Schell

[Christine Peterson]

The below, is just in time for stuff coming up in one month - because it 
includes amplified voices. Mayor Schell isn't a Giuliani or a Willie Brown. 
But he is a developer who is purely out to get money for his friends while 
trying to placate democrats who never bother to read deeply. There are 
literally thousands of dollars of public projects - from two stadiums being 
built across the street from each other downtown in Seattle,  more for a 
mall, more for the Bell Street pier and convention center and various other 
Port of Seattle projects, and $24 million for Nordstroms. The police are 
after a group for 'extortion' because they had a demonstration and called 
Nordstroms public property, and told them to support something in a letter.
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.

                                 Status of Seattle noise ordinance

                                 uncertain after mayor fails to check

                                 box marked 'veto'

                                 by J. Martin McOmber

                                 Seattle Times staff reporter

                                 Apparently in Mayor Paul Schell's haste to 
reject Seattle's

                                 controversial new noise ordinance last 
week, he forgot to initial

                                 the bill's veto box.

                                 And his letter to the City Council 
explaining his first-ever veto did

                                 not contain the ordinance's title or 
number.

                                 As far as Council President Sue Donaldson 
is concerned, the

                                 mayor's mistake means the noise ordinance 
went into effect

                                 Saturday.

                                 "My bet is we didn't veto it," she said.

                                 The city's law department was still trying 
to sort out the mess this

                                 morning. But the veto snafu seemed almost 
fitting considering the

                                 political chaos the noise ordinance has 
generated since the council

                                 voted 6-3 to approve it two weeks ago.

                                 The mayor's spokeswoman, Vivian Phillips, 
would not comment

                                 this morning.

                                 Despite the mistake, the council plans to 
amend the ordinance in

                                 two weeks to address most of the concerns 
raised by the mayor.

                                 Schell shocked many when he announced that 
he would veto the

                                 proposed ordinance because he was worried 
that a provision

                                 banning noisy demonstrations in 
neighborhoods and limiting them

                                 in commercial areas was a violation of free 
speech.

                                 He was also concerned that stiff new 
punishments in the ordinance

                                 could endanger nightclubs in the city.

                                 Several key council members spent much of 
the past two weeks

                                 trying to broker a compromise in hopes of 
avoiding the veto. But

                                 Schell on Wednesday announced that he would 
follow through on

                                 his threat, mostly because he didn't think 
there was enough time to

                                 craft workable legislation.

                                 Eight council members have signed on to a 
package of

                                 amendments aimed at easing the fears of 
labor groups and the

                                 music industry.

                                 The new law updates the city's original 
1977 noise regulation,

                                 giving police the power to issue citations 
on the spot for

                                 everything from barking dogs and loud house 
parties to booming

                                 car stereos and roaring motorcycles.

                                 Under the old law, police had to issue a 
warning every time they

                                 dealt with a noise disturbance, making the 
ordinance all but

                                 unenforceable.

                                 Under the new law, the first violation 
would be a $100 ticket, the

                                 second $250, and the third a misdemeanor 
crime, punishable by

                                 $500 fine and up to 90 days in jail.

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