This morning the Seattle City Council’s communications team announced that they have launched a new blog, “a resource for community members and journalists. The blog is maintained by the Seattle City Council Communications Team, with the aim of delivering high-quality, accurate information about Council issues in accessible ways. It features top analysis by Council staff, news and updates from City Hall, press releases from Councilmembers, videos from Councilmembers and much more.”
Continue readingAnnouncing: Seattle Paper Trail
After running quiet for a couple of weeks to works out all the kinks, I’m announcing today a new site: Seattle Paper Trail. Seattle Paper Trail is a feed of “the stuff you should be reading” to be an informed Seattle resident. It focuses on primary documents, with a very light touch of introduction, context-setting and analysis. Unlike SCC Insight, there will rarely be long-form journalism at Seattle Paper Trail; the aim is to disseminate original primary documents so you can read them yourself, rather than have you read someone else’s interpretation of them. For those of you who are …
Continue readingSigning off
For once, I won’t be wordy and nerdy. I have three last thoughts to share. 1. Thank you for reading my words. That is the most valuable gift you can give to any writer. 2. Please support local journalism, especially local journalism reporting on local government. It’s our government, and if we want to hold it accountable to us then we need to know what it is (and isn’t) doing. Good, professional reporting costs money to produce, and we need to be prepared to pay for it. 3. You can disagree with someone and still be respectful. Civil servants and …
Continue readingResources to help you find your way in and around Seattle government
Before I sail off into the sunset, I want to share with you a compendium of resources and some wisdom on how to find out what’s going on in Seattle government.
Continue readingFriday news roundup
The last morning news roundup for 2021… and forever. Yikes.
Continue readingCouncil’s ban on “less-lethal” weapons will be early test for Harrell as SPD waits for guidance
Among the unresolved messes that Mayor Durkan will be leaving for Mayor-elect Harrell this week is the City Council’s ordinance restricting SPD’s use of certain “less lethal” weapons for crowd control, which SPD has yet to implement.
Continue readingThursday news roundup
More snow! I’m sure that’s what y’all wanted to wake up to this morning. Here’s the news.
Continue readingWednesday news roundup
Stay warm, stay dry. More snow is headed our way tomorrow. Here’s the news.
Continue readingTuesday news roundup
Stay warm, dry and safe out there. Here’s the news.
Continue readingRent control, revisited
In early 2019 I wrote an article reviewing the research on rent control. At the time, Councilmember Sawant was making a push at trying to get a local rent control measure passed — despite the state law prohibiting it. Earlier this year she published an updated version of her draft rent control bill, though she doesn’t seem to have much (if any) visible support from her colleagues on the Council. Now having narrowly escaped recall, Sawant is making noises about a more fervent push to pass her rent control bill. That makes it a good time to provide an update …
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