Government

Ross Reynolds speaks with Josh Brower, member of the Seattle Planning Commission, about how the transit focus might affect his neighborhood in Beacon Hill.

The transit focus is one of the three planning alternatives being considered for Seattle 2035.

David Hyde talks with Seattle City Councilmember Nick Licata about why he's pushing for better enforcement of labor standards in Seattle.

As Washington state Senator Rodney Tom announced his decision to not seek re-election this week, how does his departure change the dynamic in the legislature.

Also, Boeing is shipping nearly 2,000 engineering and research jobs out of the state. After the big push for friendly tax breaks for the company, is this a betrayal? 

Steve Scher reviews these stories and more with news analyst Joni Balter, Crosscut's Knute Berger, Eli Sanders of The Stranger and Livewire host Luke Burbank.

A month after the devastating mudslide near Oso, Wash., a mile of state Route 530 still sits under landslide debris.

As the people from this tiny community and the neighboring towns try to move on, they’re battling a major transportation issue with their daily commute to work.  Many of them are adding hours to their drive time to go around the mudslide.

Seattle’s new regulations on rideshare companies like Lyft and Uber were supposed to take effect this week, but now they’re on hold. That’s because a group, backed by rideshare businesses, has filed signatures for a ballot referendum to bring the rideshare rules to a public vote.

Steve Scher talks with Columbia University Professor Stephen Sestanovich about today's meeting between U.S., Ukrainian, EU and Russian officials in Geneva. Sestanovich also discusses what President Vladimir Putin's strategy might be in his involvement in Ukraine.

Ross Reynolds talks with Dominic Corva, executive director of the Center for the Study of Cannabis and Social Policy, about the implications for pot bans and moratoriums in Washington state.

Steve Scher talks with Washington state Medicaid Director MaryAnne Lindeblad about how the state plans to accommodate more than 250,000 newly enrolled residents who qualified for Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act.

Seattle is expecting 120,000 new residents over the next 20 years. To guide its growth, the city is currently drawing up a new comprehensive plan called, Seattle 2035.

City officials are seeking public input on the three options on the table: urban centers, urban villages and transit.

Even before the Washington State Legislature failed to pass a transportation funding package this session, King County Executive Dow Constantine announced the county would not wait for the state.

Constantine said King County would go it alone and ask its voters to pay more money for King County Metro Transit and for road projects.

Kshama Sawant is the first socialist on Seattle’s City Council. Last year, she ran on a campaign platform of raising the minimum wage to $15, taxing the wealthy and rent control.

She spoke with The Stranger’s Charles Mudede about why now is the time for socialism in Seattle. This talk was recorded at Town Hall on March 18, 2014.

When there’s daylight in Seattle, it’s usually night time in Ukraine. But that time difference doesn't matter to many Ukrainians here, who are anxious for news of the crisis unfolding in their motherland.

“We have 32 channels from Ukraine so we can watch every day,” said Peter Drogomiretskiy during a recent interview at his home in Brier, Wash. He sometimes watches Ukrainian news coverage with his wife, Valha Drogomiretskiy, until 3 a.m. and only sleeps a few hours before work.