Throughout my childhood, my mom worked as a nursing assistant, earning close to minimum wage. Every day, she donned her scrubs, drove to the retirement home, and punched in for the evening and graveyard shifts from 2 pm until 6 am the next morning. The job was brutal on her body. She stood on her feet all day, lifted and moved patients, served their meals, and helped them use the restroom. Regularly, after a grueling 16-hour workday, she’d hop in her car and drive to another location for an additional four hours of home care.

The idea of driving across town on no sleep to work four more hours for just $35 total is daunting enough, but one winter morning the story took an even more depressing turn. 

Racing stripes: If you're in North Bend, please keep an eye out for a runaway zebra. Four zebras on the way to Montana escaped Sunday. They made a break for it when their driver pulled over to secure their trailer just off Interstate 90. By the end of the day Sunday, two zebras were found and the baby zebra (yeah, there's a baby!) was "corralled." One zebra is still on the loose.

Possible Trump VP killed her own dog: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican and a contender for Trump's 2024 running mate, wrote a detailed account in her memoir No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward (a title which could be way pithier) about how she killed her dog, Cricket. Noem used the anecdote about shooting her dog after it chased some pheasants and then killed some chickens as an example of her being able to roll up her sleeves and do the dirty work. Yet, the response to her boasting about murdering her dog has largely been people across the aisle being horrified that she killed her dog instead of training it.

NEW OPENINGS 

Bautista Food Truck
This shiny Klein blue-hued food truck recently opened outside of Budget Truck Rental in Ballard, according to My Ballard. The menu features burritos, tacos, quesadillas, and tortas, with a choice of carne asada, chicken, or adobada. 
Ballard

If you are following Hannah Krieg, you will recognize the return of a regressive and debunked reading about wages: When high, they are bad for business and even workers. With this logic, which makes no economic sense, we find Bruce Harrell repressing the wages of city workers, Council Member Maritza Rivera blaming Seattle Public Library's closures on, of all things, union wages. And Chair Sara Nelson’s dramatic (if not fanatical) devotion to reducing gig workers to paupers. And just like that, we have a united front.

So this is what Seattle voted for between 2021 and 2022. This is what progressives didn't have the guts to do? End the homeless crisis and crime with not only sweeps but also low and stagnant wages. It's like that old Toyota jingle: "You asked for it, you got it..." And, mind you, we are still in a period of economic expansion (one doesn't want to imagine how low Sara Nelson would go during a period of contraction). But this is the question we must now ask: Why are low wages generally bad for the economy?

La Luz, “Strange World” (Sub Pop) 

I respected the dreamy surf rock that La Luz created in their early years, but was among the minority of listeners who were never really wowed by it. Consequently, I drifted away from keeping close tabs on their career.

But somewhere along the way, the LA-via-Seattle group led by guitarist/singer/lyricist Shana Cleveland diversified their sound, showed flashes of elegant aggression, and toughened up their rhythm section. Releases such as 2021's self-titled album and 2018's Floating Features revealed a broader sonic palette (funky beats and sitar on the former's "Watching Cartoons," recorded with Adrian Younge, really stood out, as did the motorik rhythm of "California Finally" on the latter). Now, La Luz's songs more often grip you, whereas before they wafted around you—albeit pleasantly.

Seattle’s LGBTQ+ Center and Kelley-Ross Pharmacy have developed a new informed-consent gender-affirming hormone therapy program for adult patients that may be one of the few in the country led by clinical pharmacists.

Medical Director Janna Cuneo said the program allows trained pharmacists to operate at the top of their license in Washington, which she hopes can help expand health care access to people medically transitioning in the Seattle area. With only a handful of providers participating in the early stages of this small program, capacity is still limited, but its creators see it as a novel solution designed for the community that could address a problem with bridge care.

On Thursday afternoon, a crowd of divided workers and lobbyists filled the Seattle City Council’s Governance, Accountability, and Economic Development committee meeting to discuss Chair Sara Nelson’s extreme rollback of a recently instituted minimum wage for gig delivery workers known as “Pay Up."

Nelson told her council colleagues that the “last thing” she wanted to do was spark such a heated debate. She even told a constituent in an email that she would “repeal the legislation outright” if it were up to her alone. But by at best ignoring and at worst antagonizing those who insist the minimum wage benefits them, Nelson has brought labor’s wrath upon her. And in the Thursday meeting, as workers and labor groups testified against the rollback, Nelson’s confidence appeared shaken. 

Don't know what you're doing this weekend? You will after skimming our weekend guide, which features low- and no-cost events from Seattle Independent Bookstore Day to the 21st Annual White Center Cambodian New Year Street Festival and from Seattle Boba Fest to the Creative Works Pop-Up Market + Flatstock 94. For more ideas, check out our guide to the top events of the week.

FRIDAY

LIVE MUSIC

Acid Tongue Live at Easy Street Records
Fresh off the platformed heels of the release of their fourth album, Acid on the Dancefloor,glam rock wizards Acid Tongue will take over Easy Street with plenty of guitar licks, sweaty hair flips, drug-inspired lyrics, and, as former Stranger writer Jas Kemig once wrote, "enough energy to power a small car." If you're unfamiliar with the band, check out the video for the album's title track which is a psychedelic explosion of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. AUDREY VANN
(Easy Street Records, Junction, free)

Local unions will rally to support Gaza: On Saturday, Pacific Northwest Labor Unions, which represent 150,000 workers, will rally outside of the Federal Building in Seattle to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and to end United States military aid to Israel. The unions, which include MLK Labor, UFCW 3000, SEIU 775, UAW 4121, OPEIU 8, Restaurant Workers United, Seattle Education Association, Tacoma Education Association, and Protec 17 are asking elected officials “to fight to to fund our communities, not war,” according to a press release. 

SPD is not for the girls: At least, that’s what a lawsuit filed by four women who work at the Seattle Police Department says. The $5 million lawsuit alleges sexual discrimination and harassment. This comes on the heels of a February report detailing women employees' experiences of sexual harassment and SPD's "good ol' boy's club" environment that prevented women from climbing the ranks. Additionally, in the last six months two senior women officers sued SPD for discrimination in separate lawsuits. This most recent lawsuit lists the "primary perpetrators" as Chief Adrian Diaz, Lt. John O’Neil, and Human Resource Manager Rebecca McKechnie. I can't say I'm surprised to hear that cops are virulent misogynists. 

Friends and frequent collaborators Charli XCX & Troye Sivan are teaming up to make their fans sweat. Indie pop singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers asks that you don’t forget her—or forget to buy tickets to her upcoming tour. Plus, Neil Young & Crazy Horse will stop by the Gorge this summer for a plugged-in set. Read on for details on those and other newly announced events, plus some news you can use.

ON SALE FRIDAY, APRIL 26

MUSIC

Arooj Aftab
Washington Hall (Jan 21, 2025)

Bonny Light Horseman
The Crocodile (Sat Oct 12)

Boris 'Amplifier Worship Service'
The Showbox (Wed Oct 2)

There is no doubt in my mind that TeZATalks is destined for greatness. Decked out in ripped-up fishnets and The Crow-like face paint, she certainly stands out onstage, but underneath the goth makeup and spikes is a fierce performer who was raised in a church choir. She has a powerhouse singing voice but isn’t afraid to get raw with it and belt out an ear-ringing scream. Did I mention she can rap her ass off, too?

TeZA won’t go into too many details on the precise launch date of her upcoming release Black Girl American Horror Story, but here’s what we do know: It’s recorded and ready to go, and during our interview, she mentioned that you’ll be able to play it both backward and forward.

Today the Seattle City Council Libraries, Education, and Neighborhoods Committee spoke about The Seattle Public Library’s 1,500 hours of rolling closures for the first time since the Library announced the service cuts two weeks ago. Committee Chair Maritza Rivera, who never responded to my request for comment about the closures when the news broke, must have spent the last 14 days thinking of ways to downplay the apparent connection between Mayor Bruce Harrell’s hiring freeze and the higher-than-usual vacancy rate that SPL said forced the hour reductions. 

While Council Member Tammy Morales, the only member to dare stand up for the libraries so far, advocated for taxes on the wealthy and on corporations to save critical services in the face of budget disaster, Rivera started digging through the couch cushions. She suggested SPL wouldn’t be in this situation if it weren’t for the union's contract, crime, and these damn kids and their screens. 

The Art of Stopping Time

We chatted one Friday, Brooklyn St bus stop. You read The Art of Stopping Time, and give notes of appreciation to bus drivers. I hope to see you again

Omelie

You loved my hair, I loved your dress-we chatted outside Chop Suey in Feb(?)… You know which night, find me there again. Let’s make art together! 💋

The other day—during our first 70-degree day in Seattle this year—I was lucky enough to join hundreds of my fellow organizers, community leaders, friends, family, and neighbors at the Crocodile to launch my re-election campaign to continue representing Washington’s 7th Congressional District.

Throughout the day, we looked back on how our campaign and our broad progressive movement have achieved incredible things to lift up poor and working people across the country. But we all also recognized that despite what we’ve achieved, our movement, our country, and our democracy are still facing some of the greatest threats and challenges we’ve ever encountered.