The Association of Washington Cities estimates that the current version of the millionaire's tax would represent an annual $120 million hit to city-level revenues by 2031.
wacities.org/advocacy/New...
Billionaires’ % share of federal election spending in:
2008: 0.3%
2024: 19%
@nytimes.com #GildedAge
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/u...
The millionaire's tax, in its current form, represents another hit to Sound Transit's long-term financial outlook that I don't think is getting acknowledged.
Noticeable lack of any Puget Sound transit project here.
Senate Bill 6346, "establishing a tax on millionaires", just passed the Washington House on a 51-46 vote after more than 24 hours of floor debate.
In the next 24 hours, we can stop a proposed estate tax rate repeal in the Washington State Legislsature.
Senate Bill 6347 would cost $200M in funding to early learning and childcare. Tell your state reps you don’t support balancing the budget on the backs of working families.
Let’s kill SB 6347.
16 work plan items from outdoor amenity space requirements to parking and inclusionary zoning and impact fees
slide noting the things Bothell did to reform their land use code over the past few years including removal of parking requirements and minimum units per acre
Issaquah's new mayor and city council seems pretty aligned on the issue of housing, stacking their work plan with a broad array of reforms to tackle over the next 18 months...are and looking to Bothell as an inspiration.
The State Senate just approved Washington's elevator reform bill 41-6 after it was amended in the House, sending it to the Governor's desk.
The House's amendments removed language around international harmonization but it still represents a major reform for elevators in smaller buildings.
The Sound Transit board hasn't voted to eliminate Avalon Station yet, but OPCD is already leaving it out of their station area planning survey. Ouch. bit.ly/StationAreaSurvey
A reminder that humans in cars - notably omitted from this thanks to motonormativity - kill 1.2m people every year
This survey is for anyone and everyone — based on how you answer the first couple of questions, you will be asked follow ups about your particular experience. So whether you work in or adjacent to housing, or are just a person who rents or owns their home, or are a person experiencing homelessness, the hope is that we have feedback from ALL of these groups. Here is the survey. It takes 15-25 minutes to fill out, depending on how thorough you want to be! It is also completely anonymous.
Washington State!
@governorferguson.bsky.social wants to hear from YOU to make better housing policy!
Share far and wide!
Idk if survey monkey (20 min!) is accessible for everyone who hopefully there’s lots and lots of other options for people to contribute.
www.surveymonkey.com/r/2026StateD...
This is great. We also need to get rid of metal dumpsters
The Senate wants to ban new passenger ferries built outside the state while the state is purchasing three new state ferries from Florida.
The Senate wants to require all new passenger ferries to be zero emission when the alternative is driving your car onto a ferry.
These are wild demands.
He’s not exactly beating the allegations here
Seattle will finally be able to tow drivers who park on streetcar tracks. HB 2495 is heading to the Governor's desk.
app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary/...
Near side traffic lights too
Car crossing the crosswalk at MLK & Edmonds while the Walk signal is on.
Another day, another close call on MLK Way. This driver accelerated through the red light and narrowly avoided the crowd that had started to cross.
Raised crosswalks at Link stations would have prevented this incident.
WA's elevator bill passed the House last night 93 - 1 !!!
Once signed by the Gov, it will be the nation's first state legislation for elevator code reform.
Yes, it would have been a bigger win if the global standards intent language had not been amended out. @sightline.org will keep pushing!
Gerry Pollet "has long advocated for increasing density in Seattle and the 46th district" like I've long advocated for the Dodgers to beat the Giants.
In fact, Pollet has been a notable NIMBY, voting against key housing bills and even being stripped of a key committee chair by his colleagues.
The WA House just approved a bill streamlining permit requirements for Sound Transit projects, after defeating a number of Republican amendments watering down the bill.
The vote was 56-38.
www.theurbanist.org/2026/02/04/o...
I'm listening into this meeting and am quite frustrated by what I'm hearing from callers; "why punish the 95% of good drivers by making them drive slower?"
People have died here numerous times.
WSDOT finally has a plan to tackle the highway ramps that swirl around Seattle's next light rail station, a concept that includes the demolition of an off-ramp that mars a Seattle city park.
But transportation advocates are pushing the state to think bolder.
www.theurbanist.org/2026/03/04/w...
Comparison between FEIS Alternative 5, where additional "Corridor" place type blobs were clearly visible near entrances to Carkeek, Magnuson, Discovery, Seward, and more. Yet they are completely gone without a trace in 2026 Corridors legislation. Additional caption on the figure read: "Why did you eliminate more housing near large parks? Do renters not deserve to live near parks?"
Final EIS January 2025, section 1-7 Place Types definitions Corridors are areas near frequent transit ***and large parks*** that allow a wide range of housing types in areas currently zoned primarily for detached homes (within a 10-minute walk from a light rail station and a five- minute walk from frequent bus transit service and ***entrances to large parks***). Corridors also include areas already zoned for multifamily and commercial use and could have small increases in height.
@ricoque-opcd.bsky.social Q5: In all Environmental Impact Statements, you define Corridors as "areas near frequent transit AND LARGE PARKS". Yet dense housing near large parks were all eliminated from your plan.
Do you think renters of affordable & social housing do not deserve to live near parks?
Location on a map
Seattle Fire is currently responding to a driver hitting someone on a bike at 12th Ave S and S Charles Street in North Beacon Hill.
I recently talked to a rider in south Delridge who said they stopped taking the bus on Wednesdays because it would add an easy 30-60 minutes if they didn't time it right
Number of vehicular bridges built by decade in King County, with most of the ones built between 1910 and 1960 past their useful life
Looking just at the county, there are 73 bridges that are now older than their intended useful life.
Keeping the state system siloed off doesn't match how the transportation system actually works, especially not when the state is in full control of the revenue tools available to fix this.
At last week's Seattle planning commission meeting, Rico Quirindongo confirmed that these parts of 10th Ave W were removed from the current plan for upzoning because of the existence of a "historic boulevard."
Here's one for the housing nerds! @houseourneighbors.bsky.social and @mayorofseattle.bsky.social hard work to pass HB 1687 paid off -- the Senate approved the bill and including Social Housing Developers in the Housing Cooperation law is off to the Governor's desk!!! #waleg
Oh fun! Rico Quirindongo, the director of @seattleopcd.bsky.social followed me!
Director @ricoque-opcd.bsky.social: I don't know if you'll reply, but I will ask you ONE QUESTION A DAY until YOUR planning dept stops putting affordable & social housing ONLY on hazardous, polluted, and noisy roads.
I remember living in a state that cared about climate change.
