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The exchange highlighted a key question now facing voters in Seattles 43rd Legislative District: Is Chopp, the longest serving House speaker in state history, progressive enough to represent the most far-left district in Washington stateIn 2020, more voters than ever are answering: maybe not.Lascelles, a nonprofit founder andadvocate for sex workers,performed better against Chopp in last months primary than anyone who has ever challenged the 25-year incumbent.In a three-way race, Lascelles, who is running as part of the Seattle Peoples Party, won slightly more than 31 of the vote.That number might not seem remarkable at first glance. But against Chopp, its something no other candidate has accomplished not even in 1994, the first year Choppran for the Legislature.Even Kshama Sawant, who ran against Chopp before winning election to the Seattle City Council, received a lower share of votes in 2012.Significantly, last months election also marked the first time Chopp has failed to win a majority of support in any election since his first one.Chopp received 49.8 of the primary vote. Almost all other voters supported either Lascelles or Jessi Murray, a Democrat who was eliminated in the primary. Like Lascelles, Murray ran to Chopps left.That means about half of voters in Chopps district supported candidates who argued that the former speaker hasnt been aggressive enough in championing progressive priorities, such as imposing new taxes on the wealthy, combating climate change and providing universal health care for Washington state residents.The 43rd District, which has grown by 50,000 people since 2010, includes Capitol Hill, South Lake Union, Fremont, Wallingford, Eastlake, Ravenna, Belltown and the University District.In addition to being significantly younger than the 67-year-old Chopp, Lascelles would bring a different perspective to the Legislature in several other ways. For one, Lascelles is gender nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. House and Senate administrators arent aware of any Washington state lawmakers, past or present, who have publicly identified as gender nonbinary, although its not something the Legislature specifically tracks.Lascelles is also Black, disabledand has experienced homelessness. They say those experiences better equip them to understand the needs of marginalized communities and work with those communities to craft effective policies, as opposed to legislating solutions from the top down. Right now, Lascelles said, laws intended to help stigmatized groups such as sex workers too often end up lacking teeth or, worse, hurting those they are designed to protect.More broadly, Lascelles has criticized Chopps two decades of leadership as too incremental and not bold enough. When you count the wins over 25 years, it doesnt really feel like that much, said Lascelles, who in recent years worked to pass a statewide strippers bill of rights and repeal anti-loitering laws in Seattle.Lascelles, who previously worked as chief operating officer ofFull Tilt Ice Cream, also founded two nonprofits dedicated to helping sex workers, along with a business that makes hand sanitizer for people living or working outside. Sherae Lascelles, right, works with Jasmin Ball on building community sinks in their work space on Sept. 8, 2020. The sinks are to serve as hygiene stations for people working and living outside during the pandemic.Lascelles, a candidate of the Seattle Peoples Party, is challenging state Rep. Frank Chopp, D-Seattle. Dorothy Edwards/Crosscut Chopp, for his part, has released new proposals in recent months to tax businesses and use the money to expand state-sponsored child care and public health care. As evidence of his progressive bona fides, he points to measures the Legislature passed last year to completely cover the cost of college tuition for low-incomefamilies, as well as move the state to 100 clean electricity.Like Lascelles, Chopps career in politics began in activism: He started out protesting the demolition of low-income housing in South Lake Union in the 1970s and co-founded the Seattle Tenants Union in his younger days. Chopp also served as the executive director of the Fremont Public Association, now called Solid Ground, a nonprofit social service agency focused on fighting poverty.But in recent years, Chopp has been criticized as too cautious when it comes to advancing certain policies sought by other Democrats, includinggun control measures and a bill to repeal the death penalty.Chopp said that as speaker, he had to protect the House Democratic majority, which sometimes meant not advancing policies that would be popular in Seattle, but less popular in more moderate swing districts around the state. The state Senate was also controlled by a mostly Republican coalition from 2013 to 2017, which Choppsaid limited Democrats ability to pass progressive legislation.Chopp said he frequently works hand in hand with groups representing communities of color, including when he pushed the Legislature to pass a state DREAM Act in 2014. That measure extended state financial aid for college to young immigrants living in the United States without legal residency status.Seferiana Day, a Democratic political consultant whose firm worked on Jessi Murrays campaign, said the primary results signal to her that many voters in the 43rd District want a change.People are ready for someone new who is actually going to be progressive, and can relate to the younger voters who are using transit, who are renting just having someone in office who looks like us, who shares our experiences. Day said.Even so, defeating Chopp will be difficult, especially for a candidate who lacks the financial backing and support of one of the major parties.While Lascelles has been endorsed by the Seattle chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, Chopp has won the support of numerous labor unions, as well as local Democratic Party groups. Democratic state Rep. Frank Chopp onSept. 23, 2020, at Pacific Tower in Seattle. Chopp is running for reelection for House Position 2 in the 43rd Legislative District. Jovelle Tamayo for Crosscut Where the candidates standOn some issues, the candidates agree broadly about the direction the state needs to go. They both support the decriminalization of sex work, as well as stopping sweeps of unauthorized homeless encampments although only Lascelles routinelyhighlightsthose issues as key parts of their campaign platform.When it comes to resolving the states looming budget deficit, the candidates agree that cutting social services, such as food and rent assistance, is not the right path.They differ, however, in how swiftly and dramatically they want to revamp the states tax code to pay for public assistance programs and COVID-19 relief.Lascelles says lawmakers need to massively overhaul the states tax system all at once if they are to truly help people who are barely surviving economically. For Lascelles, that means implementing a wealth tax, an income tax and capital gains tax simultaneously, while also reducing the sales tax, which is hurting the people who are most economically underprivileged. Lascelles wants to use that tax revenue to pay for universal child care, affordable housing, shelter for people experiencing homelessness, more robust public transit and a move toward a statewide single-payer health care system.While Democratic legislators frequently talk about the need to reform Washingtons regressive tax system, the changes they have made in the past few years have been smaller in scale. They have enacted new taxes on businesses to expand college financial aid, for instance, but have not been able to pass a capital gains tax, which would apply to profits from selling assets such as stocks and bonds.Chopp said the capital gains tax is a policy he supports wholeheartedly, but that has been difficult to get through the state Senate, which includes some moderate Democratic members reticent about tax increases. For the past three years, both legislative chambers have been controlled by Democrats.Compared withLascelles, Chopp is proposing more targeted taxes. One would affect corporations that pay salaries exceeding $500,000. Money from the tax would go toward improving the states public health response to the coronavirus crisis, improvingbehavioral health treatmentand expanding state-funded health care, among other things.Chopp is also proposing a new program to expand access tochild care, which he said would work much like the states Paid Family and Medical Leave program. The new program would similarly rely on a payroll tax, the bulk of which employers would be asked to pay, Chopp said.Unlike Lascelles, Chopp isnt focused on passing a statewide income tax. He noted that nearly two-thirds of Washington voters shot down a proposal to enact an income tax on high earners in 2010. Courts in Washington state have also ruled that graduated income taxes, which affect people in higher income brackets more than others, violate the state constitution. A recent tax Seattle tried to impose on the wealthy was ruled unconstitutional for that reason.Lascelles, however, says theres no excuse to not keep working at the state level to try to change an inequitable tax system.Saying you shouldnt even try because it might get challenged, it might take more time what have we been doing the last 20-some years, allowing it to get to this point Lascelles asked. We could have gone through the process of actually passing something, letting it get challenged, and fighting that out in court, and learning from whatever didnt work and trying again.Chopp said his new child care plan is an example of how progressive policies actually get passed.To get started, youve got to go big, but youve also got to be realistic about what you do, he said in a recent interview.In addition to hisnew tax proposals, Chopp listed his affordable housing efforts such as co-founding the state Housing Trust Fund and ensuringaffordable housing getsbuilt above Sound Transit light rail stations as important policieshe has pushed to help people living on the margins.Ihave the plan, Ive got the specifics, I know how to get this stuff done, Chopp said. Sherae Lascelles works on building community sinks in their work space on Sept. 8, 2020. Lascellesis running against Frank Chopp for the Washington state House of Representatives. Dorothy Edwards/Crosscut A sign of the timesChopp isnt the only longtime legislator who is facing an unusually tough election challenge this year. In Pierce Countys 29th Legislative District, state Rep. Steve Kirby, D-Tacoma, barely scraped by in the primary election, after fending off a formidable challenge from fellow Democrat Sharlett Mena. Mena, a special assistant to the state director of ecology, came within 85 votes of defeating Kirby and keeping him from advancing to the November election.Meanwhile, state Rep. Zack Hudgins, D-Tukwila, might lose his race to attorney David Hackney, another Democrat. Hackney led Hudgins by about 12 percentage points in the primary. Besides Tukwila, the 11th Legislative District includes Renton, parts of South Seattle and Kent.State Sen. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, said he thinks frustration with Republican leadership at the federal level is leading to a primal scream going up for wanting something different.Pedersen said that isnt necessarily a reflection on Chopps performance, specifically, but rather is a sign of the times.Part of it is hes a 60-something, straight white guy, and I think there is a sensehe has been around for a really long time, said Pedersen, Chopps seatmate in the 43rd District, who isnt up for reelection this year.In contrast to those who think Chopp isnt as progressive as his constituents, Pedersen called the former speaker very firmly in the center of gravity of the district. He predicted Chopp would still win the race.Randy Pepple, a Republican political consultant, said he cant see the contest going any other way. He characterized the primary results as a protest vote from Seattleites upset that Chopp isnt a socialist.Lascelles said they consider the Seattle Peoples Party to be collectivist, which is often compatible with socialism but not exactly the same. One of the partys key focuses is on dismantling racism.Cathy Allen, a Democratic political consultant, said she, too, thinks Chopp is likely safe. But Allen said the record-breaking turnout projected for November also is likely to bring out many younger, more progressive voters, which may create a different dynamic this year than in Chopps past reelection campaigns.Ben Anderstone, a Democratic political consultant, said the districts recent population surge means there are a lot of newly eligible voters, many of whom will be participating for the first time in the general election. Thats a group that tends to be pretty good for Sherae, he said.Given those factors, Anderstone said, its not impossible that Lascelles could defeat Chopp in November.Looking at the primary result and knowing that this is going to be a really, really high turnout presidential election that is likely to have a really energized progressive base, he should be taking this challenge quite seriously, Anderstone said. Article continues below Related Stories Topics: Election 2020, Elections, Seattle, Washington Legislature, Washington State

Social distancing mandates have given the drive-in movie format that nearly extinct relic of 1950s car culture a new allure. The few remaining drive-ins in our region have experienced a sudden surge of interest over the summer, and inflatable and portable screens started popping up all over. Screenings havent been limited to standard movie fare, either. The Drive N Drag show at Westfield Southcenter mall featured stars from RuPauls Drag Race, and a drive-in book release event in Shelton showcased Twilight author Stephenie Meyer. Not to mention Seattles much smaller, screen-free adaptation: drive-in dance.Upcoming drive-in offerings include a Carpool Cinema screening of Jordan Peeles horror pic Get Out in the Phinney Center parking lot Oct. 2-3, and a four-night series of art films hosted by ever-adventurous performance spaceOn the Boards in its tiny parking lot on Queen Anne Oct 1-4. As COVID-19 continues, who knows what other forms our drive-in entertainment will take perhaps a drive-in book festival like the groundbreaking Appledore event in the U.K.Back at the drive-in symphony, I watched as the orchestra playing at a social distance on stage at Benaroya Hall kicked off a streaming season with Mozarts Overture to Don Giovanni and a guest appearance by Seattle singer-songwriter Whitney Mong shell reprise the performance online Oct. 2. The players looked somewhat adrift, burst apart from the standard seating arrangement, but aside from a little radio static they sounded terrific. In lieu of applause, we honked our horns and flashed our headlights from the safety of our shiny metal boxes. Ayron Jones plays the national anthem before a crowd-free Seahawks game against the New England Patriots. King County Creative Despite the lack of concert hall acoustics and the addition of a windshield-wiper beat, it was so very nice to see a group of people playing music together on stage. Seattles live music venues have been closed for six months now, with no sign of reopening soon.Its been a brutal hit to the local music economy, which is why venue owners, musicians and other stakeholders formed the Washington Nightlife Music Association. The coalition is lobbying governmental leaders for financial relief, and working to find other ways to sustain artists and venues during the sudden and drastic loss of income.Another measure of support comes from the local chapter of Black Fret, a nonprofit music-funding organization that launched here in February, wellbefore we had ever heard the phrase social distancing. The group recently announced a $50,000 round of funding, divided among 10 local bands chosen from myriad nominees.Recipients include Whitney Mong, Tres Leches, The Black Tones, Tomo Nakayama and Chong the Nomad. You can get a taste of all 10 winners via Black Frets custom playlists on Spotify and FreqSho the latter with videos. This fall, the bands are streaming live concerts from Nectar lounge and raising money for other local nonprofits in the process next up: rock band Smokey Brights, Sept. 30, benefiting King County Equity Now.In a so-called City of Music, its essential that we keep listening to our musicians in whatever ways they make possible whether that means guitar guru Ayron Jones playing a blistering but faithful national anthem at the first Seahawks home game at an almost empty CenturyLink Field last weekend, or Northwest superstar crooner Brandi Carlile sharing an Instagram stream of her recent cover of the 1983 Tears for Fears hit Mad World. If you feel the urge to lean in to our current cultural moment, the latter is a surefire way to set the mood. Seattle DIY arts icon Lady Krisha is the subject of a short film inthe Local Sightings film festival at Northwest Film Forum. Adrienne von Wolffersdorff Back in the beginning of the pandemic, Seattle dreampop band Lemolo shared its own cover of the all too timely Mad World, with an accompanying video set in a spooky playground. That video is among the huge array of enticing films on view as part of this years Local Sightings Film Festival at Northwest Film Forum online through Sept. 27. There are so many excellent offerings all created by Pacific Northwest filmmakers and the sudden, emphatic arrival of our rainy season makes it the perfect time to hunker down and get your stream on.Feature films include Borrufa, the story of a Guatemalan immigrant woman who discovers her husband has a second family Mani: Towards the Ocean, Towards the Shore, a lush, meditative wander through Northwest woods with dialogue spoken mostly in chinuk wawaChinook jargon and The Invisible Father, a documentary by Seattle filmmaker Thrse Casper, who tries to learn more about the parent she never knew, beat poet and underground filmmaker Piero Heliczer.Ive already watched several of the films, and two have stuck with me for their portrayal of artists whose creative lives are fully blended with their regular lives. In The Invisible Father, the poet Heliczer who hung around in the 1960s with Andy Warhol and The Velvet Underground seemed fully incapable of resisting his artistic impulses even when they threatened his family life and personal health. By all accounts he was a tremendous artist, but his total commitment to craft made him dangerous to love.In the short documentary Lady Krishna featured in one of many intriguing short film packages, filmmaker Adrienne von Wolffersdorff presents the Seattle icon in all her power punk rock singer, avant-garde fashion plate, abstract painter and reveals how she too has no division between her day-to-day life and her art. Watching the two films in close succession, I noticed how different this choice looks when its a man vs. a woman making it. With Krishna, I also cherished the chance to experience her as a messenger from old Seattle pre-coronavirus, pre-tech boom exemplary of the time when creative folks could afford to be scrappy artists and indie musicians in this rainy Northwest borough. Article continues below Related Stories Topics: Arts, Features, Film, Music

For Tahlequah and her orca kin, the disappearance of salmon is leading to starvation, dead calves and extinction. For my family as well, losing salmon has irreversible consequences. The Makah people have been fishing off the coast for salmon and other fish since time immemorial. Losing salmon is losing much more than money its losing a part of who we are, our identity.My traditional name is Osiii oh cha see ee and in my Qwidia -tx qua ditch cha uth Makah language, it means Lady of the Sea or Protector of the Sea. If Tahlequahs new calf and my familys way of life are going to survive, we have to protect salmon. Returning to abundant salmon is necessary for the orcas survival and extremely personal for me as a mother of four fishermen sons.Twenty years ago, I was pregnant with my oldest son. Raised on a boat, he has fished with his dad since he was 6 months old. The salmon populations were already in decline at that point, and as he became a toddler, his dad would say to him, Dont look forward to fishing fishing wont be here to support you when you are older.My son still lives every single day to fish. Ive never seen a kid or grown adult who lives for fishing as he does. By the time he was 10 years old, I started to think, this is not OK. I should not be telling my kid, Dont look forward to fishing. Thats when I started involving myself in politics, educating myself on environmental impacts and reaching out to advocacy groups and agencies at the local, state and national levels.My approach to educating myself and others is to understand what the most important thing is I can do, and then get involved and take action.The Columbia Basin was once among the most abundant salmon landscapes on the planet, sustaining wildlife and people from the mountains to the high desert to the coast. The Snake River is the Columbia Rivers largest tributary, and it once supported half the basins salmon. Snake River salmon are born inland, but they migrate out to the Pacific, many making their way to Alaska, where they grow large. On their home journey, Columbia Basin salmon feed the orcas and pass through Neah Bay, a usual and accustomed fishing ground for the Makah people, including my four sons.Today, dams, especially the four lower Snake River dams in Eastern Washington, are responsible for killing huge numbers of fish. The Columbia Basin has more than 400 dams, blocking 40 of traditional homelands for salmon spawning. In 1976, when the Army Corps of Engineers built the last of the lower Snake River dams, Congress estimated nearly half of the Snake Rivers salmon would be destroyed. The loss has been far greater. Snake River coho went extinct in a few years. Today, Snake River sockeye are almost gone, with only 17 adult fish returning last year. And less than 1 of Snake River spring chinook salmon return home to spawn.In short, compared with its past abundance, the greatest tributary of the large network of rivers that make up the Columbia Basin is almost empty of salmon. The pain from that loss is hard to put into words.Ive flown to Washington, D.C., many times to lobby Congress. Ive also educated and supported youth leaders on this topic. The Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians youth leaders brought and passed a resolution that recognized that salmon, traditional foods and resources need bold action in order to sustain our families and future generations and called for a meaningful evaluation of dam removal on the lower Snake River. That hasnt happened. In fact, earlier this summer the federal government declared the dams would not be removed to restore endangered salmon.In April, more than 15 tribes submitted letters addressing the Trump administrations final plan for management of the Columbia Basin dams. Nearly all of them point out, based on the governments own science, that the removal of thelower Snake River dams is the only way to meet even the minimum goals for salmon recovery in the Snake. The Trump administration recognizes that the dams result in innumerable and unquantifiable losses for tribes related to salmon fishing, including ceremonies, traditions, languages and customs, dances and song. But the plan decides against dam removal mostly because of cost. There is no amount of compensation once the salmon or orcas are extinct.As Indigenous people, we have always had the responsibility of maintaining stewardship and environmental protection of all of our resources. We are taught since a young age that we must leave this Earth better than it was given to us. Our songs and dances come from living beings. Thats our heritage. If we lose the salmon or orcas, we will lose a part of who we are and break the natural circle of life. Fighting for salmon is fighting for orcas and for my own culture, so that my sons wont have to tell their kids, We used to go fishing.Two summers ago, Tahlequah showed her suffering when she carried her dead calf on her nose for 17 days and 1,000 miles. I grieved with her. My family and many of the Northwests Indigenous people suffer with the orcas in their health, identity and family connections from depleted fisheries.Today, Tahlequah has a new baby, and the scientists say the calf is active and looks healthy. We can learn from this mother orca about resilience and hope. My sons and I are resilient. That, too, is part of being Indigenous. My hope is that we can all come together and call on our Northwest leaders to protect the salmon, orcas, people and the magnificent place I call home. Topics: Indigenous Affairs, Oceans, Pacific Northwest, Science, Wildlife

CARD FUSION Hosted by Dean Cain, Masters of Illusion features amazing magic performed by cutting-edge illusionists, escape artists and performers displaying skills ranging from perplexing interactive mind magic to hilarious comedy routines all in front of a studio audience. Magicians featured in this episode include Murray SawChuck, Chris Funk, Ed Alonzo, Michael Turco,

SALEM US Navy veteran turned private investigator Jennifer Marshall teams up with journalist Sarah Lyons to investigate the centuries old mystery of the Salem Witch Trials. Includes updated expert analysis 106A. Original airdate 10/1/2020 8pm.

SERIES FINALE After all the fighting and loss, Clarke Eliza Taylor and her friends have reached the final battle. But is humanity worthy of something greater Lindsey Morgan, Bob Morley, Marie Avgeropoulos, Richard Harmon, Shannon Kook, JR Bourne, Shelby Flannery and Chuku Modu also star. The episode was written and directed by Jason Rothenberg 716.

A Seattle familys luxury Cascade mountain retreat in a tiny lakefront community called Timber Cove is on the market for $5.8 million. Compass Brokers Bob Bennion and Mary Snyder have the listing.Bill Broadhead and Julie McCoy, owners of longtime Seattle-based political consulting firm Mercury Group, fell in love with the waterfront land right near Roslyn in 2010, thinking it would be an easy-access wilderness retreat they would buildfor themselves and their five sons. Located only an hour

In these days of high stress, longtime artist Catherine Mayer is offering a free app called LAUGH Let Art Unleash Great Happiness.

Sunny Singh started the health data technology company out of his Issaquah garage in 1996 with 15 credits cards.

Dwane Chappelle, Director of the Seattle Department of Education and Early Learning DEEL, was formally sworn in for a second term by Mayor Jenny Durkan. Chappelle was unanimously reconfirmed by City Council on September 8 to continue as department head through 2024.The post Chappelle Sworn In For Second Term As Director Of Education And Early Learning appeared first on The Seattle Medium.

The Washington State Department of Commerce is partnering with Schools Out Washington to distribute approximately $9 million in state Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security CARES Act funding to respond to the impact of COVID-19 by supporting programs serving school age kids and young adults facing the most significant challenges to educational and economic opportunity.The post State Announces New COVID Relief Funds To Support Nonprofits Helping Youth appeared first on The Seattle Medium.

The Pac-12 will resume play this fall, reversing a previous decision to hold off on the season because of Covid-19.The post Pac-12 Announces It Will Play College Football This Fall, Walking Back Previous Vote appeared first on The Seattle Medium.

Four teams, two National League playoff spots. And the AL Central champion. Besides postseason seeding, thats what remains to be decided on the last scheduled day of this bizarre baseball season. It could all come down to the wire at once in a wild rush, too, with every meaningful game Sunday starting just after 3

NEW DELHI AP Jaswant Singh, a veteran Indian politician who served as defense minister, finance minister and external affairs minister during his career, died Sunday. He was 82. A statement by an Indian army-run hospital said Singh was admitted to the hospital on June 25 for multiple ailments and died of cardiac arrest early

YEREVAN, Armenia AP Fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan broke out Sunday around the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the Armenian Defense Ministry said two Azerbaijani helicopters were shot down. Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan also said Armenian forces hit three Azerbaijani tanks. There was no immediate word on casualties. Nagorno-Karabakh is an ethnic Armenian enclave