Podcasts about City council

In our news wrap Saturday, the district police chief for Uvalde schools has resigned from his position on the City Council amid a growing outcry, Texas' top court ruled against a temporary four-day window to abortion access, New York reimposed limits on firearms after a Supreme Court ruling, and California passed tough new restrictions on plastic waste. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

In our news wrap Saturday, the district police chief for Uvalde schools has resigned from his position on the City Council amid a growing outcry, Texas' top court ruled against a temporary four-day window to abortion access, New York reimposed limits on firearms after a Supreme Court ruling, and California passed tough new restrictions on plastic waste. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

July 1, 2022 — Fort Bragg bid farewell to Police Chief John Naulty and Interim City Manager David Spaur this week. At Monday's City Council meeting, the Council also passed the 22/23 budget, with the assurance that it can be amended as labor negotiations proceed. The city labor union, SEIU Local 1021, is advocating for a 5% COLA, or cost of living increase, but the city has budgeted 3%. Union leaders also argued that the compensation and comparison study was not realistic, as Fort Bragg was compared to Lakeport, where the cost of living is much lower. Naulty and Spaur came out of retirement to serve as heads of the police force and the city. As public servants, they receive CalPers benefits, which would be reduced if they worked more than 960 hours after retirement. But while the city is facing what could be a lengthy recruitment for a new city manager, a new police chief is expected to start work later this month, on July 25. According to a city press release, Neil Cervenka is a veteran of the Air Force and the Turlock Police Department. He also serves as Treasurer on the Executive Board of Directors for the California Peace Officers Association. Cervenka's salary and benefits will be $110k a year. Council members credited Naulty with improving the culture at the police department and highlighted the grim day when he traded gunfire with the man who killed Sheriff's Deputy Ricki Del Fiorentino in 2014. Naulty said he expects the new chief to improve the department further, by focusing on training and technology. “It's just going to flourish even more,” he promised. “We're fortunate in Mendocino County to be fully staffed, one of the few departments. I mean, some don't even have a chief anymore, and some people barely have enough officers to cover all the shifts, but we're one of the fortunate few. It's thanks to you guys for listening to me, and the investments that you've placed into these people, so you guys deserve a lot of credit.” The new fiscal year starts July 1, and the council approved a $38.1 million budget. That's a $740k decrease from last year, mostly because of upgrades to the wastewater treatment facility and the water meter replacement project. However, the budget for salaries and wages increased by $744k to include packages for high-paying positions like police chief and city manager, as well as two social services workers and an engineering technician. Public Works consumes about 12% of the budget, coming in third after General Government at 19% and police, at 35%. Assistant Director of Finance Isaac Whippy told the council the city has a surplus of $175k, with a projected $3.4 million general fund balance for the upcoming fiscal year. But he warned that a widely predicted recession could knock out the city's strong ToT (transient occupancy tax, or bed tax paid to lodging establishments) and sales tax revenue. “We could see a decline in our tax revenue, particularly our sales tax revenue, by 10-15%,” he predicted. “And similarly for ToT taxes. So if a recession were to happen in 23/24, we would see a decline in fund balance by $510k, and then in 24/25 there would be a slow recovery from that recession.” The approved budget includes the 3% COLA increase for most city workers, but Assistant City Manager Sarah McCormick's salary is going up by about $5k. Outgoing Interim City Manager David Spaur summarized the budget implication. “The proposed change in this item, 5G, authorizes an annual salary for the position of Assistant City Manager up to the amount of $120,972.80,” he said. “There will be some salary savings from not having a City Manager for a period of time, as this week will be my last week.” John Ford, of Humboldt County, had accepted the city manager position, but asked to be released from his contract earlier this month, citing family reasons. In a brief interview, Council Member Lindy Peters explained that Spaur had served Fort Bragg at $76 an hour for the 960 hours allowed by CalPers. Peters said now the city is facing a choice. The city can look for another manager through a recruiting agency, which could leave the Council trying to hire someone right after the election, when there might be brand-new Council members. He said the city could also mount its own recruitment efforts, or work its connections through the League of California Cities to try and find another retired city manager who could give Fort Bragg another 960 hours. Meanwhile, city workers lined up during public comment to petition for a higher COLA. Merle Larsen said his reduced earnings as inflation climbs would have an impact on the city's finances as a whole. “What you're doing, is everywhere that I shop downtown, they're not gonna get the money,” he vowed. “You're not penalizing me. I'm gonna go online. I'm gonna go over the hill. I'm going wherever it's cheaper to buy something. So you know what that means here? Less tax dollars. Less for you, when you make that decision.” Vice Mayor Jessica Morsell-Haye said approving the budget was awkward while the city is in negotiations with the union, but Spaur and Whippy assured the Council that they could adopt the budget and retroactively award workers a higher COLA if that is the final result of negotiations. In a final fiscal decision, the Council voted unanimously to approve a resolution granting a three-year waiver of water and wastewater capacity fees for restaurants, cafes, and food service businesses in the Central Business District. According to a staff report, the fees can be as high as $50,000 for a restaurant moving into a location that has not been used for that purpose before. Staff analysis calculated that the fiscal impact for waiving the fees could add up to more than $120,000 over the three years, but that it could be balanced out by sales taxes from the new businesses, with ongoing positive revenue. The City already allows businesses to request a waiver, but in order for it to be granted, it must pass the test of being a public benefit. Council Member Tess Albin-Smith asked that that proviso be spelled out in an upcoming resolution waiving the capacity fees for the rest of the city. Morsell-Haye summed up the feeling on the council, saying, “For years, we've talked about how to be business friendly, and I think right here, we're actually accomplishing it for once. So thank you.”

Here are the relevant links for this episode:June rains'Monsoon season' could land Edmonton in record books, climatologist saysJon DziadykFormer City Councillor Jon Dziadyk considering a run for the UCP nomination in Edmonton-Castle DownsCouncillor apology Michael Janz tweet thread 'Careless mistake': Edmonton councillor apologizes for retweeting post calling police officer 'pig' Carbon budgeting Countdown to 2050: Explaining Edmonton's carbon budget Carbon Budget and Accounting Edmonton Carbon Budget tool wins planning award Speaking Municipally is a proud member of the Alberta Podcast Network: locally grown, community supported.This week we highlighted Alberta Blue Cross, which offers group benefit plans that enable employees to manage their own health, dental, life and disability coverage online. We also talked about the Edmonton Community Foundation which produces The Well Endowed Podcast.Speaking Municipally is produced by Taproot Edmonton, a source of curiosity-driven original stories, curated newsletters on various topics, and locally focused podcasts, all in the service of informing Edmontonians about what is going on in their community. Sign up to get The Pulse, our weekday news briefing. It's free!★ Support this podcast ★

In the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade, I wanted to talk to Ricci (People's City Council) who is on the front lines on this fight, and many others. From the Left.  Video and extras are on patreon.com/brido. 

Four men are facing federal charges in connection to the mounting count of 53 migrants who died of heat exhaustion after being abandoned in a tractor trailer near San Antonio this week - including the driver of the truck, who tried to pass himself off as a migrant himself when confronted by police. The first Texas city on record saying it will not enforce new abortion restrictions in Texas isn't Austin - it's Denton. Following the closure of Jacob's Well this week comes the closing of Hamilton Pool, also due to high bacteria levels in the water. Meanwhile, after months of pleading for new lifeguards, some of them have not been getting paid on time by Austin's Parks and Recreation Department. Austin's Music Commission is requesting that the City Council expedite the deployment of the Live Music Fund to an earlier date than the one currently planned, next July. Stream Realty Partners, the company heavily invested in revitalizing East 6th Street has unveiled plans for new live music venues in several spaces it controls, including the former Buffalo Billiards and Dirty Dog spaces. SXSW is planning an offshoot event in Sydney, Australia, in October of 2023 (it's spring down there at that time). Travis and Williamson counties both made U.S. News' new rundown of the 500 healthiest counties in the country - Collin County ranked highest in Texas at #50, and Williamson significantly outranked Travis, at #121 and #295, respectively. Thursday live music roundup for the weekend: Friday shows include album releases with Sir Woman album release at The Parish and Big Bill at Hotel Vegas, a TC Superstar tour kickoff show at Cheer Up Charlie's, Bigg Robb at Antone's as part of their 47th Anniversary run, and a Nancy Griffith tribute show at the Cactus Cafe. Saturday catch Antone's anniversary fun with Jimmie Vaughan, a heavy 2nd Anniversary party at Hold Out Brewing with Holy Death Trio and Eagle Claw, and Los Pendejos del Norte featuring Ed Miller of Sun Radio and Rich Brotherton of the Robert Earl Keen band at New World Deli. Sunday Fleet Foxes are at Waterloo Park's Moody Amphitheater, and the Antone's anniversary features Miss Lavelle's Birthday Bash. And Monday the 4th, Willie Nelson's 4th of July Picnic rolls into Q2 Stadium for the first time with Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit, Tyler Childers, Allison Russell, Steve Earle & the Dukes, and tons more. Austin weather: a tropical disturbance in the northwestern Gulf Of Mexico is expected to dump rain on the Texas coast, and there's hope some of that will come our way, but officially our rain chances for this week are dropping and our hopes for significantly cooler temps are fading too. Highs Thursday and Friday of 96, rain chance now down to 20% for Friday. We're back to upper 90's by Saturday, and then back to what looks like a long string of triple digit days starting Tuesday.

“Have limitless thinking.” Ian is a Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of QUBIC Labs, which identifies, supports and invests in entrepreneurs creating businesses around financial, government and civic technologies.In addition, Ian is an elected representative to the City Council in Quincy, MA. Ian and Allison discuss Qubic Labs, start-ups, blockchain and so much more. Ian was also Allison's business advisor for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Cohort and so they discuss that program as well as the qualities and thinking needed to start and grow businesses. Connect with Ian Cain: https://www.qubiclabs.com/

On Monday night the Galva City Council met with a relatively small agenda. Mayor Rich Volkert joined Wake Up Tri-Counties on Wednesday to discuss Monday night's meeting. At the meeting, the Council began a discussion regarding ATV's being driven on the roads in Galva and whether our not ATV's should need to be licensed on a yearly basis or remain as a one time registration. Also on Monday night, the City Council talked about the Galva Citywide Clean-Up and the success the City had helping those in need get rid of unwanted items.

The Kewanee City Council met on Monday night and passed each of the items on the agenda. This included the approval of the first short term rental application in the City of Kewanee. The council also heard good news regarding the local economy from Mark Mikenas from the Kewnee Chamber of Commerce. And the City Council held a discussion of what can be done regarding the issues with McClure and Dwight Street. Finally, there was also a conversation about pothole filling in the City of Kewanee. Mayor Gary Moore was our guest on Tuesday morning on Wake Up Tri-Counties.

Welcome to the daily nugget, property insights across New Zealand. 1 question, 20 minutes or less. Today's topic: Converting a cross lease property to freehold in New Zealand. Hosted by Lawrence Lotze and joined by Raj Maharjan. For any details around Raj please head over to his website: https://isolutionsnz.com

On this midweek show, Crystal chats with Pastor Carey Anderson about his campaign for State Representative in the 30th Legislative District - why he decided to run, how the last legislative session went and his thoughts on addressing issues such as housing affordability and zoning, homelessness, public safety, LGBTQ+ rights, and climate change. As always, a full text transcript of the show is available below and at officialhacksandwonks.com. Find the host, Crystal, on Twitter at @finchfrii and find more information about Pastor Carey at https://www.electpastorcarey.com/   Resources Campaign Website - Pastor Carey Anderson: https://www.electpastorcarey.com/   Transcript [00:00:00] Crystal Fincher: Welcome to Hacks & Wonks. I'm Crystal Fincher, and I'm a political consultant and your host. On this show, we talk with policy wonks and political hacks to gather insight into local politics and policy in Washington State through the lens of those doing the work with behind-the-scenes perspectives on what's happening, why it's happening, and what you can do about it. Full transcripts and resources referenced in the show are always available at officialhacksandwonks.com and in our episode notes. Well, I am just delighted today to welcome to the program, a candidate for State Representative in the 30th Legislative District down in Federal Way, Pastor Carey Anderson. Thank you so much for joining us today. [00:00:53] Pastor Carey Anderson: Crystal, it's an honor to be with you, and let me just say right off the bat - thank you for inviting me to be a part of this wonderful, wonderful podcast. I'm just elated to be invited today, and I appreciate the work that you do. [00:01:09] Crystal Fincher: Thank you so much. I appreciate the work that you do, my South King County brethren and leader of so many, and just appreciate the time that you've taken to join here. So I guess I wanna start off asking - you've done so much, you've accomplished so much. What is it that made you think - you know what, it is time for me to run for office? [00:01:33] Pastor Carey Anderson: Well, that's an excellent question. Let me say to our audience - the 30th district is a new district, and I'm running to bring proven new leadership to the new 30th District. The realignment of the boundaries from the 2020 Census shows that Federal Way is a BIPOC-majority city now, the 30th District is growing. I live in Federal Way, I'm the pastor of First AME Church in Auburn and Seattle - Seattle is the mother church. And about 19 years ago, we saw the trend of gentrification and so we started a satellite in the south portion of King County. So, First AME Church is the oldest Black church in the state - 1886 - and so, we see it as a part of our mission to always speak truth to power. So I am running to bring proven new leadership to the new 30th District. And if I could just take a moment - when we're talking about the crime, we're talking about the homeless, we're talking about the issues of housing, we're talking about funding of our schools, we're talking about public safety. Well, these are things that I have been doing in my entire ministry - 44 years in ministry, 38 years as a senior pastor, 18 years as the pastor of First AME Church - matter of fact, in its 100+ years of existence, I'm the longest serving pastor. My boots have been on the ground, fighting all of those things and addressing all of those things. And I want to do it in this open seat - no one has ever served the new 30th District before. And it is time for proven new leadership for the new 30th District. And I'm sure we'll get into some of the specifics a little later. [00:03:34] Crystal Fincher: Well, and looking at this new 30th District - you're running for the seat that is being vacated by Representative Jesse Johnson, who has done a lot of work in the community, certainly made his imprint on the Legislature in the time that he was there. Some of that, including police accountability legislation and other legislation that we saw passed in 2020, and then rolled back in 2022, along with a number of other things. We're dealing with a - how we're gonna treat revenue - are we gonna raise more progressive revenue, or move - continue to move - in a regressive direction. Action on the transportation package, stagnation on affordable housing and the middle housing bill there - as you evaluate this past legislative session, what did you think about it? What did you agree with? What did you disagree with? [00:04:40] Pastor Carey Anderson: Well, first of all, let me commend the work and applaud the work of Representative Jesse Johnson. When he was first running for City Council, we supported him. When he went into the State Legislature, First AME supported him. He came and presented at our church and at both campuses, matter of fact, and we supported him wholeheartedly. I was disappointed to see him leave the seat because we need that type of leadership. And certainly with the police accountability reforms that he pushed through the Legislature - it was a herculean job, but the job is not complete. And so when we talk about fighting crime, let's just stay right there for a moment. I applaud the work of our police force and law enforcement. However, I don't believe that we should put the entire burden of fighting crime on the police. There are other matters and other variables that go along with property crimes and low-level offenders such as drug abuse, mental health, and some of those types of things that cause an environment for crime. And I am trained as a substance abuse counselor, I am trained - I'm the only candidate trained in mental health. I did it, I've been doing it for some 30+ years. And so these are some of the other things that we must address because when we talk about crime and we talk about housing, it's not enough just to find affordable housing and place people in affordable housing. But many times, if they have mental health issues, if they have, if they're suffering from addiction, we need wraparound services. And so this is going to take critical thinking, it's going to take people that have been in the field to know what to say, how to say it, and drum up the support to build collegiality - to really change our community and change the 30th LD. So these are some of the things that I hope to bring to the State Legislature, as a legislator. [00:07:00] Crystal Fincher: You talked just a little bit, just now - obviously issues of addiction, in addition to homelessness. Housing affordability is such an important issue and one that a lot of people are struggling with - the cost of rents have been skyrocketing, cost of daycare skyrocketing - so much is making things really hard for people just to survive. They can be working one, two jobs - it's still not enough. Minimum wage is not sufficient for allowing people to live independently and to afford an average rent. What should be done to make housing more affordable in the 30th District? [00:07:47] Pastor Carey Anderson: Well, thank you for that question - it's really a challenging question, but I do want our audience to know, I've been involved in affordable housing for many, many years, even in my first church in Nevada - we built housing, affordable housing for seniors. First AME Church has been involved in the housing arena through our nonprofit since 1969. And we had three apartment complexes in Seattle, and we formed about five or six years ago - the FAME - Equity Alliance of Western Washington, which is another housing corporation that I serve as the chair of the board. And we just broke ground in January of this year on a $36 million, 119-unit complex - the Elizabeth Thomas Holmes - in South King County. So we're moving down this way - it's an issue that's very personal to me, I've been involved in it. I know that we have to find more housing for struggling families, and the Affordable Housing Trust Fund has money in it. We got to move it quickly and quicker than we have been moving it so that we can build a housing inventory for persons that are really trying to build a home for their loved ones, their children, their families, for sustaining the family unit. And these are things that I've been involved in, engaged in - and you would not imagine, Crystal, how many people come to First AME Church asking for rental assistance, needing food - which we try to provide on a regular basis, since the pandemic in particular. And we do that because we understand the need - I see it on a regular, regular basis. We even have a home, a parsonage - that we rent it out, bringing it out for, since my time, is 18 years at First Family Church. And so during the pandemic, those families that were living in the home could not pay their rent. And so we elected a moral decision to let them stay and not evict them. Matter of fact, we were - they were part of the persons that came for food every Friday in our Friday drive-by - I'm not talking about shooting, I'm talking about groceries. And so we would feed them, give them groceries - I'm not talking about meat, cheese and milk. I'm talking about more than that - meats, vegetables, wholesome grains - so that the family could be fed a nutritional meal. And also we provided vaccinations for COVID-19, as well as boosters. We continue to do that, and so we boosted and vaccinated over 6,000 people - and fed them as well. So we elected to eat the rent so that these families could stay in their home and not be put out on the street. And the Lord makes a way, somehow. So, we're involved in it and engaged in housing - I will continue to do that as a State legislator. [00:11:14] Crystal Fincher: One of the big issues this past legislative session was the missing middle housing bill. And you're absolutely right - we need to designate more housing as affordable housing, find affordable housing. One of the big problems is just that there just is not the supply of housing at all - of all different types and at all levels. Here in the state, we have not been building to keep up with the increase in population and the trends in the flow in population. And so allowing more density, more inclusive zoning was put on the table and all of the data shows that's a necessary ingredient of increasing affordability, of helping to stem the skyrocketing costs of rent and housing. Would you have voted for that missing middle housing bill? [00:12:16] Pastor Carey Anderson: Yes, I would. And let me say this - we have to have more deep-dive conversations for this issue of affordability and housing. And the conversation should center, not so much on - do we wanna build a threeplex or a fourplex in a single-family neighborhood - or what do we really value? If we as a state, if we as people value sheltering and allowing people the opportunity to live a decent life like you are living, then we're gonna have to have those types of conversations. But I believe that there are ways in which we can build housing in single-story homes and two-story homes that are aesthetically beautiful. It would not really disrupt the aesthetic beauty of the community and the neighborhood. These are discussions that I believe would prove to be very valuable instead of just a NIMBY attitude, because today they're homeless, today they're in need - but you miss a couple of paychecks yourself, you get laid off of your job, let another pandemic come and affect and impact your family - you may be the one next in line. And so we have to be very careful at the rocks we throw and the fingers we point because it could easily - you could be up today and you can be down tomorrow. So it's a collective effort - it's going to take collective and courageous conversations so that we could truly address the problem of affordability and density and providing the needed housing inventory for families to live sustained lives. [00:14:11] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. Absolutely well said. We talked about public safety earlier - certainly talked about policing, have talked about the need to intervene in a lot of different ways. Safety is a really big conversation, and right now there are a lot of people in our communities fearing for their safety. Hate crimes are near all-time highs, we're seeing hate and bias-motivated crimes, we're seeing harassment and targeting of the LGBTQ community and others for their ethnic heritage, for their religion. What do you say to people who right now are scared and worried, and who are looking at the two parties going in very different directions, and worried that they can't count on the Supreme Court for safety or rights anymore, and increasingly they're relying on local leadership to make sure that people are safe and respected and protected in communities. What do you see as your responsibility in that area, and how will you lead to make sure that everyone in our communities feel safe? [00:15:36] Pastor Carey Anderson: Thank you. Excellent question, Crystal. Public safety is a major issue today, and I believe that we have made some major strides, but there's still a long way to go. And as I had said earlier, I believe that - I don't believe that we should put the entire burden on fighting crime left to law enforcement. When George Floyd was murdered and the unrest happened in Seattle in particular - but across the country - the East Precinct in Seattle was overtaken by the protestors. The East Precinct in Seattle is two blocks from First AME Church. I led the charge in convening the mayor and her staff, the Chief of Police at the time and her command staff, and the leaders of CHOP to come to First AME Church - there was about 75 of us in total. We did so with the sole purpose of learning how to talk, learning how to listen to one another. You have to understand - lives had been lost, bloodshed had been spilled on the pavements and on the streets of our cities behind the George Floyd murder. But out of the conversations - without news media, without the news outlets, without reporters - we were able to come and de-escalate the tension. And out of that, we were able to encourage Mayor Durkan, who was serving at the time, to put money into the BIPOC community - $30 million. She formed a task force that I was privileged to be a founding member of - the Equities Community Initiative Task Force - where we put together teams to talk about what are the central and acentric needs of our BIPOC community. Housing was one, entrepreneurship, looking at closing the wealth gap between Black and Brown people against the dominant culture. And so if we were able to do that there, I believe through our State Legislature, we can form ways of bridging some of these issues. Let me say this, Crystal - every first responder doesn't need to have a gun and a badge. Some of the things that we're dealing with now, we need to put funding into training more officers, law enforcement sensitivity training, cultural sensitivity training. I'm an endangered species as an African American male, even at my age - I'm not 25 - but I'm still an endangered species when pulled over by law enforcement. And so we've got to find ways of how to communicate better, how to empower faith groups, how to empower addiction counselors, how to empower and utilize mental health professionals and social workers to become our first responders. There was a time, a couple of summers ago, when the City SPD, Seattle Police Department, used the United Black Christian Clergy of Western Washington, which I'm a member of, and they would call us in dire situations with street violence amongst gangs. And we were able to find family members, we were able to find gatekeepers to try and de-escalate some of the violence as opposed to law enforcement just going in and pointing a gun and wearing a badge. I think that we must work collectively in this issue, if we're going to really bring about public safety, [00:19:35] Crystal Fincher: I completely agree with that. And then also talking about people's basic rights and people remaining safe regardless of who they are, what their background is, what their gender or sexuality is. [00:19:52] Pastor Carey Anderson: And can I say this - when you talk about the LGBTQIA+, we have to understand - they are a part of our community, just like we are a part. There's a collective we, and the Pride Parade in Seattle was right at the Central and the Capitol Hill area - where is First AME Church, right in the Capitol Hill area. We have always been, and there were even members of the 30th LD Dems, who said I was a homophobe. I said, how dare you? If you even Google Pastor Carey Anderson, you will find out that we are a welcoming church, a welcoming faith group. I am certainly not a homophobe - if anybody is, it's you - because we have always had our doors open for any and everybody. And we'll continue to do that - that's who we are, that's our value. God is a God of love. And so we must precipitate that type of love no matter who you are, and whose you are, because we're all children of God. I have walked with our Jewish brothers and sisters when Temple De Hirsch - our sister congregation right across the street from First AME Church, within walking distance - when they were defaced, their building was defaced, there were bomb threats. I stood with the Jewish brothers and sisters - Rabbi Weiner is a brother of mine from a different mother, we eat together, we worship together. And the Muslim community - we are tight with them - when they were going through threats, bomb threats, defacing of their temples and their mosques, we were right there with them standing by their side. And when Mother Emanuel AME Church back in 2015 lost nine people inclusive of the pastor - this is an AME church. First AME Church was the hub for the Seattle Pacific Northwest area, and we held prayer vigils, we led a 3000-person march through the City, and we engaged peace talks, and with celebratory singing. But we have to stop the killing, and this is what it's about. This is who we must become, and this is what I want to do, as the next voice in Olympia for the 30th District. I'm not talking about what I'm going to do, I'm talking about what I've done and what I continue to do. [00:22:40] Crystal Fincher: And I guess my question - especially, you've been doing work - in your capacity as a State legislator, particularly at this time where there are so many attacks on people because of their identity. And as we see rhetoric ratcheting up - the type of rhetoric that we know leads to violence - what more can be done to protect our LGBTQ community legislatively, to help protect people's rights, to help keep people safe, to help people just feel loved and seen in our community. What can be done in your role as a legislator? [00:23:26] Pastor Carey Anderson: Well, first of all, we need to enforce our equal protections under the laws even more. And we've got to not just put it out there in writing, but we must practice it indeed. We must have an open-door policy, we must train the legislators in terms of what a community looks like from people that are other than you. They look different, they have different values and culture, but they're still a part of this community. So I can love you no matter who you are. Although you may not have the same value that I have - just because you're a person, I am obligated to love you, and to stand in your shoes, and to understand your pain, understand your wants, and understand your desires and your hopes. This is what we must do if we're gonna represent all of the people that we are elected to serve. [00:24:27] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. We also are facing a climate crisis. We are at a point where climate change is happening, we are experiencing extreme heat, extreme cold events, flooding. Marginalized people in our community, lower-income people, BIPOC communities are being hurt worst and first by this climate crisis. And we have work to do to keep it from getting worse, we have work to do to mitigate the impacts that it's currently having. So I guess in - as you're looking at running, as you're looking at legislating, what action would you take to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pollution? [00:25:19] Pastor Carey Anderson: Well, first of all, when the dominant culture sniffs, has the sniffles, those who are in poverty, those who are living beneath the poverty line, catch the flu. And so we've got to, first of all, realize the disparities, the health disparities. I'm so thankful for the Governor's supplemental budget, that calls for $64 billion, over $64 billion, of priority areas. One of those areas is climate. And so I would be supportive of the Governor's supplemental budget for 2022. Also, when we look at that, one of the other priorities is that of poverty. One in five persons are living in poverty. There are 1.7 million people in this state that are living in poverty. So when we're talking about climate change and gas emissions and things of that nature - trying to be a 2035 clean air environment, which is a very ambitious goal to meet, but we gotta start somewhere. But when we look at the disparities, 1.7 million are living in poverty. And then when you go a little deeper, you find out over half, or nearly half, are people of color. So we are the ones that are the most impacted, as you have so eloquently said. So as a State legislator, I would be in support of the Governor's supplemental plan and would be pushing for the implementation of it. I'm not gonna be Black when necessary and BIPOC when convenient. I am who I am, and these are priorities and we've got to speak truth to power. We've got to have these courageous conversations and that's what I'd be willing to do, as your State legislator. [00:27:16] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely - also in this, transportation is the sector most responsible for greenhouse gas emissions in our state. We just passed, as a state, a transportation package that had record investments in transit and mobility - which we all desperately need - but also continue to widen highways and invest billions in doing that. And especially with the impacts, as you just talked about, in the BIPOC community - just people who are in close proximity to roads and highways - the pollution that comes from those are disproportionately causing asthma, heart disease, lung disease in our communities. We now have tons of data showing that widening highways doesn't reduce traffic, it increases traffic and increases emissions. Would you be supportive in future highway packages of highway expansion, or do you think we should cap it at where it's at and focus on investing more in transit and mobility solutions for people who walk, bike and ride. [00:28:43] Pastor Carey Anderson: Yes, excellent question. I think we need to take a serious look at a moratorium on expansion for our highways and really look at some of the measures to bring public transportation and make that more accessible. Here in the 30th District, the transportation - Sound Transit - is moving this way. And a lot of people, though we may live in the Federal Way, 30th District area, we are working in Seattle - let's be clear about it. And so, once that is really completed - that project - that will help ease some of the traffic flow and the emissions that are going out, because I'd rather spend a minimal amount of time and read a book while I'm traveling quickly and swiftly to my job in Seattle, than being stuck in traffic and then having the propensity to get into an accident or having someone hit me or falling asleep while we're in a dead zone deadlock and gridlock and those kinds of things. So I know that a lot of the transit money has already been bonded out. So it's gonna be a difficult thing to look at, but I'd certainly be in favor of a moratorium. [00:30:09] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, that makes sense. And as you are considering your race, your opponent, just the dynamics of what is happening in Federal Way today and what residents are going through and what they want. Why are you the person who they should choose to represent them? [00:30:33] Pastor Carey Anderson: Russell Wilson used to say this when he was with the Seahawks - why not me? So, when we look at public safety, when we look at safe neighborhoods, funding our schools, affordable housing, quality healthcare for seniors, clean environment, and issues surrounding equity for all - I'm the only candidate who has been a K-12 public school teacher. And I'm for state funding - I'm the only candidate who has championed $400 million of state funding for immediate reinvestment into our communities. We've got a $200 million allocation that's gonna drop next month. And the RFPs are soon to be online. And so I was one, along with four others, who helped champion that $400 million state funding for immediate reinvestment into our communities. I'm the only candidate who has been using our church as a clinic for patients, for COVID vaccinations and boosters, and feeding people - to the tune of feeding, we've done nearly 15,000. For boosting and vaccinating people, over 6,000. And we continue to do that through partnerships. I'm the only candidate that provides jobs through affordable housing - our affordable housing projects and my church-based nonprofit organizations. And as I had said earlier, our project just broke ground in January 2022, providing 119 units of affordable housing at a cost of over $36 million. No one else has done that, no one else has been involved in leading the community. I'm just talking about - I'm not talking about Emmett Till, but I am talking about Trayvon Martin, I am talking about Michael Brown, I am talking about the mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. I am talking about George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery. First AME Church, through this pastor and the leadership that I provided for this community - I was the one out in the street, I was the one organizing these marches along with my colleagues, I was the one that's speaking truth to power, I was the one that convened the mayor, the chief of police who has endorsed me. WEA has endorsed me, the Retired Public Employees Council has endorsed me, and we're still getting endorsements as we speak - because my boots are on the ground. You don't have to wait for Day One to start pushing the button - what are you gonna do? I'm gonna continue to do what I've always done. And so this is my pledge, this is who I am as a person - and preaching and politics have never been separated in my book. And from the historical tradition of the African Methodist Episcopal Church - we were the first to seek public office in state and federal levels in our denomination and have led the charge and led the way. The Reverend Raphael Warnock is standing on the shoulders of historical path and I'm standing on those same shoulders. [00:33:48] Crystal Fincher: We're at an interesting time in our country and there certainly is a lot going on. You're coming to this race as a pastor. Your faith has informed how you have walked through life and how you have chosen to serve others in the community. We also see examples of some people who may be opposing you in this race, and some churches that are much more exclusive, that talk much more pointedly about who is and who is not welcome, who is and who is not moral or just or right in our society, allowed in our society. And we're having lots of conversations about what is the appropriate delineation between church and state. As someone whose faith is important to them, who you are walking into this role as a pastor, what role does faith play in how you serve, and I guess, through this candidacy. And what would you say to people who look around at other examples of religious leadership that they don't feel loved or included by - that you, as a pastor, would be the right choice. What would you say to folks who are thinking that? [00:35:17] Pastor Carey Anderson: Well, you've asked a series of questions, actually. I would like to start by saying - we sang a song when I was coming up in California and They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love. And so my faith is rooted and grounded in love - love for neighbor, and love for self, and love for a community. And so, this is what informs my walk, it informs my talk. I want to be able to stand in the shoes of other people. It's not until you stand in their shoes that you understand their pain, and once you understand their pain, then you can begin to have discussions on how to mitigate the pain, how to address the pain, and how to walk with them through the pain. And so this is what I endeavor to do. The Bible says in the New Testament - we walk by faith and not by sight. So faith is what leads me, every morning, to get up. And it doesn't matter to me if you're Muslim, Jewish, atheist, or whoever you may be. You are a person, you are valued, and you are loved. What is it that we can do to help your walk? What is it that we can do to inform your viability, sustainability for you and your family and your loved ones? That's what we should be about. [00:36:57] Crystal Fincher: Thank you so much, Pastor Carey. If people wanna find out more about your campaign or get involved, where can they go to find out more information? [00:37:06] Pastor Carey Anderson: Google me and go to my, our website - Pastor Carey Anderson or Reverend Dr. Carey Anderson. But our campaign website is electpastorcarey.com and you can go there, and we're still getting lots of hits and the phone number is there 253-296-6370. Well, you're welcome to join us, you're welcome to wave with us, you're welcome to walk with us, you're welcome to phonebank, textbank with us, and to follow us as we follow our call and commitment. So, these are simple ways, but it means so much - reaching people one at a time, one neighborhood at a time, one household at a time, one person at a time. And that's what we're about. [00:38:05] Crystal Fincher: Well, thank you so much for spending time with us today, Pastor Carey Anderson. Thank you so much - we'll continue to follow you on your journey. [00:38:14] Pastor Carey Anderson: Thank you for having me, Crystal. It has certainly been an honor, and it's certainly been a joy to see the work that you and your team are doing. And I am not going to turn this off. I'm gonna keep you in my heart and I'm gonna keep the work that you do in my soul. So thank you so much. God bless you and God keep you. [00:38:37] Crystal Fincher: Thank you. I thank you all for listening to Hacks & Wonks on KVRU 105.7 FM. The producer of Hacks & Wonks is Lisl Stadler with assistance from Shannon Cheng. You can find me on Twitter @finchfrii, spelled F-I-N-C-H-F-R-I-I. Now you can follow Hacks & Wonks on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts - just type "Hacks and Wonks" into the search bar. Be sure to subscribe to get our Friday almost-live shows and our midweek show delivered to your podcast feed. If you like us, leave a review wherever you listen to Hacks & Wonks. You can also get a full transcript of this episode and links to the resources referenced in the show at officialhacksandwonks.com and in the episode notes. Thanks for tuning in - we'll talk to you next time.

Dundas City Administrator Jenelle Teppen recaps the June 27 City Council meeting.

Dundas City Administrator Jenelle Teppen recaps the June 27 City Council meeting.

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Tuesday, June 27th, 2022. Pastor Toby is on vacation this week, spending time with his family… Again, I want to start this newsbrief off talking about our conference, because early bird pricing is coming to an end! Lies, Propaganda, Story Telling, and the Serrated Edge: This year our national conference is in Knoxville, TN October 6th-8th. The theme of this year’s conference is Lies, Propaganda, Storytelling and the Serrated Edge. Satan is the father of lies, and the mother of those lies is a government who has rejected God. We have especially been lied to these last two years, and the COVIDpanic has been one of the central mechanisms that our government has used to lie to us and to grab more power. Because Christians have not been reading their bibles, we are susceptible to lies and weak in our ability to fight these lies. God has given us His word to fight Satan and his lies, and we need to recover all of God’s word, its serrated edge and all. Mark your calendars for October 6th-8th, as we fight, laugh and feast with fellowship, beer and Psalms, our amazing lineup of speakers, hanging with our awesome vendors, meeting new friends, and more. Early bird tickets are available now, but will be gone before you know it! Sign up now at flfnetwork.com https://thepostmillennial.com/breaking-new-york-supreme-court-strikes-down-law-that-allowed-non-citizens-to-vote?utm_campaign=64487 New York Supreme Court strikes down law that allowed non-citizens to vote New York City's City Council approved a measure in January to give non-citizens the right to vote in local elections. But after a suit was brought by the GOP lawmakers, the New York Supreme Court ruled that no, non-citizens do not have the right to vote. The plan would have added some 800,000 New Yorkers to the voting rolls, and would have allowed them to vote for mayor, public advocate, city council, borough presidents, and school boards. Justice Ralph Porzio said that the law was in direct violation of the New York State Constitution. "The New York State Constitution expressly states that citizens meeting the age and residency requirements are entitled to register and vote in elections," he said. "Though voting is a right so many citizens take for granted, the City of New York cannot 'obviate' the restrictions imposed by the Constitution," Porzio continued, going on to say that "the weight of the citizens’ vote will be diluted by municipal voters and candidates and political parties alike will need to reconfigure their campaigns." The bill allowed non-citizens to register in political parties and vote in local elections if they hold green cards or have working visas. The only additional requirement for non-citizens is that they have been residents of New York City for a mere 30 days. In striking down the law, Porzio said that "Though Plaintiffs have not suffered harm today, the harm they will suffer is imminent." The bill was slated to go into effect for the 2023 election year. Outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio was not in favor of the measure, but agreed to sign the law anyway. Current Mayor Eric Adams was on board with the bill, saying that while the bill might not be legal, green card holders should get the vote. The idea was that because they were impacted by local leaders, and were being taxed, they should also vote, despite that being a right only for US citizens. The bill was touted by immigrant activists as necessary, because those immigrant non-citizens pay taxes and should therefore be permitted to vote. Staten Island City Councilman Joe Borelli said of the ruling that: "Today's decision validates those of us who can read the plain English words of our state constitution and state statutes: Noncitizen voting in New York is illegal, and shame on those who thought they could skirt the law for political gain. Opposition to this measure was bipartisan and cut across countless neighborhood and ethnic lines, yet progressives chose to ignore both our constitution and public sentiment in order to suit their aims. I commend the court in recognizing reality and reminding New York's professional protestor class that the rule of law matters." https://www.dailywire.com/news/disney-offering-johnny-depp-301-million-to-return-to-movie-franchise-report?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dwbrand Disney Offering Johnny Depp $301 Million To Return To Movie Franchise: Report Hollywood actor Johnny Depp is reportedly set to return to Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise after the entertainment giant offered Depp a whopping $301 million to return the role. Depp was let go from the franchise in 2018 after starring in five movies, making the film’s box office successes and some of the most profitable movies of all time. A jury recently found that Amber Heard defamed Depp in an op-ed about domestic violence, published by The Washington Post in 2018. It was alleged that Depp was let go from “Pirates of the Caribbean” in part because of the claims made in that op-ed. An insider told the Australian outlet Poptopic that Disney is “very interested in patching up their relationship with Johnny Depp. They reached out to the actor prior to his defamation trial against Amber Heard and asked whether he would be interested in returning for another ‘Pirates’ film or two.” “I know corporate sent him a gift basket with a very heartfelt letter, but I’m unsure how it was received,” the source alleged. “But what I can tell you is that the studio has already penned up a draft for a film about Jack Sparrow — so they are very hopeful that Johnny will forgive them and return as his iconic character.” According to Poptopic’s insider, the company is “prepping a deal for USD$301 million deal that will include a sizable donation to a charity of Depp’s choice. The deal is reportedly for Johnny Depp to return as Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean 6 and a spin-off Disney Plus series about the early life of the Captain of The Black Pearl.” Following his legal victory, Depp said in a statement, “Six years later, the jury gave me my life back … I am truly humbled.” Personally, as much as I love Johnny’s portrayal of Captain Jack, I think it’s time for he and the franchise to end… the movies just weren’t as good, but as we all know Disney, I’m sure they’ll want to keep their cash cow afloat. Accountable 2U ​​https://Accountable2You.com/FLF Using a smartphone or computer opens the door to a host of digital temptations. In a world saturated with pornography and other harmful content, what's a Christian to do? We need to take a proactive approach, welcoming transparency in our digital media choices—and Accountable2You makes that easy. Their accountability software shares detailed activity reports from all your devices, and your kids' devices, in real time to the accountability partners that you choose. With accountability in place, your family can effectively guard against temptations online and live with purity and integrity. Learn more and try it free at Accountable2You.com/FLF https://neonnettle.com/news/19445-thieves-steal-gas-from-pumps-as-prices-hit-record-highs-across-america- Thieves Steal Gas from Pumps as Prices Hit Record Highs across America Thieves across the United States are stealing gas as fuel prices hit record highs, according to reports.The criminals are physically taking gas from pumps and other vehicles or by hacking gas retailers' networks.Although the thieves think they are doing drivers a favor by reselling stolen gas, experts argue they are doing more harm than good."There is no Robin Hood in this," Jeff Lenard, vice president of strategic industry initiatives at the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), told Fox News Digital. "The gas station owner is the least responsible for high prices. The cost of theft gets passed on in higher prices, and when people are driving around with unsecured stolen fuel, it is a concern to anybody."Air Force veteran co-founder of NGT Academy, a network engineering and cybersecurity training academy, Terry Kim said: "It's really sad because who's really losing out in these types of situations is the gas station owner.""You can literally put them completely out of business [into] bankruptcy by doing this kind of stuff. Even though stealing oil might be helping people or getting free gas, this is really a bad thing for these gas station owners," he said.In Virginia Beach, Virginia earlier this month, police observed "numerous vehicles" using devices to pump gas from a Citgo station that was closed at the time. "Individuals were then selling the gasoline at a discounted rate through a phone application and had advertised the operation on social media. It was determined that thousands of dollars worth of gasoline was stolen from the business over several days," the Virginia Beach Police Department said in a June 14 press release. As Fox News reproted: To protect themselves from cyberattacks, fuel retailers should make sure their networks are up-to-date and properly secured so that their technology infrastructure has no vulnerabilities, or weaknesses allowing hackers to infiltrate their networks and steal or change information. Stores and franchises should also train their employees, Kim and NGT Academy co-founder Jacob Hess said.More thieves are stealing gas in the United States, with 25% of fuel retailers reporting an increase in gas thefts.Physical gas thefts not involving cyberattacks are another issue. Now it’s time for the topic that I love… sports! https://nypost.com/2022/06/26/novak-djokovic-wont-get-covid-vaccine-to-play-us-open/ Novak Djokovic won’t change mind on COVID vaccine to play US Open Novak Djokovic knows that, as things stand now, Wimbledon will be his last Grand Slam tournament of 2022, because he will not be able to play in the U.S. Open — he has not received any COVID-19 shots and can’t enter the United States as an unvaccinated foreigner. “That,” the 35-year-old from Serbia said Saturday at the All England Club, “is an extra motivation to do well here.” Djokovic began this season tied with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer at 20 major championships, then the record for a man. But Djokovic’s decision not to get vaccinated led to his deportation from Australia before the Australian Open in January — and Nadal wound up winning that tournament to get his 21st. Nadal then beat Djokovic in the quarterfinals at the French Open en route to earning his 22nd Slam title this month. When Wimbledon starts on Monday, Djokovic will have the honor of opening play at Centre Court as the defending champion. He is seeded No. 1 and will be bidding for a fourth consecutive title at the All England Club and seventh overall. “Hopefully I can have a very good tournament, as I have done in the last three editions. Then I’ll just have to wait and see. I would love to go to States. But as of today, that’s not possible,” said Djokovic, who has come down with COVID-19 twice. “There is not much I can do anymore. I mean, it’s really up to the U.S. government to make a decision whether or not they allow unvaccinated people to go into the country.” A reporter noted that Djokovic does still have time to get vaccinated before play begins at Flushing Meadows on Aug. 29, and then asked him whether “you’ve completely closed your mind to that as an option.” Djokovic replied with one word: “Yes.” This has been your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief… If you liked the show, go ahead and hit that share button. Or hey, you could sign up for a club membership, a magazine subscription, or for our conference! All of that can be found at flfnetwork.com… and as always if you want to talk about corporate partnerships… let’s talk. Email me at garrison@fightlaughfeast.com. For CrossPolitic News, I’m Garrison Hardie. Have a great day, and Lord bless.

This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Tuesday, June 27th, 2022. Pastor Toby is on vacation this week, spending time with his family… Again, I want to start this newsbrief off talking about our conference, because early bird pricing is coming to an end! Lies, Propaganda, Story Telling, and the Serrated Edge: This year our national conference is in Knoxville, TN October 6th-8th. The theme of this year’s conference is Lies, Propaganda, Storytelling and the Serrated Edge. Satan is the father of lies, and the mother of those lies is a government who has rejected God. We have especially been lied to these last two years, and the COVIDpanic has been one of the central mechanisms that our government has used to lie to us and to grab more power. Because Christians have not been reading their bibles, we are susceptible to lies and weak in our ability to fight these lies. God has given us His word to fight Satan and his lies, and we need to recover all of God’s word, its serrated edge and all. Mark your calendars for October 6th-8th, as we fight, laugh and feast with fellowship, beer and Psalms, our amazing lineup of speakers, hanging with our awesome vendors, meeting new friends, and more. Early bird tickets are available now, but will be gone before you know it! Sign up now at flfnetwork.com https://thepostmillennial.com/breaking-new-york-supreme-court-strikes-down-law-that-allowed-non-citizens-to-vote?utm_campaign=64487 New York Supreme Court strikes down law that allowed non-citizens to vote New York City's City Council approved a measure in January to give non-citizens the right to vote in local elections. But after a suit was brought by the GOP lawmakers, the New York Supreme Court ruled that no, non-citizens do not have the right to vote. The plan would have added some 800,000 New Yorkers to the voting rolls, and would have allowed them to vote for mayor, public advocate, city council, borough presidents, and school boards. Justice Ralph Porzio said that the law was in direct violation of the New York State Constitution. "The New York State Constitution expressly states that citizens meeting the age and residency requirements are entitled to register and vote in elections," he said. "Though voting is a right so many citizens take for granted, the City of New York cannot 'obviate' the restrictions imposed by the Constitution," Porzio continued, going on to say that "the weight of the citizens’ vote will be diluted by municipal voters and candidates and political parties alike will need to reconfigure their campaigns." The bill allowed non-citizens to register in political parties and vote in local elections if they hold green cards or have working visas. The only additional requirement for non-citizens is that they have been residents of New York City for a mere 30 days. In striking down the law, Porzio said that "Though Plaintiffs have not suffered harm today, the harm they will suffer is imminent." The bill was slated to go into effect for the 2023 election year. Outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio was not in favor of the measure, but agreed to sign the law anyway. Current Mayor Eric Adams was on board with the bill, saying that while the bill might not be legal, green card holders should get the vote. The idea was that because they were impacted by local leaders, and were being taxed, they should also vote, despite that being a right only for US citizens. The bill was touted by immigrant activists as necessary, because those immigrant non-citizens pay taxes and should therefore be permitted to vote. Staten Island City Councilman Joe Borelli said of the ruling that: "Today's decision validates those of us who can read the plain English words of our state constitution and state statutes: Noncitizen voting in New York is illegal, and shame on those who thought they could skirt the law for political gain. Opposition to this measure was bipartisan and cut across countless neighborhood and ethnic lines, yet progressives chose to ignore both our constitution and public sentiment in order to suit their aims. I commend the court in recognizing reality and reminding New York's professional protestor class that the rule of law matters." https://www.dailywire.com/news/disney-offering-johnny-depp-301-million-to-return-to-movie-franchise-report?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=dwbrand Disney Offering Johnny Depp $301 Million To Return To Movie Franchise: Report Hollywood actor Johnny Depp is reportedly set to return to Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise after the entertainment giant offered Depp a whopping $301 million to return the role. Depp was let go from the franchise in 2018 after starring in five movies, making the film’s box office successes and some of the most profitable movies of all time. A jury recently found that Amber Heard defamed Depp in an op-ed about domestic violence, published by The Washington Post in 2018. It was alleged that Depp was let go from “Pirates of the Caribbean” in part because of the claims made in that op-ed. An insider told the Australian outlet Poptopic that Disney is “very interested in patching up their relationship with Johnny Depp. They reached out to the actor prior to his defamation trial against Amber Heard and asked whether he would be interested in returning for another ‘Pirates’ film or two.” “I know corporate sent him a gift basket with a very heartfelt letter, but I’m unsure how it was received,” the source alleged. “But what I can tell you is that the studio has already penned up a draft for a film about Jack Sparrow — so they are very hopeful that Johnny will forgive them and return as his iconic character.” According to Poptopic’s insider, the company is “prepping a deal for USD$301 million deal that will include a sizable donation to a charity of Depp’s choice. The deal is reportedly for Johnny Depp to return as Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean 6 and a spin-off Disney Plus series about the early life of the Captain of The Black Pearl.” Following his legal victory, Depp said in a statement, “Six years later, the jury gave me my life back … I am truly humbled.” Personally, as much as I love Johnny’s portrayal of Captain Jack, I think it’s time for he and the franchise to end… the movies just weren’t as good, but as we all know Disney, I’m sure they’ll want to keep their cash cow afloat. Accountable 2U ​​https://Accountable2You.com/FLF Using a smartphone or computer opens the door to a host of digital temptations. In a world saturated with pornography and other harmful content, what's a Christian to do? We need to take a proactive approach, welcoming transparency in our digital media choices—and Accountable2You makes that easy. Their accountability software shares detailed activity reports from all your devices, and your kids' devices, in real time to the accountability partners that you choose. With accountability in place, your family can effectively guard against temptations online and live with purity and integrity. Learn more and try it free at Accountable2You.com/FLF https://neonnettle.com/news/19445-thieves-steal-gas-from-pumps-as-prices-hit-record-highs-across-america- Thieves Steal Gas from Pumps as Prices Hit Record Highs across America Thieves across the United States are stealing gas as fuel prices hit record highs, according to reports.The criminals are physically taking gas from pumps and other vehicles or by hacking gas retailers' networks.Although the thieves think they are doing drivers a favor by reselling stolen gas, experts argue they are doing more harm than good."There is no Robin Hood in this," Jeff Lenard, vice president of strategic industry initiatives at the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), told Fox News Digital. "The gas station owner is the least responsible for high prices. The cost of theft gets passed on in higher prices, and when people are driving around with unsecured stolen fuel, it is a concern to anybody."Air Force veteran co-founder of NGT Academy, a network engineering and cybersecurity training academy, Terry Kim said: "It's really sad because who's really losing out in these types of situations is the gas station owner.""You can literally put them completely out of business [into] bankruptcy by doing this kind of stuff. Even though stealing oil might be helping people or getting free gas, this is really a bad thing for these gas station owners," he said.In Virginia Beach, Virginia earlier this month, police observed "numerous vehicles" using devices to pump gas from a Citgo station that was closed at the time. "Individuals were then selling the gasoline at a discounted rate through a phone application and had advertised the operation on social media. It was determined that thousands of dollars worth of gasoline was stolen from the business over several days," the Virginia Beach Police Department said in a June 14 press release. As Fox News reproted: To protect themselves from cyberattacks, fuel retailers should make sure their networks are up-to-date and properly secured so that their technology infrastructure has no vulnerabilities, or weaknesses allowing hackers to infiltrate their networks and steal or change information. Stores and franchises should also train their employees, Kim and NGT Academy co-founder Jacob Hess said.More thieves are stealing gas in the United States, with 25% of fuel retailers reporting an increase in gas thefts.Physical gas thefts not involving cyberattacks are another issue. Now it’s time for the topic that I love… sports! https://nypost.com/2022/06/26/novak-djokovic-wont-get-covid-vaccine-to-play-us-open/ Novak Djokovic won’t change mind on COVID vaccine to play US Open Novak Djokovic knows that, as things stand now, Wimbledon will be his last Grand Slam tournament of 2022, because he will not be able to play in the U.S. Open — he has not received any COVID-19 shots and can’t enter the United States as an unvaccinated foreigner. “That,” the 35-year-old from Serbia said Saturday at the All England Club, “is an extra motivation to do well here.” Djokovic began this season tied with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer at 20 major championships, then the record for a man. But Djokovic’s decision not to get vaccinated led to his deportation from Australia before the Australian Open in January — and Nadal wound up winning that tournament to get his 21st. Nadal then beat Djokovic in the quarterfinals at the French Open en route to earning his 22nd Slam title this month. When Wimbledon starts on Monday, Djokovic will have the honor of opening play at Centre Court as the defending champion. He is seeded No. 1 and will be bidding for a fourth consecutive title at the All England Club and seventh overall. “Hopefully I can have a very good tournament, as I have done in the last three editions. Then I’ll just have to wait and see. I would love to go to States. But as of today, that’s not possible,” said Djokovic, who has come down with COVID-19 twice. “There is not much I can do anymore. I mean, it’s really up to the U.S. government to make a decision whether or not they allow unvaccinated people to go into the country.” A reporter noted that Djokovic does still have time to get vaccinated before play begins at Flushing Meadows on Aug. 29, and then asked him whether “you’ve completely closed your mind to that as an option.” Djokovic replied with one word: “Yes.” This has been your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief… If you liked the show, go ahead and hit that share button. Or hey, you could sign up for a club membership, a magazine subscription, or for our conference! All of that can be found at flfnetwork.com… and as always if you want to talk about corporate partnerships… let’s talk. Email me at garrison@fightlaughfeast.com. For CrossPolitic News, I’m Garrison Hardie. Have a great day, and Lord bless.

What wonderful surprises await the Bowery Boys in Little Caribbean? The Brooklyn enclave in Flatbush is one of the central destinations for Caribbean-American life and culture in New York City.Since the 1960s, thousands of immigrants from Jamaica, Trinidad, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and other Caribbean nations have made this historic area of Flatbush (mostly east of Flatbush Avenue) their home. The streets are lined with restaurants and markets that bring the flavors of the islands to Brooklyn.But the story of Caribbean immigration to New York City begins many decades before.Tom and Greg are joined on the show today by Dr. Tyesha Maddox, assistant professor of African and African-American Studies at Fordham University, to discuss the history of Caribbean immigration into the United States (and into New York City specifically).Then they head out into the streets of Flatbush to join Shelley Worrell, the founder of I am caribBEING who led the effort to designate an official Little Caribbean as a vibrant cultural hub. Listen in on this mini food tour of Flatbush and Nostrand Avenues and discover the secrets of this bustling neighborhood.Stops include: Peppa's  Jerk Chicken (738 Flatbush Ave.), Errol's Caribbean Delights (661 Flatbush), African Record Center (1194 Nostrand Ave), Labay Market (1127 Nostrand Ave), Allan's Bakery (1109 Nostrand Ave), and Rain Eatery and Juice Bar (1166 Nostrand Ave).This episode is brought to you by the Historic Districts Council.  Funding for this episode is provided by public funds from the  New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and Council Member Benjamin Kallos.

Welcome to the daily nugget, property insights across New Zealand. 1 question, 20 minutes or less. Today's topic: Why has central part of Auckland not been zoned for higher density? Hosted by Lawrence Lotze and joined by Raj Maharjan. For any details around Raj please head over to his website: https://isolutionsnz.com

This felt like a long week as Texas politics continue to protect the wrong things. Jimmy and EJ start the pod with three short stories which include the TxDOT I-30W study, Fort Worth's PR contract, and Councilwomen Biven's frustration over how $28 million in stimulus spending was introduced to the council.The big story was highlighting the ramifications of Roe v Wade in Texas and exploring what to do next.Here is a list of the stories mentioned:TxDOT:https://fortworthreport.org/2022/06/22/if-anyone-can-do-it-its-fort-worth-community-urban-planners-look-to-proposed-i-30-expansion-to-link-neighborhoods/FW PR Agency: https://fortworthreport.org/2022/06/22/why-fort-worth-is-using-a-pr-and-ad-agency-for-economic-development/City Council:https://fortworthreport.org/2022/06/23/we-probably-need-to-step-back-fort-worth-council-members-question-staff-proposal-for-28-million-in-stimulus-spending%ef%bf%bc/Big Story:https://fortworthreport.org/2022/06/24/what-happens-next-for-abortion-law-in-texas/https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/article262870028.html

www.commsolutionsmn.com-  Just about every city has a set of zoning laws. Things are broken up into residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural... and even with Residential you have low density (R1), medium density (R2), and high density (R3). It is becoming racist and exclusionary to build single family homes. Cities are jumping on this bandwagon with square footage minimums and maximums. At the same time cities are decrying "white people" for home ownership, they tear down starter homes to build McMansions because of the tax implications. The League of MN Cities is advocating (with 96 other cities) for a resolution that allows cities to override state ordinances to stand for the needs of their communities in zoning. The problem is that it has no teeth and accomplishes nothing. In House File 3256 (“Legalizing Affordable Housing Act”), it destroys local zoning laws from the top down. The move is to create smaller lots to fit in more homes, as these cities try to drive a desired behavior. Why does government have to dictate everything? We also discuss all the talk about gun control in America, and if we are holding other countries to the same standard for the weapons we send overseas to other countries. We also try to figure out why Republicans are going along with some of it. It's no secret that these "Red Flag Laws" are an open door to find a reason to take away someone's 2nd Amendment rights. Is anyone on the side of liberty anymore? Have you checked out our Spotify playlist? At the beginning of each episode, Jason quotes some song lyrics that have to do with the subject matter of the podcast. Andrew never knows what they are, but now he can… and so can you! We've launched the Spotify playlist: “Community Solutions Music From the Podcast!” You can listen to Roundabout from Yes after listing to Episode 30 on Roundabouts… or kick back and enjoy a rocking playlist just for the thrill of it. We add a new song every week. Subscribe and enjoy! Don't forget that you can also subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify!

I'm Josh Cooperman and this is Convo By Design with the second part of a conversation that aired on June 20th, 2022. It aired a day in advance of a Beverly Hills City Council meeting that was determining a Certificate of Ineligibility and ultimately, the future of this property located on one of the most famous residential streets in the world. And depending on which side of the issue you reside, it did or did not end well.  I'm not going to rehash the issue because that has already been done. If interested, you can find the episode in the podcast feed or go to the show notes and click on the link to listen. This episode is pretty much the last chapter until I ultimately report back with what will be built after this Carleton Burgess designed house is torn down. I'm also not going to relitigate this issue, it has already been done. Everything that needed to be said, was said in a marathon council meeting. I am going to play some excerpts of note but first, I want you to know that I see value on both sides of this issue. I believe in property owners rights. If you spend the money to buy something, and you follow the rules and you do it with transparency, you should have the right to do what you wish. At the same time, I believe in preservation because it is culturally important. If you look at Beverly Hills alone,  so many properties of note by legendary architects have been torn down and it's not because there was not a buyer for the properties. To the contrary. Many of these stories are not known until the process for saving them makes the news and by then, it's too late. Falcon Lair, PickFair, Garden of Allah, the Brown Derby. It's not just Beverly Hills. But here's the thing. Beverly Hills failed miserably in this case identifying, labeling and securing the architectural treasures within their city. City Council, with the exception of Mr. Mirisch seemed more interested in the minutia, meeting Mr. Baker and seeming just interested enough as to avoid any political blowback. A side note not related to the historical issue. Beverly Hills will be allowing the demolition of a 10,000 square foot home as the majority if not all building materials make their way to a landfill. The environmental impact of this is significant and again, is it In the best interest of the community? Is this a part of your Sustainability Plan? 1001 North Roxbury Drive is NOT a tear down and was not a property that someone would just buy for the dirt to rebuild a dream home. This property has been lovingly maintained, has a significant history in Hollywood lore.  Jack Benny, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez, supposedly Esther Williams swan that pool back in the day. The property has been published in shelter publications. In the process of trying to assure that this property was NOT listed as a significant property, well respected shelter publications and websites were deemed nothing more that shills for paid stories to promote those who did the work. As we dig in a bit, you are going to hear segments from the City Council Meeting of June 21, 2022. You are going to hear segments from over 3 hours of testimony and debate. First, Mayor Bosse and City Planner Ryan Gohlich explain how this got here in the first place. As you listen, note that this only happened because the property was sold, and the new owners applied for a Certificate of Ineligibility to begin the process of (potentially) destroying this home.  Benjamin Hanelin of Latham & Watkins now explains, in detail and masterfully lays the groundwork, a roadmap really, for obtaining a Certificate of Ineligibility. Before I play this for you, I think it is important for you to know, I don't really care if this home is torn down or not because I don't live in Beverly Hills, don't drive by this home on my way to work or dropping the kids off at school,  don't walk my dog by this home, don't see it in any way and because of that, this doesn't affect my life and so it does not materially affect...

This week Jesse looks back on more Commission discussion of Merit system council, Scott recounts his two day adventure with the UT board of trustees, and we chat about the finally to the Un-Mask of Kids Lawsuit. Than an interview with new KPD Chief Paul Noel followed by; A listener question about candidate forums and debates or lack there of, and a look ahead to County Commission meeting, Sports Authority meets, African American Equity Restoration Task Force meeting, and City Council. Don't forget to share this video with you friends, its a FREE way to support Scott and Jesse as well as REAL QUALITY local news. Subscribe to CompassKnox here Check out Barberian Productions on Facebook

On today's Hacks & Wonks week-in-review, Crystal is joined by Co-Founder and Editor of PubliCola, Erica Barnett. They start off breaking down the Supreme Court's official opinion on Dobbs, which overturns Roe v. Wade. They discuss how we got here, the immediate repercussions on Washington and the country, and what we can do about it. Next, they look at the motivations behind Seattle Pride's decision to ask for no uniformed police to participate in this year's festivities. In housing news, they question Mayor Harrell's decision to veto a bill from the City Council asking landlords to report how much rent they charge, and look at what's next for Seattle's Social Housing Initiative now that it's gathered enough votes to qualify for the November ballot. Finally, they discuss the reasoning behind Gov. Inslee signaling that he's not interested in following Biden's lead in creating a gas tax holiday in Washington state.  As always, a full text transcript of the show is available below and at officialhacksandwonks.com. Find the host, Crystal Fincher, on Twitter at @finchfrii and find today's co-host, Erica C. Barnett, at @ericacbarnett. More info is available at officialhacksandwonks.com.   Resources Abortion Funds: Northwest Abortion Access Fund - https://nwaafund.org/donate    Planned Parenthood of the Greater Northwest - https://www.weareplannedparenthood.org/onlineactions/cOJVhOyrzkq4uBcxVekXFA2?sourceid=1000065&affiliateID=091810&_ga=2.195968876.195061633.1656097315-413517584.1656097315    National Network of Abortion Funds - https://secure.actblue.com/donate/supportabortionfunds?refcode=nnafwebsite  –--------------- “What the end of Roe v. Wade means for Washington state” by Melissa Santos from Axios:  https://www.axios.com/local/seattle/2022/06/24/end-roe-v-wade-means-washington-state    “Democrats seek to stop hospital mergers that limit abortion access” by Melissa Santos from Axios: https://www.axios.com/local/seattle/2022/06/22/democrats-stop-hospital-mergers-limit-abortions    “Seattle Police officers won't march in pride parade, frustrated chief says” by Anika Varty from The Seattle Times: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/law-justice/uniformed-seattle-police-officers-will-not-march-at-seattle-pride-parade/        “Harrell vetoes plan to require Seattle landlords to report the rent they charge” by Heidi Groover from The Seattle Times:  https://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/harrell-vetoes-plan-to-require-seattle-landlords-to-report-the-rent-they-charge/   “Social Housing Initiative Pushes Forward, Fact Checking-Harrell on Homelessness” from PubliCola: https://publicola.com/2022/06/23/social-housing-initiative-pushes-forward-fact-checking-harrell-on-homelessness/    “A Photo-Finish for Seattle's Social Housing Initiative” by Hannah Krieg from The Stranger: https://www.thestranger.com/news/2022/06/22/75442679/a-photo-finish-for-seattles-social-housing-initiative    “Inslee signals no interest in WA gas tax ‘holiday'; others skeptical too” by David Kroman from The Seattle Times: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/inslee-signals-no-interest-in-a-wa-gas-tax-holiday-others-skeptical-too/    Transcript [00:00:00] Crystal Fincher: Welcome to Hacks and Wonks. I'm Crystal Fincher, and I'm a political consultant and your host. On this show, we talk with policy wonks and political hacks to gather insight into local politics and policy in Washington state through the lens of those doing the work with behind-the-scenes perspectives on what's happening, why it's happening, and what you can do about it. Full transcripts and resources referenced in the show are always available at officialhacksandwonks.com and in our episode notes. If you like the show, please feel free to leave us a good review. Today, we're continuing our Friday almost-live shows where we review the news of the week. Welcome back to the program, friend of the show and today's cohost: Seattle political reporter, editor of PubliCola, cohost of the Seattle Nice podcast and author of Quitter: A Memoir of Drinking, Relapse, and Recovery, Erica Barnett. [00:01:02] Erica Barnett: Hey Crystal. [00:01:04] Crystal Fincher: Hey, Erica. Well, it's been a morning. [00:01:09] Erica Barnett: It sure has. [00:01:12] Crystal Fincher: Because the overturning of the Roe vs Wade decision is now official. The Supreme Court, with the Dobbs decision, has ended the right to abortion for women in this country and signaled a potential end to other critical rights that are pretty basic and fundamental. And it's just rough. Where are you at with this? [00:01:44] Erica Barnett: Yeah. I tweeted out this morning, because if you're not on Twitter, do you even exist? I said basically - don't interpret the silence of people who re suffering today and who will continue to suffer because of the end of abortion rights - don't interpret our silence as consent or believing that this is okay. We've been screaming our heads off about this for years and no one listened. And now all of a sudden, everybody is screaming too. Boy, with the way I'm describing this, is way too long for a tweet. I said something much more pithy, but basically - look, I am feeling overwhelmed, but I'm also not in the state of shock that the New York Times Editorial Board appears to be, or a lot of mainstream pundits appear to be, because we knew this was coming. And we knew it was coming long before the Supreme Court even took up this case, and before the the leaked opinion - this is part of the theocracy that I would argue started long before Trump, but certainly accelerated with Trump - an illegitimate president installing Supreme Court justices for life, so I'm feeling - emotionally, I'm feeling pretty numb. But yeah, that is not by any means, it's not meant to imply that I am okay with this, or complacent, or anything of the sort. [00:03:18] Crystal Fincher: Of course. [00:03:19] Erica Barnett: I'm very upset. I'm just so upset, I can't - I can barely talk about it. [00:03:23] Crystal Fincher: Yeah. I think a lot of us are in a similar situation - certainly, there is, I will say there is, some frustration that I feel with people who are shocked about this right now, or even shocked about it when the opinion leak came out. I get how people land there, so I totally get it, but there have been so many people warning that this was coming for years. And this basically became the inevitable conclusion as soon as Trump was elected, and we knew that he was going to be making more Supreme Court picks and making a Roe vs Wade-proof majority on the Court. And so there's - I've also on Twitter, this morning, and have tweeted some stuff about it, been in some group chats about it. But man, I've said this before, listen to the people who are impacted. They know what's coming, they have to be vigilant because they know that they're going to be the people most exposed to the problem first. So yes, they're great at picking up the warning signs before other people are, and yes, they're warning and no, it may not have been on the front page of the New York Times until years later and lots of pundits, especially white male pundits, have downplayed this outcome. But this was so obvious this was coming, and the time to fight against it and to get serious about fighting against it was a long time ago. Does not mean that we cannot still fight and we absolutely need to, but I wish we would get better collectively about listening to people who are in the most impacted, most marginalized groups, most subject to harm - when they warn about things, we need to take it seriously. [00:05:33] Erica Barnett: Yeah, and I feel like what's gonna happen now is a lot of women, and people who take contraception of any kind, have been warning that contraception is next. There's a lot of things that I think are "next" on the list of rights that the Court's gonna try to strip away, but I think contraception is probably one of the very next. And I think that still, to this day, when you bring that up and you say they're gonna start banning the women's right, people's right, not to get pregnant - that people - you get laughed at, like that's absurd. In the same way that the notion of overturning Roe was absurd, maybe I don't know, back in the 90s when it was still, in retrospect, a fairly new decision, 20, 25 years old. It seemed absurd and now I think everything is just accelerated, and I think the right to access an IUD is going to be next because a lot of sort of Christian-ist right-wing pundits and politicians and people in the Court believe that that is abortion. And I won't go into all the details about their thinking there because it's absurd, but that is going to be next. And then it's going to be all kinds of rights that the Supreme Court will use this decision in the reasoning to say - that it wasn't in the Constitution and it hasn't been established law - it wasn't established law at the time in the 1800s and before, so it can't be established law now. It's everything from same sex marriage, same sex relationships, interracial marriage. The list just goes on and on and on of rights that could be impacted and probably will be impacted by this decision. So, I feel like also - in screaming my head off all these years, I have tried to say - it is not just women I know that no one cares about women. That is a well-established right, or well-established fact, that I have seen again and again in my lifetime. But this isn't "just women" and people who can get pregnant - it's all marginalized people who are going to have their rights stripped away because of the reasoning behind this decision. [00:08:00] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, we're talking about the stripping away of a lot of fundamental privacy rights, really, and that does impact marginalized populations. And this occurring at the same time where we basically have a surveillance-based economy is just really alarming, and people are justifiably scared, and harm is going to occur because of this to lots of different people, not only women. And so it is just - it's a challenge. This morning in a chat I was in, lots of people were - this is hard, distraught, and really troubled and furious. And just feeling the whole range of emotions. And someone asks - well, where is our power in this? - and people just wondering what do we do. And I think that's an important question to ask, I absolutely think the range of feelings that people are feeling are entirely justified - this is hard and rough. I hope people have grace for people that they're around because this is just another thing on top of so many other things that we're dealing with that is just hard and unjust and unnecessarily cruel, but we do still have power and we need to exercise all of our power, all of the levers that we have - because this is so critical and so fundamental, and just the beginning of the attempt to dismantle rights and dismantle privacy for people who they just view as beneath them, or they financially benefit from being beneath them. So I think it's important to continue to, at every turn, even if federal action has not occurred and they are not jumping to do that now. They do respond to pressure and if we apply all of the levers of pressure to let them know that this is a priority - we've gotta be in the streets, every town hall, every meeting, every fundraiser - people should be asking - Hey, are you, do you support ending the filibuster, do you support taking this vote? We have to codify it. There has to be a vote. We have to do what's necessary, which does involve ending the filibuster for this and so many other things, ways to protect rights - the filibuster is not more important than that. They should be asked about this by Democrats, by everyone, all of the time. They should know that this is front and center on people's minds and that people are not willing to accept anything less than action, urgent action. And so we should be demanding that of them - organizations who do endorsements should reopen those endorsements - and ending the filibuster, calling for a vote should be a basic requirement for an endorsement. It's a different change in process, but part of the signaling of this is an emergency, this is urgent is treating things like that from an institutional and from organizational points of view. Organizations have to signal that this is a right that we can't do without. Even organizations that are not thought of as women's organizations or reproductive rights organizations - this affects everyone who you deal with - this affects our community, this affects people's financial mobility, ability to not live in poverty, to dictate their own healthcare - everyone should be standing in solidarity. Every organization should be saying - okay, you want support, then these are the basic things that are gonna need to happen. You can choose not to, but we need to put our energy and effort and resources towards people who are. In the State, legislatively - we absolutely need to make sure that our legislators take action to make sure that access is available. We have a lot of areas in this state where there have been mergers - Catholic hospitals, in some cities, are the only hospitals that some communities have access to - who don't provide abortion care. We're gonna be seeing an influx of people coming from other states to get abortion care - those who have enough money to come from other states - we need to be taking action now, legislatively, to ensure that that access is available and that we're supporting just the capacity of our healthcare system to provide that. And Jay Inslee should call a special session to make that happen. He says he wants to, he supports the introduction of a constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights. I think that is a great idea. Even if it doesn't - may be close or they're saying, okay, well, Republicans may not vote for it, it may not hit the threshold - well, let's get people on record and see what they say. Let's actually force the vote. Let's let people know who stands where and what they're voting for 'cause there's been a lot of silence from Republicans in this state. And everyone should be held accountable and everyone should have the opportunity to act to do this and it should happen now. These are things that we absolutely need to do. And being involved just in mutual aid organizations, supporting those that already exist - abortion care funds - supporting those reputable ones that already exist is absolutely necessary. We're gonna have to be here for each other in community like we have not been in a long time, and organizing starts with your neighbors and being there for one another and building that network out. So just there are things that we can do, that we need to do, that we can demand of our legislators that can help protect and fortify abortion rights and access in this state, while we work hard and apply pressure to get them reinstated federally. [00:14:18] Erica Barnett: Yeah, and I think also, your point on abortion access right now is really key, because overturning the filibuster and then getting a law and then getting a law that will hold up in court, given this decision, and et cetera, et cetera is a very long process that has many maybes in it. But one thing you can do right now is give money, if you have it, to local abortion funds. And because I was mentioning to you Crystal, before we went on air, that I used to work at NARAL Pro-Choice Washington - we would get a lot of calls from people who were trying to come in from out of state, from Alaska, from Idaho to access abortion because a lot of states that even do technically have access, it is much, much harder to get a later-in-pregnancy abortion. It has been for a long time. So, if you don't have the money early on, if you don't have the access, if you don't have the permission of your parents, all sorts of reasons. And the fact was that people would call and say - can you give me money to get out here? And we didn't do that - we were an advocacy group - so we would refer them to the abortion funds in the state that have very, very limited resources. And so, the way that - there's going to be, there's this notion that there's going to be a flood of abortion refugees to Washington State, and I think that is true - in the same way that New Mexico has become a refuge state for people seeking abortions from Texas. But the fact is that you can't get an abortion out-of-state unless you have the means independently, or you're lucky enough to get funding from an abortion fund that doesn't have enough money for everybody. And so, if you have money, that is a critical place to put it right now. [00:16:14] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. Very well said. Absolutely true. We'll continue to follow this. There is also another piece of legislation that has been introduced, that can be taken up in the special session or soon thereafter, to prevent mergers. We're giving our state's Attorney General the power to deny mergers if it does impact access to abortion and other critical healthcare needs. So there are definitely things that can happen locally, there's pressure that can be applied nationally. This is going to take everybody getting involved, it's gonna take ally organizations signaling that this is critical and an emergency. This is literally a life-or-death situation for some women. And again, this is the beginning. This is the beginning of - we've seen laws in other states forcing, explicitly saying that women must be forced to carry an ectopic pregnancy. That's a death sentence. And just people who have no understanding of what basic biology actually is, and how women's cycles work and can vary - and they vary all the time - and applying and attaching punishments to things that happen naturally and that aren't preventable at all is - it's terrifying as a person needing healthcare. And I just - we have to hold power accountable. This is not a - hopefully they get to it. This is a - they need to get to it and we need to let them know that votes are at stake. [00:17:59] Erica Barnett: And can I just say, just real quickly before we get off this topic, that's great that the Attorney General is now concerned to this extent about the mergers of Catholic hospitals, but this is another thing that abortion rights advocates have been absolutely screaming our heads off about for years and years. And it is frankly infuriating to me to see - great, go for it, by all means, better incredibly late than never, I guess. But this is something that needed to happen 10 years ago, 15 years ago. And again, we were told we're hysterical and there's never gonna really be a problem. And there's always gonna be other options you can choose to go to if you're having, for example, a miscarriage and it's an emergency - you can have the ambulance take you to the hospital that you happen to know will actually let you have a managed miscarriage. And we were just told we were hysterical. And it's so infuriating now - and this is why I can't talk about it, honestly, 'cause as soon as I start going down an avenue, I start getting so mad - but this is one that really does piss me off because this is something that was actionable at the State level years ago and the State took no action. [00:19:17] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely justifiable point and I will say to those listening, there's - I'm a political consultant, I work for Democrats - but hearing the mantra "Vote Blue, No Matter Who," just "Vote Blue, this is wrong - Vote Blue." Well, we vote blue to prevent things like this from happening. We vote blue and we elect a president and congressional majorities and legislative majorities to ensure that things like this don't happen, so that they take action to prevent things like this from happening, so that they do everything in their power to keep women from losing this right. And everything in their power does include ending the filibuster - that's within their power - and just being in the situation where it's like voting rights, disability rights, women's rights, healthcare just falling at the whim of one or two Congresspeople in a filibuster - when we see more energy being applied to sometimes more progressive people for rocking the boat. Well, yeah, we're gonna rock the boat if this is where the boat is headed - we've gotta turn this thing around and you have to earn the ability to say - we vote for Democrats so that this won't happen. You can't let this happen. You have to fight with everything you have and do everything in your power. They have not done everything in their power, right? So we have to see that - I'm gonna be voting for the Democratic nominee for president, right? I'm going to, but I'm not going to be surprised at low turnout and bad outcomes, if we don't have leaders who are willing to step up and use their power to prevent real, immediate, tangible harm. And in some cases, death, which absolutely will occur, which absolutely will occur. You have to earn this. You have to act. You can't find it easier to give an excuse than to fight to convince people why it's worth taking this vote and taking this fight on. If we spent as much energy collectively making the case for why this needs to happen, instead of coming up with excuses why it can't, and applying pressure - so at least we're doing everything in our power to pressure Joe Manchin to make it happen, in the way that we've seen other people pressured. And not - well, we'll wait for his - when they wanna make life hard for someone, they can. When they want to apply pressure, they can. They choose when to and when not to, and to allow everyone else to experience these consequences while we're watching people in relative comfort not take action, is absolutely infuriating to people being harmed. They're looking at people, they're like - I hear sometimes - well, why aren't we just mad at Republicans? Trust me, we are. But we know who they are. And Democrats are saying that they're people who stand against this and who fight against this, so we're waiting to see the fight. We need to see the fight. We need to see action now. And I am as frustrated as anyone else by not seeing people do everything in their power to help this, because this has such wide-ranging ramifications immediately. There are several states that have trigger laws that make abortion illegal immediately, or sometimes up to a month in these states. But it is coming and we need action, and we should hold people accountable for taking action. I also get furious about this. You can tell I'm a bit frustrated and trying to moderate the emotion but it's infuriating, it's absolutely infuriating. It's something in a long line of things that are infuriating. Just - I'll leave it there. With that said, there are some other things that happened this week that we could talk about, including - Pride is coming up, Pride Parade is coming up this weekend. We're coming back together in person, it's an exciting time for a lot of people. But we've had a conversation here locally that has taken place in a lot of different cities and countries - in should police be allowed to march in Pride? Should they be excluded from Pride? What is happening here? [00:24:33] Erica Barnett: Well, I would say, and perhaps this'll be an odd framing, but I would say that the police department in Seattle has sort of - Pride has asked, the main Pride Parade organizers have asked, have said that they are not, that police officers in uniform are not welcome. The way that I would frame it though, is that the police department then sort of made it into a bigger story than it would've been by issuing a lengthy statement from Police Chief Adrian Diaz, saying that this is unacceptable and almost prejudicial to not allow this. The sort of reasoning, which may be obvious, is that LGBTQ+ rights were were won against the force of the state - Stonewall was a riot sparked by police violence. [00:25:27] Crystal Fincher: Against police brutality. Yeah. [00:25:29] Erica Barnett: Yeah, and so it would be inappropriate for armed police officers to be marching in the parade and sort of giving a rainbow sheen to the police department. And so that's what's happened - this is the, I believe the second year in a row, there's been a clash over this, maybe the third year. No second year, 'cause obviously we had a pandemic. But I think the police are being a little provocative. They are still permitted and there are many LGBTQ+ police officers - and I think that is something that is somewhat getting lost in this debate and something that Diaz did attempt to rather clumsily to point out - but the issue is not whether those officers are themselves individually allowed to participate in the parade. The issue is marching in uniform and sort of saying the police are big supporters of LGBTQ rights, and so I think that is the crux of the issue. And ultimately, Pride can say what they wanna say and they can ban who they wanna ban, and what are the police gonna do - show up unwanted? That just seems that would be an act of provocation that would be absolutely outrageous and a distraction, I think, from the joyfulness and the excitement of Pride weekend. [00:26:54] Crystal Fincher: It absolutely would be, also wouldn't be a surprise to see that happen. But to me it's pretty simple - given the origin of Pride, it absolutely makes sense that you would not want to have armed officers. It was about literally fighting against that, fighting against the harm that it has caused. I think the community being impacted and harmed has the right to dictate their response to that harm. And I - it's one thing if the police want to characterize themselves as wonderful, lots of people wanna characterize themselves as wonderful. But if a person is saying you have harmed me, you've continued to harm me, you've been a harmful force in my community - that's their thing, that's their right, they have experienced that harm. And this is their community celebration. I wouldn't walk into a religious celebration and say - you must allow different people - this is a community that has been harmed, that this celebration came out of fighting to reduce that harm and fighting for themselves and for their survival. And so why are we not centering whatever it is around the concerns and cares of that community and letting this group force themselves, feel entitled to be part of it? It just seems like - they are being provocative. They're also finding time to meet about this and spending a lot of time talking in the media and everything. Where was this time at, when they decided they couldn't investigate sexual assault? [00:28:53] Erica Barnett: Well, I do wanna introduce just a tiny bit of nuance, which is that - that no community is is monolithic and to say that LGBT people have certain political beliefs on - or LGBTQ+ people in the military or in the police force are not real members of that community - I know it's not what you're saying, but there is a slippery slope there. And I do think that it is important to acknowledge that the people who are in SPD, who are members of that community, do exist. They are legitimate members of that community. And I understand some of the hurt that they are feeling as well. And I don't wanna just totally diminish that by saying - cops are bad and they shouldn't be allowed to participate because of the origin of Pride. But I do think, but again, that is a bit of nuance - I think that the mutual provocations here are around this issue of whether they should be able to be essentially marching in formation, in military-style uniforms, in the middle of a Pride Parade. And I think - let's just take that off the table and say that's not gonna happen. And how are we going to invite individual officers, not in uniform, to participate in a celebration of their community - that's a more appropriate question and let's just leave the whole possibility of cops marching in formation out of it. [00:30:32] Crystal Fincher: I would just say two things. One, you're absolutely correct. The community is not a monolith - no community is - and that's evidenced in the variety of Pride celebrations. And we've seen that, and have talked about that in various ways before. But I do think as the organizers of this particular event, if not legally - but certainly seems like they can legally - but just ethically and morally, they get to dictate the terms of participation. And especially if they feel they're centering the safety of the community that they're putting on this event to celebrate. And the other thing I would say is that I don't think it's always so easy to just dismiss the possibility of the police showing up. People have to prepare for that, because they have in other situations and because that can create harm, it can escalate it. So organizers have to think about that, the community needs to plan around that, people who may be impacted by that do have to think about that. And they have to think about that because of provocations that they've seen in other situations. So it's almost a privilege to not be, to be like - ah, don't worry about it. Because you do have to worry about it - and that's the crux of the problem - that is something that is a known possibility. And that, in and of itself, is its own thing that you have to prepare for that's not that pleasant, and have contingency plans for and all of that, because that is a wild card that could happen. Or some escalation happens, right? So it's - I just don't think it's as simple as - ah, let them be nice. They have a - we see the complaints and the reports and the investigations - there is a history in town here of them engaging in harmful ways, and escalating in situations, and inserting themselves into situations, where investigations of them have found that they have escalated situations. So I think they have to think about it, right? But they shouldn't - it would be nice that they didn't have to. At the same time, your point that there are people in the LGBTQ community, in the Seattle Police Department and others, is absolutely true. And - hey, if they wanna have a Cop Pride Parade, where they're marching in uniform, they could absolutely do that. I haven't seen those, but that seems like that would be a great thing for the police department, if they are primarily concerned with supporting their community and their officers, that they could do. And yeah, I think that's the thing, but it'll continue - we'll see how it goes. Also this week, or within the past couple weeks, Mayor Harrell vetoed a plan that would have required Seattle landlords to report the rent they charge. Why did he do that? [00:34:05] Erica Barnett: Well, this is a really interesting bill, which I covered from the beginning back in March when they first started discussing it, because the original purpose of the bill - and it came from Alex Pedersen, one of the more conservative members of the council - the original purpose was to basically get landlords to provide some information about the rents they charge, in order to essentially demonstrate that small landlords are good and need to be preserved. Because the theory, the hypothesis went that they charge lower rents. And so, during the upcoming comprehensive plan - this is really a zoning bill, weirdly enough - during the upcoming comprehensive plan, they could not make changes that would increase density, so as to preserve these small landlords. So it was conceived as a pro-landlord bill. Then it got support from Councilmember Sawant and Tammy Morales on the left, who are eager to get just this information out there, because it's really hard to know when you're renting an apartment, what the average rent is in that area. You can go on all kinds of websites that tell you all different things, you can sort of look and see what else is available in the area, but that doesn't give you a real sense. And so they were like - this is great, we need more information so that renters can have the same kind of information that home buyers do about mortgages and housing costs. So, the mayor, to answer your question, ultimately vetoed it 'cause he said it was too anti-landlord and that it would've been too onerous on landlords, it would've violated their rights by requiring them to reveal so-called proprietary information, i.e. what they were charging in rents. And that it would be unreliable because people, landlords would essentially just choose to opt-out or they would choose to lie. So, a whole bunch of what I would call very unconvincing arguments. I think the real purpose was to protect landlords from having to to reveal something that might ultimately have caused them to have to lower their rent because the rents they're charging are unreasonable, and it also would've increased renter's ability to have some information parity, if no other kind of parity with the landlords that charge them rent. So, it was an anti-renter and a pro-landlord veto in very, very short. [00:36:32] Crystal Fincher: No, I think you summed it up quite well, and in this time where Bruce Harrell loves a dashboard - he talks about data and wanting to get more information. It seems like when there is a widely acknowledged housing affordability crisis that is exacerbating the homelessness crisis, doing everything we can - and the Harrell administration, all of it, all of the plans and all of his announcements have started with we need to gather the data and we'll get a dashboard up and all of that. This seems like a very basic step to do that. Landlords ostensibly advertise their rent when they're doing that anyway, which was one of the very basic things and I think Alex Pedersen - who is one of the more conservative members of the Council - it sounded perfectly reasonable, and he's taking this step to address housing affordability. I love the - funny enough, it comes down to zoning - as a former land use and planning board commissioner - man, everything comes down to zoning. [00:37:40] Erica Barnett: Yep. [00:37:41] Crystal Fincher: But it's - this was so basic and common sense, and it just seems - wow, we ask a lot from homeowners. We actually require homeowners to give a ton of personal, extremely personal information to landlords. We require people getting rental assistance and other assistance to give a ton of extremely personal information over to government entities and man, what a difference when it just comes to asking landlords to report what they're charging - which they have to report already in various formats - just really confounding and seems like a very clear and bold statement about where, who's being centered in this policy. And where, if we're talking about this housing affordability crisis, where help is not likely to come from. And it's just unfortunate 'cause if this is hard, then doing the actual things to increase affordability are a lot harder than this. So it's just troubling that that was a hard thing, when it initially would've been very basic - received a lot of pushback from Sara Nelson on the Council, and it looks like Mayor Harrell wound up feeling very similarly to Councilmember Nelson. [00:39:12] Erica Barnett: Well, it's very interesting that Councilmember Nelson sort of said several times - well, renters can just go and look on Craigslist or whatever - obviously a statement from somebody who hasn't had to rent in a very, very long time. It is so hard to know. It is so hard to even know what the place that you're trying to rent rents for, honestly, because a lot of times it'll be a range, and it'll be five months free or whatever, and then the deposit is huge. So in comparison - you wanna buy a house - you can go see what it's sold for the last five times it sold, you can see what the asking price is, you can see what the adjacent houses sold for - just, there's a tremendous amount of information. And this information, by the way, used to be available - there was a private company that provided it. And that company went out of business and that is what precipitated this legislation. So there's a long precedent of this information actually being available. The fact that it is not available is a new thing, not a longstanding situation. [00:40:13] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, and relevant to so many people in the City - about half of the City's residents are renters. And so this is very meaningful and very impactful for a lot of people in the City. And so we'll see what the next plan is, but action is needed. Housing is so expensive and continues to rise in and around Seattle and the State. So hopefully more action is figured out, or there are questions brought to Bruce Harrell to say - okay, so what is the plan? If we can't gather basic data, what are you going to do to make housing more affordable? Lots of things are on the table, action is needed - what is going to get done? Also - that we see here - is the Social Housing Initiative turned in their signatures. They exceeded the threshold. What happened here? [00:41:19] Erica Barnett: So this is the initiative to create a public development authority which would, and I'm sure your listeners already know this - I'm repeating myself, I'm sure - but basically it would create an authority that could build affordable housing, publicly-owned housing, permanently affordable housing. They turned in, I believe, around 29,000-something signatures, and they did not get as many signatures as they wanted. So when you turn in signatures for an initiative, a lot of them tend to get thrown out because they are illegible, they have addresses outside of Seattle, they're not eligible voters, et cetera. So they had hoped to turn in 35,000, they got around 29,000. And I think it remains to be seen, and they said this week at a press conference that it remains to be seen, whether that's going to end up being enough valid signatures. They do have an opportunity if it's just a few, or a few hundred, short to go out and collect those signatures. They get 20 days to do that, so this very well could be on the ballot in November. They did say that if they don't achieve their goal this time, they're not giving up, they're gonna keep pushing for this social housing measure. So either way, it's not gonna go away, but it could be on the ballot as soon as November. [00:42:40] Crystal Fincher: Well, and the very last thing that we'll cover super quickly - Inslee signaling no interest in suspending Washington's gas tax, as President Biden has signaled a potential easing of the federal gas tax for a period. What is Inslee thinking? [00:43:03] Erica Barnett: Well, I don't know exactly what Inslee's logic is, but my guess is that, in the same way that the the Biden proposal is not certain to lower gas taxes, neither is a local proposal or a state proposal, and you lose a lot of money. The gas tax in Washington State funds transportation projects and primarily, almost exclusively roads. So you can argue over some of those specific roadway expansion projects, but nonetheless it's a blunt instrument to suddenly eliminate a huge tax resource, without any real guarantee that gas companies won't just further increase the prices so that they make even more profit, since in the same way that this is not Biden's fault - Biden does not hold the main levers to actually decrease gas prices substantially, the oil companies do and they're making record profits. So I think that there's probably some caution about that. Are we gonna cut this tax, lose a lot of money, and gain nothing for consumers - that's a real risk. [00:44:11] Crystal Fincher: That is definitely a real risk and Biden is certainly receiving some of that feedback on his proposal. Gas prices are up around the world, the percentage increases that we're seeing in the United States are not close to the highest increases that other people have seen in some other countries. A lot of this is a supply problem, which easing the gas tax does not allow, and in fact it could make the supply problem a little worse if it encourages more people to buy gas. And it does rob folks of revenue, it does allow oil companies to - essentially if they wanted to - just pocket the difference and not pass along this to consumers. We're funneling this through essentially Big Oil, who is not known for being really generous and magnanimous and they like a lot of profit for themselves. And if anything - man, this money could be invested in helping reduce our reliance on this, to build infrastructure that enables more people to safely and efficiently use other methods of travel for short or long trips or commutes or all of the above. It just is - it's something, but sometimes doing something, even though it is something - if it doesn't fix the problem, why do it? And so I actually think Inslee is right on on this, because it's not actually a solution to the problem. With that, we will conclude today's conversation. Thank you for listening to Hacks & Wonks on this Friday, June 24th, 2022. The producer of Hacks & Wonks is Lisl Stadler - who just had a baby! - and assistant producer Shannon Cheng with assistance from Bryce Cannatelli, and our wonderful cohost today is Seattle political reporter and editor of PubliCola, Erica Barnett. You can find Erica on Twitter @ericacbarnett - that's Erica with a "c", and then another "c", Barnett - and on PubliCola.com. And you can buy her book, Quitter: A Memoir of Drinking, Relapse, and Recovery. You can find me on Twitter @finchfrii and all those things. You can find Hacks & Wonks on wherever you get your podcasts - just make sure to subscribe so you get our midweek and our end of week show. You can also get a full transcript of this episode and links to all of the resources referenced in the show. We will also have abortion fund resources in the show notes also and in the podcast episode notes. Thanks for tuning in - we'll talk to you next time.

City Administrator Mike Nardini discusses this week’s Pella City Council meeting and previews next week’s special session.

Here are the relevant links for this episode:Cabinet shufflePremier announces Cabinet changesTaxi faresFuel price hikes could prompt increase to Edmonton taxi ratesPassport lineupsAlbertans are camping outside Canada Place as early as 1:30 a.m. to get a passportPolice stuff News Release: Improving public safety in Edmonton: Joint news release City council votes to create business plan for downtown Edmonton safety initiative Police commission member recruitment underway Encampment strategy Edmonton looking into pilot for small, city-sanctioned homeless encampments Surge in Edmonton's homeless camps likely this summer but staff don't recommend city-run encampment City looking at different options to address increase in homelessness in Edmonton Affordable housing News Release: City exceeds affordable housing targets, lays out next steps for future investments City of Edmonton exceeds affordable housing targets Mansions tax Edmonton councillor wants mansion tax, city studies progressive taxation It's time for a Mansions Tax Valley Line Southeast LRT Valley Line Southeast LRT extension on track for summer opening, no date set: TransEd April 2009: Edmonton's LRT now extends to South Campus Speaking Municipally is a proud member of the Alberta Podcast Network: locally grown, community supported.This week we highlighted The Well Endowed Podcast from the Edmonton Community Foundation. Episode 125 scratches the surface of Edmonton's history with racism. We also talked about Park Power, your friendly, local utilities provider in Alberta. Offering Internet, Electricity, and Natural Gas with low rates, awesome service, and profit-sharing with local charities.Speaking Municipally is produced by Taproot Edmonton, a source of curiosity-driven original stories, curated newsletters on various topics, and locally focused podcasts, all in the service of informing Edmontonians about what is going on in their community. Sign up to get The Pulse, our weekday news briefing. It's free!★ Support this podcast ★

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and West Memphis Mayor Marco McClendon join Dr. Stewart, Rhyane, Jasper and Terence to talk about navigating between old school and new school, their respective legacy legislations, serving the community versus not kicking the can and so much more. They are both the youngest elected Mayors in their respective cities but have been in service to the community on the City Council for a decade or better. It was a phenomenal conversation. Gems and mics were dropped.  If you missed it live, here's your chance to catch it.   

It’s the final Friday of June, unless something can be done to add another day to the month. I am unaware of any campaign to do so, but perhaps there need to be changes. So, welcome to this 24th day of the fifth interval of what we’ve come to call the two thousand and twenty-second year. This is Charlottesville Community Engagement, a newsletter and podcast about the built environment that celebrates 400 editions with this installment that arrives 711 days later. I’m your host, Sean Tubbs. Sign up for a free subscription, but if you opt to pay, Ting will match your initial payment! On today’s edition of the program:Charlottesville’s budget surplus is increasing with revenues higher than originally budgetedCharlottesville City Council will make appointments to the Planning Commission in July You can count on one hand the number of Albemarle residents who voted in the Republican Primary for the 7th Congressional District Changes to Charlottesville Area Transit routes could soon occur as soon as more drivers can be hired First shout-out: The Plant Northern Piedmont Natives Campaign Since the very beginning of this newsletter, one long-time Patreon supporter has used his shout-out to draw your attention to the work of the Plant Northern Piedmont Natives Campaign but today let’s talk about National Pollinator Week, which runs through June 26! There will be many events designed to draw your attention to the crucial role that bees and other creatures play in making sure plants reproduce. On Saturday at 10 a.m., Scottsville’s Center for the Arts and Natural Environment will host Allison Wickham from Siller Pollinator Company will lead an introduction to bees and beekeeping. If you're thinking about starting a backyard beehive or are just curious about what's involved with keeping bees, then this is a great introductory class for you. There will even be a honey competition judged by Allison Wickham! For the tuition rate and to register, visit svilleartsandnature.org for a list of all of the upcoming classes. Charlottesville’s FY22 surplus likely to increaseThere’s less than a week until the fiscal new year for Virginia and its local governments. On Tuesday, Charlottesville City Council got an update from interim City Manager Michael C. Rogers on what can be expected in terms of “one-time money” in the form of a financial report. (read the report)“And we see that there’s a projected $14 million surplus for revenue,” Rogers said. That’s higher than the $13 million projected in April. However, Rogers said that number could change as the city’s expenditures have also been down due to various reasons including COVID. “We have a lot of vacancies in our budget, the market has had an impact on our ability to hire as rapidly as we need to,” Rogers said. “While 92 percent of the budget year has passed, we’ve only spent about 85 percent of our budget expenditures. That’s going to release in a surplus.”However, Rogers said the actual surplus will not be known until later in the year after the city’s books are closed and reconciled. One of the reasons why there will be a surplus is due to tax rates increases and assessment rises for personal property and real estate. Earlier this year, Council voted to increase the real estate tax rate to $0.96 per $100 of assessed value. That penny increase applied to the entire calendar year of 2022. Council also opted to keep the personal property rate at $4.20 per $100 of assessed value, also contributing to the surplus. That was over the recommendation of Commissioner of Revenue Todd Divers who suggested reducing it due to a sharp increase in the value of used vehicles. The city also will not bring in as much revenue from Parks and Recreation as originally believed. “During the budget process we budgeted for the idea that we thought we would be fully operational but as you know we’re not and so therefore we are not going to make those marks,” said Krisy Hammill, the city’s senior budget performance analyst. The city has also closed on its latest sale of municipal bonds which are used to finance capital projects. The cost of doing so will increase as interest rates go up. “We closed with about $28 million at a rate at about 3.07 percent, which is about double of what we got last year but it is indicative of the market and still a very good rate,” Hammill said. Council makes appointments, but not yet to Planning CommissionOn Tuesday, City Council appointed Laura Knott and Sally Duncan to the city’s Historic Resources Committee and Dashad Cooper to the Police Civilian Oversight Board. Other appointments included members of the Sister Cities Commission, the Region 10 Board, and the Retirement Commission. However, they did not fill all the open positions.“Appointments to the Planning Commission have been postponed until the July 18 Council meeting,” said Charlottesville Mayor Lloyd Snook. “There were a few people we needed to interview and didn’t have time to do it today and at least one person was not available.”Council will not meet the first week of July. The window to apply for the Planning Commission has closed. There were at least 28 applications for the five seats, including those of sitting Commissioners Karim Habbab, Hosea Mitchell, and Rory Stolzenberg. There will be at least two newcomers because Commissioners Taneia Dowell and Jody Lahendro are not eligible for another term.  There are three at-large vacancies on the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority. Applications for those positions are due on August 5, 2022. That entity’s next public meeting is June 27, 2022 and there’s no information yet available on their website. In fact, there’s not been a meeting listed on the CRHA website since January 2021. (apply here)City still seeking to fill key vacancies crucial to approval of new buildings Earlier this month, interim Charlottesville City Manager Michael C. Rogers told Council of a shortage of building inspectors. On Tuesday, he said positions are being readvertised and other solutions are being explored. “I have executed an agreement with the University of Virginia’s building official to provide staff capacity to assist us in the permitting and inspections process and they began last week,” Rogers said.Rogers said the agreement will carry into the fall. Albemarle Republicans choose Anderson in 7th Congressional District Voters in Albemarle’s “Small Sliver” within Virginia’s new 7th Congressional District went to the polls Tuesday in the Republican primary. Eight people in all voted in the six way race and half selected Derrick Anderson, the candidate who came in second-place overall. There were two votes for State Senator Bryce Reeves who came in third and two votes for the winner. Yesli Vega received 10,878 votes and will face incumbent Democrat Abigail Spanberger in November. Albemarle County is otherwise entirely within the new Fifth District. I’ve begun reporting on the Fifth District with a new newsletter if you want to join my journey in learning more about the localities within. In today’s two other shout-outs: Code for Charlottesville and local media!You’re listening to Charlottesville. Community Engagement and it’s time for two quick shout-outs. Code for Charlottesville is seeking volunteers with tech, data, design, and research skills to work on community service projects. Founded in September 2019, Code for Charlottesville has worked on projects with the Legal Aid Justice Center, the Charlottesville Fire Department, and the Charlottesville Office of Human Rights. Visit codeforcville.org to learn about those projects. The final comes from another Patreon supporter who wants you to go out and read a local news story written by a local journalist. Whether it be the Daily Progress, Charlottesville Tomorrow, C-Ville Weekly, NBC29, CBS19, WINA, the Crozet Gazette, or some other place I’ve not mentioned - the community depends on a network of people writing about the community. Go learn about this place today!Next steps for Charlottesville Area Transit route changes outlined at partnership meeting Before the pandemic, Charlottesville Area Transit hired the firm Nelson Nygaard to take a look at its routes to suggest changes to optimize service. The study was done but nothing has been implemented so far. The Jefferson Area Regional Transit Partnership got an update at their meeting yesterday.“CAT planned on implementing that system optimization plan last year but they’ve been dealing with driver shortages like every other transit agency in the country so that’s been postponed,” said Jim Baker of Nelson Nygaard. CAT director Garland Williams directed Nelson Nygaard to revisit the route changes to identify how it might be phased into service over time rather than be done all at once. This would include restoring service to pre-COVID levels, expanding service areas in both Charlottesville and Albemarle, and expanding Saturday and Sunday service. Since the pandemic, CAT has run no service on Sundays. “We felt like that’s a pressing need to get some level of Sunday service back on the streets,” Baker said. “So we’re proposing to get the trolley back online, the Route 12 which ran pre-pandemic up the U.S. 29 corridor, and to get service down into Avon Street past the CAT garage for Sunday service. Baker said three routes would see changes as part of the first phase.The Center at Belvedere would finally be served by the northbound journey of Route 11. To make up for the time, there will no longer be service on a loop that runs through the Locust Grove neighborhood.  Route 2 would be split into two services with 2A serving Fifth Street Station and the Willoughby Shopping Center and 2B serving Mill Creek in Albemarle County for the first time on its way to Piedmont Virginia Community College. This would also serve Monticello High School. 2A would run for some of Sunday A second bus would be added to the current Route 6 to improve frequency to 30 minutesThe second phase would make changes to services along the U.S. 29 corridor.Route 7 would be expanded to the Wal-Mart and would travel bi-directionally along Hillsdale Drive and through Seminole Square Shopping Center. Baker said the goal here is to link downtown Charlottesville with Wal-Mart, which is a major shopping destination. Route 5 would no longer travel to the Wal-Mart but would instead have a northern terminus at Fashion Square Mall. Its new southern terminus would be the UVA Hospital. The Sunday-only Route 12 would be eliminated in favor of Route 7 going seven days a week The third phase will implement the rest of the changes. Here are some of them:Saturday service would be introduced to Route 1 Route 3 would be broken into two routes with one traveling solely between downtown and Willoughby Shopping Center A new route, tentatively known as Route 3E, would travel around Belmont and downtownRoute 6 would no longer serve the University of Virginia Hospital via Prospect Avenue. It would also be routed along South First Street as it travels between downtown and the Willoughby Shopping Center. This would add additional service to Crescent Hall.Route 8 serves Stonefield and would be altered to travel south to the University of Virginia Hospital and down to Willoughby Shopping Center via Prospect Avenue. This service would no longer travel downtown. Route 9 would also no longer serve the UVA Hospital and would instead travel to Fashion Square Mall Route 10 would be altered to no longer travel on Stony Point Road and instead would travel bidirectionally through the Pantops Shopping Center on its way between Downtown Charlottesville and Sentara Martha JeffersonWhen will the phases be implemented? According to the presentation, that’s all going to depend on drivers. Six more drivers are needed for phase one, a total of 12 are needed for phase two, and a total of 27 are needed for phase 3. There’s an additional “phase three plus” that’s perhaps not worth detailing because it would need a total of 46 additional drivers. That’s a much higher number than six. “Assuming we can get the pay scale to be comparable to Jaunt and [University Transit System], and we can get six more drivers, that should not be [beyond the reach] and then we can begin phase 1,” Williams said. “The jump, though, is getting authorization from the city and the county to fund us to make the additional resources.” The Regional Transit Partnership meeting was held a couple of hours before a public meeting on the Regional Transit Vision Plan. which is $350,000 in the making. The following illustrates confusion that can come from having planning processes not tied to actual logistics. City Councilor Brian Pinkston asked what the proposed CAT changes had to do with that study.“Is this sort of like a first step towards that larger vision?”Williams said these changes have nothing to do with the Regional Transit Vision Plan. “They didn’t even copy these routes,” Williams said. “They took a whole new approach and said the slate was clean.” I’ll have more from the Regional Transit Partnership and more on the Regional Transit Vision plan in future installments of Charlottesville Community Engagement. Support the program!There’s a lot of information in this installment of this program, which is the 397th edition of the program. About a quarter of you are paying something to help keep Town Crier Productions in business. I have never been a very good salesperson, and won’t overly pitch.But, if you are benefiting from this newsletter and the information in it, please consider some form of support. I am not a nonprofit organization and most of my time is spent in putting the newsletter together, which includes producing the podcast.Supporting the program through a Substack contribution or through Patreon makes it very easy for me to get paid and every single dollar that I get makes me want to work that much harder to serve the community. In just under two years, I’ve produced hundreds of stories that seek to give you information about how decisions are made in our community and in the Commonwealth of Virginia.For more information on all of this, please visit the archive site Information Charlottesville to learn more, including how you too can get a shout-out! Thank you for reading, and please share with those you think might want to learn a few thing or two about what’s happening. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

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The City Council needs to be “turned upside down” — with its own speaker, parliamentarian and attorney and committee chairs it chooses — to end Mayor Lori Lightfoot's “dictatorship,” Ald. Anthony Beale (9th) said Thursday.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Guest: Colleen Hardwick, Vancouver City Councilor See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.