Civics and Culture

A recent University of Washington report on data security issues with automatic license plate readers has been creating waves among law enforcement agencies using the technology, including Lynnwood, Redmond, and Stanwood. Other cities remain committed, despite the risks.

The Trump administration is gutting health care, child care, and food stamps. John Burbank argues Governor Bob Ferguson should immediately call a special session of the Washington State Legislature to fund services that the federal government has cut by taxing the corporations and billionaires bankrolling Trump.

Nathan Vass shares a vignette gleaned from driving buses for King County Metro in Seattle, talking with passengers, and absorbing street life happening around the bus route.

Earlier this month, the King County Department of Public Defense issued a report showing that the City of Seattle has fallen short on offering diversion and treatment to people criminalized by its new 2023 drug ordinance. During the reviewed period, only six prosecutions out of 215, resulted in someone either completing treatment or receiving a court order to that effect, less than 3%.

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.

Last week, Mayor Bruce Harrell announced the City’s new AI Plan, which looks to harness the current artificial intelligence boom in the tech sector by integrating AI into the City’s operations, public services, and civic engagement. But critics worry about the ethical implications of AI use in public services, as well as its potential impacts on workers and environmental harms.

Kroger blames theft for four local grocery store closures, but the real story is more complicated. Kroger seeks to squeeze out more profit by driving up food insecurity. Standing up public or nonprofit alternatives and pressuring Kroger to be a better corporate citizen offer potential solutions going forward.

Last week, the Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC) celebrated the grand opening of its new Downtown Behavioral Health Clinic. Included onsite is its Opioid Recovery & Care Access (ORCA) Center, which will provide a safe landing place for people to recover after an overdose.