Snap Judgment

Should Seattle Eliminate Its ‘Tampon Tax’?

Teresa Mosqueda wants to stop retailers from charging sales tax for menstrual products—and she could take the fight to the state.

12/18/2018 By Anne Dennon

Snap Judgment

Should Taxpayers Fund Sports Stadiums?

King County council approved $135 million in taxpayer funds for Safeco Field repairs in September. Does the move put the public first, or the Mariners?

10/16/2018 By Christina Ausley

Snap Judgment

Is the New Gun Storage Law Legal?

A state preemption law prevents cities from passing almost any legislation on guns—but does it apply to their storage?

09/11/2018 By Landon Groves

Snap Judgment

Should Seattle City Light Raise Electricity Rates?

The utility’s new plan hikes up rates by 30 percent over the next six years.

08/14/2018 By Landon Groves

Snap Judgment

Is the Monorail Worth Renovating?

The World’s Fair relic might receive $23 million in upgrades, but will it ever be more than a tourist trap?

07/17/2018 By Jaime Archer

Snap Judgment

Is Amazon Good for Seattle?

As the retail giant’s influence rises, so does the question.

06/19/2018 By Mac Hubbard

Snap Judgment

Will Democrats Take Over the State’s Congressional Seats?

A lot of factors could make that possible come fall.

05/22/2018 By Grace Madigan

Snap Judgment

Do We Need Another Airport?

Sea-Tac, among the nation’s fastest-growing airports, served nearly 47 million passengers last year. This fall, airlines begin offering commercial flights from Paine Field, a retired Air Force base in Everett. Right move?

04/30/2018 By Kaelan Hicks

Snap Judgment

Should Seattle Adopt Rent Control?

A measure to repeal Washington’s ban on rent control—in place since 1981—got further in the state legislature this year than ever before. The bill didn’t pass, but Seattleites were left wondering anew if regulating rent prices would work here.

03/27/2018 By Manola Secaira

Snap Judgment

How Should Washington Spend Its Volkswagen Settlement Money?

The automaker owes the state $112.7 million for violating the Clean Air Act with cars that cheated emissions tests. While the Department of Ecology sketches a spending plan, locals weigh in on what we should buy.

02/27/2018 Photography by Trevor Keaton Pogue

Snap Judgment

Should Seattle Open a Public Bank?

Many a politician has backed a municipal bank over the years, but now that Seattle has dedicated $100,000 to study its feasibility, a city-run institution that invests in small businesses, green energy, and more may no longer be just a fantasy.

01/25/2018 By Jaime Archer

Snap Judgment

Should Seattle Toll Downtown Streets?

Up to 25,000 more cars could clog I-5 and downtown daily when the Highway 99 tunnel opens next year. Now the city is considering tolling those surface streets. Some find the idea even more alarming than the traffic on Mercer.

12/19/2017 By Jaime Archer

Snap Judgment

Should Seattleites Be Allowed to Grow Their Own Marijuana?

Washington’s weed industry is growing like one, but the state bans some users from cultivating it at home. By December, the Liquor and Cannabis Board will recommend whether to change the law.

11/20/2017 By Jaime Archer

Snap Judgment

Should the Lenin Statue Come Down?

As Southern Confederate monuments topple—or draw defenders—Seattle’s debate turns to its own 16-foot bronze statue of Vladimir Lenin, Soviet Russia’s communist revolutionary. Is the Fremont effigy art or a tribute to oppression?

10/20/2017 By Liz Weber

Snap Judgment

Who Will Be Seattle's Next Mayor?

In the August primary, voters advanced former U.S. attorney Jenny Durkan and urban planner Cary Moon to face off in the November 7 general election. The city’s on the cusp of electing its first female mayor in 91 years. But who has the edge?

09/20/2017 By Kendall Candioglos

Snap Judgment

Is Secure Scheduling a Success?

In July, Seattle implemented a law requiring large retailers and food service employers to give workers their schedules two weeks in advance, compensate them if their schedules change, and provide 10 hours between opening and closing shifts.

08/18/2017 By Liz Weber

Snap Judgment

The Debate Over Housing at Discovery Park

Magnolia neighborhood residents successfully sued when the city tried to acquire 34 acres of U.S. Army land abutting Discovery Park for affordable housing. Now council members have inked a five-year lease on the space.

06/12/2017 By Liz Weber

Snap Judgment

Should Sound Transit Rethink the Car Tab Increase?

Voters approved the Sound Transit 3 plan in November 2016, continuing the old—some would say “inflated”—car valuation system and added a tax increase of 0.8 percent. A necessary tax or are Seattle residents being taken for a ride?

05/15/2017 By Liz Weber

Snap Judgment

Would Breaching Dams on the Snake River Save Local Orcas?

Scientists at Friday Harbor’s Center for Whale Research say local orcas are starving and that the solution is to boost salmon runs by breaching four dams along the Lower Snake River. Junk science or a damn fine idea?

01/27/2017 By Matthew Halverson

Snap Judgment

Can King County Afford to Ground Its Search and Rescue Helicopter?

The county flies one of just two such choppers in the state.

11/16/2016 By Matthew Halverson