Morning Fizz
Speaking of the First Amendment
1. City council member Sally Clark didn't get much love from cab drivers during her first few campaigns, but she sure is now. Last month, Clark held a fundraiser at the Roti Indian restaurant on Queen Anne that netted her $9,000 from a group of Indian cab drivers, most of whom live in suburbs like Renton, Des Moines and Kent and work for STITA, the company that recently lost its license to pick up passengers at SeaTac Airport.
"They're wanting to become involved in local politics because they felt like they weren't involved with the Port of Seattle," which gave STITA rival Yellow Cab the exclusive right to pick up airport passengers last year. The cabbies, many of whom are only licensed to operate in King County outside Seattle, hope the city will issue more city cab licenses so they can pick up passengers inside the city too. Clark says she didn't make any promises, but will consider having the city study wait times for taxis, which the group of cabbies say have increased since STITA lost its contract to Yellow Cab.
2. Over at Seattlecrime.com, Jonah Spangenthal-Lee follows up with the latest news in the ongoing saga over Seattle Weekly 's coverage of sex trafficking. (Last week, Mayor Mike McGinn sent a letter to the head of Village Voice Media, which owns the Weekly, admonishing the company for profiting off juvenile sex slaves through its Backpage.com escort service; the paper responded with a story claiming that juvenile sex trafficking is not really a major problem in Seattle).
As Jonah reported earlier this week, the Seattle Police Department says the Weekly lowballed the number of juvenile prostitutes SPD has rescued by half---a significant error for a story aimed at mocking the idea that sex trafficking is a problem. (For example, the story refers to sex-slavery opponents as "sex prohibitionists.") Yesterday, Spangenthal-Lee reported that McGinn is now requesting that the paper correct its numbers.
Far from issuing a correction, however, the paper doubled down yesterday, running a story (syndicated in all VVM papers) claiming that Backpage.com is a forum for adults to "freely express themselves" and that anyone who opposes its policies (like, say, not checking to see if those "consenting adults" are actually adults) is opposed to the First Amendment. [pullquote]The Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission overturned its own longstanding rule that prohibited candidates from mentioning their opponents in the city's voters' guide.[/pullquote]
3. Speaking of the First Amendment: In case you missed it, Erica had the news late yesterday on "a quiet, but significant vote" by the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission to overturn its own longstanding rule that prohibited candidates from mentioning their opponents in the city's voters' guide.
4. It's unusual to hear people complain that the Seattle legislative process is moving too quickly, but that's exactly what a group of business owners told the city council last night, at a hearing on a proposal to require all businesses in Seattle to provide paid sick leave to their workers.
Business lobbyist Joe Quintana: "The unions have made [paid sick leave] a litmus test for political support. They're saying support this now, or we won't endorse you." Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce VP George Allen: "This issue is moving like a freight train. We need to apply the brakes." Downtown Seattle Association VP Jon Scholes: "I'd ask you to take a close look at the data" and commission an independent study before moving forward with the proposal.
Ultimately, though, the business voices were all but drowned out: Public testimony was skewed two to one in favor of the proposal, a compromise hammered out between council member Nick Licata and members of the restaurant industry.
5. The Seattle Times reports on the latest in the Burke-Gilman Trail drama: The Seattle Department of Transportation got the green light to start building the $14 million "missing link" through Ballard after a Seattle hearing examiner ruled the Shilshole Ave. NW segment doesn't pose significant environmental problems. However, the maritime businesses along the proposed route who opposed the design have 21 days to appeal the decision to King County Superior Court.
"They're wanting to become involved in local politics because they felt like they weren't involved with the Port of Seattle," which gave STITA rival Yellow Cab the exclusive right to pick up airport passengers last year. The cabbies, many of whom are only licensed to operate in King County outside Seattle, hope the city will issue more city cab licenses so they can pick up passengers inside the city too. Clark says she didn't make any promises, but will consider having the city study wait times for taxis, which the group of cabbies say have increased since STITA lost its contract to Yellow Cab.
2. Over at Seattlecrime.com, Jonah Spangenthal-Lee follows up with the latest news in the ongoing saga over Seattle Weekly 's coverage of sex trafficking. (Last week, Mayor Mike McGinn sent a letter to the head of Village Voice Media, which owns the Weekly, admonishing the company for profiting off juvenile sex slaves through its Backpage.com escort service; the paper responded with a story claiming that juvenile sex trafficking is not really a major problem in Seattle).
As Jonah reported earlier this week, the Seattle Police Department says the Weekly lowballed the number of juvenile prostitutes SPD has rescued by half---a significant error for a story aimed at mocking the idea that sex trafficking is a problem. (For example, the story refers to sex-slavery opponents as "sex prohibitionists.") Yesterday, Spangenthal-Lee reported that McGinn is now requesting that the paper correct its numbers.
Far from issuing a correction, however, the paper doubled down yesterday, running a story (syndicated in all VVM papers) claiming that Backpage.com is a forum for adults to "freely express themselves" and that anyone who opposes its policies (like, say, not checking to see if those "consenting adults" are actually adults) is opposed to the First Amendment. [pullquote]The Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission overturned its own longstanding rule that prohibited candidates from mentioning their opponents in the city's voters' guide.[/pullquote]
3. Speaking of the First Amendment: In case you missed it, Erica had the news late yesterday on "a quiet, but significant vote" by the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission to overturn its own longstanding rule that prohibited candidates from mentioning their opponents in the city's voters' guide.
4. It's unusual to hear people complain that the Seattle legislative process is moving too quickly, but that's exactly what a group of business owners told the city council last night, at a hearing on a proposal to require all businesses in Seattle to provide paid sick leave to their workers.
Business lobbyist Joe Quintana: "The unions have made [paid sick leave] a litmus test for political support. They're saying support this now, or we won't endorse you." Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce VP George Allen: "This issue is moving like a freight train. We need to apply the brakes." Downtown Seattle Association VP Jon Scholes: "I'd ask you to take a close look at the data" and commission an independent study before moving forward with the proposal.
Ultimately, though, the business voices were all but drowned out: Public testimony was skewed two to one in favor of the proposal, a compromise hammered out between council member Nick Licata and members of the restaurant industry.
5. The Seattle Times reports on the latest in the Burke-Gilman Trail drama: The Seattle Department of Transportation got the green light to start building the $14 million "missing link" through Ballard after a Seattle hearing examiner ruled the Shilshole Ave. NW segment doesn't pose significant environmental problems. However, the maritime businesses along the proposed route who opposed the design have 21 days to appeal the decision to King County Superior Court.
Josh Brower, an attorney for a group of local business owners called the Ballard Business Appellants, said that his clients will meet within the next week to determine if they will appeal. The group has been fighting the trail segment for most of the past decade.
"Until the city proposes a safe facility that doesn't threaten the maritime and industrial facilities that provide family-wage jobs to middle-income people, my clients have no choice but to continue to oppose the 'missing link' trail," Brower said.
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