KIRO Newsradio Headlines: Gray whale spotted off Whidbey Island making rainbows
Aug 9, 2022, 8:31 AM | Updated: 8:55 am
Photo from CBS Twitter
Gray whale spotted off Whidbey Island making rainbows
Boaters got quite a show just off the coast of Whidbey Island.
CBS News picked up on this now-viral social media post of a gray whale coming up for air.
The onlookers are so amazed because as the whale produced a rainbow when it spouted.
A gray whale put on quite a show for onlookers just off Whidbey Island in Washington, appearing to spray a rainbow from its blowhole. pic.twitter.com/bcni5u4KDH
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 8, 2022
B.a.5 variant seems to plateau in King County
King County’s health director says the b.a.5 COVID-19 wave has crested, second in numbers only to the omincron wave at the start of the year.
Whatcom County is showing the same trend as it releases a report showing it weathered the first two years of the pandemic better than most Western Washington Counties.
To date, there are 18 deaths of people 19 or younger reported in our state.
About 295 Whatcom county residents died of coronavirus between March 2020 and February of this year. That is less than 1% of the people who caught it.
The health department says the county had the seventh lowest death rate of the state’s 39 counties and the tenth lowest hospitalization rate.
Man steals Mercedes at Kirkland gym
King County Prosecutors charge a man for running an elaborate theft scheme at area health clubs.
Prosecutors say Toby Ecker used the keys from a gym bag at a Kirkland health club to steal a Mercedes.
He’s facing weapons possession, ID and vehicle theft, among other charges.
Ecker is also wanted on multiple charges out of Pierce County too.
Everett Days Inn to be converted into nations first hotel for homeless bridge housing
Snohomish County’s executive wants to turn the Everett Days Inn into housing for the homeless.
This would be the county’s first hotel-to-housing conversion.
The 75 units will serve as bridge housing — a stepping stone between being homeless and getting permanent housing.
The housing will come with mental health, rehab, employment and legal services. Staff members will be onsite 24/7 to help residents.
The Snohomish County Council still has to approve the plan, which could happen at its August 17 meeting.
In the coming weeks, the county plans to buy more buildings to be used as shelters.
Inflation costing the average American $4,400, especially hurting low-income
A new study says inflation is costing the average American household $4,400 more dollars this year alone.
The American Consumer Institute reports that energy prices are the biggest culprits, but also increased government spending leading to record inflation.
Low-income families are being disproportionately hurt by higher prices. Families earning less than $15,000 a year had to pay nearly $1,000 more for everyday items in 2022.
Congress set to have meeting over labor laws in Seattle
A U.S. House committee will host a congressional hearing this afternoon.
The hearing will focus on the impact of Seattle labor laws on the local economy.
Local Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal among the members of the House Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth holding the hearing at city hall that is part of a larger effort to take a deep dive into worker pay, benefits, and protections resulting from what is described as Washington and Seattle’s innovative labor market laws.
The panel will hear from experts and workers who have benefited from the policies, including Peter Kuel who made headlines here in 2016 when he successfully fought – with the help of Teamsters 117 – to return to the platform after being mysteriously deactivated.
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