Yesterday, we spoke up early against closed city council budget-cut discussions. Later that afternoon, the Times published an editorial agreeing with us--and this morning, they've published opposition to the meetings from the Seattle city attorney and the Washington state attorney general's office. The Times also tried to send a reporter into one of the closed meetings, and has this to report: "A Seattle Times reporter was denied entrance to a budget briefing on Thursday afternoon. Tom Von Bronkhorst, a legislative aide to Councilmember Jean Godden, physically dragged the reporter away from it by the strap of her bag." Holy crap. more ›

The Seattle Times discusses how the planned Senate budget cuts "roll back much of the party's agenda." Publicola has four "angry press releases" on behalf of service workers, NARAL, low income housing, and childen's health. And Schmudget lays out the cuts in the areas of education and health, pointing out that some cuts are so deep, they effectively cut twice, by losing access to federal recovery funds. more ›

This morning, the state Senate will reveal their plan for a 2009-2011 operating budget; the House will release their version tomorrow. Given an unavoidable $9 billion shortfall, major cuts are only to be expected. Schmudget reported that if the Senate uses the entire Rainy Day Fund and frees up all available federal funds, legislators will still have to reckon with a deficit of $3.1 billion; that's where the program slicing and dicing comes into play. Stream the budget unveiling proceedings live at Washington State Public Affairs' website, tvw.org, or check online sometime after 10:30 a.m. today to find out what the Senate's budget looks like. more ›

Keep going. The bottom is near. The real estate market has finally bottomed out says one agent. UW is cutting 600-800 jobs And they weren't bottom-heavy to begin with. Some of those people might consider opening an SBC franchise. We love how they put a little chocolate bar on each mocha. more ›

TechFlash has a post today titled "Is Classmates.com Cutting Back?" based on what they're "hearing." What we're hearing is that a hiring freeze has been lifted (Exhibit A--look for jobs in Renton). And NWCN reports that Classmates.com is making money hand over mortarboard. (If that makes sense. We're just trying to keep it light, people. Mortarboard, it's fun.) So that's what we know. What do you hear? more ›

King County Exec. Ron Sims is cutting everyone's budget to try to cover the $93 million dollar county deficit, and it's starting to get ugly. This morning's showdown is between Sims and King County Sheriff Sue Rahr, who says that the budget cuts will mean her office is forced to--among other discontinuations--stop investigating property crimes under $10,000 (most car theft, for example). Dozens of troopers currently assigned to unincorporated King County will have to be contracted to specific cities, Sound Transit, and Metro, leaving already-isolated residents without needed patrol. more ›

The Seattle Times reports that JP Morgan will lay off as many as 3,000 WaMu employees in the Seattle area, cutting the local WaMu workforce to just under a third of its former glory. Layoffs begin this week, and by December 1--in the thick of the holiday shopping season--all of the decisions will have been made about who stays and who goes. This doesn't come as a surprise, but the numbers are breathtaking and the impact on our local economy will be significant. From the Times article: "'It's pretty dire for Seattle,' said one former high-ranking executive." Brace yourselves--it's looking like a cold, lean winter ahead. more ›