discovered: Researchers have found even more harm done by extreme heat damage that happened 5 years ago in Washington and Oregon, leading to concern about the future of our region’s forests. [Seattle Times]

• What was the 2021 Heat Dome? From June 25 - 29, 2021, extreme heat brought temps in the PNW to 116 degrees.
• The impact: 1,000 square miles of damaged tree canopies in Western Washington and Oregon, roughly the size of Rhode Island. Canopies went from green to red, orange, and brown. Chlorophyll production stopped. Leaves died.
• Why this matters: Dead leaves lead to declining immunity and can cause trees to die sooner. Tree death means less supply for the PNW’s timber industry.
• Human loss: And we can’t forget that this notorious heat wave contributed to 159 excess injury deaths here in Washington State. The effects of such extreme heat affected people’s health for several weeks. [UW News]

📰 Look, Ma, The Stranger is in the New York Times: We love to see our friends over at The Stranger making big headlines! They were featured in an article about the importance of earning their endorsement in Seattle politics. The Stranger’s voting guide was pretty influential this year, based on election results. The Stranger’s Election Control Board includes City Cast Seattle contributor Marcus Harrison Green. Good job, Stranger team! [New York Times]

🧘 Do Some Yoga in a Cathedral: St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Capitol Hill offers free yoga classes on Monday nights. The third Monday of the month (that’s today!) offers singing bowls, a sound bath, and ends with an extended savasana. It is run by a community-led committee and is open to everyone as a time to gather. Go check it out tonight! [KUOW]