Comments

1
Maybe if Sawant actually had a clue when it came to building bridges, these ideas would have a chance.

Want something to die a premature death on the city council? Have Kshama sponsor it.
2
Do you ever attend City Council meetings, or are you just echoing the right-wing Seattle Times rap on Sawant? I was at the City Council meeting and she did pretty well today - much of what she introduced got passed. Without her, we wouldn't be anywhere near a $15 minimum wage. I'm looking forward to the council passing more of her agenda next year.

3
"Public school students on free or reduced lunch will get free bus passes. It'll cost $1 million."

VERY happy to hear this but I believe it is just for HIGH school students on F/RL (which is fine because the district is paying for other students' transportation.)

Rainier Beach High School students had a town hall earlier this fall and to hear high school kids begging for help to get to school on time was amazing. Good for their advocacy; this will help many students.

Meanwhile, the district can't fund this (even for RBHS) but they can fund a raise for an already overpaid superintendent. Looking forward to the new Board and a more accountable and transparent way of thinking.
4
Good post Cheesehead. Several CMs made themselves look bad today, especially Rasmussen, who seems to conflate the serious issues LGBTQ people face such as job discrimination and increased hate crimes (especially against transgender people) with parks and rec programs. Bruce Harrell was a no show at one of the most important meetings of the year on muni broadband, which he actively supported during his campaign and could have pushed for a pilot in his district to hook up existing fiber on Beacon Hill and give some of his homies (including businesses) blazing fast speeds, better service and low prices. Bagshaw and O'Brien flip-flopped on muni broadband, After supporting it during their campaigns. Too bad they can't be trusted to come through for constituents who pay rising rates for slow speeds, and terrible service. Bagshaw, Harrell and OBrien also showed it's no big deal that many of their low income constituents can't afford broadband, but hey--they can eat digital cake instead.

If it weren't for Sawant there would have been no soup for homeless people either.
5
Bruce Harrell could be the next council president?? Jeebus H Kreyest...
6
#WheresBruce
7
I wish those asshole business folks would quit growing and generating more tax income for Sawant to try to spend on worthy issues.
8
@7, one worthy issue Sawant has been effective in pushing is a better hourly wage for the employees of some of those asshole business folks. Amazing how all those restaurants somehow didn't close after she did so, even though said a.b.f. claimed that would happen.
9
I would like to see the backers of muni broadband bring it to vote by initiative. Fuck Comcast and the counsel members they have bought off.
10
Completely ridiculous the so-called tech city has no municipal broadband. That's two faced Seattle at work behind the scenes reinforcing the growing digital and economic divide. I'm not a huge fan of Sawant, but she never proposes anything a civilized and forward looking society shouldn't do.
11
I couldn't grasp the proposed municipal broadband pilot project on Beacon Hill. CenturyLink has finished wiring up Beacon Hill with its one gig fiberoptic lines, so now Comcast and Wave have some real competition in that neighborhood. Let's see if competition leads to lower prices and better service, before adding a taxpayer-funded system into the mix.
12
Robert, it sounds like competition is working, and then CenturyLink stops giving promo prices on internet only and will only sell service for list price or discounted when you bundle your internet with TV. I welcome a municipal provider with a set, fair price to get off the "new customer discount" bs of comcast/centurylink.
13
@11 Yea, let's allow the market to do it's work because that will bring us lower prices and better service. It makes sense because that's what we've been doing for several decades and we now live in a capitalist utopia where prices and services are great for everyone!
14
You perfectly nailed it, Radagastafarian the Green.

Chef Joe, why aren't you also calling for privitization of Seattle City Light and Seattle Public Public Utilities to go with the blazing fast speeds, wonderful customer service and low prices resulting from "competition" among Comcast, which is picked on for being one of America's top ten most hated companies, Century-Link and Wave?
15
Until 1951, City Light competed with PSE for business in Seattle. You could choose between the two. PSE finally threw in the towel because City Light's rates were so much lower (even though they had the same labor costs and City Light was not subsidized by tax money). Still, the vote on whether or not to give City Light the sole franchise was close. There were people who were afraid it was Socialism.

But here's the thing: Why can't we have some private company provide the technical aspect of it, and have the city provide the billing and service connections? The private company wouldn't have the overhead of front office, marketing or any of that other nonsense. Billing would be done through the combined utility billing system, and City Light could string and maintain the service drops.
16
The city council could do the right thing for the homeless and adopt the Salt Lake
City program which provides decent housing and humane services for homeless people. This program actually treats people like human beings with an understanding that many are addicted to drugs and alcohol and that many are mentally ill. Others are homeless due to high housing costs, low income, loss of income, discrimination, eviction etc.

Not only is this program more humane than what we have now (it has drastically reduced homelessness where it has been enacted). But it also is far less expensive than what the city is currently doing (e.g. less emergency medical costs and law enforcement) and yet the entrenched rightwing city council members and hypocritical mayor won’t do it.
17
At least 66 or more people have died outside this year and others have died in Harborview due to the city government neglect of this issue. Emergency rooms are in crisis mode and medical staff are overwhelmed with people dying from drug overdose and damage much of which could have been prevented had the city government been involved with the Salt Lake City Housing First program. So the wealthy council members and mayor continue to go home to their cushy lifestyle and ignore the people in the streets. S.A.F.E.

Please wait...

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