People talk about Jackson and Magnuson but let's be real, Patty Murray is the GOAT of US Senators from Washington State.

O Senator, my Senator

‘I am not opposed to all new housing, only new housing that may actually get built’

"politicians need to be straight up with the public" ok, how's this - you cannot have the entire country look like midsummer murders & have a gdp per capita higher than bulgaria, that is not a type of economy that exists

New @kuow.org article about Vision Zero: www.kuow.org/stories/seat... “We’re still talking about the same streets,” said @streetsalliance.bsky.social Executive Director Gordon Padelford. Namely Rainier Avenue, Aurora Avenue, Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Lake City Way, and Fourth Ave South”

For a second there I thought this was about California and was getting flashbacks to 2010. I hope Carney can plow ahead without getting bogged down in this stuff the way the other CA did.

This is a really great op-ed from Carl Aslund, who organized this Sunday's upcoming Save Ballard Rail march. He tells a great personal story of how he came to organize it, the response he's gotten, and how we can move forward as a city and a region for more rail:

Seattle’s Sound Transit “could save at least $15 billion by adopting international best practices and building automated light rail from Ballard to West Seattle. This reform would allow rail to get to Ballard by 2039, rather than decades later.” [showing Vancouver’s skytrain] AUTOMATED light rail.

"Amateurs talk tactics, professionals study logistics" is a military quote that's gone around in various forms for several thousand years. The first American Defense Secretary to ignore it is Pete Hegseth.

Senator Wyden can’t say it plainly without losing his security clearance, but this raises the alarm that Kash & crew have decided they can illegally surveil Americans without a warrant.

This is a must-read. It’s a detailed proposal based on systems that work around the world, and doesn’t require reopening an EIS. There’s a path here toward building *all* of ST3, sooner and cheaper. But so far, Sound Transit leadership has refused to consider it, wanting instead to cut rail projects

Appreciate this discussion of NFPA 130 here. The deferral to the fire service in each jurisdiction creates really bad incentives for cost control and risk.

NEW OP-ED// Op-Ed: Join the Save Ballard Rail March on April 19 By Carl Aslund via @theurbanist.org

Cities like Copenhagen, Turin, Rome, Paris, Lille, Brescia, Honolulu, Rennes, Toulouse, Lausanne, Vancouver, Montreal, etc., have all built automated light metros… Seattle could do the same, to great effect!

This is a roadmap to delivering all of ST3 without decades of delay. If not this, then Sound Transit and the board must come up with another approach that delivers the full system with out scope cuts or decade long deferrals. #noexcuses www.theurbanist.org/op-ed-reconn...

This is a must-read. It’s a detailed proposal based on systems that work around the world, and doesn’t require reopening an EIS. There’s a path here toward building *all* of ST3, sooner and cheaper. But so far, Sound Transit leadership has refused to consider it, wanting instead to cut rail projects

Exactly this

Genuinely funny that Sonia Sotomayor issued a public apology today for her mild criticism of a conservative colleague on a specific, substantive issue, and then a few hours later Clarence Thomas picked up a mic and was like ALL LIBERALS ARE AMERICA-HATING COWARDS

I have done a lot of work to fast-track much-needed housing, and through that work I have seen another area in desperate need of streamlining: transportation projects to increase bicycle and pedestrian safety.

Most of us can tell that abducting, assaulting and then forcing immigrants into what fits the legal definition of concentration camps is well underway but we're told to call them "detention facilities" lest we turn off white working class voters.

Most of us can see clearly that a desire to control women (including free license to abuse) is at the heart of MAGA's project but we're told not to say too much about this because we need to be appealing to lonely young men.

This is a big deal. Love seeing Murray and Cantwell among the yeas.

1,392 days to approve 91 units of housing in Seattle. This is just for the land use permit. Construction permit will take another ~300 days to approve. This was through “administrative” design review which is supposed to go faster. Took 6 correction cycles. We have to fix this stuff.

Drop your crime-fighting Catholics

I'm the only #CA14 candidate running who is on record that we must cut the defense budget. We can provide health care. We can provide child care. We can build affordable housing. Cut the defense budget. Tax the wealthy.

A good reminder that Democrats do not have to win over Hasan Piker in order to win over the people who listen to him.

Mamdani: When I ran for mayor, I said I was going to tax the rich 
Well, today we're taxing the rich...

Dave Somers is the Snohomish County Executive and chair of the Sound Transit board. He is arguing for abandoning promises made to voters and not trying to build all of ST3. We will not allow him to succeed. There is no universe in which we abandon any piece of rail to Ballard.

We shouldn’t have to march to protect a rail line we voted for by an enormous margin and have been paying for over the last 10 years. But we do. See you in Ballard on Sunday!

Thomas B. Edsall, who is 84, included 5 big block quotes from Jonathan Haidt (lol) in this piece, and the perspective of exactly 0 kids (lmao).

Primary challenges are good and healthy for a political party. As the Dem majority in #waleg fails on issue after issue, voters can't reasonably turn to the MAGAfied WA GOP to solve it. So primary challenges offer ways to debate policy, hold electeds accountable, and change direction as needed.

Absolutely this

Trump would like to jawbone Thomas and/or Alito into retiring but (a) they're both too self-absorbed to care about anything after they die and (b) both are well aware that, if the rule of law is restored to America, they will be subject to prosecution on numerous bribery and corruption charges.

Dave Somers is the Snohomish County Executive and chair of the Sound Transit board. He is arguing for abandoning promises made to voters and not trying to build all of ST3. We will not allow him to succeed. There is no universe in which we abandon any piece of rail to Ballard.

This hasn’t stopped thousands of people from regularly commuting via bike. Go stand by the Fremont Bridge during rush hour. If we built more safe bike infrastructure, even more people would ride.

“Vocal, entitled minority”

Pretty much this. Many of us lapsed Catholics are having an interesting time watching this new pope

1981: Polish pope takes on authoritarian Polish government, Republicans cheer 2026: American pope takes on authoritarian American government, Republicans boo I’m not surprised by the situational ethics on display here, but it is notable

incredible that the lifelong Catholic in this specific situation is The Pope

That’s @aoc.bsky.social riding her e-bike, while answering viewer’s questions on Instagram Every member of Congress who’s physically able should have to do this

Tired: CA Governor candidates promising to enact Medicare for All Wired: CA Governor candidates campaigning to repeal the Gann limit (1979)...which is a major CA constitutional barrier to enacting Medicare for All TL:DR - MY KINGDOM FOR GANN LIMIT REFORM! calbudgetcenter.org/resources/qa...

This is an incredible development, and it's the direct result of work by groups like @troublemakers.bsky.social, Seattle Against War, @quitgpt.bsky.social. If you live in Washington's 9th district PLEASE call @adamsmith.house.gov him he's going the right way and and ask to vote NO! (425) 793-5180

Everyone involved in imprisoning people at Dilley, from the lowest guard up to Trump and Miller and Noem, should all expect to face trials and long prison sentences for these horrors.

There are some things I miss about SoCal and some that I don't. I miss jacarandas.

Join us in Sacramento on May 19!

surrendering groups within your coalition is not how you win (youtube version) youtu.be/9C3obw5Pp18?...

Notably, this was before news broke about Swalwell assaulting women and his subsequent exit from the race. It'll be interesting to see what newer polls find.

The Seattle Times forgot to give Katie Wilson an intensely flattering front page retrospective on her first 100 days, I wonder what is different about this administration.

We shouldn’t have to march to protect a rail line we voted for by an enormous margin and have been paying for over the last 10 years. But we do. See you in Ballard on Sunday!