Internet friends, if you get an emergency alert from your county or state government (and are NOT in an active emergency) could you kindly send me screen shots and links your government shared? I’d like to analyze these from a usability perspective and produce a short report. Drop ‘em here! ⬇️ #cawx

In the fourth county and second state I’ve been in this month, I get another emergency alert regarding storms and flooding—and its design makes it almost impossible to use. How much money are states and counties paying vendors for crap systems lacking any usability research? Design saves lives.

All of these bootlegged copies of the 60 Minutes segment flooding my feed (saying, ‘Watch it quick! Before it disappears!’) makes me feel like I’m in the Soviet Union and just got some black market foreign newspaper I need to hide under a floorboard in my house. This is where America is now

More flailing gov tech infrastructure from the Washington State floods. IF found: King County’s emergency management team uses On Solve, which has poor UX, hides emergency alert registration on the bottom on their page, only offers email alerts, and does this upon logging into the account: #wawx

Rob Reiner: “Silence in the face of authoritarianism is complicity. Speaking out is a patriotic act. Democracy doesn’t defend itself. It requires participation, vigilance, and courage from ordinary people."

The corollary to Steff’s point: being disconnected / blasé about weather is literally the privilege (that’s what it is!) of living in an age of stable climate. That time is gone. Insurance industry knows it.

I’m so proud of all the dedicated public servants in Washington State. Tyler is emblematic of the skilled and resourceful folks who staff critical infrastructure here. From NAS Whidbey emergency rescue teams, to Coast Guard, to firemen, to the comms professionals, to Tyler, thank you all! #WAWX

ESRI maps are almost worthless on a mobile device. Skagit County is doing its best under devastating circumstances and basic usability isn’t baked into ESRI/ArcGIS maps. They just launched an interactive map and it’s obscured by a text box, likely confusing residents. 🤦‍♀️ Do better, ESRI. #WAWX

It’s the anniversary of my mom’s death. I miss her. My life was dramatically shaped by her early passing. She died of a now a preventable cancer. If my mom had access to HPV vaccines as she a kid, she’d be alive today. Folks under 47, get your HPV vaccines. www.independent.co.uk/news/health/...

This is why #OpenData, particularly presented by states, remains so important.

While strokes can be caused by a range of things… I bet nobody told Glover about the significant rise in 25-45 year old strokes caused by Covid. www.today.com/health/covid...

Morning read: Fascinating research by @propublica.org on how bird flue is likely spreading long distances on air currents—and how containment strategies may be making it worse. Would be fascinating to overlay cattle ranch/bird flu deaths on this data. www.propublica.org/article/meth...

I'll be on ABC News Live tonight and on the ABC News Special, GUT CHECK, on America's processed food system. Can't catch it live? Find it on Hulu and ABC News' free streaming app. www.linkedin.com/posts/sarahs...

I’ll be on an ABC News Live tomorrow, Gut Check: The Foods We Eat. I share how food we would think would be healthy poisoned me (and 500 others) with a toxin, causing years of health issues. Airing on ABC News Live and Hulu. Hope you’ll tune in, share the special. abcnews.go.com/GMA/Wellness...

Flying out of JFK yesterday, TSA lines were shorter than average. The flight was only 1/3 full. But we sat on the tarmac for 2.5 hours—45th in line for take off, we didn’t even back away from the gate for 45 minutes past departure. We made up some time in the air, arriving 2 hours late.

The FDA said on Saturday that parents and caregivers should stop using some batches of ByHeart Whole Nutrition Infant Formula after health agencies found an increase in the number of botulism infections in infants who had consumed the powdered formula.

So proud of Washington State Department of Health for securing more WIC funding through mid to end of November. Heroic work. doh.wa.gov/newsroom/was...

Our case’s goal “is to ensure that the DOGE agents are kicked out of the OPM systems & that they have deleted any information they may have copied,” along with plugging any holes from this unauthorized sharing, EFF’s @mariotrujillo.bsky.social told @techpolicypress.bsky.social.

Who else got their insurance premium increases this week? We have really, really good insurance and ours is up 26% for 2026. I’m feeling lucky, because the increases I’m hearing from others is shocking. How much did your insurance go up?

Ontario, Canada, running ads during tonight’s Seattle Mariner’s game. An ad that American industry should run. www.ctvnews.ca/video/2025/1...

Today, we have the power to demonstrate that pro-democracy #NoKings demonstrators don’t hate America, they’re not members of “antifa.” We’re friends, neighbors, and fellow citizens who believe in American democracy — and want to keep it.

The Threads algorithm hyper-fixates on anything you engage with. So it over represents a topic as a world view. But, whew, Threads is a an immersive look at how covid, long covid, and humanity’s desperate (and inaccurate) need for cosplaying “normal” intertwine. It’s worth searching key words…

Solidarity is the only way

Dozens Rescued in Remote Alaskan Villages in Storm That Swept Away Homes www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/u... @kairyssdal.bsky.social it would be good to hear a follow up to your climate series and stories from Alaska.

Fourteenth inning???!!!??

It's a long story, but I have over $2,000 in Airtable credits. Um...what do I do with them?

Every time I see video of ICE agents, I think about how devistated those ICE agent’s WWII-fighting grandparents would be, seeing their grandkids become the very thing the Greatest Generation fought against. An entire generation survived the Great Depression, then rose up to fight fascism & protect…

Woman at Seattle cafe: "I love your whole outfit! Where did you get it?" Me: "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to say, 'I bought this in Paris this weekend." We both laughed. And then I gave her the name of the brand: Make My Lemonade. Check it out if you're ever in #Paris, ladies.🍋

"Staffing cuts under the Trump administration mean forecasters are struggling to maintain normal operations...." www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

How China Influences Elections in America’s Biggest City www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/n...

The most useful AI tool prompt I've developed is, "Given everything you know about me and my work life, what do you think I can expect to deal with over the next few weeks?" Life and work have patterns and sometimes those are hard for us to perceive. AI calls them out plainly.

I say this as a food safety advocate who has survived a literal poisoning by a MAHA-affiliated company: God bless John Oliver and his team. The latest Last Week Tonight is must watch.

The U.S. Forest Service has spent decades blocking efforts to better protect its wildfire fighters, sending crews into smoke without masks or warnings about the health risks, a New York Times investigation found. nyti.ms/4mm9oMr

Seattle's waterways used to be the largest method of transportation - much larger than our currently crippling ferry system. How did we get here, and why aren't we using all of our waterways to move people anymore?

The political appointees on university boards don't hire English professors for their company's boards, even though the professors are as qualified as the appointees are for their university responsibilities.

Just your average Friday night with our cat who loves dinosaur documentaries.

There are tourists on the beach of Waikiki right now during a tsunami advisory. 🤦‍♀️ www.youtube.com/live/z_Dn0wG...

If misery loves company (many of us are on the spectrum of miserable right now): Last week, I gave a national TV interview for a news special. Re-traumated myself in interview prep/research. Hit my head hard 1 hour prior. Did interview outside, hottest day of the year, with chainsaws blaring.

Alaska Air asked FAA to ground its whole fleet. Totally my speculation—could this be a result of the Microsoft Sharepoint hack of the last 24 hours? Hope not. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/07/20/b... #AlaskaAir

E-bikes and scooters need a long term care policy requirement before riding. Seeing completely unhinged, unsafe behavior by riders with no helmet in Seattle this summer. Docs are reporting high accident rates. What are the consequences for our healthcare system with this scale of injuries?

WGA statement on Paramount’s decision to cancel the Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

The FormFest 2025 Call for Proposals closes tomorrow! If you've successfully improved government forms, share your experience and best practices with the #FormFest2025 global community of form fanatics. Submit your proposal today: hubs.ly/Q03wfX7K0 Co-hosted with @beeckcenter.bsky.social

Did an all day interview yesterday for a national media organization. Feel absolutely drained. Now, to spend the next two months worried about the final edit and if I sat up straight throughout the whole thing.

About 1 in 4 U.S. adults worry they or someone close to them could be deported www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

The number of disasters is rising—and Kerr County demonstrates why governments being cheap about preparedness means they’re flying blind and risking lives. Gift article from NYT: www.nytimes.com/2025/07/06/u...

The flood alerts were on Facebook in the early morning hours. Devastating. www.instagram.com/p/DL26-FlSyN...

The Chinese citizen is suspected of being linked to a government-backed hacking group known as Hafnium, which sought to steal Covid-19 vaccine secrets from the US at the height of the pandemic. https://on.ft.com/3TZjztG

Seattle’s fireworks are beautiful this year—and while there are uptempo songs—the vibe of the setlist if songs feels melancholy.

Approaching its 250th birthday, America is going through the nation state version of a quarterlife crisis.

Oh, man. Reading @wired.com is getting real depressing these days.