Cascade PBS Ditches Local News, Harrell Budget Pushes off Tough Choices, Right-Wing Activist Tests Anti-Trans Messaging, and More

By Erica C. Barnett

Monday, September 22

City’s Growth Plan Update Maintains Seattle’s Suburban Character, Including Mandatory Parking

After a whirlwind of meetings to consider more than 100 amendments, the city council passed the first part of a 10-year comprehensive plan update that will allow small apartment buildings in about 30 new “neighborhood centers,” along with a few other modest concessions to the fact that Seattle is a growing, renter-majority city, not a small town with suburban neighborhoods connected by “urban villages.”

Cascade PBS Lays Off News Staff, Citing Federal Cuts

Cascade PBS, which owns the 18-year-old news website Crosscut, announced it will be eliminating all local news coverage and laying off 16 news staffers. While Cascade justified the decision by citing $3.5 million in federal funding cuts, critics asked why the station couldn’t cut elsewhere, or delay cuts in light of a recent surge in donations.

Tuesday, September 23

Seattle Nice: CARE Team Expansion and a Missed Opportunity for Neighborhood Businesses

On this week’s podcast, we discussed Mayor Bruce Harrell’s recent proposal to raise sales taxes 0.1 cents—as authorized earlier this year by Gov. Bob Ferguson—to fund, among other public-safety programs, the expansion of the CARE team, a group of social workers that responds to calls that don’t require police. We also dug in on the council’s rejection of a comp plan amendment that would have allowed new corner stores to stay open past 10pm and allow bars close to where house owners live.

Wednesday, September 24

Harrell’s Latest Budget Spikes City’s Deficit by Piling On New Spending In Election Year

Mayor Bruce Harrell’s election-year budget, released in a slick Seattle Channel-produced video on Tuesday, piles on even more new programs than last year’s despite ongoing revenue shortfalls as the nation heads toward a possible recession. The budget plunges the city into the red immediately after next year, and funds many critical long-term needs, such as immigrant protections, with one-time funds.

PubliCola is supported entirely by readers like you.
CLICK BELOW to become a one-time or monthly contributor.

Support PubliCola

Thursday, September 25

The Siren Song of Forced Drug Treatment

In a guest editorial, HaRRT Center co-director Susan E. Collins explained why calls to forcibly remove people from the streets and place them in locked treatment facilities are misplaced. An expert in her field who is sober herself, Collins brings stats and research to an emotional conversation about how to help people who may appear incapable of helping themselves.

Mayoral Candidate Wilson Withdraws from KOMO-Sponsored Debate, Citing Sinclair’s Censorship of Jimmy Kimmel

Katie Wilson announced that she wouldn’t participate in a debate co-sponsored by Sinclair affiliate KOMO TV unless the conservative media company reversed its decision to pre-empt Jimmy Kimmel’s show. (Harrell said she was being “hypocritical” because she supported moving an anti-trans hate rally in the city’s LGBTQ neighborhood to a different park.) Sinclair reinstated Kimmel the following day.

Friday, September 26

New Poll Tests Messages on Initiatives Opposing Trans Girls in Sports, Student Privacy

Brian Heywood, the right-wing megadonor who tried to kill the state’s long-term health insurance and Climate Commitment Act through voter initiatives last year, is testing messages for two new initiatives this year. The first would ban tran girls from school sports; the second would allow parents to snoop into their kids’ school counseling records, among other privacy violations. One test message claims that “men” are now playing against girls in public schools.

Digging into Harrell’s Campaign “They Aren’t From Here” Homelessness Talking Point

In campaign messaging and in his budget speech (arguably a campaign speech in itself!) Harrell has claimed that 70 percent of people who are homeless in Seattle are actually from somewhere else, using the stat as an argument that Seattle is doing more than its fair share to address a countywide homelessness problem. But that statistic turns out to be deeply flawed.

Councilmember Rivera Questions 2026 Funding for CARE Team, LEAD Diversion, and Equitable Development Initiative

City Councilmember Maritza Rivera launched into the council’s 2026 budget process by telling city department staffers that she still lacks enough information, nearly two years into her term, to know whether the LEAD diversion program, the CoLEAD encampment resolution program, and the Equitable Development Initiative are working. She also said she doesn’t support “Housing First,” then described it—inaccurately—as handing out housing to people with complex needs and leaving them there.

Seattle’s plan for growth, CARE team expansion, and more stories you might have missed this week.

Monday, September 15

What That Day-Long Comp Plan Hearing Was About

The city council spent the week blasting through amendments to Phase 1 of the long-delayed comprehensive plan, the framework for growth across the city. I took a look at the ones that came up most often during a day-long public comment period on Friday, including amendments about trees, social housing, parking, and density.

Seattle Nice: Does Police Surveillance Make Us Safer?

On this week’s podcast, we discussed the new police cameras that are going up in so-called “high-crime areas” around Seattle. Are police cameras effective at preventing and solving violent crimes—the stated purpose of the legislation—or are they another expensive tool to make it look like SPD is taking care of people’s safety in marginalized communities?

Tuesday, September 16

Police Department Acknowledges Using AI, But Says It Isn’t “Substantive” Enough to Label

Under the city’s AI policy, every city department is supposed to get specific permission for new AI tools like ChatGPT and, if they use AI “substantively” in their writing, clearly label the content as AI-generated along with the name of the tool. After resident filed a complaint against the department over several blog posts and internal communications that seemed AI-generated, SPD acknowledged to PubliCola that they have used AI, but denied using it for anything more than grammar checks and similar non-substantive edits.

PubliCola is supported entirely by readers like you.
CLICK BELOW to become a one-time or monthly contributor.

Support PubliCola

Wednesday, September 17

Late-Breaking Comp Plan Change Would Restore Low-Density “Donut Hole” Between Capitol Hill and Central District

In a last-minute amendment to the comprehensive plan her committee has been discussing for months, Council Joy Hollingsworth proposed reducing density in her district by preserving the existing, low-density zoning on an area between Capitol Hill, First Hill, and the Central District. Although Hollingsworth would end up pulling the proposal for now, the amendment was one of several big last-minute proposals that the public had no chance to see or weigh in on.

Thursday, September 18

Tiny House Village in Southeast Seattle Remains Stalled as Winter Approaches

Plans to open a new tiny house village in Southeast Seattle have stalled over an apparent lease dispute, according to the organization, Nickelsville, that has been trying to work with the Harrell administration to open a shelter at the site since 2023.

Friday, September 19

Harrell Proposes New Sales Tax to Expand CARE Team, Fund Treatment, and Backfill Budget

Mayor Bruce Harrell proposed a new 0.1-cent sales tax and rolled out a plan to spend it. About half the money would backfill spending on existing programs, like LEAD and CARE, that currently get funding from other sources. The rest would expand non-police public safety programs, including expansion of the CARE Team from 24 to 48 members—a win that indicates CARE may get more concessions from the police union in its next contract, currently in negotiations.

Monday, April 7

City Settles Discrimination Lawsuit by Black Police Captain Demoted by Former Police Chief Diaz

PubliCola reported exclusively that the city had settled a discrimination lawsuit filed by Police Captain Eric Greening for nearly $1 million, including attorney fees; Greening sued the city after former police chief Adrian Diaz demoted him, claiming Diaz did so in retaliation after Greening raised concerns about discrimination at SPD.

Seattle Nice: Fees for Housing, a Lightweight Condemnation of “Defund,” and a Critique of Seattle’s Response to Shootings

On Seattle Nice this week, we discussed City Councilmember Cathy Moore’s efforts to make it more costly to build middle housing, Ron Saka’s resolution denouncing past efforts to reduce spending on police, and a new audit that says the city should adopt a different approach to gun violence than it has in the past.

Tuesday, April 8

Grim Outlook for Local Homelessness Programs Under Trump’s Slash-and-Burn Cuts

At a meeting of a new city council committee focusing on the impacts of federal funding cuts and other changes, housing funders, service providers, and the regional homelessness authority described a grim future for people who are homeless or unstably housed in the region, as federal funding cuts and affordable housing scarcity threaten to push more people onto the streets.

PubliCola is supported entirely by readers like you.
CLICK BELOW to become a one-time or monthly contributor.

Support PubliCola

Wednesday, April 9

Seattle’s CARE Department Chief Amy Barden and Her Husband, Former Deputy Police Chief Eric Barden, Have a Podcast

On the first episode of Amy and Eric Barden’s new podcast, BomBardened, the pair interview Ginny Burton, a recovery advocate who works with men in prisons. Burton, a former drug user, opposes housing first and other widely adopted harm reduction strategies such as medication-assisted treatment, saying that maintenance drugs like buprenorphine just get people high—a belief that is contrary to medical consensus.

Thursday, April 10

Bad News for the City Budget: New Forecast Slashes $241 Million from Last Year’s Projection

A new city budget forecast—the first since Trump took office—predicts that Seattle will take in $241 million less than previously anticipated over the next two years. Most of the new shortfall projection comes from a cooling JumpStart tax, which relies overwhelmingly on revenues from just 10 companies. The grim outlook could force real cuts this year—although with the mayor and council president up for reelection, there are strong incentives to put off tough decisions until after this budget cycle.

Friday, April 11

Spending on City’s New Payroll System Tops $32 Million; Saka Spouts Off About Tech Workers, COVID School Closures

The city’s troubled new payroll system, Workday, has cost the city at least $32 million to implement, according to documents detailing 18 change orders (so far) in the city’s contract with the consultant Deloitte. And at a meeting about the Families, Education, Preschool and Promise Levy renewal, Councilmember Rob Saka criticized Seattle’s lengthy school closures during COVID and said the city needed more homegrown tech workers from under-resourced communities who “look like” him, rather than immigrants on H1-B visas.

Candidates jump in (and out), police get a $40,000 PowerPoint, and a guest columnist argues that transit riders should get a say in how transit works.

By Erica C. Barnett

Monday, March 10

Tanya Woo Tries Again (UPDATED: Nope); Advocates Tell Council How they Can Help Limit “Existential” Threats from Trump

Two-time candidate and one-time council appointee Tanya Woo filed to run for council again, then apparently decided against it. Also, advocates for people whose rights are threatened by the Trump administration’s actions on health care, immigration, and LGBTQ+ rights told a new council committee what’s at risk over the next four years and how they can help

“This New Republic Story? It’s a F*cking Sieve.” Adam Penenberg Joins Us on Episode 2 of “Are You Mad at Me?,” a Shattered Glass Podcast

On the second episode of our new limited series podcast on the 2003 movie about the unraveling of a journalistic fraud, Shattered Glass, Josh and I interviewed the reporter who broke the story that led to New Republic reporter Stephen Glass’ undoing. For those who weren’t around or don’t remember, Glass’ fabrications (followed, not long after, by the Jayson Blair scandal at the New York Times) were a huge deal at a time when print outlets considered themselves far superior to online journalism.

Tuesday, March 11

PubliCola Questions: City Attorney Candidate Erika Evans

Erika Evans, until recently an assistant US Attorney at the Department of Justice, told PubliCola that if she’s elected she’ll actively fight against the Trump Administration and prioritize dangerous misdemeanor crimes, like domestic violence and driving under the influence, over prosecuting and jailing people for drug use, sex work, and crimes of poverty.

PubliCola is supported entirely by readers like you.
CLICK BELOW to become a one-time or monthly contributor.

Support PubliCola

Wednesday, March 12

PubliCola Questions: Mayoral Candidate Katie Wilson

Transit Riders Union leader Katie Wilson is challenging Mayor Bruce Harrell on a progressive platform that includes promoting social housing, increasing shelter capacity instead of just pushing unhoused people from place to place, and passing “progressive revenue to make sure we do not go into a financial death spiral.”

Thursday, March 13

SPD Paid $40,000 for Two-Day Media Training Requested by Adrian Diaz Chief of Staff

At the request of Jamie Tompkins, former police chief Adrian Diaz’ former chief of staff, SPD flew two trainers in from out of town to teach them how to get good press and avoid bad press. The paint-by-numbers trainings included advice like “social media has changed how people communicate,” “use the media as a tool,” and “engage in likable behavior.”

Friday, March 14

To End Car Dependency, We Must Change Who Has A Seat At the Table

In a guest post, nondriver Anna Zivarts argues that people who don’t drive deserve a seat on the boards that make decisions about our transportation and land use policies, rather than people who don’t even use the transit systems they’re in charge of.