Austin built a lot of housing fast. Rents fell. What could Seattle learn? While rents kept rising in many big cities, including Seattle, rents in Austin, Texas, have been on the decline for the last three years. That raises a simple question: Why is Austin an outlier? And is there anything Seattle could copy? Joshua McNichols
Housing costs dropped in Austin. How they did the impossible Over the last few years, Austin's average rent fell. So what is Austin doing right? And what could Seattle learn from it? Alec Cowan
West Seattle’s only overnight shelter set to close at the end of the year Westside Neighbors Shelter will keep serving breakfast and dinner daily, but the overnight sleeping program has run out of money and will close at the end of the year. Casey Martin
Can a watershed have legal rights? The Snohomish River debate deepens The tide is turning in a Snohomish County legal battle over whether a river and its watershed have legal rights that can be defended in court. KUOW Staff
Can Seattle's next mayor bring down the cost of rent — or pizza? In the Seattle mayoral race, many voters are focused on the cost of living in an ever-more-expensive city. They’re pressing the candidates on who can build more housing and make the city more affordable. Amy Radil
Seattle spent millions on hotel rooms to shelter unhoused people. Then it stopped filling them Early last year, the city signed a $2.7 million lease extension to continue using a hotel’s rooms as shelter space. Yet despite committing to pay the rent, the city stopped sending people there. Teo Popescu
Homelessness still rising in Washington, state data shows Homelessness is still on the rise in Washington, but data collected by the state Department of Commerce shows that the growth rate across much of the state slowed last year. Emily Fitzgerald/Washington State Standard
Seattle considers measure to protect homeowners from predatory offers Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell is pushing new legislation to curb predatory home-buying offers. Joshua McNichols
Landlords fined for first time under WA’s new law capping rent increases For the first time, Washington’s attorney general has enforced the state’s new cap on rent hikes, fining eight landlords $2,000 each for violating the law. Jake Goldstein-Street/Washington State Standard
How Seattle's most competitive mayoral candidates would address the city's top issues Soundside host Libby Denkmann spoke with the four most competitive candidates running for mayor of Seattle about the top issues facing the city and what they’d do to address them. Hans Anderson
