At the city and the county level, local leaders are preparing for the impacts of the new federal reconciliation bill, described as "devastating." Those impacts will be felt everywhere from hospitals to food banks.

Last Tuesday, the Seattle City Council voted 7-1 to pass changes to the city’s 16-year-old nuisance property ordinance that will expand the powers of the Seattle Police Department (SPD) to declare a business or residence a “chronic nuisance.”  As Council ramps up criminalization and weighs funding more addiction treatment services, do their plans add up to a cohesive strategy?

King County is seeking to site a walk-in mental health crisis center in Capitol Hill, but a group of local business owners and residents are pushing back. Health care providers have backed the location, and Seattle Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck has emerged as a vocal proponent, while her colleagues and Mayor Bruce Harrell have mostly withheld support.

On Wednesday, Seattle Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck unveiled a proposal overhauling the city's Business and Occupation tax that she hopes to put before voters this November – if she can win over her colleagues. Dubbed the Seattle Shield Initiative, it would broaden the exemption for small businesses, but raise taxes on larger businesses.

Automatic license plate readers have proliferated across 81 cities in Washington State, and audits have shown federal agents and anti-abortion states are using Washington plate data to hunt abortion seekers, immigrants, and refugees. This is despite state sanctuary laws intended to shield such vulnerable populations.