An illogical argument against density, a last-minute effort to kill social housing, a brand-new podcast starring Erica and Josh, and more.
By Erica C. Barnett
Monday, February 10
Council’s Fight to Scale Back List of Neighborhood Centers is a NIMBY Canard
In the latest installment of “Maybe Metropolis,” Josh Feit points out the mendacious reasoning behind a common argument against density: The claim that cities shouldn’t build housing until all the infrastructure people need, including frequent transit, has already been built out in low-density neighborhoods.
Seattle Nice: Banishment Orders and Housing Bans
On this week’s episode of the Seattle Nice podcast, we discussed the city’s minimal use of what was supposedly a critical new tool to stop drug trafficking: Stay Out of Drug Area banishment orders. We also discussed the city’s ban on housing near the stadiums and the potential unintended consequences of a crackdown on sex buyers on Aurora.
Tuesday, February 11
Announcing “Are You Mad At Me?,” a Brand-New Podcast About Our Favorite Movie, Shattered Glass
Josh and I have started a podcast! Our subject: Shattered Glass, the 2003 movie about the rise and fall of journalism wunderkind Stephen Glass. On its surface, the movie is a satisfying comeuppance story about a guy who fabricated dozens of stories for venerable magazines like Harper’s and The New Republic in the 1990s. But it’s also an extremely timely story about the lengths journalists will go to in pursuit of the truth, even if it tarnishes their own institutions.
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Emails Reveal Last-Minute Lobbying Efforts to Keep Social Housing off the November Ballot
In the days leading up to the Seattle City Council’s vote that relegated the social housing measure to the February ballot (and put it in direct competition with a competing measure that would not build social housing), the Seattle Chamber proposed multiple ballot alternatives to council members and urged them to reverse an internal decision to put the social housing measure on the ballot last November.
Wednesday, February 12
New Crowd Control Law Includes Few Restrictions on Use of “Less-Lethal Weapons”
The council adopted legislation that effectively affirms policies the Seattle Police Department adopted several years ago, in defiance of a law restricting the use of “less lethal” weapons for crowd control. A majority voted to reject amendments that would have placed some guardrails around the use of such weapons, including a private right of action, a requirement that police from outside the city follow Seattle’s policies, and a proposal to require SPD to get approval before deploying new types of weapons against Seattle residents.
Friday, February 13
Friday’s Morning Fizz: Social housing ended the week with a (updated) 25-point lead; city employees filed a class-action lawsuit against the city’s faulty new payroll platform; and the state Supreme Court ruled that Seattle police officers who were outside the US Capitol on January 6 do not have a right to anonymity.
