Seattle, WA

Seattle’s new agreement with police officers guild

Published

3 weeks ago

October 23, 2025

Seattle’s new agreement with police officers guild

The City of Seattle has reached a new collective bargaining agreement with the Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG), which represents all Seattle police officers.

Under the agreement, police officers will receive a retroactive pay increase of 6% for 2024 and 4.1% for 2025. Officers will get an additional 2.7% increase in 2026, and the 2027 increase will range from 3% to 4%, depending on the Consumer Price Index.

“This contract supports our officers’ work to address crime and delivers on our promise to create a comprehensive, diversified public safety system that protects every neighborhood in Seattle,” Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said.

Harrell said the contract also strengthens police accountability by allowing civilian investigators to work on cases involving potential termination, and streamlines disciplinary processes to address misconduct swiftly and appropriately.

“The agreement modernizes our wages and keeps benefits high so that we can, of course, maintain a well-staffed police department, which translates to public safety for everyone,” Seattle Police Chief Shawn Barnes said. “I commend Mayor Harrell for his tireless dedication in securing a collective bargaining agreement that not only strengthens support for our officers but also enhances public safety in Seattle. This agreement reflects our shared commitment to the community and ensures that the brave men and women of our police department can continue to serve with pride and dedication.”

Major changes for Seattle’s CARE department

The agreement was ratified by SPOG members last weekend and makes big changes to the Community Assisted Response and Engagement (CARE) department. It is now elevated from a pilot program started in 2023 to a permanent part of public safety in Seattle, on par with the police and fire departments. It also removes limits on its number of employees, allowing for the expansion and direct dispatch of CARE crisis responders for those experiencing a behavioral health crisis, due in part to homelessness, mental illness, and addiction.

“This expanded agreement between the City and SPOG is the most significant milestone since the CARE responder pilot launched two years ago, and I commend Mayor Harrell for keeping diversified response a top and unequivocal priority,” CARE Chief Amy Barton stated. “Going forward, we will finally be able to predictably and consistently send the best first response to a 911 call — something our community has demanded and deserves. Further, law enforcement officers can now be significantly freed up to respond to high-priority police calls.”

Harrell said the money for the officers and the expansion of the CARE department will require no new money, as it has already been worked into the budget.

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Seattle, WA

Winning Thoughts: Blue Jackets get a needed win in Seattle | Columbus Blue Jackets

Published

17 hours ago

November 12, 2025

Press Room

Winning Thoughts: Blue Jackets get a needed win in Seattle | Columbus Blue Jackets

After CBJ wins, we’ll give three takeaways about what stood out or what we’ll remember from the Blue Jackets’ victory.

BLUE JACKETS 2, KRAKEN 1 (SHOOTOUT)

1. The Blue Jackets got to celebrate a win … even if it took a second.

With the game on his stick, Charlie Coyle crossed the blue line and ripped a shot off the post and past Matt Murray to give the Blue Jackets two much-needed points Tuesday night.

And with a four-game losing streak in their past, the Blue Jackets excitedly jumped off the bench to mob their shootout hero, right?

Not exactly.

After Coyle’s perfect shot got past Murray to secure the second point, neither the shooter nor his teammates went crazy. Coyle skated back to the bench with a square jaw, and the Blue Jackets on the bench took a second to look around before they streamed off to celebrate the victory.

So, what happened?

“I think guys kind of forgot that it was over,” Zach Werenski said. “They went first. I feel like guys kind of were just like, I know (Damon Severson) looked at me and was like, ‘It is over?’”

Or maybe it was just, after three games in four days, while switching time zones twice, and also dealing with a flu bug going through the team, the Blue Jackets were just too tired to celebrate.

“I think it was a little bit of a grind for everyone with the sickness and the bug going around,” Mathieu Oliver said. “I think was it more kind of relief when we saw him go bar down there, which was unbelievable, but a lot of relief for our group.”

Whatever the reason was, Coyle’s goal didn’t set off a massive celebration, but it did clinch a crucial victory for the Blue Jackets to finish off a long road trip right but also put two points in the standings. The veteran went on to joke that he thought the delayed celebration was just because everyone was so stunned he scored on such a sweet finish, but he was more than happy to celebrate once everyone congregated by the CBJ bench.

“Maybe it was like a mutual thing because I didn’t really react fully, and then they didn’t react,” Coyle said. “And then Jet (Greaves) slowly kind of skated out so everyone kind of jumped, but that’s gonna be funny looking back. But that’s the long road trip, so it’s a sigh of relief, I think.”

2. Coyle’s goal clinched a huge victory marked by the Blue Jackets battling through adversity.

Think of it this way. The Blue Jackets lost in one of the most stunning ways possible Monday night at Edmonton, then flew to Seattle for the second half of a back-to-back against a rested foe. Illness has been working its way through the team, and things got even worse for the Blue Jackets when captain Boone Jenner left early in the second period with injury.

Given all those factors combined, you probably wouldn’t have expected a CBJ win tonight, but the Blue Jackets delivered.

“I think it speaks a lot about our character,” Werenski said. “Obviously the road trip hasn’t gone our way and we’re obviously not happy about how some of the games have gone, but we just dug deep and found a way to win this one. We got three of four points in the last 24 hours, and I’m really proud of our group.”

And in some ways, maybe that adversity helped the Blue Jackets along the way.

“To do that with the guys who have been sick and out of the lineup, with the mid-game adjustments, I think it helps guys zone in more because you have to know who’s up,” Coyle said. “It’s not the regular lies and all that, so that definitely could help.

“Hey, we came through, and that’s a sign of a good team.”

3. The Blue Jackets exercised patience on the way to the victory.

Seattle has one of the best defensive teams in the NHL and speed to burn, so their game plan has been relatively simple this season. The Kraken want teams to have to earn it, turning up the pressure and trying to force turnovers before going the other way.

But on a night where it would have been easy to fold up the tent, the Blue Jackets showed an enviable level of discipline. Instead of opening themselves up to mistakes in the middle of a taut game, Columbus stayed the course and did what it had to do on the defensive end to get it to overtime.

“What we liked, and we’ve talked about this a lot, is we were on the right side (of the puck),” head coach Dean Evason said. “We were on the Jackets side. We didn’t cheat the game tonight. We didn’t give them those freebies, the odd-man rushes, and the odd-man rushes, the ones that have hurt is here this year.”

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Seattle, WA

Cardinals Coach Gets Real on Blowout Loss to Seahawks

Published

2 days ago

November 11, 2025

Press Room

Cardinals Coach Gets Real on Blowout Loss to Seahawks

ARIZONA — The Arizona Cardinals were, for perhaps the first time in Jonathan Gannon’s career, outmatched to epic proportions in their Week 10 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Cardinals fans blinked, and they were down 7-0. They got up to get some snacks and came back to a 35-0 deficit that surely wasn’t going to be reversed.

“(We) didn’t play our best ball against a good team and got beat up pretty good, but they understand why that happened and what we need to do better moving forward,” Gannon told reporters this week.

“I did tell them we have to learn from it and then we have to flush it because just like any win or loss,(it) doesn’t matter how you get there. The most important thing is the next week, so that’s where our focus will be going to San Francisco here.”

READ: Which Arizona Cardinals are on the Hot Seat?

Arizona has now lost their last six-of-seven games entering their Week 11 matchup with the 49ers, and the team will practically need to win-out in order to do the unthinkable and make the postseason.

As for their drubbing in Seattle, Gannon says digging that massive early deficit didn’t do the organization any favors.

“We had some assignment issues, some technique issues. We actually won the double positive, but when you spot a team 14 points on offense and they score the first three drives and you find yourself down 35 to nothing, that’s a tough hole to come out of,” he said.

“Games can get away pretty quick from you when that happens. What I do appreciate though, (is) they did battle, and we had a chance, honestly, in my opinion, at the end of the third to cut it to a two-score game. The effort was there, and they reset themselves, but no one feels good about how that game unfolded.”

READ: Cardinals Not Sugarcoating Anything After Loss

It’s rare to see a Cardinals loss where they were truly outmatched over the course of 60 minutes, though that was the case at Lumen Field.

Is this the most frustrated Gannon’s been as a coach?

“When you say frustrated, I don’t know (if that’s) the right word. You learn and move on. That’s why I said no one in that team meeting today—nobody’s looking around (asking) how did that happen? We collectively allowed that to happen. All of us in there. You take that on a chin, and you move on. Frustration (is) just a waste of time,” said Gannon.

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Seattle, WA

Nike releases new Seattle Seahawks-inspired ‘Air Max 90’ shoes; a detailed look

Published

2 days ago

November 10, 2025

Press Room

Nike releases new Seattle Seahawks-inspired ‘Air Max 90’ shoes; a detailed look

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Nike has released their latest line of NFL football-themed sneakers under the “Air Max 90″ running shoe model. As per past releases, the Seattle Seahawks are one of the prominently featured teams in the collection. The NFL team-inspired Seattle Seahawks Air Max 90 Rivalries Collection running shoes have a different look than past rivalries edition shoes, going with the white and gray base over the dark blue of years past.

Get a pair of the Nike Seattle Seahawks Air Max 90 shoes on Fanatics