Political Issues

Beyond the ballot box: How to take your civic engagement to the next level

Participants in the People’s Academy for Community Engagement (PACE) convene at the Seattle Public Library in 2019. (📸: Seattle Department of Neighborhoods) Sponsored by Civic Commons. Civic Commons did not provide editorial input. Let’s take action together Civic Commons is building belonging in our community and inspiring Seattleites to take action on our region’s biggest […]

/ February 9, 2021

A Thin Green Line with Global Impact

Part two of Getting to Zero: Decarbonizing Cascadia from Investigate West. How activists stopped 20+ PNW fossil fuel proposals.

/ January 19, 2021

A Lost Decade: How Climate Action Fizzled In Cascadia

Part one of InvestigateWest’s series “Getting to Zero: Decarbonizing Cascadia,” explores how Cascadia fell short of their climate change goals.

/ January 11, 2021

Moving forward from hate: What Biden’s election means for local immigrants and refugees

People took to the streets of downtown Seattle in early 2017 to protest President Trump’s Muslim travel ban. (📷: Flickr) Sponsored by Civic Commons. Civic Commons did not provide editorial input. Let’s take action together Civic Commons is building belonging in our community and inspiring Seattleites to take action on our region’s biggest economic and […]

/ November 24, 2020

The Seattle Procrastinator’s Guide to the Election: Part 2

(🎨: The Evergrey illustration) Editor’s note: Learn about statewide races in part one of our election guide. From reshaping King County’s Sheriff’s Office to funding public transportation there are a number of big measures on the ballot. Keep reading for our breakdown of the measures and the judicial races. 🏛 Judicial Context: Often, judicial races are […]

/ October 13, 2020

The Seattle Procrastinator’s Guide to the Election

(🎨: The Evergrey illustration) Editor’s note: Learn about judicial races and measures on your ballot in part two of our election guide. There isn’t a good reason not to vote, but we do understand that sometimes it can be daunting to look at your ballot.  So that’s why we’ve made you this guide to help answer […]

/ October 13, 2020

Got questions about the ferry? This captain has answers

Washington state has the largest ferry system in North America with 22 vessels in Puget Sound and 25 million riders per year. It’s up to Captain John McMillen to make sure tourists and regulars alike make the journey safely back and forth from Coleman Dock to Bainbridge Island. He’ll be the first to tell you: […]

/ September 6, 2019

What will Seattle’s new waterfront look like?

Have you been down to the central waterfront recently? Amid the traffic, tourists, and bulldozers the viaduct is steadily disappearing. With all that action, it’s easy to miss the new elements that are taking shape at the waterfront. If you listen hard, you can almost hear the waves lapping at the Washington Street Beach, or […]

/ August 16, 2019

Money in Seattle: What should we do about inequality?

Whenever we talk about wealth in Seattle, the conversation shifts toward a big issue: income inequality.

/ February 14, 2019

Troy Heerwagen Wants to Help Fix Seattle’s Worst Intersections

Seattle has some pretty bad intersections. But we also have a pretty awesome guy who decided to do something about it.

/ February 12, 2019