Week in Review: fires, taxes, and elections

Bill Radke discusses the week’s news with South Seattle Emerald’s Lauryn Bray, political analyst and contributing columnist Joni Balter, and KUOW’s David Hyde.

We have one of America's biggest Hawaiian communities here in the Pacific Northwest, and Hawaii is a big travel destination for Seattleites. There's a lot of heartache here over the fatal fires on Maui. At least 55 people have died. Rescuers from King and Pierce County are there now. Hawaiian officials are asking people to delay their non-essential travel to the islands.

RELATED: 'He's lost everything.' In Seattle, sadness — and fundraising — for Maui's wildfire survivors

Seattle is projected to have a significant budget deficit. One possible consideration to close that gap is expanding the Jumpstart tax by 2025. JumpStart revenue could balance the budget if the Council lifted restrictions on how the funds are used. But City Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda says it’s crucial that money go toward affordable housing as originally intended. Why does Seattle have a budget gap of over $200 million dollars a year starting in 2025?

RELATED: Should Seattle consider a high-pay CEO tax? That’s one option to fill the city’s budget gap

We just had primary elections for cities, counties, and school boards. And in Seattle, four of seven incumbent city councilmembers choosing not to run and a fifth is running for King County Council. All three incumbents running for re-election earned the most votes in their districts. Results will be certified Aug. 15. What are the takeaways?

In 2020, the city council banned evictions during winter months, and encampment sweeps in winter. Some people want the city to keep its policy of letting people stay in their tents and vehicles in the wintertime. The city has been promising for years to come up with better alternatives. Why do some people prefer to stay out of shelters even in the cold, wet winter?

The city of Seattle is about to offer a first-of-its-kind protection to gig workers. Councilmember Lisa Herbold said that people who work for Instacart or DoorDash can get unfairly dinged for things they can't necessarily control. The new law says that the company must give good reason to “deactivate” a gig worker, and they must give them two weeks’ notice, except in egregious cases like being a danger to customers. What do the app companies say?

RELATED: Seattle becomes first in U.S. to protect gig workers from sudden 'deactivation'