Legislative Task Force on Public Records Recommendation #1: “The legislature should strive for greater transparency.”

Happening in Olympia

While the Legislative Task Force on Public Records was able to find agreement on eight recommendations, it’s clear there remains a number of large disagreements. Don’t expect any actual progress here since the first “recommendation” was “The legislature should strive for greater transparency.” Sen. Randi Becker (R-Eatonville) attributed the group’s divide on, “a fundamental misunderstanding of the legislative privilege established in the state constitution by the speech or debate clause.” (Washington State Wire)

Western Washington

The Seattle City Council began debate on a plan to allow larger buildings and create affordable-housing requirements in over two dozen neighborhoods. Currently the plan would require developers to allocate five to eleven percent of their projects to low-income apartments or pay up to $32.75 per square foot in fees. The final vote by the council will be held in March. (Seattle Times)

A new report estimates that roughly 100 percent of Seattle’s tax on sugar is being passed on to consumers. “We don’t know why, but they did see something similar in Berkeley,” the California city that adopted a tax before Seattle, said research-team leader Jesse Jones-Smith, an epidemiology professor. It’s as if the sugar tax was always a bad idea… (Seattle Times)

The Whitman County Republican Central Committee voted unanimously to eject well-known white supremacist James Allsup from the committee. Allsup was “elected” to the position of PCO after he ran unopposed. Allsup now carries no vote within the committee, but he still technically retains the position of PCO. (Spokesman-Review)

The Walla Walla City Council plans to move the sleep center for the homeless to the northwestern corner of the city. Deputy City Manager Byron Olson said the city aimed to find a location where the sleep center could have electricity and running water. The city will spend about $100,000 to move the center from its current location at Fourth and Rees. (Union-Bulletin)

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