Crosscut co-hosts Civic Cocktail, a happy hour celebration of civic nerdery, on the first Wednesday of each month with CityClub and the Seattle Channel. This month we'll tackle a host of topics: immigration, urban agriculture, the Seattle police department and how to fund higher education. Join us Wednesday, May 1, from 5:30- 7 p.m. for a televised bout of drinks and discussion. Register here.
There's a lot to cover Wednesday and not much time, so put on your civic expert hat and start reading.
Urban Agriculture
- Nation's largest public Food Forest takes root on Beacon Hill, by Robert Mellinger
- Backyard mason bees: All the pollination benefits, no sting, by Martha Baskin
- Kids in Rainier Beach dig into city farming, by Martha Baskin
- How gardens could help clean up Puget Sound, by Martha Baskin
Immigration
- Immigration reform: It's not just for men anymore, by Pramila Jayapal
- Local women & families are left out of new immigration bill, by Vanesha Manuturi
- The true cost of food? Ask an undocumented agricultural worker, by Brad Wong/ Equal Voice News
- Fixing immigration, by Pramila Jayapal
- Should the state pay tuition for undocumented students? by John Stang
Higher education funding
- Business support for education: Just big talk? by Dick Nelson
- Washington state jobs, universities vulnerable to D.C's fiscal cliff, by Joe Copeland
- Civic Cocktail: A guide to Washington's education funding debate, by Alison Krupnick
- Should Washington pay schools more for better results? by Jeanne Kohl-Welles and David Frockt
- A school funding impasse is brewing, by John Stang
- Northeastern U: The start of a new SLU U-District? by Collin Tong
- Seattle's Police Chief rumble: Jim Pugel is the new John Diaz, by Berit Anderson
- Seattle police: what they're doing right with troubled people, by Judy Lightfoot
- Police reform in Seattle is long overdue, by Tim Burgess
- Never mind the drones: The SPD already knows where you've been, by Matt Fikse-Verkerk
- Paper trail: Four key documents that describe the SPD's new surveillance network, by Matt Fikse-Verkerk
- Don't let mayoral maneuvering muck up SPD reform, by Jordan Royer
