It’s tough to keep up with everything moving and shaking in your city. Luckily, you’ve got us. Here are a few big things to know from the week.
> The University District is getting taller. You know how parts of Belltown look, with all those high-rise buildings stacked block after block? That could be the future U District, after our City Council approved what’s called an “upzone” — basically, a new rule that lets developers build taller buildings in parts of the neighborhood. How tall are we talking? Near where a new light rail station is set to open in 2021, buildings can now reach as high as 320 feet. That’s more than half the height of the Space Needle (605 feet), and a third as tall as the city’s tallest skyscraper, downtown’s 933-foot Columbia Center. The upzone could be a sign of things to come in other neighborhoods as we think about how to grow intelligently. Will it help? Here’s an architect and a University of Washington professor who thinks the U District upzone will help the city stay affordable. And here’s a neighborhood business owner who’s afraid the upzone will make the area a less vibrant place to live.
> Seattle + Trump = Nope? In some parts of the country, politicians who aren’t fans of Donald Trump have to be careful about how they raise objections to his agenda. Not here. It’s been fascinating, and a little surreal, to watch our mayor, our governor, our Democratic legislators, our attorney general, and even the Republican who ran against one of our Democratic U.S. senators put in no uncertain terms that they will not line up behind the leader of the country — particularly if it means turning their backs on immigrants and other communities our city welcomes. This week, Democrats are wondering if Gov. Jay Inslee shouldn’t just run for president in 2020. And in his fourth State of the City address Tuesday, which he delivered from a mosque, Mayor Ed Murray kept a focus on Trump. “The people, not the president, will decide who we are as a nation,” he said.
> There’s a shake-up at Swedish Hospital. One of the city’s largest hospitals just saw its CEO resign this week. Why? Trouble in the neurosurgery department. Two weeks ago The Seattle Times published an investigation that showed how some neurosurgeons at the hospital have been taking on too much — and making lots of money — while not giving each patient enough care. It can be easy to miss these sorts of potential abuses in our city. Kudos to investigative journalists Mike Baker and Justin Mayo for asking questions.
> Two wild ways to get over the Wednesday hump. We’ve now told you about two ways you can boost your energy midway through your workweek while meeting your neighbors. Daybreaker Seattle throws monthly early-morning yoga and dance parties. November Project Seattle gets people working out outdoors rain or shine. Both groups meet on Wednesdays before the sun is up. Does all that early-morning activity make a difference? Reader Candace Faber told us that after hitting the dance floor at Daybreaker on Wednesday, she went home and “immediately wrote a one-act play that has been incubating in my mind for about 9 months.” You all are so impressive.
Did you find this week in review useful? Let us know what you liked or didn’t like about it at [email protected], and share out the feature at theevergrey.com.