West Point Treatment Plant
is still emptying wastewater into the Puget Sound, won’t meet permit standards until mid-May.
While mechanical failures have been
mostly rectified, the plant is still sending 20 trucks a day – at $700
to $1,000 a trip – to deliver waste to a Renton treatment plant because
the
West Point Treatment plant has not fully recovered yet. Director of King
County Natural Resources and Parks said, “We still have a lot of work
to
do. We are targeting mid-May, but remember we are relying on biology.”
Tolls for the
Highway 99 tunnel are no longer expected to be able to cover construction costs.
The Washington State Department of Transportation
analysis has determined that the estimated toll totals will fall $100
million short with the initial $1 and $1.50 (peak time) tolls the tunnel
were
supposed to charge. Should the toll rates increase to cover the extra
$100 million needed to fund tunnel construction, WSDOT is worried people
will
use alternate routes – thus lowering toll revenue even more. Will
construction on the Highway 99 tunnel ever run smoothly?
Eastside commute
traffic will increase as two transit centers close for light rail construction.
“We know this is going to be a big change for people.
This is going to be a difficult time as we make progress toward opening
Eastlink. So, we’re just hoping people can find a good option for them
before the lot closes,” Rachelle Cunningham of Sound Transit said. It is
interesting that a project dedicated to reducing traffic will now be
admittedly worsening commutes for Eastside commuters for the next five years.
Sound Transit
announces more details on ST3 expansions. They have
reported they intend to reach Ballard in 2035, West Seattle in 2030 and
Federal Way
in 2024. The $54 billion package voters approved will take 25 years to
complete and the agency is expected to have 24 different projects
simultaneously in play by the end of this year.
Seattle
attorney, Mayor Ed Murray’s public safety advisor, Scott Lindsay will be challenging Pete Holmes for city attorney.
Lindsay is running
because he doesn’t think Homes has been involved in discussion for what
is best for the city. He believes, “The vast majority of repeat
defendants
coming through the system for low-level property crimes like car prowls
are suffering from addiction and very often homelessness. But the office
and
Pete Holmes have been absent from the discussion.”
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray adds diet soda to
his proposed soda tax, and lowered the proposed tax from 1.75 cents per ounce to 2 cents per ounce of a tax on sugary drinks. He
believes, “we will raise the ongoing $18 million dollars for our education and health agenda,” with the tax. |
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