Latest news with #Seattleite
Travel Daily News
12-05-2025
- Business
- Travel Daily News
Alaska Air Group announces leadership promotions in key enterprise oversight roles
Allie Wittenberger, in her new role as vice president of audit programs, will set the strategic vision and lead enterprise-level audit and assurance programs. Wittenberger will lead a team whose mission is to continuously improve Alaska's systems of financial, safety, operational, organizational and technological controls. Wittenberger joined Alaska in 2010 as a senior internal auditor. She has held numerous leadership positions in the audit program, financial planning and analysis and ethics and compliance. Wittenberger most recently served as Alaska Air Group's managing director of corporate affairs and compliance where she supported Board of Director functions, corporate governance and compliance programs. She received a bachelor's degree in accounting and finance from Washington State University and is a certified public accountant. Alaska Air Group appoints former Deloitte executive and proud Seattleite, Pete Shimer, to the Board of Directors Also, Alaska Air Group, Inc. announced the election of Pete Shimer to the company's board of directors. Shimer began as an auditor and has since held numerous C-suite positions at international public accounting firm Deloitte, most recently serving as its interim chief executive officer. Shimer retires from Deloitte this month after 41-year career. He will fill the Alaska Air Group board seat vacated by Ken Thompson on his retirement after 25 years of service. Shimer's election is effective immediately, and he will serve on the board's Audit and Safety Committees. Shimer earned his bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Washington where he serves as a board member for the university's Foundation, he also serves on the board of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. Retiring from the board after 25 years of service, Ken Thompson leaves a legacy steeped in Alaska values and going beyond formal board member duties. Thompson was a founding member of the board's Safety Committee after the tragedy of flight 261 and ,over his years, served on all but one board committee. 'Ken has been a trusted advisor to the management team, offering wisdom and perspective that have helped guide us through many critical moments in our history, and asking probing questions that have improved our thinking,' said Alaska CEO Ben Minicucci. 'His deep understanding of the company's values and his strategic mindset have been instrumental in shaping key decisions that have strengthened our company. We will miss his leadership and wish him well.' In 2019, Thompson was selected as one of the 100 most influential corporate directors by the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). Alaska Air Group directors serve one-year terms upon election at the company's annual meeting of stockholders. With Shimer's election, the board has 9 independent director seats. CEO Ben Minicucci serves on the board as a non-independent director.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Seattle's JP Patches clown statue vandalized in Fremont, fans hope to make repairs
The Brief After the beloved J.P. Patches statue was recently vandalized in Fremont, the Seattle community is rallying for repairs. Someone inked out J.P. Patches and his sidekick Gertrude in black paint, discoloring the facial features that made the characters come to life. SEATTLE - Community leaders in Fremont are hoping to repair the statue of Seattle's most famous clown after it was defaced by a vandal within the past few weeks. J.P. Patches was the star of a long-running show from 1958-1981, with many members of the community appearing on the program over the years. The statue was unveiled in 2008 with a street later named after the iconic clown. The picture below shows what the statue used to look like before and after the vandalism. What they're saying "I am a long-time Seattleite and I know who J.P. Patches is and Gertrude," said superfan Suzie Burke, a J.P. Patches statue supporter. Burke says during his three decades on TV, J.P. Patches worked to make people happy. But, things took a sad turn after the statue honoring J.P. Patches and his sidekick, Gertrude, was vandalized with black paint. Someone inked out the facial features that made the characters come to life. "J.P. Patches was our clown," she said, pictured below looking at the damage. "We have to fix it!," said Burke, pointing to the statue. "His face is supposed to be white, with the red lips and the red nose." Fans of the late clown and the statue say the person who was responsible for defacing the statue wasn't just clowning around, as the vandalism disrespects the memory of both the clown and the man behind him, Chris Wedes. "J.P. Patches is a Seattle icon. Any kid that grew up from the 60s and 70s grew up watching JP Patches," said Curt Hanks, webmeister of After Chris passed away in 2012, FOX 13 interviewed his co-star Bob Newman during a 2013 street-naming celebration in his honor. "We could do crazy dumb stuff, you know, and people loved it," said Newman. "They just loved to be talked to, you know, and we just had a great time. As for who is responsible for the damage, that's unclear. For now, Hanks with says "Patches Pals," as fans are called, will likely rally to make repairs. A restoration fund for the statue is now live on the J.P. Patches website. "I raised funds for the last restoration of the statue about three years ago, and we raised funds for these pavers at the base of the statue," said Hanks. "We take that pretty seriously, even when it's a clown," said Ryan Reiter, managing director for the Fremont Sunday Market, in reference to the vandalism. Reiter is also hoping to host a parade in Fremont to raise money for the cause. "We've just been spit-balling. We want to find a way to help fix J.P. Patches," said Reiter. He's hoping to host that parade at the Fremont Sunday Market location. He said he could host the event as early as May 25. He plans to make an announcement on social media soon. FOX 13 reached out to Seattle Police to see if officers are investigating the vandalism incident, and we are waiting to hear back. The Source Information in this story came from the J.P. Patches website and original FOX 13 Seattle reporting and interviews. Social media says Seattle ports are empty — but data shows growth Irish woman returning from visiting sick father detained at Tacoma ICE facility 'Violated, degraded, dehumanized': Ex-Seattle police official Jamie Tompkins demands $3M Idaho judge slams Bryan Kohberger's 'hollow' attempt to dodge death penalty First confirmed Pacific Northwest sighting of invasive Chinese mitten crab WA pilot program offers free walk-on ferry rides to San Juan Islands To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter. Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national news.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fact Check: Social Security falsely declared 82-year-old man dead, stopped benefits
Claim: In early 2025, an 82-year-old man named Ned Johnson in Seattle was declared "dead" by the U.S. Social Security and deprived of his benefits. Rating: In March 2025, in the first weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump instituted the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and appointed tech magnate Elon Musk as its figurehead, a rumor began to spread that an 82-year-old man had lost his Social Security benefits after DOGE mistakenly declared him dead. For example, a post on X said DOGE had "stolen" the man's Social Security payments and canceled his Medicare health insurance (archived): As of this writing, the post had gained nearly one million views and 33,000 likes. The same claim appeared several times on X, but also on Reddit. Further, The Express Tribune, an English-speaking newspaper in Pakistan, published an article relaying the story, as did Common Dreams, a nonprofit, left-leaning news outlet in the U.S. Several Snopes readers emailed asking for confirmation that the claim is true. Snopes contacted the Johnsons via telephone and was able to confirm the details of the story with them. We have therefore deemed the claim true (though we have seen no evidence definitively linking DOGE to the error). The rumor stemmed from an article by The Seattle Times, published on March 15, 2025 (archived). In the story, writer Danny Westneat said he identified a man named Leonard "Ned" Johnson who had been affected by being falsely reported as dead, in what he suggested was a consequence of DOGE's meddling with the Social Security Administration (SSA), an independent government agency. (Snopes has seen no evidence definitively linking DOGE to the erroneous classification of Johnson as deceased.) We have reached out to the Social Security Administration, DOGE and Musk ask them to confirm details of the story and we will update this report should they respond. According to Westneat, Johnson's wife Pam received a letter from the bank offering condolences on her husband's death. The letter went on to explain that the bank had deducted the equivalent of two months of Social Security payments from Johnson's account to return them to the benefits to the agency — $5,201 for December 2024 and January 2025. According to the bank, Westneat reported, Johnson had died in November 2024. However, Johnson was very much alive. But because of this false report, Westneat said the 82-year-old Seattleite had not received his February or March 2025 Social Security deposits. Further, his Medicare insurance was canceled and his credit reports were closed. When he called the bank, they reportedly told him to talk to Social Security. Westneat said that for two weeks, Johnson tried to call the hotline several times a day, to no avail. Eventually, Johnson went directly to the local Social Security office, which he described as packed with people and very much understaffed, according to The Seattle Times article. Thanks to an employee there, his status was restored as alive. During a telephone conversation on March 17, 2025, Pam Johnson told Snopes that her husband had gone to the Social Security office on March 13, 2024, and that Westneat had come to their house with a photographer to interview them the next day. She added that the couple had not received any explanation as to how the false death report had occurred. "They kept passing the buck between the bank and Social Security," she said. As she spoke, Johnson logged into their bank's online client portal to confirm that the February payment had also been restored to their account, though they were still waiting on the March payment. While on the telephone with Snopes, she also asked her husband about the status of his Medicare health coverage. Snopes heard him confirm that he had indeed received notice from his health insurance company that his coverage was restored. Johnson was preparing to give an interview to CNN about his ordeal on the afternoon of March 17, 2025. "For us, this is not life or death but the ramifications can be terrible," Pam Johnson said. "We think Ned is the canary in a coal mine, this is a much bigger story." As Trump-Musk Target Social Security, Seniors Share Stories of Benefit Cutoffs | Common Dreams. Accessed 17 Mar. 2025. Desk, News. 'US Social Security Error Costs 82-Year-Old His Benefits and $5,000'. The Express Tribune, 17 Mar. 2025, 'I Found a "Dead" Person on Social Security in Seattle'. The Seattle Times, 15 Mar. 2025,
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell's joke about Sonics' return doesn't go over well
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell held his State of the City address on Tuesday and thought during his lengthy speech that teasing a return of the NBA to the city would be a good idea. At one point, Harrell paused and said he had an announcement to make before pulling out a basketball from behind the podium. The crowd inside Benaroya Hall reacted positively, believing that he was about to reveal that the NBA and Sonics would be returning to the city after the franchise left for Oklahoma City in 2008. After a pause, Harrell then said he was only kidding and that he wanted to take a short break during his speech. Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell - during the State of the City address - goes off from @tkjohnsonimages of @komonews — Chris Daniels (@ChrisDaniels_TV) February 18, 2025 While no news regarding the topic came up during NBA All-Star weekend, the interest remains high to bring the NBA back to Seattle. Giving Seattleite's hope is the NHL's Seattle Kraken ownership group. 'It would be an amazing market, and the NBA knows that,' said Kraken executive chair Samantha Holloway in a June interview with Bloomberg. 'This is an exercise in patience for both us and the fans because we're all really excited for what could be.' That same month NBA Commissioner Adam Silver confirmed that Seattle, along with Las Vegas and Mexico City, has been discussed as a potential location should the league expand. One thing delaying central focus on NBA expansions is the sale of the Boston Celtics. Whenever that transaction is finalized, the league would then know how high of an expansion fee to command to interested ownership groups. Harrell has long-supported bringing back the Sonics, and with a strong approval rating as he seeks reelection to a second term fans might let this joke slide for now.
