The Stranger's 2024 Election Issue

Dear Readers,

It’s the summer of a presidential election year, which means the task of saving our democracy has once again fallen to you.

You can—and, indeed, you must—do your part by choosing the best soft-serve ice cream cone in Seattle. To assist you in that task, Stranger Culture Editor Megan Seling, EverOut Food & Drink Editor Julianne Bell, and Stranger contributor Meg van Huygen have done the work of sampling the options around town. It’s up to you to read their commentary and follow through.

Each summer, the denizens of Seattle must also attend a music festival that aligns with their generational identity. Which festival offers millennials the space

even as it predicts our doom.

Oh yeah, the other thing you can do to maintain our fragile republic is to vote in the August primary election before Tuesday, August 6, at 8 pm. As ever, in the following pages, you can read the Stranger Election Control Board’s thoroughly researched, borderline unhinged arguments for every race on your ballot—or you can just jump to the Cheat Sheet and vote the way we tell you to.

For all our bratty braggadocio and various chemical dependencies, we do way more probing and internal bickering than any other endorsement board in town. That’s because this local politics shit really affects you, which is why it matters to us. So, after

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Stranger’s Endorsements for the August, 6, 2024, Primary Election Time to Make the Billionaires Pay What They Owe Us

How to Vote

Save the Country and Earn a FreeSticker While You’re at It 22

The Stranger’s August 2024 Primary Election Cheat Sheet

Council Member Tanya Woo Cancels Endorsement

Meeting with The Stranger at the Last Minute City-Council-Face-the-Public Challenge (Impossible)

Big Business Is Pleased with the Council It Bought With a Council This Slow and Inept, Why Wouldn’t They Be? 27

Music Festival Frenzy!

Soft Serve Showdown

Follow Our Flowchart to Find Your Perfect Match BY AUDREY TK

Taste Your Way Through Seattle’s Most Twisted Ice Cream Offerings

Your Local Baseball Besties

Why You Should Give a Shit About the Mariners This Summer

Music Festival Frenzy!

Follow Our Flowchart to Find Your Perfect Match

Flying the Freak Flag

Seattle’s Genre-Bending Beautiful Freaks Will Fight (and Bleed)

Damn the Man, Save the Empire

Seattle’s Best Video Store Needs Our Help

Swimming with Nikki McClure

Sometimes, When You Interview Your Favorite Artist, You End Up Becoming a Piece of Their Art

Octavia Butler Saw Our Doom

Parable of the Sower Is the Opposite of a Light Summer Read, but You Need to Read it This Summer Anyway

Comic and Crossword

Hooray for Stinky Fish and Bad Tattoos

This Summer’s Best Food, Art, and Culture Festivals

SUMMER AT SAINT MARK’S: drop in and explore the sacred spaces of Saint Mark’s Cathedral and enjoy contemplation and creativity through art, yoga, music, and story. Saintmarks.org/sacredspaces

Editorial

EDITOR

July 8 – August 18

Sunday a ernoons, Monday evenings, & Wednesdays

SAINT MARK’S CATHEDRAL • 1245 - 10TH AVE E, SEATTLE

COVER ARTWORK

Anthony Keo anthonykeo.com

Rich Smith

ARTS EDITOR

Megan Seling

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STAFF WRITERS

Hannah Krieg, Ashley Nerbovig, Vivian McCall

Calendar

MANAGING EDITOR

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FOOD & DRINK CALENDAR EDITOR

Events & Media

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Tracey Cataldo

MARKETING & PROMOTIONS DIRECTOR

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DIRECTOR OF VIDEO PRODUCTION

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Technology & Development

JULY 9 - 21, 2024

Julianne Bell

MUSIC CALENDAR EDITOR

Audrey Vann

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Robert Crocker

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Katie Lake

H H H H H H

AUGUST 6, 2024, PRIMARY ELECTION

Time to Make the Billionaires Pay What They Owe Us BY THE STRANGER ELECTION CONTROL BOARD

H H H

Atyrant currently leads a corpse in the presidential polls, the Supreme Court turned our democracy into a monarchy, Congress keeps sending Israel bombs to rain down on babies, Washington is staring down the same fifteen crises it’s been staring down for the last decade, and the only thing stopping the Seattle City Council from rolling back the rights of workers and renters is its own ineptitude. At this point, the arc of the moral universe has bent so far back toward injustice that it’s pretty damn close to snapping off and floating through outer space for the rest of eternity.

All of that is pretty scary, but we’re not helpless. We’re rugged individuals with great hair, great taste in art, and communicative sexual partners—and we can do a lot to bend that arc back toward justice.

We can march in the streets, we can shore up our community supports, we can smoke weed in the tub and cry a little, and, most importantly, we can vote to send the most progressive politicians possible to defend our rights and advance our agenda at every level of government.

And that’s why we’re here. Over the last couple months, we increasingly rage-filled, pot-dependent reporters on the Stranger Election Control Board have called a bunch of power-hungry politicians into our conference room, grilled them over their votes, probed their public and private statements, and critiqued their taste in music, all so we can help you fill out your ballot in a way that will hopefully lead to a less-fucked world. And this year, we realllllllllllyyyyy need you to vote exactly the way we tell you to.

Starting at the national level, polls give Republicans a decent shot at controlling every branch of government. If you’ve woken up in a cold sweat about a particular policy, then it’s on the table: Federal abortion bans, gender-affirming care bans, rollbacks to marriage equality–the works. We need to send Democrats to Congress who will block all that and advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza while they’re at it.

At the state level, we need to find all the billionaires, grab hold of their ankles, turn them upside down, and shake the money out of their pockets so that we can fund our education system, housing for poor people, transit, and treatment and recovery facilities.

We also need to pick a governor who can defeat anti-gay, anti-trans Republican Dave Reichert, a public lands commissioner who vows to save the trees, a superintendent with a solid plan to improve the schools, an attorney general who stands ready on day one to sue the fuck out of big corporations on behalf of consumers and to protect us in the advent of Trump Part II: The Retribution, an insurance commissioner who will fight to lower costs, a slate of progressive state lawmakers who will fund all of the above, and a Washington State Supreme Court justice who is going to be cool with all of that.

Here in Seattle, we have the opportunity to change out one of the dimmest light bulbs on the council for a brighter one—and we should absolutely take that chance.

At this point, you know the drill. In the following pages, you’ll find all the arguments we used to support our endorsements. If you’re too busy to read, then just find the Cheat Sheet and fill out your ballot accordingly.

Speaking of ballots, yours should arrive in your mailbox by July 22. If it does not, then ask King County Elections what’s up. (By phone at 206-296-VOTE (8683) or by email at elections@kingcounty.gov.) If you’re not registered to vote, then register online or by mail up to eight days before the election. If you’re unsure either way, then check VoteWA.

Once you have your ballot, rip it open, use a pen of any color to carefully fill in the bubbles we tell you to fill in, slide it into its cute little sleeve, stuff the whole package in the envelope, and then mail it in ASAP—no need for a stamp! If you don’t trust the

semiconductor manufacturing jobs here in the US that companies may have otherwise offshored. She said she would also continue to “lead” the fight to increase affordable housing production in Washington, citing her attempt to score changes to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program in a tax package that would add 1,700 affordable housing units to Washington’s housing stock in 2024. Of course, every year for the next 20 years Washington needs to build north of 20,000 units of affordable housing for people who make less than 50% of the area median income, and we’d hope that a US senator

Those who stand firmly against genocide, forever wars, corporate greed, and cruel immigration policies will find themselves well-represented by four-term congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.

mail, then just drop it into a nearby dropbox no later than Tuesday, August 6, at 8 pm. Oh, and, please consider tipping us for the work. The Seattle Times says you’re all suffering from “tip rage,” but surely that doesn’t apply to your willingness to support local journalism in the face of democratic decline. Right? Let’s prove ’em wrong.

The Stranger Election Control Board is Hannah Krieg, Vivian McCall, Charles Mudede, Ashley Nerbovig, Megan Seling, the Hawk Tuah girl, and Rich Smith. The SECB does not endorse in uncontested races, races with only two candidates (those go straight to the general), or races we forgot.

FEDERAL

UNITED STATES SENATOR Maria Cantwell

Washington desperately needs to replace our US Senators, who have been in office for a combined 54 years, but, alas, no viable progressive challengers have stepped up to the plate. So, just as we were stuck with Senator Patty Murray in 2022, we’re stuck with Senator Maria Cantwell in 2024.

But that’s not all bad. If you give her another term, Cantwell said she will work to “grow the middle class.” She already got that work started by authoring the CHIPS and Sciences Act, which aims to create 44,000

well, we don’t know what she really means by creating a more “fair” tax code because she wouldn’t get specific about which sorts of progressive taxes she’d support or which Trump tax cuts she’d let die their extremely timely deaths in 2025. Given her past life as chair of the New Democrat Coalition, a centrist caucus within the party dedicated to preventing transformational change, and given her current life as chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, we’ll assume she’ll take the middle-of-the-road path she’s taken during her last 12 years in office.

with 24 years in the tank could try to bring home a little bit more than a fraction of the need, so we’ll have to keep pressing her.. Her biggest electoral threat comes in the form of Republican Dr. Raul Garcia, who recently dropped out of the gubernatorial race and endorsed nutjob Dave Reichert. Garcia won’t say how he will vote in the upcoming presidential election, and he hesitantly supports abortion protections. We don’t have time for any bullshit on either of those scores, so we don’t have time for Garcia.

We’ll be watching Cantwell, and if she comes asking for votes again, she better have something to show for it. If not, one of you lefties with elected experience, serious fundraising skills, and statewide appeal better be running a solid campaign against her. Capisce? Vote Cantwell.

UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT NO. 1 Suzan DelBene

If voters give Suzan DelBene a seventh term and a Democratic trifecta in the federal government, she pledges to lead the charge to expand and make permanent the Child Tax Credit, increase the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, and create a more “fair” tax code that doesn’t “favor the wealthy.” Doing so would mean significantly cutting child poverty, significantly increasing the number of affordable housing units throughout the country, and,

But that’s a better path than the one that any of her weird opponents would take. Republican candidate Mary Silva writes like a conspiracy theorist, though she does rightly blame shadowy corporate figures with bad taste for many of the problems the country faces. That said, she makes a better case for not voting for her than we could ever make when she says, “I hold no special official qualification” for the position. Meanwhile, Republican Derek Chartrand dresses like a long-lost Trump failson, and he even randomly capitalizes nouns like one, but he mostly just champions civility and center-right positions on education and the environment. We’ve got plenty of that coming from DelBene already, so you may as well just Vote DelBene.

UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT NO. 7

Pramila Jayapal

Those who stand firmly against genocide, forever wars, corporate greed, and cruel immigration policies will find themselves well-represented by four-term congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.

Jayapal is an effective progressive—even with Republicans in control of the House this term, she still chalked up some accomplishments. As head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), she led the push for Biden to cancel student debt, and she vows to continue pushing him to cancel more. She and US Senator Elizabeth Warren also led a successful effort to reduce the prices for some inhalers and EpiPens. Last November, she and 24 Democrats signed a letter demanding a ceasefire in an attempt to at least moderate Biden’s position. And when she does talk to the President and to the Vice President, she tells them that supporting Netanyahu’s slaughter only makes Israel less safe. Whether they listen is up to them.

If Dems take back the House, Jayapal would chair the House Judiciary Commit-

tee’s immigration subcommittee, wherein she promises to fight for immigrant protections in the face of the hard-right turn that so many of her Democratic colleagues are taking. She’ll also work to pass the CPC’s proposition agenda, which would break the gridlock in DC, rein in the clerics on the Supreme Court, and advance policies to reduce the cost of health care, ameliorate the housing and child care crises, invest in education, increase worker power and pay, expand protections for LGBTQIA communities, and, perhaps most importantly, legalize weed nationwide (woo!).

Even those who don’t stand for any of that stuff may take some comfort in the fact that she runs a pretty robust constituent services operation, which has helped more than 10,000 people navigate labyrinthine federal agencies, according to her office.

Of course, given the current political climate, Jayapal won’t get us everything we want. But we won’t get any of it if we vote for Republican Cliff Moon, who doesn’t appear to have updated his website since the last time he ran as a “normal American” pissed off about the PC police, the horrors of the defund movement, et cetera. Boring. Vote Jayapal.

UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT NO. 8

Imraan Siddiqi

Imraan Siddiqi, a longtime civil rights leader who currently directs Washington’s chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, wants to divest from wars abroad so we can invest those US tax dollars right here at home. Instead of building bombs to drop on starving babies, he wants to create a better and cheaper health care system, construct more affordable housing, properly fund education, and shrink the carceral state while he’s at it.

He also speaks with passion and precision on the need for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, a position driven in part by the pain and terror his wife’s family feels every day as they manage to dodge US-made bombs. Adding his voice to the growing anti-genocide minority in Congress would be the least the people of the 8th Congressional District could do for the world.

Despite his good politics and his persuasive anti-war rhetoric, however, he speaks

in vague terms about progressive domestic policy, and his relatively low campaign funds all but foreclose a real path to victory.

For those reasons, we seriously considered endorsing three-term incumbent Kim Schrier, a pro-abortion pediatrician whose centrist politics position her to “get stuff done” in a Congress paralyzed by stubborn Republicans. We welcome, for instance, her recent passage of bills to continue funding landslide research and child emergency care research, as well as her bill to help lower some hospital visit costs. That’s exactly the kind of middling shit we expect out of someone who represents Sammamish.

But Schrier has moved way farther right on immigration and criminal justice than we think she needs to, and now she’s added warmonger to the mix. To list a few particularly heinous votes: In this last term, Schrier voted for the Laken Riley Act, which would allow ICE to indefinitely detain undocument-

Schrier has moved way farther right on immigration and criminal justice than we think she needs to, and now she’s added warmonger to the mix.

ed immigrants accused of theft, including Dreamers. So a cop could accuse a teenager of stealing some earrings from the mall and they could wind up in a federal immigration prison. When asked why she’d support a bill that will undoubtedly lead to this scenario, Schrier said, “Um, everybody needs to follow the law, and there is due process.” Now there’s someone who will always stand up for what’s right, even with a racist, xenophobic tyrant waiting in the wings!

She went on to vote for the so-called Middle Class Borrower Protection Act, which will ultimately make it harder for first-time home buyers to get a home loan, according to the Center for Responsible Lending. She also voted to expand the US’s sterling warrantless surveillance program, to meddle in local DC criminal justice politics, to censure Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib for criticizing Israel’s slaughter of Palestinians, and to send billions of dollars in weapons to Israel while ALSO hobbling the only organization who could realistically distribute aid in the country. Given that voting record, you won’t be surprised to learn that Schrier has not called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

We know she cannot always do the right thing and vote the right way because she represents a “purple” district, but a lot of these votes are inexcusable and/or shit that even independents don’t like. True, we’d much rather have a Democrat in this seat than Republican Carmen Goers, a commercial banker whose policies would increase economic inequality and melt the planet, but we don’t see any danger of that outcome this year. Given Schrier’s absurd fundraising

advantage, we think she’ll make it through the primary easily, and we’d rather see Siddiqi hold her feet to the fire en route to the general election than watch Schrier move even further to the right to stave off a Goers victory. Vote Siddiqi.

UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT NO. 9

Melissa Chaudhry

Over the last several years, we’ve seen a bunch of candidates come for 14-term Congressman and House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith, but, in terms of policy knowledge, rhetorical prowess, and sheer drive, none hold a candle to Melissa Chaudhry, a grant writer and civil rights advocate.

On every domestic issue, she lays out clear, practical solutions. To help build more housing, she wants to streamline permitting processes to let the private market do its thing, but she also wants to dump more money into public housing to build the units that the market simply will not build, introduce code variation pathways to allow developers to build regenerative and restorative communities that still meet safety standards, and direct more Congressional funds to community land trusts and co-ops to keep prices lower for longer.

To help deal with the state’s mental health crisis, she wants to reduce barriers to work for immigrants, invest in recruitment and on-the-job training for entry-level employees, and encourage cooperative management and team-based care to push out bad managers. She wants to expand the Supreme Court, hold them to binding ethics rules, nuke the filibuster in the Senate, legalize and protect abortion nationwide, codify Chevron deference, and more or less push every item on the Congressional Progressive Caucus’s proposition agenda.

She spoke with authority on Israel/Palestine, Russia/Ukraine, China/US, and she, unlike Smith, embraces the reality of an increasingly multipolar world instead of stubbornly clinging to a unipolar, hegemonic one that has only led to more problems around the globe. To that end, she would not have, as Smith did, voted to send $26 billion in aid— the lion’s share of it military—to help Israel prosecute its genocide. She would not have, as Smith did, expanded the US’s warrantless surveillance program as intelligence agencies continue to abuse the program.

Now, we recognize and admit no small

amount of idealism behind this endorsement. Chaudhry seems smart, capable, and empathetic, but she’s never held elected office before, we have little faith she can raise the kind of money she needs to raise to really be competitive, and she has written some woo-woo self-help blogs we didn’t really love—but then again, who hasn’t?

If we weren’t absolutely certain that Congressman Smith will prevail in this contest, as he always does, then we might have more strongly considered begrudgingly going his way. After all, as we’ve argued in the past, cutting off Smith’s head means a worse one will grow in its place on the House Armed Services Committee. Like it or not, the world can get worse, and Smith is nowhere near the worst of the Dems on that committee, let alone in Congress.

Moreover, in the realm of military funding, his experience gives him the skills needed to stop Republicans from doing the most horrendous shit imaginable. Just this year, for example, he helped block an amendment that would have prevented us from using military aircraft to bring Palestinian refugees to the US. He also did a bit of productive virtue signaling when he voted against the National Defense Authorization Act—aka the Pentagon’s budget, which he leads negotiations on every year for the House—after Republicans added a bunch of racist, transphobic, and anti-choice shit into the bill. And by all accounts, he runs a responsive district shop, he brings home some good bacon in the form of money for affordable housing projects and community centers, and he respects his enemies by giving them the time of day to argue their points.

But he also does some horrendous shit himself, such as taking the votes we mentioned above, and also comparing pro-Palestine protesters to January 6 insurrectionists, as if protesting at a politician’s home comes anywhere close to the same level of extremity displayed by a fascist mob attempting to stop the peaceful transfer of power. Smith deserves a worthy challenger. Vote Chaudhry.

STATE

GOVERNOR Bob Ferguson

Attorney General and internationally ranked chess master Bob Ferguson is by far the best option to be Washington’s next governor. In the past, he has supported more mental

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health resources in schools, LGBTQIA+ rights, the codifying of abortion rights in the state constitution, and data privacy rights, and we have little doubt he’ll continue to support those basic liberal policies.

If elected, he wisely plans to make housing a top priority of his administration. He envisions a cabinet-level position to oversee the issue, and he promises to encourage private developers to build 200,000 new homes in four years.

That’s all well and good and long overdue, but our enthusiasm for Ferguson drops off pretty hard on some fundamental issues. Though he’s supported the capital gains tax as well as taxes on big banks in the past, he wouldn’t commit to pushing the Legislature for new progressive revenue sources that we all know we desperately need to fund housing the market won’t build, education, transit, et cetera.

When we pressed him for clear plans on issues such as mental health or for plans to increase school funding, he told us he’d “cross that bridge when we get to it.” When we pointed out that it might be a little hard for voters to know what they’re voting for when they hear Ferguson say he’ll decide what to do once he’s in office, he disagreed with us. After spending 20 years in politics, Ferguson said, people know what to expect from him. He’s running a real “trust me, bro” campaign, and it fucking sucks.

Based on his interview with us, we bet Ferguson thought that we’d write a pissy endorsement about how he dodged answers so that he could tout our mean endorsement as evidence that he’s not beholden to the left. But really, we’re just disappointed that the effective straight-talker we knew as Attorney General Bob Ferguson didn’t show up when he was running to be Governor Bob Ferguson.

Nevertheless, he’s better than (arguably) Democratic State Senator Mark Mullet, or anti-gay, anti-trans, pro-Trump Republican Dave Reichert, or, lol, Republican Semi Bird—none of whom even showed up for our interview. Cowards. Vote Ferguson.

Denny Heck

In the face of a housing crisis, we need an urbanist like Lieutenant Governor Denny Heck to use his bully pulpit to bully the NIMBY pols.

The lieutenant governor serves as the president of the state Senate. In that position, Heck cannot vote and cannot introduce

legislation, but he can break ties and use his figurehead role to advocate for policy priorities. Because he can only move the needle so far, Heck said he’s been laser-focused on housing and will keep it up if reelected.

Heck flexed his advocacy muscles in 2023, dubbed the “Year of Housing,” to rally a diverse coalition of pro-housing organizations to pressure lawmakers to pass the so-called “missing middle housing” bill, among other measures to promote density that year.

In his interview with the SECB, he didn’t sound thrilled about his ability to keep up that pro-housing momentum in 2024, but it was a short session, so hopefully in 2025, he can get his mojo back. He plans to advocate for lot-splitting measures, transit-oriented development, and more permitting reform. The problem is so big, he said, it requires many bills!

But don’t get too excited. Heck’s not one to stick it to the landlord lobby. Under his watch, the Senate squashed a renter stabilization bill last session. When we talked to him, he wouldn’t dare say the word “control” or even “stability,” though he said he anticipates the Senate will deliberate some form of “increased rent security” next year. He made it clear that “elements” of the anti-rent gouging bill that the Senate killed may help some renters, but he wants to focus his advocacy next year on making sure the Senate understands that the housing crisis is “fundamentally an issue of supply and demand.”

That sucks, mostly because it’s just not true. The private market will not build half of the housing we need to build over the next 20 years, and in the meantime, we need to give renters more than a modicum of the stability that the government provides for homeowners.

But we could do a lot worse in this position. We could have Heck’s competition, former pilot-turned-Boeing-consultant Republican Dan Matthews, whose platform is littered with dog whistles such as “school choice” and “women’s rights to fairly compete in sports.” Yikes. We’ll take a market urbanist over a transphobe any day! Vote Heck.

SECRETARY OF STATE Steve Hobbs

Incumbent Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said that he and the SECB agree 80% of the time, and that’s going to have to be good enough for us, because no other candidate in this race is really qualified to do the job. And that’s not so bad, really.

In his first full term, Hobbs hired a team to

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

do outreach to disenfranchised voters, started a civics course for incarcerated people, and gave counties money to tighten up election security. He also told us he got Dungeons & Dragons unbanned from prisons, which we did not know we should have been advocating for all along. This is why tabletop gamer representation matters, people!

The office definitely still has its issues, though. At the top of that list: It rejects more ballots from people of color than white people. Hobbs said he’s working on it, and he hopes to start a pilot program that allows people to cure their ballot via text message. Advocates also pointed their fingers at Hobbs when his office rejected nearly 70,000 ballots in the presidential primary because voters did not check the box for party affiliation. Hobbs seemed less confident in how he will prevent that situation in the future—the Washington State Legislature would have to change a law, and he thinks the parties would probably fight it—but he’s establishing a work group to think up some solutions.

His only Democratic challenger, Marquez Tiggs, didn’t really impress us. He didn’t have much of a handle on the issues, he defended the turnout-killing practice of odd-year elections, and he even argued against changing laws so that noncitizens could vote in local elections, which would include his own husband. To be fair, Hobbs doesn’t want to get rid of odd-year elections, and he doesn’t want noncitizens voting either, but he’s got a much better grip on the issues and the responsibilities of the office. Vote Hobbs.

ATTORNEY GENERAL

Nick Brown

Experience wins out with Nick Brown, who rightly pointed out in his endorsement interview that no other candidate knew the Washington State Attorney General’s Office (AGO) as well as he did. Though we think State Senator Manka Dhingra is plenty qualified for the role, and though we liked her criminal justice policies more than his, Brown’s understanding of the department and his breadth of knowledge in the civil law arena tipped the scales in his favor.

Brown’s experience makes him right for the job. As the former US district attorney for Western Washington, he has already run a large public firm. During our interview, he demonstrated his familiarity with the AG’s role when he stressed the importance of tending to client services, the less-flashy work the office does to advise state agen -

cies on how to avoid lawsuits. He argued the office could do more to intervene when they see agencies repeatedly dealing with the same issues, which could help prevent problems from developing to the point where the state ends up in a federal settlement such as Trueblood. That’s the kind of eye-bleeding specificity and unsexy-but-practical problem-solving we’re looking for from people seeking to run unwieldy bureaucracies.

We also liked Brown’s promise to focus

To be honest, he had us at the prospect of suing corporate landlords.

a bunch of the agency’s resources on housing. He said he wanted to launch lawsuits against companies that collude on rent prices and to keep a better eye on ensuring compliance with the Landlord-Tenant Act. To be honest, he had us at the prospect of suing corporate landlords.

We appreciated his plan to create a new unit dedicated to actively investigating wage theft and to supporting labor rights, as well as his acknowledgment that wage theft was far more detrimental to the economy than organized retail theft.

We liked Brown less on criminal justice reform. In particular, he offered disappointing answers on drug decriminalization. He said he would support decriminalizing drugs more if the state had a proper treatment system in place, but he also said that jails don’t really provide the help people need, which raises the question of why we should jail people for suffering from health problems in the first place. After all, it’s not just that jails don’t help people suffering from substance use disorder—they increase the risk of overdose and can prevent people from accessing the very things they need in order to stabilize, such as housing.

Dhingra gave great answers on criminal justice reform issues, and we also liked her proposed focus of tackling consolidation in the health care industry. However, her campaign made our eyes twitch after right-wing media accused her of lying in her campaign materials by calling herself a King County senior deputy prosecutor, despite leaving the office in 2017. In Dhingra’s defense, she has returned to her prosecutorial duties a couple times since taking her state Senate seat. Still, the prosecutor’s office asked her to clarify in her campaign materials that she no longer worked at the office.

Title kerfuffle aside, Dhingra’s strongest argument for the job revolved around her experience with the criminal legal system, but criminal work makes up just a small portion of what the AG does. All in all, we believe that Brown is more prepared to hit the ground running in 2025, which we’ll need in the advent of a Trump kingship.

Speaking of reality TV stars, we almost made it through the entire endorsement without mentioning the thing Brown should be most proud of, which is the fact that he

once competed on Survivor. He lasted 30 out of 42 days, people! Vote Brown.

COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC LANDS Dave Upthegrove

Tree nerds already know, but your choice for public lands commissioner is probably the most consequential vote you will cast on this primary ballot. Thanks to some recent court cases going the planet’s way, Washington’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) can now manage its lands for the good of the public and not just for the good of the timber industry, and it can work with organizations to sell carbon credits instead of only tree trunks. Plus, the agency can now use money from the state’s new cap-and-trade program to conserve mature forests that would otherwise fall to chainsaws.

Only one person in this race wants to take full advantage of those opportunities: King County Council Member Dave Upthegrove.

After outgoing Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz beefed up our wildfire response, Upthegrove wants to focus on prevention and community resilience to reduce the number of fires that start in the first place. We love a pound of prevention. He also wants to work with tribes and other communities to map out appropriate areas to deploy more clean energy infrastructure and to build more affordable housing to help address the climate and housing crises. We love the commitment to early and consistent outreach. Finally, he wants to go full-steam ahead on DNR’s new program to conserve 10,000 acres of forests for carbon sequestration. We love sequestering anything, especially carbon.

Upthegrove’s decade in the Legislature will help him get the money he needs to fill our firefighting and fire prevention coffers, and his three terms on the county council

Unless you brunch with the Lorax, you may not know about the extremely heated debate around protecting Washington’s so-called “mature legacy forests.”

arm him with the political skills he’ll need to make sure local governments actually implement these policies. But it’s his stance on protecting older forests from the buzzsaw that makes him stand out among the million or so candidates running in this race.

Unless you brunch with the Lorax, you may not know about the extremely heated debate around protecting Washington’s so-called “mature legacy forests.” In brief, these forests aren’t old-growth, but most were logged before World War II and haven’t been logged since. They’re more structurally complex and biodiverse, and preserving them helps store a ton of carbon, maintain healthy watersheds, and provide space for recreation. Upthegrove and a broad coalition of environmentalists want to protect them, and no other viable candidate running for this seat wants to do that as much as he does.

Detractors in this race point out that timber sales help fund school construction and sometimes make up large portions of county budgets. Furthermore, they argue that older forests have a higher risk of bark beetle infestations, and wildfires might burn them up anyway, so it’d be better to cut down those forests and sell them rather than feed the beetles and fires.

However, both beetles and fires present more of a problem on the eastern side of the state, and the vast majority of mature legacy forests grow west of the mountains. Plus, more diverse forests help keep beetles away. Plus, DNR can manage those forests to help prevent infestations and wildfires, and Upthegrove said he’s down to do both. Plus, these mature legacy forests only make up about 3% of DNR’s forestlands anyway, and Upthegrove presented several convincing ways to get counties and schools the money they’d stand to lose from those sales. So, no, actually, we don’t have to cut down the trees. Now, we’re well aware that the rest of the state may be tired of “elites” from King County telling them how they should live their lives and manage their lands, but we’re tired of “elites” in the timber industry keeping the state’s small towns dependent on one crop and then holding them out for ransom against tree huggers who want to diversify those economies while also saving the planet. The choice between saving the trees and saving rural economies is a false one—we can and should do both.

Unfortunately, none of the other candidates in this race think we can. We loved the energy and expertise that Makah Tribal Council Member and DNR Tribal Relations Director Patrick DePoe brings to the conversation. As he put it to the SECB in our meeting, he doubled Native American representation at DNR by hiring a second Native person. Moreover, if elected, he’d be the first member of a Washington-area tribal nation elected to any level of government in the state. Representation matters, and we want to see more Native Americans running shit at DNR, but he opposes saving legacy forests from the saw, and he’s taking timber money, so we’ll pass.

Democratic State Senator and firefighter Kevin Van De Wege is running to the right of both DePoe and Upthegrove and basically just buys the junky arguments put forth by industry lobbyists, which is frankly what we’ve come to expect from him, so we’ll pass there, too.

BE

Former Republican Congresswoman Jamie Herrera Beutler belongs to a party that seeks to burn down the planet, and the Trumpy Washington State Republican Party is backing Sue Kuehl Pederson, so none for us, thanks!

Finally, as fervent supporters of the gay agenda, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that, if elected, Upthegrove would be the first openly gay executive in Washington State history. What does that mean? Well, for one thing, he told us he was “not opposed” to making all the trees gay. Vote for gay trees. Vote Upthegrove.

SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION

Chris Reykdal

Anyone with a kid and/or a newspaper subscription knows that Washington schools face budget crises driven by all manner of systemic issues, stealthy and overt assaults from the right, and a recalcitrant Legislature unwilling to tax the rich in order to fulfill the state’s constitutional duty to fully fund basic education. The only candidate running with the brains, the energy, and the savvy needed to solve these problems is two-term incumbent Chris Reykdal.

In the face of persistent teacher shortages, Reykdal knows the best way to retain teachers is to “fucking pay them,” which is probably why he has so much support from teachers unions. It’s also partly what drove him to propose a living wage for paraeducators.

He also knows that the state currently spends way less than it should be spending on education generally. Reykdal says he needs an additional billion dollars minimum to get schools where they need to be, and he plans to shake down the Legislature for that cash. Given his own time in the Legislature and his current understanding of the power players in both chambers, he knows just where to get it.

Reykdal’s only formidable opponent, former education nonprofit CEO Reid Saaris, didn’t respond substantively to the question of how he’d break the political morass that prevents us from funding schools. Sad.

Private schools and the rise of charter schools also ultimately threaten public school funding. Reykdal didn’t just reject charter schools in our meeting—he said he wanted to shut them down. Meanwhile, Saaris has written that he opposes charter schools and would be open to “pissing them off,” but he wouldn’t firmly commit to publicly denouncing any PAC money from charter schools that might come his way. And we wouldn’t be surprised if that mon-

ey is coming, as some of the biggest charter school advocates in the state have already donated to his campaign.

Saaris said to close the opportunity gap for students of color and low-income students, the state needed to provide “equitable funding” by investing 30% more in low-income schools. He said he’d desegregate advanced programs like he worked to do at his nonprofit, and he suggested vaguely that solving this gap came down to money, teaching, standards, and quality pathways. This problem should be solved in public education, but disparities in grade point averages, test scores, and Bachelors degree attainment start in grade school or earlier. Overhauling a complex, racist social system requires more than an abstract vision.

Now, Reykdal hasn’t closed that gap, either, but he has supported the programs that are helping, including early access programs and a transitional kindergarten program to complement them. He also wants to expand the state’s early literacy program, ensure schools have multiple ways to screen children for accelerated programs, bolster one-on-one support for kids with reading challenges, and convince the Legislature to wipe out fees for AP classes. Saaris didn’t get that specific.

In general, Saaris’s opaque, ambiguous proposals did not fill us with trust in his ability to take the reins of an agency that the Legislature consistently hobbles. When he and Reykdal agreed on a topic, Saaris knew less. And every time Saaris took a potshot at the department, either we or Reykdal disproved them on the spot. Lots of swings and misses from Saaris. Vote Reykdal.

INSURANCE COMMISSIONER Patty Kuderer

The insurance commissioner runs one of the more important agencies you’ve likely heard little to nothing about. This department of nearly 275 people negotiates prices with companies who want to offer health insurance on the state’s exchange, regulates perhaps the most vampiric industry known to capitalism, and investigates all manner of complaints related to those companies. The place is also in trouble.

The agency endured a major exodus after a bunch of alleged racist and derogatory assholery from longtime Commissioner Mike Kriedler, who decided not to run for reelection for obvious reasons. We now need someone to right the ship and carry on the good work of staring down Olypmia’s pha-

lanx of insurance lobbyists, and that person is undoubtedly State Senator Patty Kuderer. Kuderer has represented the Redmond area in the Legislature for the last seven years. During that time, she’s done a pretty remarkable job of defeating perhaps the only lobbying group worse than insurance stooges: landlords. She helped pass 2018’s raft of major tenant protections, a right to counsel for low-income tenants, and subsequent tweaks to Washington’s Landlord-Tenant Act that gave renters a little bit more power. Those wins give us confidence in her ability to dismiss industry bullshit and fight for consumers, as does her leadership on a handful of pro-consumer insurance bills she helped pass in recent sessions.

If elected, she plans to “pursue” a regional single-payer health care system informed by the findings of Washington’s permanent Universal Health Care Commission, which she helped create. She also wants to throw her weight behind a bill to make gun owners buy insurance to incentivize safe storage practices. And in general, she wants to focus the agency’s priorities on advocating for the consumers rather than the companies who squeeze us dry. We love all that.

Finally, no one else in this race is more equipped than Kuderer to help improve morale at the department. During her long career as an attorney, she’s represented people who faced sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace, and she said she’s literally written employee handbooks. On day one, she plans first and foremost to listen to the agency’s staff and learn what they need to feel successful and safe, and then work to make those improvements.

Speaking of other candidates in this race, the only one who returned our meeting request was John Pestinger, a project manager for the agency who has little money and who seems a little too cozy with the insurance companies for our tastes. Also, a Democratic voter database lists him as a “strong Republican” voter. When we asked him why that might be, he said, “As a veteran, I tend to vote pro-veteran. So I can see how that skewed the votes Republican.” When we asked which Republicans he voted for, he declined to answer directly and insisted he was “a liberal and a progressive.” We disagree! Vote Kuderer.

LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT NO. 5

REPRESENTATIVE POSITION NO. 1

Victoria Hunt

As an experienced urban planner with a PhD in computational ecology, Issaquah City

Council Member Victoria Hunt is an urbanist’s dream. But she’s more than just a dream. She showed us that she walks the talk—or, rather, rides it—when she took a 45-minute bus ride on the #544 to meet with us. Major transit swoon.

Her primary opponent, former Sammamish City Council Member Jason Ritchie, is no slouch when it comes to urbanist policy, either. (Literally, he spent a lot of the meeting just kind of aggressively leaning forward when we pressed him on stuff.) And we liked that he resigned from his council seat in 2021 after his colleagues voted to obstruct more housing growth in the wealthy enclave. But he’s running to the right of Hunt for bullshit reasons. Hunt, for instance, enthusiastically supports rent stabilization, but Ritchie said he’d only support the bill if lawmakers tied it to more housing development. Hunt argued that such a provision would only slow down the bill, which is the correct answer.

Hunt also took issue with Ritchie’s ideas for increasing the state’s housing stock, especially when it comes to affordable units. His pitch mostly focused on changing city codes to allow more fourplexes and accessory dwelling units, but Hunt rightly pointed out that those policies wouldn’t do much to meet our affordable housing needs. What we need is much larger investments in the state’s Housing Trust Fund.

On non-urbanist matters, Hunt voiced opposition to putting school resource officers (SROs) back in schools. To support that position, she gave us informed, clear answers based on her conversations with parents during her time on council, which was nice. Ritchie, on the other hand, said he opposed cops in schools but wanted school districts to know they had the Legislature’s support in keeping their schools secure, and that for some schools, that may mean a cop working as an SRO. So … he does support cops in schools, though he does oppose those cops carrying guns and mace. Whatever the case, we don’t support Ritchie. Vote Hunt.

LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT NO. 32 REPRESENTATIVE POSITION NO. 2

Lauren Davis

State House Representative Lauren Davis spends most of her time and considerable talent in the Legislature trying to improve Washington’s inadequate behavioral health system and its dismal criminal justice system. After six years in office, she knows both still need plenty of work, but that’s not for lack of her ingenuity, curiosity, and sheer grit.

Knowing full well the Legislature’s aversion to passing progressive taxes, she puts in the hours combing through Washington’s list of tax loopholes, searching for the millions of dollars the state could be collecting to fund treatment facilities, recovery housing, jail reentry programs, and other starved, neglected, or practically nonexistent systems.

In 2022, for example, Davis tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to end a tax break for companies that warehouse opioids and other drugs. Eliminating that loophole could have added an estimated $53 million to Washington’s coffers. The bill failed, but Davis vows to keep pushing. Davis has had several successes in the House, though, such as a bill she helped craft that requires hospitals in Washington to send every overdose patient home with a naloxone kit. Previously, hospitals would send people home with a script for naloxone that patients rarely filled. She also proudly touted her bill to eliminate an overly broad law that required the state to revoke a person’s license after any felony conviction involving the use of a car. The change makes it easier for people to follow sentencing conditions, such as meeting with their probation officers or maintaining employment.

The only drug Davis uses is sugar—and she admits to using it quite heavily—but she’s supported drug decriminalization in the past, so she doesn’t let her wise lifestyle choices get in the way of good policy, though she is more open to taxing vices than we are. Still, we’d happily take Rep. Davis and a maple bar over her no-show Democratic opponent and her election-denying Republican opponent any day. Vote Davis.

certain court requirements. That’s a just and potentially controversial bill that not a lot of legislators would take on.

And she’s certainly better than her opponent, Republican challenger Emily Tadlock, who ran around in 2022 knocking doors to try to find illegal voters. We strongly encourage Tadlock to get a fucking life.

We do have concerns about Senn on the topic of Israel and Palestine. Senn seemed a little dismissive of Israel’s genocidal campaign against the Palestinians, calling it “totally sad that all of those people are struggling and dying from famine,” but then she shifted the conversation to Hamas failing to care for Palestinians and the Hamas government spending all its funds on building tunnels. Senn’s shallow arguments gave us pause, but, at the end of the day, US foreign policy doesn’t often intersect with state politics, and she does want to cap our rents, so, for now, vote Senn.

LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT NO. 43

REPRESENTATIVE POSITION NO. 2

Shaun Scott

For 30 years, House Speaker Emeritus Frank Chopp sat in this seat, which covers the University District, Wallingford, South Lake Union, Capitol Hill, and Madison Park. From that perch, in the wake of the 1994 red wave he rebuilt a durable Democratic House majority that now successfully contests and holds seats in exurbs, even as it tries to foster progressive talent with new ideas closer to the cities. Now that he’s ready to step down, he hopes to pass the torch to Shaun Scott, who is by far the only candidate in this race worth passing it to.

LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT NO. 41

REPRESENTATIVE POSITION NO. 1

Tana Senn

For someone who represents Mercer Island, State House Representative Tana Senn isn’t so bad. She sponsored and passed a bill to allow the Washington State Patrol to actually destroy the guns they confiscate, ending the State’s role as a gun dealer. On housing issues, she voted for rent stabilization and supports a 7% cap on rent increases. She also passed funding for electric school buses, which she highlighted as part of her passion for policies that address climate change.

She’s quietly pretty good on criminal justice stuff, too. In 2024, she championed a bill to make it easier for children convicted of a sex offense to apply for removal from the sex offender registry, so long as they complete

LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT NO. 41

REPRESENTATIVE POSITION NO. 2

My-Linh Thai

When the SECB interviewed State House Rep. My Linh Thai, we asked her what she was most proud of from her last two years in office. She said, “I thought you said this would be a short interview,” and then laughed at herself for a solid 15 seconds. In our view, Thai has earned the right to that level of confidence, and probably more.

Since we last endorsed her in 2022, Thai’s taken on the landlord lobby. She fought for and won more money in the state budget to represent tenants in eviction court. She also sponsored and pushed through a law that protects renters from greedy landlords stealing their security deposits.

If we elect her again, she said she will dedicate every single word that comes out of her mouth to advocating for a wealth tax to help flip Washington’s notoriously upside-down tax structure right-side up. The wealth tax she sponsored last session did not get very far, and she blames her fellow Democrats— after all, they have a majority, but they just gotta use it! Thai said she thinks it is a realistic goal to pass the wealth tax by 2025. She’ll do it by working with state Senator Noel Frame to build a coalition of advocates to lobby their hand-wringing colleagues.

After that, Thai said she’s pretty tired and would like another refugee to take her spot. But right now, she’s got Republican challengers to beat, landlords to piss off, and a whole lotta wealth to tax! Vote Thai.

As a lobbyist for the Statewide Poverty Action Network, Scott knows how Olympia works, and he knows just who he needs to talk to in order to advance his ideas. And as an organizer with the Bernie Sanders and Nikkita Oliver campaigns, he knows the work he needs to do to get to the Capitol in the first place.

Of the many people (and doofuses) The Stranger interviewed for this round of endorsements, Scott numbered among the most informed candidates. His primary opponents cannot include themselves in that count.

When we asked which piece of legislation candidates would be most passionate about passing, middling Democrat Daniel Carusello told us he’d want to set limits on AI technology and increase data privacy, but he seemed generally uninformed about similar efforts at the national level that would preempt state action. He supports progressive revenue taxes, and he doesn’t think police accountability should be bargainable, but his answers did not have anywhere near the specificity of Scott’s.

Stephanie Lloyd-Agnew did not show up for our meeting, so we don’t expect she’d show up for the people she aims to represent.

With his focus on housing, renter protections, and the needs of the poor in general, Scott ranks as a worthy successor to Chopp, who got his start as a rabble-rousing housing activist. True to form, Scott supports rent stabilization and all manner of tenant protections. In a district where more than 70% of the households rent, he’ll be a particularly powerful voice in that conversation.

He also supports progressive taxes, and, like Chopp, he’s smart about tying them to the things that they pay for. For instance, to address the immediate need for much more

Of the many people we interviewed, Scott numbered among the most informed candidates.

affordable housing, he supports an increase to the Real Estate Excise Tax, using a fraction of the sale of McMansions and massive apartment buildings to pay for affordable units. He’d also raise the Oil Spill Response Tax to fund schools and social services, which would help the people disproportionately affected by dirty industry.

In areas where Chopp’s leadership position (or genuine beliefs) occasionally made him meek, we think Scott will be bold. Whereas other liberal and lefty politicians running this year waffled on the question of passing a state law to ban police unions from bargaining over accountability measures, Scott was clear that he would. Whereas some liberal politicians look the other way as their cities pointlessly and expensively sweep homeless people down the street, he’s unequivocal that sweeps are harmful and ineffective.

Last and least, there’s Andrea Suarez. The executive director of We Heart Seattle is a “homeless advocate” who’s reviled by homeless advocates in Seattle and King County. She opposes housing-first solutions to homelessness and has implied on social media that needle exchanges enable drug addiction. (When we asked her to clarify, she told us that she supported them, but she wanted them to better collect needles). She’s running as a Democrat, but she associates with conservatives, and her rambling answers resemble the free-associative style of the right-wing talk show hosts who adore her. She knew nothing about the process of police bargaining, and she could not give us an answer when we asked if transgender children had the right to make medical decisions in consultation with their doctors. Those responses and her general lack of knowledge more than disqualify her from representing perhaps the bluest, queerest, renter-heaviest district in the Legislature. Vote Scott.

LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT NO. 46

REPRESENTATIVE POSITION NO. 1

Gerry Pollet

Writing an endorsement for State House Rep. Gerry Pollet feels a little bit like living in that meme where an army dude kneels in front of someone’s bed, shielding them from missiles as they sleep. We are the army dude putting our young, hot bodies on the

THE TIN TABLE

line to protect a sleepy, 12-year incumbent, but not for no reason.

Let’s start out with some good stuff. In his last term, Pollet raised the cap on special education funding. Good on him! And double good on him for committing to get rid of the cap altogether in his next term. If we elect him again, he promises to be a fierce ally to Seattle Public Schools, which could potentially close 20 elementary schools. To save the schools, Pollet said he will propose a $1.1 billion increase to their budgets, but that will not solve some of the structural problems driving closure. He said Seattle must also plan for affordable, family-sized density near public schools so families can afford to live near and fund the district.

That brings us to some less-than-flattering moments for Pollet. Over the last couple years, he pissed off a lot of urbanists by watering down the so-called “missing middle” housing bill, which increased housing density in some areas across the state. But through all the booing, Pollet stands by his actions, saying he did it all in the name of displacement.

He doesn’t think he’s the NIMBY King the urbanist types make him out to be. Earlier this year, he sent Mayor Bruce Harrell a sixpage letter, complete with footnotes, blasting his housing growth plan for not increasing density enough. Harrell also disappointed him when it came to protecting vulnerable residents. Pollet said it is “ironic” that the urbanist types who gave him so much grief about his so-called anti-displacement crusade got mad at the Mayor for removing anti-displacement strategies from the housing growth plan. He wants to pass a law requiring cities to include anti-displacement strategies in their comprehensive plans to prevent that bullshit in the future.

Not sure if we can convince any urbanist types to forgive Pollet, especially when he wants to make the transit-oriented development bill less profitable for developers, but hey! He wants to pass rent stabilization!

And if that’s not enough, at least he’s not his Republican competitor, who has the transphobic equation “woman = adult human female” in her Twitter bio. Nor is he his Democrat challenger who no one’s heard of, and who declined an interview with our endorsement board. Vote Pollet.

LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT NO. 47

REPRESENTATIVE POSITION NO. 2

Chris Stearns

To put it nicely, State House Rep. Chris Stearns contains multitudes on the issues of criminal justice reform and taxation, but ultimately he’s the best choice for this Cov-

ington-area seat.

Stearns voted, not very happily, to recriminalize public drug use last year. But if we elect him again, he will continue his work to retroactively strike “juvenile points” that judges can use to add years to someone’s sentence. He came close to passing the policy last session, but it died in the Ways & Means Committee because some lawmakers thought it cost too much. Stearns feels more confident in 2025 because his colleagues won’t be so worried about reelection.

On the more questionable side of his judgment, last year, Stearns pushed a bill to give cities the authority to impose sales taxes to pay for cops, courts, and treatment without taking it up with the voters. The bill didn’t go far, and he probably won’t reintroduce it again in its exact form. He gets that regressive sales taxes suck, but he correctly argued that cities do not have many options to raise revenue. But we correctly argue that pearl-clutching cities would just use the authority to throw away money on cop bonuses during a national police shortage, under the guise of providing “treatment” in a cynical attempt to ameliorate progressives. Could you imagine Bellevue spending a penny of such a tax on a new treatment center? Get real.

ANYWAY, on the less questionable side of his judgment, if we reelect him, he’ll support a wealth tax and secure more progressive revenue to make our tax structure less burdensome on working people.

Even with his flaws, Stearns outshines Republican and apparent sadist Brian Lott. Lott advocates for “tougher penalties” and less government spending at a time when we need public health solutions and much more money to fund schools, housing, transit, et cetera. Vote Stearns.

STATE SUPREME COURT

Sal Mungia wants to join the state Supreme Court to expand access to the legal system for all people and to ensure the courts treat people fairly regardless of their race, and we endorse him in the hopes that he’ll achieve those goals with the quickness. Given his enthusiasm for lawyering and for civil rights, we think he’s got a good shot.

For a lawyer, Mungia seems genuinely dedicated to making sure the legal system treats people equally. Early on in our conversation, he said he agreed with the legal reasoning behind “the bright-line Rhone rule,” which helps judges to prevent at -

torneys from eliminating jurors based on their race. He also decried the bias against Black plaintiffs in the civil legal system, which he witnessed firsthand as a personal injury attorney for Gordon Thomas Honeywell in Tacoma. And his pro bono work has led him to support a litany of worthy causes, including his push to secure improved jail conditions for people held at Pierce County Jail.

One of the more equitable, useful, and all-around good things the State Supreme Court could do for the people of Washington is overturn the stupid 1933 court decision that outlaws a progressive income tax. We tried many different ways to figure out how he would rule if the Legislature tried to force the court’s hand on that issue, but he repeatedly

size for community organizer Saunatina Sanchez’s moxie, one size for professional policy wonk Alexis Mercedes Rinck’s prop copy of the City’s Comprehensive Plan, and one size for the good humor of Tariq Yusuf, the Robin Hood of tech bros. We like that guy! In fact, we like all of them!

But we felt most confident in Rinck’s ability to beat Woo. Woo may not be the evilest of masterminds on the city council, but she represents a dependable vote for big business, landlords, and the mega wealthy—and there’s plenty of that on the council already.

Don’t get us wrong! Progressives don’t sacrifice anything by voting for Rinck. She’s more than just a safe bet to knock out Woo. Of the three progressive challengers,

Rinck’s ability to attract so many endorsements while maintaining progressive positions speaks to her political skills, which will make her a force on the conservative, do-nothing city council.

(and wisely) thwarted us with “No comment.”

However, his opponent, Federal Way Municipal Court Judge Dave Larson, admitted that he would have sided with the conservatives in viewing the capital gains tax as an income tax and not an excise tax. That made the choice easy for us haters of regressive taxes.

We found Larson pleasant, and we like his preference for treatment courts. But for all his promises to remain neutral on the bench, in June, he spoke at an event with GOP gubernatorial candidate Dave Reichert and said, “‘It’s time that we take back the judiciary in Washington state,’” according to the Chronicle. In his defense, Larson said he only meant that the people needed to take back the court to have it better serve them, but we find that hard to believe. Instead, we believe in supporting the candidate who hasn’t aligned himself with a brain-dead Republican bigot. Vote Mungia.

CITY OF SEATTLE

The SECB’s shriveled heart grew three sizes when we met the progressive challengers to Council Appointee Tanya Woo; one

Rinck would be the strongest, most consistent fighter for progressive revenue, which we desperately need to keep libraries open, labor standards enforced, and homelessness services running.

But there’s a few tinfoil-hat-wearers on SECB who alleged some kind of conspiracy based on Rinck’s long, long, LONG list of endorsements. She’s got the full weight of the Democratic Party behind her, plus countless progressive advocacy groups. Given all the fractures on the left, racking up that many supporters counts as quite the feat, and serving them all raises questions about whose concerns to prioritize. Indeed, in our meeting, we bullied Yusuf into arguing that Rinck would be the most likely of the three progressives to “sell out” (our words) because she’s got so many constituencies to please. Sanchez argued a similar point, calling her an “establishment Democrat” akin to US House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Rinck shut that shit down real fast, though she couldn’t decide in the moment if the AOC thing was that insulting, lol. Her ability to attract so many endorsements while maintaining progressive positions speaks to her political skills, which will make her a force on the conservative, do-nothing city council. In the immortal words of Hannah Montana, Rinck gives Seattle “the best of both worlds.” She’s got some residual lefty grime from her protesting days, and she’s got experience in the belly of the beast of bureaucracy, the King County Regional Homelessness Authority. In fact, she gets credit for one of the biggest wins in that shitshow authority—convincing the suburbs to pay into the regional approach to homelessness. If she can get Bothell to fork over cash, maybe she can get Council President Sara Nelson to support one single renter’s right? Or at least build an opposition caucus that the left can build upon in 2025 and 2027. Either way, we win. Vote Rinck. ■

JUSTICE POSITION NO. 2

Sal Mungia

COUNCIL POSITION NO. 8

Alexis Mercedes Rinck

How to Vote

Save the Country and Earn a Free Sticker While You’re at It

BY RICH SMITH

The time has come to vote! Thanks to consistent Democratic majorities in Olympia and extremely competent leadership at the King County Elections (KCE) department, the process just keeps getting easier and easier.

And this year, the ballots are coming with custom “I Voted” stickers, which is kinda fun. �� Okay, let’s make sure you’re ready to do your civic duty!

Registering to Vote

Before the county will send you a ballot, you need to register to vote. To register, you must be a citizen over the age of 18 who is not currently totally confined in a prison.

Not quite 18? Well, if you’re 16 or 17, then you can sign up as a future voter, and the state will automatically register you to vote on your 18th birthday. Also, if you will turn 18 between August 6 and November 5 of this year, then you can vote in the August primary.

We have some automatic voter registration in Washington State. If you have an enhanced driver’s license or ID, then you’re already in. If you just got out of prison, then your right to vote has been automatically restored, so make sure you’re registered.

You can register to vote by mail or online at votewa.gov until July 29. Make sure to have a copy of

your Washington State driver’s license or a current Washington State ID handy. If you have neither, then that’s NO EXCUSE. You can still register by mail or in person at any of the county’s many voting centers. And if you miss the online or snail mail voter registration deadline for the August primary, then you can still register in person at a voting center until 8 pm on Election Day. If you’re unsure about your registration status, then confirm it at votewa.gov

Your Ballot

The county mails ballots to all registered voters. For this election, your ballot should arrive in your mailbox by July 22. If it’s not there by the end of that day, then ask KCE what’s up. (By phone at 206-296-VOTE (8683) or by email at elections@kingcounty.gov.)

Once you have your ballot, rip it open, set the new “I Voted” sticker aside for the time being, and then grab a pen—you can use any color you’d like, even sparkly

pink (especially sparkly pink). Then turn to The Stranger ’s endorsements in this very newspaper, and then carefully fill in the bubbles we tell you to fill in. (If you’re running out of time, just jump straight to the Cheat Sheet for quicker advice.) After that, slide your ballot into its cute little Hot Pocket sleeve, stuff the whole package in its envelope, and then mail it in—no need for a stamp! If you fancy a little walk, then drop your ballot into a nearby dropbox no later than Tuesday, August 6, at 8 pm.

This year, KCE added a few new ballot boxes, bringing their grand total up to 83!!! They added a second box at the Ballard Library location, another at 12th Avenue and Cherry Street, another at Morgan Junction Park in West Seattle, and another at the South Sammamish Park & Ride. Also, FYI, they moved the box at Seattle Central College about 10 feet, and they moved the box on the Muckleshoot Reservation from the administrative building to the new community center.

Once you’ve sent your ballot on its way, then slap that sticker on your chest and walk around

proudly advertising your civic pride. Or do a social media post, you little democracy influencer.

Now you’ve voted! Nice job. But your duty isn’t quite done yet.

Track It

Once your ballot leaves your hand, you’ll want to track that thing to make sure your vote has been counted. Easy enough! Just head to the county website at https://info. kingcounty.gov/kcelections/vote/myvoterinfo/ballottracker and sign up for ballot tracking and text alerts.

If you sign up, KCE will send you a reminder text on the Thursday before Election Day if they have not received your ballot.

If KCE “challenges” (i.e., contests) your ballot due to some issue with your signature or something else, then you can resolve the issue online at https://wa.omniballot. us/sites/53033/site/app/home. New state rules now allow KCE to accept Washington State ID numbers, Washington State driver’s licenses, or the last four digits of your social security number to prove that you are who you say you are, so it’s easier than ever to fix your ballot.

According to a spokesperson at KCE, text subscribers turn out at much higher rates than non-text subscribers, and they also fix their challenged ballots at higher rates—so join the club!! Happy voting. ■

GABI GONZALEZ-YOXTHEIMER

The Stranger Election Control Board

CHEATSHEET

For the August 6, 2024, Primary Election

The Stranger does not endorse in uncontested races, in races where only two candidates filed (those go straight to the general election!), or in races we forgot.

FEDERAL

United States Senator

Maria Cantwell

United States Representative

Congressional District No. 1

Suzan DelBene

United States Representative

Congressional District No. 7

Pramila Jayapal

United States Representative

Congressional District No. 8

Imraan Siddiqi

United States Representative

Congressional District No. 9

Melissa Chaudhry

STATE

Governor

Bob Ferguson

Lieutenant Governor

Denny Heck

Secretary of State

Steve Hobbs

Attorney General Nick Brown

Commissioner of Public Lands

Dave Upthegrove

Superintendent of Public Instruction

Chris Reykdal

Insurance Commissioner Patty Kuderer

Legislative District No. 5

Representative Position No. 1

Victoria Hunt

Legislative District No. 32

Representative Position No. 2

Lauren Davis

Legislative District No. 41

Representative Position No. 1

Tana Senn

Legislative District No. 41

Representative Position No. 2

Legislative District No. 43

Representative Position No. 2

Shaun Scott

Legislative District No. 46

Representative Position No. 1

Gerry Pollet

Legislative District No. 47

Representative Position No. 2

Chris Stearns

STATE SUPREME COURT

Justice Position No. 2 Sal Mungia

CITY OF SEATTLE

Council Position No. 8

Alexis Mercedes Rinck

Council Member Tanya Woo Cancels Endorsement Meeting with The Stranger at the Last Minute

City-Council-Face-the-Public Challenge (Impossible)

BY HANNAH KRIEG

With just hours notice, Council Appointee Tanya Woo rejected our invitation to The Stranger Election Control Board (SECB) endorsement meeting with her opponents for the citywide Position 8 council seat. She declined to give a reason for canceling the meeting she agreed to back on June 10, leaving us to assume she fears media scrutiny.

Her cowardice reflects a larger trend with the new Seattle City Council. They routinely ignore media requests, spread falsehoods about dissenting colleagues, belittle the communities they betray, and, in extreme cases, call for the arrest of people who dare disagree with them too loudly.

But Woo’s progressive opponents represent an openness to conversation, disagreement, and criticism. City Council Position 8 candidates Alexis Mercedes Rinck, Saunatina Sanchez, and Tariq Yusuf all attended The Stranger’s meeting, and before that they attended an endorsement meeting with the Seattle Times Editorial Board, who supported Woo in her first failed election.

“I am disappointed that [Woo] chose to opt out of an endorsement interview today with The Stranger and the other candidates in this race,” said Rinck, who sat in the hot seat for the Seattle Times endorsement meeting. “On the campaign trail, I haven’t shied away from meeting with the media or engaging with my critics–that’s part of the job. I’ll be proud to continue this commitment when elected.”

Woo’s opponents expressed different levels of surprise to The Stranger. In an interview, Yusuf described vibes of “comradery” at the Seattle Times meeting. Woo gave him the impression that she would attend The Stranger meeting, too.

“All of us candidates hope to represent our respective communities—and Seattle as a whole—which means that it is essential that we meet with folks regardless of whether they are community organizations, publications, or average Seattleites—even if they don’t share our views,” Yusuf told The Stranger in a written statement. “After all, isn’t that why we’re here? To advocate for a better Seattle for everyone? That starts from the campaign trail.”

In an interview, Sanchez said she was “pleasantly surprised” that Woo seemingly planned to attend as of Wednesday. It seemed more on brand for Woo to skip, so the last-minute rejection didn’t shock her much.

“It’s unfortunate when those in public office decide to ignore a group of people they’re supposed to be serving,” Sanchez said in an email to The Stranger. “Being accountable to the people who hire us to do a job is part of the job, so [Woo] canceling on the SECB endorse-

ment interview clearly shows how she values the points of view of The Stranger readers.

If you can’t handle the heat of a challenging conversation where you have to defend the policies you’re championing, you shouldn’t be in a position to push those policies onto the people who are going to be affected by them. #Recused.”

The SECB was annoyed for sure, but we saw it coming.

On May 15, The Stranger invited Woo and her three opponents to meet at our office in the Chinatown-International District (CID) on June 27 at 10 am. Woo’s campaign manager confirmed receipt of the email and said he would “be in touch.”

On May 20, The Stranger asked, “Any update?” The campaign manager said, “Looks like we might have a conflict with that date... will check with Tanya and, if so, suggest some alternatives.”

After several business days with no suggested alternatives, The Stranger said on June 5, “Hey! Any update on this? Everyone else can make this time work!” The other

candidates, who have jobs, confirmed the time right away, and the longer Woo dragged her feet the fewer options we would have to reschedule and accommodate all four candidates. No response.

The SECB was annoyed for sure, but we saw it coming.

On June 10, The Stranger texted her campaign manager and asked, “Can Woo make it to the meeting June 27 at 10 am?” To which he replied, “Hi Hannah from The Stranger, the interview is on her schedule.”

Any reasonable person would read that message as her accepting our invite, but at 5 am today, on the morning of the interview, Woo sent an email saying, “Thank you for your invitation to meet with you and my fellow candidates. Unfortunately, I will not

ANTHONY KEO

be able to attend today, but I look forward to working with you in the future.”

She did not respond when The Stranger asked why she would not come.

But as many chud Twitter users told us, it’s because we are big meanies. To that I say, thank you. It is my job to hold elected officials to account, not be their fan club.

I did my job when I put her nonsensical platform into words when she ran in 2023. I did my job when I exposed the fact that she had not voted in a local election until 2021 despite her nearly 30 years of voter eligibility because, as she argued at the time, she didn’t “have staff.” I did my job when I predicted that big business would coalesce behind her and then reported the dollar amounts when they did. I did my job when I broke news that she sought a “second opinion” when the executive director of the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission told her to recuse herself from a vote that could benefit her financially. I will continue to do my job, and it will probably seem a little less mean when Woo starts doing hers. ■

An appointee.

Big Business Is Pleased with the Council It Bought

With a Council This Slow and Inept, Why Wouldn’t They Be?

BY HANNAH KRIEG

You would have thought that the members of the new Seattle City Council had single-handedly orchestrated the collapse of the Soviet Union, given the way they gushed about how their elections—which constituted a huge political win for Mayor Bruce Harrell and Council President Sara Nelson—marked a return to greatness for a city held captive by progressives for the last four years.

During the swearing-in ceremony in January and during their campaigns, these council members implied that the last council’s comparatively left-wing ideology made them more prone to bickering, pouting, and general childishness, which kneecapped their productivity in office. But at the swearing-in ceremony, Nelson said, “There is cause for optimism,” despite the council’s greeness. “Today, we usher in a new era of pragmatism and results at City Hall,” she proclaimed.

So when’s that new era actually going to start?

Since taking office seven months ago, the Seattle City Council has passed little legislation, and almost none that sprung from their own imagination rather than from the mayor’s office.

Twitter complainers and podcasters have called this crew the “Do Nothing” council, but its slowness doesn’t seem to bother the business interest that poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into their recent campaigns. And maybe progressive critics shouldn’t lose sleep over the current dynamic, either. Despite Nelson’s flexes of power in the first few months of the year, she and the mayor have so far declined to use their new political strength to advance anything major.

As of July 8, the Seattle City Council has passed Public Safety Chair Bob Kettle’s bill that aims to accelerate police hiring, somewhat of a fool’s errand amid a national recruitment shortage. Otherwise, the council passed labor contracts the mayor’s team already negotiated, the mayor’s emergency legislation to allow for quicker demolition of vacant buildings, and the mayor’s surveillance plan, along with a few housekeeping bills.

In terms of raw numbers, the 2020 city council passed 12 more ordinances in its first six months than the 2024 city council did. Furthermore, the 2020 council didn’t have a long time on their training wheels before they had to react to the COVID-19 public health crisis and the racial reckoning brought on by the murder of George Floyd. By this time in 2020, the previous council had overturned racist, classist anti-loitering

laws and barred cops from covering their badges. They made quick work of temporarily increasing worker protections, small business aid, and tenant rights in response to the COVID-19 emergency. They also passed campaign finance reforms, first-inthe-nation eviction protections, and the JumpStart payroll tax, which has saved the City from financial ruin in every budget negotiation since its unanimous passage.

Council President Sara Nelson did not respond to my request for comment about why her council has taken so long to find its footing.

But Nelson had anticipated a steep learning curve in her remarks at the council’s swearing-in. The 2020 city council boasted 20 years of experience between its nine members, not including time that many of them spent working in council offices. By contrast, the new council has 10 years of experience in office and elected Nelson, who’d served just two years in office, to be their council president. With such little experience, instead of making laws, the new council spent several months hearing presentations from central staff about the basics of municipal governing.

Despite Nelson’s flexes of power in the first few months of the year, she and the mayor have so far declined to use their new political strength to advance anything major.

One could argue that the council has less power to enact new policy because of the quarter-billion-dollar budget deficit projected in 2025. They can’t actually pay for new programs because the City can’t even pay for existing ones. The council will not discuss new revenue streams until the budget negotiations this fall, and the council does not have a clear pro-taxation majority. However, the council can enact policy changes—new tenant protections, zoning reforms, et cetera—at no cost.

But not everyone shares this criticism.

For many council members, their true constituency is big business, real estate, and the other conservative forces that paid for their seats.

Indeed, the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce seems satisfied with their return on investment in the council, bought by more or less the same business and real estate interests that formed their now defunct PAC. In an email to The Stranger, Chamber CEO Rachel Smith said the council is “...working on exactly what the voters said are their top priorities. It’s much harder to solve problems than to create them, and I see a strong commitment from all council mem-

bers to finding—and taking action on—solutions.”

For Smith, the council’s successes include Kettle’s cop recruitment bill, a bill to expand the previous council’s automated license plate reader pilot, Council Member Dan Strauss’s so-called audit, the recent transportation levy that the City had to write this year, and some tweaks to the Mayor’s voter-approved housing levy that put more rental assistance in landlord pockets.

Smith also signaled support of the council’s future actions, including a bill to incentivize developers to convert office buildings to housing (which was the mayor’s legislation, by the way, and such small-ball shit in the face of the housing crisis that it’s barely worth mentioning), wayfinding improvements (the mayor’s thing again), and an upcoming bill to crack down on street racing (the city attorney’s bill).

Given their constituency, however, it may not be the council’s goal to progress, but rather to conserve, and, in some cases, to backpedal.

Notably, the new council rendered two years of stakeholdering and policymaking useless by rejecting Council Member Tammy Morales’s Connected Communities bill, which would have made it easier for low-income communities to build housing and community centers.

Nelson also picked a fight with labor early on, letting corporations dictate a repeal to the gig delivery driver minimum wage ordinance passed by the previous city council. The bill went through several rounds of committee meetings, faced ethical concerns, and has been delayed since June 18 when the council struck its final vote from the agenda. In this case, the council’s seeming incompetence may have prolonged the life of the minimum wage ordinance, which is a win for labor—Nelson’s political enemy.

Behind the scenes, interest groups are lobbying for other repeals, from renter rights to anti-loitering laws. Those kinds of actions would take a lot of political will, and Nelson’s clumsy attempt to claw back labor rights has not demonstrated the council’s ability to coalesce around and enact blatantly corporatist and conservative policy.

While inaction lets existing crises fester, prolonging the suffering of marginalized people in Seattle and hobbling opportunities for progress, perhaps an incompetent council is not a worst-case scenario for those who reap the nominal benefits from the work of the previous council. With this crew, doing little is better than doing anything at all. ■

The city council is not full of evil masterminds, just bumbling conservatives. (Minus Tammy Morales.)

ANTHONY KEO

ASoft Serve

Look at this deluxe soft-serve sundae from Baiten! So much matcha!

D o w n

Taste Your Way Through Seattle’s Most Twisted Ice Cream Offerings

BY JULIANNE BELL, MEG VAN HUYGEN, AND MEGAN SELING

ccording to a heat stress-induced Google search on a recent 87-degree day, there are more than 25 places to get good soft serve in Seattle. Making decisions even more difficult, many shops are doing their damnedest to put their distinctive, ahem, twist on the treat.

Matcha Man in Georgetown is the go-to for build-your-own taiyaki cones. Fill the base of their freshly baked, fish-shaped

sweet waffle with red bean paste, custard, or Nutella and top it off with your choice of soft serve from a revolving menu of flavors like black sesame, ube, matcha, pineapple Dole Whip, and Vietnamese coffee. Indian street food spot Spice Waala only offers one flavor at a time, but they make it count with flavor combos you won’t find elsewhere in Seattle, including pistachio cardamom, fennel, and rose. Cold Plate in the University District is known for Thai-

style rolled ice cream, but bubble tea fans shouldn’t sleep on their “floateas,” aka BUBBLE TEA SOFT-SERVE FLOATS. And Indigo Cow in Wallingford is so dedicated to recreating traditional Japanese soft cream that they claim to SHIP THEIR MILK IN FROM HOKKAIDO, JAPAN. Their soft serve travels more than 4,300 miles to get in your mouth!

Now, we could go from shop to shop, tasting, testing, and comparing notes

to find which soft serve is the best soft serve, but… why? Life doesn’t have to be about finding the best. Like so many of the world’s greatest foods, what’s “best” is in the tastebuds of the beholder and can easily shift depending on moods, weather, and cravings. With that in mind, some of The Stranger ’s hungriest food experts sampled eight soft-serve spots across town to help you find your favorite for the summer—or just today.

Baiten

Capitol Hill

Baiten, a walk-up Japanese bakery tucked inside the Capitol Hill izakaya Tamari Bar, is so small and unassuming,you might miss it, which would be a minor tragedy. They specialize in jewellike fruit sandos and dreamy vanilla soft serve, which comes drizzled with your choice of sauce (including tangy yuzu curd, earthy matcha, and toasty hojicha) and crowned with a delicate glacier-blue meringue. My favorite has to be the Toki whisky-spiked caramel, which is just boozy enough that it’s reserved for those 21 and up. The slightly bitter bite of the whisky slices through the sweetness of the burnished copper caramel, which firms up into delightfully chewy ribbons where it makes contact with the cold ice cream—a divine dessert for anyone who craves simplicity.

at Little Coney on Shilshole Bay, just around the corner from Watson’s, where he remembers making these gigantic, sloppy softserve cones with his friends. “This was the inspiration for our soft-serve program here at Watson’s,” Lim explains, lamenting that his modern machine isn’t built to allow him and his staff to make the cone as obnoxiously huge as they used to at Little Coney. You can get them in small, medium, and large, though, and the large is pretty damn large.

MEG VAN HUYGEN

The Pastry Project Pioneer Square

On the other hand, if you’re more of a maximalist, they also have plenty of elaborate,

Before the Pastry Project opened their soft-serve window in late June, owners Emily Kim and Heather Hodge let me visit their Pioneer Square kitchen and give their dipped cones a go, fulfilling my 8-year-oldself’s dreams of one day working the dip cone counter at Dairy Queen.

It is so much harder than it looks! It takes

towering concoctions, like the kurogoma (black sesame) sundae, heaped with black sesame pudding, black sesame jelly, red bean paste, black sesame syrup, kinako mochi, a meringue, an ornate matcha cracker, and a couple matcha Pocky sticks. Whatever you choose, park yourself on one of the repurposed barrel seats outside and watch the world go by as you sink into bliss.

JULIANNE BELL

Watson’s Counter Ballard

Did you know that Ballard’s best coffee shop and Korean fried chickery also has fantastic soft serve? In two delicious and often kinda weird flavors? In July, the flaves are boysenberry and Nutella, and previous editions have included jasmine and dark chocolate, lemon basil and blueberry, and ginger and rhubarb. Owner James Lim makes sure to choose the flavor pairs to compliment one another, so you can get them in a swirl without it being gross.

On the subject of soft serve, Lim has some emotions. At age 15, his first job was

an expert hand to swirl their especially rich (borderline frozen custard) soft serve into a cone with such precision that it can then be turned upside down (!) and dunked into a warm liquid bath (!!) with nary a drop falling out of place.

The Pastry Project’s soft-serve window is only open for the summer, and it offers three flavors—purple vanilla, chocolate, and twist. While the ice cream is decadent

Yeah is what they should call it.

enough to enjoy on its own—no cheap, icy mix here—the true magic is in the toppings. The aforementioned hard shell dip is available in butterscotch, choco -

Strawberry soft serve with hot fudge and honeycomb from Tip Top.

MEGAN SELING

late, and strawberry passionfruit, and you’re gonna definitely want to add their rainbow peanut crunch. That’s housemade honeycomb-esque peanut brittle that has been smashed to bits and mixed with chopped peanuts and rainbow sprinkles. Nut-Blasting Crispy Magic Rainbow Crunch Fuck Yeah is what they should call it. That on a twist cone with the strawberry passionfruit dip tastes like a PB&J turned up to 11. MEGAN SELING

Temple Pastry Central District

I’ve long been a fan of the Central District bakery Temple Pastries, so I was thrilled to learn earlier this spring that they’d opened a walk-up window aptly called Ice Cream & Sandwich Window, serving two of my

pandan and tart, fruity mango balance each other out beautifully. For toppings, choose from classic rainbow sprinkles, toasted coconut almond crunch, and, most adorably of all, a tiny Temple croissant. Note: There’s nowhere to sit, so you’ll just have to stand there and spoon ice cream into your mouth as you attract jealous glances from passersby. JULIANNE BELL

Tip Top: An Ice Cream Shop

Highland Park

Tip Top: An Ice Cream Shop, tucked inside West Seattle’s very charming Highland Park Corner Store, makes “New Zealand-style ice cream with a Northwest twist.” What’s New Zealand-style ice cream? According to Tip Top owner and Seattleite Meaghan Haas, who attended the University of Auckland,

get all Willy Wonka on you, but the strawberries taste like strawberries!

The one drawback that isn’t really even a drawback so much as a kind of charming (albiet confusing) quirk: When my ice cream date ordered the mango ice cream, it tasted just like a burst of fresh mango, but the ice cream had a light pink tint from the marionberry order that came before it. Was it weird to eat pink mango ice cream? A little bit! But it was still very good. MEGAN SELING

Milk Drunk

Beacon Hill

On Beacon Hill, Mediterranean fine-diner Homer is pretty well known for its soft serve, mostly because it seems kinda off-brand for a place with marble countertops and rockfish crudo to have soft serve. But neighborhood

huge too—even a kid’s size is plenty for a medium adult. Make sure to order some curly fries and dip ‘em into your soft serve like you’re at Wendy’s. No, seriously. It’s good. MEG VAN HUYGEN

Frankie & Jo’s Ballard

Big news for vegans and lactose-intolerant ice cream lovers! Frankie & Jo’s is once again serving plant-based soft serve at their Ballard location! Their Vanilla Sun Soft Serve, made with a cashew milk base, is only available June through September, and it stars in an array of sundaes, including strawberry shortcake, s’mores, baked cookie, and banana split.

favorite food groups: soft serve and breakfast sandwiches. The under-the-radar spinoff doesn’t have much in the way of social media presence, making it a well-kept secret for those in the know. When I visited, there was a sign on the window notifying customers that sandwiches would not be available until further notice. But that’s okay, because we’re here for the ice cream.

The cheerful takeout counter currently has two flavors on offer: a subtly floral lightgreen pandan and a sunny orange vegan mango sorbet with a frosty texture reminiscent of Dole Whip. I recommend getting both swirled together—the creamy, aromatic

New Zealand ice cream is made by blending together hard ice cream and frozen fruit in a soft-serve machine that looks like it came from the set of a Saw movie. Your choice of a sweet cream or vegan coconut base is scooped into a large plastic cone and topped with frozen fruit—menu mainstays include blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, mango, and banana. Then the plastic cone is lifted up to a large drill that quickly smashes and swirls the ingredients together and squeezes them out like a Play-Doh Fun Factory. The result is as creamy and smooth as soft serve, but with a fresher, brighter fruit flavor. Not to

folks know—and now you do, too—that if you’re not in the market for fancy dinner, just ice cream, you can zip over to their sister restaurant, Milk Drunk, two blocks away. This fast-casual counter serves fried chicken sandos, curly fries, and even more soft serve, usually in different flaves than Homer.

Like Homer, they tend to be inventive: Recent examples include fig leaf, Rainier cherry, Turkish coffee, and peach caramel turmeric. There’s always a vegan option and a dairy option, and they offer chocolate, peanut butter, or butterscotch hard shell options for your cup or cone, as well as plenty of sprinkly toppings. Portions are

Did the soft serve taste plant-based to me, a dairy-loving vegetarian who earlier that very same day ate a cup of milk-based ice cream? Honestly, yes. But it was still so good! Not too sweet, slightly nutty, and the ideal creamy, cool companion to Frankie & Jo’s impressive selection of flavor-blasted toppings. Examples include strawberry beet compote, zucchini pound cake, roasty marshmallow, cashew butter fudge, sour cherry compote, and the intensely dark chaga hot fudge. MEGAN SELING

Hellneika Cultured Creamery Pike Place Market

This is one of the most iconically Seattle food experiences that most people sail right past when they’re at the Market, and those people? Need to know. Hellenika serves the most astonishingly thick, luxurious gelato and frozen yogurt of anyone’s life out of their Pike Place shop. If you’ve had Ellenos yogurt before, then you get it.

Greek Australian siblings Alex, Peter, and Constantinos Apostolopoulos started Hellenika in 2023. After running the Yogurt Shop in Adelaide, the sibs’ frozen yogurt was discovered by flight attendant Yvonne Klein, who joined forces with Alex and Con, as well as her husband, Bob Klein, to bring the stuff to Seattle as Ellenos Real Greek Yogurt in 2012. Peter went out and got a food science degree from WSU in the meantime, working in the lab on Cougar Gold cheese as a dairy scientist. When Ellenos moved out of their Pike Place digs in 2023, Hellenika opened up in the same space, by the so-called (fake) original Starbucks. Not only is this stuff as dense as mashed potatoes—not really—almost, though—it comes in cool flavors like macadamia, fairy bread, lemon curd, pistachio, and London Fog made with nearby MarketSpice’s Earl Grey tea. It’s zippier and tangier than Ellenos’s yogurt too, and it’s all made incredibly simply, with a base of milk, cream, and sugar that’s cooked and then incubated with Greek yogurt culture. The result is tart, ultracreamy, and completely unique in Seattle’s ice creamscape. Get it. MEG VAN HUYGEN

The banana split sundae from Frankie & Jo’s in Ballard. It’s vegan!

MEGAN SELING

Your Local Baseball Besties

Why You Should Give a Shit About the

BY ADAM WILLEMS

Mariners This Summer

I, an enlightened being, have been tasked with convincing you, an ignoramus, to care about Mariners baseball at the midseason. I’ve held off on writing this article as long as possible to ensure that my pontificating carries at least mild prophetic power by the time it hits the presses. But, knock on wood, the Mariners have channeled their chaos ball proclivities to win many games (!!), portending an exciting second half of the season.

Hear ye, some reasons to back our boys in blue (I don’t mean the cops—I mean the sports guys with the way smaller payroll):

Sweet Victory (?)

At press time, the Mariners hold a promising lead in the AL West: a whopping eight games ahead of the second-place Astros. Fancypants statisticians give the team an 86.3% chance of making it to the postseason.

You read that right: The Seattle Mariners are doing a good job!

That is, um, not really the norm. The Ms have only made it to the postseason on one occasion since 2001 and are the sole team to have never made it to the World Series. The franchise also suffered a sizable revenue hit due to Comcast-induced whatthefuckery at the end of last season, encouraging ownership to approach 2024 with the kind of economic caution that leads to self-defeat. Management executed a number of salary dumps, dropping beloved players like Eugenio “Good Vibes Only” Suárez and slightly less beloved players like Jarred “Water Cooler” Kelenic. They also picked up some incon-

sistent players during the offseason, teeing up the team for yet another year of subpar acquisitions and performance.

But call it a Tax Day miracle. After a tepid start—going 6–10 before April 15—the Ms found their groove and have since recovered to record 11 wins over .500. The team’s bons temps remain tenuous, however. The Mariners still hold a league-leading strikeout rate, depend too heavily on their (splendid but slightly injured) closer Andrés Muñoz, and lack offensive consistency as well as bullpen depth. If these shortcomings remain, we could witness the team’s eventual disintegration into all-too-familiar mediocrity, as they proved during their horrendous road trip to Ohio and Florida in late June.

Money, Meet Mouth

Yet fear not, nescient child. Local oligarch and Mariners owner John Stanton might actually come to the rescue and adequately finance the Mariners, helping them go far into the postseason. In a 180 from the austerity mindset he seems to typically espouse and endorse, Stanton told Seattle Times reporters Adam Jude and Ryan Divish in early June that he’d help Mariners leadership secure the resources needed to develop a successful team. Couple that with recent scuttlebutt from The Athletic—money isn’t expected to “be an issue” for the Mariners when conducting midseason trades—and it starts to seem like Seattle could be home to batters with star power and offensive talent by the trade deadline. That includes names like Bryan De La Cruz, Eloy Jiménez, Tom-

my Pham, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. If you don’t know them: They’d be nice to have at T-Mobile Park on our side.

If all else fails, I think ownership should apply its austerity approach to non-player payroll. Following the team’s consistent struggles to turn swings into hits, the Mariners fired bench coach Brant Brown in late May. The Ms’ bats started to heat up almost immediately; they swept the Angels the next

You read that right: The Seattle Mariners are doing a good job!

day and pulled off some clutch hits, helping them lead MLB in one-run games. Correlation, causation, tomato, tomahto—my oracular powers tell me that past is prologue. In other words, laying off the entire Seattle Mariners coaching staff will resolve all the batting, pitching, and fielding issues the Mariners face, while also freeing up more money for player payroll. Good riddance to the coaches! I love Moneyball!

Mariners Manna Back to the proselytizing: Feel free to be a fair-weather fan and come cheer on the Mariners, because they have a lovely winning record and will soon feature more famous people on the field. “It’s a free country,” et cetera, et cetera. But even if the Mariners

play total horseshit baseball for the 60-odd games left this season, it’s still worth going to a game at T-Mobile Park, and going often. The energy is so positive and infectious that it’s hyped the Ms toward a 27–12 record at home (let’s gloss over their away-game record, lol). It’s hard not to see why: The Park has something for everyone. You can witness the sassy salmon run, double-fist $4.50 value beers in moderation, catch hot dogs from the heavens above as they parachute into your grubby grateful phalanges, and partake in the cheugiest calisthenics class of your life with a Macklemore-heavy seventh-inning stretch and rally song. It’s everything you need and deserve.

And look at how much fun our tight-pantsed callipygian Mariners are having on the field, even when they can’t end the ninth inning with a little celebratory jig. They’re all buddies and having a great time! And so many of their names are eerily similar; we love a rhyme or homophone or whatever! You’ve got the two Mitches and their monstrosity of a portmanteau sandwich, the Double MitchWich; close pals Cal Raleigh and Luke Raley and their lategame rallies; father-son-duo-but-not-really Ty France and (now AAA-optioned) Tyler Locklear sometimes showing off on first base (Ty’s on first!); and Josh Rojas and Julio Rodríguez sharing initials, defensive dexterity, and extra-base-hit prowess.

At its core, Mariners spectatorship is an immersive lesson in appreciating that, win or lose, the real victory is the friends we made along the way. I’m only half-kidding. Lean into that can-do attitude and boom! You’ve just found Seattle’s cheapest antidepressant. ■

JAMES YATES

Music Festival Frenzy!

Follow Our Flowchart to Find Your Perfect Match

BY AUDREY VANN

START!

How do you prefer to listen to music?

The little computer in my pocket

What’s the most money you’ve ever spent on a concert ticket?

I sold my kidney for a ticket to the Eras Tour

If you met Jack Antono , what would you tell him?

“KEEP YOUR FILTHY PAWS AWAY FROM THE POP GIRLS!” Physical formats

At a concert, I prefer…

in the

Have you shopped at REI in the last six months?

Of course, where else am I supposed to buy my Tevas?

Timber!

Outdoor Music Festival

July 25-27

Nestled along the Snoqualmie River in Carnation, WA, Timber! o ers a stereotypical PNW music festival experience with an indie-centric lineup, outdoor adventures (such as bat prowling, nature painting, and tree climbing), and camping accommodations.

HIGHLIGHTS: Ty Segall, Deer Tick, Y La Bamba, Dean Johnson, and Kimya Dawson.

Bumbershoot

Aug 31-Sept 1

At Seattle Center’s beloved music and arts festival, you can get that lounge-inthe-grass-style music fest without trekking to rural Washington. This year’s lineup caters to the Gen X and Millennial crowds with an impressive lineup rooted in indie rock, hip-hop, and nostalgia.

HIGHLIGHTS: Pavement, James Blake, Cypress Hill, Freddie Gibbs, Kim Gordon, Courtney Barnett, and BADBADNOTGOOD.

What time do you like to be in bed?

Charli XCX sings “I’m everywhere, I’m so Julia.” Do you know who Julia is?

“Champagne Supernova” by Oasis

Do you own a car?

THING

Aug 9-11

THING has filled the Sasquatch! Music Festival-shaped void since the beloved Sasquatch! fest folded in 2018, and this year is no exception! The lineup is still grander than your average small-town arts fest with a genre-spanning lineup, art installations, shopping, crafting workshops, and a nightly lantern parade. This year, the festival is moving locations from Fort Worden to Carnation, which means a shorter commute from the city (no ferry ride necessary!).

HIGHLIGHTS: St. Vincent, Spoon, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Toro y Moi, Killer Mike, Ethel Cain, Black Pumas, and Earl Sweatshirt.

Day In Day Out

July 12–14

Pick a song...

If we break down Seattle’s summer music festivals in terms of the generations, DIDO undoubtedly caters to Millennials. I mean, just take a look at the headliners—pop princess Carly Rae Jepsen, indie folk band Head and the Heart, and Jack Antono ’s Springsteen-esque project Bleachers. All performances will take place on a single outdoor stage in the heart of Seattle with access to food trucks, vendors, and views of the Space Needle.

HIGHLIGHTS: Carly Rae Jepsen, the Head and the Heart, Bleachers, Men I Trust, and Suki Waterhouse.

“Red Wine Supernova” by Chappell Roan

Capitol Hill Block Party

July 19-21

This year, CHBP o ers a treasure trove of Gen-Z favorites. Droves of festival-goers will crowd the streets of Capitol Hill to see lineup highlights like pop music’s reigning camp queen Chappell Roan, electronic hip-hop heavy Kaytranata, and indie pop trio Cannons. This isn’t your typical outdoorsy PNW music festival, but rather, a bustling party that involves nine stages—both indoors and outdoors—that are nestled within the city streets. HIGHLIGHTS: Chappell Roan, Remi Wolf, Still Woozy, Elderbook, and Kaytranata.

Charde’ Brown, Myron Curry, Yolanda Galery, Vincent Keele, Rodney King, T.R. Miles

Flying the Freak Flag

Seattle’s Genre-Bending Beautiful Freaks Will Fight (and Bleed) for You

BY KEVIN DIERS

Controlled chaos. Those two words perfectly sum up the intensity brought forth by noisy Seattle DIY stalwarts Beautiful Freaks. The band’s pit-inducing live shows have earned them a die-hard following of young clown makeup-ed fans. While they’re known for their off-the-wall and energetic live performances at local punk houses and basements, they’re very aware that there’s a line that shouldn’t be crossed.

“I’ll see people stage diving and going hard, but I never see people actively targeting each other,” explained guitarist and vocalist James Bonaci. “Over the years, being very outspoken about safety in the pit and having stopped a couple shows because somebody looked like they took a bad hit… When we’ve done that [during a show], I think it’s really set a precedent of a weird mix of people moshing and stage diving, but also taking care of each other and knowing that the band’s going to advocate for them. No matter how heavy a show is, you should feel safe.”

On occasion, though, the band members’ safety has been sacrificed. Given the nature of our Pacific Northwest weather patterns, sometimes playing a DIY show outdoors with full-sized amps can be dangerous. During one concert, Bonaci said, “The tarp [hanging overhead] caved in in the middle of our set, and out came this huge river of water onto the rig. It shocked me so bad that we had to stop because it split my lip open.”

That captivating balance of perilousness

and control is well-represented on their new full-length, We Talk to Birds. Out July 19, We Talk to Birds is a big step for the group, as it’s their first time recording with an actual producer in an actual studio. And it’s not just any old studio. The band spent four days tracking at Seattle’s famed London Bridge Studio, where legends like Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Brandi Carlile have made history. And they entrusted

These are wildly talented musicians who can seamlessly blend a little Pavement with a little Slipknot.

the talents of producer and engineer Lilian Blair, who, after being awarded Sonic Guild’s George Reiff Producer’s Grant in 2023, had a nice budget to work with.

“You could feel the iconicism when you walk in those doors,” vocalist Meg Hall said.

“All the history that was made in there was really beautiful. As soon as we were out, I was like ‘I just want to go back.”’

After years of being described as a band you have to see live to fully appreciate, Beautiful Freaks finally have an album that truly cap-

Shock rock. Sometimes literally.

BELLA PETRO

New Music Mondays and Weekly Jazz/Open Jam

Great Women of Folk and Country - 7/11, 8/8, 9/5

Big Lazy and Special Guest- 7/19

Kiki Valera y su Son Cubano- 8/2

Electric Circus- 8/3

Aubrey Johnson - 8/9

Total Mass Retain YES Tribute- 8/16

Peter DiStefano & Mike Baggetta- 8/17

Klezmer Starts Here - 9/8, 11/17

An Evening with Christie Lenée - 9/14

Paul Durham (of Black Lab) - 10/4

tures both the fury and the fun of their sets.

“This is a band who transforms, which I think is one of the biggest strengths of any artist,” explained Kennady Quille, host of KEXP’s local music show Audioasis “They’re not afraid to veer into any certain direction. I think this new record is definitely a different vibe than their previous releases and live performances, but it just works.”

“We’ve been really flying by the seat of our pants in the past and just trying stuff out by being loud, noisy, and chaotic,” drummer Peter Bryson said. “This was our time to really refine and revise parts and put on our smart musician caps and have better-recorded and better-written songs than we’ve ever really attempted before.”

At times, We Talk to Birds is glimmering, beautiful indie rock, and at others, it’s shrieking, full-throttle hardcore punk, though it doesn’t at all come off as disjointed or awkward. These are wildly talented musicians who can seamlessly blend a little Pavement with a little Slipknot.

“I feel like this record is simultaneously polished and an escalation of everything we’ve done in the past,” Hall said. “We’ve leaned further into the heavy, chaotic sound, and further into the softer, more vulnerable pop sound. But it is all tied together with a pretty little bow that is the London Bridge room sound.”

“It’s like a tree with multiple branches going in every direction,” guitarist and vocalist Cyra Wirth said. “We kind of have a song that’s going in every single direction, further than everything else we’ve done.”

Though confident in their evolution, as the bandmates sat at my dinner table, there was a collective nervous energy in the room as they discussed the album’s release, their upcoming 35-day US tour (which they will complete in a minivan), and the simultaneous hopes and frustrations that come with managing it all on a shoestring budget. We joked about goals as a band.

“I want a Ferrari—a pink one,” Wirth said.

“I want to be in the new Taco Bell com-

mercial,” Bonaci added.

Jokes aside, the band has lofty goals. But a major part of the challenge ahead is having enough capital to embrace opportunities.

“We got offered to go down to La Bestia Radio in Mexico City, but we couldn’t afford to fly down there,” Bonaci said. “We’ve gotten other offers where we just don’t have enough money yet to be able to handle that. I just hope that we can reach a point as musicians where we’re able to get paid for our craft and be able to sustainably do that.

“We’ve gotten our punk points,” Bonaci added. “We have played the basements. We have DIY-toured. We have done the grinding. I don’t feel like we need to prove anything more. What I want to do is have a bigger platform to uplift younger DIY artists, so they can get into those support slots, and they can grow their careers. I want to be at a point where I can pick openers that I really believe in and really try to uplift them.”

“When you play a house show or a yard show at a college or wherever, you are playing to an audience that has people in it who have never been to a punk show before, or who have never been exposed to the punk ethos,” Quille noted. “That is powerful. You are potentially opening up new doors for people who would have never even thought that door was meant for them. When I was first introduced to punk music and shows, I was obsessed. I think some of that carries over to how this band interacts with their audience.”

They’re just looking to shout their Freak gospel to as large of an audience as possible.

“We have a lot of kids who really appreciate our music, and I think it provides a voice for them,” Wirth said. “We’re Beautiful Freaks. We’re freaks. There’s a lot of kids who are outsiders. I think something that’d be really wonderful is to become a bigger band, so we can do that for kids all over the place.”

See Beautiful Freaks at Easy Street Records, 4559 California Ave SW, on Saturday, July 20, at 7 pm. ■

We Talk to Birds is out July 19.

Real Brief.

Damn the Man, Save the Empire

Seattle’s Best Video Store Needs

Our

Help—Here are Eight Summer Classics to Rent Right Now

BY CHASE HUTCHINSON

“I think he’s back for his noon feeding.”

Scarecrow Video will always be a Seattle gem. The nonprofit video store is a mecca for movies and physical media, stocking more than 150,000 films in its library, from popular classics to titles you can’t find anywhere else. However, like many valuable arts organizations, they need the public’s support to survive. In June, Scarecrow staff put out an SOS— Save Our Scarecrow—and announced that they need to raise $1.8 million before the end of 2024. Kate Barr, Scarecrow treasurer and board member, says the fundraising is a “marathon, not a sprint.”

“If those big, moneyed angel donors don’t show up at our door, then the other way that this could really work is if we have a grassroots effort that catches fire,” said Barr. “Maybe it’s just people who give small amounts, but it’s a lot of people being able to give small amounts, and that turns the tide. The largest number of people that we serve on a day-to-day basis, and have forever, are people of limited means. The home video revolution was all about affordability.”

It’s never too late to pitch in and start renting movies—and Scarecrow has both in-person and rent-by-mail programs. In the spirit of the season, I compiled a list of some of my favorite summer features, from dynamic dramas to fun horror flicks. As for Barr, she says her summer pick is the 1973 classic American Graffiti, which, along with all the films listed below, is available now in the Scarecrow’s extensive library.

DO THE RIGHT THING

Dir. Spike Lee (1989) Spike Lee’s masterpiece remains a scorcher of a film that is not just one of the best in his career, but one of the greatest American

movies ever made. The film, often credited for bringing 1980s streetwear to the mainstream thanks to Ruth E. Carter’s iconic costume design, is set during the hottest day of the summer in a Brooklyn neighborhood. It’s both an intimate character study and a bright, bold portrait of an era, and just as essential all these decades later as it was when it was first released on June 30, 1989.

JAWS

Dir. Steven Spielberg (1975)

Some films remain at the front of our minds for a reason, and Steven Spielberg’s spectacular summer blockbuster about a small town’s shark problem will always have a home in my brain, tucked between the films it inspired, including Godzilla Minus One and Nope. It’s killer in every regard, from the terrifying-in-its-subtlety opening scene to Robert Shaw’s USS Indianapolis monologue to the film’s glorious, blood-soaked finish. It’s a scrappy film that moves with complete and utter confidence, creating as much tension with all you don’t see as it does with what you do.

MIDSOMMAR

Dir. Ari Aster (2019)

The most recent film on this list is also one of its most menacing. Many of Midsommar’s horrors play out in blindingly bright daylight, as a pack of students are ritualistically picked off one by one over the course of a mysterious nine-day midsummer festival at a rural Swedish commune. The more the petrifying tapestry unfolds—slowly and methodically, making its cut feel even deeper and more jarring—the more you find yourself getting swept up in the film’s unsettling, visceral vision. If you’re searching for a memorable breakup film—summer

ANTHONY KEO

love rarely lasts—look no further than what Ari Aster offers here. Better yet, Midsommar would also make for quite a bonding experience when watched with a date… but maybe wait until you’re a little further into the relationship.

MOONRISE KINGDOM

Dir. Wes Anderson (2012) Wes Anderson often gets (unfairly) pigeonholed as a one-note whimsy machine, but he proves he is so much more in the brilliant Moonrise Kingdom, where we see his habitual sweetness offset with somberness. It makes for something truly special, the way it sneaks up on you. Set during the summer of 1964, as two youths attempt to run away together into the wilderness of a fictional island, Moonrise Kingdom is a gorgeous yet gentle film with plenty of biting humor sprinkled throughout. When it all comes together, it’s the perfect summer watch if you’re looking to feel some melancholy.

THE GRADUATE

Dir. Mike Nichols (1967)

A withering dramedy that pulls no punches as it builds to one of the most iconic and haunting endings ever put to screen, The Graduate remains as clear-eyed as ever. Its central subject, Benjamin Braddock (played by a new-to-Hollywood Dustin Hoffman), is a woefully aimless youth, but the film wanders through his summer after college graduation, when the full scope of life supposedly stretches before you. This film never misses a step and the mundanities and insecurities of its characters are laid bare in a way few movies have achieved since. If you’ve never seen it, get ready for that final scene to rip your soul out.

THELMA & LOUISE

Dir. Ridley Scott (1991)

It’s a tale as old as time: Two friends take a summer road trip that quickly goes off the, uh, rails. But Thelma & Louise has main -

tained its firepower more than 30 years after its release. Whenever we look back on the great American road trip movies, this will forever remain at the top, thanks to excellent performances by both Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis. Whether you’ve seen it a thousand times before or this summer will be your first watch, it’s always thrilling to see these women hit the road one last time.

THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE

Dir. Tobe Hooper (1974)

All modern movies owe a debt to the late Tobe Hooper’s grimy, gruesome, and ultimately graceful gem of a horror film. Not only did it carve out its place in the slasher canon, but genre cinema itself will forever live in the shadow it still casts. It follows a group of young people who set out on a drive in the stifling summer heat of Texas. They soon run into a bit of trouble on the road, which threatens to end not just their trip— dun dun duuuun—but their lives. Though it spawned many sequels, it’s this outstanding first 1974 installment that started it all, and it remains the pinnacle. The closing scene alone, which culminates in a beautifully brutal and deadly last dance, will carve itself into your psyche.

THE WICKER MAN

Dir. Robin Hardy (1974)

If anyone ever asks you to go to an isolated island with no backup to investigate a mysterious disappearance, you should definitely do it. After all, if The Wicker Man’s story tells us anything, is that the questionable adventure would certainly make for a great movie. Following a sergeant who finds himself an outsider in a remote community that’s preparing for its May Day celebration, the film slowly ratchets up the growing dread. It’s both deeply unsettling and consistently visually vibrant—a foundational work of folk horror that puts all other films about faith to absolute shame. ■

“In the future, when a woman’s crying like that, she isn’t having any fun.”

ANTHONY KEO

NEARLY DAN

THU, JUL 11 - SUN, JUL 14, 2024

6 nights/week Jazz, Blues, R&B, World Music Supper Club & Craft Cocktails Family Owned since 1980

HALIE LOREN

NEW ALBUM CELEBRATION. DREAMS LOST AND FOUND

Nearly Dan is 12 highly skilled, career musicians who electrify the richness & complexity of classic Steely Dan jazz-rock compositions live on stage.

GREG ADAMS & EAST BAY SOUL

TUE, JUL 16 - WED, JUL 17, 2024

With powerful horns, sweet soul vocals and an all-star rhythm section, they deliver a sensational blend of Funk, Jazz, Soul and R&B.

JUDY COLLINS

THU, JUL 18 - SUN, JUL 21, 2024

Gold and platinum selling modern-day Renaissance woman esteemed for her imaginative interpretations of traditional and contemporary folk standards and her own poetically poignant original compositions. An International treasure!

BRIA SKONBERG

TUE, JUL 23 - WED, JUL 24, 2024

Canadian New York Based JUNO award-winning jazz trumpeter / singer / songwriter / educator / instigator

LISA FISCHER / RANKY TANKY

TOGETHER

THU, JUL 25 - SUN, JUL 28, 2024

2x Grammy-winning quintet perform timeless music born from the Gullah culture joined by 2x Grammy-winning guest vocalist, a pairing sure to deliver an unforgettable performance.

TUE, JUL 30 - WED, JUL 31, 2024 “Loren mixes and matches popular songs from a variety of sources and eras, throws in a few originals for good measure, and lets her warm and seductive voice work its magic on all of them”

CONFUNKSHUN

SMOOTH JUKEBOX 2.0 TOUR

THU, AUG 1 - SUN, AUG 4, 2024

R&B/Funk legends, they deliver high-energy shows and electrifying choreography that distinguishes them as one of the best!

STANLEY JORDAN PLAYS JIMI

TUE, AUG 6 - WED, AUG 7, 2024

World-renowned touch-tap guitarist plays Jimi tribute show, but it’s not pure imitation. Instead, Stanley builds on Jimi’s legacy in a creative way, reimagining his music.

JOHN PIZZARELLI TRIO

THU, AUG 8 - SUN, AUG 11, 2024

Globally acclaimed guitarist/vocalist celebrating the 40th anniversary of his debut album. Hailed by the The Toronto Star as “the general genius of the guitar.”

FOUR TOPS WED, AUG 13 - SUN, AUG 18, 2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Famers | Grammy Lifetime Achievement Recipients | Celebrated Motown Legends | Rolling Stone Top 100 Greatest Artists of all Time

Swimming with Nikki McClure

Sometimes, When You Interview Your Favorite Artist, You End Up Becoming a Piece of Their Art

BY MEGAN SELING

When the inquisitive seal popped his head out of the water about 30 feet away from us, I confirmed what I’ve suspected for years: Artist Nikki McClure sprinkles a little bit of magic everywhere she goes.

Working as a papercut artist since the mid-’90s, McClure has spent tens of thousands of hours slicing an X-ACTO knife through sheets of black paper to capture those unassuming yet energizing moments of day-to-day life in the Pacific Northwest. Roasting marshmallows over a campfire, berry-picking on a hot summer’s day, skinny-dipping under the moonlight, quilting, reading, cooking, protesting, resting—it’s all been memorialized by McClure.

Her originals have hung in galleries up and down the West Coast, and her designs have graced T-shirts, album covers, and show posters. You can spot her work on storm drain covers in Olympia, where she lives, and in the steel garage gate outside the Uni-

versity of Washington District Food Bank. She’s published several art books, sometimes collaborating with poets and writers such as award-winning children’s book author Cynthia Rylan, Portland rock royalty Sarah Dougher, and, most recently, the late famed environmentalist Rachel Carson.

My favorite project, though, and the one for which she’s likely most known, is her annual calendar. I’ve hung these calendars on my walls for more than a decade. I’ve meditated on their intricate details for years and relished the daily reminder to explore, to live, and to breathe in each moment McClure has delicately carved into the page.

I’m gushing. But she’s worthy. McClure is the kind of person who will, say, wrap up an interview at her home on a breezy July day by suggesting a spontaneous dip in the sea. It was there, in that post-interview moment, that it clicked. We became a frame of her artwork. The water circling out from our bodies, the sunlight dancing across the surface of the sea, the seal coming over to say hello.

You can feel the magic yourself this summer at her career-spanning solo exhibit at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art. The show, Something About the Sky & Other Wonderings, includes pieces ranging from her very first art show in 1996 to her latest book, Something About the Sky. And, in true McClure style, she’s made a little room for visitors to soak in their own creativity.

“Sometimes the thing that I’m needing has to be done with some magic incantation.”

“[The museum has] a tiny patio on the second floor that I got some lawn chairs for, for a collective cloud viewing,” she said before we jumped into the water. “People are encouraged to go and lie down on the lawn chair, hopefully next to a stranger, and just

talk about the clouds together. Because my favorite thing at a fair is the bumper cars. For three minutes, you have this wild abandon, and you get to have eye contact with strangers and laugh with strangers.”

Here’s what else we talked about before we went for our impromptu swim, from how she discovered her love for paper-cutting (it was on a whim!) to what she likes to do when not making art (unsurprisingly, swimming is high on the list).

When did you discover paper-cutting? Did it click immediately, like “This is my medium, this is what I’m doing”?

I had done scissor-cutting and folded cuts, kind of valentiney things, but one day—it was in September because I’d gone picking apples—I came home, and I sat down, and I was like “You know, I really want to make a book. I want to make a book right now. How am I gonna do it?” Luckily, I had a boyfriend who actually went to art school, he went to Cooper Union, and he’s like “Why don’t you

The Mercy of Gods Sat 8/10 at 7pm

TICKETS REQUIRED

try cutting out of paper?” And so I did, and it was great.

Have you dabbled in anything since? Or were you just all in with paper-cutting?

I like watercolor painting, but I’m terribly impatient. So I watercolor when I’m on vacation, but now I don’t really have vacations.

You just said you’re impatient, but you also will cut literally thousands of tiny slivers of paper…

[Laughs] Right, but I don’t have to wait for anything to dry. I have done printmaking, but I was very messy—I’d forget there are wet areas and non-wet areas, so at least it’s dry. And once I cut and remove it, I can see it. Printing is in reverse, or you have to print it to see it. And watercolors layer, you’re building something. This is just immediate removal and instant satisfaction.

Yeah, with so many mediums you build, you add things. Here you are doing the opposite of that. And in some cases, it’s very intricate. Some of these pieces, it sounds like, can take weeks. If you’re in the middle of a piece and you make one wrong slice… Do mistakes exist in this world?

That’s with any art—mistakes are part of it. Mistakes are the part that I actually—I don’t start out hoping to make a mistake, but when one is made, it sometimes can be a really great thing. Because it’s messed up, and then you’re free to try everything you’re scared of. Usually, I do the thing that scares me the most first, or the thing that’s going to be the hardest first. Say, someone’s face, especially if it has to be a particular person. I’m not a portraitist. So I tend to do that first, so if a mistake is made, it’s done early, and then I can experiment. But I usually just go with it and take what I’ve dealt myself. [Laughs] Also, thinking of an image and coming up with an idea, you know, some of them aren’t the greatest idea, but [they are] the process to get to the thing, that resounding, glowing, perfect, magic, dream art moment that every artist, I think, wants to have. But you can’t have it all the time. It’s always remarkable to me when I hear somebody likes the picture I hated the most from the calendar, say. I try not to really hate them, but there’s one that’s like “Eh, it’s a little off.” But to somebody, that’s a 10 to them. In some ways, you’re not making for yourself; you’re making for this other unknown that isn’t expressed yet or connected yet. When you’re making, removing the critic leaves you open to those possibilities that your brain was maybe going to close off.

them when the year’s over. They’ll cut them up and use them as postcards, they’ll frame individual pages, they’ll make collages. They’re these finite pieces of art that people then repurpose to have more life. Do you have a favorite way that people have used them? Is that what you expected when you first made them?

Well, I never thought I’d still be doing this. [Laughs] I made one in 1998. In 1999, I did not make one, and everybody said, “Where’s your calendar?” Well, the next year was

I never know how many to print. Sometimes there’s more, sometimes there’s not enough, and if there’s more, I take it back to the printer, and they make stacks, and they cut it into fourths, and make these notepads. They make great grocery lists or the note for when you didn’t really want to spend $5 for a card. The printer just cuts them into fourths, so to look at the art in these new croppings that I hadn’t expected is really exciting. It’s great when people reuse them. Someone else, she made these little envelopes, and they hold different sizes of circular knitting needles.

That’s cute! I don’t knit, but… I don’t either. [ Laughs ] I knit squares. I can knit a square. What else do I do? I like to make flags, and I like to cook, and I love berry-picking and I love swimming… these are all creative things to me.

And they’re all a part of your art. In all of your calendars, in all of your books, there are people swimming, there are people picking, there are people running… Yeah, it’s all part of it.

sort of… zeitgeist. People are thinking about this word; this word just feels right. But the thing that I’m doing, too, is looking forward in time. I’m working in, say, March 2024 for an image that won’t be until December of 2025. So sometimes I just go open up the dictionary and see what words are there, too. Because sometimes the thing that I’m needing has to be done with some magic incantation.

What’s the longest you’ve spent on a piece? I don’t really… I don’t keep an hour log because maybe I would be appalled by how little I work. [Laughs] So the longest I know that I’ve worked on one piece, it was a map that I made for What Will These Hands Make, and it’s this map of this community. It took a whole month just to cut it, and took extra time to plan because it was almost like making a movie set. I had to know what was around the corner and down the street. Ideally, I start a picture on Monday, and I end it on Friday. Because once I take a break of a weekend… it’s a physical thing I’m doing, so I try to think of myself as an athlete, you know, because with neck strain and arm strain and eye strain, once I take a break and come back to something, lines change, thickness and decisions of things change, values change.

I love that. With the calendars, one of the things that I find so fascinating about them is that people will do different things with

2000, so that’s, like, you have to make a calendar. That did so well, I was like “Well, I guess people want a calendar every year.” Within it, though, was a really good making exercise, an assignment. But what people have made from them, I mean, it runs the gamut from beautiful jam jar lids to there’s one person who hangs them up, has a whole wall of every calendar, and changes the month every year. Calendars have a certain lifespan of a year, and come around May, people stop buying them for that current year. I self-publish it,

Obviously, images are a big part of your art, but you also use words. Very sparingly, but in a way that I feel like… I would call you a writer. Would you call yourself a writer? How does writing play into your creative process? Yeah. Thank you. It sort of happens concurrently with when I’m making the art, once I’ve decided the image, and as I’m sketching it out, words are starting to pop in my brain. I keep this list of words that are forming. As I’m making the final art, I’ll just be listening to, like—I listen to Democracy Now! sometimes and a word will pop up. “Oh, Amy [Goodman], good word, you’re so right about that!” You know,

I never considered that, how after a weekend you might have a slightly different eye. Because you’re kind of a different person! You’re a new Nikki on Monday compared to who you were on Friday.

You are! Even what you’re cutting out—I showed you that picture of the cherry blossoms, and that one took maybe three weeks to finish. Meanwhile, [the cherry blossoms] are completely gone. That was just a moment in time. Your models just have disintegrated. Change is happening, and you’re changing, so to make something that’s so static, you really gotta work fast. ■

See Nikki McClure: Something About the Sky & Other Wonderings at Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, 550 Winslow Way E, Bainbridge Island, WA, through September 29.

BROOKE FITTS

Nikki McClure, All Who Live Openly (detail), 2021, papercut and ink.

COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

Octavia Butler Saw Our Doom

Parable of the Sower Is the Opposite of a Light Summer Read,

but You Need to Read it This

Summer Anyway

BY CHARLES MUDEDE

Every summer has become, for me, a window on a train that’s rushing toward a collapsed bridge. Everyone should be on one side of the air-conditioned cars—the side with windows that view the approaching void. Everyone will die real soon. But almost everyone is preoccupied with a phone, or a game of cards, or some food from the bistro car.

This train is, of course, our consumer-driven society; and the destroyed bridge ahead is, of course, the catastrophe of climate change. The summers keep getting longer and hotter, and extreme weather events are becoming more and more costly and deadly. Who will rescue us?

Shortly before World War II, the German philosopher Walter Benjamin, who inspired my image of the doomed train, wrote in a note he did not live to publish (he chose suicide over capture by the Nazis): “It is possible that revolutions are, for those of humanity who travel in [the] train [of world history], the act of pulling the emergency brake.” As it was then, it is now. Our only hope is the radical transformation of our society, but all we can do is wait until it’s too late. What happens after the end of the world that’s about to happen?

ler, in an interview presented at the end of the Kindle Edition of Parable of the Sower, said:

[For my research] I looked at global warming and the ways in which it’s likely to change things for us. There’s food-price driven inflation that’s likely because, as the climate changes, some of the foods we’re used to won’t grow as well in the places we’re used to growing them. Not only will temperatures

lost its social power. Land is bought and sold. Life insurance policies are marketed. Indeed, capitalism has reverted to its older forms (collectively called primitive accumulation by trad-Marxists). Robber barons are back with a vengeance, and so are company towns (“I owe my soul to the company store”). And in the 2030s, the setting for the second novel, Parable of the Talents (of a trilogy Butler didn’t live long enough to complete, as she died in 2006 at the age of 58), even slavery is reanimated.

alization of corruption (“The US supreme court just basically legalized bribery,” The Guardian, June 27, 2024).

The only ray of hope in this super-dark world is a new religion, Earthseed, that has Lauren Oya Olamina as its founder. For her, God can only be change.

Lauren to her friend Joanne:

“Did you ever read about bubonic plague in medieval Europe?” I asked. [Joanne] nodded. She reads a lot the way I do, reads all kinds of things. “A lot of the continent was depopulated,” she said. “Some survivors thought the world was coming to an end... What’s your point?” “The changes.” I thought for a moment. “They were slow changes compared to anything that might happen here, but it took a plague to make some of the people realize that things could change.”

The answer is found in a 1993 novel by Octavia Butler, Parable of the Sower

We enter the year 2024. The American economy has been destroyed by rising sea levels, heat waves, violent storms, crop failure, and water shortages. “Tornadoes are smashing hell out of Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, and two or three other states,” says Lauren Oya Olamina, the Black teenage narrator of Sower, to her friend Joanne. “Three hundred people dead so far. And there’s a blizzard freezing the northern midwest, killing even more people.”

As for this: “According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Tennessee has endured at least 205 twisters since the start of 2020 (the statistics have not been updated yet in 2024). The memories of deadly storms in March 2020 and December 2023 still seem too fresh.” That’s from a real article, “Deadly tornadoes again rampage through Tennessee: ‘Lord please don’t let me die,’” that The Tennessean ran on May 9, 2024.

Our world and the fictional one in Sower are very close for a good reason: the novel’s author fully absorbed the climate science available at the end of the 20th century. But-

be too high, not only will there not be enough water, but the increase in carbon dioxide won’t affect all plants in the same ways. Some will grow a little faster while their weeds grow a lot faster. Some will grow faster but not be as nutritious—forcing both their beasts and us to need more to be decently nourished. It’s a much more complex problem than a simple increase in temperature.

Butler’s brilliant literary imagination augmented this reality (or scientific knowledge) with descriptions of the cultural impact of the coming anthropogenic disaster. In Sower’s 2024, most Americans are “illiterate, jobless, homeless, without decent sanitation or clean water.” A few Americans, who are lucky enough to work, live in gated communities that can barely keep out thieves and fire-mad junkies. Law and order (meaning the police and other civil services) are only for the very rich. And this is what’s truly terrifying about Parable of the Sower: The economic system that caused the catastrophe, that killed millions (if not billions) with its eternal drive for surplus value, still persists. Money has not

Capitalism’s grip on power in Sower ’s post-apocalyptic dystopia is maintained by corporations based around the world and authoritarian American presidents who promise to revive the good old days. (The campaign slogan for the presidential candidate in Parable of the Talents, which was published in 1998, is “Make America Great

Welcome to how our only world ends. It will be like this every summer: getting worse, and worse, and worse until there’s nothing worse left.

Again.”) Capitalism also relies on Christofascism (“Oklahoma schools are required to teach the Bible,” Washington Post, June 27, 2024), racism (“Newsmax guest lobs a racist slur at Rep. Jamaal Bowman,” Media Matters, June 27, 2024), and the institution-

In this theology of change, we hear not so much the echoes of the pre-Socratic Greek philosopher Heraclitus: “No one ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and the person is not the same person.” More important, and this reading is supported by Butler’s obvious observance of genetic change, are the echoes with the thinking of evolutionary biologist James A. Shapiro. His 2011 book, Evolution: A View from the 21st Century, contains a chapter titled “Can Genomic Changes Be Linked to Ecological Disruptions?” that sounds just like Butler. Her prophet’s theology (and warning to humankind) is written all over these words by Shapiro: “...little attention has been paid to the relationship between ecological disruption and genetic change. The influence that stimulus-sensitive regulatory processes and changes in population structure may have on the processes of genome restructuring requires greater scrutiny.”

By way of a religion, Earthseed, that’s truly pro-life, the humans in the last pages of Butler’s novel are finally ready to undergo the kind of radical cultural change that’s desperately needed in the train described at the opening of this article. Welcome to how our only world ends. It will be like this every summer: getting worse, and worse, and worse until there’s nothing worse left.

“Is it just my imagination, or does the Puget Sound region have fewer days with marine clouds than we had years ago?” –My Northwest, June 26. Read all about it in Parable of the Sower ■

ALEXA PITT

1. College reunion attendees

6. Wheelchair-accessible inclines

11. Hill-building insect

14. “Bridget Jones’s Diary” actress Zellweger

15. Central Florida city found hiding in “local anesthesia”

16. Weapon forCupid or William Tell

17. ___ tots

18. Item often made of paper or metal, these days … and fill out your ballot!

20. Music streaming service with a “Wrapped” annual recap

22. One with privileged knowledge

23. Tracy Chapman hit song covered by Luke Combs “Fast ___” 24. Singular 25. NPR’s Tiny ___ Concerts

26. “Wicked” song with the lyrics “I’ll teach you the proper ploys / when you talk to boys” … and get to the polls! 31. Exclude 32. “Mamma___!” 33. Express contempt 38. Caused hair loss with a beam of light 40. Roped off region of the club 42. Wipe away 43. Objective

44. Can’t live without 45. “The lady doth ___ too much, methinks” … and make the suffragettes proud!

49. Signaled on stage 53. “A Nightmare on ___ Street”

54. Historical time period

55. Taking time away from work

57. Squirrels away

61. Be a couple that gets with other couples, perhaps … and make your voice heard in November!

63. Electric bill listing

64. New York baseball player

65. “Chill out!”

66. Combine, like traffic lanes

67. Praiseful poem

68. Highly skilled

69. Supplementary feature DOWN

1. ___ and crafts

2. Word before frog or year

3. “Do ___ others …”

4. Adorable first encounters in romcoms

5. Story published in installments

6. Like an optimist’s outlook

7. Perform on stage

8. “Party Down” and “The Other Two” actor Ken 9. Venus or Uranus 10. Lumberjacks’ tools

11. “Humble” dwelling

12. iPhone app often used in celebrities’ online apologies

13. Dance with “rapid, repeated hip thrusts and shaking of the buttocks especially while squatting,” per Merriam-Webster

19. Kid-___ (bit of children’s YouTube programming)

21. Bowler’s “inning”

24. Fallopian tube travelers

26. Fish stick?

27. “Evergreen (You Didn’t Deserve Me at All)” singer Apollo

28. Leaning Tower city

29. Disposed (of)

30. Clairvoyant’s ability: Abbr.

34. Went door-to-door for political purposes (like we should all do this fall!)

35. Sandwich cookie with Sour Patch Kids and Churro varieties

36. Yard parts

37. Short on the sides, long on top modern haircut

39. Weightlifting unit

40. Compete (for)

41. “No more for me, thanks”

43. Fixture often found near cash-only establishments

46. Accelerated (with “up”)

47. Fútbol chant

48. Severe emotional shock

49. Pink vodka cocktail, for short

50. Like contestants on “The Bachelorette”

51. Crème de la crème

52. Bear’s lair

56. Taj Mahal city found hiding in “Drag Race”

57. Risqué cell phone message

58. Difficult

59. Waffle brand prominently featured in “Stranger Things”

60. Observed

62. Light touch on the shoulder

ARANTZA PEÑA POPO

Hooray for Stinky Fish and Bad Tattoos

This Summer’s Best Food, Art, and Culture Festivals

BY JULIANNE BELL, LINDSAY COSTELLO, MEGAN SELING, AND SHANNON LUBETICH

Seattle Festival of Dance + Improvisation

MULTIPLE DATES, JULY 14–AUG 11

This immersive, month-long foray into Seattle’s dance community offers unique opportunities to watch, study, and learn alongside other movement artists. The Seattle Festival of Dance + Improvisation has helped dancers build community in the Pacific Northwest for nearly 30 years—this time around, they’ll offer cohort-based intensives (who will “spend three weeks working toward a live performance at 12th Ave Arts”), plus drop-in classes and workshops for novices and experienced practitioners alike. (Velocity Dance Center, 117 Louisa St #268, visit summer. velocitydancecenter.org for schedules and registration) LINDSAY COSTELLO

Ballard SeafoodFest

July 12–14

Originally a celebration of the neighborhood’s fishing industry in 1974, the Ballard SeafoodFest has expanded over the years to include a salmon barbecue, a crab shack, a skateboarding competition, live music and a beer garden replete with

local craft brews, food, and artisan craft vendors. Booths by fine-dining destination Copine and dearly departed Korean spot WeRo are among the dozens of food vendors, and this year’s music lineup includes Rubblebucket, Naked Giants,Wild Rumours, and Nite Wave, along with many others. Gluttons (for punishment) can enroll in the lutefisk-eating contest. (NW Market St and Ballard Ave NW in Ballard, free, all ages) JULIANNE BELL

Bite of Seattle

July 19–21

Seattle boasts plenty of food and drink festivals year-round, but Bite of Seattle—billed as “Seattle’s original and largest food and beverage showcase” and claiming to draw 455,000 guests each year—is the most well-known gathering of the kind by far, having been in business since 1982. Look forward to upward of 250 food vendors, as well as a beer and wine garden, retail vendors, cider tastings, kids’ activities, live cooking demos, and more than 65 musical performers including local favorites the Cave Singers, Beverly Crusher, Acid Tongue, Midpak, and Sol. (Seattle Center, 305 Harrison St, free, all ages) JULIANNE BELL

Seafair Indian Days Powwow

July 19–21

In conjunction with the iconic Seafair, this three-day event centers American Indian traditions with dance performances in traditional tribal regalia, jewelry-making, food, and live music. The Powwow, which has been held annually for over 30 years, welcomes all to join in on the festivities and often draws crowds of up to 10,000 visitors, so prepare

to be among throngs of celebrators. Whatever you do, don’t miss out on the pillowy majesty of freshly made fry bread. (Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center, 5011 Bernie Whitebear Way, free, all ages) LINDSAY COSTELLO

Chinatown Food Walk: Summer 2024

July 20 and Aug 17

Stop at a booth in Hing Hay Park to pick up a menu, then stroll through the Chinatown–International District to check out food specials and retail items at participating local businesses. This summer’s lineup starts at $4 a pop and includes enticing bites like bento boxes from Onibaba, chicken wings from Phnom Penh Noodle House, dumplings and noodles from Szechuan Noodle Bowl, Swiss roll slices and almond cookies from Cake House, ube and pandan soft serve from Hood Famous, and sweet and savory Japanese sandos from the pop-up Sandomi. What more do you need? (Hing Hay Park, S King St and Maynard Ave S, July 20 and Aug 17, 11 am–4 pm, free, all ages) JULIANNE BELL

Seattle Art Fair

July 25–28

Returning to Lumen Field for the eighth year, Seattle Art Fair will continue to offer Seattleites the opportunity to see cool, cutting-edge contemporary artwork from all over the world without leaving town. Plenty of local institutions and artists get involved as well, making for a jam-packed weekend of incredible art-viewing. The fair promises to be a bit like last year’s—a hectic four days of avant-garde artsiness that rivals its pre-pandemic days—with public projects and gallerists visiting from near and far. (Lumen Field, 800 Occidental Ave S, $35–$65, all ages) LINDSAY COSTELLO

Movies at the Mural

July 26–Aug 23

Every Friday this summer, starting July 26 through August 23, the Seattle Center is hosting outdoor movie screenings at the Mural Amphitheatre. Bring your blankets or low-back lawn chairs for The Princess Bride Everything Everywhere All at Once Dune (1984), The Color Purple (2023), and my personal highlight, Singles. Watching Matt Dillon’s

KITOKO CHARGOIS

VISIT BALLARD

COURTESY OF AMP

COURTESY OF CIDBIA

grunge frontman character Cliff Poncier explain the fictional song “Touch Me I’m Dick” to a music journalist while Alice in Chains play at a fictional nightclub on a 40-foot screen under the Space Needle? Doesn’t get much more Seattle than that. (Mural Amphitheatre, 305 Harrison St, 8 pm, free, all ages) MEGAN SELING

Urban Craft Uprising

July 27–28

Urban Craft Uprising has blossomed from its humble, 50-booth beginning in 2005, now billing itself as the largest indie craft event in the Pacific Northwest. And judging by the show’s consistently strong turnouts, it ain’t lyin’. This year, they’ll bring a two-day summer show back to Magnuson Park Hangar 30, where you can hide from the sun for a couple of hours while snatching up crafty wares by indie artists and bites from food trucks. Serving up a thoughtful alternative to mass-marketed trinkets and big box stores, the show promises all the resin earrings and chunky ceramics my heart desires— and I have a feeling you’ll find something nifty, too. (Magnuson Park Hangar 30, 6310 NE 74th St, free, all ages) LINDSAY COSTELLO

Seattle Tattoo Expo

Aug 16–18

Peep some impressive tattoo displays, shop counterculture vendors, and engage in a little lighthearted flesh adornment at this three-day celebration of permanently decorated bodies. The Seattle Tattoo Expo has brought enthusiasts and professional ink-givers together for over 20 years; attendees can thrill their eyeballs at a tattooed burlesque revue or enter contests for best color tats, black-and-white designs, and more. There’ll be a competition for the worst tattoo, too, so roll up your sleeves and whip out your blurry anchors and tributes to Mom. (Seattle Center, 305 Harrison St, $30–$70, all ages) LINDSAY COSTELLO ■

PAX West 2024

AUG 30–SEPT 2

Unsurprisingly, PAX (originally the “Penny Arcade Expo”) was started right here in our neck of the woods (well, Bellevue) back in 2004. Now with multiple annual meet-ups across the globe, Seattle is home to PAX West every Labor Day weekend. This massive video game convention and celebration of all things gaming boasts panels with TBA special guests, new game demonstrations, hands-on activities, and an exhibit hall with booths spanning every fandom. Tickets can be on the pricey side ($66– $250) but there are always lots of fun (and cheaper) affiliated parties going on around town. (Various locations, visit west.paxsite.com for tickets and the full schedule) SHANNON LUBETICH

The Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire

MULTIPLE DATES, JULY 19–AUG 18

Nothing says summer like chainmail and wool tunics!! Whether you’re there for the medieval vibes or the unbeatable people-watching, the Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire (or “Merriwick” for these purposes) is always a mead-guzzlin’ good time. Harkening back to when musicians, jugglers, and falconers all caroused together, the fantasyloving festival is led by a faerie court and will take place on weekends in July and August. Show up to feast on meat pies, obtain trinkets and baubles, and generally party like you survived the bubonic plague. ( Sky Meadows Park, 18601 Sky Meadows Ln, Snohomish, $25.95–$39.95, free for kids 5 and under, all ages ) LINDSAY COSTELLO

LYDIA BREWER PHOTOGRAPHY

DIGRUCC.IO

KIKO VILLASEÑOR OF PENNY ARCADE

THE NONSENSE BUSTER

Alan will Eradicate All NONSENSE, Govt. Overreach, Waste & Bureaucracy, Crime & Anarchy. Clean Up the State. Reform Education & Corrections Dept, Create Prophylactic, Preventive & Better Healthcare, Bring Justice & Fairness, Law & Order. Lower Costs across the board: Car Tabs, Tolls, Gas, Housing, Inflation, etc.

Education is of Paramount Importance and will be Overhauled. Higher Standards, Better Teachers.

More, Better, Cheaper Healthcare Choices. Innovation. Faster, Easier Access, Preventive care.

Install Law and Order, Discipline, Justice and Fairness. Reform Dept. of Corrections, Inmates conditions.

Reduce High Prices & Taxes, Tolls, High Car Tab Prices, Housing Costs, Inflation, etc.

Better Economy. This State will become Business Friendly and invite Jobs and Business.

Eliminate Crime, Theft, Drugs, Anarchy, Lawlessness, Squatting, Govt. Waste & Overreach.

Nonsense Busters is a political movement comprising individuals who are disillusioned with the pervasive misinformation, inefficiency, and triviality in the political landscape and they are past the point of being upset and fed-up. Members of this movement seek to address and rectify these issues by taking proactive measures, which can include advocating for transparency, holding politicians accountable, promoting factual information, and encouraging civic engagement. Their goal is to foster a more honest, effective, and responsible political environment. They are ready to Bust the Nonsense.