This Week on PubliCola: June 28, 2025
State contracts go unpaid, the homelessness authority considers cuts, council approves digital sidewalk billboards, and more.
By Erica C. Barnett
Monday, June 23
Dozens of Digital Literacy Groups Funded Through a Statewide Grant Haven’t Been Paid Since January. The State Says It Isn’t to Blame.
We began the week with an in-depth feature about a statewide digital equity program, started during the pandemic to provide laptops and training in marginalized communities, that has not been able to pay its contractors for six months. The result: Small nonprofits, including some with just one or two employees, have been forced to shut down programs that help people exiting prison, non-English speakers, and folks living in isolated rural communities access the internet and learn digital skills.
Tuesday, June 24
Seattle Nice: Is It Time to Admit the King County Regional Homelessness Authority Is a Bust?
On this week’s podcast, we discussed the past, present, and future of the King County Regional Homelessness Authority, an agency established with the lofty goal of rebuilding the region’s homelessness system from the ground up. It hasn’t panned out that way.
PubliCola is supported entirely by readers like you.
CLICK BELOW to become a one-time or monthly contributor.
Support PubliCola
Wednesday, June 25
Towering Vertical Billboards Coming Soon to a Sidewalk Near You
The Seattle City Council approved a 30-year agreement to allow IKE Smart City, a Columbus, Ohio-based advertising company, to install 30 digital billboards, each 8’4” tall, on sidewalks throughout downtown Seattle, plus another 50 in other business districts across the city in the future. The Downtown Seattle Association, a private business group, will receive the profits from ad sales.
Thursday, June 26
Proposed Business Tax Increase Would Raise $90 Million a Year While Exempting Most Small Businesses
City Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck and Mayor Bruce Harrell proposed a ballot measure that would increase the city’s business and occupation (B&O) tax rates while exempting gross revenues under $2 million, producing an estimated $90 million a year in new revenue to pay for housing stability, homeless services, food security, and small business sustainability.
Council Can’t Wait to Vote “Hell Yes” on Bills Cracking Down on Graffiti and “Nuisance” Bars and Clubs
The city council took up two bills designed to crack down on what Councilmember Bob Kettle calls the “permissive environment” in Seattle. One would empower the City Attorney to fine graffiti taggers and those who “encourage” them at a rate of $1,000 per tag. The second would give the city authority to penalize and shut down businesses because of crimes their patrons commit in “proximity” to their property, including misdemeanors like using drugs or drinking in public.