Seattle City Light will be bumping up rates by 2.3 percent, due to an increase in wholesale costs. Just back in April, the mayor promised no new rate increases in 2009; as City Light's long-term budget woes increased earlier this month, Nickels's $40K bonus to Jorge Carrasco, the director of City Light, became yet another embarrassment to the mayor. The new rate increase takes effect Oct. 1. more ›

Mayor Nickels, speaking of the tunnel for which no cost overruns can be foreseen, noted that, "The design work and engineering on the 'mile in the middle,' which has been the controversial part, will go forward in about two years." Does that mean what it sounds like? Is the most controversial part really undesigned? (The Weekly's Damon Agnos has some terrific quotes from someone who looked like the Mayor speaking out strongly against a tunnel a little while ago.) more ›

A proposal that might end up in front of the state legislature in bill form is targeted at suckers like Seattlest, well-intentioned but busy people who would help if helping was made stupidly easy. The proposal would automatically tack on $5 to every Washington car tab fee, and that extra money would go towards keeping state parks open and maintained. Anyone could opt out of paying the extra fee. The option to give $5 for park maintenance is already in effect, but with a slight difference: you have to check a box saying you do want to give the state more of your hard-earned cash. more ›

Publicola has the news this morning: a controversial bill that tried to raise density standards around 40 light rail stations has failed to make it out of committee and is dead in the water. The bill, supported by city councilor Sally Clark and generally a good idea, is a casualty of competing progressive interests between poverty activists and environmentalists. John Fox, the head of the Seattle Displacement Coalition, has effectively solidified his reputation as the "local Ralph Nader," in Publicola's estimation, by going against other housing advocates in opposing the bill for not offering enough affordable housing guarantees, while the mayor's office eventually came after it because its affordable housing guarantees were . So now we have nothing, furthering Seattlest's impression that the Democratic leadership in the State government is a joke and that local activists are incapable of delivering on virtually anything. (Read Josh Feit's assessment of the impasse.) more ›