| Excerpt: | View some incredible videos of trains rolling into Redmond for daytime Link light rail testing - and get ready to travel light in 2024! |
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| Published at: | 4:30 PM on Friday, September 15th, 2023 |
| Written by: | Andrew Villeneuve |
| Other Categories: | Public Planning |
| Tags: | Trainspotting wth NPI, Transportation |
| Bookmark: | Permalink | Comments closed |
Category Archives: Policy Topics
Trainspotting with NPI: Light rail vehicles roll into Redmond for daytime Line 2 testing
Republican megadonor Brian Heywood opens his wallet to fund six-initiative signature drive
| Excerpt: | A wealthy donor to the Washington State Republican Party has begun funneling serious money into a signature drive that aims to qualify a slew of six right wing initiatives to the 2024 Washington State Legislature, reports filed this week with the Public Disclosure Commission by his political committee show. |
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| Published at: | 2:02 PM on Friday, September 15th, 2023 |
| Written by: | Andrew Villeneuve |
| Other Categories: | Elections, Open Government |
| Tags: | Clean Campaigns, Permanent Defense, WA-Ballot |
| Bookmark: | Permalink | Comments closed |
Amidst a record fire season, British Columbia tries to get ready for future climate damage
| Excerpt: | Eby is acting in a fire season in which 8,687 square miles have already burned, with one fire in northeast B.C. larger in size than the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. The province, once nicknamed Canada’s “lotus land”, has been hit with a succession of climate calamities in recent years. |
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| Published at: | 11:33 AM on Thursday, September 14th, 2023 |
| Written by: | Joel Connelly |
| Other Categories: | Our Environment |
| Tags: | Climate Crisis, Wildfires |
| Bookmark: | Permalink | Comments closed |
Taking Hilltop Link for a test spin: This is what it was like to ride up to St. Joseph in Tacoma
| Excerpt: | In advance of the grand opening on Saturday morning, Sound Transit kindly offered a preview ride for agency boardmembers and representatives of media organizations. CEO Julie Timm and senior agency staff were present to talk about the new streetcar vehicles and stations, and did a great job explaining the history of the project and the obstacles Sound Transit overcame to get it built. |
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| Published at: | 2:30 PM on Wednesday, September 13th, 2023 |
| Written by: | Andrew Villeneuve |
| Other Categories: | Public Planning |
| Tags: | Transportation, Travel Light |
| Bookmark: | Permalink | Comments closed |
Washington State Supreme Court rebuffs Wahkiakum School District’s school construction funding constitutional challenge
| Excerpt: | The highest court in the Evergreen State has unanimously ruled against a rural Washington school district that brought a constitutional challenge over the state's longtime K-12 facilities funding regime, finding that the state's paramount duty does not extend to school capital construction costs. |
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| Published at: | 12:30 PM on Friday, September 8th, 2023 |
| Written by: | Andrew Villeneuve |
| Other Categories: | Education, Litigation |
| Tags: | Facilities & Class Size, School Funding |
| Bookmark: | Permalink | Comments closed |
A reprieve for the Arctic Refuge: President Biden acts to protect lives and land alike
| Excerpt: | The Arctic Refuge is the largest single unit of public lands in the nation, spanning more than 19 million acres. The 1.5 million acres of the Coastal Plain, left open to development by Congress, is its heart and soul, calving ground for more than 100,000 animals of the Porcupine Caribou Herd. |
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| Published at: | 2:51 PM on Thursday, September 7th, 2023 |
| Written by: | Joel Connelly |
| Other Categories: | Our Environment |
| Tags: | Conservation |
| Bookmark: | Permalink | Comments closed |
A public bank could help Washington tackle the growing threat of climate damage
| Excerpt: | If Washington is going to deal seriously with the impacts of global warming, including making the necessary investments throughout the state, then it should embrace the promise and potential of public banking. |
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| Published at: | 9:30 AM on Thursday, September 7th, 2023 |
| Written by: | Marco Rosaire Rossi |
| Other Categories: | Economic Security, Public Planning |
| Tags: | Critical Infrastructure |
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Try these three effective strategies for countering racism and hate in public spaces
| Excerpt: | In this essay, guest contributor Erin Jones discusses the three postures she uses for combating racism and hate in schools and other places where many people are together: Gratitude, brave spaces, and pause. |
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| Published at: | 9:30 AM on Wednesday, September 6th, 2023 |
| Written by: | Erin Jones |
| Other Categories: | Civil Liberties, Education |
| Tags: | Nondiscrimination |
| Bookmark: | Permalink | Comments closed |
Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward feigns ignorance after accepting Matt Shea’s blessing at a white Christian nationalist rally
| Excerpt: | Woodward was already facing a tough general election campaign to win a second term, as evidenced by her loss to Lisa Brown in the August Top Two election. Now her electoral prospects look even dimmer. |
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| Published at: | 9:05 PM on Monday, September 4th, 2023 |
| Written by: | Caya Berndt |
| Other Categories: | Elections, Open Government |
| Tags: | Accountable Leaders, WA-Cities |
| Bookmark: | Permalink | Comments closed |
Right wing looking for a way to defeat Ohio reproductive rights constitutional amendment
| Excerpt: | The Buckeye State will vote November 7th on Issue 1, an amendment to the Ohio Constitution which proclaims: “Every individual has a right to make and carry out one’s own reproductive rights.” The decisions include contraception, fertility treatment, continuing one’s own pregnancy, miscarriage and abortion.” |
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| Published at: | 5:33 PM on Sunday, September 3rd, 2023 |
| Written by: | Joel Connelly |
| Other Categories: | Civil Liberties, Elections |
| Tags: | OH-Ballot, Reproductive Rights |
| Bookmark: | Permalink | Comments closed |
Sound Transit Board agrees to open Redmond to Bellevue segment of East Link in 2024
| Excerpt: | The East Link extension, approved as part of Sound Transit Phase II in 2008, will connect Bellevue and Redmond to Mercer Island and Seattle when complete. Defective construction on the cross-lake segment (which is necessitating a do-over of some work) prompted the agency to rethink the original opening plans. |
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| Published at: | 10:51 AM on Friday, August 25th, 2023 |
| Written by: | Andrew Villeneuve |
| Other Categories: | Public Planning |
| Tags: | Transportation |
| Bookmark: | Permalink | Comments closed |
Most of Washington’s counties are suing the state for refusing to provide necessary behavioral health treatment under state law
| Excerpt: | "In the face of DSHS's continuing contempt for both legislative and judicial authority, Washington's counties have joined in an unprecedented coalition to enforce DSHS's legal obligations," the counties declare in their legal action. |
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| Published at: | 11:53 AM on Wednesday, August 23rd, 2023 |
| Written by: | Andrew Villeneuve |
| Other Categories: | Healthcare, Litigation |
| Tags: | Mental Health |
| Bookmark: | Permalink | Comments closed |
Sound Transit opens Hilltop Link extension to riders on sun-filled Saturday in Tacoma