Podcasts about Pioneer Square

The Mariners lost again last night, but some fans are keeping the faith. Mariners playoff games have given a much-needed boost to businesses in Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood. There’s an epidemic of unpermitted food stands with serious health code violations in the Puget Sound region. // Washington Democrats want to warn illegal immigrant workers prior to ICE raids. The Democrat candidate for Governor in Virginia says it’s “horrifying” that the Trump Administration treats illegal border crossings as a criminal act. Left-wing media doesn’t know how to handle the John Bolton indictment. // A Fox News report found that the Soros Foundation is helping fund the ‘No Kings’ protests this weekend.

The Seattle Times has a ridiculous hit piece about the Mead school board’s policy towards gender identity. A bartender was slashed in the face in Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood. Guest: Saul Spady joins us from Toronto again after the Mariners game 2 victory. // Big Local: Everett is giving residents a free ride to the grocery store. Endangered seal pups originally from Southern California and Mexico were rescued near Ocean Shores. A far-left activist from Orcas Island has returned home after participating in an antisemitic flotilla near the Israeli border. // You Pick the Topic: Tips to make your coffee healthier.

Signature gatherers from Let’s Go Washington continue to be harassed. A 29-year-old’s loaded rifle fell out of his car in Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood. Guest: Saul Spady is in Toronto for the Mariners’ playoff games. // Big Local: A Puyallup business is one of many that’s struggling with higher operating costs and decreasing foot traffic. A new app that helps citizens hold their local leaders accountable is coming to Spokane. You can do goat yoga at the Sammamish animal sanctuary in Renton. // You Pick the Topic: ABC’s George Stephanopoulos exposed himself as a Democrat hack once again in an interview With Vice President J.D. Vance on Sunday. CNN’s Christiane Amanpour claimed that the Israeli hostages were treated better than the average Gazan.

Laura Marie Rivera is running for Seattle School Board District 4, which covers Queen Anne, Belltown, South Lake Union, Downtown to I-5, Pioneer Square area, and parts of Fremont and Wallingford (including Lincoln High School). Her opponent is Joe Mizrahi. This interview is part of our 2025 Seattle School Board Candidate series. Every Seattle voter will vote on four school board races in the general election: Districts 2, 4, 5, and 7.About Laura Marie RiveraRecently completed Doctor of Education (defended dissertation during campaign)Two decades as educator, nonprofit professionalFounded nonprofit on motherhood and leadership (first-of-its-kind study with nearly 1,000 responses)Parent of four: two recent SPS graduates, twins in elementary schoolMember of four unions throughout careerWent to school in San Juan Unified School District, Sacramento, CaliforniaKey PositionsFirst Priority:Restore second school board meeting every monthMore public engagement and better communication with staffOn School Board Role:Directors need to be more flexible beyond policy-settingShould look at individual students and how they're reaching goalsBoard should facilitate responses when systems aren't working for studentsOn Superintendent Search:Need someone with experience managing large budget and deficitWant actual education experience to understand classroom impactBoard needs to improve relationship with superintendent's office and publicConcerned current board hasn't set up next superintendent for successOn District Structure:Flexibility is keyFront-line educators and staff should make decisions (they see kids daily)All kids don't need same things—they're individualsCan't set one approach for 50,000 students at district policy levelOn When Goals Aren't Met:Goals are modest; would like higher goalsMust step down to individual level to understand what each child needsCould be classroom support, breakfast, undiagnosed learning disabilityEach individual child needs to meet standards for best chance at successOn Community Engagement:SPS has talked about engagement and communication for entire decadeReducing public engagement was a mistakeNeed to be thoughtful about what to do with community inputTask force recommendations should not be ignoredOther Positions:Strongly supports SPS non-discrimination policy (though notes it doesn't always work in practice)Sees board role as both trustee and representativeBelieves budget is a moral documentEducational Leader She Admires: Gina Davis (founder of Gina Davis Institute on Gender in Media)Looking Forward to Working With: Liza Rankin (though they don't see eye to eye on many things)Important InfoBallots mailed: October 15th | Due: November 4thAlso listen to: Interviews with all District 2, 4, 5, and 7 candidates at rainydayrecess.orgLaura Marie's campaign: https://lauramarie4seattleschools.com/Podcast info: rainydayrecess.org | hello@rainydayrecess.orgSupport the showContact us at hello@rainydayrecess.org.Rainy Day Recess music by Lester Mayo, logo by Cheryl Jenrow.

Fifteen years after the arrest of Mohamed Mohamud, Portland writer Jamila Osman reflects on the aftermath of that time on the local Somali community in a new essay in Oregon Humanities. Osman grew up in the same tight knit community as the young man who would go on to press a button that he thought would blow up the Christmas tree at Pioneer Square. She joins us to discuss the essay.

It was five year aqo , on August 15th 2020, that true crime author Burl Barer and his daughter, Anea, told true crime stories of Washington State while broadcasting live from Seattle's Pioneer Square. These stories are shocking!

On this solo episode DeVon reacts to the introductory press conference for Portland Fire General Manager Vanja Cernivec (6:35). DeVon also shares his thoughts regarding a potential WNBA lockout (21:12), seeing "The Roots" live at Pioneer Square and where Black Thought now stands on his all-time MC list (26:10), and Shedeur Sanders is announced as QB3 for the Cleveland Browns (37:30).

EXCLUSIVE: A drug dealer declares a right to Seattle sidewalks. A man was brutally assaulted in Pioneer Square during a completely unprovoked attack while walking home from a Mariners game. The New York Times is upset with pushups because it came from RFK Jr. and Pete Hegseth. Guest: Owner of Dinsmore Auto Group Ken Dinsmore has been dealing with the headache of repeated catalytic converter thefts. // Big Local: Arlington Public Schools decided the student that brought a loaded gun to Arlington High School will not return to campus after all. Former Island County GOP Chairman Tim Hazelo has received his sentence for violating a mask mandate. Activists in Lynnwood are pushing for a higher minimum wage. // You Pick the Topic: Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras erupted at an umpire an accidentally hit his own manager with a bat.  

Bon Voyage is a mom and pop vintage store in Pioneer Square that is run by Keith Wilson and Megan Connors. They have been open for over 15 years! This is the final episode in the 3-part series in collaboration with Alliance For Pioneer Square. Audio Engineer: Jake "theDGTL" Hillard @dgtlbeats Videographer (Interview + B-roll): Madeline Reddington @bymadelinejo

On this episode of "Getting To Know Pioneer Square", NAST sits down with Jason Lemons. Jason is the founder of The Lemon Grove which is a vintage store as well as an event space. This 3-Part series is in collaboration with Alliance for Pioneer Square. Audio Engineer: Jake "theDGTL" Hillard @dgtlbeats Videographer (Interview + B-roll): Madeline Reddington @bymadelinejo #Pioneersquare #seattle #TheLemonGrove The Lemon Grove Info: @luckylemonseattle www.thelemongrove.co NAST Insta: @nastpodcast Edited at NAST Studios www.naststudios.com

Michelle Dean is a brand marketer turned barista from South Florida. Though her former day job in marketing brought her to Seattle in 2022, family, community, and her coffee bar, Bonhomie Coffee, have made Seattle home. Michelle is Haitian-American and spent most of her life in Florida. Before earning her MBA from Georgia Tech, Michelle's marketing career began in church ministry, managing communications for a South Florida congregation. Since then, she's managed category wide strategic growth channels, owned the P&Ls, and led cross functional teams for multimillion dollar consumer packaged goods brands. She also has led brand strategy for an online automotive retailer and for kid tech products.Inspired by her Haitian heritage, in 2024, Michelle and her wife Victoria opened Bonhomie Coffee, a Haitian-inspired coffee bar situated in Pioneer Square. What started as a weekend side quest has become a space for lovers of coffee and culture. She is passionate about wellness, running, rest, pizza, and Jeff Probst. @bonhomiecoffeebar, @michelle.lately

As the Executive Director, Lisa gives us an update on the state of Pioneer Square, how the org is preparing for FIFA, and the unique way they are helping small businesses.Top Stories:1. State of Pioneer SquareSeattle magazine article and KNKX article2. Sound Transit testing light rail on I-90PSBJ article or The Urbanist article3. New taxes on businessesGeekWire article4. Glass elevator at Space NeedleGeekWire articleAbout guest Lisa Howard - Executive Director, Alliance for Pioneer Square:Lisa has been with the non-profit organization Alliance for Pioneer Square for 17 years! She earned her masters in Business from UW's Foster School of Business and her first job was working as a seamstress.Alliance for Pioneer Square websiteFree waterfront shuttle scheduleAbout host Rachel Horgan:Rachel is an independent event producer, emcee and entrepreneur. She worked for the Business Journal for 5 years as their Director of Events interviewing business leaders on stage before launching the weekly podcast. She earned her communication degree from the University of San Diego. Contact:Email: info@theweeklyseattle.comInstagram: @theweeklyseattleWebsite: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.theweeklyseattle.com⁠⁠

Arrests have been made in last week's Pioneer Square triple homicide, experts are expecting a challenging fire season in Washington state, and the Space Needle has a new upgrade, in the form of a giant glass elevator. It’s our daily roundup of top stories from the KUOW newsroom, with host Paige Browning. We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us. Tap here to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed. Got questions about local news or story ideas to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at seattlenow@kuow.org, leave us a voicemail at (206) 616-6746 or leave us feedback online.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joe Biden announced he has diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer. A man was attacked in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood when he refused to give several people his food. A shooting killed three people in Pioneer Square over the weekend. // The New York Times published a garbage story about Trump’s approval rating. Tim Walz compared ICE to the Gestapo during a University of Minnesota commencement address. Jason got called a lemming by Chris Cuomo. FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino say that Jeffrey Epstein killed himself. // Edan Alexander received a heartwarming phone call from President Trump.

5pm: Top Stories - Recaps and Updates // 3 killed, 1 critically hurt in Pioneer Square shooting // King County shootings drop, but kids with ‘Glock switch’ machine guns are the new warning sign // Man stabbed after refusing to hand over food to group in Belltown // Family of Ashli Babbitt awarded $5 million settlement // Los Angeles barbershop blasts ‘Baby Shark’ to ward off homeless // What the Hur Recordings Tell Us About Biden’s Memory Decline // White House fires back at special counsel report, Harris calls descriptions 'politically motivated' // Joe Biden's Cancer Diagnosis Shouldn't End Scrutiny of the Cognitive Decline Cover-Up // Letters 

Police are still looking into a deadly weekend shooting in Pioneer Square, Governor Bob Ferguson has one day left to approve the state budget, and Tesla regret comes in a satirical form. It’s our daily roundup of top stories from the KUOW newsroom, with host Cat Smith. We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us. Tap here to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed. Got questions about local news or story ideas to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at seattlenow@kuow.org, leave us a voicemail at (206) 616-6746 or leave us feedback online.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In honor of May’s Hunger Awareness Month, we’re joined by Michelle Douglas, CEO of Emergency Food Network // Randy Brooks, founder and winemaker at Bacovino, tells us about their new waterfront tasting room in Pioneer Square // Spring Pasta Dishes // Liz Philpot, founder of Eat Seattle Tours, shares what’s new on their latest food tours and programs // Chef Rasyidah Rosli is going to transport us to the bustling streets of Thailand’s famous Chatuchak Night Market // Pastry Chef Brittany Bardeleben from Hot Cakes is here to talk springtime desserts // And of course, we’ll wrap up today’s show with Food for Thought: Tasty Trivia!

We're talking all things architecture, design, and tall buildings! Julia is responsible for shaping Seattle's skyline with her signature skyscrapers like Skyglass in SLU. We find out how she is able to push the boundaries of what's possible, her thoughts on sustainability, and her most impactful piece of architecture that changed the course of her life.Top Stories1. Belltown high-rise sells for over $100MPSBJ article2. Pioneer Square hotel to be carbon positivePSBJ article3. Developer to start Ballard mid-rise apartment projectPSBJ article4. Bill to end landmark abuse likely to passPSBJ articleAbout guest Julia Nagele - Senior Principal and Director of Design and Architecture at HEWITT:Julia brings more than 20 yrs experience shaping complex urban environments. She has won many awards for her skyscrapers in Seattle. She also serves as an Affiliate Assistant Professor at the UW's College of Built Environments. Prior to this, she ran her own interior design company.About host Rachel Horgan:Rachel is an independent event producer, emcee and entrepreneur. She worked for the Business Journal for 5 years as their Director of Events interviewing business leaders on stage before launching the weekly podcast. She earned her communication degree from the University of San Diego. Contact:Email: info@theweeklyseattle.comInstagram: @theweeklyseattleWebsite: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.theweeklyseattle.com⁠⁠

Voters in Seattle are overwhelmingly supporting a tax on big businesses to fund a social housing developer. Now, that developer has to build housing or snap up an existing building. KUOW reporter Joshua McNichols tells us what comes next and how soon we can expect it. Watch Mayor Bruce Harrell's 2025 State of the City Address here. Watch Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal's community forum here. Learn more about Jazz Night in Pioneer Square here. We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us. Tap here to make a gift and keep Seattle Now in your feed. Got questions about local news or story ideas to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at seattlenow@kuow.org, leave us a voicemail at (206) 616-6746 or leave us feedback online.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What’s Trending: The Washington State Supreme Court is a hearing a case about bans on high capacity magazines. The FBI has decided to disband its DEI office. A man was stabbed in the neck near Pioneer Square. // LongForm: GUEST: Fox News at Night Host Trace Gallagher breaks down the latest in LA fires and the political fall out. // Quick Hit: Trump’s pick for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent got in an argument during his confirmation hearing with Bernie Sanders over Joe Biden’s claims about oligarchy in America.  

Soundside will be off the air on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. We will be back with some fresh new stories Jan. 2. For today, we’ve revisiting a mix of some of Soundside producer Alec Cowan's favorite segments from this past year, including his patrol with a pair Seattle's "real-life superheroes" and the musicians keeping jazz music alive in Seattle. We also have one new story for you, courtesy of producer Jason Megatron Burrows. 2024 was the 50th Anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons. Burrows explored how the game is staying up to date after 5 decades of gameplay, and its attempt to stay relevant in 2025. Hear and read the original stories below. Stories Featured: KUOW - A night on patrol with Seattle's 'real-life superheroes' KUOW - Jazz has a storied past in Seattle. But what about its future? KUOW - Soundside looks back at the 50th Anniversary of D&D Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! If you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Pacific Northwest's rise to cultural prominence in the 1990s—through movements like grunge and Riot Grrrl—was rooted in earlier artistic and social currents that fused homegrown creativity with global influences. Larry Reid, a pivotal figure in the region's cultural renaissance, joins us to share untold stories of how the Pacific Northwest transformed from relative isolation into a vibrant hub of innovation, with an impact felt worldwide. In this first episode of a two-part series, Larry takes us back to the transformative 1970s and '80s—a time when underground art, LGBTQ+ expression, punk rock and feminist voices converged in powerful ways. He reveals overlooked connections between these cultural forces and post-war fine art movements like pop art and post-modernism, showing how they laid the groundwork for the explosive creativity of the 1990s. According to Larry, this interplay of “high” and “low” art gave the Pacific Northwest a distinct cultural edge, setting it apart from other underground scenes across the country. From founding Rosco Louie, a groundbreaking art space in Seattle's Pioneer Square, to leading the Center on Contemporary Art (CoCA), Larry's visionary leadership united artists, writers and performers who redefined the region's identity. His vivid reflections bring this era to life, revealing how the Pacific Northwest's underground culture became the foundation of a global artistic movement. “Back then, Seattle was still relatively small and isolated. Our counterculture scene probably consisted of 200-300 people. There were very few spectators. Almost everyone involved was a participant. It was an exciting time to be in Seattle for that formative period of what later had a huge influence globally on pop culture.” ~Larry Reid

This Pioneer Square music and drinking establishment opened less than a year ago, but we're giving Baba Yaga a free pass because the building it occupies has so much Seattle dive bar history. Plus, Baba Yaga is just dripping with all the dive bar vibes we love. Join the crew as we explore dive bars past, present, and future in this historic 1890's Pioneer Square landmark. To keep it real, we're joined by the Prince of Pioneer Square himself, Lloyd Gregory. Recorded live at Baba Yaga on 10/17/2024.Learn more about the Pioneer Square Summer Fest, markets, and meetups at https://pioneersquaremarket.net/ Follow the Dim Lights & Stiff Drinks podcast on Facebook (DLandSD), Twitter (@divebarsseattle), YouTube, and Instagram (seattle_dive_bar_podcast). Share, like, follow, and subscribe!Check out the Dim Lights & Stiff Drinks podcast website (dimlightspodcast.com) for more details and additional episodes. And head over to our Patreon page (dim_lights_stiff_drinks) to help fund the shenanigans. Support Dim Lights & Stiff Drinks with PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dim-lights-stiff-drinks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

3pm: Tacoma police chief placed on leave, and city won’t say why // Councilmember Tanya Woo calls for action to protect community from late-night violence // Jake was jumped by a gang outside of a Pioneer Square nightclub // Man charged in murder of 80-year-old Seattle dog walker deemed incompetent to stand trial // Is the Birthday Paradox real?

6pm: Tacoma police chief placed on leave, and city won’t say why // Councilmember Tanya Woo calls for action to protect community from late-night violence // Jake was jumped by a gang outside of a Pioneer Square nightclub // Man charged in murder of 80-year-old Seattle dog walker deemed incompetent to stand trial // Is the Birthday Paradox real?

We know a few things about the woman known as Lou Graham, for sure:  She was a brothel madam in Seattle at the turn of the century. And she's immortalized in one of the city's popular ghost tours.  Maybe you've even felt her spiritual presence while passing through tunnels underneath Pioneer Square. Beyond that, facts are sparse. But plenty of legends about Graham's life and impact on Seattle are served up to tourists and YouTube viewers who care to search her name.   From Geographics: “Technically sex work was illegal, so Graham made sure to have the ladies registered as “seamstresses” on the books. From Women Being Podcast: “Graham was an advocate for women's rights and social justice, and supported the women's rights movement, including the Seattle chapter of the NAACP. She died in 1903 a feminist icon.” It turns out, most of that is TOTAL BUNK.But the truth behind those fables – and a journalist's search to find it – may be even more illuminating.   GUEST: Hanna Brooks Olson, author of “Notoriously Bad Character: The True Story of Lou Graham and the Immigrants and Sex Workers Who Built Seattle” RELATED LINKS: https://hannabrooksolsen.com/  The Many False Histories of Lou Graham | Medium See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seattle Met described Marcus Lalario as Seattle's Kevin Bacon – you can connect him to a ton of ventures and a lot of people. Whether it's the Seattle music scene, nightlife, fashion or restaurants, Marcus Lalario has had a major impact in how we experience this city. Jon and Marcus talk about his fairly unusual start in the nighttime economy; his HOMETEAM and Darkalino's enterprise; the Pioneer Square neighborhood; how fatherhood has changed him and more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Marcus Lalario.

AGREE TO DISAGREE: "COPS" coming back to Spokane // Famous cocktail bar coming to Pioneer Square // GUEST: James Lynch on the trial of Auburn officer Jeff Nelson // WE HEAR YOU! and WORDS TO LIVE BY

What do we learn when an anthropologist and a historian talk about food? Across endless eras, landscapes, and civilizations, humanity's relationship with food has played the part of one of the landmark features of culture and community. We feel this on both the micro and macro scale — from learning a recipe passed down through generations of one's own family to the excitement of exploring an unfamiliar local market in a city far from home. Culinary curiosity invites us all to the table, and through their new book, Ways of Eating, authors and storytellers Benjamin Wurgaft and Merry White are here to serve. Wurgaft and White aim to introduce readers to the interwoven worlds of global food history and food anthropology, exploring how we're not just what we eat, but where, why, and how we came to eat it in the first place. Throughout their collaborative work, Wurgaft and White embark on a world tour of anthropological accounts and vivid storytelling, paying visits to Panamanian coffee growers, Japanese knife forgers, and the medieval age of women brewing beer. Ways of Eating explores the influence of migration and politics in shaping both group identity and global culinary practices, from the Venetian spice trade to the Columbian Exchange to the parallels between ancient Roman garum and contemporary Vietnamese nớc chấm. There are as many dynamics at play across the world of food anthropology as spices in a well-stocked pantry, and Ways of Eating seeks to understand and follow them from the plate back to the kitchen, the farm, and the field. Co-authors Benjamin A. Wurgaft and Merry I. White are a son and mother duo with backgrounds in history, philosophy, anthropology, and the social study of food. Merry White is a Professor of Anthropology at Boston University, with a specialization in Japanese social and food culture. Their previous publications include White's Coffee Life in Japan and Wurgaft's Meat Planet: Artificial Flesh and the Future of Food. This is their first book written together. Born in New England, Peter Miller is a graduate of Williams College and Harvard Graduate School of Education. He moved to Seattle in November 1970, a time when one could rent a home from a nearby phone booth with the instructions, “the key is under the mat, I will come meet you this week.” In 1975, Miller opened a bookshop in Wallingford, with its first lecture series featuring Tom Robbins and Alan Furst. In 1980, he opened an architecture bookshop in Pioneer Square, relocating it to the market in 1983. Thirty years later, he moved again to Belltown, in association with George Suyama Architects. The shop is now situated in Pioneer Square between First Avenue and the water. Additionally, Miller served as a member of the Seattle Design Commission from 1998 to 2001. Peter has authored three books: Lunch at the Shop, Five Ways to Cook Asparagus, and How to Wash the Dishes, with a fourth book set to be released in May, titled Shopkeeping.   Buy the Book Ways of Eating: Exploring Food through History and Culture Third Place Books

Pacific Northwest comedy fans will know this Legend, and others will be happy for the introduction. Almost Live! is a relic from an age when a local tv station could afford to produce its own comedy show, often besting the network offerings in terms of laughs per minute. Originating on Seattle's KING TV in the 1980s, Almost Live! originated as a talk show with comedy bits, but soon morphed into a half hour sketch show aired just before Saturday Night Live. The cast and the writing were superb, and the local flavor given to the sketches led to "water cooler" recaps throughout the next week. Eventually the show fell victim to budget cuts imposed by new out-of-state station owners, but it's a measure of Almost Live's impact that several partial reboots have been tried (with some success), there's a big YouTube library of shows and sketches, and a fun podcast tracks down the cast today. As always find extra clips in the comments, thanks for sharing our shows, and if you are driving in Ballard, keep your speed to 7 MPH. Want more Almost Live! Part of Almost Live's charm is they could get all manner of local celebrities to get in on the fun. The Lame List featured top Seattle metal musicians proclaiming their opinion on current events. https://youtu.be/hGpBnB-jYa8?si=O9jxm7xo06IR4dPF John Keister presided over Almost Live and his monologues and news parodies dipped deep in the well of Northwest Lore -- as in the case when WSU became a dry campus. https://youtu.be/NkaYaxRF2Dc?si=gLnbvxpS6DHvBhtF Almost Live managed a tone of affectionate irreverence about all things Seattle -- especially the neighborhoods. Case in point -- The Ballard Driving Academy. https://youtu.be/nyz6mkvlEgA?si=8-_BQgHu8hDVU8v8 Like any good sketch troupe, Almost Live! cast members had their niches, and Pat Cashman excelled as a master of characters -- especially those commercial pitchman. Match that talent with the fact that an exotic rug store in Seattle's Pioneer Square was always "going out of business" and you get comedy gold. https://youtu.be/erCFOteg_t4?si=W2_HrYZQIEmrLxa9

Avery Barnes is the owner of Taswira, which is a African focused boutique turned art gallery. She was a Seattle Restored participant and was able to become a long term tenant in her space located in Pioneer Square. Avery Insta: @iknowavery @taswira.africa NAST Insta: @nastpodcast Recorded at NAST Studios www.naststudios.com

The Black Panther Party's Seattle chapter is drumming up new plans, more than 40 years after it disbanded.A group devoted to preserving Black Panther history plans to open a museum in Pioneer Square early next year, bringing attention to the ways the Panthers influenced Seattle then, and still do now.Seattle Times Race and Equity Reporter Alexandra Yoon-Hendricks is here to tell us about it, with some help from Elmer Dixon, a founding member of Seattle's Black Panther chapter.Read Alexandra's full piece: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/traces-of-seattles-black-panthers-are-all-around-if-you-know-where-to-look/We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us. You have the power! Make the show happen by making a gift to KUOW: https://www.kuow.org/donate/seattlenowAnd we want to hear from you! Follow us on Instagram at SeattleNowPod, or leave us feedback online: https://www.kuow.org/feedback

Totem Star is a recording studio for Seattle area youth ages 14 to 25. The organization recently moved to a new 2,000 square foot space on the second floor of Seattle's King Street Station in Pioneer Square. That's where Totem Star will live rent free for the next 60 years, thanks to a lease from the city. KEXP's Emily Fox talks with Totem Star co-founder Daniel Pak about the impact of Totem star since it launched as a mobile recording studio that could fit in a suitcase 14 years ago.   (Pak shares how Totem Star was inspired after a mix tape project he did with youth who had just been released from juvenile detention. After the project wrapped up, a third of the youth had been readmitted to detention. The youth had said having access to youth recording studios might have kept them out of trouble.)Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What's Trending: the comedy club and bar Capitol Hill cancelled the gigs of four "politically incorrect" stand-up comedians after community backlash. GUEST: State senator Mark Mullet (D-Issaquah) explains how rent control was killed - and an update on unemployment for strikers.  // Seattle had an especially violent weekend, including a shooting in Pioneer Square overnight, a shooting on the light rail train at the University Street station, a stabbing in Cal Anderson park, a stabbing at the McDonald's on 3rd and Pine and a stolen SUV tried to hit several homeless people check location). // Former Seahawks player Richard Sherman is expected in court after being arrested for DUI over the weekend, and a nursing student in Georgia was murdered by an illegal immigrant with multiple previous arrests.   

Unacceptable: A homeless man who dug up a Seattle park has now built a cabin. KNOW IT ALL: 1) Richard Engel, in Kyiv, over-simplified World War II history. 2) Alexei Navalny's body was turned over to his mother. // Bryan says Gavin Newsom wants to be President but is busy playing games when it comes to his support of Biden. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham was booed at a Trump event. // Ryanair cuts flights due to lack of planes delivered by Boeing. Murder in Pioneer Square gave way to a memorable 'man on the street' interview. 

Join us for a conversation with landscape and urban designer Andrew tenBrink of NYC-based Field Operations as he reveals Seattle's new downtown Waterfront Park project, which he has managed since 2010. From the cobblestones of Pioneer Square to Belltown's crowded skyline, Andrew's block-by-block tour through the 20-acre park demonstrates how this new landscape reflects community priorities. Along the way, he spotlights contributions of local partners. These include architects and artists, tribes and Urban Natives, the City of Seattle and the Office of the Waterfront and Capitol Projects, as well as cultural consultants and garden designers. Indigenous food sovereignty advocate Valerie Segrest (Muckleshoot) drops by to share thoughts on placemaking and history. Valerie explains how the interpretive horticultural exhibit she designed for the new Overlook Walk invites visitors to gaze across the Salish Sea while learning about Native cultural ecosystems. These walkways, stairs and plazas connect the Seattle Aquarium's new Ocean Pavilion at the shoreline with Pike Place Market. Andrew's inspiring stories reveal how a brilliant framework can express the civic dreams of multitudes. They demonstrate how city dwellers are most grounded when connected with nature, with themselves and with one another. Listen and learn how these new public spaces reflect the varied histories and cultures that define a great city and that will shape its future. "Outdoor space has always been at its best when people use it as a part of their daily lives: You take a stroll in the park, you unwind, you de-stress, you take your kids to the playground. These are the indelible things that exist across the world across time.” ~Andrew tenBrink

In a controversial incident in Seattle's Pioneer Square, a fire, allegedly started by a homeless individual trying to stay warm, ravaged a renowned art gallery, destroying precious artworks including a Picasso and a Rembrandt. The fire, which erupted in the back alley of the Davidson Gallery, quickly engulfed the building, jeopardizing over 18,000 artworks collected over 50 years. Gallery manager Rebecca McDonald described the loss as painful, highlighting the wide historical range of the damaged art. The incident has sparked debate over the city's policies towards homelessness, with criticisms directed at the permissiveness towards makeshift shelters and fires in public spaces. This event underscores a broader societal issue where the negligence towards homeless populations can lead to unintended yet disastrous consequences, challenging cities like Seattle to rethink their approach to homelessness and public safety. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/darien-dunstan3/message

5pm - GUEST: KATE STONE - Today’s MLK marches co-opted by Pro-Palestine protesters // Experts warning against viral tiktok skin treatment that can be fatal… and, worse yet, it can turn you blue // Speaking of blue people… Everyone’s heard of the blue Fugates of Kentucky, right? // A homeless person trying to stay warm in Pioneer Square started a fire that resulted in an art gallery losing a Picasso AND a Rembrandt // Tech breakthroughs featured at CES 2024… Including a tongue-controlled mouse, and the first REAL AI robotic companion // John used to be a gameshow host at CES! // LETTERS

Mayor Frank Ivancie, Pioneer Courthouse Square's most intransigent opponent, gleefully declared the project “dead” in a 1982 speech. In doing so, he accidentally galvanized the citizen group that would prove him wrong. (Portland, Multnomah County; 1960s, 1970s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1405c.pioneer-courthouse-square.html)

The RailSpur project in Pioneer Square is a remarkable transformation of nearly an entire block. Urban Villages President Jon Buerge joins the podcast to explain how RailSpur is elevating the concept of mixed-use properties; how his approach to development is guided by the firm's name; his views on the future of the office; the new tenants at RailSpur and more. Join us for Seattle City Makers with Jon Scholes and guest Jon Buerge.

Dani Cone got into the coffee business more than 30 years ago, “barista-ing” her way through high school and college. Three decades and three successful businesses later, Dani's Cone & Steiner general store is doing brisk business in multiple locations, including Pioneer Square. On each leg of her journey, Dani has been guided by her grandma Molly's advice: be good and do well. In this episode of Seattle City Makers, Jon and Dani dig into the challenges of steering her business through the pandemic, her current endeavors, advice for entrepreneurs and the impact of Taylor Swift's record-breaking crowds.

Learn about the latest in local public affairs in about the time it takes for a coffee break! Brian Callanan of Seattle Channel and David Kroman of the Seattle Times discuss a new police accountability report, a plan for more rooftop amenities in Pioneer Square, homeless sweeps during All-Star week, concerns for small businesses, and a major challenge for Metro Transit to handle desperately needed bus repairs. If you like this podcast, please support it on Patreon! 

It's been 50 years since Elliott Bay Book Company opened its doors and there are a lot of differences between June 1973 and June 2023: Amazon and Ebooks arrived, while Borders came and went, Elliot Bay moved from its original Pioneer Square to 10th Ave on Capitol Hill, and new owners took the helm. Through all the changes, the business remains a literary hub for the city.We can only make Soundside because listeners support us. Make the show happen by making a gift to KUOW:https://www.kuow.org/donate/soundside

Special episode! We record right in the heart of Pioneer Square's inaugural Summer Market and Music Festival. Across the street from the festival main stage in Occidental Park is The Meyer bar, owned and operated by our good friend Avout. Not only do we chat with Avout about the history of The Meyer, Lloyd Gregory the mastermind behind the Summer Market stops by to tell us about putting together downtown Seattle's funkiest music festival. Recorded live at The Meyer on 06/10/2023.Follow the Dim Lights & Stiff Drinks podcast on Facebook (DLandSD), Twitter (@divebarsseattle), YouTube, and Instagram (seattle_dive_bar_podcast). Share, like, follow, and subscribe!Check out the Dim Lights & Stiff Drinks podcast website (dimlightspodcast.com) for more details and additional episodes. Support Dim Lights & Stiff Drinks with PatreonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/dim-lights-stiff-drinks. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What's Trending: A one-year-old in Mill Creek died due to fentanyl exposure, Pioneer Square is seeing businesses return to office and Gov. Inslee has repealed the state vaccine mandate. // Chaos is expected at the border after Title 42 expires. // West Virginia coach Bob Huggins used a slur on a radio show.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

3pm - Rantz: Seattle councilwoman a ‘hard pass' on punishing drug crime // Oregon tells a cautionary tale about drugs, but we're not listening // Open containers in Downtown? Mayor proposes 'Sip 'n Stroll' idea for monthly Pioneer Square event // McDonald's logo has sexy hidden meaning — and fans are shocked // Writers vote to strike in move that could bring Hollywood to a halt See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What about your intuition?Have you ever come across a decision that is logically right but deep inside you know it feels so wrong? Have you ever felt like doing something just because you feel like doing it and not because you are compelled to do so? Deirdre Wilcox says neural pathways shape our experiences and can either expand or limit them. Deirdre is interested in helping people see things from a different perspective, make friends with their shadows and inner critic, and name their superpowers. By doing so, they can optimize their experiences and live in a more soul-aligned way. Deirdre believes that we all have wisdom and clarity within us that we can tap into through our intuition. We use our intuition in mundane ways, such as choosing what to wear or what feels right to us. Deirdre encourages people to start honing this sense and use it with more confidence and greater application. By doing so, we can cut through a lot of stuff and be more accepting and compassionate towards ourselves, living with fewer apologies. In this episode you'll hear: - How Intuition or Gut-feel has shaped and changed her life. - Learn to understand the Inner feeling and how to use it properly. - The benefits of following your Intuition. - The difference between the Inner Critic and the Gut-feel. - Learn how to hone this skill and use it in everyday life situations. Deirdre Wilcox is a healer, a teacher, a therapist, and an artist. She helps women in her Soul School. She teaches Yoga and Wellness. She started as a Pre-Med student but her intuition and drive to Healing Arts led her to switch to Psychology and Sociology and got her degree in it. She also became a licensed massage therapist and registered yoga teacher. She loves painting and reading books in her free time. Her paintings are exhibited in Pioneer Square, Seattle. Where to reach her: www.deirdrewilcox.com

In another blow to downtown Portland real estate, the owner of Jackson Tower, a landmark building that overlooks Pioneer Square, has defaulted on a loan from JPMorgan Chase, court filings show.Jackson Tower Partners LLC, the owner of the 12-story beaux arts office building in the 800 block of Southwest Broadway, borrowed $11.5 million from JPMorgan Chase in 2018, and missed its first loan payment on Nov. 1, 2022, according to a complaint filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court on April 5.JPMorgan Chase asked the court to appoint a receiver—a neutral third party who manages an asset during a legal dispute and is often charged with selling an asset to repay a loan. The court granted JPMorgan Chase's request for a receiver on April 11, court records show.Asked why her client defaulted on the Jackson Tower loan, California-based attorney Sherry DuPont blamed “the deterioration of downtown Portland.”Support the showSign Up For Exclusive Episodes At: https://reasonabletv.com/LIKE & SUBSCRIBE for new videos every day. https://www.youtube.com/c/NewsForReasonablePeople

On today's Hacks & Wonks week-in-review, Crystal is joined by Seattle political reporter and the editor of PubliCola, Erica Barnett! Crystal and Erica discuss the City of Seattle's first-in-the-nation legislation to provide paid sick and safe leave for gig workers, Mayor Bruce Harrell's $970 million housing levy proposal, a story about the lack of progress building tiny homes leads to a discussion about the difference in responsibilities between the city council and the mayor - who bears the responsibility to implement programs and policy that has been funded. Then they discuss the recently discovered $280,000 contract given to a Harrell associate to seemingly spin the narrative that his preferred Sound Transit station proposal is community led, and a political tactic used by monied interests that exploits language and concerns voiced by marginalized communities to influence policy. Erica and Crystal also cover the Department of Justice moving to end the consent decree with the Seattle Police Department and the Seattle City Council candidate facing accusations of non-payment from former staff and volunteers. 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 Barnett, at @ericacbarnett.   Resources Megan Burbank and the State of Reproductive Healthcare in Washington from Hacks & Wonks    Seattle passes first-in-the-nation paid sick leave for gig workers by Josh Cohen from Crosscut    Mayor Harrell Unveils $970 Million Housing Levy Proposal by Doug Trumm from The Urbanist    Andrew Lewis announced a fundraising plan to double Seattle's tiny houses. So, where are they? by Anna Patrick from The Seattle Times    City Paid Consultant Tim Ceis $280,000 to "Encourage Agreement" and Build "Community Consensus" for Harrell's Light Rail Route by Erica C. Barnett from PubliCola    Sound Transit Board Adopts Major Last-Minute Changes to 2016 Light Rail Plan, Skipping Chinatown and First Hill by Erica C. Barnett from PubliCola   Sound Transit Board Backs Last-Minute Proposal to Skip Chinatown and Midtown Stations by Doug Trumm from The Urbanist    City Asks Judge to End Consent Decree; Outstanding Issues Include Protest Response and Accountability by Erica C. Barnett from PubliCola   Matthew Mitnick's Campaign Meltdown by Hannah Krieg from The Stranger   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. Be sure to subscribe to get the podcast - the full versions of our podcast - on our Friday almost-live shows and our midweek show delivered to your podcast feed. If you like us, the most helpful thing you can do is leave a review wherever you listen to Hacks & Wonks. Full transcripts and resources referenced in the show are always available at officialhacksandwonks.com and in our episode notes. If you missed our Tuesday midweek show, I welcomed reporter Megan Burbank to talk about the status of reproductive health care in our state after last year's Dobbs decision removed guarantees for abortion access on the national level. Today we're continuing our Friday almost-live shows where we review the news of the week with a co-host. Welcome back to the program, friend of the show and today's co-host: Seattle political reporter, editor of PubliCola, co-host of the Seattle Nice podcast, and author of Quitter: A Memoir of Drinking, Relapse, and Recovery, Erica Barnett. Hello. [00:01:12] Erica Barnett: Hello - it's great to be here. [00:01:13] Crystal Fincher: Great to have you back. We have some good news this week, interesting news this week - we will start off for a big deal for gig workers - paid sick and safe leave is now available. What's going on here? [00:01:30] Erica Barnett: As you said, the gig workers for the bigger companies - DoorDash, Uber, et cetera - are going to have access to the same paid sick and safe leave benefits that full-time employees have, provided by their employers. So there's a new law that was signed into - a new local law - that was signed this week. And yeah, so this is part of the process of slowly acknowledging that gig workers are, in fact, workers and employees of the companies that employ them, and not just people doing this for a hobby or as a extra source of work. These are jobs, and they are jobs that require now the same benefits that every other kind of job requires. [00:02:14] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely, and this is taking place during a years-long debate, conversation, fight for gig workers rights from a lot of people who have recognized that - hey, the work that these people are doing looks a lot like the work of employees and not of independent contractors. They're being told where to go when, how to do things - fitting in a pretty specific box of behavior with a lot less latitude than a lot of people think of when they think of independent contractors or independent business owners. And the bottom line is because of this, whether or not it even meets the legal test of an employee - functionally, this is how it works. And so the impacts on people's families and in our society are the same as employees. So if someone gets sick, it can be incredibly economically disruptive to that family and to our community to not have any leave available. So this definitely seems like a positive thing for workers, and for the community, and just helping to make sure there's a solid safety net in place. This is a big bell - all of these safety net items that keep coming and unfortunately going in a lot of situations - but this was a gratifying thing to see that I think is going to help a number of people. [00:03:37] Erica Barnett: Yeah, and I think it's also part of the - just the reckoning from the pandemic that is, I think, slowly being whittled away at as people are being required to come back to offices, unnecessarily in a lot of cases. I think during the pandemic, we really started to wrestle with this idea of hustle culture - this idea that nobody needs any time off, and your work is your life, and it should be the only thing you care about. That is, I hope, over - at least for the time being. And we're trying in this state, at least, to figure out ways to put those kind of somewhat new values into practice by doing at least the minimum, which I think this particular law - it's great, but allowing people to have time off when they're sick should be a floor and not a ceiling. [00:04:30] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely, and your point about many of the pandemic-era protections and safety net enhancements being whittled away is absolutely true. We're about to head into a time next week where mask mandates, even for transit, health care situations - the few remaining situations where they were necessary - are no longer being mandated. Although we are getting some news about some local health care systems that are still looking as if they're going to be continuing those, so we will stay tuned. Certainly housing is top of mind for a lot of people now. City of Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell has proposed an enhancement to the Housing Levy. What is he proposing and what will this do? [00:05:18] Erica Barnett: Yeah, the new Housing Levy proposal would triple the size - and that's in real terms - the actual tax that people will be paying on their property. The previous Housing Levy - which passed in 2016 and is expiring now - that levy was $290 million. This would raise $970 million, which is obviously a significant bump. Interestingly, because the cost of everything has risen so much quicker than in the past and inflation has been so bad - and the cost of construction and the availability of labor and all the reasons that housing has become more expensive - well, building housing is also a lot more expensive. So as a result, one sort of dampening feature of this levy - or disappointing - is that it's not going to build that much more housing than the previous levy, despite it being tripled now. Now, that's not an argument not to do it. If we did levy the size of the previous levy, we would be building - we would be dramatically going back on reducing the amount of housing we were building. So it may be necessary to increase it this much, but it's not going to triple the size of housing or the amount of housing that's being built. [00:06:28] Crystal Fincher: So given that the money is tripling but the amount of housing isn't, what accounts for the difference - is it that housing costs have also experienced inflation, construction costs have experienced inflation? What accounts for so much of that extra money not providing housing? [00:06:48] Erica Barnett: Yeah, the main reason is that construction costs have simply increased, as has the cost of land. And that's everything from material, steel, concrete, to labor, to just - everything involved with building an apartment building now is more expensive. I think that raises a question that the Housing Levy does not attempt to answer - and we could go down a rabbit hole on who is supporting the Housing Levy and why - but the Housing Levy is not primarily an acquisition levy, and maybe it should shift more in that direction. It's much, much cheaper to - as the example of the Low Income Housing Institute during the pandemic has really shown - it's much cheaper to buy housing that already exists and convert it into low-income housing or start renting it to low-income people than it is to build new housing from the ground. And so I think this is a very - we're using the same old methods that we have always used and building housing instead of acquiring housing. And there are good reasons to want to build more affordable housing and add more density and all this stuff, but it also is quite expensive. And I think that there should be perhaps more creativity in play than just saying - Well, it's three times as expensive, so we're going to triple it. It doesn't necessarily solve the problem if, in seven years, we're coming back with a $3 billion levy. [00:08:10] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, absolutely. And I think that is part of the tension in all of our conversations about housing that we're having policy-wise at different levels - it's what will actually make enough of a dent in the problem in the medium-term to long-term? If we keep this incrementalist approach, it feels like we are just setting ourselves up for increased expenses, increased costs. And there needs to be a massive investment that will result in more affordable housing units, whether that's a combination of affordable on the market - which is not affordable for many people now - subsidized housing, public housing, whatever that is. We need more of it now, and I think a lot of people are concerned that what we're doing is going to do exactly what you say - kick the can down the road and set ourselves up for - are we going to need a tripling of the next levy? And I think sometimes we're a little bit hesitant on the left to have some conversations about - are we getting the value for our dollar that we need to here? Is this actually going to meaningfully address the problem? Again, absolutely not saying that we shouldn't pass this Housing Levy. We definitely need more housing. It needs to be a multifaceted, all-hands-on-deck approach. And this may be the best that can be done right now, but I think we do need to ask - is this the best that we can do, or how do we need to supplement this, and what's going on? In one of those things for - how do we supplement this, what other strategies can we use to help make housing more affordable for more people - Andrew Lewis, certainly in trying to address the homelessness problem has really launched into tiny homes as an option that can meaningfully address moving people off of the street, out of encampments into a place that could help them stabilize and launch into more permanent affordable housing. But we saw a story this week asking where those tiny homes are - what has happened and where are we at right now? [00:10:29] Erica Barnett: Andrew Lewis promised, I believe - and I'm not looking at the story right now, I'm just going from memory - I think it was 800 tiny homes over a certain period. And promise is - that's the word that The Seattle Times used. I think this was like a goal, and it's a goal that really depends on the - on both funding through the City budget, which has to be approved by both the City Council and the mayor, and it also depends on the mayor's willingness to actually invest those funds and actually direct funding toward that purpose. And I think this gets lost a lot of times when people are criticizing the City Council for inaction and blaming the City Council for things - it's up to the mayor. And under Mayor Jenny Durkan, there were a whole lot of things that didn't happen. She just decided that they weren't her priorities, and so the council would allocate money and the mayor would not spend it - and I think we're seeing that to a certain extent here. I also think the Regional Homelessness Authority has been quite hostile to the notion of spending money on tiny homes. Their five-year plan that came out recently, or at least the draft, had no money at all for tiny homes. Now, they've changed that a little bit in the plan that they're probably going to finally adopt next month - but there is a lot of pushback against tiny homes as a form of shelter. And it's the type of shelter that people who are being swept from encampments most often say that they want, and so I think it is certainly worth a short-term investment at least. But right now we're not quite living up to what the City Council and Andrew Lewis have proposed. [00:12:04] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, absolutely. And your point about just whose responsibility is this is well taken. And I think in a number of areas - and frankly, in some of the local media coverage that we see of this - it really doesn't come through who is responsible for what. What does a city council do? What does a mayor do? A city council is responsible for allocating funds and for developing the policy for an issue. The mayor is the person who makes it happen. They implement and execute - that's their job. All of the departments in the City report to the mayor - they oversee and direct what happens in that. So really, once the money is made available and they hand it over to the mayor's office - whether or not something happens is really up to the executive - right now, Mayor Bruce Harrell. So I am curious about where this stands, but similar to several other conversations that we're having - whether it's issues related to homelessness or issues related to public safety, like Bruce Harrell's promise to stand up alternative 911 responses so that people can have the most appropriate responder to whatever emergency they're having - which usually is not a armed police officer in a situation that isn't related to illegality, but maybe someone's having a behavioral health crisis or needs some other resources. We need to ask Bruce Harrell where that is - that is the mayor's responsibility. Once the money is allocated, once the city council says - Here is the money, here's what it's for - it's up to you, Bruce Harrell, to make it happen. And so I'm really curious to see if that question gets asked to him and to see what his answer would be, because I think that would be very informative. [00:13:48] Erica Barnett: Just real quickly, I want to correct myself. I said 800, it was 480 that Andrew Lewis proposed. And yeah, and it died because of Jenny Durkan - full stop. She just wouldn't spend the money. And so the length of this article in The Seattle Times is surprising when it could have been one line. [00:14:07] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. Now, Bruce Harrell did take some action that we learned about - related to the Chinatown International District station conversation, debate that we're having about the siting. We learned that there was an effort launched as - what a year ago, I think it was - to actually drum up support for the new Sound Transit station options that were characterized as - Hey, this is a last-minute effort that came from the community because we heard the concerns, and so this is why it's popping up now. Turns out that there's more to the story. What happened? [00:14:47] Erica Barnett: Last week, I'm sure folks are aware, Sound Transit Board adopted a new route through downtown that skips over Chinatown with new stations near the Stadium station and next to the existing Pioneer Square station, and then also eliminates a Midtown station that was going to serve First Hill. What I reported this week is that the mayor, about a year ago, hired consultant Tim Ceis, who has been around forever - since even before I was here in Seattle. He was Deputy Mayor for Greg Nickels, worked for Ron Sims, and has a long career as a political consultant and lobbyist. Now I would say we don't know exactly when or how this new proposal came about - I do not believe that it was last minute, but I also don't know that it was around a year ago. But in any case, Harrell hired this consultant at a cost of $280,000 for one year's worth of work, which is an absolutely astronomical amount for a consultant and lobbyist. And his job essentially was to - as you said, Crystal - to drum up support for the mayor's preferred alternative. And when this became the mayor's preferred alternative is something that I am still reporting on and trying to find out. But this was an option that the mayor, as well as King County Executive Dow Constantine, presented as an organically-arising proposal from the community, and that there was unanimity in the CID community around skipping the CID. And as we saw last week, five thousand some people who signed a petition that was presented to Sound Transit that was against that option, the head of Uwajimaya does not support it, the head of SCIPDA, the main public development authority down there, does not support it. And so there is not unanimity. And I think Tim Ceis' job was in part to present appearance of unanimity where there was none. [00:16:41] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely, and I think this is a situation - similar to the big homelessness complex conversation - that a lot of people have a hard time reporting on and wrapping their heads around. And I will call it out - especially when it involves communities of color, there seems to be this - whether it's a belief or desire that - coming from the belief that communities of color are a monolith. And we are not. There are various opinions, perspectives. We are as diverse within our communities as everyone else. And so what we're seeing from the community is - absolutely there are concerns, there are different opinions on what the best path forward is - I think they're all worthy of hearing, especially when they come from the community. And we should do that. And that is genuine and authentic. But what we see too often, especially politically - and this is a tactic that we see used often locally and nationally - is that people will piggyback off some of those rumblings in community to push their own agendas and to push their preferred options with the veneer of community support. So there's the term "astroturfed," which is the opposite of grassroots - we're going to try and make this look like it's a grassroots effort, we're going to try and make it look like the community has completely rallied around this new option or alternative. And that is a marketing ploy. That's spin. And I think there are both things going on here. So it is absolutely still important to listen to those concerns from the community, to seriously consider and to implement mitigation strategies - and that has not been done in too many prior projects and situations, and that's a legitimate concern and should be addressed. But I also think that we need to take a serious look at - okay, who are the people that stand to profit and benefit here who are pushing these alternatives that don't seem to fit the characterization that they're trying to sell. There is more to the story. And so it's just one of these situations that just makes me groan because it's messy and it's not straightforward. And it requires people to proceed with a bit of nuance and hold space for different opinions and perspectives while still being wary of people looking to exploit the situation. So it's a continuing thing that we see - is notable to me, as you noted, the size of that contract is gigantic. [00:19:19] Erica Barnett: $20,000/month. [00:19:21] Crystal Fincher: For 20 hours of work - please pay me a $1,000/hour. [00:19:24] Erica Barnett: And let's be real - we don't know, and I've also requested a lot of information about this - but we don't actually know how many hours of work Ceis was doing. The 20 hours was an estimate given to me by the mayor's office and it was a squishy - Oh, it's about 20 hours of work a week. The contract doesn't really stipulate anything and it doesn't have an hourly rate. And for all we know, it was 10 hours, it was five hours, it was - maybe it was 25. I don't know, but - [00:19:52] Crystal Fincher: It's definitely less than - I know the official thing, and you have high reporting standards that you adhere to and I appreciate that. It's one of the things that I appreciate most about your reporting - is that it is solid and backed up. But I know that they weren't spending 20 hours a week on this thing. But even if they were - Look, I would be willing to spend 20 hours a week doing something if you pay me $280,000 a year. I will put that out to anyone - for whatever 20 hours of work that involves, I'm down. But we'll just continue to see how this proceeds. [00:20:26] Erica Barnett: But yeah, and I'm still reporting on it. So I suspect there will be - I'll have follow ups in the midterm future. [00:20:33] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. Also this week, we saw that the City of Seattle is pursuing an end to the Seattle Police Department's consent decree with the Department of Justice. What's going on here? [00:20:48] Erica Barnett: Yeah, this week the city attorney and mayor and - the City of Seattle officials - sent a request to Judge James Robart to effectively end the consent decree with a couple of exceptions. So basically, Robart would find the City in substantial compliance with this agreement that has been going on for more than a decade - or the City has been a party to for more than a decade - with the exception of crowd control and accountability. And those are two issues that Judge Robart has brought up in the past as - and finding the City not in complete compliance. But the agreement proposed says - But don't worry, we'll wrap all that up and we'll be done with it by various months in the future, but generally this summer. And be out from under the consent decree entirely by the end of the year. People are confused about the consent decree at all. I totally understand - it's a weird situation that the City has been in for the last 12 years. Essentially, the City was found to be in noncompliance with a whole bunch of things related to constitutional policing - including racially biased policing, including use of force - excessive use of force. And the City keeps coming back in recent years to try to get the judge to lift the decree. And they've gotten very close in the past, but then something always happens and - there's a scandal, there is an egregious instance of police brutality, there are protests involving thousands of people where the police brutalized protesters in response to protests against brutality, and tear gas in the entire neighborhood - this happened in 2020. And so it's been a long, slow process - the City now seems to believe and called themselves "a department completely transformed and unrecognizable from the way it was 10 years ago." [00:22:37] Crystal Fincher: That is a curious characterization, isn't it? [00:22:39] Erica Barnett: City Attorney Ann Davison's memo supporting this was effusive about it, and even more so than the actual memo saying we deserve to be let out from under this. It was - called the department dramatically transformed, a night-and-day contrast, and even described the protest response in 2020 as a temporary lapse and a single one from otherwise completely improved and transformed crowd control policies. I'll say that some of the reasoning they gave for this is there have been protests since then and the police didn't act that way. And the protests - notably - are things like the Women's March, protests against war in Ukraine, things that did not involve criticizing the police and also did not involve racial justice. So I think that's a little bit of an apples to orange because orange is comparison there. [00:23:29] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, absolutely. This is an interesting effort because there are a lot of people who cheered the establishment of the consent decree because it's somewhat of an acknowledgment that - yes, there has been unconstitutional biased policing and the use of excessive force to the degree that the department is no longer trusted to oversee itself. To fix those problems, it needed federal oversight from the Department of Justice - hence the consent decree that we got into. And certainly this has been a long winding road, as you said. It has been interesting in that the brand of oversight has had both positive and negative elements - I think to all sides they find both positive and negative with that - certainly they are looking for status reports and some accountability attached to that. And the judge associated with this has called out events in protest and it looking like the issues that caused the consent decree to be necessary have not been solved. We've also seen sometimes the judge has had opinions and perspectives on how the City should address reforming the SPD, or reimagining SPD. And the judge made it clear he was not a fan of dramatically changing funding, reducing funding - a number of the things that some people who are more progressive and reform minded would have supported and opposed. And that shaped what's been possible with policy for fear that - hey, if the city council does pass some sweeping overhaul or substantive changes, that those are not going to be allowed and going to be overturned by the judge. So this has been an interesting situation that I think hasn't unfolded exactly as anyone predicted. But it is, I think, a victory lap that is trying to be ran that - I think, as you talked about - is, man, you should urge caution for declaring victory and a mission accomplished statement, because if something else happens, it just makes it look like you are completely out of touch with what is happening in the department and uninterested in taking substantive steps to address it. But we'll see. [00:25:50] Erica Barnett: Yeah, quickly - I think something else has happened, which is the death of Jaahnavi Kandula, who was a pedestrian - a student who was walking in a crosswalk and was hit by a police officer going allegedly to the scene of an overdose. But a lot of details have come out about that make one question that narrative from SPD. But SPD has been really untransparent and has refused to release any details about its investigation of this incident, which happened in January. It is now almost April and there's no body-worn video - there's just no information whatsoever - no video, no narrative, no explanation. And it is interesting that they have been so non-transparent at a time when they are asking for this consent decree to be lifted. So I think, of course, something else is going to happen - it's not a matter of if, but when. But this is an example of something that has been - I'm not going to go so far as to say it's been covered up, but it has certainly been slow walked. And a lot of people are asking a lot of questions about that incident, including myself. I've reported on it extensively and just gotten absolutely nothing from SPD. [00:26:56] Crystal Fincher: You have and your reporting has been critical to people finding out any information for this, so much appreciated. I do want to talk about an event that unfolded this week in the City of Seattle campaign land. One of the 30+ people now running for city council in the City of Seattle made news this week in their campaign - for not paying their workers. I, in this situation, just wanted to say a couple of things to set the record straight. Because there was a story written about this, which is great to bring light to it, but - [00:27:32] Erica Barnett: And we should say it's Matthew Mitnick running - [00:27:33] Crystal Fincher: It is Matthew Mitnick. [00:27:35] Erica Barnett: - running for District 4. [00:27:36] Crystal Fincher: Correct. In Seattle City Council District 4. So there were nine former volunteers or staffers, depending on who you - what version of events happens to be the truth. But who wrote an open letter accusing the campaign, or released a statement accusing the campaign of essentially wage theft, potentially youth labor violations because a number of the people involved were under 18. But there seems to be some conversation or disagreement with a lot of people where evidently a number of people were under the expectation that they were going to be paid, saying that Matthew Mitnick said that he would pay them. They wound up not being paid, and then there were some other accusations about his treatment of staff. But my takeaway from this was a little bit simpler. Even if you only believe what Matthew Mitnick said and you only go off of what there is written evidence for, there is a staffer who was hired - who was agreed to be paid a wage, who has not been paid all of their wages. They were paid once. They have not been paid again, despite continuing, despite doing work after being paid. There is unpaid work currently on the table. Matthew said - Hey, we're raising Democracy Voucher money. As soon as we raise enough, we'll pay you. That's not how things normally work in campaigns. [00:28:54] Erica Barnett: That's what I was going to ask you. So if you're running a - and we should say this is a guy who's running as a socialist. He's a 22-year old student. He moved here pretty recently from Wisconsin, where he also ran for office. And so he's, I would say, a pretty marginal candidate. That's my opinion - you may disagree, Crystal - I don't know. What is the common practice when you are a campaign that's running on a shoestring and you don't have a lot of money? Is it just to not hire people until you have that money? Because that would make sense to me. [00:29:24] Crystal Fincher: That is literally exactly what it is. That is literally exactly what happens in the majority of situations. Now, it's not like there's never been abuse before. But yes, you only hire and buy what you have the money to hire and buy. And that does mean a lot of things go - if you aren't able to raise much money, that means that you aren't able to afford a lot of the things that you probably hope to be able to afford with a campaign. One of the things that people do need to acknowledge is that running for office today requires raising and spending money. I wish it did not require as much money and think that Democracy Vouchers and other reforms that are on the table can help lower the cost of campaigns. I think that there's also a lot of spending on a lot of things, which is cool, but that's not everything. But they do require money. And if you're going to have staff, if you're going to have - if you're running a campaign in the City of Seattle, you need a campaign manager at minimum. You should also have people who are familiar with how to win campaigns - who have done that before, who can help guide through the process, because there are - that is an expertise. There are people who bring that to the table. I'm not going to suggest that someone go to court without a lawyer. I'm not going to suggest that someone run a campaign without other people who have been through that process before to help you through that process. But yeah, you just don't hire them until you have the money to hire them. And also, campaigns run out of money. And when that happens, then you have to wind things down - starting with paying the most vulnerable people first. The people who take haircuts in not getting paid, unfortunately, are - sometimes consultants agree to - hey, we can bill this on debt, you can pay me if you raise enough money and different things like that. But you have explicit overt conversations, you write stuff down, and you pay people who are reliant on that money to pay their rent. And what was cited in the story is that the person who wasn't paid does not have enough money for their rent at this point in time. So there's an impact. And so you do have - you are responsible for managing the people on your campaign, for managing your budget - that absolutely needs to happen. That's how that works. [00:31:38] Erica Barnett: Yeah, and I'm just looking at Mitnick's campaign filings. And again, as I said, I consider him an extremely marginal candidate who was hyped up by The Stranger in particular, in a way that I think was out of proportion to his viability. But at any rate, he has raised less than $5,000. Winning a council campaign is in the tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands for the primary. So yeah, not surprised he can't pay anybody - he hasn't raised any money. And so that is - it's unfortunate that he led campaign staffer on in that way or was overconfident in his own ability to raise money. [00:32:15] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. And with that, we thank you for listening to Hacks & Wonks on this Friday, March 31st, 2023. Hacks & Wonks is co-produced by Shannon Cheng and Maurice Jones, Jr. Our insightful co-host today was Seattle political reporter, editor of PubliCola, and co-host of the Seattle Nice podcast, and author of Quitter: A Memoir of Drinking, Relapse, and Recovery, Erica Barnett. You can find Erica on Twitter @ericacbarnett and on PubliCola.com. You can follow Hacks & Wonks on Twitter @HacksWonks and you can find me on Twitter @finchfrii, with two i's at the end. You can catch Hacks & Wonks wherever you prefer to get your podcasts - just type "Hacks and Wonks" into the search bar. Be sure to subscribe to get the full versions of our Friday almost-live shows and our midweek show delivered to your podcast feed. If you like us, please leave a review whenever you can. 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 podcast episode notes. Thanks for tuning in - talk to you next time.

The proposals for Sound Transit's promised light rail expansion are coming in fast ahead of today's board vote.Late yesterday, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell offered a substitute motion that would include stations North and South of the Chinatown International District that would serve the CID and Pioneer Square.Disruption is imminent with any expansion.But for the people who live in the C-ID it's more complicated.  Northwest Asian Weekly reporter, Mahlon Meyer is here to shed some light.We can only make Seattle Now because listeners support us. Make the show happen by making a gift to KUOW: https://www.kuow.org/donate/seattlenowAnd we want to hear from you! Follow us on Instagram at SeattleNowPod, or leave us feedback online: https://www.kuow.org/feedback