Seattle Politics and Urbanism Daily
ST3’s Hard Choices Meet Seattle’s Street-Level Tests
Monday, May 18, 2026 · 10 min
Seattle’s reform agenda gets concrete this week: Sound Transit is triaging ST3 promises against a multibillion-dollar gap, while prosecutors, auditors, and City Hall face tests on fentanyl enforcement, homelessness accountability, and basic public infrastructure.
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Show notes
Seattle’s reform agenda gets concrete this week: Sound Transit is triaging ST3 promises against a multibillion-dollar gap, while prosecutors, auditors, and City Hall face tests on fentanyl enforcement, homelessness accountability, and basic public infrastructure.
In this episode
- Sound Transit Updates ST3 Plan Amid Financial Constraints – Seattle Transit Blog — Seattle Transit Blog
 # Sound Transit Updates ST3 Plan Amid Financial Constraints On Thursday, Sound Transit Board Chair Dave Somers will share a resolution to update the Sound Transit 3 system plan. This update will help align the agency’s future Link extensions with the available funding. Due to record-breaking inflation and more…
- Step Back — If voters already approved ST3, how did Sound Transit end up in a money crunch where West Seattle, Ballard, and Everett light rail are competing for scraps — and who actually has the power to change the plan now?
Background sources
- Achieving long-term affordability - Sound Transit — Soundtransit
- Sound Transit exploring three options to cut future light rail expansion — Komonews
- Sound Transit’s expansion plans balloon by up to $35 billion — Mike Lindblom
- Sound Transit plans to close $34.5B shortfall over 2 decades, reshaping light rail future — Komonews
- Sound Transit Board rejects tunnel elimination idea, sets stage for ST3 cutbacks — Komonews
- Seattle mayor ruffles feathers over $30B Sound Transit budget woes, priorities — Komonews
- Sound Transit Board Grapples with Plan to Rebalance ST3 — Theurbanist
- Somers Proposal Keeps Rail to Everett and Tacoma On Track, Stops Short of Ballard — Theurbanist
- King County files 46 felony drug-dealing cases as fentanyl crisis grips Seattle streets — KOMO News
King County files 46 felony drug-dealing cases as fentanyl crisis grips Seattle streets Download the AppGet your news faster with our mobile experience Install # King County files 46 felony drug-dealing cases as fentanyl crisis grips Seattle streets --- by Joel Moreno, KOMO News Reporter Fri, May 15, 2026 at 3:15 PM This image shows a man holding a straw above a piece of foil as he lights the…
- Waste Of The Day: Seattle’s Homelessness Fiasco – iftttwall — RealClear Politics
Waste Of The Day: Seattle’s Homelessness Fiasco – iftttwall Waste Of The Day: Seattle’s Homelessness Fiasco Authored by Jeremy Portnoy via RealClear Politics, Topline: The homelessness agency in King County, Wash., has a $45 million deficit, but auditors can’t fully figure out why, according to a state audit publicly released this April. Its accounting records are so poor that it’s impossible…
- We're adding four new public restrooms in Pioneer Square. - SDOT Blog — SDOT Blog
We're adding four new public restrooms in Pioneer Square. - SDOT Blog SDOT Blog Seattle Department of Transportation Search ## Find Posts By Topic # We’re adding four new public restrooms in Pioneer Square. Blog stats: 960 words | 5-minute read --- ### At a Glance - Winter Weather - We are partnering with Throne Labs to install four new public restrooms in Pioneer Square as a one-year pilot…