The pandemic is not over, but things look a little better: Okay, okay, don’t get too excited and certainly do not throw away those N95s, but the Seattle Times said that COVID-19 cases are sharply declining and the strain on hospitals is easing up. Yay! Not all heroes wear capes: Librarians. They sort the shelves, recommend books, and apparently run emergency weather shelters??? Libraries are some of the only spaces in Seattle that don’t require.
Not the redistricting thing again: Remember the mess that was the redistricting committee? There’s a new development. A new federal lawsuit filed today alleges that Washington’s recently approved legislative district maps violate the federal Voting Rights Act because it limits the power of Latino voters in Central Washington. The Seattle Times can tell you more. Dark days are over: The Seattle Weather Blog, who, as you know by now, is an avid supporter of all.
Get used to café streets. Councilmember Dan Strauss introduced a bill to extend free outdoor dining permits through this time next year. (The current provision was set to expire in the spring.) It’s being billed as a “pathway to permanence,” and will be heard by the Transportation and Seattle Public Utilities Committee on February 1. A final vote could come as soon as February 8. Yes to fish, no to highways. Just in time for.
Have a heart: Maybe even a pig heart, one day. A 57-year-old in Maryland made headlines around the world today after he became the first person with life-threatening heart disease to receive a genetically altered pig heart. The surgeon who operated is "optimistic that this first-in-the-world surgery will provide an important new option for patients in the future." Some Improving Seattle news: Thanks to help from the city, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Ballard is.