Government

On the first day same-sex couples can get married in Washington state, Seattle City Hall will serve as a wedding chapel.   Mayor Mike McGinn's office is playing the role of planner. On Monday, it posted the itinerary for a historic wedding ceremony on Dec. 9.

The Supreme Court of Washington issued opinions on four cases Wednesday about how courts and judges interact with jurors. In three of the cases the Supreme Court ruled that jury selection has to happen in the open.

Starting Monday, drivers who speed past any of four Seattle schools will get tickets in the mail. Vehicles that go more than 20 miles per hour when school is in session are caught on camera.

The four schools with speed cameras are Thurgood Marshall Elementary on the I-90 lid, Gatewood Elementary in West Seattle, and Olympic View Elementary and Broadview Thomson K-8 in the north end.

Seattle city officials will soon begin sifting through applications for police watchdogs.  Last month, the city put out a call for citizens to serve on a new community police commission.  It’s being created as part of an agreement with the US Department of Justice  to reform the Seattle Police Department.

State Senator Ed Murray is the new majority leader of the Washington state senate.  But he faces some tough challenges, including a $900 million budget hole, a Supreme Court ruling that requires full funding for basic K-12 education and a possible rebellion by conservative Democrats.  David Hyde sits down with State Senator Ed Murray and asks, What's next? 

Members of the Young Urban Authors program meet twice a week in a small storefront near 23rd and Jackson in Seattle. The program is one of many funded by Seattle’s Youth Violence Prevention Initiative. In this program, the teenagers spend months writing and editing their own books — fiction or non-fiction — which are then printed in paperback form.

This month Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta laid out plans for the future of the US military. And as troops return from Afghanistan, that strategy includes shifting security operations to the Pacific Rim. Soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) will play a major role in that plan.

Republicans will hold a 38-seat lead in the US House of Representatives. But Democrats lead by 0.6 percent in the popular vote. What is the deal? Some experts say the gap can be explained by partisan gerrymandering – the  strategic redrawing of congressional district lines to benefit one political party.

Ross Reynolds talks with researcher Nicholas Goedert from Washington University in St. Louis.

The Seattle City Council is voting on the city budget next Monday. They’ve made some changes in  Mayor McGinn’s original proposal.  Ross Reynolds talks with Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn about the upcoming budget vote.