The AM Newsdesk Minutes: Former Sonics coach Bill Russell dies, Voting centers open for primaries

The KIRO Newsradio newsdesk brings you their top stories on the morning of Monday August 1.

The PM Newsdesk Minutes: Oil spill, ODESZA, and another Adams injury

Seattle among top places for Millennials to move

Millennials are moving to Seattle by the tens of thousands.

The Seattle Times reports the huge influx of young adults is a big demographic trend.

The new data comes from a joint study by Harvard University and the U.S. Census Bureau.

Seattle was the fifth target city for millennials with New York, L.A., Washington D.C., and Atlanta making up the other four.

The study says millennials were drawn to the region for the natural beauty, outdoor lifestyle, progressive politics, and booming tech industry.

Lynnwood fire injures one, displaces a half dozen

An apartment fire north of Lynnwood left one person hurt and half a dozen others looking for new homes.

The Everett Herald reports the fire broke out early Saturday, July 30, in a one-story apartment building on Highway 99 near 164th SW.

When crews arrived, flames were shooting out of the center of the building.

The fire damaged three apartments.

Investigators are still looking for the cause.

Former Sonics coach Bill Russell dies at 88

An NBA great with deep ties to the Seattle area has passed away.

As a player, Bill Russell anchored a Boston Celtics dynasty that won 11 titles in 13 years.

He later became the first black head coach of any major U.S. sport leading the Seattle Sonics from 1973 to 1977 and taking the franchise to its first playoff appearance in 1975.

Off the court Russell was a crucial figure in the fight for civil rights, which included leading an NBA boycott in 1961 and joining the “March on Washington” with Dr. Martin Luther King Junior.

Russell spent the last 30 years of his life on Mercer Island.

He was 88 years old.

King County opens voting centers in preparation for primary

Ahead of Tuesday’s primary, King County Elections has opened six in-person voting centers to help people get their ballots in.

Vote Centers are located in Bellevue, Federal Way, Kenmore, Kent, Renton, and Seattle and will be open Monday Aug. 1, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Election Day from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

All registered voters may also access and print their ballot online at kingcounty.gov

Turnout for the Primary election is projected at 45%.

As of July 28, turnout was sitting just under 15%.

Two plane accidents happen, one over Lake Union and one over Alki Beach

The pilot of a small plane that crashed off Alki Beach is talking about that harrowing experience.

John Laporta says he was flying from Tacoma when he noticed a mechanical issue — and his engine’s oil pressure going down.

He told KIRO 7 News he ditched the plane a few feet from the shoreline instead of possibly injuring people on the ground.

But the plane flipped… and he was stuck in the cockpit.

He says he got a gulp of air and then was able to reach down and get the shoulder strap undone.

Once he got out the window… a man was already at the wing of the plane trying to help.

And another seaplane was forced to abort takeoff in order to avoid colliding with a boat, after many people gathered on Lake Union to beat the heat.

No one was hurt, but this incident has Seattle Police Department telling KIRO 7 how important it is to use caution when out on the water.

The seaplane did manage to take off after a Seattle Police Harbor patrol boat helped clear a path.

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