Monthly Archives: August 2025

On Monday, the City Council voted unanimously to send the Seattle Shield Initiative to voters this November. Sponsored by Alexis Mercedes Rinck, the proposal shifts B&O tax burden away from small businesses and toward larger ones, raising an estimated $81 million annually to shore up the City budget.

The Seattle City Council will spend the next month considering the 106 different amendments, which would push the city's growth plan toward allowing more types of housing... or scale back areas where density increases are proposed.

Mayor Bruce Harrell is proposing to expand his three-month-old surveillance pilot program by installing more police cameras and funneling data from hundreds of traffic management cameras into the Seattle Police Department’s real-time crime center. The move has draw criticism from civil liberties groups.

Michael Westgaard, a labor organizer with Raise the Wage Renton, is challenging incumbent Councilmember James Alberson, Jr. for Renton City Council's Position 1 seat. Transit emerges as a central plank of his platform in this interview with The Urbanist.

Tacoma faces a pivotal August 5 primary in which voters will narrow field for mayor and city council seats. Housing, gun violence, and pedestrian safety have emerged as pressing issues in the Grit City.

The potential Seattle Comprehensive Plan changes, which are set to be discussed Monday, would add back growth centers around Gas Works Park, Alki, North Capitol Hill, and other areas. Councilmember Rinck also proposes legalizing corner stores and removing parking mandates citywide.

In pushing back on a requirement to adopt a Complete Streets ordinance to compete for infrastructure grant dollars, Medina's leaders clearly saw a threat of changes being forced on the city. The wealthy enclave doesn't appear to want to change.