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Founded in January 2009, PubliCola is a blog about Seattle written by journalists who are dedicated to non-partisan, original daily reporting that prioritizes a balanced approach to news. Started by longtime local editor and award-winning reporter Josh Feit, PubliCola is the first online-only news site in state history to get media credentials to cover the state capitol.

PubliCola was off and running. In June 2009, PubliCola hired another award-winning journalist, super-sourced Seattle city hall reporter Erica C. Barnett.

People were afraid that blogging would change journalism. Instead, we believe journalism can change blogging. Twenty-first century journalism may look and feel different, and yes Erica isn't afraid to get cranky, but we're committed to making sure online news still delivers independent, reliable, even-keeled coverage. And most of all, we're committed to making sure the coverage sparks honest civic debate.

Bringing you cola for the people, PubliCola is named after Publius Valerius PubliCola, the alias for the authors of the Federalist Papers—the original bloggers.

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The first online-only news site in state history to get media credentials to cover the state capitol and Seattle city hall, PubliCola has been called a “must-read” by the Seattle Post Intelligencer and a hot “New Media Mover and Shaker” by Seattle Magazine—which also cited our own Erica C. Barnett as the city's No. 1 news nerd.

After-Work Beers Don’t Get Much More Solid Than That

PubliCalendar   March 9, 2010 at 5:08 pm Chris Kissel

Tonight:

The Seattle University Law School is hosting a panel discussion on the panhandling regulations being proposed by City Councilmember Tim Burgess. Burgess will be there to argue for the proposed rules, which target “aggressive panhandling”

Also taking part in the panhandling forum: Anita Khandelwal, an attorney with The Defender Association’s Racial Disparity Project.

The Disparity Project, as Erica C. Barnett reported, put out an analysis last month claiming that Burgess’ proposal doesn’t address the most common complaints people have made about aggressive panhandlers, and that most of the complaints would be addressed by existing law.

Tim Harris, Real Change Executive Director and outspoken advocate for the homeless (and always great on panels), and Downtown Seattle Policy Director, Jon Scholes, are also taking part in the discussion.

Tonight at 7 pm, at the Seattle University School of Law (901 12th Avenue, Room C5).

See all of tonight’s picks here.

Tomorrow:

San Francisco band Or, the Whale may be the primary upholders of contemporary beard culture. They’re named after the greatest bearded novel in literary history. Their florid steel guitars and strong female harmonies make their music some of the prettiest in the indie country realm. They do a perfectly sleepwalking and almost un-ironic cover of Britney Spears’ Toxic. They even wear matching flannel (although that might be a joke).

Playing with OTW is Seattle’s The Maldives, (the bands are touring together right now). Two seven-piece rock and roll bands getting crunchy together on the stage of the Tractor Tavern.

After-work beers don’t get much more solid than that.

With Weinland, tomorrow at the Tractor Tavern (5213 Ballard Ave NW), at 9 pm. Tickets are $10. 21+.

Tomorrow’s Full Calendar:

Yet another reminder that you’re missing out on the most awesome music block party in the country next week: Sportin’ Life Records SXSW send-off party, featuring label star D. Black, with Fatal Lucciauno, Spaceman, SK, and Marissa. Wednesday night at the Comet (922 E. Pike Street), at 8 pm. $5 cover. 21+.

The Police Chief Search Committee, a 26-member panel appointed by Mayor McGinn, is meeting to finalize the criteria their use to hire the new SPD Chief of Police. Wednesday evening at 5:30 pm, in City Hall’s Bertha Knight Landes Room (600 4th Ave, First Floor).

The local non-profit Environmental Outreach and Stewardship Alliance is presenting a panel discussion on green solutions for managing storm water runoff, featuring local designers and representatives from Seattle Public Utilities and King County Waste water. There will be snacks. Wednesday night at EOS Alliance (650 S Orcas St., Suite 220) from 5:30 to 8:30 pm. RSVP here.

Mayor McGinn is going to be at tomorrow night’s Ballard District Council Meeting to present five Ballard Community Service Awards to members of the community. Wednesday at 8 pm at the Ballard Library (5614 22nd Ave NW).




  • http://twitter.com/fattailed fattailed

    Why weren't the Girl Scouts invited to the Burgess forum? Would love to hear them defend their right to aggressively peddle cookies in sight of ATMs, parking pay stalls, pockets carrying wallets, purses of all sizes, and lottery ticket dispensers that just may contain winning tickets worth millions.

    Burgess's office did, after all, specifically indicate that girl scouts *are* included in his proposed ordinance, as a reading of the draft language would suggest:

    http://fattailed.tumblr.com/post/422421894/tim-…

    http://fattailed.tumblr.com/post/424805919/girl…

    The girl scouts have still not revealed their position on this threat to girl's livelihoods. (Neither has Erica Barnett explained the disparities that issue from the fact that boyscouts don't have to sell anything.) This forum would be the perfect opportunity.

  • sarah68

    Well, nothing new. Burgess as usually was professional and thoroughly scary, Tim Harris was in good form, Jon Scholes said the Downtown Seattle Association was a “neighborhood” organization and that most of the people living downtown were living in low-income units and renters, not wealthy, and Burgess capped it off by saying that the major downtown human services providers all support his ordinance, that Seattle spends more on homelessness than all the other cities in WA combined, and that Pioneer Square is worried that with street disorder, that neighborhood won't achieve its full potential. Whatever that depressing achievement would be.

  • really?

    Haha. DSA – a neighborhood organization. HAHA. Really funny.
    If people do not know who they are, they represent the largest
    downtown land owners in Seattle. Look at their board of directors.
    They are the most to having a “clean” downtown.

    Tim Burgess really wants to be mayor and thinks McGinn will be a
    one-hit wonder. We shall see. If you look closely, the major
    downtown human services providers who support this ordinance
    are the ones who wrongly sided with Mallahan during the 2009
    elections. So, they are on the outs with McGinn and trying to ride
    on the city council's ticket. Public Safety, huh, Ms. Jimmy Choo's?
    This will be fun to watch when the ACLU and some other groups
    bring down the hammer and cost the city millions of litigation dollars.

  • 40-year Seattleite

    No matter how much this loosly drafted ordinance may apply to the Girl Scouts selling cookies, we all know that they will NEVER be cited for being in violation. The public would be rightly outraged because the Girl Scouts are not the ones targeted by the ordinance. The targeted ones are those who make people feel “uncomfortable” (read Burgess' advocacy brief) and no matter how aggressive the GS sellers might become, they will never make anyone feel uncomfortable.