Friday Evening Headlines

The fatal shooting of a teenager at a protest in Seattle has gone unsolved for six years. This is open in your face. How are there no answers? Our investigation has uncovered new evidence and witnesses who say they've never talked to police. Did police ever call you? Not once. Listen to We Keep Us Safe, a new true crime series on the Embedded podcast from NPR. Ah yeah, it's Friday. From the KUOW Newsroom, this is Seattle Now. I'm Patricia Murphy with today's top stories. It's August 14th. We'll start today with a look at policing in the city. One veteran police commander says Seattle's choices for the city's next police chief may be limited. Amy Radle explains. Former King County Sheriff Sue Rar served as Seattle's interim police chief in 2024. She says outside candidates may be reluctant to apply to become the city's next police chief, given the high turnover in recent years, and the political instability between Mayor Katie Wilson and the city council. But Rar says the good news is that there may be promising internal candidates for the job. You have some internal candidates that know the history, they know the players. I think an internal candidate, in my experience, would be kind of ideal in this situation. Seattle's former police chief, Sean Barnes, served just 18 months before Mayor Katie Wilson sought his resignation last month in the wake of the mass shooting at Seattle Center. She appointed Andre Sales as interim chief, but he hasn't said whether he plans to seek the permanent job. Amy Radle, KUOWW News. SPD had fewer officers patrolling this year's bite of Seattle Festival at Seattle Center compared to last year. The Seattle Times reports, according to data from SPD. The department had 39 officers on July 26 when last month's deadly shooting happened. That's 11 fewer SPD staffers than the previous year. A police department spokesman notes the department is undergoing a review about its handling of the incident. Experts say more police on scene would not have guaranteed absolute safety in a country that has widespread gun violence. Bad news for West Seattle residents, Sound Transit's light rail route to West Seattle will likely take longer than originally expected. During a Sound Transit board meeting yesterday, the agency announced that the link between Soto and Alaska Junction would probably be ready by the year 2035. That's three years later than the agency's previous estimate. It's also five years later than the date that was on the Sound Transit three ballot measure that sought to fund the project. Sound Transit said the delayed ETA is due to shifts in its construction timeline after making some cost-cutting changes to save money.

Seattle City Council is earmarked $300,000 to assist transgender and queer Seattleites. The City Council approved the emergency funding earlier this week. The money will come out of the city's payroll tax and go to local organizations that help people find housing and employment. Seattle's LGBTQ Commission asked officials to declare a civil emergency earlier this year over an influx of trans and gender non-conforming people moving here to escape hostile environments in other states. Hanford is the state's largest environmental superfund site. Now, big changes are coming to the Hanford Advisory Board. That group of environmental watchdogs, state governments, municipalities, and tribal sovereign nations, all with keen interest in Hanford cleanup will be significantly whittled down. Northwest Public Broadcastings Anna King has the details. This week, the U.S. Department of Energy made an announcement at the Hanford Advisory Board's regular meeting. The board is made up of around 70 people, including alternates. It would shrink to around 20 federally selected people. Instead of groups or tribal nations speaking on the board, each person will represent just themselves. The board has been around for 32 years. Tom Cecilia is with the Oregon Department of Energy. He's part of the board, but speaking for just himself. What we're losing is the collaboration. the coalition building to, you know, amplify the message that the Columbia River needs to be protected. The changes will go into effect on October 1st. In Richland, I'm Anna King. Hanford is where the nation produced plutonium during World War II and the Cold War. An update from a story we talked about on this week's casual Friday. More than 80 cats and kittens have arrived at the Tacoma Humane Society within a week after two unrelated rescues. That's putting some strain on the already overcrowded shelter. 61 cats were removed from an abandoned sailboat near Owen Beach. Days later, another 20 cats were found inside a stolen vehicle during a Pierce County Sheriff's Office investigation, according to King 5. Shelter officials said the latest group is malnourished and exposed to ringworm, requiring extensive medical care. The influx has pushed the shelter's cap population well above its capacity.

It's almost the weekend, but there is a lot going on. If you're headed out to the woods, be aware some well-loved campgrounds and hiking trails are closed due to wildfires. K&KX's Gary Davis has more. One of the most significant closures impacting access to popular trails in the northwest is the J-section of the Pacific Crest Trail. The closure spans about 50 miles north of I-90 to several miles south of Stevens Pass. This includes trailheads to the normally busy day hike destinations of Kendall Catwalk and Ridge Lake. The U.S. Forest Service says it has closed this area to ensure the safety of the public and firefighting resources as crews fight the Three Queens Fire burning along the north end of Lake Cachese. Other areas that are in the closure zone include the Salmon Lassack Campground and Cleellum River Campground. In Mount Rainier National Park, The sunrise white river entrance and trails in the northeast quadrant of the park are closed due to the Grand Park Fire. Park officials say because of this, the Longmire entrance is expected to see increased traffic. If you're planning to visit Mount Rain International Park, expect long lines to get in and potentially smoky conditions. I'm Gary Davis reporting. If you're thinking about a road trip, prepare for some Seattle area traffic hurdles. The SR-99 tunnel will be shut down in both directions between 10 p.m. tonight and 6 a.m. tomorrow morning tomorrow morning, tomorrow morning, through late Sunday night, also for maintenance work. And in case you forgot, northbound I-5 in Seattle is reduced to two lanes across the ship canal bridge until the end of the year. And this weekend is the final weekend when you can see some historical documents connected to the nation's founding at Seattle's Museum of History and Industry. The documents are on tour to celebrate the 250th birthday of the country. The exhibits include an engraving of the original Declaration of Independence. There's only about 50 engraved copies of the document and a rare copy of a secret printing of the Constitution. This copy is still in draft form and has handwritten notes from the delegates that were made during the Constitutional Convention in 1787. The exhibit is free. Now, reservations are all booked up, but the museum says they'll accept walk-ins as long as there's space. Next time on Seattle Now, we'll talk with the organizer of a local WhatsApp group that alerts you about local orca sightings like the one at the Ballard Locks this week. Here more Monday morning. That's all for today from the KUOW Newsroom in Seattle. Our producer is Vaugh. I'm Patricia Murphy. Seattle Now and KUOW are members of the NPR Network. See ya. Have a great weekend.

I'm Chris Morgan, host of the wild. Over the last 35 years, I've worked in the wildest places on earth, tracking tigers in Siberia, filming orangutans in Borneo, following humpback whales, migrating jaguars, iridescent hummingbirds, and learning from the people devoted to protecting them. These stories changed how I see the world. I think they'll do the same for you. The Wild with Chris Morgan, available wherever you get your podcasts.