Seattle News, Views, and Brews

Mayor Wilson has delivered her first budget to the Seattle City Council: a $9.1B package that features some job cuts (mainly to unfilled positions), fund swaps (moving money from revenue sources like the Jumpstart payroll tax into other priorities), and no new taxes. How has she been able to solve a structural budget problem for the City that's had a deficit forecast every year since 2019?

Learn about the latest in local public affa...

Just days after local big business leaders called upon City of Seattle leadership for a new public safety plan, Mayor Katie Wilson has come out with a new gun violence reduction proposal--but will it be enough to satisfy her critics in the business community and on the City Council? And how will her revised homelessness plan fit into a city budget with a $175M deficit?

It's your chance to learn about local public affairs in about th...

After the deadly shootings at the Bite of Seattle in late July and over Labor Day weekend in Belltown, gun violence prevention is once again a top-of-mind concern for Seattle area leaders. So what does this work look like, how is Seattle investing in this effort, and how effective is it?

Learn about the top issues in local public affairs in about the time it takes for a coffee break! Brian Callanan of Seattle Channel takes a closer ...

In a press conference earlier this week, the group Community Not Cameras called Seattle's use of surveillance technology an insecure system that's a "dangerous" threat to civil liberties. But Councilmember Bob Kettle, chair of the Seattle City Council's Public Safety Committee, says the safeguards the city has constructed around this system rank among the best in the U.S.

On this episode, Seattle Channel's Brian Callanan talks with ...

The Seattle Police Department faces a growing number of questions after a deadly shooting, a major miscommunication of emergency information, and the forced resignation of Chief Shon Barnes. Plus, the City Council has unveiled a new, stricter approach to RV camping, and primary election results are pointing towards some must-watch November campaigns ahead. 

It's Seattle News, Views & Brews, where you can get all the latest ...

The Seattle City Council faces a big vote this week to ban so-called "junk fees" for renters--added costs like pet fees or mailbox fees that are tacked on to monthly rent, sometimes without disclosure to the renter. Will the ban help create a more transparent and understandable process for renters, or (as some landlords claim) simply raise rents citywide and make Seattle less affordable?

Seattle Channel host Brian Callanan talks wit...

Learn about the latest in local public affairs in about the time it takes for a coffee break! Brian Callanan of Seattle Channel and Omari Salisbury, founder of Converge Media, discuss a wild week of Seattle politics, including the forced resignation of SPD Chief Shon Barnes after the Seattle Center shooting, the mounting frustration and pointed questions from City Council members about Mayor Wilson's leadership, and the decisions a...

Learn about the latest in local public affairs in about the time it takes for a coffee break! Brian Callanan of Seattle Channel and David Kroman (formerly of the Seattle Times) discuss concerns over the City's communication policy following a deadly shooting at Seattle Center, a look at Mayor Wilson's accomplishments at the six-month mark of her term, a debate finally settled over Seattle's universal school lunch program, and ...

Learn about the latest in local public affairs in about the time it takes for a coffee break! Brian Callanan of Seattle Channel and David Kroman of the Seattle Times discuss the impact of higher police hiring costs on Seattle's supplemental budget, a debate within City Hall over a change to the Families, Education, Preschool and Promise levy, a final vote on the transit measure Seattle voters will face this November, a court decisi...

Learn about the latest in local public affairs in about the time it takes for a coffee break! Brian Callanan of Seattle Channel and David Kroman of the Seattle Times discuss a proposed change to what some Seattle City Councilmembers call a "failed" public drug use law, a lawsuit facing the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, a controversial idea to change the way the City of Seattle distributes free meals to school kids, t...

A bonus show this week for Seattle's favorite coffee break political podcast! 

It's a super-wonky and super-controversial topic: should Seattle change the way the public is allowed to make environmental appeals on big zoning projects? Here's what's not wonky: based on the massive amounts of public comment coming in on both sides after Councilmember Eddie Lin has proposed this idea, it's pretty clear that Council Bill 121215 cou...

Learn about the latest in local public affairs in about the time it takes for a coffee break! Brian Callanan of Seattle Channel and David Kroman of the Seattle Times discuss Mayor Katie Wilson's proposed ban on so-called "junk fees" for renters, a deal to eliminate affordable housing fees to spur development that's now stalled out, a battle between the Mayor and the Seattle City Council over the size of the transit measure set to g...

Learn about the latest in local public affairs in about the time it takes for a coffee break! Brian Callanan of Seattle Channel and David Kroman of the Seattle Times discuss some new, politically risky endorsements from Mayor Katie Wilson, some proposed changes to the way Seattle residents can file environmental appeals on development projects, a plan to fend off "vultures" trying to purchase homes in Seattle, a continuing discussi...

Learn about the latest in local public affairs in about the time it takes for a coffee break! Brian Callanan of Seattle Channel and David Kroman of the Seattle Times discuss how crowds have behaved during World Cup matches in Seattle, Mayor Wilson's new plans for homelessness prevention and cleaning up street disorder at the infamous corner of 12th & Jackson, the Point in Time homeless population count, a damning report on job ...

Learn about the latest in local public affairs in about the time it takes for a coffee break! Brian Callanan of Seattle Channel and David Kroman of the Seattle Times discuss a novel legal approach from City Attorney Erika Evans to combat gun violence and prostitution on Aurora Avenue North, a budget plan involving the Seattle Fire Department that's apparently been extinguished, a look at what's next following a Seattle City Council...

Learn about the latest in local public affairs in about the time it takes for a coffee break! Brian Callanan of Seattle Channel and David Kroman of the Seattle Times discuss the tension between the Seattle City Council and Mayor Wilson over the proper response to gun violence on Aurora Avenue North, the Council's attempt to change a city ordinance that would allow better deployment of its CARE 911 alternative teams, the use of surv...

Learn about the latest in local public affairs in about the time it takes for a coffee break! Brian Callanan of Seattle Channel and David Kroman of the Seattle Times discuss the Seattle Council's push for an emergency street closure ordinance to deal with gun violence on Aurora Avenue North, fallout from the recent Sound Transit light rail decision, a shakeup in Mayor Wilson's leadership team, a vacancy in city leadership that's ra...

Learn about the latest in local public affairs in about the time it takes for a coffee break! Brian Callanan of Seattle Channel and David Kroman of the Seattle Times discuss rising concerns over gun violence on Aurora Avenue North, a last-ditch attempt to save the Ballard light rail extension, an in-depth look at why the King County Regional Homelessness Authority has struggled for its six years of existence, an update on World Cup...

Learn about the latest in local public affairs in about the time it takes for a coffee break! Brian Callanan of Seattle Channel and David Kroman of the Seattle Times discuss the Seattle City Council's passage of a new homelessness measure that caused a shakeup within the Mayor's leadership team, the consideration of establishing a fire district to ease pressure on the city's general fund, a new timeline set for the future of the Ki...