News roundup: inauguration, gun tax, UW medical residents

This afternoon’s inauguration of the newly elected City Council leads off the news this morning.  The Capitol Hill Seattle Blog  reports on the new Council members taking office this afternoon and highlights Kshama Sawant’s stated priorities for this legislative session.

The Washington Post has an article on how liberal city officials across the nation, including in Seattle, are banding together to provide each other support. Former Council member Nick Licata is featured heavily as a founding member.

In other news, Seattle Times and Becker’s Hospital Review report on UW Hospital’s response to a letter from several City Council members regarding their ongoing negotiations with medical residents and fellows.

MyNorthwest.com reports on a gun shop owner who is living up to his promise to move his store out of Seattle because of the new tax on gun and ammunition sales shepherded through by Council member Tim Burgess.

ConstructionDive covers the aftermath of the alleged political blackmail scheme involving the developer of the City Square project downtown. The scheme involved pressuring candidate Jon Grant, who ran unsuccessfully against Tim Burgess, to  drop his opposition to a development project in return for scuttling a new pro-Burgess/anti-Grant PAC.