This afternoon, Mayor Durkan announced two new actions in the city’s ongoing effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.
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New affordable housing project announced in Northgate
Yesterday King County announced a new, 232-unit affordable housing project next to the new Northgate light rail station.
Continue readingMayor returns winter evictions ordinance unsigned, proposes $200k for rent assistance (updated)
This afternoon Mayor Durkan returned the Council’s ban on winter evictions without signing it, allowing it to go into effect. But she also proposed additional support for renters in the form of $200,000 of city funding to United Way of King County to supplement its Home Base eviction prevention program. (updates below)
Continue readingSpat over LEAD budget appears to be sorted out
Over the past month an ongoing disagreement over the budget for the LEAD program flared up again, as Erica Barnett has been reporting for the last several weeks, but as of late last week it seems to be getting resolved.
Continue readingCouncil approves ban on “winter evictions” after significant changes
This afternoon, the City Council gave its final approval to Council member Sawant’s proposed ban on “winter evictions,” after approving six amendments — several of which were over Sawant’s objections.
Continue readingThe legislative logjam has broken
By nearly all measures, the first month of the new City Council was quiet. Sure, there were a couple of controversial but legally meaningless resolutions, and Council member Sawant has pushed through some carryover legislation from last year. But a lot of committee meetings got cancelled, and few new bills were introduced. It now appears that was the quiet before the storm — and the storm just made landfall.
Continue readingCatching up on HB 2907, the proposed new county-wide payroll tax
On Friday, HB 2907, which would authorize a new payroll tax in King County on companies with employees earning more than $150,000, passed out of the Washington State House Finance Committee. But the road ahead is still long and bumpy, and what lies at the end is still far from clear.
Continue readingWinter evictions ban comes up for final vote
Tomorrow afternoon, Council member Sawant’s proposed ban on “winter evictions” comes up for final approval by the Seattle City Council. Since it was voted out of committee two and a half weeks ago, it has finally started to attract the attention it deserves, including some organized opposition from the Durkan Administration.
Continue readingCity-wide MHA survives legal appeals
This afternoon, the Seattle Ciy Attorney’s office announced that the deadline for appealing a recent ruling on the city-wide MHA legislation has passed, clearing the path for the ordinance moving forward.
Continue readingNew McKinsey report dives into Seattle-area homelessness crisis
Late last month, the consulting firm McKinsey published a new report looking at the cause of the deep homelessness crisis in the Seattle/King County area — despite the obvious prosperity the region is enjoying.
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