In Seattle, officials discussed the city's vulnerability to earthquakes 25 years after the Nisqually quake, and an investigation into the death of a dangerous repeat offender after a shootout with police has concluded. At the same time, fans are following MLB spring training.
Live: Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Seattle Mariners in Spring Training
Right now in Peoria, Arizona, one of the Major League Baseball (MLB) spring training games is taking place between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Seattle Mariners. Although these games do not count toward the regular season standings, they are a crucial part of team preparation for the new season. Spring training is the time when coaches assess player form, test new tactical schemes, and give playing time to both stars and young prospects trying to secure a spot on the main roster.
The broadcast is available on the official MLB site, where viewers can watch the game live. For new fans, it’s worth explaining that spring training games are a traditional stage that precedes the start of the MLB regular season. Teams hold them in February and March, most often in Arizona or Florida, which allows players to readjust to game rhythm after the offseason in favorable weather. The matchup between the Diamondbacks and the Mariners is more than a friendly exhibition; it’s an opportunity for managers to finalize the season roster, for pitchers to fine-tune their deliveries, and for batters to get their timing back. The key insight about these games is that the final score is secondary — individual player metrics and overall team cohesion matter far more. A live stream like the one on MLB.com lets fans around the world see their teams’ first steps in the new year, evaluate newcomers, and form impressions of the club’s potential ahead of serious competition. Even in February, baseball gives supporters a chance to immerse themselves in the sport, and for teams it’s an indispensable readiness check for the long and grueling regular season.
A quarter-century after the earthquake: why Seattle is still vulnerable
It’s been 25 years since the Nisqually earthquake shook Washington state, but, it turns out, time has stood still for many buildings. Despite cracked roads and collapsed masonry in the historic Pioneer Square neighborhood, the vast majority of Seattle’s old brick buildings have not been retrofitted, leaving thousands of people at risk in one of the most seismically active regions in the United States.
Amanda Herzfeld, who manages the city’s masonry retrofit program, admits she is haunted by footage of that 6.8-magnitude quake, especially when she looks at the real numbers. According to her, Seattle has more than 1,000 unreinforced masonry buildings — the kind typical of historic districts. Yet since 2001 only about 79 of them have undergone official retrofits. As noted in the KATU piece, the problem is not the technology: “It’s a very simple engineering solution to prevent this,” Herzfeld says, pointing to steel ties and braces on a Pioneer Square building. The problem is money and political will. The estimated cost to retrofit all the city’s vulnerable buildings reaches an astronomical $2 billion. For owners, many of whom lease space to small businesses or provide relatively affordable housing, such investments are unaffordable without a city mandate that would allow cost recovery through higher rents. However, as Herzfeld notes, “there is simply no political will right now to impose mandatory retrofit requirements.” Instead, the city offers guidance, streamlined permits, and fee reductions.
Experts are particularly alarmed by Seattle’s growing population, many of whom may not be aware of the full extent of the risk. Herzfeld reminds people that Mount Rainier on the skyline is not just a pretty picture but direct evidence of an active subduction tectonic zone, where one tectonic plate dives beneath another. It is this Cascadia zone that is capable of producing megathrust earthquakes, compared with which Nisqually could seem like a mild jolt. The scale of the problem extends far beyond Seattle. Herzfeld estimates there could be up to 33,000 such vulnerable buildings statewide. An attempt to address the issue at the state level, bill HB 1810, which would have studied financial incentives for retrofitting and created a statewide inventory of vulnerable buildings, failed to advance — it wasn’t even scheduled for hearings in the current legislative session. That means systematic work is postponed, and time is working against preparedness. The Nisqually quake, with an epicenter northeast of Olympia, caused between $1 billion and $4 billion in damage. The next major seismic event in a densely populated and still poorly prepared region could have far more catastrophic consequences for both infrastructure and human lives.
Death of a dangerous repeat offender after shootout with police in Seattle
A man with a long history of violent crimes, accused of attempting to kill police officers, has died in Seattle. The incident in the Ballard neighborhood has renewed sharp questions about law enforcement operations and criminal recidivism.
According to the independent King County Independent Force Investigations Team (IFIT-KC), 62-year-old Christopher Michael Bowman died Wednesday from wounds sustained during a shootout with officers. As reported in a KOMO News article, Bowman had been in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center since the early-month incident when officers tried to take him into custody. By that time, he already faced charges of first- and second-degree assault. Notably, at the time of the shooting Bowman had an active extradition order from Kansas related to prior convictions.
Bowman’s criminal record reads like a chronology of serious offenses. Court documents show his history of violent crime dates back to the 1990s. In Kansas he was convicted of rape, armed robbery, kidnapping with aggravating circumstances, unlawful possession of a firearm, and trading prohibited items in a correctional facility. He also has a first-degree robbery conviction in Missouri. That record makes him a typical example of a “violent repeat offender” — someone who repeatedly committed serious crimes despite prosecution and imprisonment.
The investigation into the incident continues. IFIT-KC is processing evidence and reviewing officers’ body-worn camera (BWC) footage. The King County medical examiner’s office is determining the exact cause and nature of death. Investigators have pledged to provide weekly updates until the case is closed. The death of a suspect under such circumstances always draws public scrutiny and requires a thorough, transparent inquiry to establish all the details. This case highlights the complex challenges law enforcement faces when attempting to detain armed and dangerous offenders with long histories of defying the law.
