They're not getting the message: In a recent poll, only 26% of Washington voters agreed that "building more units of housing in my community will help stabilize the price of housing where I live," according to a Seattle Times analysis. As the Times mentions, in other surveys majorities of Washington voters embrace more density, and so the results from this poll may simply be catching voter cynicism about home prices ever coming within reach, which is understandable. Building new housing will only slow the rate of price increases, but that's better than not building enough and then watching housing prices skyrocket, so it's worth building more everywhere.

Two women accuse UW football player of rape: Tylin "Tybo" Rogers faces rape charges after he allegedly matched with women on Tinder late last year and sexually assaulted them, according to KING 5. Though the team suspended him in November of 2023, he was "allowed to return" in mid December and went on to play a bowl game and a national championship game. "Officials said there were multiple emails within the UW Athletic Department confirming Rogers should be taken off the team's travel roster for the Pac-12 championship game, but there was no documentation of reasons for the move," the outlet writes. 

Kinda fun: 

Gun sales down in Washington: After the state banned AR-15s, instituted a 10-day waiting period, and required training before purchasing death machines, gun sales this quarter "as measured by background checks were about half of what they were in January and February" of last year, the Seattle Times reports. At the national level, sales dropped "by only about 11% through the first three months of the year." Good!

Related: The Washingtonians who lined up to buy guns before all those restrictions took effect are "more willing to kill to advance political objectives," according to a new "mega-survey" of nearly 13,000 Americans, the Guardian reports. About 56% of those who report carrying a loaded gun every day or almost every day said "violence was justified in the pursuit of a range of specific political objectives." When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time, etc. 

Seattle is about to waste so much money on this stupid fucking cop toy: And we're very likely going to be surveilling Black and brown neighborhoods at disproportionally high rates. 

Cornish's Kerry Hall up for sale: The big, white building with the terracotta shingles in North Capitol Hill where the likes of Reggie Watts, John Cage, and Jinx Monsoon developed their geniuses will be sold to the highest bidder. The arts college will invest the money "into Cornish’s existing facilities and operations," reports the Puget Sound Business Journal. I hope it becomes the consulate for some cool country, just like the old Harvard Exit building nearby. 

New playground in Ballard opens on 4/20: "Called The Cove, the playground has nautical-themed play equipment, safety surfacing, seat walls, new trees, and utility updates," reports My Ballard. Perhaps wisely, the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department's ribbon-cutting ceremony, complete with "performances and vendors," only lasts until 3 pm. 

I just want an airplane that does not fall apart, but that standard may exceed Boeing's capabilities, at least as far as its 787 and 777 planes are concerned. According to the Seattle Times, an engineer named Sam Salehpour will testify next week before a US Senate committee regarding "risk of premature fatigue damage and structural failure" on those jets. Boeing denies the allegations.

Give Mudede the Pulitzer already: 

You can still get an abortion in Arizona through May, but it's looking dicey after that. On Tuesday, the state's Republican supreme court upheld a law from 1864—before Arizona was even a state—banning "nearly all abortions," reports the New York Times. According to the judges, the repeal of Roe v Wade unlocked enforcement of the "territorial-era" law, and subsequent abortion laws in the state do not supersede it. For now, the Arizona supremes paused enforcement while lower courts hear challenges to it and Democratic lawmakers work to delay implementation. 

Inflation ticked up a little: According to Wednesday morning's numbers, inflation sits at 3.5%, which is up 0.3 points year-over-year and up 0.4 points from last month, the Washington Post reports. Analysis now expect the Fed to keep interest rates steady until later in the year. 

Those eclipse glasses don't expire: You can hold onto them until 2044, drop them off at a Warby Parker store before the end of the month as way to route them to Astronomers Without Borders, or cut out the lenses and recycle the frame, according to the Washington Post. 

God is dead: Nobel prize-winner Peter Higgs, who described how the boson particle, aka the God particle, connects everything in the universe is dead. This line in the BBC's obit got me: "He was a shy man who was uncomfortable with the attention his theory brought him. When the announcement was made, he wiped a tear from his eye, but told journalists: 'It's very nice to be right sometimes.'"

Gaza updates: On Tuesday, Israel bombed the Nuseirat refugee camp in the strip's central area, killing 14, Al Jazeera reports. Despite Israel saying otherwise, the United Nations Relief Works Agency says, “There has been no significant change in the volume of humanitarian supplies entering Gaza or improved access to the north." And as Hamas takes a look at the most recent ceasefire proposal, the US plans to meet with Israeli officials "in a couple of weeks" to continue discussions on the upcoming invasion of Rafah. 

Throwback to the yeehaw moment: This song returned to me this week, and I honor that return here: