"We're sick and tired of chickenshit politicians riding the backs of poor people," says incensed activist K. L. Shannon. "They meet with us; they say this, they say that; then they continue to give us scraps." What is Shannon ranting about? City Council Member Heidi "Whitey" Wills and her weak stance on City Attorney Mark Sidran's racist car impound ordinance.

Last fall on the campaign trail, Wills wowed Shannon's group, Drive to Survive, when she filled out their questionnaire and clearly supported their mission to repeal Sidran's Operation Impound. "Seattle's towing policy, designed to protect citizens at large, has been found to disproportionately penalize those people who are most in need of our help," she wrote then. However, on Monday, June 26, Wills voted down a partial impound ordinance repeal introduced by Council Member Nick Licata. (By the way, records at the Municipal Court show that Wills has nearly 50 [!] parking and traffic tickets. She did not return calls, however, regarding accusations that her license had been suspended in 1997.) ALLIE HOLLY-GOTTLIEB & JOSH FEIT

No Taxes, No Pride

The Long Yang Club (LVC), Seattle's prominent gay Asian social group, was forced to cancel Night FantAsia, their annual pride event, because of overdue taxes. The LYC isn't at fault, though. The guilty tax miscreant? The intended venue. Night Fant-Asia was canceled at the last minute when the Department of Revenue shut down Capitol Hill's Spintron dance club on June 21. The state has lost $36,301.23 in back taxes to Spintron, and LYC lost $600 promoting the event. AMY JENNIGES

Fear of Shadows

Some Beacon Hill residents are suing the city and developer Wright Runstad to protest the unattractive "improvements" that are planned for the old PacMed property. The most unique argument the lawsuit makes is that the city didn't make an appropriate "shadow analysis" before it approved Wright Runstad's plans to put a new tower and parking lot on the property. Apparently, the new structures would prevent a neighboring park from getting any sun. PHIL CAMPBELL

Comrade Nicastro

Council Member Judy Nicastro passed the first piece of her Renters' Summit agenda by an 8-0 council vote on Monday, June 26. The law reduces parking requirements for developers building new apartments along the Pike-Pine corridor, in exchange for making 40 percent of the units affordable to people earning 60 percent of the median income. That would be $691 rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Y2K dollars. ALLIE HOLLY-GOTTLIEB & JOSH FEIT