It's Digging Again! "The machine called Bertha has tunneled about 73 feet and installed 12 concrete tunnel rings since it started moving again on Dec. 22," KING 5 reports. Project manager say it will finish digging on January 3, 2017 and the new tunnel could open in April of 2018—two years behind schedule. "Now, not to get ahead of ourselves, but this is fuuuuuuuuucking exciting news," says Seattlish.
Shutdown of TheReviewBoard.Net Will Lead to More Seattle-Area Sex Workers on the Street: That's according to the founder of Sex Workers Outreach Project's Seattle chapter. "It's going to make it very difficult for a lot of people to pay their rent," she told Sydney. King County authorities say their operation targeting the website resulted in the arrests of more than a dozen men for human trafficking and rescued 12 victims.
Need a Comprehensive Seattle Transportation Map? The city and county don't offer one, but a Seattle Transit Blog writer has your back. "The map features the entire network of frequent service, regular all-day service, and peak-only commuter service in the city, all on a single stylized-geographic map, plus a few specialized maps showing detail of busy areas or certain services," says Oran Viriyincy. Go check it out.
Former Council Member Nick Licata Just Can't Wrap His Head Around Right-Wing Orthodoxy: As he attended a recent American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) meeting, Licata says, "I could not grasp how they could rationalize ignoring the effects of policies serving billionaires rather than their communities or how they could miss that their policies were weakening democracy not saving it."
State Won't Keep Boeing Tax Break Savings Secret: "In a major reversal," Jim Brunner reports, "the state Department of Revenue has ruled Boeing and other aerospace firms must start disclosing savings from some of their biggest tax breaks." The move came after the Seattle Times challenged the agency's policy. "This is a significant victory for tax transparency," said State Senator Reuven Carlyle.
This Week On Our Week-in-Review Podcast, Blabbermouth: Speaking of which, Eli Sanders talks to Carlyle on this week's podcast about the retirement of 14-term Seattle Congressman Jim McDermott and why he prefers Olympia to Washington D.C. The Gender Justice League's Danni Askini is also on the show to explain why the right-wing panic over the state's new bathroom policy is nonsense, and there's even a segment for you Seahawks fans. Listen here.
Can Republicans Reinstate Charter Schools in Washington? Even after they've been ruled unconstitutional by the State Supreme Court? They're going to try.
Explosion at Everett Bikini Barista Coffee Stand: One woman was injured.
New Lawsuit Against Pasco Police Officers Who Shot Antonio Zambrano-Montes: Last February, the farmworker was shot to death while running away from Pasco police after throwing rocks. The new lawsuit, filed by the victim's mother, "aims to prove that Pasco police officers didn’t have adequate training to deal with 'mentally disturbed' people," KUOW reports.
Confessions of a Congressman: Representative Steve Israel says he spent 4,200 hours making phone calls to ask wealthy people to give him money. "This is your democracy... as the bidding grows higher, your voice gets lower," he writes. "You’re simply priced out of the marketplace of ideas. That is, unless you are one of the ultra wealthy."
This post has been updated.
