Relocating Renters
The City of Seattle is going to bat for tenants caught up in the
citywide development craze. On August 30, Eddie King, a landlord
who wants to demolish an apartment building at Northeast 55th Street
and 15th Avenue Northeast, evicted his tenants. On October 9, the
Department of Planning and Development sent King a letter stating that
the city would withhold his demolition permits until King
verified whether tenants were notified of their right to relocation
assistance. According to one former tenant of the building, residents
received the required 90-days’ notice that they were being evicted in
June, but were not told of their right to relocation assistance. If it
turns out the tenants were eligible for relocation assistance, they
could each see payouts of $1,400 from the city and their former
landlord. JONAH SPANGENTHAL-LEE
Shrinking Emissions
The city’s record on reducing greenhouse-gas emissions has been
mixed, at best—according to the most recent estimates from
Mayor Greg Nickels’s sustainability office, the city isn’t even on
track to meet its very modest goal of reducing emissions to 7 percent
below 1990 levels by 2012. The mayor has taken a lot of credit
nationally for his climate initiative, which mimics the Kyoto
Protocol.
Retiring council member Peter Steinbrueck, whose effort to pass
major initiatives before he leaves office in January can only be
described as Clintonesque, wants to see a much more dramatic
reduction in greenhouse gases—to 80 percent below 1990
levels by 2050. To that end, he has proposed adopting that goal as
an amendment to the city’s comprehensive plan, the document that guides
all city development decisions. Steinbrueck has also proposed an
ordinance that would require developers to assess the climate impact of
all new projects and mitigate their greenhouse-gas emissions.
“Something needs to be done that’s more aggressive, specific, and
institutional” than the mayor’s plan, Steinbrueck says. If implemented,
the program would
be the first of its kind in the country.
ERICA C. BARNETT
Expanding Crosscut
Crosscut, the online newspaper/blog focusing on Washington, Oregon,
and Idaho, has seen some turnover in recent weeks. Last week,
Crosscut laid off half-time assistant editor David Neiwert, who,
publisher David Brewster says, will be replaced. Crosscut has also
hired another full-time employee—associate publisher Lucy
Mohl—who will start early next week. “We’re expanding,”
Brewster says. In addition to Mohl and the future assistant editor,
Crosscut’s staff includes editor Chuck Taylor (a Seattle Weekly alum like Brewster), one business staffer, and a tech employee. They
also pay stipends to several writers, including former Weekly editor Knute Berger. JOSH FEIT