Morning Fizz
It's More the Image than the Reality
1. In a blog post
this week, Don Brunell, president of the Association of Washington Business (AWB), the state's business lobby, hyped this stat from the conservative D.C. think tank, the Tax Foundation:
However, Brunell's post skips the very next bullet point in the Tax Foundation report:
2. Later this morning, the city's department of transportation (SDOT) will release new parking rates for 2011 and a report showing where in the city drivers are parking and when. As we noted yesterday , the city is trying out a new parking strategy that bases parking meter rates on demand, rather than setting a flat rate by neighborhood, with the goal of having one or two spaces available on every block.
Although the city's new meter rates (set at a maximum of $4 an hour) are expected to be highest downtown, the vast majority of meter revenue overall comes from neighborhoods outside the center city---not surprising, perhaps, given that downtown is a tiny geographical area compared to Seattle as a whole. Outside downtown, by far the largest share of revenues came from South Lake Union ($2.7 million, out of $26 million overall), followed closely by the University District, at just over $2 million. The smallest share, $115,000, came from the Roosevelt neighborhood.
According to North Seattle Industrial Association president Eugene Wasserman, the data show that "parking meter revenues hit regular folks more than the people driving around the block in suits looking for parking spots. It is [more] the image of the downtown parking issues that drive parking meter debates than the reality."
3. As the Olympian reported yesterday , a coalition of women's rights groups was down in Olympia this week lobbying for legislation filed by state Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-36) to give more assistance to victims of forced prostitution (human trafficking) and to give police more tools to enforce human-trafficking laws.
The bill has 25 sponsors, including eight Republicans.
In 2010, Washington taxpayers work until April 15 to pay their total tax bill, ranking it 5th highest in the nation. Neighboring states ... Idaho ... ranked 22nd and Oregon ... ranked 20th.
However, Brunell's post skips the very next bullet point in the Tax Foundation report:
Washington's State/Local Tax Burden Below National Average
Estimated at 8.9% of income, Washington's state/local tax burden percentage ranks 35th highest nationally, below the national average of 9.7%. Washington taxpayers pay $4,334 per capita in state and local taxes.
2. Later this morning, the city's department of transportation (SDOT) will release new parking rates for 2011 and a report showing where in the city drivers are parking and when. As we noted yesterday , the city is trying out a new parking strategy that bases parking meter rates on demand, rather than setting a flat rate by neighborhood, with the goal of having one or two spaces available on every block.
Although the city's new meter rates (set at a maximum of $4 an hour) are expected to be highest downtown, the vast majority of meter revenue overall comes from neighborhoods outside the center city---not surprising, perhaps, given that downtown is a tiny geographical area compared to Seattle as a whole. Outside downtown, by far the largest share of revenues came from South Lake Union ($2.7 million, out of $26 million overall), followed closely by the University District, at just over $2 million. The smallest share, $115,000, came from the Roosevelt neighborhood.
According to North Seattle Industrial Association president Eugene Wasserman, the data show that "parking meter revenues hit regular folks more than the people driving around the block in suits looking for parking spots. It is [more] the image of the downtown parking issues that drive parking meter debates than the reality."
3. As the Olympian reported yesterday , a coalition of women's rights groups was down in Olympia this week lobbying for legislation filed by state Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-36) to give more assistance to victims of forced prostitution (human trafficking) and to give police more tools to enforce human-trafficking laws.
The bill has 25 sponsors, including eight Republicans.
