There are a minimal amount of meetings this week, due to the Labor Day holiday Monday and the Council’s observance of Rosh Hashanah on Tuesday. The weekly Council Briefing and full City Council meetings are canceled. Wednesday afternoon, the Community Economic Development Committee meets. It has one item on its agenda: a briefing and public hearing on an ordinance creating a new 15th Avenue East Business Improvement Area. Friday morning, the Finance and Housing Committee meets. The official agenda has not been published yet, but it is expected to include: the Race and Social Justice Initiative annual report from the …
Continue readingAppeals court denies motion to revive Compassion Seattle charter amendment
In a terse ruling today, the state Court of Appeals has denied Compassion Seattle’s motion for a stay on a lower court’s ruling removing the CA29 charter amendment from the November ballot.
Continue readingCatching up on court cases: September 1, 2021
It’s been quite the day for court rulings. Let’s dive straight in.
Continue readingCompassion Seattle changes mind, appeals ruling after all
Last Friday, after King County Superior Court Judge Catherine Shaffer removed the “Compassion Seattle” charter amendment from the November ballot, the campaign announced that it would not appeal the ruling given the short amount of time until King County Elections needs to print ballots. But this morning in a surprising reversal, the campaign went ahead and filed a motion for an emergency stay of Judge Shaffer’s ruling in anticipation of a full appeal to follow.
Continue readingNew census numbers provide clarity on City Council redistricting
Back in March SCC Insight published a preview of what the City Council redistricting process will entail, including some predictions of where district boundaries might change based upon 2019 population estimates. But earlier this month the official 2020 census numbers were published, bringing more certainty to where we can expect changes.
Continue readingKing County judge strikes down Compassion Seattle initiative, removing it from November ballot
This afternoon, King County District Court Judge Catherine Shaffer issued a ruling from the bench declaring the proposed “Compassion Seattle” charter amendment, also known as CA29, to be outside the scope of the local initiative/charter amendment process and ordered it removed from the November ballot. UPDATE 8-31-21: Here is Judge Shaffer’s written ruling.
Continue readingU.S. Supreme Court strikes down CDC eviction moratorium, and undermines local moratoriums in the process
The big legal news yesterday was a 6-3 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that dissolved the CDC’s most recent version of a moratorium on evictions during the COVID-19 emergency. That in itself was not surprising, as the Court had signaled earlier in the summer that it was heading in that direction. But buried in its ruling are two paragraphs that quietly undermine state and local moratoriums as well, including those in effect in Washington and Seattle.
Continue readingState Auditor publishes findings on Black Brilliance contract
This morning the Washington State Auditor released its annual accountability audit of the Seattle city government. It’s a short, pro-forma report saying that mostly everything is fine. But it does call out “certain matters related to procurement of consultant services” that it addressed in detail in a separate letter to Mayor and the City Council last week.
Continue readingThis week in Council Chambers: August 23-27, 2021
The City Council is in recess until after Labor Day. There are no Council meetings scheduled for this week or next week. SCC Insight will also be taking some time off over the next two weeks; expect reporting on breaking news stories (there will likely be a couple of those) and a smattering of other articles, but we’ll return with regular coverage in September. Stay safe, stay healthy, get vaccinated, and wear a mask. Even if you don’t do it for yourself, do it for the kids and the elderly in your life who still need us to help protect …
Continue readingFriday news roundup
A quiet news day to end a mostly-quiet week in Seattle.
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