In Other News

Court

Political fundraiser Colby Underwood’s ongoing lawsuit against his
former employee McKenna Hartman [“Fund Fight,” Erica C. Barnett, Jan
25] just got uglier.

Earlier this year, Underwood sued Hartman for allegedly stealing his
donor lists and client information. In August, he filed a motion to bar
Hartman from viewing that information—or, at the very least, to
require that any information she viewed be redacted to exclude his
personal information.

Exhibit “P” to Underwood’s request? A massive stack of personal
information about Hartman, including her driver’s license number,
Social Security number, partial bank-account and credit-card numbers,
date of birth, and home address.

In a motion allowing Hartman to review the documents, King County
Municipal Court judge Jeffrey M. Ramsdell called Underwood’s public
disclosure of Hartman’s personal information “a veritable treasure
trove for an identity theft.” He added: “Why Plaintiff would
include these unredacted documents in its court submission after
contending that such information should be protected from discovery [in
Underwood’s case] is baffling.” Only two possible explanations were
possible, Judge Ramsdell concluded: “lack of attention to detail” or
spite. “The judge said pretty clearly that there are only two scenarios
here—incompetence or malice,” Hartman attorney Roger
Townsend says. Underwood’s attorney Janyce Fink did not respond to a
request for comment. ERICA C. BARNETT

Citation

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has told Ben Gant he
has until August 27 to apply for permits so he can continue operating
his small blue news kiosk at Third Avenue and Pike Street—the
last freestanding newsstand in Seattle.

In November 2007, SDOT cited Gant for failing to maintain and
regularly operate the newsstand. Gant filed an appeal with the city’s
hearing examiner, who told him he’d need to get the stand repermitted
before he could renovate it and officially reopen.

If the city does not receive an application from Gant in the next
nine days, SDOT spokesman Rick Sheridan says, the city will refer the
matter to the city attorney’s office, which would likely get a court
order to remove the stand. “At this juncture, it’s been several months
since the hearing examiner ruled against Mr. Gant,” Sheridan says.
“We feel we’ve been patient with him.”

Gant says he turned in his permit application on Tuesday, August 19,
but still needs about $22,000 to revamp the newsstand. JONAH
SPANGENTHAL-LEE

Crisis

King County’s budget crisis—a projected shortfall that grew
this year from an estimated $45 million, to $68 million, to $87
million or higher—can be blamed on many factors: declining
sales-tax revenues, inflation, turmoil in the housing market.

One factor in the shortfall that hasn’t been widely discussed is
rising gas prices, which contribute substantially to King County
employees’ annual cost-of-living raises. Those raises are linked
directly to the Consumer Price Index, which tracks inflation.

In an ordinary year, inflation rises by about 3 percent, give or
take a point or two. This year, however, inflation is expected to rise
nearly 6 percent, thanks largely to gas prices that rose more than 35
percent. Although gas accounts for just a little more than 5 percent of
the CPI—which King County budget director Bob Cowan calls “a
market basket of goods”—a spike of the kind that happened last
year can throw everything out of whack. So while King County
employees are getting impressive raises, the county’s budget is going
further in the hole, where it will continue to sit until gas prices
fall or King County residents start shopping again. ERICA C.
BARNETT

Construction

On August 14, the city auditor’s office reported that—to no
one’s surprise—construction projects around Seattle have been
blocking sidewalks. However, the city council may defer to
the Seattle Department of Transportation when deciding whether to
tighten regulations on sidewalk closures.

Current rules are geared to expedite sidewalk-closure permits for
developers, but often fail to provide alternative walkways on
the same side of the street, and some construction sites, lacking
coordination, block both sides of the street. The report recommends
fixing that problem, emphasizing cyclist and pedestrian mobility,
improving inspection and enforcement, and communicating with the
public.

“We realize we have room for improvement,” says Rick Sheridan,
spokesman for SDOT. The question, however, is whether SDOT will adopt
all the recommendations.

Nick Licata, one of three council members who requested the audit,
says the department may not have been that diligent in the past because
it gets money for street-use permits. The city council could pass a law
to require the changes. But, Licata says, if SDOT “opposes legislation,
the council may decide not to go there.” DOMINIC
HOLDEN