A community garden in Capitol Hill’s Cal Anderson Park that was established as part of Seattle’s 2020 Black Lives Matter protests was removed by the city’s Parks and Recreation Department Wednesday.

The city, which did not sanction the garden, cited “public health and public safety issues” including vandalism of the park’s public bathrooms. City crews also removed tent encampments in and around the park.

Black Lives Memorial Garden was created by participants of the 2020 Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP), an occupation protest against police brutality and racial injustice that took over several city blocks including Cal Anderson Park. CHOP was largely cleared from the streets and sidewalks after about a month of occupation, though marches and rallies continued in the neighborhood and the garden remained.

Parks officials said they had been negotiating with organizers Black Star Farmers Collective to find a new location for several months before dismantling the garden on Wednesday.

Supporters, who posted a petition to save the garden when plans emerged in October to remove it, called the site “an ongoing, occupied protest space started in 2020 by people taking land back and organizing against police violence.” 

“We see this threat for what it is - an attempt to suppress BIPOC-led movements for liberation and decolonization,” petition organizers said on Change.org. Community group Cal Anderson Park Alliance also opposed clearing the garden from the park, according to the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog.

However, other community leaders, including leadership in the state and local NAACP, relatives of Charleena Lyles and Che Taylor, who were killed by Seattle police, and Seattle City Councilmember-elect Joy Hollingsworth, backed the removal of the garden on several grounds, including lack of public safety and accusing organizers of co-opting the call for police reform.

“It’s bewildering to see a memorial meant to address specific atrocities against the African-American community being overshadowed by narratives and causes unrelated to its intended purpose,” said Jonathan Jones-Thomas, environmental climate justice Chairman of NAACP-WA, in the parks department prepared statement. “While acknowledging the importance of addressing wrongs across all communities, the African-American community’s memorial is unfairly bearing the weight of broader issues.”

The Washington Department of Labor & Industries announced it will enforce new permanent wildfire smoke protections for outdoor workers starting Jan. 15, after two years of operating under emergency measures.

Washington joins Oregon and California as one of the few states to regulate outdoor workers’ exposure to wildfire smoke. There are no explicit protections on the federal level, despite the uptick in wildfires in recent summers as a direct result of climate change. 

Wildfire smoke can be especially dangerous to those working in fields such as agriculture and construction as workers inhale fine smoke particles that catch deep in the lungs. Continued exposure can lead to a wide array of health defects – aggravated asthma, heart failure or even death.

L&I enacted emergency wildfire smoke measures in both 2021 and 2022. Under the new year-round protections, employers must monitor daily forecasts and hourly estimates for air quality. The permanent measure also asks employers to draft wildfire response plans, and mandates respiratory protection once the Air Quality Index tops 101 or higher. 

In a preliminary analysis provided by L&I, the agency estimated the permanent rules will cost employers from $10.7 million to $14.6 million a year, and will be offset by another $17.6 million and $27.8 million in “annual benefits.”

In August, Crosscut found that employers wanted clearer instructions on their individual responsibilities when enforcing said protections, while advocates – especially in the agriculture industry – felt L&I could have issued protections starting at a lower AQI.

Sound Transit on Tuesday announced the resignation of CEO Julie Timm. Her final day at the regional transit agency will be Jan. 12, just 16 months after taking the position in September 2022.

The announcement comes on the heels of Timm’s performance review by the Sound Transit Board last week. The review is not yet public, but board members had recently expressed disappointment in the agency for not taking sufficient steps to avoid cost overruns and delays on its multibillion-dollar work to expand the Link light-rail system, according to reporting by Publicola.

In an email to the Sound Transit staff, which was shared with Crosscut, Timm wrote:

“For the past several months I have been struggling to balance the needs of long-distance care and support for my aging father with the intense requirements of leading Sound Transit as CEO. Over the past week in collaboration with board leadership, I came to the difficult, but I believe the correct, conclusion that my family needs more of my focus.”

In a press release, Sound Transit said Timm is moving back to the East Coast to spend time with family. The release continued, “Since joining Sound Transit in September 2022, Timm has overseen a renewed emphasis on the rider experience as Sound Transit approaches the opening of several new extensions, starting with East Link next spring.”

The Sound Transit Board expects to appoint an interim CEO in the coming weeks.

The agency is in the midst of its next phase of expansion, which will extend the existing line north to Lynnwood and south to Federal Way and build new light rail across Lake Washington from Seattle to Bellevue and Redmond.

Sound Transit is also in the planning stages of its third phase of expansion, which was approved by voters in 2016 as a $54 billion ballot measure. Once completed it will connect Tacoma to Seattle to Everett and build new lines in Seattle connecting West Seattle and Ballard to Downtown. The agency's most recent financial plan estimates it will spend $148 billion on operations and new construction between 2017 and 2046.

Update: This article was updated to clarify Sound Transit's estimated operations and construction costs.

A new state auditor’s report says only 26% of Washington children enrolled in Medicaid are being tested for lead exposure, even though the federal government requires them all to be tested twice between their first and sixth birthdays.

“Although Washington has multiple factors that can increase a child’s risk of lead exposure, most children with the highest risk have never been tested,” said the performance audit report issued Tuesday.

Children in areas with more risk for lead exposure were tested at higher rates; however, some counties with elevated risk tested the fewest children, according to the report. The auditor also notes that the state does not have an adequate process to make sure children are getting the required testing.

As the report notes, Washington children may not be as much at risk as children from more industrial states, but no level of lead exposure is healthy for kids. The auditor’s office did make some positive findings, including connecting better community outreach with higher testing levels.

Report recommendations to the Washington Department of Health and the Health Care Authority include:

– Make sure health insurance companies involved in Medicaid have a clear understanding of testing requirements.

– Increase awareness of lead exposure testing among health care providers.

– Implement a state monitoring process for lead testing.

– Assess lead exposure risk at the community level, at least annually.

The Health Care Authority responded to the report saying it is working on improving education, outreach and test monitoring structure. They also promised to look into mandatory tracking.

“Please thank your team for their work on this audit. We will use the information and recommendations as an opportunity to improve. Many improvements are well underway,” concluded the DOH and HCA response, which was also signed by David Schumacher, director of the Office of Financial Management. 

Washington Healthplanfinder, the state’s health insurance exchange, will offer a few days of extended phone hours through Jan. 15, including some weekends, as deadlines approach to get health coverage through open enrollment for 2024.

People who sign up by Dec. 15 will get coverage starting on Jan. 1. Those who sign up by Jan. 15 will get coverage starting on Feb. 1. About 232,000 people were enrolled for 2023 health insurance through the program. 

The health insurance exchange’s website is https://www.wahealthplanfinder.org/ and the customer support center is available at 1-855-923-4633.

According to the state, about 75% of people who are getting coverage through Washington Healthplanfinder could lower their monthly premiums by comparing plans, including checking their eligibility for assistance through the state subsidy program, Cascade Care Savings.

Regular business hours for the customer support center is 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. Extended call center hours are:

• Dec. 15, 7:30 a.m. to midnight
• Dec. 16 (Saturday), 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
• Jan. 14 (Sunday), 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
• Jan. 15, 7:30 a.m. to midnight

The call center will be closed on Dec. 25 (Christmas Day), and Jan. 1 (New Year’s Day).

People can also get assistance signing up through the exchange at no additional cost through independent brokers and health insurance navigators.

Earlier this year Washington became one of the few states to make coverage available to all of its residents, regardless of citizenship or immigration status. While federal subsidies are not available to undocumented adults, those who qualify by income could be eligible for Cascade Care’s state subsidies.

Washington’s Department of Labor & Industries handed a Yakima orchard $290,000 in fines after two workers died in tractor rollovers this summer, the safety agency announced today. 

The agency issued Borton & Sons five willful serious citations for the two deaths, citing them for failing to ensure a rollover protection system was being used and that workers wore seatbelts. Willful violations are given when L&I believes employers knew or should have known the safety standards, but failed to make sure they were being followed. 

Farmworker Gilberto Padilla died on May 7 as he was driving a tractor between orchards, according to the inspection summary. The vehicle rolled after he drove over front counterweights that had fallen off. About a month later, on June 8, Oscar Rodriguez-Olivera died in a tractor rollover after he made a sharp turn traveling down a hill, according to L&I.

In both deaths, the protection system to prevent workers from being crushed in a rollover was not in use, according to L&I. Nor were the workers wearing seatbelts. L&I officials stated they had directed Borton & Sons to ensure the proper use of rollover protections and seatbelts after the first death. The agency also cited the company for allegedly altering the scene of the second fatality before an L&I inspection began.

“Using a rollover protection bar and seat belt is such a simple way to save workers’ lives. These incidents should not happen,” Craig Blackwood, assistant director for L&I’s safety and health division, said in the press release. “Orchard owners have the responsibility to make sure workers use safety systems. If Borton & Sons had been vigilant, these workers might be alive today.”

Borton & Sons has a history of safety citations and penalties violations, according to data collected by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The fruit grower is contesting the 2023 fines. 

L&I issued more than $14.7 million in fines last year to companies for violating health and safety laws. A recent Crosscut investigation found the agency later reduces many initial penalties, and sometimes struggles to head off repeat safety violations even after a worker has died.

A recently retired state economist has filed a complaint against the Washington State Department of Transportation, alleging he was ordered not to include Washington’s cap-and-invest costs in an early 2023 revenue forecast.

In his complaint filed Thursday, Scott Smith, 64, said he left WSDOT after more than five years as a gasoline tax revenue and gasoline price forecaster for this reason. He is seeking $750,000 in lost income because he felt pressured to leave the agency before he was ready to retire.

A complaint must be filed 60 days prior to the filing of a lawsuit seeking damages from the state. Smith is represented by Citizen Action Defense Fund, a conservative organization that opposes Washington’s new cap-and-invest carbon pricing program.

The same organization filed a lawsuit against the state in Thurston County Superior Court last January, alleging the Legislature’s 2022 transportation bill, which included the nuts and bolts of the cap-and-invest program, violated the Washington Constitution by covering more than one subject. CADF lost in Superior Court and is appealing the ruling to the Washington Supreme Court.

Smith’s complaint filed this week alleges that when he prepared his gas revenue and price forecasts at the beginning of 2023 for WSDOT’s revenue forecast council, he calculated that Washington’s cap-and-invest program — which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2023 — would have a significant impact on gas prices and gas tax revenue. He says he was told to remove those calculations from his forecast by WSDOT officials and the Washington Office of Financial Management.

“He was approached by a supervisor and told not to include what the impacts of cap-and-trade will be. … They were asking him to lie, and he wouldn’t do that,” said Jackson Maynard, Citizen Action Defense Fund’s executive director, in an interview.

Maynard and the complaint said Smith was told he would need OFM approval on future calculations, he was denied a promotion, and was denied leave to see a sick family member, which he alleges was retaliation. 

The state’s cap-and-invest programs became controversial in June when Washington posted the highest gas prices in the nation. Republicans have seized this as a major political issue, with Democrats defending the program.

A Crosscut analysis showed economists calculating that the cap-and-invest program has increased gasoline prices from 26 to 50 cents per gallon, depending on who is doing the number-crunching. The same analysis showed numerous factors beyond the cap-and-invest program are contributing to Washington’s high gas prices.

Gov. Jay Inslee’s office first became aware of Smith’s situation on Thursday, said governor’s spokesman Mike Faulk. The governor’s office receives its gasoline price and revenue information from the state Ecology Department and not from WSDOT, Faulk said.

Ecology Department spokesman Andrew Wineke said in an email that the Legislature directed Ecology to develop and implement the cap-and-invest program – not the Department of Transportation. "Ecology used its own economists to conduct the regulatory analysis for the cap-and-invest program, with support from a respected independent economics firm. No one from the Department of Transportation provided input on that analysis,” Wineke said.

OFM spokesman Hayden Mackley added that the transportation revenue forecasts are important in developing the state's budget. "It’s important that this complex work is completed by professional forecasters. We rely on staff in other agencies who have this expertise to fill this role,” Mackley said.

Kris Abrudan, spokeswoman for WSDOT, said: “Transportation revenue forecasts are complex and highly variable. … Data integrity, transparency, and consistency are integral to this process and any changes to that model to include incorporating (the cap-and-invest program)  would be a much broader determination than any one employee or agency.”

Meanwhile on Friday evening, Faulk sent out an email that said:

• The appropriate OFM official does not recall discussing this matter with Smith, and does not recall declaring that Smith’s work needed to be reviewed by OFM.
• The Legislature eliminated Smith’s position last session, with his functions transferred to the state’s Economic Revenue Forecast Council. Therefore, his position was not eliminated by WSDOT.
• WSDOT was considering Smith’s request to be able to work remotely, but he did not finish the process for that decision-making.
• Smith’s request for time with his mother around Thanksgiving conflicted with a presentation that he was scheduled to give.

Updated Dec. 3, 2023: This story has been updated to include comment from the Washington State Department of Transportation, and information emailed Friday evening by governor's spokesperson Mike Faulk. 

A synagogue on Mercer Island was discovered vandalized Wednesday morning – at least the third incident in a week targeting Jewish organizations in this city. 

The FBI is investigating because of an increase of “targeted incidents” nationally, according to a Mercer Island Police Department spokesperson. The FBI has reported a rise in hate crimes and threats against Jews and Muslims since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Seattle-area Jewish and Muslim groups told Crosscut that they feared the war would lead to an increase in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.

Members of the Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation on Wednesday morning found graffiti on the exterior of the synagogue, including the words, “Shame on Israel,” “You know better” and “Stop Killing.” 

The vandalism followed a few days after two Jewish organizations on Mercer Island received suspicious packages in the mail. The Mercer Island Police Department did not identify the organizations in its press release. The Seattle Times also reported that at least five other Jewish organizations in Seattle have received suspicious packages in recent days.

The recent targeting of Jewish organizations – and the lack of loud condemnation – disheartens Rabbi Will Berkovitz, CEO of Jewish Family Service of Seattle.

“People say, ‘We’re just critiquing the Israeli government.’ Well, if you are vandalizing a place of worship, a Jewish space, that’s not a critique of the Israeli government, that’s hatred of Jews,” he said.

Berkovitz said while he and other Jews have stood in solidarity with groups outside their community, they haven’t seen the same open support in recent days.

“At our time of need, we are not being supported,” Berkovitz said. “We are standing – we feel like – alone.” 

The Wednesday morning vandalism comes as Israel and Hamas tentatively agreed the night before to a temporary four-day ceasefire to facilitate the release of women and child hostages taken by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. The agreement includes Israel’s release of Palestinian prisoners, according to The Associated Press and CNN. The details of the agreement are still being worked out, according to the New York Times.

Starbucks baristas in Prosser recommitted to unionization last week after the company challenged a September vote in which three-fourths of workers voted to join the national Starbucks Workers United union. 

In Thursday’s vote, baristas voted 12 to 8 to unionize at the city’s only Starbucks. The Prosser cafe had become just the third Starbucks in Eastern Washington to unionize in the nearly two years since local shops started organizing. 

Both parties agreed to set aside the previous results, according to National Labor Relations Board documents, after Starbucks filed an objection “alleging certain conduct by the Petitioner interfered with the employees’ exercise of a free and reasoned choice.” 

“The union engaged in misconduct immediately outside of the election location that essentially nullified [a] fair election environment,” wrote Rachel Wall, a director of communications for Starbucks.

Tony Warwick, 22, who helped lead the unionization effort at the lone Starbucks in Prosser, said the challenge was in response to baristas gathering on the store’s patio during the first vote. 

“Even with these weak claims and our 3-to-1 majority, we decided on a re-election to avoid the long legal process,” Warwick said. 

The Prosser Starbucks is the 27th location in the company’s home state to vote to join the union. 

The Starbucks Workers United union plans to hold a one-day strike this Thursday as the company rolls out Red Cup Day, an annual holiday promotion. Last year, thousands of workers walked out the day the company handed out the limited-edition holiday reusable cups.

More than 36,000 homes, businesses and public facilities lost natural gas service Wednesday in southeast Washington and parts of Idaho following a rupture in a pipeline near Pullman. 

School districts, government offices and businesses throughout the region remained closed without heat Thursday as Avista Utilities announced they would have to go meter-by-meter to restore gas service once the pipeline is repaired. 

Williams Cos., which owns the pipeline servicing the area, wrote in a statement to Crosscut that a third party ruptured an underground line just north of Pullman on Wednesday. No injuries occurred. Williams stated it had a repair team on site and it expected to have the pipeline fixed by later today. 

Avista called the service shutdown the largest natural gas outage in its history. Crews worked to manually turn off lines at each individual meter as part of purging the line. Avista expected its crews would start going back to restore service at individual meters on Friday and it would likely take the next three to five days to get to all customers.

“We know this incident has caused hardship for you and your families,” Avista wrote in a statement to customers, “and we are grateful for your patience as we work to restore your service.”

Restaurants throughout the area abruptly started closing their doors Wednesday evening when they lost natural gas for heating and cooking. Several school districts canceled classes and government agencies closed offices. The University of Idaho in Moscow canceled classes and non-essential services through Friday. Washington State University in Pullman announced it had switched to an alternative heat source and would operate as normal.