📼 Scarecrow now owns its building

Scarecrow Video Now Owns Its Longtime Home

Scarecrow Video, home to the world’s largest publicly accessible physical media collection, announced Monday it has purchased its longtime home in the University District on Roosevelt Way Northeast. The purchase for $5.575 million was made possible thanks to multiple personal loans from close Scarecrow supporters — a consortium of more than two dozen people. [Seattle Times]

The Vera Project Is Opening A New All-Ages Venue: Vera signed a 20-year lease for the not-yet-named, 300-capacity Georgetown space. They say the location will better accommodate Vera's demographic, most of whom live in the South End. Vera's goal is to raise $2.5 million by early 2027, when the new space is set to open. The org has already raised more than 53 percent of that total. [The Stranger]

• What They’re Saying: In an interview with The Stranger, Executive Director Ricky Graboski said the Georgetown venue would be Vera’s “mutual aid space.” “We want it to be run by and for community, so every show's going to have a mutual aid group, a nonprofit, someone there who is supporting something in the local community. Forty to 60 tickets at every show will be pay-what-you-can.”

Calling All Local Photographers: King County Metro is teaming up with Photographic Center Northwest (PCNW) in a call for images to be installed as public art on bus shelters. The theme, “Show Us Your World – Cultural Heritage”, is intended to explore personal, cultural identity, and connection. Work will be on display for up to 10 years, and submissions are due by February 8. [King County Metro]

Seattle Libraries Offering Free Tax Help: SPL is teaming up with United Way of King County and AARP to offer in-person tax help at eleven library branches. They also list resources for free online tax help. [Seattle Public Library]

Amazon Is Closing All Go and Fresh Locations 🛍️

Amazon is planning to shutter its Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go brick-and-mortar stores. That includes two in Seattle and one in Factoria. Some of the stores will be converted into Whole Foods locations instead. [KING 5]

Governor and AG Lay Out Plan in Case of Immigration Crackdown 🎤

Gov. Bob Ferguson and Attorney General Nick Brown hosted a press conference at the Capitol to lay out the state’s preparations for the possibility of a ramped-up deployment of immigration agents in WA. Gov. Ferguson said he could see the National Guard acting as a buffer between immigration officers and protesters. AG Brown didn’t rule out the possibility of state or local authorities stepping in to enforce state law against federal agents. [Washington State Standard]

Washington Legislature Sees 14 Bills for Regulating AI 🤖

The bills aim to tackle a range of issues, including AI surveillance pricing at grocery and retail stores, the use of AI in schools, and the use of AI chatbots by minors. Washington has already been at the forefront of data privacy. In 2023, the legislature passed the landmark “My Health My Data” Act, which the Electronic Frontier Foundation called “one of the strongest consumer data privacy laws in recent years.” [The Urbanist]

UWCHR Finds More Cases of ICE/CBP Arrests via DOL Data 🚨

Last week on the podcast, we talked with Angelina Godoy from the UW Center for Human Rights about a report detailing how Department of Licensing (DOL) data has been used to target immigrants by ICE and CBP. This week, they verified six additional cases, at least two of which are confirmed to have been civil immigration arrests. The state has not taken action to cut off CBP, which means Washington drivers' data remains vulnerable. Today on the podcast, we spoke with Deputy Mayor of Burien Hugo Garcia about the impact he’s seeing in his city. 🎧 [UWCHR]