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Roundup of Seattle business climate issues

Several policies impacting Seattle’s business climate have been in the news recently. Minimum Wage: As of Jan. 1, the minimum wage in Seattle rose to $15 an hour for employees of businesses that have 501 or more workers and don’t offer health benefits. (Other businesses will get there by 2021.) In July, the UW team that […]

Checks and balances are great — until there are too many of them

San Bernardino, California has been in bankruptcy for four years now. According to a story in Governing Magazine, it's not because of debt or pensions (which tend to be the culprits in other city bankruptcies). Instead, the problem is San Bernardino’s lengthy and convoluted charter, a document that gives so much authority to so many officials that it’s […]

Watch Morton Kondracke's speech on the 2016 presidential campaign

Last month we were pleased to have renowned political journalist and commentator Morton Kondracke speak at our 84th annual dinner in Bellevue. His topic was "This Perilous Election: How Did We Get Here?" He offered a rather scathing – yet entertaining – critique of all three presidential candidates. A self-proclaimed moderate and biographer of the late […]

State Supreme Court decision in Envision Spokane case contrasts with that on I-1366

Back in 2013, we wrote about a local initiative in Spokane that would have established a community bill of rights. Under the initiative (from Envision Spokane), zoning changes would have required neighborhood voter approval, the Spokane River would have a legal right to exist and flourish, employees would have the protections of the Bill of […]

A $662,000 subsidy for Franklin County?

More details are emerging in the ongoing Benton-Franklin joint offices saga. At first, the break-up of some of the counties' joint efforts was attributed to growth and communications issues. Then some Benton County commissioners said that Benton is "bearing more than its share of the costs." Now, according to the Tri-City Herald, Benton County has […]

More troubles in Benton-Franklin joint offices

A few weeks ago I wrote about how Benton and Franklin counties were planning to split up their joint public defender office. Apparently there's a much larger divorce in the works. The Tri-City Herald reports, "Momentum is building to split Benton-Franklin Superior Court, one of a handful of joint judicial districts in Washington." Doing so […]

If legal, how would unions fit in with Uber's business model?

The Seattle City Council voted unanimously to allow for-hire drivers to unionize, becoming the first city to do so. But Mayor Ed Murray has reservations, writing to the Council that City costs of administering the collective bargaining process remain unknown and the Council has placed the burden of significant rulemaking on City staff. Additionally, Because […]

Unionizing Uber?

This afternoon the Seattle City Council will vote on a proposal that would allow "taxicab, transportation network company, and for-hire vehicle drivers" to unionize. (Uber is an example of a transportation network company.) The proposed ordinance states, Business models wherein companies control aspects of their drivers’ work, but rely on the drivers being classified as […]

A new challenge to I-1366

As expected, a lawsuit has been filed in King County Superior Court questioning the constitutionality of I-1366. Voters approved the initiative earlier this month (51.5 percent to 48.5 percent). Generally voters are allowed to vote on initiatives, even if there's a strong chance the initiative will be declared unconstitutional later. In a pre-election lawsuit, a King County Superior […]

Former Gov. Dan Evans joins us on our Common Ground podcast!