iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Mike Eliason @holz-bau.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

you can upzone the sh*t around pinehurst all you want - it's not going to induce an ecodistrict or walkable neighborhood because it's sandwiched between a golf course and a literal highway we're so effing bad at city making folks www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

seattletimes.com

Seattle gets a new light rail station, and then a long wait

Sound Transit built Pinehurst Station despite grim ridership projections. Will anything be done now to transform the neighborhood and attract passengers?

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Push The Needle @pushtheneedle.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

In the 1990s, the state was paranoid we would lose Ken Griffey Jr and even the Mariners all together. To prove what a farce EIS’s are, the process was expedited and completed in 8 months despite it being on a brown site in a liquefaction zone. We speed up environmental review when we want to

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Andrew @bikesnacks.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Near literally *two* light rail stations!

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Brian Straw @brianstraw.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

The status quo allowed a single family home to be purchased for $212,000, demolished, and replaced with a 3,600 sq ft home which sold for $1.25 million. This removes naturally occurring affordable housing and replaces it with housing at the top of the market. This is the status quo.

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Ian @woolie.meowmeow.city · 12/09/2026

I love Berkeley, people will build their entire politics around the idea that mitigating climate change requires radically restructuring the world economy, but they draw the line at a 12 story building a few blocks away or replacing some parking spaces with bike lanes.

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macdiehard.bsky.social @macdiehard.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Are you going to pay for the affordable housing you want? If not, who is? Not a builder, who is not going to build something he is going to lose money on. Only building more housing reduces rent. But I doubt the cost of housing is your real issue. You just do not want you neighborhood to change.

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Spokane Rising @spokanerising.com · 10/09/2026

Literally vote for anyone else. Her ideas would destroy the California insurance industry and make housing affordability even worse, which is difficult to imagine being possible.

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Kevin Erdmann @kevinerdmann.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

It's saddening that anti-corporate prejudice is so strong that people can explicitly make an argument that renters don't belong in our suburbs and think that makes them virtuous. www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/wall-st...

phoenixnewtimes.com

Wall Street destroying the American Dream in Phoenix, study says

Wall Street investors powerful hold over Phoenix’s housing market is also likely to only get worse, according to experts.

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macdiehard.bsky.social @macdiehard.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Oh for God’s sake. $15 per sf tax on new housing. Hey Kirkland, you tax things you want less of. Or maybe that is the idea.

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Jennifer @jenwith1n.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Y’all please do not report this shit without also mentioning that the administration has gutted transit funding and determined bike lanes and sidewalks are illegal DEI. I’d fucking love it if people drove less but we built this country to trap people in cars and they aren’t letting us fix it.

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Jeff Baker @jwbee.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Some of the strongest evidence I can come up with to rebut "rents never go down". This newer building—1122 University Ave. in Berkeley—saw all but one unit decline in price compared to the same unit rented last summer. This is in nominal dollars.

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OB Chargn @obchargn.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Bill to spur new condos died at the last minute. Senator’s Limón and Umberg working their hardest to worsen the CA housing crisis. Thankfully Umberg is termed out, but the Senate needs a new leader who is pro housing. calmatters.org/housing/2026...

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DemandSchumerResignCallYourSenatorDaily @nervous1140.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

It's just insane to me that there's literally a golf course flanked on either end by light rail stations

Google map view of i5 between n 130th st and n 145th st

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James everything is analog @analogist.net · 03/09/2026

Not just on Aurora Ave, but at the site of Julie Kang’s former bank. You know, her bank she was likely forced to sell because of what the FDIC called “violations, reckless unsafe or unsound banking practices, and/or breaches of fiduciary duty.” Oh you didn’t know? 😄 I’ll have to do a thread soon

PACIFIC
INTERNATIONA SEATTLE
L BANK

WA
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Stipulated Orders and Written
Agreements
Assessment of
Civil Money
Penalty
PACIFIC
INTERNATIONA SEATTLE
L BANK

WA
57246
Stipulated Orders and Written
Agreements
Cease and Desist / Consent
Orders
Pacific
International
Bank
Seattle
WA
57246
Stipulated Orders and Written
Agreements
Removal/Prohi bition Order
Pacific
International
Bank
Seattle
WA
5726
Stipulated Orders and Written
Agreements
Assessment of Civil Money
Penalty;Remov al/Prohibition
Order
Pacific
International
Bank
Seattle
WA
57246
Termination of Desist/ Action
Cease and
Consent

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M. Nolan Gray 🥑 @mnolangray.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

It's kind of remarkable, the extent to which every aspect of this whole Venezuela debacle is openly vindicating the most extreme things any leftist has ever said about the relationship between the US and Latin America. www.yahoo.com/news/article...

yahoo.com

Oil investors need democratic Venezuela for stability, opposition leader says

BOGOTA/WASHINGTON, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Only a "serious, democratic government" can provide the stability needed by investors in Venezuela's oil sector, opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner

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Ned Resnikoff @resnikoff.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Boldly asking the question, what if the federal government doesn't subsidize gas-powered private vehicle use *enough*?

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

This is insane. When I was in first grade my parents let me walk 3 blocks to school in the mornings, and home after it was over. The independence that I got as a child helped me so much in my life. No parent should face charges for something like this, let alone be convicted!

In June, when Parkinson was preparing for the bar—and also happened to be eight months pregnant with her fifth child—she and her then-youngest, Sam, went for a bike ride, as they often do. They stopped for her son's favorite activity: collecting goose feathers from the path near their community pond. When they got home, he asked if he could walk back and get some more.

Parkinson said yes. It's a short walk, along a sidewalk separated from the street by 10 feet of grass. Sam would have to cross two streets with crosswalks, which she'd seen him do safely hundreds of times—including six times that morning, she says. Off he went while she made lunch.

A passerby saw Sam and alerted security. One of the community's security guards escorted the boy back and gave Parkinson an earful. Pretty soon there were three cop cars, just as many cops, a security vehicle, and two Child Protective Services (CPS) workers at Parkinson's door.

CPS ended up investigating her for abuse and neglect.

The cops, meanwhile, charged her with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. CPS found the allegations substantiated and placed Parkinson on the state's child abuse and neglect registry. She will remain there for seven years.

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Patrick Siegman @siegman.biz · 29/08/2026

What share of architecture programs require students to pass an economics class to graduate? I ask because this story profiles the architect who just persuaded the ICC to ban windowless bedrooms in its model building code. It offers zero consideration of how this will affect building costs or rents

archpaper.com

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Payton Chung @westnorth.com · 02/09/2026

In which I calculate that NIMBY delays of a single DC building have so far resulted in 286,000 tons of additional CO2, equal to burning enough coal to fill a 16 mile long train

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Spokane Rising @spokanerising.com · 01/09/2026

In Seattle, affordability requirements carry no corresponding offsetting benefit for developers, which makes them a tax on housing. In Bellevue, affordability requirements come with a generous property tax exemption that offsets the added cost to developers. Here’s the scoreboard:

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Stan Oklobdzija @stano.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

If you live in Los Angeles, vote for @nithyaforthecity.bsky.social and cease to have your life diminished by the worst mayor in the United States.

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Spokane Rising @spokanerising.com · 30/08/2026

Unambiguously the worst mayor in America.

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Joe Fish @sadbusdriver.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

working paper arguing that the 2019 NYC strengthening of rent control lead to substantially less property maintence and lower housing quality. beaubressler.github.io/papers/rent_...

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Nilo @nilo.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

This whole microsaga where Pelosi has gone all in on one of the most anti-urban urban legislators in all of California because of a fit of pique against Scott Weiner has been something to behold.

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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

One of the most subtly insane aspects of the unrelenting car dependency we’ve deliberately built across North America is the incredible reluctance we have to remove the driving privilege, even from those who clearly are a danger to themselves & others, because “people have to drive.” #CarDependency

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The Stinkfoot @thestinkfoot.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Seattle needs to pause (or cancel entirely) MHA fees. The fees, combined with high interest rates, make most projects simply not pencil out. Nobody is going to build anything for a loss, and we need reform to get projects back in the pipeline.

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Ryan Packer @typewriteralley.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

The new Alki Elementary is getting dedicated tomorrow and the Seattle City Council still hasn't revised the ancient development standards for schools that caused it to get held up by appeals for years. westseattleblog.com/2026/08/prev...

westseattleblog.com

PREVIEW: Dedication ceremony on Wednesday for rebuilt, expanded Alki Elementary School

(WSB photo, July) As we first told you in June, tomorrow's the dedication day for the new Alki Elementary School (3010 59th SW). The community is invited to the 10:30 am ribboncutting - here's the of...

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Max Dubler 🏳️‍🌈 @maxdubler.com · 09/08/2026

This is why you should be wary of any ostensibly left politics that gives its adherents moral license for cruelty.

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Max Dubler 🏳️‍🌈 @maxdubler.com · 25/06/2026

Americans and Europeans need to do a building technology knowledge swap: we help them retrofit their old buildings with air conditioning and they help us retrofit ours with elevators.

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Push The Needle @pushtheneedle.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

The city of Seattle is going to waste 6 months “studying” the effects of not upzoning around transit stations under the guise of “equity” and “anti displacement” when they already know this actually causes and exasperates it

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macdiehard.bsky.social @macdiehard.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

God forbid they should reform zoning and reduce permitting fees.

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Councilmember Eddie Lin @cmeddielin.seattle.gov · 26/07/2026

Blaming evil greedy developers is an easy and convenient rhetorical trick, because it’s not very popular to say you’re against providing housing to renters, working families, low-income seniors, young adults, or refugees.

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Councilmember Eddie Lin @cmeddielin.seattle.gov · 26/07/2026

Our City and region are going to continue to grow in population. We can’t stop that even if we wanted to (and that’s not what I want). So where are people going to live? Are they going to live in the City or are we going to cut down more forests and farmland to build suburban housing?

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macdiehard.bsky.social @macdiehard.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

The vote is this Tuesday. Contact your councilmember!

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Seattle YIMBY @seattleyimby.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

This is UCLA research about California but Seattle is doing the exact same thing with our MHA fees. It’s time to end MHA fees before more damage is done.

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Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 24/07/2026

The US House’s proposed transportation legislation—sponsored by both Republicans & Democrats—would cut transit funding massively, affecting every state & congressional district. Instead, it focuses on highway building through blank checks to state DOTs

urban.org

How Will Congress’s Proposed Cuts to Transit Funding Affect Your State and Congressional District?

The next transportation reauthorization law will reshape federal transportation spending for years to come.

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Scott Berkley @scott-berkley.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Paperwork will not save our planet! Thank you @cmeddielin.bsky.social for making it possible to do good things in Seattle!

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Ryan Packer @typewriteralley.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

CM Eddie Lin responds to the attacks in the Seattle Times on the idea of SEPA reform in an op-ed this morning. "Dense housing, walkable neighborhoods, and safe, accessible transit is how we can finally address our affordability crisis and build a more resilient and equitable city."

Dense housing, walkable neighborhoods, and safe, accessible transit is how we can finally address our affordability crisis and build a more resilient and equitable city.

But we can’t hold onto the past so tightly that we destroy our future. The negative impacts of climate change are already here, and we know they are not borne equally across our city. Health outcomes are worse for South Seattle residents due to urban heat islands, limited tree canopy and air pollution. Dense housing, walkable neighborhoods, and safe, accessible transit is how we can finally address our affordability crisis and build a more resilient and equitable city.

SEPA has historically been used by a small number of businesses and neighborhood activists to protect the status quo and their special interests and slow government down, asking the city or state to do more studies. But our house is on fire, and maintaining the status quo will only make things worse. Here in deep-blue Seattle, where elected leaders are trying to take action to address climate change and our affordability crisis, build a greener and more affordable city, SEPA appeals are resulting in years of delays; time that we don’t have. We don’t need more studies — we need the political courage to act.
That’s why I’m proposing updates to our SEPA procedures to streamline the process and to stop unnecessary and redundant appeals. Tuesday, July 28, Seattle City Council is expected to vote on CB 121215, which would limit the type of SEPA appeals that can be heard by the city’s hearing examiner. I sponsored this legislation because I believe this bill will remove one of the biggest roadblocks preventing us from meaningfully addressing many of the biggest challenges facing our city: housing and homelessness, traffic safety and environmental justice. I look forward to voting on this bill and getting back to the hard work of planning for our city’s future.

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Jess Bateman @jessdbateman.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

We can have livable, walkable communities and we must have the courage to make them a reality. This is what leadership looks like.

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Kent Lind @camasonian.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

New housing is ALWAYS going to be expensive for a long list of reasons including cost of labor, materials, and land. Affordable housing has always traditionally been older housing. And if you want more of that, build more market-rate new housing so people can move up.

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Max Dubler 🏳️‍🌈 @maxdubler.com · 21/07/2026

The primary barrier to housing affordability in America is wealthy people’s desire to exclude poorer people from their neighborhoods and school systems, not the existence of the military.

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Alt Bureau of Labor Statistics @domesticshoggoth.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Weirdly, we understand this intuitively with cars and understand that buying used is the solution. Nobody demands that car companies manufacture a quota of "affordable" models

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macdiehard.bsky.social @macdiehard.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Lets get the SEPA reform bill passed! Write the Council at council@seattle.gov

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The War on Cars @thewaroncars.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Nobody disputes that having access to a car in a car-dominated society is good. It gives one access to jobs, healthcare, food, education, social opportunities and more. All we're asking is for people to go one step deeper and ask why access to such basic rights requires buying and operating a car.

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Max Dubler 🏳️‍🌈 @maxdubler.com · 16/07/2026

Landlords can only get away with this stuff because NYC has a 1.4% rental vacancy rate thanks to decades of under-building new homes. Building more housing would force landlords to compete and take away their leverage to demand these invasive tenant screenings.

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