As of May 16, Seattle Public Utilities reports that things are in good shape for this summer: snowpack in the Cedar/Tolt watershed are well above normal for mid-May, and the city’s reservoirs are above the long-term average for this time of year. We can thank all that precipitation over the …
Continue readingAppeals court ruling on railroad tracks in the Burke-Gilman Trail “missing link”
This morning the state Court of Appeals ruled that the City of Seattle does not have the right to require the Ballard Terminal Railroad Company (BTRC) to relocate railroad tracks that cross where the city intends to build out the “missing link” of the Burke-Gilman Trail. The court ruled that …
Continue readingCrowd psychology, policing and interactional dynamics: analyzing the early stages of the 2020 protests in the city of Seattle
The Office of the Inspector General for Pubic Safety commissioned a study by two UK researchers on the “crowd psychology” aspects of the interactions between SPD officers and protesters in the summer of 2020. Their final report was published today. Their recommendations: The current study concludes that, while the SPD …
Continue readingCourt-appointed monitor’s comprehensive assessment of the Seattle Police Department
This afternoon Dr. Antonio Oftelie, the court-appointed police monitor, submitted his Comprehensive Assessment of the Seattle Police Department, as required under the 2012 Consent Decree. From the executive summary, here is the monitor’s summary assessment: In sum, based upon its reviews conducted over the course of 2021 and 2022 to …
Continue readingLeaked Seattle City Attorney’s Office memos to Human Rights Commission
As first reported by the South Seattle Emerald, last month the Seattle City Attorney’s Office sent a memo to the Seattle Human Rights Commission advising that it does not have legal standing or authority to petition the U.S. District Court to seek amicus curiae standing with regard to the 2012 …
Continue readingDemocracy Voucher Program 2021 Biennial Report
The Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission, which administers the Democracy Voucher Program, has completed its 2021 Biennial Report on the program. Over the 2020-2021 period, the program spent a total of $5,347,010; $3,397,050 in program disbursements to campaigns, and $1,949,960 in administration costs. That’s a 36.4% overhead rate. Participation in …
Continue readingSeattle Office of Housing 2021 Investments Report
Earlier this month the City of Seattle Office of Housing released its annual report on the funding investments it made in 2021. The report details $153 million in investments in rental housing, $5.78 million for homeownership development, $830,000 for home repairs, and $4.09 million for its low-income weatherization program. The …
Continue readingDepartment of Interior report on federal Indian boarding schools
Today the U.S. Department of the Interior released Volume 1 of its comprehensive investigation into the tragic legacy of Federal Indian boarding schools. For 150 years, from 1819 to 1969, the federal government operated or supported 408 boarding schools across 37 states (including 15 in Washington). Prior to this investigation, …
Continue reading2021 Seattle Public Safety Survey
Every year Seattle University conducts a survey on behalf of the City of Seattle (and more specifically SPD) looking at how Seattle residents perceive the police department and other aspects of pubic safety. The report on the 2021 survey was recently released. I wrote about last year’s report at length …
Continue readingOrder denying class certification for property and business owners impacted by CHOP
This afternoon U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Zilly issued an order denying class certification for a lawsuit related to the potentially thousands of property and business owners who were impacted by the CHOP in June 2020. A group of business and property owners had filed a lawsuit against the City …
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