Bill Gates the Elder passes; Inslee bashes climate denial from the White House; Durkan-friendly ‘activist leader’ gets high-paying city job; Ms game called on account of smoke.

The coughs just keep a-comin’ as some big fires slow down; schools might consider reopening as COVID declines in WA (except Pullman); a debt crisis looms for renters; a Black Lives Matter group voices ‘concerns’ about some City Council members.

Posed photos depict a Black Everywoman front and center; wildfires are still as bad while toxic smoke gets worse; who’s backing the ‘Recall Sawant’ drive?; 19 years ago today wasn’t the worst thing to happen in America in our lifetimes.

Sending WWII-era Japanese souvenirs back to Japan; Cal Anderson Park ‘swept’ again; police-oversight cases skyrocket; making a ‘City of Literature’ that tells more people’s stories.

The real Ivan the Gorilla vs. a new streaming movie version; Durkan vetoes budget bill with 1-percent SPD cut; how hard it is to get a cop ‘decertified’ in WA; Chris Cornell statue is vandalized with white paint.

Two beloved cinemas’ dark-gritty sequels; bowling alleys (and oh yeah, museums) can now reopen; microbreweries face a can shortage; South Seattle’s possible arson spree goes on.

More storefront murals (see ’em while you can); a harsh street life is now more visible; viral videos of threats against protesters; COVID antibodies found in the crew of a stricken fishing boat.

Statements in the streets (visible only on your phone); protesters arrested outside police union office; Seattle schools will start two days late; still more Boeing layoffs to come.

Handsome photos from an ugly recent time; more Carmen Best defenders; more peril for a historic Tacoma church; (virtual) school might not start on (real) time.

A Washington COVID survivor tells her grueling tale; Microsoft wants to buy TikTok’s US operations; it’s not all peaceful again in Portland; Pac-12 football players make safety and other demands before they’ll play in the fall.

Another brutal police riot breaks out on Capitol Hill, as police/feds escalate their riots in Portland; WA passes 1,500 COVID deaths; more folks are getting priced out of Seattle; a report finds systemic racism in local restaurant biz.

CD businesses and artists meet at the ‘Pay the Fee Gathering’; more reaction to increasing federal violence in Portland; state COVID cases keep rising; predicting a ‘Nike-swoosh’ economic recovery.

Portland art center gives its space to Native arts group; federal agents drag Portland protesters into unmarked vehicles; more Dems want Durkan to resign; NYT notes the state’s big COVID backslide.

Prescient Shepard Fairey mural on a Seattle building; City Council passes big-employer payroll tax; WA has 2,000 new COVID cases in four days; KingCo sheriff’s deputy on leave after dead-protester ‘jokes’ appear online.

Durkan wants Sawant out, Sawant feels the opposite; some barricade removals at CHOP; 38 UW fraternity members have COVID; Tacoma tries out ‘universal basic income.’