Today is a day that ends in Y which means it's a good day to abolish the death penalty, please as soon as possible.
Mason Thompson
@masonthompson.bsky.social
Mayor of Bothell. Because the world won't change itself. Curious about land use and transportation. Rides a bike to boring meetings.
Shorter headline, unfunded IZ probably makes housing more expensive overall.
Dan Bertolet@danbertolet.bsky.social · 4w agoUntil now, the academic research on IZ has been mostly inconclusive because of all the confounding variables in real life cities. This study utilizes a statewide change in IZ's legal status to isolate its effects, and quantifies each program's stringency. Case closed! Here's a good summary:
Spokane is just out here making everyone else look bad, running laps around us mortals.
Spokane Rising@spokanerising.com · last mo.News: Spokane is launching a new Emergency Streets program that will rapidly deploy traffic calming within 72 hours of any fatal crash. The program is intended to slow down drivers and increase awareness while crews evaluate whether factors like street design factored into the crash.
If critics can't come up with any truthful way to criticize policy, that's usually a good sign you're doing righteous work.
AMR - Alexis Mercedes Rinck@alexis4seattle.bsky.social · 3mo ago“Misinformation about the proposed ban is already circulating. Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck said she's been getting text messages opposing the bill that falsely claim Seattle wants to eliminate senior discounts. Discounts for groups like seniors, students, or loyalty program…(1/2)
If you're in Seattle and don't follow the amazing work that Eddie Lin is doing, you should.
Councilmember Eddie Lin@cmeddielin.seattle.gov · 3mo agoPlease join tomorrow as City Council considers CB 121215 - legislation related to SEPA appeals. Public comment starts at 2 PM. There have been lots of questions, misunderstandings, and misinformation about this legislation. See FAQs here: council.seattle.gov/2026/07/24/f...
Also: In the election after we eliminated parking minimums completely, the last two people who were generally opposed to the direction we've been going declined to run for their seat again. The people who were going to run against them ran unopposed and are now my colleagues.
Jarrett Walker@humantransit.bsky.social · 3mo agoRequiring developments to have offstreet parking is suicidal in large cities, but it can be pretty harmful in small towns too. Quit using policy to dictate how people live their lives. Instead, watch what they actually do.
Every close election it feels like sometime complains that we take the time to count all the votes, which really seems central to the whole democracy thing.
We know that one of the best things we can do for the environment is to build dense housing in walkable neighborhoods with robust transit. Sprawl not only results in loss of forests and farmland, it increases green house gases and contributes to driving which results in more toxic runoff from tires
Mike Eliason@holz-bau.bsky.social · 5mo agowon't someone speak up for the orcas? cathcart's 144 acres is *EIGHT* times the area of total tree loss due to multifamily development in seattle between 2016-2021 - when almost 48,000 homes were added. youtu.be/BanZ9XOnHy4
Turns out people on the Eastside really want to ride transit. ❤️
Yonah Freemark@yonahfreemark.com · 5mo agoSeattle's light rail & streetcar lines carried 4.8 million riders in April—a 44% increase above March, after Link Line 2 was extended to connect Seattle & Bellevue across Lake Washington. Seattle's light rail & streetcar lines are now the most-ridden in the nation, above LA, Boston, or San Diego.
Adding on, the argument is totally disingunous. Transit is put where housing and destinations exist. Demanding additional transit before housing or destinations is just a way to say "don't build anything else here."
Push The Needle@pushtheneedle.bsky.social · 5mo agoSince the same “put housing only where transit is” came up on the Seattle Nice Podcast from @fairweatherphd.bsky.social I want to highlight how weaponized that is by NIMBYs. I personally believe letting housing growth “everywhere” in Seattle is a good thing. We have the transit
The language people use to discuss housing is wild. Nobody elected neighborhoods. Neighborhoods, like corporations, aren't people. They don't need tools. This person just doesn't want any more new neighbors, they know that isn't very neighborly, so they try to find words that sound righteous.
Ryan Packer@typewriteralley.bsky.social · 5mo agoNow we're moving on to talking about Eddie Lin's bill closing off the avenue of appeal to the hearing examiner when it comes to the environmental review of the Comp Plan. "This is about the only tool that neighborhoods have left," Williams says, telling folks to oppose the bill.
This. It's important to call out disingenuous, unserious arguments against housing for what they are. Using faux environmental rhetoric to prevent denser housing should be laughed out of any room. Apartments in cities are an environmental win.
Jess Bateman@jessdbateman.bsky.social · 5mo agoWeaponizing environmental concerns to prevent people from living in our urban environments isn’t new. It’s deployed by people with resources to restrict access to high opportunity areas. It’s nimbyism. In order to reach our housing goals, our land use processes must stop enabling this behavior.
This Sierra Club chapter should immediately be looking for new leadership, because Mike here is a fox in the henhouse.
Jordan Grimes@cafedujord.bsky.social · 7mo agoMike, a leader of the local Sierra Club chapter, is up now. He says it’s “heartwrenching” to hear people’s needs for housing. He claims that the city has always been supportive of affordable housing. BUT! He says this project is too tall (5 stories) and doesn’t have enough parking.
My condolences to Miami, whatever you do don't let him anywhere near one of your sports franchises.
Jim Brunner@jimbrunner.bsky.social · 8mo agoHoward Schultz moves to Miami. Comes as WA nears passage of high-earners income tax... www.seattletimes.com/business/sta...
Issaquah City Council has a vacancy we'll be filling soon. Applications for appointment close 4/1. We have a growing majority focused on housing, walkability, and transit, and want to keep that momentum. If you're an Issaquah resident who's ready to help build a better Eastside, apply or reach out!
The formers in Bothell tried to brand us the same way. It's what people who have no actual argument that resonates with voters do. Just flail around making stuff up in public comment. It's embarrassing for them, especially with the repudiation they got from Woodinville voters a few months ago.
Ryan Packer@typewriteralley.bsky.social · 8mo agoIt's pretty funny to watch someone brand themselves as the "last Woodinville Mayor with integrity."
If only our power structures had the same sort of conviction and righteousness as *checks again just to make sure* DinoCon
Anthony Dean@diversetechgeek.bsky.social · 9mo agoDinosaur Convention Bans All Paleontologists Named in Epstein Files www.thewrap.com/culture-life...
*record scratch* You may be wondering how I got here.
The Urbanist@theurbanist.org · 9mo agoBothell ascendant.
People who don't recognize authority shouldn't be entrusted with authority.
The Seattle Times@seattletimes.com · 9mo agoA county sheriff, a rare MAGA elected official around Puget Sound, told state legislators he wants to mask up his deputies simply to defy authority, writes columnist Danny Westneat.
Co-sign with every fiber of my being. Thanks for doing great work, @alexis4seattle.bsky.social ❤️
Ryan Packer@typewriteralley.bsky.social · 11mo agoAn amendment on deck to Seattle's 2026 legislative agenda from Alexis Mercedes Rinck would prioritize the issue of condominium reform and updated elevator standards when it comes to potential housing reforms.
People don't buy homes, they finance them. They don't buy a dollar amount, they buy a payment. And we compete with each other for those homes. It feels like a 50 year mortgage is going to end up subsidizing demand so we end up with the same payments, just 20 years more of payments.
And there was not a single lower case letter in any of the group chats
Every politics group chat is a long explanation of some theory about KC Elections, past trends, and dynamics of a close race followed by a "but who knows really" right now
Josh Cohen@jcohenwrites.bsky.social · 12mo agoSeattle politics nerds explaining the next week of ballot counting
I have a feeling that capitulation isn't really the vibe that New Yorkers are going for in a leader.
Jeet Heer@jeetheer.bsky.social · 12mo agoThis isn't a closing election argument, it's Vidkun Quisling explaining why surrender is better than resistance.
