Viva La Cola!

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.

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.

The Longest Ordinance Title in City History

This post has been corrected to indicate that council clerk Laurel Humphrey, not Carol Shenk, read the title into the record.

At Monday’s City Council meeting, city legislative information manager Laurel Humphrey read into the record what may be the longest ordinance title in city history. (The legislation in question, combining the departments of finance and budget, itself included some 400 pages of housekeeping and technical amendments). At the end of Humphrey’s three-and-a-half-minute recitation, city council members burst into laughter, and the crowd in council chambers burst into applause. Watch it:

[youtube] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8UJWSwjNpw[/youtube]




  • Unclevinny

    The video isn't loading for me. Is it still processing?