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2023 Review: Entertainers in memoriam

Published

2 years ago

January 1, 2024

The world said farewell to some iconic performers in 2023.

Here are some of the people from the entertainment industry we lost who made us laugh, sing, and create moments over the years.

BOB GOOD OUTLINES VISION TO PROMOTE ‘CONSERVATIVE CONSCIENCE’ AS NEW FREEDOM CAUCUS LEADER

Matthew Perry arrives at the 2022 GQ Men of the Year Party on Nov. 17, 2022, at the West Hollywood Edition in West Hollywood, California.

(Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP)

MATTHEW PERRY

News of 54-year-old Friends actor Matthew Perry’s death shocked the world when he was found unresponsive in his hot tub and was pronounced dead in October. Fans and cast mates poured their tributes and favorite memories of the funny man who played the famous pop culture character of Chandler Bing.

“We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family,” the Friends cast said.

SUZANNE SOMERS

Actress Suzanne Somers, best known for her role in Three’s Company, died in October at the age of 76. The actress and author of 24 books had spent decades advocating on the issues of beauty, aging, weight loss, fitness, and health amid her numerous battles with cancer. She was one of the first women to wage war in Hollywood over equal pay, and in her later years, she revealed her conservative politics. Remembrances from former President Donald Trump, comedian Adam Carolla, and others praised Somers in their tributes to the star.

JIMMY BUFFETT

Americans paid tribute to the legendary “Margaritaville” singer Jimmy Buffett after his death in early September from Merkel cell skin cancer, an aggressive form of skin cancer. President Joe Biden called him “a poet of paradise” and “an American music icon.”

Buffett will be remembered for his unique music and his billion-dollar “Margaritaville” business enterprise that included casinos, resorts, three retirement communities, and a cruise line.

STEVE HARWELL

Former Smash Mouth lead singer Steve Harwell died at age 56 after liver failure and being placed in hospice care. He retired from the band in October 2021 due to his health troubles, including Wernicke encephalopathy and cardiomyopathy. The Smash Mouth star was known for his several top Billboard chart pop-punk hits, including the songs “Walkin’ on the Sun” and “All Star.”

WILLIAM FRIEDKIN

Oscar-winning director William Friedkin, best known for his films The Exorcist and The French Connection, died in early August at the age of 87.

PAUL REUBENS

Comedian and Pee-wee Herman actor Paul Reubens died in July after suffering a six-year battle with cancer. When he passed, his family said the 70-year-old actor “delighted generations of children and adults with his positivity, whimsy and belief in the importance of kindness.”

SINEAD O’CONNOR

The talented and complicated Irish singer Sinead O’Connor died in July at 56. She was famous for her top music hit “Nothing Compares 2 U.” The song was No. 1 worldwide in 1990.

In the last year of her life, O’Connor canceled numerous live shows after losing her 17-year-old son Shane O’Connor who had died by suicide. O’Connor had signaled that she wanted never to perform again because there wasn’t “anything to sing about.” The singer had a history of struggling with suicidal thoughts.

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TOM SIZEMORE

Actor Tom Sizemore, best known for his role in Steven Spielberg’s 1998 film Saving Private Ryan, died in March after suffering a brain aneurysm.

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Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury announces she’s pregnant

Published

1 day ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury announces she’s pregnant

Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury has announced that she and her husband Matt are expecting a baby in July.

The couple made the announcement in a video on the Spirit’s social media channels, holding a baby goalkeeper jersey on the pitch at Audi Field.

Kingsbury becomes the most recent Spirit star to go on maternity leave, following defender Casey Krueger, midfielder Andi Sullivan and forward Ashley Hatch.

Sullivan gave birth to daughter Millie in July, while Hatch welcomed her son Leo in January.

Krueger announced she was pregnant with her second child in October.

Kingsbury has served as the Spirit’s starting goalkeeper since 2018, and has been named the NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year twice (2019 and 2021).

The 34-year-old has two caps with the U.S. women’s national team, and was named to the 2023 World Cup roster.

The club captain will leave a major void for the Spirit, who have finished as NWSL runner-up in back-to-back seasons.

Sandy MacIver and Kaylie Collins are expected to compete for the starting role while Kingsbury is on maternity leave.

The Spirit kick off their 2026 campaign on March 13 against the Portland Thorns.

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Washington state board awards Yakima $985,600 loan for Sixth Avenue project design

Published

2 days ago

February 26, 2026

Press Room

Washington state board awards Yakima 5,600 loan for Sixth Avenue project design

YAKIMA, Wash. — Yakima could soon take a major step toward redesigning Sixth Avenue after the Washington State Public Works Board awarded the city a $985,600 loan.

The loan was approved for the design engineering phase of the Sixth Avenue project. The funding can also be used along Sixth Avenue for utility replacement and updated ADA use.

The Yakima City Council must decide whether to accept the award. If the council accepts it, the city’s engineering work will move forward with the design of Sixth Avenue.

The cost of installing trolley lines is excluded from the plan. The historic trolleys would need to raise the funds required to add trolley lines.

The award is scheduled to be discussed during next week’s City Council meeting.

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Microsoft promises more AI investments at University of Washington

Published

2 days ago

February 25, 2026

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Microsoft promises more AI investments at University of Washington

Microsoft will ramp up its investment in the University of Washington.

Brad Smith, the company’s president, made the announcement at a press conference with University of Washington President Robert Jones on Tuesday.

That means hiring more UW graduates as interns at Microsoft, he said.

And he said all students, faculty, and researchers should have access to free, or at least deeply-discounted, AI.

“ Some of it is compute that Microsoft is donating, and some of it is pursuant to an agreement where, believe me, we give the University of Washington probably the best pricing that anybody’s gonna find anywhere,” Smith said. He assured the small group of reporters present that it would be “many millions of dollars of additional computational resources.”

The announcement today didn’t include any specific numbers.

But Smith said Microsoft has already invested $165 million in the UW over several decades.

He pointed to Jones’ vision to spur “radical collaborations with businesses and communities to advance positive change,” and eliminate “any artificial barriers between the university and the communities it serves.”

Microsoft’s goal is for AI to help UW researchers solve some of the world’s biggest problems without introducing new ones.

At Tuesday’s announcement, several research students were present to demonstrate how AI supports their work.

Amelia Keyser-Gibson is an environmental scientist at the UW. She’s using AI to analyze photographs of vines, to find which adapt best to climate change.

It’s a paradox: AI produces carbon emissions. At the same time, it’s also a new tool to help reduce them.

So how do those things square for Keyser-Gibson?

“ That’s a great question, and honestly, I don’t know the answer to that,” she said. “I’m highly aware that there’s a lot of environmental impact of using AI, but what I can say is that this has allowed us to make research innovations that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.”

“If we had had to manually annotate every single image that would’ve been an undergrad doing that for hours,” Keyser-Gibson continued. “And we didn’t have the budget. We didn’t have the manpower to do that.”

“AI exists. If we don’t use it as researchers, we’re gonna fall behind.”

Microsoft reports on its own carbon emissions. But like most AI companies, it doesn’t reveal everything.

That’s one reason another UW student named Zhihan Zhang is using AI to estimate how much energy AI is using.

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