City finance department asks State Auditor to widen investigation of Black Brilliance research contract

PubliCola reported today that the city’s Finance and Administrative Services (FAS) department has sent a letter to the Office of the Washington State Auditor asking it to widen the set of issues it is investigating stemming from the $3 million contract that the City Council signed last fall for the Black Brilliance Research Project.

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Should the Special Olympics pay the city event fees?

The USA Special Olympics is coming to Seattle July 1-6. According to its web site, “More than 4,000 athletes and coaches representing 50 state Programs and the District of Columbia, along with the support of tens of thousands of volunteers and spectators, will compete in 14 Olympic-type team and individual sports.”  Last week, Council member Rob Johnson introduced an ordinance that would waive the city’s usual event fees, including permits and police staffing, for the Special Olympics. But this morning several Council members had second thoughts, and that ordinance is on hold for a week while they talk it out …

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NCIS briefing Tuesday afternoon: don’t forget to bring popcorn

Tuesday afternoon, in a joint meeting of two committees, the Council will get briefed by representatives of Seattle City Light, Seattle Public Utilities, the newly-formed Department of IT, and an outside consultant on the NCIS billing and customer service IT system that is very late and very over budget. And going by the published materials they have submitted in advance, they have drastically misread the situation and it’s going to be a bloodbath.

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