Seattle City Council

The Seattle City Council is queuing up a debate on appropriate wages for service workers at smaller employers. At the behest of restaurant owners, Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth is seeking to cancel a scheduled minimum wage increase.

The Seattle Police Department hired a cop with a record of reckless driving who went on to kill Jaahnavi Kandula while driving recklessly. However, instead of tightening hiring protocols, Seattle officials are looking to loosen them further.

Transportation and housing organizer Saunatina Sanchez is making a case that her background in community makes her the best choice for the Seattle City Council seat currently held by Tanya Woo.

After pushback, Councilmember Maritza Rivera backed off a push to pull back funding for the Equitable Development Initiative (EDI) but the episode spoke volumes about the city council's current goals.

Moves to cut the minimum wage for gig workers and squeeze Equitable Development Initiative projects for funding will have to wait for a future Seattle City Council meeting after their sponsors tabled the votes.

The zoning changes could spur construction of up to 1,000 homes, many of them affordable, as part of a new makers district along 4th Avenue S in Georgetown.

With a 24% raise and backpay, Seattle police officers are collectively earning an extra $96 million in compensation from the City in 2024. City leaders hope to spur hiring, but the contract did little to increase police accountability and blew a bigger hole in the City's quarter-billion-dollar budget deficit.

A recent poll found Seattle would support a $1.9 billion transportation levy focused on fix-it-first and safety investments, but the City's proposal currently sits at $1.45 billion.