Seattle Would Spend $636 Million Over 7 Years under Education-Levy Plan

Seattle Times | Daniel Beekman | April 18
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/seattle-would-spend-636-million-over-7-years-under-school-levy-plan/

“Mayor Jenny Durkan is proposing a new property-tax levy for preschool, K-12 and college programs that would see Seattle spend $636.5 million over seven years. The city-education levy, sweeping in size and scope, would replace two existing levies that are set to expire and would cost significantly more annually than those levies combined. The increase in spending is primarily focused on a huge expansion of the city’s subsidized preschool program. Durkan says her proposal — targeted for the November ballot — would cost the owner of a home of median assessed value $249 per year.”

In Seattle, Transit Success Leads to New Challenge: Excessive Demand

KING 5 | Jaime McGee (USA Today Network) | April 18
http://www.king5.com/article/news/local/in-seattle-transit-success-leads-to-new-challenge-excessive-demand/281-542920379

“After three ballot initiatives concerning transit investments, Seattle transportation officials say the city faces a new challenge: excessive demand for bus service and light rail. “As we built more transit, the demand has increased for us,” said Mike Harbour, deputy chief executive officer at Sound Transit in Seattle. “Our biggest challenge over the next 20 years is beating that demand and having adequate capacity.”…Now, 64 percent of Seattle residents are within a 10-minute walk of frequent transit options, according to Jonathan Hopkins, who leads a government-funded nonprofit Commute Seattle that partners with Seattle, King County, Sound Transit and Downtown Seattle Association. Since 2009, annual bus ridership has increased by 8 percent to more than 121 million people and regional transit ridership more than doubled to 45 million.”

A Vehicle Tunnel from Seattle to Bainbridge? Retired Civil Engineer Has a Proposal

Kitsap Sun | Nathan Pilling | April 17

https://www.kitsapsun.com/story/news/2018/04/17/vehicle-tunnel-seattle-bainbridge-retired-civil-engineer-has-proposal/526171002/

“Bob Ortblad has a pet idea he’d like to see buried deep, hundreds of feet below the surface of Puget Sound. To dive into it: Ortblad, a retired civil engineer and Capitol Hill resident, sees a future in which instead of crossing on a ferry atop Puget Sound, commuters would cross underneath it, driving through a tunnel that would stretch from Seattle’s Smith Cove over to Highway 305 on Bainbridge Island. To stretch the idea even further, a parkway could cross the island and connect to a long-discussed bridge across to the Bremerton area. The concept would connect the Kitsap Peninsula to lucrative jobs in Seattle within a few minutes, and in turn hook Seattle to a source of (more) affordable housing.”

Expansion at Sea-Tac Airport to Add 8 New Gates, Leaders Say

KIRO 7 | KIRO 7 News Staff | April 13
https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/sea-tac-airport-to-show-progress-of-north-satellite-modernization-project/731681508

“As construction to improve Sea-Tac International Airport continues, airport officials showed Friday how far along they are with the expansion and renovation of the North Satellite terminal. It was about a year ago when ground was broken to expand gates, specifically for Alaska Airlines. The expansion is expected to allow Alaska to operate more flights. Officials told KIRO 7 that eight new gates are being added on top of 12 that already exist.”