Council Overrides Mayor Durkan’s Budget Vetoes
The veto overrides preserve $17 million for community safety programs, $3 million for participatory budgeting, and budget provisos intended to trim 100 positions from...
Seattle Council Targets Nuisance Properties, Graffiti, and Safety-Themed Sales Tax Bump
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?
Sound Transit Deploys Light Rail Safety Barriers
At light rail stations across the Central Link network, Sound Transit has installed safety barriers to meet a mandate by the Federal Transit Administration...
Katie Wilson Jumps In Seattle Mayor Race as Progressive Coalition-Builder
Transit Riders Union leader Katie Wilson jumped in the race to be the next mayor of Seattle today. Our interview with Wilson covers what's motivating her to run and how she would deliver results where Mayor Bruce Harrell has failed.
Council Postpones Showdown Over North Precinct’s Cost And Tone-Deafness
Last week it seemed like the Seattle City Council might approve the Seattle Police Department's North Precinct design and fund the $149 million project...
Invest in Mental Health First Responders, Not New Police Hires
While the editorial staff at the Seattle Times wring their hands about yet another Seattle Police Department (SPD) Crime Report, I ask: will the...
Harrell Quietly Pushing Police in Schools, with Possible Levy Funding Infusion
Mayor Bruce Harrell’s $1.3 billion education levy is set to go to the ballot in November, but it could be weighed down by a controversial proposal to put police officers back in Seattle schools. Meanwhile, Harrell’s draft school safety plan has stalled out, which is drawing criticism from school board leaders that the City’s approach is ill-defined.
SDCI Delivers Vacant Building Monitoring Report
A year after the city adopted new vacant building maintenance and demolition laws, the city council received a monitoring report and briefing on the...