Seattle Nice

With Erica gone this week David and Sandeep take a one-week vacation from city politics to take a closer look at the root causes of the problems facing Seattle Schools, including a controversial push by some district leaders to close up to 21 schools in the face of a nearly $100 million deficit.Said special guest Robert Cruickshank, “This is one of the few issues where Sandeep is not wrong.” Robert is a Seattle parent and progressive activist, who currently leads Washington's Paramount Duty, which advocates for increased school funding.Robert and Sandeep agree that the school district is floundering under bad leadership, but they provide different diagnoses of where to place the blame. Is the problem with our schools “neoliberal austerity” (Robert) or “wokery run amok” (Sandeep)? Or both? Listen to find out!Our editor is Quinn Waller.Send us a text! Note that we can only respond directly to emails realseattlenice@gmail.comHEARTH Protection: Do not let fear make your world smaller.  Thanks to Uncle Ike's pot shop for sponsoring this week's episode! If you want to advertise please contact us at realseattlenice@gmail.comSupport the showYour support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.

This week special guest Daniel Malone, the Executive Director of the Downtown Emergency Service Center, answered some difficult questions about the politics of homelessness, troubles at the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, and other issues. Malone also turned the tables with a question of his own. "When are you guys going to start arguing with each other? I thought I was going to arrive at a cage somewhere and watch something happen," he asked.  Quinn Waller is our editor.  Send us a text! Note that we can only respond directly to emails realseattlenice@gmail.comHEARTH Protection: Do not let fear make your world smaller.  Thanks to Uncle Ike's pot shop for sponsoring this week's episode! If you want to advertise please contact us at realseattlenice@gmail.comSupport the showYour support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.

We discuss and debate Erica's in-depth interview with SPD's interim chief Sue Rahr. Plus, Kshama Sawant's campaign against Kamala Harris, and Erica's latest on the city budget. Our editor is Quinn Waller.Send us a text! Note that we can only respond directly to emails realseattlenice@gmail.comHEARTH Protection: Do not let fear make your world smaller.  Thanks to Uncle Ike's pot shop for sponsoring this week's episode! If you want to advertise please contact us at realseattlenice@gmail.comSupport the showYour support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.

Did Tanya Woo or Alexis Mercedes Rinck win the Seattle Nice debate for a citywide city council seat? Does it matter?  Our editor is Quinn Waller. Thanks to Uncle Ike's pot shop for sponsoring this week's episode! If you want to advertise please contact us at realseattlenice@gmail.comSend us a text! Note that we can only respond directly to emails realseattlenice@gmail.comSupport the showYour support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.

This week's episode is our Seattle Nice City Council Position 8 debate from Tuesday October 1.  Special thanks to candidates Tanya Woo and Alexis Mercedes Rinck, the amazing pros at Town Hall and to the hundreds of civic-minded superstars who turned out to watch both the city council and vice presidential debates.  Our editor is Quinn Waller.   Send us a text! Note that we can only respond directly to emails realseattlenice@gmail.comHEARTH Protection: Do not let fear make your world smaller.  Thanks to Uncle Ike's pot shop for sponsoring this week's episode! If you want to advertise please contact us at realseattlenice@gmail.comSupport the showYour support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.

This week Seattle Nice debates Erica's take on Mayor Bruce Harrell's new budget. TL;DR Harrell avoided big budget cuts but progressives are pissed that he tapped the lucrative payroll tax on big business known as JumpStart to pull that off.    Don't miss the city council debate and VP debate watch party at Town Hall this coming Tuesday October 1.  We kick it off with a livestream of the big Vice Presidential debate between Tim Walz and J.D. Vance on the big screen. Then, we go local with the Seattle Nice City Council debate for citywide Position 8 between Tanya Woo and Alexis Mercedes Rinck.  Town Hall's cafe will be open for folks to purchase beer, wine, cider, and a few straightaway cocktails. Doors for the VP debate open at 5:45 pm. Get your debate tickets here.  Submit your questions in advance here. Thanks to Uncle Ike's pot shop for sponsoring this week's episode! If you want to advertise please contact us at realseattlenice@gmail.comOur editor is Quinn WallerSend us a text! Note that we can only respond directly to emails realseattlenice@gmail.comHEARTH Protection: Do not let fear make your world smaller. Support the showYour support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.

This week Seattle's city council voted to send two competing measures to the ballot to fund affordable housing.  Initiative 137, the measure social housing activists support, proposes a new, "excess compensation tax" on big business. Council member Maritza Rivera is backing a new, "alternative" measure that would rely instead on existing JumpStart taxes on big business. Erica says Rivera's alternative would raid the JumpStart tax and effectively kill the social housing concept voters approved last year. See Erica's reporting on the two measures here. Sandeep defends the alternative, saying he's skeptical social housing backers actually know how to build or manage housing. He suggests the more modest $50 million dollar alternative proposal would give them a chance to prove themselves before potentially getting more funding.   The pod also briefly debates a proposed increase in police hiring bonuses. Thanks to Uncle Ike's pot shop for sponsoring this week's episode! If you want to advertise please contact us at realseattlenice@gmail.comOur editor is Quinn WallerSend us a text! Note that we can only respond directly to emails realseattlenice@gmail.comSupport the showYour support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.

Caleb Banta-Green of UW medicine joins the pod to debate the pros and cons of Seattle's current approach to drugs.  The conversation kicks off with Barnett and Banta-Green blasting the city council's latest plan to create six new “stay out” zones for drug crimes.  The conversation then broadens to a deeper debate about whether some coercion helps or harms people who are struggling with addiction.  Coincidentally, Uncle Ike's pot shop sponsored this week's episode. If you want to advertise plesae contact us at realseattlenice@gmail.comOur editor is Quinn Waller Send us a text! Note that we can only respond directly to emails realseattlenice@gmail.comSupport the showYour support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.

The city council is making plans to speed up the process for building in downtown Seattle by exempting certain buildings from design review. Erica and Sandeep agree about the merits of the proposal, while David as devil's advocate tries to insert some skepticism into their urbanist love fest.   We also talk about the King County Council's about-face on earlier plans to close the youth jail.  Our editor is Quinn Waller.For tickets to the Seattle Nice Position 8 city council debate coming up on October 1st at Town Hall click this link!  And if you have any tough but fair questions for the candidates, please share them with us as soon as possible over email: realseattlenice@gmail.comSend us a text! Note that we can only respond directly to emails realseattlenice@gmail.comSupport the showYour support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.

Surrogates are calling Mayor Bruce Harrell's downtown recovery plan a "roaring success" for the city. Are they right?  We debate that, and whether "return to work" is overrated. What is the good life, Seattle?  To advertise or just get in touch you can reach Seattle Nice at realseattlenice@gmail.com Our editor is Quinn Waller. Send us a text! Note that we can only respond directly to emails realseattlenice@gmail.comSupport the showYour support on Patreon helps pay for editing, production, live events and the unique, hard-hitting local journalism and commentary you hear weekly on Seattle Nice.