The number of Seattle permit applications completing initial review plummeted 75 percent from April to May, from 266 to 66. Builders say problems with the system are setting their projects back by weeks or months.
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Times Watchdog is a series of investigative reports promoting good government, bringing questionable practices to light and holding authorities and the powerful accountable to the public.
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Mariners CEO Kevin Mather apologizes for past conduct, says he’s learned from mistakes
In response to a Seattle Times story published Wednesday, the Mariners acknowledged that current CEO Kevin Mather had previously been the subject of two workplace...
Mariners execs faced workplace complaints; three women received settlements
Three women accused Mariners executives of inappropriate workplace conduct in 2009-10, a Seattle Times investigation found. And in 2015, camera operators at Safeco Field shot...
Out of homelessness, into a hovel: Public money spent on Seattle houses with bugs, trash, no water
In response to the homelessness crisis, local governments are spending millions of dollars on rental subsidies to get people into housing that is seen as...
$12 million a mile: Here’s how bike-lane costs shot sky high in Seattle
At present rates, the Seattle Department of Transportation says it might be able to afford only half the 50 miles of bike lanes promised in...
Federal officials investigating practices of Warren Buffett’s mobile-home business
The federal government is investigating Clayton Homes, the mobile-home business in Warren Buffett’s empire that was the subject of a news investigation into its lending...
Seattle’s transportation department struggles with rising costs, unkept promises
SDOT says it can’t deliver on promises made by its massive 2015 construction levy, called Move Seattle. The department also is dealing with an over-budget...
After investigation into Seattle’s pension system, readers wonder: Why not just invest in index funds?
Our Times Watchdog team answers reader questions after a Seattle Times investigation into past mismanagement problems with Seattle's pension fund.
Behind Seattle’s rising pension costs: Past mismanagement adds to taxpayers’ burden | Times Watchdog
The Seattle City Employees’ Retirement System had one of the worst investment returns of any large public pension over a decade, triggering higher costs for...