This and That, Thursday, June 2, 2026

 From FOX13 News:

The Seattle City Council honored Amarr Murphy-Paine on Tuesday (June 2nd). He's the Garfield High School student who was shot and killed in 2024 outside the school.

There was a round of applause as the Seattle City Council leaders proclaimed "Amarr Murphy-Paine Day" at the start of the city council meeting.

From the Garfield High School website:

On Thursday, June 4, from 4:30–7:30 p.m., the GHS and greater neighborhood community is invited to gather on the front steps of Garfield High School at 23rd & Jefferson. We will come together through art, shared memory, music, and dialogue. Community members are invited to help create chalk art, paint the front steps purple and white with messages of hope and resilience, and enjoy music, the Double Dutch Divas, a dunk tank, hot dogs from the grill, and other activities.

On Friday, June 5, from 9 a.m.–3 p.m., Garfield will partner with Bloodworks Northwest to host the 2nd Annual GHS Blood Drive in the Garfield gymnasium.

The blood drive is one way our community can turn awareness into action. Access to blood transfusions can be one of the leading factors in survival for gunshot victims, and we are asking community members to help fill all 300 blood donation slots.

Sign up to donate blood 

From The Seattle Times, very sad news:

Seattle elementary school teacher, 30, fatally struck by Recology truck

A Seattle elementary school teacher died Monday after he was struck by a Recology waste collection truck while biking in the Yesler Terrace neighborhood. 

Seattle Public Schools confirmed Wednesday that the bicyclist was Christian Salyer, 30, a reading and math support teacher at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School.

“Christian was a dedicated teacher who served our school with passion and care for many years,” school Principal Julie Breidenbach wrote Tuesday in a letter to families that the district shared. “His warmth, dedication, and commitment to education will be deeply missed.”  

On the World Cup via The Seattle Times:

More than 1,400 Seattle youths and their caregivers are scoring free tickets to FIFA Men’s World Cup matches in Seattle starting later this month, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson announced at a news conference Wednesday. It’s believed to be the largest local youth access program for the 2026 World Cup to date.

The initiative was made in partnership between the city and the Seattle FIFA World Cup 2026 Local Organizing Committee. No city funds are being used, according to Jonah Spangenthal-Lee, the mayor’s spokesperson. Rather, the full cost of the tickets is being covered by fiscal sponsors including Seattle sports teams and local businesses and organizations such as Alaska Airlines, Amazon, Boeing, Microsoft, the Port of Seattle, Puyallup Tribe of Indians, the University of Washington and more.
Each participating youth will receive a ticket for a match, a stadium food voucher and a Seattle FIFA World Cup 26 scarf as part of the initiative. Select nonprofit groups will also receive free shuttle service to and from matches in partnership with King County Metro.

The tickets will be distributed by recipient organizations that work across the region with a focus on engaging and supporting youths; those organizations have already been identified and will be announced over the coming days, before tournament kickoff. 

 

Also:

FIFA has made a late change of policy to bar World Cup fans from bringing refillable water bottles into the tournament’s 16 stadiums across North America including some with limited or no shade from the sun.

The “Stadium Code of Conduct” update was criticized Thursday by an English fan group, which argued FIFA had given assurances on carrying empty plastic bottles to fill with freely available water at a tournament where heat and extreme weather are expected to be a factor.

“Naturally, the immediate thought from supporters is this is just the latest money grab,” the Free Lions fan group said in a statement.

To consider if your child participates in recreational sports or SPS sports:

12-year-old recovering after her heart stopped on Sequim soccer field

Ashtyn Messinger’s parents credit the quick reactions of a coach and others with saving the 12-year-old soccer player last month after she collapsed on a field in Sequim.

Now, as Ashtyn recovers from heart surgery, the Messinger family is calling for better access to automated external defibrillators. Known as AEDs, they are the type of portable defibrillator the Messingers say helped save Ashtyn’s life.

Earlier this year, state lawmakers considered Senate Bill 6118 by Sen. T’wina Nobles, D-Fircrest, that would require school districts to develop plans for how to use and where to station AEDs in schools and at their athletic facilities. The bill was voted out of committee with bipartisan support, but never received a vote in the full Senate.

Only one in 10 children survive a sudden cardiac arrest, according to the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation. 

From what I can find at the Seattle Schools' website, the Board does have a policy on AEDs(3412) but:

The Seattle School Board recognizes that equipping sites with automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and training employees and students in their use, increases the potential to save lives in the event of a health emergency, including cardiac arrest. The Board authorizes the district to place AEDs at designated district sites.

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) requires that any person using an AED receive training. Therefore, schools and district facilities with an AED on site will designate and train selected staff in the use of AEDs according to the DOH guidelines. 

 

Student instruction in cardiopulmonary resuscitations, to include appropriate use of an AED, will occur in at least one health class necessary for graduation.

This policy does not create any implied, or express, guarantee or obligation to use an AED, nor does it create an expectation that an AED or a trained employee or student will be present, even if a condition arose that made the use of an AED beneficial.

A person who uses an AED at the scene of an emergency and all other persons and entities providing services are immune from civil liability for any personal injury that results from any act or omission in the use of the AED in an emergency setting, unless the acts or omissions amount to gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct.

The Superintendent or their designee will develop procedures for the placement, maintenance, and use of AEDs in schools.

I cannot find any superintendent procedure. And, if you look at the wording I highlighted, there's no guarantee that any school will have an AED and that there will be a trained person there who knows how to use it. 

As for rec sports, it might be worth it to check what your particular league does.

From KUOW:

Transgender ballot initiative could require genital exams for WA secondary school students

Young female athletes in Washington schools would likely have to obtain genital exams to participate in school sports, if a controversial ballot initiative passes in November.

The initiative would ensure that “students compete in athletic activities consistent with the gender assigned at birth,” echoing restrictions in 27 other states and effectively blocking transgender girls from joining girls’ middle- and high-school teams.

Language in the initiative claims that kids are already required to undergo verification of their “biological sex” before they can play sports. But KUOW spoke with medical professionals and a school sports official who said otherwise. Paperwork used by medical professionals in sports physicals also shows that the initiative would be a departure from current state requirements for athletic participation.

According to the initiative, girls would have several options to confirm their sex: a visual genital exam, a lab test to determine their genetic makeup, or an analysis of testosterone levels in the blood. The genital exam, which a medical professional can conduct without touching the child, would likely be the most accessible option for most kids.

But it’s unclear who would conduct the exams, when they should take place, or how to enforce the policy.

Former school nurse Katie Johnson, who also supports the No Hate in Washington State campaign, said schools with large populations of students who don’t have regular access to doctors typically complete the sports physicals in “batches,” so a volunteer doctor may come in for a day and examine students in a large gym or public setting.

“ Students don't take their clothes off. They're fully clothed,” she said. She was dubious that any school would want to assume the liability of verifying biological sex.