SPD police chief loses his cool Updates on the U.S. surveillance state Washington State Supreme Court justice races remain ones to watch in November SPD’s overtime spending has more than doubled in four years due to SPOG contract ‘A horrific stain on our state:’ on Tacoma’s Northwest ICE “Processing Center” Will Seattle run a ballot initiative next year to unleash the CARE team? Seattle looks to tighten its budget belt for 2027 PROTEC17 moves to help the CARE team do their jobs State millionaires income tax: a big swing among budget cuts Surveillance cameras don’t prevent violence, or why I feel like a broken record The U.S. is no longer a liberal democracy What’s going on with the SPD CCTV camera near Planned Parenthood Seattle, Washington State brace for potential ICE impact It’s been a hard month for license plate readers in Washington State Seattle’s budget is precariously balanced, faces long-term problems Will Katie Wilson be a Sea Change for Seattle? The City of Seattle is watching you Another year, more SPOG shenanigans SPOG President says DC is a “blueprint” of Trump’s future public safety actions across the nation City Council begins budget gymnastics as alternative response in Seattle takes another blow from the new SPOG contract Two weeks after UW report, WA’s driver data is still accessible for immigration enforcement Is there a budget bloodbath in the offing? SPOG gets a great new contract while legal settlements related to SPD greatly increase Seattle budget season is oh so political Seattle Mayor’s Race Remains a Dead Heat in Polling We’re thinking about the Seattle budget early this year Yes, surveillance technology IS helping ICE and allowing law enforcement to hunt abortion seekers AI as game-changer, AI as a tool of political control Taking Action We’re all waiting to find out exactly how austere the new WA state budget will be Seattle City Council votes in favor of unavoidable advertising in public spaces and weakening their own ethics code SPD wants to stop calling its surveillance program a “pilot” 3 weeks after implementation Crime falls in Seattle in spite of SPD’s “organizational weaknesses” New Seattle councilmembers want to weaken their ethics code as the US is sliding into authoritarianism Turmoil continues at SPD; WA State legislators search for new revenue to bridge a huge deficit Cities that own SCORE jail seem uninterested in accountability or improvement Toxic work environments reported at both the Washington governor’s office and the Seattle mayor’s office “Prince” Diaz out, Barnes in, and the outgoing governor wants to tax the rich Seattle and King County on a bumpy road due to Trump administration chaos Seattle is the only large city in the US that hasn’t had a homicide in 2025 Murder numbers dropped dramatically across the nation in 2024 Big business goes hard against social housing funding in Seattle SPD has a new chief and the Seattle City Council and the King County Council have new councilmembers Obamacare is popular in Washington State Social housing Prop 1A is a major progressive victory in Seattle Seattle revisits less lethal weapons after SPD received 15,000 complaints in 2020 Seattle Councilmember Morales’s resignation raises red flag about Seattle’s institutions Seattle capital gains tax dead…for now SPD officers are some of the best-paid workers in the city Local surveillance is ramping up in tandem with federal surveillance