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Seattle Times Shocked to Learn Even Groups They Disagree With Can Get Street-Use Permits – PubliCola

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Seattle Times Shocked to Learn Even Groups They Disagree With Can Get Street-Use Permits – PubliCola


By Erica C. Barnett

Last week, the Seattle Times ran an editorial denouncing the city for giving the Cascade Bicycle Club a street use permit for its annual fundraising ride, which will shut down the westbound lanes of the West Seattle Bridge for two hours on the first Sunday in May. After emailing someone at the city, the board reports, they discovered that there isn’t even any other maintenance going on during the bike ride; “In other words, traffic will be shut out purely to host the fundraising ride.”

This, of course, is how street permits work: A group gets a permit for an event, and cars aren’t allowed to drive through the event while it’s happening—think: Capitol Hill Block Party, West Seattle Summer Fest, or any number of weekly farmers’ markets.

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So why is the Times so bothered that the city granted a standard street permit for this event? Because, according to the editorial board, this isn’t just any ride: It’s a ride by group that lobbies the city—and even met with someone from the mayor’s office to discuss the upcoming Move Seattle Levy at some point last fall. This level of access, according to the Times, should be more than enough enough to land Cascade on a no-fly list for permits.

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“City Hall should have thought twice about renting out a vital piece of public infrastructure to a special interest at a time when residents will be asked to debate transportation priorities and vote on a massive property tax proposal,” the paper wrote.

Asked about the Times’ characterization of the group’s agenda, Cascade executive director Lee Lambert said, “I reject that biking safety is a controversial topic,” and noted that Cascade isn’t just an advocacy group. “We do education, we provide low-cost helmets for folks, and we provide bike safety classes. We do rides every day of the year.”

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The Times’ outrage that the city would allow an advocacy group to rent a city-owned bridge is baffling, but seems to boil down to a kind of faux concern about misuse of city resources. So it’s notable that they’ve never expressed concern that political consultant Tim Ceis received nearly half a million dollars from the city’s transportation department last year (much of that spent lobbying Sound Transit in favor of controversial changes to its light-rail route), or that political consultant Christian Sinderman works inside City Hall as a paid political advisor to the mayor. Given their silence, it seems safe to assume that the Times editorial board considers these contracts a prudent use of public funds.

Unlike taxpayer-funded contracts with political consultants, Cascade’s annual ride actually brings money in to the city. According to Cascade, the group spent around $15,000 paying police to do traffic control for this event, plus about $2,000 for street-use permits.

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Evacuations ordered in 3 south Seattle suburbs after levee fails after week of heavy rain

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Evacuations ordered in 3 south Seattle suburbs after levee fails after week of heavy rain


SEATTLE (AP) – Officials ordered immediate evacuations in three south Seattle suburbs Monday after a levee failed following a week of heavy rains.

The evacuation order from King County in Washington state covered homes and businesses east of the Green River in parts of Kent, Auburn and Tukwila.

Emergency shelters have been set up at the following locations:

  • Auburn Community and Event Center, 910 9th St. SE, Auburn, WA, 98002
  • Ray of Hope Shelter, 2806 Auburn Way N. Auburn, WA, 98002
  • Evergreen State Fairgrounds, 14405 179th Ave. SE., Monroe, WA 98272 (Open 24 hours) – Pets welcomed

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning covering nearly 47,000 people.

“Conditions are dangerous and access routes may be lost at any time,” the weather service said in a post on X.

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The levee breach followed a week of heavy rain and flooding that inundated communities, forced the evacuations of tens of thousands of people, and prompted scores of rescues throughout western Washington state





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Report: Seattle Mariners a front-runner for Cards’ Donovan

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Report: Seattle Mariners a front-runner for Cards’ Donovan


The Seattle Mariners have emerged as one of two front-runners in trade talks with the St. Louis Cardinals for utilityman Brendan Donovan, The Athletic’s Katie Woo reported on Saturday.

Drayer: How Polanco’s departure impacts Seattle Mariners’ offseason

Woo reported a league source said trade discussions between the Mariners and Cardinals have been heating up since the Winter Meetings, and that switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje and outfielder Lazaro Montes – two of Seattle’s top-seven prospects, per MLB pipeline – are two names St. Louis has inquired about, among others.

The Cardinals will not trade Donovan unless they are “blown away” by the return, and it’s believed they are looking for at least two prospects, per Woo’s reporting.

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The San Francisco Giants were the other of the two front-runners Woo named. She also said that both the Mariners and Giants remain engaged in talks with the Arizona Diamondbacks about second baseman Ketel Marte.

Can the M’s give up what Arizona wants for a Ketel Marte trade?

Donovan, who will turn 29 next month, has two years of club control remaining. He’s played every position except catcher during his four-year career, with the majority of his time coming at second base and left field. He would figure to mainly factor in at second base and third base for the Mariners, who have young players like Cole Young, Ben Williamson and Colt Emerson vying for time at those positions.

Donovan was a first-time All-Star in 2025, batting .287 with a .353 on-base percentage, .422 slugging percentage, .775 OPS, 32 doubles, 10 home runs and 50 RBIs in 118 games. His 13% strikeout rate ranked in the 92nd percentile of big league hitters and his 13.4% whiff rate in the 95th percentile, per Baseball Savant.

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Over four MLB seasons, Donovan has a career .282 average with a .361 on-base percentage, .411 slugging percentage, .772 OPS, 97 doubles, 40 homers and 202 RBIs in 492 games. He won the NL Gold Glove for utility players during his rookie season in 2022.

As for the prospects Woo reported the Cardinals inquiring about, the 22-year-old Cijntje is Seattle’s No. 7 prospect, per MLB Pipeline. The unique pitcher had a 3.99 ERA and 1.22 WHIP while holding opponents to a .207 average, striking out 120 batters and walking 51 in 108 1/3 innings pitched over 26 appearances (23 starts) across High-A and Double-A in 2025.

The 21-year-old Montes is considered to be the best power-hitting prospect in the Mariners’ farm system and is their No. 3 overall farmhand, per MLB Pipeline. The slugging outfielder hit .241 with a .354 on-base percentage, .504 slugging percentage, .858 OPS, 19 doubles, seven triples, 32 home runs, 89 RBIs, 83 walks and 169 strikeouts over 131 games across High-A and Double-A this year. Montes finished tied for third in home runs among minor leaguers across all levels.

The report that the M’s are one of the top contenders for Donovan came on the same day as they lost out on re-signing their top remaining free-agent target, second baseman/designated hitter Jorge Polanco, who reportedly agreed to a two-year, $40 million deal with the New York Mets.

More Seattle Mariners offseason coverage

• Backup catcher target emerges for Seattle Mariners, per reports
• Drayer: Mariners’ plan for 2B and 3B coming more into focus
• Salk: What we know and think about Seattle Mariners’ offseason needs
• Why Nolan Arenado could make sense as a Seattle Mariners trade target
• Drayer: Mariners’ plan for 2B and 3B coming more into focus
• The one move Passan says could make Mariners the AL favorites

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WEST SEATTLE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS: As seen from two wheels

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WEST SEATTLE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS: As seen from two wheels


Tonight’s spotlight lights are courtesy of Al, who sent this photo from a stop during The Beer Junction‘s wassail ride tonight – he says it’s in North Admiral, SW Atlantic between California SW and 44th SW. As for the ride, Al reports 17 people pedaled about six miles:

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Wherever and however you find lights worth sharing, westseattleblog@gmail.com – with or without a pic! (To see what we’ve shown already, scroll through this WSB archive!)





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