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