March 23rd, 2012
Urban Politics #319 3/26/12 By City Councilmember Nick Licata With Newell Aldrich, Legislative Assistant Urban Politics (UP) blends my insights and information on current public policy developments and personal experiences with the intent of helping citizens shape Seattle’s future. The City Council heard a proposal today to place a library levy on the August 7, […]
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February 17th, 2012
Urban Politics #318 – February 17, 2012 By City Councilmember Nick Licata Urban Politics (UP) blends my insights and information on current public policy developments and personal experiences with the intent of helping citizens shape Seattle’s future. Mayor McGinn and County Executive Constantine yesterday announced a proposal for an arena in Seattle’s SODO district that […]
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Posted: February 17th, 2012 under
Arts and Culture,
Government,
Sports,
UP.
Tags:
Sports Arena,
UP
December 13th, 2011
As I mentioned in UP 317, as of Monday night (and this morning) the agenda for tomorrow’s COBE meeting, was not yet available for public review. Our Council rules state that: “All reasonable effort will be made to provide the preliminary agenda online and in hard copy at least two business days prior to the meeting.” Further, the Open Public Meetings Act requires notice of a Council meeting 24 hours in advance. The concerns I raised this morning about proper notice identified this legal requirement and now has necessitated a last minute change in the meeting start time.
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December 8th, 2011
In response to columnist’s Danny Westneat’s Seattle Times article ( Nov 29, 2011) about excessive towing fees ($800 in the example he writes about) charged to tow cars off private property, my office contacted the City Attorney’s Office to determine how the City could stop this practice. While it is reasonable to charge people who park on private property when they aren’t authorized to, they shouldn’t have to pay whatever charge the towing company decides, no matter how high the rate.
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Posted: December 8th, 2011 under
Transportation,
UP.
Tags:
tow rates,
towed vehicles,
towing,
UP
November 23rd, 2011
On November 14th, the Seattle City Council passed Resolution 31337 which recognized the national grassroots citizen effort being made through the Occupy Movement in seeking solutions for economically distressed Americans at the federal and local levels. I introduced this resolution because the growing imbalance in our nation’s wealth demands the attention of the nation’s elected representatives.
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Posted: November 23rd, 2011 under
Budget and Economic Development,
Civil Rights,
Human Services and Health,
UP.
Tags:
banking,
Civil Rights,
economic justice,
economy,
grassroots,
movement,
occupy,
resolution,
UP,
Wall Street
October 17th, 2011
Today I placed Resolution 31330 on the Council’s referral calendar to create a Seattle Transportation Implementation Review Panel (STIRP) which will oversee spending of funds raised by the vehicle license fee, should voters approve Proposition 1. A vote on Resolution 31330 is planned for Monday, October 24.
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September 8th, 2011
On August 16, Seattle voters approved Referendum 1 by 58%. Although the vote was technically about the City Council’s decision making process, it was widely interpreted as a referendum on the tunnel project itself.
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Posted: September 8th, 2011 under
Transportation,
UP.
Tags:
Alaskan Way Viaduct,
SR 520,
tolls,
UP
August 22nd, 2011
On August 17, the Seattle Transportation Benefit District Board (STBD), which consists of Seattle City Councilmembers, unanimously voted to place a measure on the November ballot for a $60 vehicle license fee. It would run for 10 years, and raise $204 million.
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Posted: August 22nd, 2011 under
Transportation,
UP.
Tags:
SDOT,
transit master plan,
UP
July 22nd, 2011
This past Monday (7/18/11), the City Council unanimously approved Council Bill 117229 that I sponsored which mandates that medical cannabis providers in Seattle abide by city business rules and regulations.
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July 11th, 2011
I believe our excessive war spending has contributed to our nation’s substantial debt, and does not contribute to meeting our growing needs at home.
For these reasons, I introduced Resolution 31306, calling on Congress and the President to redirect war spending to domestic priorities, and to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as soon as can be done safely for our troops.
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