Seattle’s Pioneering Bike Cop Experiment
An excerpt from my new book, Heartbreak City, shows how Seattle kicked off a nationwide bike policing trend.
A distant frontier city that had only...
How King County’s Basic Income Program Could Fight Poverty and Increase Safety
Research has showed the promise of guaranteed basic income programs to interrupt the cycle of poverty, and participants in King County's pilot program told The Urbanist that it had helped them improve their circumstances.
About That $210 Million Youth Jail…
Block The Bunker activists celebrated after Mayor Ed Murray backed down and put the $149 million North Precinct police building on hold. But they...
Kirkland’s New Mental Health Crisis Center Top Contender for Levy Contract
Kirkland Connections is a new 24/7 mental health crisis center that could prove a model for the five crisis centers a county levy approved and funded in 2023. Such services are rare in the region.
Chauvin Convicted, but the Struggle for Justice and Black Lives Continues
Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin's conviction for murdering George Floyd led many to breath a sigh of relief. It was the first time a...
Lorena González Envisions a More Equitable City in Mayoral Bid
If you haven’t heard by now, Council President M. Lorena González is running for mayor.
González is a known quantity in Seattle government and governance....
CHOP’s Juneteenth ‘Black Out’ Disrupted by Shooting, One Black Man Dead
Black organizers planned a Black takeover or "Black Out" of the Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) during Juneteenth. However that celebration of Blackness was...
Sales Tax Hike Would Fund Civilian Responder Expansion, Barring SPOG Obstruction
Mayor Bruce Harrell has proposed a 0.1% sales tax hike for public safety investments, including doubling the size of the civilian CARE department. However, CARE’s future rests on cooperation from the Seattle Police Officers Guild, which has sought to limit the fledgling agency in the past.