Week in Review: Boeing, housing, and driving laws

Bill Radke discusses the week’s news with Seattle Met’s Allison Williams, Seattle Times Patrick Malone, and Geekwire’s Mike Lewis.

At a ceremony in Everett on Tuesday, current and former employees celebrated and said goodbye to the final 747 jumbo jet. Thousands of people worked on the more than 1,500 747’s that were built in the Puget Sound region. In recent decades, airlines have been largely turning their focus to more fuel-efficient options. Boeing will begin building some 737 Max airplanes at the Paine Field assembly plant where the 747’s used to be built. What’s the significance?

Initiative 135, the only thing on Seattle’s ballot this month, would create a publicly owned developer that builds and preserves affordable housing. Supporters say it creates more housing for a broad range of income levels. Opponents say it spends money in the wrong place. What are the pros and cons? Also, on Tuesday a group of bipartisan state lawmakers announced 13 bills aimed at increasing Washington’s housing supply. Will non-Seattle cities really go along with this? And the town of Winthrop announced their plan to address their housing crisis, which includes reducing or waiving some development fees for permanently affordable housing, and revisit its fee structure for all developments, adding a new mixed-use zone that could more-effectively accommodate both commercial and residential uses, and allowing more residential use in some commercial zones, among other ideas. What will pass?

The Washington state legislature is considering some new rules of the road, including banning right turns on red in certain areas like school zones, and ending traffic citations for non-safety violations like expired tabs. How do other cities and countries do this?

The University of Washington announced that its medical school and law school will no longer participate in the U.S. News and World Report annual university rankings. The Yale law school was the first to withdrawal in November, and some of the most prestigious schools in the country have followed suit. Gonzaga and Seattle University also announced that they would no longer participate in the rankings. What are the reasons for not wanting to be on the list?

Seattle will see a mostly new city council this term. Councilmembers Kshama Sawant, Lisa Herbold, Alex Pedersen, and Teresa Mosqueda have all announced that they will not attempt to hold on to their seat. Council President Debora Juarez has not announced that she will not seek reelection, but in a series of statements said that she has been a victim of increased harassment and that “no job is worth that.” How might this turnover change the lives of Seattleites?