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 readingAuthor: Kevin Schofield
Kevin Schofield is a freelance writer and the founder of Seattle City Council Insight, a web site providing independent news and analysis of the Seattle City Council.
After graduating from Dartmouth College with a Bachelor of Arts degree, he worked for Microsoft Corporation for 26 years. That culminated in a term as Chief Operations Officer for Microsoft Research, the division of the company focused on advancing the state of the art in computing. Upon leaving Microsoft in 2014 he decided to embrace his love of writing.
Kevin volunteers at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, where he also serves on the Board of Directors. He is also Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California.
Beyond writing, his personal passions are his twin daughters, photography, cooking, and playing the guitar. He lives in Seattle, Washington.
Signing 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 …
Continue readingCourt-appointed police monitor files status report
This morning Dr. Antonio Oftelie, the court-appointed police monitor for the 2012 Consent Decree, filed a status report informing Judge James Robart of what has been happening in 2021 and previewing actions expected next year. Oftelie provided an update on contract negotiations with the two unions representing SPD officers and supervisors, and provided some details on how he is assembling his much-anticipated assessment of SPD’s compliance with the consent decree.
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