This week we won’t shut down the news

Bill Radke reviews the week’s news with Chris Vance, co-chair of Washington Independents, Erica Barnett, writer of the city policy blog the C is for Crank, and Tina Podlodowski, the chair of the Washington State Democratic Party.

The partial government shutdown continues into a second week with the President saying he will let the shutdown continue for months, even years, if Democrats do not find money for a border wall. What will it take to bring the shutdown to an end? Are Democrats and Republicans beyond compromise?

The start of 2019 meant the start of new laws in Washington state. There is now a higher minimum wage statewide and in the city of Seattle. Health insurance companies have to cover contraception and there are changes to the state’s gun laws. What do these new laws mean? What else can we expect from 2019?

And 2019 barely started before the 2020 Presidential campaign got underway. The first Democrat to announce their run is Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Washington State Governor Jay Inslee said IF he were to run for President, he would run on the issue of climate change. Can you win on the issue of climate change?

This weekend Seattle drivers will start to feel a little squeeze as The Alaskan Way viaduct starts to come down. How doom and gloom will the “period of maximum constraint” really be?

Also, $30 car tabs, a brand new waterfront and the sound of Seattle’s hockey team.