Seattle, WA

Seattle School Board President facing recall effort

Published

1 year ago

November 13, 2024

Seattle School Board President facing recall effort

As Seattle Public Schools faces continued public backlash over proposed school closures, a group of parents is attempting to recall board President Liza Rankin.

In court documents filed with King County, the group argues Rankin adopted a “rushed and improper” school closure process and repeatedly failed to “provide transparency and community engagement on decisions critical to the well-being of the district.”

The parents also contend Rankin failed to uphold her duties as a school board member to adequately oversee the district and “ensure the district delivers student educational outcomes.”

“As Board President, Liza Rankin must uphold the highest standards in public office, especially in a time of urgent crisis like that which Seattle Public Schools now faces,” Ben Gitenstein, one of the petitioners, said in a statement. “Instead, Rankin has committed violations that have worsened our district’s crisis.”

“Now more than ever, it is necessary to recall Rankin in order to save our students and Seattle Public Schools from her leadership,” added Gitenstein, the parent of two SPS students and a former school board candidate.

Janai Ray, Nancy Bacon, Annie Becker, and Rebekah Binns are also named as petitioners on the recall paperwork.

Rankin was first elected to the board in 2019, and represents the northernmost parts of Seattle, including the Crown Hill, Broadview, Northgate, and Lake City neighborhoods. She was reelected for a second four-year term last fall.

A King County Superior Court judge must approve the recall before the petition can be circulated to voters. The petition would then need to get over 48,000 valid signatures from legal voters before getting on a ballot.

Gitenstein said the group isn’t planning to recall other board members “at this time.”

The recall effort comes as Washington’s largest public school system moves ahead with proposals to close four schools — a scaled down version of a previous plan that called for up to 21 schools to be shuttered next year. The board is expected to vote on a final closure plan by the end of January.

RELATED: 4 Seattle schools up for closure revealed

In an interview with KUOW on Tuesday, Rankin said she stands by her actions as school board president and denied any accusations of malfeasance or wrongdoing.

“I have actually been taking it very seriously, that my duty as board president is to help ensure that we are abiding by laws and rules around compliance,” she said.

Rankin also argued the closure process hasn’t been rushed, pointing out that she was among several board members to push back on the mass closure plan first proposed in September.

‘It’s literally a skeleton.’ Seattle School Board critiques plan for mass closures

“What we received didn’t justify that level of change, and so we said ‘no thank you, please try again,’” Rankin said. “I think rushing would have been to accept it anyway, knowing that it didn’t have all the information we needed. And we definitely didn’t do that.”

This is Rankin’s second attempted recall. She and the entire board were targeted for recall in 2021, amid accusations they failed to prepare for schools to reopen during Covid. A judge later dismissed the petition.

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Seattle, WA

Seattle Mariners acquire LHP Josh Simpson from Marlins – Seattle Sports

Published

2 hours ago

February 16, 2026

Press Room

Seattle Mariners acquire LHP Josh Simpson from Marlins – Seattle Sports

The Seattle Mariners suddenly have a number of left-handed options for their bullpen, with the latest addition coming in a transaction Monday.

Amid hype, Mariners’ Kade Anderson aims to ‘live in the moment’

The M’s have acquired 28-year-old southpaw reliever Josh Simpson from the Miami Marlins for cash considerations, the team announced late Monday morning.

Simpson has been added to Seattle’s 40-man roster. Right-handed starting pitcher Logan Evans, who underwent surgery to repair a torn UCL last month and will miss the entire 2026 season, has been placed on the 60-day injured list to make room on the roster for Simpson.

With the addition of Simpson, the Mariners have four left-handed relievers on the 40-man roster in spring training, with the others being Gabe Speier, Jose Ferrer and Robinson Ortiz. All but Speier are offseason acquisitions. Last season, Speier was typically one of two lefties in Seattle’s bullpen, and the only one who was particularly effective.

The 6-foot-2 Simpson made his major league debut in 2025 with the Marlins, appearing in 31 games. He finished the season with a 7.34 ERA, 1.83 WHIP, .272 opponent batting average, and 36 strikeouts to 22 walks over 30 2/3 innings pitched. He was much better when pitching against left-handed batters, who hit .207 against him last year compared to a .328 average by right-handed hitters.

A 32nd-round MLB Draft pick by Miami in 2019 out of Columbia, Simpson also appeared in 29 games for Triple-A Jacksonville in 2025, where he had a 3.41 ERA, 1.019 WHIP and 29 strikeouts to 16 walks over 34 1/3 innings.

Simpson was designated for assignment last Thursday by the Marlins after their signing of another left-handed reliever, John King.

Per Statcast, Simpson’s four-seam fastball and sinker both sit around 94 mph, though he relied heavily upon breaking pitches in the big leagues last year. His most used pitch was a sweeper that averaged 82.4 mph at 25.8% in 2025, followed closely by a curveball that averaged 80.6 mph at 23.7%. He used his sinker 22.2% and the four-seamer 11.7%, and his changeup that averaged 89.2 mph was deployed 10.9% of the time.

More on the Seattle Mariners

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• Brendan Donovan is already fitting right in with Mariners
• Morosi: Seattle Mariners are the least-flawed AL contender

Follow @BrentStecker

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Seattle, WA

Oregon State basketball falls at Seattle

Published

14 hours ago

February 16, 2026

Press Room

Oregon State basketball falls at Seattle

Oregon State’s three-game road winning streak ended with a significant missed opportunity.

Matija Samar scored 14 points and Jorge Diaz Graham had 12 in a 60-50 Beavers loss at Seattle Sunday night at Redhawk Center.

“What was really disappointing is we reverted back to things that have cost us in the past‚” Oregon State coach Wayne Tinkle said on postgame radio. “No toughness on the boards. We got our butts kicked and we couldn’t finish. Guard play — we kept putting our hands in the air looking for fouls and we’re turning it over.”

OSU’s starters combined to score 13 points on 6 of 26 shooting from the field, including 0 for 10 from three. Josiah Lake II scored three points on 1 of 8 shooting and made 1 of 3 free throws.

“You can’t have so many guys no-show on either end,” Tinkle said. “I love the fact that we finally found a group that thought it was important and actually played hard and shared it. Shame on us for the rest that weren’t ready to play that way.”

The loss moves Oregon State (14-14, 7-8 WCC) into a tie for fifth in the conference with three games left in the regular season. Though OSU is just one game behind fourth-place Pacific, the Tigers have the tiebreaker.

The Beavers shot just 29.2% from the field in the first half and trailed 36-18 at halftime.

That was more than enough cushion for Seattle (16-11, 5-9), which got 16 points from John Christofilis and 15 points and nine rebounds from Will Heimbrodt.

Diaz Graham scored 10 points and had five of his six rebounds and Samar scored nine points in the second half to help Oregon State cut a 23-point deficit down to 51-42 with 7:00 to go, but it would not get any closer.

“(Samar) played spirited,” Tinkle said. “He showed some fight and some fire. It’s too bad that we didn’t get other guys to follow suit.”

It was the lone remaining Quadrant 2 game for OSU, which hosts last place Pepperdine on Saturday.

Jojo Murphy had 11 points, five rebounds and three assists and Houran Dan had 10 points for the Redhawks, who never trailed and evened the season series. Seattle moved into a tie for ninth place in the WCC.

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Seattle, WA

NHL Unites Pride Cup features Seattle, Vancouver LGBTQ+ teams in 3rd annual event | NHL.com

Published

1 day ago

February 15, 2026

Press Room

NHL Unites Pride Cup features Seattle, Vancouver LGBTQ+ teams in 3rd annual event | NHL.com

TORONTO (Feb. 15, 2026) – The National Hockey League in partnership with Pride Tape will host the 2026 NHL Unites Pride Cup for the third consecutive season, featuring members of Vancouver’s The Cutting Edges and the Seattle Pride Hockey Association competing for the Pride Cup trophy on Sat. Feb. 28 and Sun. Mar. 1, in Surrey, British Columbia.

Now in its third year, the expanded two-day event at the North Surrey Sport & Ice Complex will showcase two LGBTQ+ hockey associations leading the way in the Pacific Northwest. The three-game series will see each organization receive a $25,000 donation in support of their continued community impact.

“The Cutting Edges are honored to be part of the NHL Unites Pride Cup alongside great partners like Seattle Pride Hockey Association, the NHL and Pride Tape,” said Kyle McCarthy, president of The Cutting Edges. “This is an opportunity for all of us to celebrate what hockey is all about, community.”

“The NHL Unites Pride Cup is about more than hockey — it’s about visibility, belonging, and showing LGBTQ+ players and fans that this sport is for them,” said Steven Thompson, president of the Seattle Pride Hockey Association. “We’re incredibly proud to share the ice with the Vancouver Cutting Edges and grateful to the NHL for continuing to invest in community-driven inclusion. Moments like this help shape the future of hockey into one that truly welcomes everyone.”

More than 40 players will participate alongside special guests. League partner, the You Can Play Project will conduct an education session for local coaches to help support an arena environment where LGBTQ+ athletes can play as their authentic selves. While Pride Tape’s Jeff McLean and Dean Petruk, who just celebrated the venture’s 10th anniversary, will be on hand to continue their mission of promoting diversity, equality and inclusion through sport.

“Since the inaugural Pride Cup, we’ve seen hockey communities across the League come together to create a welcoming, respectful experience for everyone who loves the game,” said Kim Davis, NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Social Impact, Growth Initiatives, and Legislative Affairs. “At its best, hockey brings people together — fostering inclusive environments for all who play and love the sport. Our Pride initiatives are one of the many ways we continue to live out that commitment.”

The 2026 NHL Unites Pride Cup is part of a longstanding commitment from the NHL to support LGBTQ+ hockey organizations and to host celebrations of authenticity, including the inaugural NHL All-Star Pride Cup during the 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend in Toronto and the 2025 NHL Pride Cup at 4 Nations Face-Off in Boston.

2026 NHL Unites Pride Cup Schedule

All games are free and located at the North Surrey Sport & Ice Complex (10950 126a St, Surrey, BC V3V 0E5) as well as open to the media and public. Capacity is limited.