Yearly Archives: 2024

I am a disabled gig worker in Seattle who has shown up time and again over the course of five years, advocating to the...

A popular neighborhood cafe bill that sailed through the Washington House has run into problems in the Senate, mostly dealing with the question of local control. The Association of Washington Cities and the City of Bellevue have lobbied against the bill.

The WOSCA site is a publicly owned five-acre scrap next to the south portal of the SR-99 tunnel, left over from that project. It will remain an undeveloped scrap for the time being with a temporary use during the 2026 World Cup and a permanent redevelopment envisioned thereafter. Mayor Harrell is seeking bids from private developers.

In his state of the city speech Tuesday, Harrell eschewed new taxes and promised yet-to-be identified budget cuts. He pledged a long-delayed draft of the Seattle Comprehensive Plan and an incentive package for office-to-housing conversions will be released in March.

State House leaders want to delay a freeway lid and multi-use trail in order to bring the overall SR 520 bridge replacement project under budget. Building those elements later would ultimately cost more and risk them being abandoned altogether.

Franz Loewenherz, a longtime employee of Bellevue's transportation department, has been cleared of wrongdoing after an ethics investigation into his work on Bike Bellevue. The complaint was made by a project opponent, who did succeed in causing a minor delay.

Yakima, Boise, Missoula, and Pocatello could see Amtrak service again under a new federal plan that adds a daily route from Seattle to Denver and another running to Chicago on a modified alignment from Amtrak's Empire Builder.

Last week, the Washington House passed HB 2160, which has the potential to open up significant areas around transit for new homes. Hurdles remain to win passage in the Senate, including objections to the bill's requirement that 10% of new units be affordable.