Local

Washington lawmakers are set to convene in Olympia this week for critical discussions on the state's pressing budget shortfall, the burgeoning impact of data centers, vaccine safety concerns, damages to bridges from truck collisions, and the rising costs of legal payouts.

King County Executive Girmay Zahilay has transmitted the names of three nominees to fill the vacant District 2 seat on the King County Council, a position he vacated on Nov. 25 when he was sworn in as Executive. The nominees are District 2 residents Nimco Bulale, Cherryl Jackson-Williams and Rhonda Lewis. Each brings a long-standing record of service to families, youth, small businesses and neighborhoods throughout the district. Zahilay said their experience reflects the deep community roots he prioritized in selecting candidates. All three nominees are Black women. The person selected will become the first Black woman ever to serve on the King County Council. The appointment will also result in the first majority-woman Council in the county’s history.

The Washington State Department of Commerce has named Truclusion, a Dupont-based consulting firm, as the Apparent Successful Bidder for a state-funded study on reparations for the descendants of enslaved Africans in Washington, prompting some Black community leaders to question the firm's qualifications, its ties to the region, and the process utilized by the state.

The Seattle-King County branch of the NAACP has been authorized by the national office to resume full operations after a temporary suspension of local elections in 2024 due to database anomalies, and is preparing to finalize a strategic plan for 2026.

GRAMMY Award-winning artist Johnaye Kendrick has been named Composer-in-Residence at Key to Change, a nonprofit organization providing music instruction to underserved youth, for the 2026-2027 academic year, where she will compose original works for students to learn and perform.

Blackout the System, a nationwide grassroots campaign, called for an economic boycott during the holiday shopping season to protest economic inequality, corporate greed, and political inaction, while encouraging support for small, local, and Black-owned businesses.

The Seattle Public Library will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Douglass-Truth Branch with a community-wide event on December 13, featuring branch history tours, a creative engagement activity, a live performance, and a presentation of the branch's African American Collection.

King County is offering free dental care to low-income families with children on Medicaid through its Access to Baby and Child Dentistry (ABCD) program, and adults who are ineligible for Apple Health can receive care through the King County Adult Dental Program (KCADP).

The Seattle Torrent's home opener against the Minnesota Frost on Friday night made history by setting a new attendance record for professional women's hockey in the United States. The game, held at Climate Pledge Arena—home to the NHL's Seattle Kraken—attracted an impressive crowd of 16,014 fans, surpassing the previous record of 14,288 set during a neutral-site game in Detroit last season.

A series of confrontations between teenagers and police in Seattle culminated in the arrest of four individuals, following an incident where a man was shot in the leg and an officer narrowly escaped being struck by gunfire.