12-Point Plan Panned?
Details of the city's tentative collective-bargaining agreement with the Seattle Police Officers Guild are much anticipated, but hard to come by -- the deal won't be public for at least another week, until officers vote on the package. There are, however, a few loose-lipped cops in the department who were willing to spill some tidbits. Apparently, officers are looking at a three-percent raise each year for the next three years. They wanted more, and when some cops accused their representatives of not fighting hard enough for increased wages, say Stranger sources, the representatives of the guild grew mighty red-faced with embarrassment.
Word is also spreading that Mayor Paul Schell caved on his promise to push his (and former police chief Norm Stamper's) all-but-forgotten 12-point accountability plan. A Schell spokesperson wouldn't comment on that bit of gossip, explaining that anything "left off the table" can't be discussed, because it might be put back on the table if police vote against the contract. PHIL CAMPBELL
Traffic Ticket Pile-Up
Sure, the Seattle Police Department's new traffic tickets, devised by court bureaucrats, are easier to read than the old ones -- they're just not as helpful. In the process of tightening up the language on tickets for moving violations, administrators omitted a very important sentence that lets people know their fines can be reduced or paid off in installments. That particular sentence was crossed out, one city official said, because it gives the impression that judges are required to help poor people. ALLIE HOLLY- GOTTLIEB
Power Shortage
Small-business owners in West Seattle's Admiral District now know how they compare to bigger businesses downtown: They're sore because the city has been reluctant to help fund a $3.5 million parking garage on California Avenue. The garage, claim business owners, would bring customers to their district. The city's inaction carries a particular sting, as West Seattleites look with jealousy at the $73 million parking garage the city helped build for Nordstrom. NIF RIOS
Aaacckkk!
Ballard and Magnolia residents aren't mollified by assurances from the state that the pesticide Foray 48B -- which is scheduled to be sprayed all over their neighborhoods during the next couple of weeks to kill gypsy moths -- is safe. The chemical may very well be harmless, but the Washington State Department of Agriculture claims it can't reveal Foray 48B's ingredients because of laws guarding trade secrets. Residents say until they know what they may be forced to breathe, they'll oppose the spraying. They've formed a protest group called the "No Spray Zone" coalition. PHIL CAMPBELL
