Good morning! Today will be cloudy, with a high of 64 degrees. The low is that the Seattle City Council will likely pass some carceral policies this afternoon.
The council is scheduled to vote on the Stay Out of Drug Area (SODA) zones, the Stay Out of Area Prostitution (SOAP) zone, and the prostitution loitering law later today. These new laws basically allow judges to banish people from certain parts of the city if they've committed certain crimes. They also allow cops to arrest you for prostitution and promoting prostitution if you're kind of giving off those vibes, no real evidence required. A long list of organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington (ACLU), oppose this legislation, but that hasn't slowed down the city council.
In fact, even after the ACLU argued that the laws could violate constitutional rights, the council expanded the zones, including the addition of a SODA zone along Broadway on Capitol Hill. You can thank the Capitol Hill Business Association (CHBA) for that. They said the downtown SODA zone could push drug activity up to the Hill, so they demanded their own zone. Of course, their zone will just push drug activity to other parts of Capitol Hill.
It's a little disappointing to see zero pushback from the rest of the Capitol Hill business community, but the council pushed these policies through as quickly as possible. CHBA spokesperson and policy council Gabriel Neuman acknowledged that much when he said the council shouldn't have introduced all these bills at the same time because it limits discussion. I'll have more on this in the next couple hours, but people (and businesses) still have time to tell the council what they think of these "ineffective" and "counterproductive" laws, as the ACLU calls them. The meeting starts at 2 pm today for anyone interested in giving public comment.
Meanwhile, while the council has moved at warp speed to pass these exclusion zones and to reinstate the prostitution loitering law, they've taken their sweet time when it comes to the Social Housing Initiative, I-137. Yesterday, the council finally announced a plan to propose an alternative to the initiative, which would raid the JumpStart payroll tax on big businesses for funding instead of creating a new business tax. If the council passes the bill, then voters will have to decide between two different options when I-137 finally heads to the ballot in a February special election. Council Member and alleged bad boss Martiza Rivera proposed the alternative alongside Council Members Bob Kettle, Tanya Woo, and Cathy Moore.
City Council, if you raid JumpStart for Social Housing, what are you going to raid in fall to pay for your precious police department??? You are eventually going to have to levy new taxes or cut other services, departments
— Hannah Krieg (@hannahkrieg) September 16, 2024
Real quick, let's throw it to Hannah to let her wrap up the council updates today:
Justice for Ayşenur: Support for an independent investigation into Israel's killing of Seattle-based activist Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi is growing. As of Monday afternoon, 90 Washington state lawmakers have signed a letter echoing Eygi's family's demand for the investigation. Every Seattle representative in the State House, State Senate, and King County Council has signed on, but there's some stragglers on the Seattle City Council. Only Council Members Tammy Morales and Cathy Moore have signed the letter. Luckily for the other members, they are still welcome to sign on to stand up for their constituent.
Thanks, Hannah! Alright, back to me.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy demands workers return to office: Starting January 2, Amazon workers must appear in the office in person five days a week, according to CNBC. Jassy basically argued that before the pandemic, workers couldn't work remotely two days a week. Yeah, Jassy, and before Amazon, people couldn't same-day receive sex toys to their doors. Technology changes shit.
New Monopoly game based in ... Bellevue? That's right, the game company Top Trumps, which is licensed to make city editions of Monopoly, plans to launch a new version of the game based in Bellevue, according to KUOW. The company decided not to locate the game in Seattle because "there are just too many different, diverse neighborhoods," a spokesperson said.
Sean "Diddy" Combs arrested: The FBI arrested singer Combs Monday night on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering. Prosecutors believe Combs abused women for more than a decade and "presided over an empire of sexual crimes," according to the Associated Press. Earlier this year, security footage from a hotel showed Combs attacking singer Cassie, who had previously sued Combs for allegedly beating and raping her for years. Combs is expected to appear in court Tuesday on federal charges.
Trump's claims about Springfield, Ohio cause chaos: After former President Donald Trump made false claims that Haitian immigrants in Ohio had started stealing pets and eating them, bomb threats have plagued the city and Republican Ohio Governor Mike DeWine ordered Ohio State Highway Patrol to station themselves outside city schools, according to ABC News.
Fed plans interest rate cut: If your credit interest rate has started to really panic you, then the Federal Reserve may soon grant you some relief. The Fed is expected to cut interest rates for the first time since 2020, which reflects the easing rate of inflation, according to CNBC. The Fed has to strike a balance between reducing inflation without sending the economy into recession.
Ok that's all! This new track from Hinds helped lower my blood pressure this morning as I thought about the council meeting later today. Hope it helps you all as well.