Open Thread 37

A little open thread while the editors are working on six pending articles.

International District/Chinatown Station has spiffy new next-arrival displays. They only have room for two short rows like Angle Lake 10; Angle Lake 20", but the text is large, the font and icons are contemporary but elegant, and the whole thing looks like a real subway display.

Also, at the exit there's an overhead yellow stripe saying to tap out and that your fare depends on the distance you traveled. This complements the other things ST has been doing since 2023 to make the fare-paid areas more visible, like moving the Westlake TVMs on the north side in front of the escalators, and putting yellow stripes on the floor leading to the ORCA readers.

A call for statewide rent stabilization. ($) House Bill 2114 would limit rent increases to 7% for renewals (not new leases). It would exempt new buildings for the first ten years, and has other exceptions and tax breaks for maintenance and rising property taxes. The article says that similar measures have not led to mom-n-pop landlords exiting the market en masse as some have claimed.

Homeless politics in Burien. ($)

The movement to replace water-starved lawns ($) with the native plants most missing in the local ecosystem. I was impressed by the range of suggestions on how front and back yards can help partially restore the ecosystem that was lost when residential neighborhoods were built.

This is an open thread.