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Sydney Brownstone

@sydbrownstone.bsky.social
984 followers 212 following 40 posts

Investigative reporter @theseattletimes. Mostly cat hair, married to @willjames. Email: sbrownstone@seattletimes.com

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Reposted by Sydney Brownstone
Will James @willjames.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
There's much more detail about what led to Antonio Mays' death and the identity of the suspected shooter in the podcast we made about this. The final episode just dropped. www.npr.org/2026/06/04/g...
npr.org
Embedded: "We Keep Us Safe" from NPR, KUOW and The Seattle Times
In the summer of 2020, sixteen-year-old Antonio Mays Jr. traveled a thousand miles to join the racial justice movement of his generation. He arrived in Seattle during the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest...
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Reposted by Sydney Brownstone
NPR @npr.org · 02/08/2026
Hours of video analyzed in an 18-month investigation reveal what really happened the night Antonio Mays Jr. was shot at the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest, and how protesters mistook him for a threat. n.pr/4pPMxeG
n.pr
New video evidence upends the unsolved killing of a Black teen at a Seattle protest
Hours of video analyzed in an 18-month investigation reveal what really happened the night Antonio Mays Jr. was shot at the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest, and how protesters mistook him for a threat.
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whet moser @whetmoser.com · 02/08/2026
relieved this is getting thorough reporting again www.npr.org/2026/07/31/g...
npr.org
A teen was killed at a Seattle protest. New video evidence shows what really happened
An 18-month investigation by The Seattle Times, KUOW and NPR's Embedded podcast and a review of more than a dozen videos from the night of the shooting reveal the most comprehensive view to date of ho...
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PhoenixWomanMN @phoenixwomanmn.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
NPR, the Seattle Times, and KUOW did a very good story on the CHAZ/CHOP murder. It's the first mainstream media story I can remember that includes a mention of the shooter telling people to pick up the shells from the bullets he'd fired: www.npr.org/2026/07/31/g...
npr.org
A teen was killed at a Seattle protest. New video evidence shows what really happened
An 18-month investigation by The Seattle Times, KUOW and NPR's Embedded podcast and a review of more than a dozen videos from the night of the shooting reveal the most comprehensive view to date of ho...
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Reposted by Sydney Brownstone
Zachary Fletcher @zfletcher.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
the final twenty minutes of the show are some of the most impactful journalism moments I’ve ever heard — humanity on full display. all 8 eps out on @kuow.org / @npr.org.
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Zachary Fletcher @zfletcher.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
if you listen to one podcast this year, make it WE KEEP US SAFE by @willjames.bsky.social / @sydbrownstone.bsky.social this is a hard, complicated story to tell. will, sydney and david gutman do an incredible service for us all putting the pieces together. www.npr.org/2026/06/04/g...
npr.org
Embedded: "We Keep Us Safe" from NPR, KUOW and The Seattle Times
In the summer of 2020, sixteen-year-old Antonio Mays Jr. traveled a thousand miles to join the racial justice movement of his generation. He arrived in Seattle during the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest...
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Sydney Brownstone @sydbrownstone.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
The Skagit Valley Herald, Anacortes American, and Stanwood Camano News are on strike to fight for better wages and AI protections. Here’s their strike fund: www.gofundme.com/f/help-keep-...
gofundme.com
Donate to Help keep AI out of your newsrooms, organized by Skagit News Workers
We need your help to keep your news local, trustworthy, and accurate – that … Skagit News Workers needs your support for Help keep AI out of your newsrooms
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Sydney Brownstone @sydbrownstone.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
The killing of 16 yo Antonio Mays Jr. at CHOP has been unsolved for 6 years. Ep 6 has one of the biggest reveals from our year+ investigation: an interview with a witness police never spoke to who had one of the closest views of what happened that night. Listen: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
podcasts.apple.com
Embedded
Documentary Podcast · Weekly Series · NPR's home for audio documentaries brings untold stories to light through deeply reported narrative series. We go to hidden corners of the headlines to explore wh...
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Reposted by Sydney Brownstone
The Seattle Times @seattletimes.com · 11/06/2026
A new podcast series from The Seattle Times, KUOW and NPR's "Embedded" investigates the unsolved killing that led to the end of 2020's Capitol Hill Occupied Protest.
seattletimes.com
New podcast on Seattle CHOP deadly shooting features eyewitnesses and unseen evidence
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Reposted by Sydney Brownstone
Will James @willjames.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Today, the results of our investigation start coming out, week by week, on @npr.org's Embedded podcast. It’s called We Keep Us Safe. www.npr.org/2026/06/11/n...
npr.org
We Keep Us Safe: Who Killed Antonio Mays Jr.? : Embedded
EPISODE 1: When 16-year-old Antonio Mays Jr. was shot and killed inside Seattle's CHOP protest zone in 2020, protesters claimed self-defense. For years, that version of events went unchallenged. Repor...
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Reposted by Sydney Brownstone
Will James @willjames.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
As reporters who covered 2020 in Seattle, this story haunted us. Black Lives Matter protesters said self-appointed protest security shot a Black teen in self-defense — that he was involved with a gang, attacking the protest. Some praised his killing online: “What a shot!" We always had questions.
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Sydney Brownstone @sydbrownstone.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Six years ago, a 16-year-old was shot and killed at a Black Lives Matter occupy-style protest in Seattle. Early reports from witnesses and protesters said the shooter(s) were self-appointed protest security defending the protest from an attack.
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jseattle @jseattle.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
‘We Keep Us Safe’ — NPR podcast series investigates deadly shooting that ended CHOP
dlvr.it
‘We Keep Us Safe’ — NPR podcast series investigates deadly shooting that ended CHOP
The unsolved deadly shooting of a San Diego teenager during the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest will be the subject of a new investigative podcast series from National Public Radio. Meanwhile, the city is seeking to appeal a $30 million jury … Continue reading →
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Reposted by Sydney Brownstone
KUOW Public Radio @kuow.org · 04/06/2026
NPR's award-winning audio documentary podcast Embedded is partnering with The Seattle Times and KUOW to launch We Keep Us Safe, a new series investigating the unsolved homicide of Antonio Mays Jr. The 16-year-old Black teenager was shot and killed inside Seattle's CHOP.
kuow.org
Embedded series 'We Keep Us Safe' investigates teen's killing in 2020 Black Lives Matter protests
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Reposted by Sydney Brownstone
Jerad Walker @jeradwalker.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
lol Scott Pelley and the old guard at 60 Minutes eat people like this alive for breakfast.
Back and forth between Scott Pelley and new management at CBS during a recent 60 Minutes staff meeting:

"This is not actually productive," Forelle said.
"It's working for me," Pelley replied.
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Reposted by Sydney Brownstone
Conrad @conradswanson.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
A story in three words: Big Tech won. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
seattletimes.com
Big Tech took down new data center regulations, WA lawmaker says
But tech lobbyists for companies like Microsoft and Amazon, and their allies, rallied against the proposal.
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Reposted by Sydney Brownstone
The Associated Press @apnews.com · 27/02/2026
Callers to Washington state’s driver’s license agency who select automated service in Spanish are instead hearing an AI voice speaking English with a strong Spanish accent.
bit.ly
Callers to Washington state hotline press 2 for Spanish and get accented AI English instead
Callers to Washington state’s driver’s license agency who select automated service in Spanish are instead hearing an AI voice speaking English with a strong Spanish accent.
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Sydney Brownstone @sydbrownstone.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
Now give the student who turned down this job a column to talk about why. I bet it’s good.
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Sydney Brownstone @sydbrownstone.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Jurors ruled that the City of Seattle must pay $30.5 million to the father and estate of Antonio Mays Jr., the 16-year-old reportedly slain by "CHOP security" in 2020 during the Seattle racial justice protests. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
seattletimes.com
Seattle CHOP verdict: City must pay $30.5 million to family of slain teen
A King County jury found Seattle was negligent in its response to the fatal shooting of a teenager in the Capitol Hill Organized Protest zone in 2020.
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Sydney Brownstone @sydbrownstone.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
"Be petty and incredibly annoying with authority." Yes yes yes yes yes yes
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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
Here’s a gift link to this stunner Washpost story, quoting the 60 Minutes correspondent on the CECOT story, who accuses Bari Weiss of spiking the piece all because the Trump Administration wouldn’t comment. “Government silence is a statement, not a VETO.” wapo.st/3YL4T3D
wapo.st
‘60 Minutes’ correspondent says CBS’s Bari Weiss abruptly pulled segment on Trump deportations
CBS News pulled a ‘60 Minutes’ segment about a prison in El Salvador one day before it was set to air because the Trump administration declined to participate.
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Sydney Brownstone @sydbrownstone.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
My colleagues and I have interviewed dozens of people about the death of 16-year-old Antonio Mays Jr., reportedly shot by CHOP security. Themes we often hear: He was up to no good. Security was protecting us. Here’s a video of Mays 3 days before his death. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
seattletimes.com
New footage of teen killed at Seattle CHOP discovered on eve of trial
The clip was in hundreds of hours of video livestreamed by Omari Salisbury, one of the first reporters on the scene after Antonio Mays Jr.’s unsolved shooting.
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Reposted by Sydney Brownstone
Kat Tenbarge @kattenbarge.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
Years ago, my colleagues at Business Insider and I tracked YouTuber “cancellation” arcs. What we found is that for many entertainers, “cancellation” actually sets the stage for a redemption arc, one that can raise their profile higher than ever. It wasn’t career-ending. It was fuel.
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Sydney Brownstone @sydbrownstone.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
"Some people in the industry don't think ethics and rules apply to them—due to their desire for power and influence, pursuit of ‘friendship’ with sources, or a combination of some or all of those things." - @karenho.bsky.social. www.thehandbasket.co/p/moral-rot-...
thehandbasket.co
Moral rot in elite journalism is killing the whole field
The Nuzzi/RFK Jr. mess and the revelation of Epstein’s journo pals lay bare a profound moral absence at the heart of our free press.
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Reposted by Sydney Brownstone
David Kroman @kromandavid.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
The Seattle Police Department's chief operating officer, Brian Maxey, and chief legal officer, Becca Boatright, were both sacked this morning. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
seattletimes.com
Chief Shon Barnes fires top civilian leaders in Seattle police
The police department’s chief operating officer, Brian Maxey, and general counsel, Rebecca Boatright, were let go by Chief Shon Barnes, sources said.
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The Seattle Times @seattletimes.com · 02/11/2025
What began in the 1990s as a modest incentive meant to foster economic development in a nascent field became a billion-dollar windfall of questionable effectiveness.
seattletimes.com
Big Tech got a billion in tax breaks. What did WA get?
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Sydney Brownstone @sydbrownstone.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
Dozens of people were present at the killing of Antonio Mays Jr. at CHOP. Several people witnessed it. Someone knows who the shooters were. Talk to us. st.news/chopsurvey
st.news
Tell us about your experiences at CHOP
Five years on, we hope people will be willing to speak with us about what they witnessed at the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest. If you participated in the protests or policing, or you observed either f...
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Sydney Brownstone @sydbrownstone.bsky.social · 26/10/2025
5 yrs after a Black teen was killed at CHOP, city officials + some protesters say he was firing a gun before he was shot. There’s no evidence of that in videos we’ve reviewed, including those filed by city to defend itself in a lawsuit from the boy’s father. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
seattletimes.com
New Seattle CHOP videos contradict city’s narratives on teen death
A father’s civil suit reveals videos that could change how the public views the unsolved, highly politicized death of his son. A trial set for next week could be the public’s last chance for answers.
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Sydney Brownstone @sydbrownstone.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
This is Panther, and he is the goodest boy at the King County Superior Court Clerk’s Office.
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Reposted by Sydney Brownstone
Crystal Fincher @finchfrii.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
Whoa: Former Republican State Senator Joe Fain Is a Candidate for KUOW’s Board KUOW, Seattle’s NPR station, reported on rape allegations against him in 2018
thestranger.com
Former State Senator Joe Fain Candidate for KUOW’s Board, Station Reported on Rape Allegations Against Him
The first thing that pops up when you Google “KUOW Joe Fain,” is the station’s headline from 2018. “‘You raped me.’ Former Seattle official accuses Washington state...
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Sydney Brownstone @sydbrownstone.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
At 35 years old I have learned that "sub" is short for "submarine sandwich." www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/u...
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Sydney Brownstone @sydbrownstone.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
ATTN CAPITOL HILL! Blewett, famous porch sitter of 14th (you’ll often see him with his brother Snoqualmie), is missing. Check your basements and laundry rooms, where he has been known to frequent!
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
JUST IN: Judge restrains LAPD from using nonlethal munitions against journalists, detaining or assaulting journalists covering protests or restricting their movements under most circumstances.. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
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Sydney Brownstone @sydbrownstone.bsky.social · 28/06/2025
This week is the five-year anniversary of the unsolved, fatal shooting that ended CHOP. We have an update on details of the case - including potential evidence police may have lost - and are continuing to talk to people about what they know or remember. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
seattletimes.com
Lost evidence and ‘attorneys’ eyes only’: New info in 2020 CHOP killing
Five years after a teen’s killing ended the Capitol Hill Organized Protest, the homicide case is shrouded in secrecy and potential evidence has disappeared.
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Lauren Kuehne @omfishient.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
Thank you @seattletimes-rss.bsky.social @isabellabreda.bsky.social & Lynda Mapes for capturing the story of one of the most inspiring scientists and human beings I know. @noaa.gov and all of us have lost. The dreams Trump is taking away from so many - those are the ones that made America great.
seattletimes.com
‘They took away my American dream’: A federal biologist in Seattle let go of her job to save benefits
Anna Kagley began her science career with the federal government 38 years ago. Suddenly, it was over.
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Brad Lander @bradlander.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
Hi, this is Meg Barnette, Brad's wife. While escorting a defendant out of immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza, Brad was taken by masked agents and detained by ICE. This is still developing, and our team is monitoring the situation closely.
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Will James @willjames.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
Unbelievably proud to have collaborated with these two, who just won the nation's top honor for young journalists for their work on Lost Patients. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
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Sydney Brownstone @sydbrownstone.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
I am a deeply anxious flyer. The last time I was at an airport I had a panic attack and threw up. No joke, watching “The Rehearsal” has made me feel so much better about flying — especially knowing a lot of pilots have probably watched it too.
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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
Pete Hegseth’s Defense Department tried to bar a CNN journalist from serving as a pool reporter for an upcoming foreign trip. Other reporters threatened to boycott the trip. Guess what happened next. The Pentagon caved. Via @oliverdarcy.bsky.social www.status.news/p/pete-hegse...
I've learned that in the lead-up to Hegseth's upcoming trip to Singapore, the Pentagon quietly attempted to block CNN producer Haley Britzky from serving as the designated television pooler. Because space on such trips is limited, the press corps designates a small group of reporters to travel with the secretary and share information with the broader press. Britzky had been slated for the role. But Pentagon officials- apparently irked by some of her tweets, despite their innocuous nature
- relayed to CNN brass that she was not welcome.The move was a plain act of retribution, a targeted attempt by the Pentagon to sideline a journalist for doing her job in a way that it did not like. It triggered immediate backlash. Reporters from other news organizations expressed outrage, with other outlets indicating that if Britzky was excluded, they too would pull out of the trip—effectively denying Hegseth the press coverage he relies on for visibility. “They don’t get to decide who covers them,” one correspondent told me.
After a brief standoff, I'm told the Pentagon relented. Britzky will travel with Hegseth as originally planned. A CNN spokesperson declined to comment and a Pentagon spokesperson did not respond to a request for one Monday evening.
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WIRED @wired.com · 22/05/2025
tired: people AI-generating rando images of themselves as anime WIRED: AI’s energy use already represents as much as 20 percent of global data-center power demand, new analysis has found
wired.com
AI Is Eating Data Center Power Demand—and It’s Only Getting Worse
A new analysis of AI hardware being produced and how it is being used attempts to estimate the vast amount of electricity being consumed by AI.
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Sydney Brownstone @sydbrownstone.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
HONORED to receive this recognition with the fabulous @esmyjimenez.bsky.social!!!
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Sydney Brownstone @sydbrownstone.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
“Lost Patients” has been nominated for a Peabody alongside Embedded, The New Yorker, Serial and more. Couldn’t be prouder to be part of this with @willjames.bsky.social and @esmyjimenez.bsky.social, amazing humans and journalists. peabodyawards.com/stories/nomi... @peabodyawards.bsky.social
peabodyawards.com
Nominees in Docs, News, Public Service, Podcast Announced - The Peabody Awards
The Peabody Awards and Center for Media & Social Impact Launch We Disrupt This Broadcast, New Podcast Featuring Interviews with Quinta Brunson, Damon Lindelof, Ramy Youssef, Pamela Adlon, Charlie Broo...
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Daniel Beekman @dbeekman.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
A proposal in the Legislature to bring Washington’s local jails under state oversight was designed partly to protect people like Hien Trung Hua, one of dozens who have lost their lives in city and county lockups in recent years. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
seattletimes.com
Push for WA jail oversight dies in Legislature, disappointing grieving families
The bill would have created a state council to monitor jail conditions. It failed to progress last month amid opposition from some local officials and budget woes.
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The Seattle Times @seattletimes.com · 28/03/2025
Union members gathered outside the Northwest ICE Processing Center to call for the release of two Washington residents who were detained this month.
seattletimes.com
'Soul of democracy': Hundreds protest ICE detaining workers
Union members gathered outside the Northwest ICE Processing Center to call for the release of two Washington residents who were detained this month.
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Ryan Tack-Hooper @rtackhooper.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
ICE takes farmworker organizer who has been in WA since he was 14, reports @sydbrownstone.bsky.social
seattletimes.com
ICE arrests WA farmworker activist in Sedro-Woolley
Alfredo "Lelo" Juarez, 25, has organized on behalf of farmworkers' rights in Washington state since he was 14 years old.
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Sydney Brownstone @sydbrownstone.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
Comment on the ICE arrest of Lelo Juarez, union farmworker organizer, from @murray.senate.gov: "I don’t care what Trump promised on the campaign trail— when it comes to immigration enforcement or anything else, he’s going to need to follow the letter of the law." www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
seattletimes.com
ICE arrests WA farmworker activist in Sedro-Woolley
Alfredo "Lelo" Juarez, 25, has organized on behalf of farmworkers' rights in Washington state since he was 14 years old.
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Reposted by Sydney Brownstone
Will James @willjames.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Listen to @sydbrownstone.bsky.social and David Gutman explain why we're reporting on the fatal shooting of Antonio Mays Jr. and what we want to learn about Seattle's CHOP protest zone five years later: www.kuow.org/stories/5-ye...
kuow.org
5 years after CHOP, will Antonio Mays Jr. get justice?
Nearly five years ago, in the wake of the George Floyd protests, Antonio Mays Jr. was shot and killed in the CHOP the autonomous protest zone that emerged on Capitol Hill.  Antonio’s father still has...
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Joseph O'Sullivan @olympiajoe.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
WA Gov. Ferguson aide resigned amid toxic workplace complaints, lawmakers say- State Sen. Yasmin Trudeau, D-Tacoma, says she tried to warn Ferguson’s office about the way the governor’s chief strategy officer & longtime key political aide, treated women. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
seattletimes.com
Resignations in Ferguson's office follow toxic workplace complaints, lawmakers say
Two Democratic state lawmakers said they'd heard concerns over the workplace culture allegedly fostered by Gov. Bob Ferguson's longtime top aide, Mike Webb.
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