This week we're looking for the bright side of the rain

Bill Radke reviews the week’s news with the host of Civic Cocktail on Seattle Channel Joni Balter, Crosscut’s city politics reporter David Kroman and Monica Nickelsburg Geekwire’s Civics Editor.

The partial government shutdown is about to be the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. We discuss the impact it’s had on Washington residents and what might happen if the shutdown continues into next month.

This week Governor Jay Inslee announced a new “public option” for healthcare in Washington state. The state would contract with a company to sell a standardized, uniform, state-directed plan that would compete against private health insurers. We get the panel’s reaction and what the political implications might be of this proposal.

Washington State Senator Tim Sheldon has pre-filed a bill in the state legislature that would prevent cities from implementing congestion tolling. A plan that Seattle had been considering for the downtown area of the city. Should Washington cities be banned from congestion tolling?

And after a decade on the Seattle City Council, councilmember Bruce Harrell decides to not seek re-election. He’s the third councilmember who won’t be returning at the end of 2019. Will the Seattle City Council be remade in 2019? What direction will the city sway politically?

Plus, how consumers are paying for the soda tax, a new way of grocery shopping, and what we love about Northwest winters.