Podcasts about Washington State Convention Center

Bret Keisling is joined by Jaymie Oviedo, Dallan Guzinski, and Tim Garbinsky, who discuss the NCEO's Annual EO Conference in Seattle WA from April 26-28 with a pre-conference on April 25. More than 1.500 people are expected to gather at the Washington State Convention Center for the event. Keynote speakers are Adria Scharf of the Curriculum Library of Employee Ownership and Ron Scheese, president and CEO of Andesa, a 100% employee owned company. Further show notes, and all of our past episodes, are available on our website at www.theEsOpPodcast.com.

Link to article: https://bit.ly/2VKGoqnLast year, PAX West was one of many gaming events to go online due to the pandemic. This year, while E3 and the Tokyo Game Show stayed virtual, PAX East was canceled earlier this spring. But PAX West, on the other hand, decided to allow an in-person event at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle.“When PAX West 2021 badges were announced, the PAX Team made the decision to communicate what we could commit to at that time, rather than what we were working toward,” said Marsden-Kish. “While we let the community know the health and safety guidelines could evolve, we wanted to get it right and we feel confident that verification of fully vaccination or negative test, along with continued face covering requirements for everyone, will create an environment that promotes the wellbeing of our PAX community.”Support the show (https://bit.ly/2XdAlJC)

Seattle is now averaging more than two cases every day with debris thrown at drivers, mostly near downtown Seattle.Washington State Patrol, working with Seattle police, have arrested 4 people in the last couple of weeks.Yet, another case of rocks thrown from an overpass happened just Friday morning near the Washington State Convention Center. Troopers say no one was hurt in this latest case.But the continued surge has drivers are calling on leaders to take action to stop the crimes.“There's nothing I can do,” said Kristi O'Brien, who is a managing attorney at a law firm in downtown Seattle.Drivers are getting increasingly frustrated because of these terrifying incidents.Scooters, bikes, rebars, rocks – all sorts of debris are getting thrown at drivers from the overpass or side of the road. Some drivers have been hurt seriously enough to require treatment at the hospital.Join your host Sean Reynolds, owner of Summit Properties NW and Reynolds & Kline Appraisal as he takes a look at this developing topic.Support the show (https://buymeacoff.ee/seattlepodcast)

This week Crystal talks with King County Executive Dow Constantine about his decision to run for a fourth term as County Executive. They discuss the path to Covid-19 recovery, persisting inequality in King County, the comparatively low rate of vaccination in BIPoC communities in South King County, the role of government in bailing out large private projects, campaign finance, public safety, and more. 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 guest, King County Executive Dow Constantine, at @DowC. More info is available at officialhacksandwonks.com.   Resources “Joe Nguyen challenging Dow Constantine for King County executive” by Melissa Santos: https://crosscut.com/politics/2021/04/joe-nguyen-challenging-dow-constantine-king-county-executive “Seattle Elections 2021: Digging deeper into voters' top priorities” by Anne Christnovich: https://crosscut.com/inside-crosscut/2021/06/seattle-elections-2021-digging-deeper-voters-top-priorities “King County passes $631M rescue plan for COVID recovery; Seattle unveils its $128M proposal” by Daniel Beekman: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/king-county-passes-rescue-plan-spending-for-covid-19-recovery-seattle-unveils-its-proposal/ “Community Health Centers Work to Address COVID-19 Vaccine Inequity” by Sally James: https://southseattleemerald.com/2021/03/02/community-health-centers-work-to-address-covid-19-vaccine-inequity/ “Elders of Color Face Major Hurdles Getting COVID Vaccine” by Carolyn Bick: https://southseattleemerald.com/2021/03/04/elders-of-color-face-major-hurdles-getting-covid-vaccine/ “Seattle's COVID relief money to focus on direct aid, housing” by David Kroman: https://crosscut.com/news/2021/05/seattles-covid-relief-money-focus-direct-aid-housing “Despite criticism, King County Council gives Mariners $135M” by Manola Secaira: https://crosscut.com/2018/09/despite-criticism-king-county-council-gives-mariners-135m “No bailout needed for Washington State Convention Center expansion, as private financing presumes economic rebound” by David Gutman: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/washington-state-convention-center-expansion-secures-financing-no-longer-needs-a-bailout/ “County Exec Candidates Spar Over PACs, City Finally Funds Street Sinks” from Publicola: https://publicola.com/2021/05/25/county-exec-candidates-spar-over-pacs-city-finally-funds-street-sinks/ “A guide to political money: campaigns, PACs, super PACs” by Philip Elliott: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/a-guide-to-political-money-campaigns-pacs-super-pacs “Police Accountability and Inquests in King County: Representing families calling for a fair and transparent process” by Leslie Brown: https://www.aclu-wa.org/story/police-accountability-and-inquests-king-county-representing-families-calling-fair-and “King County voters have spoken: Police reform and a new sheriff are coming” by Dow Constantine: https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/king-county-voters-have-spoken-police-reform-and-a-new-sheriff-are-coming/   Transcript Crystal Fincher: [00:00:00] Welcome to Hacks and Wonks. I'm your host Crystal Fincher. On this show, we talk to political hacks and policy wonks to gather insight in the local politics and policy through the lens of those doing the work and provide behind the scenes perspectives on politics in our state. Full transcripts and resources referenced in the show are always available at officialhacksandwonks.com and in our episode notes. Well, today we are very happy to have Dow Constantine, King County Executive, and a candidate running for reelection this year. Thanks so much for joining us Dow. Executive Dow Constantine: [00:01:02] No, thanks for inviting me on Crystal. I appreciate it. Crystal Fincher: [00:01:05] So now you are in a competitive race. You've drawn a competitor in Senator Joe Nguyen in this case. So just starting off, why are you one running for a fourth term? Is it a fourth term this time? A fourth term and why do you feel you're up for the challenges that we're facing today? Executive Dow Constantine: [00:01:26] Well, it's an exciting moment for us. I mean, we're coming out of this sort of constellation of crises. And I think that the very fact of COVID and the economic collapse and the civil rights awakening and realization about climate change that people are coming to and many other sort of disruptions in society has created an environment where we can make a lot more progress on the issues that we've been dutifully pushing forward over the course of the last four years on equity and social justice and anti-racism on climate, on transformation in the criminal legal system and a lot more and homelessness, I guess I would say. And so it's an exciting moment. We've made enormous strides since I've been in office, but there are these difficult issues that it was very hard to get traction on. And now we have a chance to really run the open field on them. And that is in a nutshell why I'm excited about running for another term. What was your other question? Crystal Fincher: [00:02:42] And why you feel you're up for addressing the challenges that we're facing today? You talked about these crises. I mean, certainly with the pandemic, our economy, facing the climate, we're in a world of hurt at the moment. I mean, I guess some people are, some people have been having a great time through this pandemic. Executive Dow Constantine: [00:03:01] Yeah. Some people made out this time. Crystal Fincher: [00:03:02] But why do you feel you're the person to take on these challenges in the next four years? Executive Dow Constantine: [00:03:08] Well, I think because I've shown that I and my team are the people who have been able to solve the tough challenges, to take on the big issues, not to simply kick the can, but to be able to create a high capacity transit system for three counties or the nation's leading early childhood development program, or tackle the COVID crisis and do a better job than just about anybody in the country, even though it landed here first. So we are I think an arguably very good at this work and that doesn't mean the challenges are easy to stand up and knock down. But it does mean that we have the team that has proven that we can take on the tough challenges and ultimately defeat them. Crystal Fincher: [00:03:57] So you mentioned the COVID recovery and certainly doing better than many counties across the country. On the overall rate, I guess, how would you grade yourself on your response and your leadership throughout this recovery and how do you think it's going? Executive Dow Constantine: [00:04:14] Yeah, well, there's the question of the public health response. And I think we've been in the upper tier in terms of our ability to respond to the health crisis, to keep people from contracting the virus, to get people through this. For much of this, we were, I think the top county out of the 3000 largest counties. Right now I think we're number 94 or five out of 97 in terms of the high quality of our response. We've got San Francisco and Honolulu doing slightly better than we are in infection rate right now. But this is a real accomplishment and it's put us in a strong position for recovery. But recovery means a lot more than simply people getting physically healthy, although that's important. And we're working to make sure that we get the vaccines out to as many people as possible. It also means rebuilding the economy in a way that is both robust and more equitable than it was before, taking on directly the issue of not just income inequality, though that's critically important, but also of creating opportunity for those who have been historically marginalized, historically left behind. And we have here in this region, the ability to connect everyone to economic opportunity that puts them in a position to do what we were all told we were going to be able to do, which is do better than our parents and our grandparents did. And I had a really fascinating meeting about this yesterday with a group that's working to stand up a program to train and up-skill people to be able to take specific jobs in the new economy at Amazon, at Microsoft, at Google and other companies, technology jobs that will allow them a ladder to greater and greater success. That is the kind of thing that living in King county and in Central Puget Sound , that's the kind of opportunity it provides. But we've got to make the connections for people to be able to get across that divide and into those careers. Crystal Fincher: [00:06:29] Absolutely. And talking about the public health response, I mean, certainly overall the vaccination rates are great. Right now slightly less than half of African-Americans are fully vaccinated, right at half, 50.7% of the Hispanic and Latino community are vaccinated, in South King county, only 56% of people are vaccinated. Why do you think that is? And what should you be doing to increase those numbers? Executive Dow Constantine: [00:07:03] Yeah. Well, we should be doing what we are doing and what we have been doing. Our public health department has been extremely aggressive in getting into communities that are underserved by the healthcare system and providing access to vaccines, extremely aggressive and creating partnerships with trusted community-based organizations to reach those who either are not well connected to a traditional systems, or do not trust traditional providers to give them the vaccine and to convince people to come and get the vaccine that's going to allow them to be healthy. And we're going to continue doing that work in different modalities. It was first the mass vaccine sites that we set up in Auburn and Kent. We have a clinic with Kaiser Permanente in Federal Way and we're networking with partner organizations to bring people to that clinic, but also partnering to set up pop-ups with community-based organizations. And we have a partnership of over 50 community-based organizations around King County helping with this, so that whether you're a community organization or a church or any kind of organization, you can have the vaccines there available for your constituency, invite people to an event. I went to a great one in Redmond with the Latinx community on the east side. And it was set up to appeal to what they themselves viewed as their constituency that was being vaccine resistant to come to be with trusted partners, to be with people they knew, to be in familiar surroundings and to have a sort of mutually supportive environment in order to take this step across into something that's a little bit unknown or about which people were weary. I think that has got to be the approach we take in this as we move toward trying to get past those sort of disparities that have plagued this rollout nationally. And we've narrowed the disparities in King County to much, much less than they are nationally, but they still exist and they persist, and we're going to keep fighting to make sure that we're meeting people where they are and offering them information and the healthcare they need to be able to get through this thing. Crystal Fincher: [00:09:26] So you were making a great point about the inequities that currently exist, and you have been the incumbent for the past 12 years. And as a lot of people, have observed and I think rightly that the pandemic laid bare the inequities and disparities that already existed and just really exacerbated them. And so, as someone who has been in charge of King county and King county's public health apparatus over the past 12 years, that those inequities and disparities existed on your watch and languished on your watch, do you think you own that? Do you think that you have acted sufficiently to address the inequality that we've seen in the health system that has resulted in such a hard time throughout this pandemic for so many? Executive Dow Constantine: [00:10:15] Well, it is a fact that King County has not managed to solve 400 years of racism in America yet. But we have seized from the very day I took office mantle of equity and social justice and built it from a mere idea to a commitment to an office that's actually seen in my executive office to a strategic plan and an implementation plan and the creation of our internal anti-racism core team and their production of anti-racism budget and policy agendas that we have adopted. And this work is both internal to the county and it's 15,000 employees in our programs and external, and about all the institutions of the community. So the fact is that we have been working very vigorously and diligently toward transforming this community. And I would remind you of what we just discussed earlier, which is the notion of this moment as a breakthrough moment, a moment when we can take this work we have been doing and with a suddenly enthusiastic public broadly make rapid progress. That is what is exciting about this moment that we've been beating our head against a wall, we've been charging into the defensive line over and over and over. And finally we see in front of us the open field we needed to run with this transformation. And so I'm very excited about it. And I really want folks to be able to better see, and hopefully this campaign will allow them the remarkable work that we have been doing over the course of my administration in equity, social justice and anti-racism. Crystal Fincher: [00:12:09] So do you think the... I mean, I certainly think that the public is more aware and enthusiastic about addressing some of the inequities that we now see the consequences that come from letting them languish. Do you think that's the difference and being able to accomplish more than was accomplished in your prior terms is having public buy-in? Is that the big difference that you're seeing? Executive Dow Constantine: [00:12:34] Yeah. We've accomplished quite a lot in terms of building in an equity lens in everything we do and all the work that we set about to do in community. But yes, that's what matters on anti-racism, that's what matters on climate and clean water, that's what matters on criminal legal system transformation. That is what matters is getting the public to focus on the progress that we're working to make and to join in it. And this public now is really ready for it. And it is unfortunate but predictable that it takes the kinds of crises we lived through over the course of the last 15 months to make that so. But it was very clear even last summer that the public mood had changed dramatically. And I said very clearly and publicly, even at that time, this was our moment. The door had been kicked open, that progress was possible, and we can't let it close like it did 50 years ago. For example in the, in the 1960s, when change was in the air and the opportunity to transform America and make it live up to its ideals was possible. And then Richard Nixon and his Southern strategy took everything in reverse. And that reverse lasted really for a half century. We made halting forward progress. But having the public be galvanized around the kinds of transformation this nation needs is something that's rare indeed. And we have to keep that door kicked open and put our shoulder to it and drive through. Crystal Fincher: [00:14:11] Certainly have to drive through. Do you think that there is the possibility of heading off, I guess, a crisis that comes from the convergence of these problems and them lasting for so long? Do you think that there's a way to galvanize the public without requiring a crisis? Executive Dow Constantine: [00:14:34] There should be, but is often been repeated that with crisis comes opportunity and the opportunity of this crisis is to refocus people on the failings of our nation, the way in which our reality is so misaligned with our ideals and the story we've always told about ourselves. And I think that... I mean, just to be perfectly frank, having white America suddenly wake up to the reality, to have the scales dropped from their eyes and to see what's going on is a critical turn of events and is a chance to drive kind of real change that we have been struggling to create at King county over the course of years with our equity and social justice work. Crystal Fincher: [00:15:23] Absolutely. Well, and you mentioned that there's an opportunity now, and there certainly is an opportunity with a lot of renewed or just new public enthusiasm to build a new normal. I mean, we touched on the recovery before, economically a lot of people who already had a lot have done spectacularly financially through this pandemic and headed where they started. [crosstalk] But we still have a lot, particularly women, particularly women of color who have lost their jobs and those jobs haven't come back, who are suffering from not having childcare that disappeared during the pandemic, people struggling still to make bills, people still who are impacted by this eviction moratorium and afraid that the past due rent that's going to come due here real soon is going to make it impossible to stay into their homes. What should you be doing? What can you do? What are you doing and what will you do to help the people who need it the most? Executive Dow Constantine: [00:16:30] Well, we are focusing all the funds that we can get from the federal government, from the state government money that we're able to scrape up locally and into a recovery package. And the council has just passed our seventh COVID supplemental, emergency supplemental measure, and I'm putting together the eighth. And the one that the council just passed, included my proposal for a $25 million for economic recovery for BIPoC and, sorry for using that generic term, and women-owned businesses that have been particularly disadvantaged during the crisis and because, and for rental assistance, the amount of between this budget, one a few weeks before to $150 million in additional rental assistance for people who are behind on the rent in King County and there will need to be more because it is humanitarian challenge to be sure if people lose their homes. And it's also enormously more expensive to get people out of homelessness and back into a home than to keep them housed where they are. It is going to require more help from the federal government or the state government or at least more authority from the state government to the local government, which we do not have to be able to raise the funds to get people through the rest of this. But I got to say that the key for us is having our economy functioning and functioning for everyone, rather than just those who are fortunate enough to have come here with the skills to land the kinds of jobs as economy is now offering. One of the ways in which we are responding in King County I several weeks ago signed a pro equity contracting executive order. And that is designed to give Black and Latino and Asian and Indigenous owned businesses better access to government contracts. For example, construction contracts. We have over $100 billion of public contracts in the pipeline in King County over the course of the next couple of decades, including sound transit. And that is enormous opportunity for entrepreneurs, for skilled trades people, for generations who have been left out of the economic story of this region to be able to build a secure economic future for themselves and their families. And as I mentioned before, these high-tech businesses just to give an example, are going to keep hiring, they're going to keep growing and we need to not simply settle for people moving here from elsewhere to take those jobs, and then squeezing people out of the housing market. We need to be much more purposeful about connecting people to the training they need, the skills they need to be able to get those jobs and to have specific jobs targeted for people who are getting skilled up right here in King County. So it's exciting. Eddie Rye and others are helping create this organization that is going to be providing this training and making the connections to the big employers and having them figure out how to move people from where they are economically stuck across this gulf into a place of expanding economic opportunity in the businesses that are growing here in King county. Crystal Fincher: [00:20:17] That is certainly important. And making sure people have jobs in that opportunity. I've heard your opponent mention and other people mention, in this climate where there certainly has been a significant amount that you and the King County council have authorized to go for a variety of different types of help and assistance throughout this pandemic, there were some other things that popped up that people question. Certainly before the pandemic looking at the, what was it, $135 million that wound up going to Safeco Field and people including Councilmember Dave Upthegrove said, hey, that can be going to affordable housing and should be, or the proposal to bail out the convention center with $100 million of county dollars that I think they ultimately found public (Crystal meant to say private) financing which I think a lot of people were advocating for them to do from the beginning. With those during that time, it was certainly talked about, I'm sure you heard, hey, should we be spending it here? Is this the priority? Or should we be giving it more directly to the people who are impacted? How did you work through that? How did you rationalize that? Executive Dow Constantine: [00:21:32] So the visitor taxes, the hotel, motel taxes, the tourist taxes are supposed to go to pay for things that keep the tourism industry, the visitor industry going and creates thousands of jobs, livelihoods for people throughout the county. And baseball is about the biggest tourism thing we have. And it is a public building that has to be kept standing. But what is never said by the critics is that, back then all of this tourism business allowed us to spend some 600, I believe, $660 million on affordable housing. It is the goose that laid the golden egg, and we need to continue to foster it because there are direct jobs in the visitor industry. And it also produces a lot more revenue that can go to the important social programs, including housing that we fund. The Convention Center is also an enormous economic engine and employer, high quality family wage jobs, building that building. Well, over 1000 of them that were in jeopardy of ending in the middle of a pandemic. But more than that, all of the jobs operating that and the restaurants and all of the services that visitors here, thousands of visitors pay for. And that is going to keep an awful lot of people employed, allow them to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads. We cannot allow these important industries to just go by the wayside and Washington state has needed a larger Convention Center for a very long time. I had to go to Olympia. I had to work the legislature over years to try to get them to allow us to expand the Convention Center. When they fail, they finally gave up and handed over control of the entire thing to the county, and we chartered a new organization. And then we constructed a very complex real estate transaction to get that block of downtown Seattle, which was becoming obsolete as a bus depot because of the light rail taking over entirely the downtown tunnel. And then work to get the convention center construction started only to have COVID hit and have it be threatened with being shut down. I mean, this is the work that people need to build a better life. If you go to that Convention Center and you talk with the contractors, many, many, or the laborers and the carpenters many, many of them are People  of Color from marginalized communities who have been recruited into apprenticeships and then journey positions where they're able to build a better life than their parents had, where they're able to provide for their kids to buy a house, to build a secure retirement. That's what we need. That is what we need for us to really have economic justice in this county, not just very wealthy people and then a whole bunch of people scraping by. We need to have kinds of jobs that allow people to earn a solid living. Crystal Fincher: [00:25:03] And certainly, I don't think you'll find anyone who disagrees with the need to make sure that we are protecting workers and protecting the industries that serve Seattle a lot. And you are endorsed by quite a few labor unions. So they have been seemingly very happy with how you have proceeded in your activities. I guess the question that I have would be, does the fact that they ultimately ended up finding private financing mean that maybe we should push harder on, especially entities who their backers may have more resources than the average person, to try and find private solutions for bailouts, as opposed to the public need to bail them out? How do you think about that? Executive Dow Constantine: [00:25:55] I think it is an appropriate role for government to keep important economic activity happening. And during the pandemic, the credit for projects that were funded by tourism taxes dried up because the tourism economy collapsed. But what the market learned ultimately was that that was not going to be a permanent circumstance, that visitors were going to come back and that they needed to get the Convention Center done and it was a good investment. But there was a period when they needed the guarantee of money in order to be able to keep people employed and not have to mothball the project. So this is where, I guess this is sort of taking a step back here, this is where you find the difference between sort of ideology and the reality in which we have to work. And the reality in which I have to work is real people with real jobs and real hard choices. Yeah, sure. I would, of course love to be able to just pursue a sort of utopian vision. But the fact is that we have real-world constraints that we have to figure out how to deal with. And the trick has been to figure out how to keep our values front and center to have our budgeting and our policy follow those values. And we've been I think unarguably very successful at that. Crystal Fincher: [00:27:16] Well, I think in that vein, there's another issue about values and practicality that has popped up in this campaign about campaign finance and whether it is good and okay. Your opponent made a pledge to not accept PAC dollars or corporate PAC dollars, I think he termed it. And you made the point in a forum, I think it was, hey, it looks like you have accepted PAC donations, which led to a conversation about while it was a different kind of pack or an association. Executive Dow Constantine: [00:27:57] Yeah, it's splitting hairs. It is posturing and splitting hairs. Crystal Fincher: [00:28:04] So how do you view who donates to you and what that says about where you stand and the influence that they have? Executive Dow Constantine: [00:28:15] Well, I think my record is absolute proof of where I stand and you may agree with it, you may disagree with it, but it is very clear, well-documented and I think my record shows that I am pro environment that I'm pro labor, that I'm pro equity, that I'm pro transit mobility. And I've not just said those things out loud, I've actually done the heavy lifting to make them real. And so if he is afraid that he will be influenced by PAC donations then fine by me, if he doesn't want to accept donations, I know who I am. I know what I stand for. I know the work I've done. And I do think that if he is going to say, he's not going to accept PAC donations or corporate PAC donations or corporate association PAC donation or whatever it is, he should at least be consistent. And I don't think he has been. Crystal Fincher: [00:29:21] Consistency is key. We were looking back and we've also interviewed Senator Nguyen and he mentioned as we were talking about this, because I asked him, and we had a conversation about, hey, is it really different? Are they special interests ultimately? It does seem like splitting hairs. But he brought up, hey, this is after $750,000 of expenditures in this race. And I actually thought he misspoke, but looking back at it, you received over $300,000 in contributions in 2018, over $400,000 almost $400,000, $398,000, in 2019, $142,000 in 2020, $479,000 in 2021. Now first, fundraisers are just excited about this and yours  has done an excellent work. Executive Dow Constantine: [00:30:15] $175,000 last month. Crystal Fincher: [00:30:16] You are a fundraising juggernaut, but you've also spent in 2018, $233,000, in 2019, $312,000, 2020, $77,000. Before you ever drew an opponent, you are comfortable and lots of people would argue, you are a comfortable incumbent. What do you think that says about the state of campaign finance? What are you spending that on in the campaign in the first place? And do you think that is a healthy ecosystem when you're not, I guess in essence, publicly campaigning, in the sense when you look at a lot of the other local elected officials who run campaigns in the years or maybe the year before they run a campaign, but spending multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars on off years? Does that just seem it's kind of a campaign industrial complex? Do you feel like that's healthy? Executive Dow Constantine: [00:31:15] Well, I mean, there definitely is a campaign industrial complex, there are all these consultants out there, including my opponents consultants who are building a living figuring out how to make money off of campaigning. Crystal Fincher: [00:31:29] I mean hey, I'm a consultant too. I'm not knocking it all, but man, those are eye popping numbers. Executive Dow Constantine: [00:31:34] Stuff costs money. I had an amusing conversation just before we started this podcast where the very leftist political candidate who was calling me, asking for my help in raising money and about the fact that no matter how pure your beliefs, everything costs. People who do work need to be able to keep a roof over their heads. People who have expertise deserve to be paid for it. People who contribute their time should be fairly compensated and they don't deliver mail for free and they don't carry your video for free. None of that stuff's free, nothing's free. And this is a county of 2.3 million people. So this is larger than 15 states. So it is an expensive proposition, is also a very big job with over 15,000 employees and over $12 billion budget. And as I said 2.3 million people to account for. It is painting on a very large canvas, so it does end up costing money. Yeah. And I don't like having to raise money, I find it painful. I'm sort of by nature an introvert, the act of having to pick up the telephone and ask someone to donate is excruciating. I don't like going to events, I find it exhausting. But the fact is that that's what you have to do. That is what you need to do in order to be able to serve. And if you're not willing to do it, then you can't build a three county light rail system or create the nation's leading early childhood development program. So is it worth it? I don't know. But it is what you got to do in order to be able to do the good work. Crystal Fincher: [00:33:29] Sure. And speaking of the hard work and the tough work, public safety has certainly been an issue that a lot of different jurisdictions have been tackling in a variety of different ways or not tackling for some jurisdictions. King County recently voted to stop electing the Sheriff and making it appointed. There have been a number of high profile incidences within the King County Sheriff's department and calls very vocally recently from a broad swath of the public. And looking at the vote for those charter amendments, it looks like the majority of King county wants to see some substantive reform. In looking at that, do you one, agree that there's a need for substantive reform? What are your plans for that reform and why do you think that was not as urgent a need to act on before in the prior 12 years? Executive Dow Constantine: [00:34:30] Well, I mean, I don't know that anybody thought it wasn't an urgent need. So long before the Sheriff's issue was on the ballot, it was long before this sudden awakening in America, around the reality of police violence and Black Lives Matter that we undertook to completely upend and rewrite the system of inquests in officer involved deaths in King County. I did that sitting at the table with the bereaved families of those who died at the hands of police. And when we did that, we did it to remove this situation where we got to the end of the process and the police officer was asked, well, did you fear for your life? And that police officer inevitably said, yes, I feared for my life, that's why I shot. And then it was used as some sort of exoneration, subjective fear, and we turned it into a process that would reveal whether that officer followed their training. And if so, whether their training was in fact flawed, whether the policies and the procedures, the equipping of those officers has to be changed by the responsible agency, whichever agency it is. And when we did that with these families, I think we created a really enlightened and forward looking process. One that is directed at figuring out how we can change the use of force, the use of force by police officers. And we were immediately sued by the Seattle Police Department by my own King County Sheriff's office, by police agencies all around the county, who said they shouldn't be forced to comply with this. And it's before the Supreme Court now. I'm really pleased that we did such good work, but it's only the beginning and getting those charter amendments passed to allow me to take control of the Sheriff's Office is an important step forward. We've even panel the community group that is going to be the core of our community co-creation of the new duties and structure of the Sheriff's Office, and will help me identify the person who will be the next Sheriff accountable to me and to the Council and to the people. And we will be taking over as well the hiring, the firing the discipline in the Sheriff's office. But there's a lot more than that, and we can talk about this forever. I'm very convinced that as a society and certainly within King County we need to narrow the scope of problems. Of course, the police are called and broaden the availability of public health and human service interventions to help unwind conflict and communities to help individuals who are having behavioral health challenges. And I've deployed in the courthouse area, a 24 hour days, seven day a week team, behavioral health team to do just that, to go out, to engage those who are having behavioral health challenges on the streets, to get them inside, to get them to treatment, the help they need to keep them from being in harm's way and to help them make halting steps forward on the road to recovery. That's possible to do in other communities too. Crystal Fincher: [00:37:59] I think that's positive. I guess the thing is, with the inquest process, it doesn't actually have any accountability at the end of it. It's a fact finding exercise. Knowing the facts is absolutely necessary, but what's the connection between finding out those facts and actual accountability. And in a way, go ahead. Executive Dow Constantine: [00:38:19] The authority rests with the agency that employs the police. So if it was a King County Sheriff's deputy involved, that exercise where we found out whether or not they follow their training or whether it was the training and procedures themselves that were flawed, would then land back in the lap of the person in this case right now, the Sheriff, these separately elected Sheriff, but later the appointed Sheriff and the Executive to fix. And the same thing is true if it is a city police department like Kent or Seattle. But the county does not have the ability to go sanction the city of Kent for their officer's actions. However, the prosecuting attorney, if he finds that a crime has been committed can bring criminal charges as our prosecutor has in the case of the city of Auburn. Crystal Fincher: [00:39:11] Well, and I guess the ultimate question is with King County Sheriff's deputies in your capacity as King County Executive what responsibility do you have to ensure that there is actual accountability and what are your plans for that? Executive Dow Constantine: [00:39:28] Well, I'm excited about having the opportunity to create that accountability starting January 1st. So I'm excited that we are now finally going to be able to move forward on the pilot for body-worn cameras, but I want to make them permanent and ubiquitous. I want all officers to have cameras on them, and I want the cameras to be on whether they're in the unincorporated area or in the many cities that contract with King county, because I don't think anybody should be afraid of the truth. I am wanting us to get through, and I wish that the current sheriff would get through the huge backlog of disciplinary actions. I want us to be able to negotiate, which they have not succeeded in doing, the ability for the office of law enforcement oversight to have real teeth so that we have an agency that can independently not the internal investigations, one that can independently assess what has happened in police use of force and take corrective action. There are a whole bunch of opportunities that come with the public's embrace of these charter amendments. And I do not think that before George Floyd, before last year, the public would have been ready to make this change, but it is one that I've been advocating a long time, and I'm very excited to have the opportunity to move forward on. And now these, I talked earlier about the big difficult issues transforming the criminal legal system, which is fundamentally flawed all across this country is an opportunity for King County not just to fix things here, but to provide models that can be followed by other jurisdictions to begin to create the change we want to see in our nation. And that is as you can tell, I'm talking excitedly about this. That is the reason I want to run for reelection, that we have the chance to do things that weren't possible even a year and a half ago or that were going to happen very slowly, haltingly, at a great glacial pace. We have the chance to run the field and I want to do it. Crystal Fincher: [00:41:34] Well, this is certainly an interesting and exciting race. It is great to be able to hear in detail your plans and the progress that you've been able to make, and your stance on, on all of these issues that are pressing. And we thank you for spending the time with us today. Thank you so much. Executive Dow Constantine: [00:41:55] Thanks for having me. Crystal Fincher: [00:41:57] Thank you for listening to Hacks and Wonks. Our chief audio engineer at KVRU is Maurice Jones Jr. The producer of Hacks and Wonks is Lisl Stadler. You can find me on Twitter @finchfrii, spelled, F-I-N-C-H-F-R-I-I. And now you can follow Hacks and Wonks on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts. Just type in Hacks and Wonks into the search bar. Be sure to subscribe to get our Friday almost live shows and our mid-week show delivered to your podcast feed. You can also get a full text transcript of this episode and links to the resources referenced during the show at officialhacksandwonks.com and in the podcast episode notes. Thanks for tuning in. Talk to you next time.

Live from the historic Virginia Inn in downtown Seattle, Construction Attorney Ellie Perka interviews Matt Griffin, Managing Partner at Pine Street Group, about one of the largest construction projects taking place on the West Coast today: a massive expansion of the Washington State Convention Center (WSCC) in downtown Seattle. WSCC's new addition, known as “Summit,” opens in mid-2022 and will add 1.4 million square feet of usable space to downtown – doubling current convention capacity. This is a big week for Matt and his team! On June 11, WSCC celebrates “topping out” construction with a crew lunch and commemoration ceremony. Join Ellie and Matt as they discuss the downtown Seattle revitalization, overcoming financial and construction hurdles and how Seattle will bounce back from the recent pandemic. -=-=-=-=-=-=- HIGHLIGHTS: 02:01 – Matt grew up in Seattle and became an Engineer. 03:33 – 90's Era Seattle: boarded-up downtown blooms with development. Matt describes the Three Block Project. 05:55 – Ellie and Matt wax nostalgic about the Nordstrom flagship store moving into the Frederick & Nelson building. 07:14 – Perspective on how Seattle will bounce back as we emerge from the pandemic. 13:22 – WSCC: the big mega-project happening downtown. 14:06 – In 2013/2014 WSCC was turning away more business than it was booking. Seattle is popular for conventions. 15:19 – Matt: “What we're trying to do is have more conventions, not bigger.” 16:21 – Squeezing 7.7 new acres of usable space in crowded downtown. 17:31 – What happened to the bus station located where WSCC Summit is now? 19:59 – Financing the project, especially during COVID-19. 21:27 – Shout-out to the people building WSCC Summit! Focus on employing people of color, people from high-priority zip codes and apprentices. 22:09 – Study in Oct 2020 showed tax revenue would come up short, Matt describes private financing methods secured in early 2021 to complete the build. 24:22 – Seattle has become the #1 city in USA for foreign investment. 25:31 – Matt describes the “topping out” ceremony June 11. Seattle luminaries and even sports celebrities make a cameo for this digital event. 28:04 – Is it true the top-floor ballroom will be as big as a football field? 29:50 – Fortunate to have LMN architects on this project. World-renowned firm from Seattle. 29:15 – WSCC bought the property under the sidewalks, very unusual. Why? 30:01 – Natural light makes a difference. Summit will have skylights even in the basement. -=-=-=-=-=-=- MORE: Project details: www.wsccaddition.com Meet Ellie Perka: https://www.lanepowell.com/Our-People/Ellie-Perka  Matt Griffin's firm: www.pinest.com Virginia Inn: www.virginiainnseattle.com  

This week on the show Crystal is joined by co-host Erica Barnett, editor of Publicola. They get in to Mayor Durkan's floundering attempts to address homelessness, developments of the convention center bailout, and grocery store workers being granted a $4.00 and hour hazard pay increase. 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. More info is available at officialhacksandwonks.com.   Articles Referenced: Mayor's Office Defends Hotel Shelter Plan as Council Pushes for Tiny Houses by Erica C. Barnett, Publicola https://publicola.com/2021/01/28/mayors-office-defends-low-budget-for-hotel-shelters-as-council-pushes-for-tiny-houses/ Seattle, state look to join King County in multimillion dollar Washington State Convention Center bailout by David Gutman, The Seattle Times https://publicola.com/2021/01/28/mayors-office-defends-low-budget-for-hotel-shelters-as-council-pushes-for-tiny-houses/ The convention business is cratering, and cities are getting stuck with the bill by Mike McGinn and Joe Cortright, The City Observatory https://cityobservatory.org/the-convention-business-is-cratering-and-cities-are-getting-stuck-with-the-bill/ Seattle City Council approves $4 per hour mandatory pay boost for grocery workers during COVID-19 pandemic by David Gutman, The Seattle Times https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/seattle-city-council-approves-4-per-hour-mandatory-pay-boost-for-grocery-workers-during-covid-19-pandemic/ Seattle ‘hazard pay' bonus for grocery workers likely to begin next week by Ben Adlin, South Seattle Emerald https://southseattleemerald.com/2021/01/29/seattle-hazard-pay-bonus-for-grocery-workers-likely-to-begin-next-week/   Transcript: Crystal Fincher: [00:00:00] Welcome to Hacks and Wonks. I'm your host, Crystal Fincher. On this show, we talk with Policy Wonks and Political Hacks to gather insight into local politics and policy through the lens of those doing the work with behind-the-scenes perspectives on politics in our state. Full transcripts and resources referenced in the show are always available at officialhacksandwonks.com and in our episode notes. 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 co-host, Seattle political reporter, editor of PubliCola and author of Quitter: A Memoir of Drinking, Relapse and Recovery, Erica Barnett. Erica Barnett: [00:00:49] Hi, Crystal. Great to be here.  Crystal Fincher: [00:00:51] Great to have you on again. Well there's a lot going on this week and I think we want to start out talking about Mayor Jenny Durkan's shelter surge plan that seems to be in trouble. What is the plan and what is happening with it?  Erica Barnett: [00:01:08] Well, the original plan was announced last year in October-ish. And it's to add a bunch of new shelters, mostly in hotels. The idea being that people will be taken off the street by outreach workers, put into hotels, and just sort of stabilize there - and move quickly to either permanent supportive housing which is a very kind of service-intensive, expensive kind of housing for people who can't live independently , or rapid rehousing using vouchers, essentially, that they can spend on the private market for a short period of time. And the idea is that they would then be able to pay market rate rent within a year or so. What's happening with it this week and as we reported exclusively at publiCola is that the plan is sort of or at least a large component of the plan - one of the big hotels - has fallen apart. And , and the city is scrambling to find somebody to provide those rooms. The issue is that the mayor's office and the city budget office have capped the amount that can be spent on these rooms at a rate that providers are saying is way too low for them to provide the kind of services that would actually make people ready to move into this market rate housing. And the difference, the money difference, is pretty significant. And so that - that larger of two hotels that they're planning, which is a 155-room hotel , has fallen through. And now they're scrambling to find a new provider. It was going to be the Public Defender Association, but - but no more. Crystal Fincher: [00:02:35] So they're at the point where they're saying they are getting ready to roll this out, and now they're down a provider. And the feedback that they've gotten from the providers that they're looking at moving forward with is that the money may be too low to actually provide the services and, and provide the outcomes that the program was supposed to provide? Erica Barnett: [00:02:59] Yeah, so the Public Defender Association does a program called JustCare, which got a lot of positive press. It's down in Pioneer Square in the Chinatown International District. And basically they - they cleared out a bunch of encampments there and moved people into hotels. And it's - it's an expensive program because you're talking about people who have really high needs, so they're providing behavioral health care, mental health care, addiction services. And and so the idea was to basically expand - at least the PDA's idea - was to basically expand that program. They're going to move it into the Executive Pacific hotel downtown. And this is all according to our reporting - the city has not actually said any of this publicly, but we've talked to the PDA. And they're saying we can't do this for $17,000 a bed, which is what the city is essentially willing to provide. You know, it costs - it costs about $28,000 - we need more money. And, and that's kind of where the impasse is - are we going to do this service-rich program that gets people ready to move into housing or are we going to do a low-budget program that, you know, we're just going to put people in hotels and move them on and hope for the best. I mean, I'm not saying that the whatever lower budget program they end up with, assuming this moves forward, is going to be a bad program, but it's going to not have all of the services that they were originally intending to provide when they started talking about this. Crystal Fincher: [00:04:21] One, and originally intending to provide - and that seemed to be necessary to successfully transition people out of homelessness into stable housing. You know, the, the goal of this, certainly, we want to get everyone off of, off of the streets , out of unsafe and unsheltered situations, and to have shelter first and foremost critically, but, but it is also important to provide people with the assistance that they need to transition into stable housing. And I guess the question is, as you referenced, there are different populations within the unhoused population. There are people who are recently homeless, who oftentimes just need some financial assistance to get back into a stable situation. Then there are people who have more , you know, intricate needs and more service needs, whether it's mental health issues, substance abuse issues, that, that really need those programs and support. So is there information on who our existing population is and, and does this solution work for them? Erica Barnett: [00:05:33] Well, I mean, what the - what the Public Defender Association has told me is that the JustCare clients that they've worked with have had very high needs. And, and I think you're - you hit on exactly the point. I mean, there is no one population of people who are unsheltered. But a lot of times when you're going into encampments and people who have been chronically homeless for a very long time and you know, are, are not going into the traditional shelters that are on offer, you're talking about people who do have high needs. And, and I think with anybody in the current housing market - I mean, yes, rents have gone down a little bit in Seattle, but anyone going into the current housing market with a rapid rehousing subsidy is going to need that subsidy for a really long time. And ordinarily, those are capped at three to six months. Now the city is saying they're willing to pay for more like a year, but - but then what happens when that year runs out? I mean, at that point as I've also reported, you know, you are expected to pay the full market rent for whatever apartment you've found and it's considered successful if you're paying 60% of your income on rent, which is very, very rent burdened. So there's just - there's just a lot of problems with the current sort of two tracks that we have, which are permanent supportive housing - very high needs, you're always going to have a subsidy for the rest of your life, or rapid rehousing - you know, 12 months and you better be on your feet and earning a high enough income to pay for that apartment. And there's not a whole lot for people who fall in between those two tracks.  Crystal Fincher: [00:07:03] But, you know, this seems to me - Jenny Durkan has certainly experienced criticism for not following through on the details or paying close attention to the implementation of her plans, and them not panning out as they were originally sold. This seems like it's heading in that same direction. What are the options that are available moving forward? Are they just trying to force it through as-is?  Erica Barnett: [00:07:30] Well, I think what they're doing is scrambling right now, as we're speaking, to find - to find another provider for that second hotel. And , and to - to maybe find a - there's actually supposed to be a third hotel. And so to maybe find a provider for that third hotel that'll, you know, altogether make up the 300 rooms that the mayor promised. But I want to pivot, if I can, to the tiny house village proposal that's on the table now, because you talked about Durkan making promises. She said in her campaign and, and during her first year, that in her first year, she would build a thousand new, tiny houses in villages around the city. So far, the city has less than 300 total and most of those aren't new. So Andrew Lewis on the council has proposed sort of on a totally separate track to build a 480 new tiny houses in 12 new villages around the city over a couple of years. And so that is another shelter option that's moving forward kind of without, without the, I mean, you know, with the mayor's cooperation, certainly, but the deputy mayor was talking at the council meeting the other day. And you know, he seemed to - just he was describing this as happening on a completely different track and, you know, and speculating about how it would work with the mayor's plans, which, you know, just really haven't gone anywhere as far as tiny house villages are concerned. Crystal Fincher: [00:08:53] Well, and, and Councilmember Lewis' plan is interesting and it looks like it is relying on a mix of city money, taxpayer money, and privately funded money - is that correct?  Erica Barnett: [00:09:05] Yeah, it would be city money for operations and private money for actually just the physical construction, you know - here's the land, money to build these these tiny house huts that people live in, and then, yeah - and then the city would pay for ongoing operations.  Crystal Fincher: [00:09:21] Okay. Well, I mean, it seems, at least it's - kind of the, the general conversation that has needed to move forward into more effective housing solutions. Even with the mayor's plan and where she originally started - it seems like that - and with the tiny houses, we are acknowledging that people need private spaces with shelter. That the big, huge congregate shelter settings are certainly not ideal and that hinder progress and the ability to get in a position where you can transition into more stable housing. Has that been an intentional focus? And are they looking at moving away from group shelters even more in the future? Erica Barnett: [00:10:03] Well, I think that that's a Council-Mayor difference in some ways. I mean, and there's - there's good and bad things about both approaches, right? I mean, on the one hand, everybody would prefer, I mean, pretty much universally - if you offer people tiny houses or hotels, they say yes, whereas if you offer people a bed in a shelter - and we are mostly doing enhanced 24/7 shelters now, so it's not so much the mat on the floor model and get out at 7 in the morning anymore - but people don't like those as much, for what I think are very obvious reasons. Which is that, you know, you have privacy, you have some dignity, you have a door that closes . On the flip side, I will say, that when you have - when you invest really heavily in these programs, you're investing in a program where people don't move out into housing very quickly. They tend to stay in tiny house villages for a really, really, really long time. And so there's not a lot of what they call throughput. And so, so the question is, you know, in my mind, is are we building, essentially, a, you know, an inferior form of semi-permanent housing by putting tiny house villages all over the city and sort of avoiding the larger issue, which is that people actually need permanent housing. I mean this isn't to demonize tiny house villages in any way, because I think they are obviously really desirable to people. But I think that one of the reasons they're desirable is they're kind of a quasi-form of housing. And you know, I don't know - I don't know that we want to be a city and you know, I'm gonna get in trouble for saying this, but where it's just Hoovervilles everywhere and no housing. Like there needs to be housing to move people into.  Crystal Fincher: [00:11:35] Well, there does and I guess that - that brings up the question you talked about - the city money being used for services. Are those services the types that have shown to be effective for transitioning people into permanent housing? Erica Barnett: [00:11:47] Are you talking about the hotel - the services in the hotels? Crystal Fincher: [00:11:50] The services for the, the tiny house villages. Are there going to be services provided there or is it just, Hey, here's a tiny house and, and we will leave. Erica Barnett: [00:11:59] Oh, absolutely. No - there's case management and they, and they certainly provide services. I mean, this is also the case with JustCares, which is hotel rooms. That's another option that people stay in for, for a long time. And I think it's not - the problem is not so much that the services aren't there and that - because people do stabilize in these situations where they have some privacy and they have some dignity. People get better in, you know, in their lives. But the main - the, you know, the overriding condition of homelessness, I mean, you're just never gonna address that unless you create permanent housing solutions. And I don't mean permanent supportive housing for everybody. I mean, things like long-term subsidies. I mean, there's a lot of people in this city, as we've seen with, you know, the eviction moratorium. There's a lot of people who just can't pay that last $500 a month. You know, or $200 a month or whatever it is, that's keeping them from, from, you know, from staying in their places and that's making them subject to eviction. You know, I don't know why this is something that the city has been so reluctant to do. I think it's 'cause rapid rehousing is just in vogue right now because it feels like a market-based solution. But when you're throwing people under the market, there's no safety net really if , if they fail.  Crystal Fincher: [00:13:06] That's definitely true. Well, I think that - well, I think your coverage on this, on publicola.com has been excellent. And I encourage people to continue to follow along with where this process is going and provide feedback to the council and to the mayor about how you feel about how this plan is proceeding. Are there any conversations about increasing the amount that's available per room, or is the mayor just saying, That's it, - you gotta make it work.  Erica Barnett: [00:13:36] Well, this is all - this is all happening, I should say, sort of internally right now at the city. The mayor's office will probably be willing to give a little bit. But the other day - there's this really interesting moment in the council meeting where Deputy Mayor Casey Sixkiller was saying that the - the DESC in Renton, Downtown Emergency Service Center - which has a hotel in Renton that they have - that they're using as a shelter is able to do it for super cheap so that's the baseline for what should happen in Seattle. And there's just - there's so many things wrong with that, with that line of thinking. I mean, one is that he's not comparing apples to apples in terms of what that money is paying for in Renton. The other is that Seattle is more expensive. And the other is that DESC actually put forward its own plan - and its own plan for this hotel in Seattle was much, much more expensive and very much in line with all the other plans that everybody else submitted for , for these hotels. So I think the providers are saying, Look, this actually does cost more money than you are saying that we can spend. And the mayor's office, the city budget office is saying, You know, sorry, but we need that money for rapid rehousing because the rapid rehousing component of the hotel shelter plan is about twice as much as , as the services component. So they're, they're spending pretty lavishly on rapid rehousing to kind of get people into apartments fast, but the sort of step zero of, you know, helping people with their behavioral health issues, helping people with , you know, all kinds of barriers to housing that people have , is just, is, is being kind of not invested in Crystal Fincher: [00:15:12] Just a reminder that you're  listening to Hacks and Wonks on KVRU 105.7 FM. I'm your host, Crystal Fincher, and today we have a guest co-host, Seattle political reporter, Erica Barnett. Part of the other issue with the DESC benchmarking it off of that was, was also - we want to pay people living wages. Seems like the focus is on just, Well, we just need to get people in - I'm sure the promise that she made is weighing heavily on her and the ability to say, All right, fine - there's more - we did it. I'm delivering what I said I would - is a motivating factor.  Well, we will continue to keep our eye on that and we'll transition to talking about the bailout of the convention center. Dow Constantine - I feel like it was about six weeks ago -  you know, somewhere around then, announced that he, from the County perspective, had put together a plan for a massive bailout of the convention center that is ailing and struggling. Obviously in this pandemic, there are not companies coming from across the country and internationally - to fly all their people in and have big conventions together. So they are struggling and the question is - looking forward, are they going to bounce back and be able to make good on these on, on basically this, this loan? And furthermore, does it even make sense to continue to invest in the convention center? Are we going to see a long-term shift in the way that, that these types of conventions have been? What's going on with that right now?  Erica Barnett: [00:16:51] Well, the the city, I mean, you've, you've basically laid out what the situation is. I mean, the city and state have both said that they are open to providing loans to , to bail out the convention center even further. The boosters of convention centers say that they are critical for the region's economy and they're where, you know, tourism comes from, and people could, you know, they can cite however many, you know, people come in here. I mean, it feels a lot like , like the way that boosters sell arenas - that they make their money back in the overall benefit to the economy from people coming into the city, et cetera, et cetera. I am not aware of a lot of research that backs that up. Admittedly, I'm not an expert on convention centers, but I think that by and large, the reason that people come to a city like Seattle is not to - what - to sit in, you know, a windowless meeting room. And that a lot of that stuff is being done online now and I think will continue to be done online. I mean, if you're talking about a large meeting of a you know, of the business affiliation group, for example, or a large meeting of a company - I think there are a lot of lessons that we've learned during the pandemic that are going to continue and persist after the pandemic. And one is that we don't need these large, you know, giant gatherings. And I think the city really should be promoting tourism in a way that is about what is good about Seattle, not, you know, this is a great place to have your convention because of this and such tax breaks or hotel breaks or whatever it may be. But this is a great city because of the outdoors, because of Pike Place Market, you know, et cetera, et cetera. There's lots of, there's lots of reasons to come visit Seattle. I don't think that giant conventions are by and large gonna continue to be among those in the future.  Crystal Fincher: [00:18:37] Beyond that, we are in a recession, which you know, doesn't have prospects of getting better anytime soon without any stimulus activity . Started at the federal level, which is looking bleak beyond the little $2,000 amount that they are talking about as a one-time thing. And so even, even companies' ability, even if they wanted to continue to do that, has been hampered. The convention center is in need of - they're saying a $315 million loan in order to be bailed out. The County started and said, Hey, we'll, we'll be in for a $100 million from its investment pool. And they're hoping to be paid back through hotel tax revenues from another industry that is definitely struggling. Erica Barnett: [00:19:26] I think that , you know, even if you look beyond - I mean, because I do think that it's important to look beyond, you know, current recessions and look at , you know, just kind of the, the ongoing, you know, up and down of the economy and, and assume that we will come back at some point. But even then, I mean, I would really like to know and I, and I haven't seen this, this analysis done - what would be the impact if we stopped? If we just - if we stopped building it . The argument for - from labor, for the convention center, you know, has been that it will create a lot of jobs in the short-term. And okay. So let's, let's count up what the impact of that is and then what will be the ongoing long-term impact? You can even make it the worst case scenario, you know, take it from the point of view of the convention center itself and, and, and just figure out what, what if we stop ? Because I think there is this tendency with huge projects to just keep going with the forward momentum. Because you know, we've already invested so much money, so we have to keep going, we have to keep going no matter what. Just pour, pour, pour more money into it. And and I, and I do think that the stop option is not one that we even consider because it just feels impossible. And, and I think that, you know, I, I think that the region should just take a breath and consider whether we need to keep pouring sort of infinite buckets of money into this one project in downtown Seattle that that so many people have staked so much so much on sort of mentally, emotionally , financially . You know, and maybe the answer would be, No, we absolutely have to keep going because we're almost there and it just needs this little push, but, but let's, let's find that out and let's just take a pause instead of sort of all these panicked infusions of money, which is what it feels like. And these are, these are loans, but you know, it is not unprecedented for loans not to be paid back. I mean, if, if the convention center fails you know, that is, that is a possibility. And so when the city, state, and county say, Well, these are all repayable loans and we'll, we'll make interest on them. You know, I think we need to consider that that is not a sure thing. Crystal Fincher: [00:21:28] It's definitely not a sure thing. And, and part of the, the consideration of spending, especially, you know, providing public loans is - is what is the benefit and what is you know, will it, what activity does it stimulate? How much money can we generate from this loan? And you want that to be moving in a positive direction and to have multiplier effects. And that we'll wind up further ahead in the long-term if we provide this loan right now. And it just doesn't appear that that is a solid calculation with this. But we will see - again, encourage people to continue to stay engaged with this. As always, we'll be putting links to articles and information about these in our show notes that accompany the podcast. So you will be able to get more information there. But it's certainly a challenge. But speaking of helping workers, there is a - in my view - was a very positive step taken this week. And that was by providing grocery workers with hazard pay. What ended up happening and what did the council approve?  Erica Barnett: [00:22:37] From what I understand - and I apologize, I did not cover this specific , this specific initiative because I was sort of deep in in homelessness land this week. But the upshot, as I understand it, is that grocery stores, which are defined as, you know, stores over a certain size that are, that sell groceries. Or stores over another certain size that sell, you know, 30% or something like that, of their , of what they sell, is groceries. So, so big grocery stores have to pay $4 more an hour to their workers because of evidence that, you know, well, first of all, they're essential workers. They are providing food that people, you know, obviously rely on - the grocery stores are necessary and these workers are putting themselves in harm's way. They get COVID at a higher rate. And so so this is, this, this is, you know, as, as the legislation says, it's hazard.  Crystal Fincher: [00:23:24] Yeah, absolutely. And, and it is Seattle grocery businesses with 500 or more total employees that qualify for this. So most of the grocery stores - and as we continue to learn, as, as we get further in the pandemic, just being indoors is a risk factor. And as customers, we can, you know, go in and go out. But, but they're forced to be indoors for, you know, hours and hours at a time. And so this is a recognition that they are facing an increased risk and they do deserve increased pay because of that.  Erica Barnett: [00:24:00] I totally agree. And, and slash, but I would say, you know, it does , it does feel like when we see these kind of one-off pieces of legislation that pick one category of worker , one category of essential worker ,to receive hazard pay or to receive benefits that absolutely makes sense and that are absolutely rightful. I don't know where grocery workers come from specifically as opposed to hardware store workers or other retail or garden store workers. You know, other retail workers who are also, you know, inside all day, coming into contact with people all day in the same conditions as grocery workers. And so it's , it's a little frustrating to me watching legislation being made in this way, because if the, if the conditions are the issue, let's make it across the board for every large business over a certain amount of employees, say , and that has employees that are in X condition, you know, standing at a checkout counter all day or in the indoors all day, you know, with a certain number of customers coming through. It seems to me that it is, it is very strange that I can go down the street to my QFC and the grocery workers there are rightfully getting $4 an hour more, and then I can go to Lowe's across the street and those workers aren't because they don't sell groceries there. So I just, I think if the issue is the condition - let's address the condition. If the issue is , is that people are being exposed to COVID let's, let's let's address that. Otherwise it feels a little bit like you know, like legislation being made at the behest of a particular, a particularly effective lobbying effort. And, you know, and I, I just, I don't, I don't want to see legislation being made based on lobbying. I want to see it being made based on, on, on science and fairness. Crystal Fincher: [00:25:54] Any person working in a retail or customer-facing environment that has to be indoors in that shared space should be receiving hazard pay. You know, the delivery drivers who are, who are interacting with us, bringing food and groceries and, and, you know, delivering packages and goods - in my view, deserve hazard pay. You know, this is a time when, when many people are fortunate enough to not have to have higher exposure to the virus. And we are counting on people to do that in our place in order to, you know, continue our quality of life, really. And so I think that's a very valid point. I do know that there has been data cited specifically for grocery workers. Now, whether that data is also a function of you know, industry supported research that others may not have access to is a very valid question.  Thank you for listening to Hacks and Wonks on KVRU 105.7 FM this Friday, January 29th, 2021. Our chief audio engineer at KVRU is Maurice Jones, Jr. The producer of Hacks and Wonks is Lisl Stadler. And our wonderful co-host today was Seattle political reporter and founder of PubliCola, Erica Barnett. You can find Erica on Twitter @ericabarnett and on publicola.com. And you can buy her book Quitter: a Memoir of Drinking, Relapse, and Recovery at wherever your favorite bookstore sells books. You can find me on Twitter @finchfrii, and now you can follow Hacks and 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 mid-week show delivered to your podcast feed. And as always, full transcripts and resources referenced in the show are always available at officialhacksandwonks.com and in our episode notes. Thanks for tuning in - talk to you next time. .

Mike discusses the King County bail out  of the Washington State Convention Center with a $100 million loan // Rachel Belle talks wacky reefs and How to handle your mental health // Mike talks about the State budget cuts on mental health and other services to King County residents See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, host Crystal Fincher and local journalist Ashley Archibald dive into King County Executive Dow Constantine's plan for a $100 million bailout of the Convention Center, and why that doesn't make sense in a Covid-19 economy. Also, Renton is seeking to oust over 200 folks experiencing homelessness in the middle of a winter spike in the pandemic. Crystal and Ashley discuss why this is bad idea. A full text transcript of the show is available below, or at https://www.officialhacksandwonks.com/post/week-in-review-dow-s-convention-center-bailout-renton-evicting-homeless-people Articles referenced: King County to bail out Washington State Convention Center expansion with possible $100 million loan by David Gutman https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/king-county-to-bail-out-washington-state-convention-center-expansion-with-possible-100-million-loan/   The convention business is cratering, and cities are getting stuck with the bill by Mike McGinn and Joe Cortright https://cityobservatory.org/the-convention-business-is-cratering-and-cities-are-getting-stuck-with-the-bill/   General Publicola news coverage by Erica C.Barnett (another friend of the show) at publicola.com.   Find the host, Crystal Fincher on Twitter at @finchfrii, Ashley at @AshleyA_RC, and more info at officialhacksandwonks.com.   TRANSCRIPT *This transcript was automatically generated then lightly edited, and may not be an exact replication of the audio.   Week In Review with Ashley Archibald: December 4, 2020   Crystal Fincher: [00:00:00] Welcome to Hacks and Wonks. I'm your host, Crystal Fincher. On this show, we gather insight into state and local politics and policy through the lens of those doing the work and provide behind-the-scenes perspectives about politics in our state. Today, we're continuing our Friday almost live shows where we review the news of the week with a friend of the show. Welcome back to the program today's guest, local journalist, Ashley Archibald.   Ashley Archibald: [00:00:36] Hi, thank you for having me!   Crystal Fincher: [00:00:39] Thank you so much for joining us again. I wanted to start out talking about something that Dow Constantine rolled out this week as something he's planning to do, which is a bailout of the Washington state convention center, which has a total project cost of $1.8 billion.   And right now is $300 million short and saying they could run out of money within the next couple months if they don't have something happen. And so Dow Constantine has said, Well, you know what? Sign the County up for a $100 million dollars of that $300 million price tag. We want to fill the gap because Dow Constantine believes that the convention center is critical and necessary, and that is the most effective use of those funds at this time. So just starting out with what is happening. I guess starting off previewing, how did you hear about this, Ashley, and what are the nuts and bolts of what this plan is?   Ashley Archibald: [00:01:45] I remember hearing about it yesterday on the Twitterverse because I'm sick like that. But the first that I've really read about the details was in the Seattle Times today. And I have to say, I'm a little confused by the overall cost benefit analysis. I clearly haven't spoken to the Executive's office, I don't know what he's looking at, but I'm struggling to understand why we would extend a publicly financed loan, using your money and my money, to save a business that isn't going to be able to open for quite some time, versus the individuals and businesses that exist now that can be served by money like this.   Crystal Fincher: [00:02:34] Yeah. And certainly the reaction to this has been swift and strong and a lot of people felt the exact same way that you have. And I have several of those same questions - but wait a minute, why are we bailing out this business in effect and not actual people who may be facing losing their home in a pandemic, losing their jobs, just a lot of people who are experiencing real pain and on the brink. And so the issue with this is, when the convention center decided to embark upon their big new redesign, restructuring, this big project, big price tag, $1.8 billion. And when initially the project was funded by a couple of bonds totaling $1.8 billion. And when those bonds were issued, revenue from the hotel tax, which is what funds those bonds was, had risen by 8% every single year since the prior recession.   And so this looked like a really great source of funds that was secure and rising. The convention center was going gangbusters. They were, they had so many people wanting to come for conventions that they were turning people away. And so it looked like at that time that this was a reasonable investment, with the thought being that, Hey, the convention center attracts businesses who bring hundreds of people into the city and County every year, who stay in hotels and eat at restaurants and go visit tourism sites and bring money into our economy. Tourism certainly is a significant chunk of our regional economy here. So that thinking was okay, this looks great. So after the pandemic, hotel revenue fell by 96% from the same period in 2019. A quarter of Seattle's downtown hotels have at least temporarily closed. Bookings on Airbnb have absolutely plummeted so the source of funding has been decimated. Cruise ships, which bring a lot of people in like just the overall tourism economy, obviously with COVID and travel and congregating being dangerous, has just eviscerated this whole thing.   And ongoing financing, the financing needed to finish paying for this project. Banks have looked at the project and said, you know what? We actually think that this is a bad idea. We think if we give more money, it's going to be throwing bad money after good money. So why don't we just not? And they're saying, Hey, we ran up against a brick wall. They're saying that we're in a money-losing business and that not only are things looking bad now, but that they're not projected to look better for years, even after we get beyond the immediate COVID threat. So we're now faced with a situation as a County. And Dow Constantine has thought, you know what? It's actually a good idea to use a $100 million of the county's ability to loan them this money, even though they're saying we actually need $300 million. So we're giving them money that comes at significant cost to the city, perhaps. And the mechanism to even fund these bonds is very shaky, and saying, but this isn't even gonna solve the whole problem. You still need $200 million more while you're telling us that banks are saying this is a bad idea. And traditional public private financing is saying, no, this is a sinking business and a sinking line of revenue. Overall tourism may come back, but giving it to this one entity and thinking that is going to stimulate the wider economy is not a realistic thought.   Ashley Archibald: [00:06:46] It surely seems to me that there should be strings attached to this if it is actually going to be funded by public money. If we are going to put up a $100 million and the actual bill is $300 million. So they're not some conditions on it? Should it not say, Hey, if you can come up with this other $200 million, then yeah, we're going to chip in. At the minimum, I feel like that's a base level kind of ask.   Crystal Fincher: [00:07:17] That is a very base level kind of ask. And that has been a question put to the development team led by Matt Griffin here and to the County, and their response has been, well we're also talking to the city and the state to maybe get that money together from them. So basically all of these public entities, with the taxpayer on the hook and in the middle of a pandemic, to bail out this one organization. And it's dicey.   Ashley Archibald: [00:07:51] How would you like to see a $100 million of County money with 1% interest spent, Crystal?   Crystal Fincher: [00:07:59] On people who are facing issues that really might cause them to die or significantly degrade their quality of the most basic elements of life. People who can't afford food, people who can't afford shelter, people who can't afford childcare, who are trying to take care of loved ones in the middle of this pandemic. We're coming up on an expiration of the eviction moratorium. And we have a record number of people out of work because of this pandemic. We have a record number of people who are late on rent or not sure how they're going to pay next month's rent. And there are no protections for them. We're going to see, unless there is some help provided to them, just an enormous amount of human suffering.   So if we have the ability to spend $100 million, I would like that to go to actual people, and keep them housed and healthy and fed. That seems like at the most basic function of our government. And as we collectively give our money to say, Hey, we want at the very basic level, to keep people safe and provided for, that keeping roofs over people's heads and feeding them seems like it should be really high on the priority list. And to not even do this in a sense of we're directly benefiting people harmed by the pandemic. If we could give this to workers who would be laid off and displaced by this project to prevent us from having to spend hundreds of millions of other dollars to finish bailing this out and complete it. We could give it to the small hotels and small businesses who are not having the resources of big national chains, but who do a lot to prop up our local economy. To help them as they deal with these closures related to the overall federal poor response to COVID. There are so many ways that we could directly help people and not give this to one organization. We're talking about one organization. We aren't even talking about the greater needs of an entire industry.   So, I guess I'll flip that question and ask you, what would you like to see happen with these funds?   Ashley Archibald: [00:10:31] I mean, from a completely personal view, I am terrified of the impending homelessness crisis that we are going to see when the eviction moratorium is end. And I know you touched on this, but that is completely capturing my attention. I mean, there are people out there who, for no reason that is any fault of their own, it's not like they're not working, it's not like they're doing any of the vices or who cares, but at the end of the day, these are people who should be housed, who are doing everything that they can, and a once in a hundred years pandemic strikes and they lose everything. And in a month or two, unless something good happens, they are going to be houseless. And if you thought, and that's a universal you, not a you, if you thought that the 2015 emergency declaration of homelessness in Seattle and King County was significant, you're about to see something that is far, far worse.   Crystal Fincher: [00:11:41] And you're absolutely right and adding onto this we're having this conversation in the midst of a Congress having discussions about another quote, unquote stimulus package that has most of the elements that actually stimulate the economy stripped out. This is now being presented as a bipartisan bill, but it's going to greatly benefit corporations. The, talking about getting monthly checks and support as Democrats talked about, Nancy Pelosi and democratic leadership at the federal level talked about, since the spring and holding out to, hoping that Biden gets elected and that there can be a robust bailout that we all know is needed to support our economy overall, and the people who comprise it, with another cash payment. But those looking at ongoing with eviction relief, with a lot of those elements that have now been almost entirely removed from that bill. So the help that was signaled was going to be on the way is no longer for most people. And any, relief that they get, perhaps there's going to be one small payment of a $1000 or $1500, but after months of being out of work, and not paying rent for months, that, is frankly insulting. So we know that there's going to be a lot of pain coming and that the reason why there isn't more now was due to the previous federal help given to States and localities that is now going to evaporate.   So now that we know we're going to have a lot more people in need of direct assistance, just to keep a roof over their head, we're now talking about giving money to the convention center, which by every metric of the business that is required to support the public money to support them, if we're going to bail them out and their ongoing prospects looks bleak and grim that they're not even going to be able to pay it back. Not even just a question of is this a smart expenditure? It just looks horrible all the way around and I'm just not sure why this is felt to be the priority right now.   This is just a reminder that you're listening to Hacks and Wonks on KVRU 105.7. I'm your host, Crystal Fincher and today my co-host is friend of the show, Ashley Archibald, who's a local journalist. And as we're talking about this, educated in this exact area of the economy. Do you want to just talk a little bit about your background, Ashley?   Ashley Archibald: [00:14:35] I left journalism originally well not left, I took a pause, to go to grad school at the London School of Economics and Political Science to get a degree in local economic development. So I have a lot of thoughts on how governments use and lose their money.   Crystal Fincher: [00:14:54] Yeah, a lot of thoughts and are a subject matter expert. And, it seems like you are in agreement with many of the other experts and people who are paid to support this, that they're saying, Hey, this is not a good idea. This is being built on a really shaky foundation and just really does not look good. And, just from, in public policy today, there are a lot of disagreements, but you kind of have to stop and pause when not only people who come from those stuffy establishment backgrounds and private financing, that entire industry, and just the general public, average person on the street all looks at this and says, what in the world are you thinking? This is a horrible idea. There is no data that backs this up. The only way you can think this is a good idea is if you just think in platitudes that, Oh yeah. The convention center is critical to our tourism industry.   However, looking at the details, it is a very small percentage of our local tourism industry. And the plan that is being floated is to tax the rest of the industry and give the proceeds of that to this one organization who is counting on companies nationally and internationally traveling here to house hundreds of, to put up hundreds of people and have conventions and trade fairs. And not only is that not happening during COVID, but every industry globally is going to be feeling the effects of this recession that hopefully isn't a depression by that time. And the prospects for companies turning the spigot back on and spending on conventions and these large-scale meetings are, It's just not realistic for the next several years. And it's really questionable to think, are we even, it doesn't make sense to assume that we're going to go back to what we considered normal. I don't think it does.   Ashley Archibald: [00:17:18] I am not a public health expert. I feel like I should just throw that out. I'm not an expert in much, but I have yet to hear a single person say that we are going to go back to normal, potentially ever, but definitely not anytime soon. Like we're not going to see a vaccine that actually gets rolled out to the entire American people until 2021. And I want to, first of all, say, Oh, my gracious, these scientists who have managed to make this happen faster than any time in human history, like we have a vaccine for this faster than we have ever seen one developed before by a factor of four. Like we didn't have, I think the last vaccine that was developed took four years. And so it's exceptional that they're doing this. But that being said, people will still need to mask up. They will still need to avoid big gatherings. And they're going to have to do that for a while. And I think things are going to change, and we're going to see them change, and it's going to feel like a real relief, but I really hope that people understand that we're not going to be able to do big things indoors for a while.   And I know nothing about the convention center business, but having worked at a nonprofit who has used the convention center, fairly comfortable saying that it takes a minute to put in a reservation there.   Crystal Fincher: [00:18:54] It definitely does. It definitely does. These are big logistical events. It takes months and months of planning to have an event at the convention center. These are big, significant events that require teams to plan and execute and yeah, it is, it's hard to see, one, thinking that this is going to be happening anytime in the short term. But it is extremely presumptive, especially when the bet you're making is with public dollars that, Hey, everything is going to bounce back even after we get done.   Ashley Archibald: [00:19:35] But there are businesses right now, right, who need that help? There are local businesses who employ local workers that local people shop at. And I don't know. I mean, I think that that is, if you're looking at it just from a capitalistic, economic point of view, does it not make sense to make sure that people can keep their businesses open and to make sure that people can spend money in those businesses?   Crystal Fincher: [00:20:05] Hundred percent. And there seems to be broad agreement about that. That, Hey, if we are going to provide help, it should be, and help especially from city government, County government, it should go to businesses and people who are directly beneficial to that. So, yeah, we talk all the time. We're in a conversation right now because of the dining restrictions, about how many locally owned restaurants have already been forced to close and that hundreds of others are on the brink, and they all employ people - many of our neighbors. So yeah, why are we not talking about direct relief? And to the extent that there were federal CARES funds available and some loans to other circumstances, the need is so much greater and everyone has talked about that even the money set aside before to help was grossly inadequate.   So this just doesn't seem like a good idea at all. And based on previous data - there's a good article that we can link in the show notes, that Mike McGinn and Joe Cortright wrote early in this pandemic, basically teeing this up. Saying, Hey convention center business is cratering, and they're going to come to cities and public entities for bailouts and here's why it's a horrible idea. Lo and behold, they predicted things really correctly and they detail why it is such a bad idea and why using the convention center, even as a proxy for, Hey, we have to support the tourism industry, we have to support our local economy. Convention visitors accounted for just 7% of the room nights in Seattle hotels. They're actually, a really minor element in our local tourism economy and our economy overall. So if we are talking about that sector of the economy being important, why don't we talk about the other 93%? What supports that? Instead of doing what, accounts for 7%. That seems like it would make sense at the most basic level.   But with that, I'm sure we'll be hearing much more about that in the coming week. There's already quite a backlash against that and so many people are feeling pain and going, why am I paying taxes, while I'm in pain, to support that building? I'm not quite sure. But moving on and talking about people in need, I want to talk about, and you certainly have been following this, the issue with housing people who are unhoused and the Red Lion in Renton. Can you brief us a little bit on what's going on there?   Ashley Archibald: [00:23:07] Yeah, so I, will freely disclose that I learned about this from Publicola and Erica C Barnett, who is a fantastic local journalist. And everybody should go and look at her work and that of her colleagues. But, the Red Lion is a hotel in Renton that is being used by the DESC organization to move people who are experiencing homelessness into individual rooms so that they can escape COVID. COVID was this, unfortunately, the reason that this happened, but it was not a bad thing, right? Like people have had real changes in their lives as a result of being inside and being safe. And the Renton city council has chosen to put boundaries on that so that the Red Lion will not be used for a shelter anymore. Their plan is to designate very specific areas of Renton where people can be housed, but according to Publicola, that will only be about half of the residents who were there. So we're talking about putting hundred, like literally a hundred plus people, who are experiencing homelessness out on the street, in the middle of a pandemic, which does not seem to me to be a logical public health outcome.   Crystal Fincher: [00:24:47] It is very much not a logical public health outcome. And it specifically has been recommended against, by the CDC. And a lot of the punitive actions actually that we see being taken by governments against homeless people are specifically recommended against for public health reasons by our own Centers for Disease Control. So it is perplexing and the question really needs to be asked - what public good is being served here?   Ashley Archibald: [00:25:21] I don't know the answer to that. I am sure that the reasoning that has been extended so far is that people are afraid of increasing crime, or invasions, or something of that nature. And let's be clear. I am not here to apologize for other people's actions. What I am here to say is that at the end of the day, these people need shelter and it is a regional response to homelessness that I've been told that we want. And it is absolutely necessary for the prevention of a spread of this disease to get people inside and safe. And so I really feel on a personal level that it is a necessity that we house people. And it shouldn't have ever been this question. Obviously people should be housed anyway, but I am willing to see the argument. I have not seen it and I don't know that it exists, that we shouldn't try to prevent people from spreading COVID? Maybe if we can house them, it would be an ultimately cheaper, financially, and certainly a more moral stance to take.   Crystal Fincher: [00:26:46] Right. And this is just NIMBYism and people being classist and hating on people who don't have homes. And viewing not having a home as a moral failure in and of itself. And that these people are not deserving of human dignity and help. And it's just a shame.   Thank you for listening to Hacks and Wonks on KVRU 105.7 FM this Friday, December 4th. Our chief audio engineer at KVRU is Maurice Jones Jr. The producer of Hacks and Wonks is Lisl Stadler. And our wonderful co-host today was local journalist and friend of the show, Ashley Archibald. You can find Ashley on Twitter @AshleyA_RC. You can find me on Twitter @finchfrii (spelled f-i-n-c-h-f-r-i-i) and now you can follow Hacks and 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 show and our midweek show sent directly to your podcast stream.   Thanks for tuning in and we'll talk to you next time.

This flash briefing is all about West Seattle in Washington (WA) State. For more info, visit: http://www.Sea-Town.com/welcome-to-west-seattle To enable on your Amazon Echo device say "Alexa, enable West Seattle Daily" or click here - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082NR5KM4, login to your Amazon account & click the "Enable" button. ---- Happy Friday everyone! Thanks for joining us for West Seattle Daily, Episode #038, brought to you by Sea-Town Real Estate, West Seattle's only Indie Community brokerage. I'm your host, Christian Harris. Let's go over some of the events happening around WS this weekend: Karaoke happens regularly around West Seattle every Friday and Saturday night, to include Yen Wor Village, Talaricos and the Admiral Pub Friday ⁃ Northwest Flower and Garden Festival in FULL BLOOM Wed, Feb 26 – Sun, Mar 1 Washington State Convention Center 705 Pike St, Seattle, WA ⁃ Pay-what-you-can yoga @ Youngstown Cultural Arts Center Feb 28 @ 6:15 pm ⁃ Impact West Seattle Rainbow Bingo Carnival Senior Center of West Seattle West Seattle
Fri Feb 28, 5:30–9 pm ⁃ Friday Nite Live Open Mic Launch Party @ Hghland Park Improvement Club Feb 28 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm Saturday ⁃ West Seattle Tool Library Garage Sale Feb 29 @ 9:00 am – 4:00 pm The West Seattle Tool Library needs to clean out our inventory. Come check out the hundreds of tools we have for sale! ⁃ Croft Forest Restoration with DNDA Feb 29 @ 10:00 am – 2:00 pm ⁃ Free Tax Help @ Southwest Library Feb 29 @ 10:00 am – 4:30 pm ⁃ Community meeting for 3010-3015 SW Avalon Way project @ Delridge Community Center Feb 29 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm Let your voice be heard on the proposed construction of an eight-story, 87-unit apartment building. The existing structures will be demolished. Coffee and cookies will be provided. All are welcome. No RSVP needed. ⁃ Delridge Grocery Co-Op Leap Day Ice Cream Party Feb 29 @ 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm Celebrate Leap Day 2020 by getting an extra dessert and a sneak peek into the DGC retail space on Saturday, February 29. We’ll be hosting an afternoon Ice Cream House Party, where we’ll be serving up a special ice cream flavor made with help from Full Tilt Ice Cream and some live music. Sunday ⁃ West Seattle Farmers Market @ West Seattle Junction 10:00 am – 2:00 pm ⁃ Sun, Mar 1, 1:30 – 4:30 PM - Come Play at West Seattle Library on a beautiful grand piano. This is your opportunity to perform on a beautiful grand piano in front of other piano enthusiasts. All skill levels are invited.  ⁃ Ready Freddy Workshop @ West Seattle Coworking Mar 1 @ 3:00 pm – 3:30 pm ⁃ Our Ready Freddy Workshop makes getting prepared for emergencies fun! ⁃ Are you ready to dip your toes in the pool of information about emergency preparedness, but not ready to dive into the deep end? Join us on Sunday, March 1st, 2020 for a 30-minute presentation to learn about small steps you can take to get yourself and your home ready in case The Big One hits. There will be plenty of time and opportunity for Q & A at the end, so plan to stay longer. We’d love to visit with you! ⁃ Free community dinner @ High Point Community Center - Mar 1 @ 5:00 pm – 6:30 pmm

Seattle is a geeky place -- from its many board game cafes to the bi-annual parades of cosplayers outside the Washington State Convention Center. But what about the Emerald City makes geek culture thrive here? We went on a quest to find out.Have questions for us? Send them in at KUOW.org/soundqs

Convention centers are changing. Rather than huge boxy buildings set on the outskirts of a city, ambitious new facilities are being fully integrated with their surrounding cities, putting attendees in the middle of the action, even if they spend much of the day on the trade show floor. Consider Seattle, where the Washington State Convention Center is in the midst of a transformation.  We spoke with Visit Seattle President & CEO Tom Norwalk and Washington State Convention Center President & CEO Jeff Blosser about what it means for the destination and how it reflects the broader changes happening for conventions today.

with Co-Host Hayward Evans: ? *Estela Ortega, Executive Director, El Centro de la Raza invites you to the organizations Building the Beloved Community Gala on Saturday, October 12 5:00-9:00 pm at the Washington State Convention Center. She will also comment on the services provided by the agency. ? *La Tanya Horace of Sistas Rock the Arts in conjunction with a number of local organizations are sponsoring Breaking the Silence in Our Community in recognition of National Domestic Violence Month. there will be two days of honoring victims of domestic violence at Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute on Wednesday, October 16 10:00 am-5:00 pm and Saturday, October 19 10:00 am-5:00 pm. Information at latanyahoracehorace@gmail.com. ? *Bob Armstead, Washington State Civil Rights Coalition and McKinney Coalition Member comments on the current state of affairs of businesses owned by African Descendants of United States Enslaved (ADUSS) with local agencies. He will also comments on the efforts of McKinney Coalition members to open the center. ? *Shaude' Moore, Chair, Seattle/King County Martin Luther King Jr. Organizing Coalition comments on the groups efforts to organize the January 20, 2020 MLK Holiday at Garfield High School. ? *Aneelah Afzali, American Muslim Empowerment Network and Dr. Jeff Burns, a Southern Baptist Pastor will talk about how a Muslim Child Changed an Evangelical ministers Life on Friday, October 11 6:15-9:00 pm at the Muslim Association of Puget Sound (MAPS) 17550 NE 67th CT Redmond, WA 98052.

Chris O'Regan chats to Esben K Ravn of Kong Orange about the design and development of Felix the Reaper. On a bright morning at the end of Summer 2018 a certain show host of a podcast bearing the initials T, S and F encountered a videogame on the 6th floor of the Washington State Convention Center. The game was Felix the Reaper, a puzzle adventure game where a lovelorn reaper of souls named Felix tries to win the heart of Betty the Maiden, an employee of the Ministry of Life. He does this by reaping souls of those on the mortal realm while dancing relentlessly. http://media.blubrry.com/caneandrinse/caneandrinse.com/sausage/TSF_Episode245.mp3   Music Credits: 1. Felix the Reaper Medley (all music artists from the game mixed together in a medley) - Mikkel Filholm, Spejderrobot, Daddy Mysticism, Thut Ankh-Hammond, Anna Lidell, Eberl 42, Nicolas Vetterli, Signe Bisgaard, Jonas Kappel, The Official Face, Dreamers' Circus, Awe, Audiopilot 2. Daddy Mysticism - Nicolas Vetterli 3. Thut Ankh-Hammond - Nicolas Vetterli Sausage Factory 245 was produced and edited by Chris O'Regan

Halo semuanya! Kembali lagi sama kita di Podcast Ada Apa Dengan Gaming dimana kita bahas berita seputar Game. PAX East baru aja diadakan hari Kamis kemarin di Washington State Convention Center di Seattle, Amerika Serikat. Berita paling hot dateng dari Gearbox nih guys karena mereka buka Panel disana dan ngumumin Borderlands 3 loh!

Today's episode is an interview Jill did with Wayétu Moore, author of She Would Be King, which was a Sarah Jessica Parker Book Club Central Pick. Wayétu shares the impact of storytelling in Liberia's cultural history and the importance of African voices in literature. She also discusses her non-profit One Moore Book.  Interview was recorded at Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, WA during ALA Midwinter 2019  Music: Theme song provided royalty free from www.bensound.com Podcast Overview: We're not just book nerds: we're professional book nerds and the staff librarians who work at OverDrive, the leading app for eBooks and audiobooks available through public libraries and schools. Hear about the best books we've read, get personalized recommendations, and learn about the hottest books coming out that we can't wait to dive into. For more great reads, find OverDrive on Facebook and Twitter.

Episode dedicated to all of the announced and unannounced Microsoft press events for the spring of 2019 MWC Barcelona, Spain - February 25th - 28th 2019 Microsoft press event for MWC Feb 24th 2019 Audible Book review: "Beneath a Surface" by Brad Sams www.beneathasurface.com Edited by Paul Thurrott - Find Paul & Brad at www.Thurrott.com - Brad is @bdsams on Twitter & Paul is @Thurrott on Twitter Rumored Microsoft Surface spring event? New "ambient computing device" that supports mobile? New Surface Hardware? Microsoft Build 2019 May 6th -8th at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, WA E3 Expo at the Las Angles Convention Center from June 11th - 13th download and streaming only Xbox rumor? GDC March 18th - 22nd in Los Angles info about Xbox live cross platform functionality? My thoughts on Surface and why I focused on Microsoft for this episode. The future of surface and some of my wishful thinking. See you next time! Bobby --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/bobby95/support

On Thursday, January 25, it begins: the American Library Association’s 2019 Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits in Seattle. Thousands of librarians, library workers, vendors, students, and scholars will descend upon the Emerald City for five days of programs, speakers, exhibit hall excitement, and more. The action isn’t limited to the confines of the Washington State Convention Center, however—Seattle is a city known for acclaimed restaurants, a vibrant music scene, and many natural wonders. In Episode 34, we get tips on where to eat, what to see, and what to do during Midwinter. First, American Libraries Managing Editor Terra Dankowski talks with travel guru Rick Steves about his favorite off-the-beaten path sights in the Seattle area. Then Dankowski speaks with Tori Mann, chef at Seattle restaurant Lola, about her favorite spots to eat in the city. Finally, American Libraries Senior Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart talks with Emily Cabaniss, librarian and music assistant at the Seattle Opera, about music happenings and more in Seattle during Midwinter.

Recorded at Build, Microsoft’s ultimate annual developer event, Colleen and Sonia debrief after Satya Nadella’s vision keynote on the Expo floor at the Washington State Convention Center. Then, Sonia heads to The Lounge onsite to speak with a few Cloud Developer Advocates—a community-based team at Microsoft with a goal to empower developers to do more with the cloud. Colleen connects with Nina Baliga, the founder and CEO of ersity, a website that showcases insiders’ perspectives on company diversity and inclusion initiatives. Finally, Colleen is joined by Charlotte Yarkoni, the Corporate Vice President of Growth and Ecosystems in the Cloud + AI group, to talk about her team’s involvement with the conference and her support of organizations encouraging girls and young women to pursue their interests in STEM. Please subscribe, rate, and share the episode. Find us online at www.wibt.com. Send any and all feedback to wibt@microsoft.com or tweet @MicrosoftWomen.

Gail Luxemberg is the CEO of Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King County and provides a good overview of the work of Habitat in collaborative work with lower income families to build their own home. There's a good deal of education that accompanies the actual building so that the new home owners have a good awareness of how to deal with mortgages, maintenance, as well as leadership. Maclovia Varner, an Army Vet, just moved into her new home a month ago and is ecstatic about have this permanent home for her 2 children. She speaks to the 250 sweat equity hours she was required to do, and it's inspired her to want to continue to be involved and mentor new families joining Habitat. And this is an opportunity for all of us to participate in creating stronger community in our area. A major fundraiser is the Luncheon on Tuesday March 20 at the Washington State Convention Center at noon. Registration is required, and can be done at the website. In addition, Volunteers are always needed, as well as financial donations throughout the year. www.habitatskc.org

Maggie will be at PodCon this upcoming Saturday and Sunday (December 9 & 10)! Melissa can't make it, but our friend Angie from episode 51 will be there.  PodCon is being held in Seattle at the Washington State Convention Center. You can purchase tickets to PodCon here at https://podcon.com/register/ . Maggie and Melissa will return to Into the Badlands with “Black Heart, White Mountain.” Find us on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr & Gmail at "sfincolor".

This episode, Dylan is joined by Mike Futter, former News Editor at Game Informer and author of the Game Dev Business Handbook. Dylan and Mike discuss the various topics covered in the book, from business development to IP law to assessing your personal finances before you start. We also talk about interviewing various devs and more for the book, publishing through Bithell Games, reverse stock splits, and the death and rebirth of THQ. Lastly, we touch on Mike’s trip to PAX West, the differences between PAX West and East, and where you can leave your carrots in the Washington State Convention Center. Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord or email us at contact@ward-games.com!

This week's episode of That Old Pod is extremely exciting featuring Seattle artists Darius X and Flynn Bickley who join to discuss their upcoming exhibit at this year's Gender Odyssey conference: Procedures For Entering Enclosed Spaces: a love letter to the community. Our conversation uncovers how the collaboration began and their individual inspiration's behind the piece and how they've evolved as artists and people to get to this place. Conversation includes gender issues, the Seattle punk movement, Olympia's incredible transgendered community, international adoptions and even how faith and religion relate to these topics. Yes, there is no shortage of material this week, enjoy the show! Show Notes:Gender OdysseyBe sure to check out Darius X and Flynn Bickley at their respective websites and follow them @nefariusd @flynnergy on InstagramPromo video for the exhibit If you live near or around Seattle and have the time, you can see the exhibit for yourself Friday August 25, 2017 at the Washington State Convention Place Center 6th floor lobby from 6:00 to 7:30. (Add to Calendar) (Google Maps)Please consider supporting these artists:Darius X - SquareCash: $DariusX or Venmo: @dariusXstudioFlynn Bickley: Venmo: @Flynn-Bickley

You will not be laid to rest in the depths of the Washington State Convention Center. You will, however, feel like dying there.