Week in Review: Capital gains tax, Sound Transit construction, and landlords

Bill Radke discusses the week’s news with Axios Melissa Santos, Seattle Times Jonathan Martin, and KUOW’s Dyer Oxley.

This morning, the Washington state Supreme Court ruled 7-2 to uphold the constitutionality of the state’s capital gains tax. Supporters argued that the tax is an excise tax, while opponents said it was an income tax. It is expected to bring in $500 million a year. The court was asked to expedite the ruling because the state wants to collect that tax next month on Tax Day.

Last night, the governing board of Sound Transit voted 15-1 to develop a station in Pioneer Square by 2037 instead of location in the Chinatown International District. Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell is endorsing this, saying that there was concern about displacing residents and hurting businesses in the CID. King County Executive Dow Constantine also endorses the Pioneer Square hub.

On Tuesday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down half of a 2017 Seattle City Council ordinance that prohibited landlords from asking tenants about their criminal history. The court ruled that banning landlords from asking about criminal history violates their First Amendment rights. The ordinance was designed to protect people with criminal histories from housing discrimination. What’s the effect of the ruling?

On Monday, Seattle Public Schools and city leaders announced that they will be seeking proposals to replace Memorial Stadium with a new sports, entertainment, and education venue. Memorial Stadium is 80 years old and outdated, and the new venue will be able to hold at least 8,000 people. The project includes $66.5 million approved by Seattle voters, and $21 million from the city. How will this change its use?

Last year new automated cameras caught more than 110,000 drivers illegally driving in the bus lanes, including over 84,000 warnings and over 26,000 tickets. Drivers are issued a warning for their first violation, and get a $75 ticket if they are caught more than once. That generated roughly $825,000 in revenue. There are four cameras, and the most violations were happening at Aurora Avenue North and Galer Street.

Starting yesterday, three Seattle Starbucks locations began serving olive oil-infused beverages. Dozens of other Seattle locations will begin serving the drinks on Monday. The Oleato” drinks were inspired by a Howard Schultz trip to Italy where he was introduced to the practice of consuming a tablespoon of olive oil every day and decided to try and incorporate that into coffee. How does it taste?