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This newsletter is 1,102 words, a 4-minute read.

The equity director at Washington state's child welfare agency resigned last week, citing "discriminatory and biased leadership" at the department.

The big picture: Washington's Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) lists advancing racial equity as one of its top priorities. But the former director of the department's equity office, Patricia Colemon, says the agency is failing to live up to that goal.

• The department works with some of the state's most vulnerable kids, including foster youth, low-income preschoolers and kids in the juvenile justice system.

State of play: Colemon served as the director of DCYF's Office of Equity until Sept. 9, when she resigned after about nine months on the job.

• Her resignation letter, which was reviewed by Axios, says she "personally witnessed" DCYF secretary Tana Senn "exhibit racist and discriminatory actions against Black women" on "more than one occasion."
• Five others who have worked with Senn at DCYF also told Axios they witnessed Senn hold employees of color to higher standards than white employees or otherwise treat them differently.
• Those five current and former employees declined to be named, citing concerns about professional repercussions.

Senn, who has led DCYF since January 2025, said she was "disheartened by the accusations."

• "They are not a reflection of who I am or the person, beliefs, and record I've built over the course of my career in addressing racial equity and social justice," Senn wrote in an email to Axios.

DCYF's human resources department told Colemon it will "ensure a proper review is conducted" of the concerns Colemon raised in her resignation letter, according to an email reviewed by Axios.

Zoom in: In her letter, Colemon accuses Senn of blocking Colemon from promoting a Black woman within the department to a deputy director position, after that person had already held a temporary leadership role for seven months.

• Colemon said another employee who worked at DCYF for nearly 30 years — also a Black woman — was demoted this summer, leaving Colemon as the only Black woman at the agency's roughly 20-person leadership table.

In August 2025, Senn sent an email apologizing to senior staff for saying, "I love white women," during a meeting that discussed the lack of racial diversity among department leaders, according to a copy of her email reviewed by Axios.

• Senn made the comment while noting two white women were finalists for an open leadership post.

Go deeper

For one brief, glorious moment, Seattle thought it was about to get the funniest public transit line name in America.

• And we remain grateful that the acronym used for the South Lake Union Trolley was memorialized on a tee 20 years ago.

Catch up quick: By the time the trolley's 1.3-mile line opened between downtown and South Lake Union in December 2007, the cheeky nickname had already become a minor national sensation.

• Cascade neighborhood residents Jerry Johnson and Don Clifton came up with the original version of the shirt pictured above and sold it at Kapow! Coffee, where the first 100 sold out within days, per HistoryLink.

Yes, but: Some disputed the story that "South Lake Union Trolley" was the original name before officials noticed the unfortunate acronym.

• But a 2005 city Design Commission presentation included an architect's map labeled "South Lake Union Trolley Route," even as city records later dubbed the project the South Lake Union Streetcar.
• SLUS just doesn't tickle our juvenile funny bone as much.

The bottom line: Some acronyms are simply too good to ignore.

Tell a friend

Nearly an hour after the Bite of Seattle mass shooting began, then-Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes sent a text message indicating he wasn't sure who had assumed command, newly released records show.

Why it matters: The text messages shed new light on the night's events, which Mayor Katie Wilson said contributed to her asking Barnes to resign a few days later.

• Barnes was out of town during the July 26 shooting, which killed three people and injured four others.

What they're saying: "I don't know who is in charge but someone needs to assume command and slow down then follow active shooter protocols," Barnes wrote to a group of SPD command staff at 6:50pm that night, roughly 50 minutes after shots were fired at Seattle Center.

• Assistant Chief Tyrone Davis responded a minute later that he was in charge.

Context: The text messages, which the Seattle Police Department released yesterday, come about two weeks after the mayor's office released its own communications from the night of the shooting.

• Barnes said he was in Dallas at a conference that day. He also frequently traveled to visit his family in Chicago during his time as chief.
• Wilson has expressed a desire for the city's next police chief to be "visible, accountable, and present in our neighborhoods."

Read more

📄 The Seattle City Council passed an ordinance to extend civil rights protections to people in polyamorous relationships. (KUOW)

Former Seahawks linebacker Fredd Young, who was named one of the team's top 50 players of all time, has died at age 64. (Seattle Times)

🏥 U.S. News & World Report has named Seattle Children's one of the nation's top 10 pediatric hospitals for the third year in a row. (KOMO)

📉 Oracle is cutting more than 350 jobs in Washington — another blow to the region's tech industry. (GeekWire)

This time, we may have finally succeeded at stumping you all.

• The mystery location in last week's photo was an art installation called Striking the Set, which is located next to the downtown ferry dock.

It was our first time noticing it, too. That's probably because it hasn't been around that long.

The artwork by artists Elizabeth Conner and Brian Goldbloom was installed as part of a recent overhaul to the Seattle waterfront, which included upgrades to the ferry terminal.

• The design aims to recall the demolition of the former Alaskan Way Viaduct, which came down in 2019, as well as the 2001 Nisqually earthquake and the history of architecture in Pioneer Square, according to an interactive map.

I guess the only way we can manage to stump you all is by picking locations that are younger than a toddler. Duly noted.

🥣 Melissa keeps meaning to cook homemade chicken soup, but hasn't started yet.

🥘 Clarridge is craving soup, too.

This newsletter was edited by Geoff Ziezulewicz, who for the record would never turn down a bowl of soup.