My Northwest
Councilmember calls for light rail ‘starter line’ from Bellevue to Redmond

Sound Transit is exploring the option of starting light rail service on the Eastside despite delays in construction connecting the track to the main Seattle light rail line. District 6 King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci expressed her excitement after taking her first trip on the newly completed light rail track from Bel-Red station at 130th street to Overlake Village Station in Redmond Thursday night. … Read More

The Cascadia Advocate
The people have spoken, and they want even-year elections for local government positions

This year, one of NPI’s top advocacy priorities was to give the people of King County an opportunity to strengthen our democracy by moving elections for twelve key county positions from odd years to even years, when turnout is much higher and more diverse. Working with Council Chair Claudia Balducci and Councilmember Girmay Zahilay, we developed a charter amendment to implement a switch to even year elections that the Council voted 7–2 to refer to voters. … Read More

The Urbanist
Breathing Life into Bellevue’s Spring District

The Spring District started as an ambitious plan to transform 36 acres of warehouses and surface level parking in Bellevue’s BelRed neighborhood into a thriving urban village anchored on transit. Expected to unfold over a 15-year period, Seattle-based developer Wright Runstad and Company and Shorestein Properties of San Francisco anticipated constructing 29 buildings with heights ranging from 11 to 14 stories, about two acres of parks and open space, and two new interior streets. … Read More

Puget Sound Business Journal
King County awards $23M for affordable housing projects

King County Executive Dow Constantine said Monday the county has awarded $23.4 million to develop or save a total of 409 affordable housing units across seven projects in Seattle and South and East King County. … Read More

Seattle Weekly
King County Council Passes Sexual Harassment Reform Policy

In the wake of the #MeToo movement, the King County Council unanimously passed an ordinance on Monday, June 25 that requires the county government overhaul its sexual harassment policies. Now comes the hard part—actually achieving structural change in a county bureaucracy consisting of over 14,000 employees. … Read More