Sightline Institute
@sightline.org
Think tank cooking up nonpartisan policy research on housing, energy, climate, and democracy in Cascadia. 🧠🍳 Likes/follows ≠ endorsements.
Newsletters: sightline.org/signup
Newsletters: sightline.org/signup
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North America's Elevator Problem
YouTube video by About Here
youtu.be
The United States has the fewest elevators in the rich world, with Canada only a bit ahead. We teamed up with @uytaelee.bsky.social of About Here Videos to investigate why, exactly, North America sucks at elevators.
Reposted by Sightline Institute
Congress is moving fast on the SAVE Act, and what it means for voter access deserves a factual discussion. Join us tomorrow, Feb 10, 7:30–8:30 PM ET for an educational webinar featuring Members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus & election experts. Register: https://bit.ly/46ssr1A
February 10, 2026 at 12:55 AM
Congress is moving fast on the SAVE Act, and what it means for voter access deserves a factual discussion. Join us tomorrow, Feb 10, 7:30–8:30 PM ET for an educational webinar featuring Members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus & election experts. Register: https://bit.ly/46ssr1A
Reposted by Sightline Institute
🐦 💘 It's the season for lovebirds! 💘 🦅
But ... which bird? From the iconic goose to the snowy owl, from monogamous to poly, there’s got to be one out there for you. Our Valentine's Day quiz will reveal the Canadian bird that best meets your relationship needs.
But ... which bird? From the iconic goose to the snowy owl, from monogamous to poly, there’s got to be one out there for you. Our Valentine's Day quiz will reveal the Canadian bird that best meets your relationship needs.
Valentine’s Day quiz: discover your Canadian lovebird | The Narwhal
Take our Valentine’s Day quiz to find the nest-mate of your dreams — and get a card to share
projects.thenarwhal.ca
February 7, 2026 at 8:19 PM
🐦 💘 It's the season for lovebirds! 💘 🦅
But ... which bird? From the iconic goose to the snowy owl, from monogamous to poly, there’s got to be one out there for you. Our Valentine's Day quiz will reveal the Canadian bird that best meets your relationship needs.
But ... which bird? From the iconic goose to the snowy owl, from monogamous to poly, there’s got to be one out there for you. Our Valentine's Day quiz will reveal the Canadian bird that best meets your relationship needs.
Seattle renters — we have some climate action ideas for you to share w Mayor Wilson!
February 5, 2026 at 10:00 PM
Seattle renters — we have some climate action ideas for you to share w Mayor Wilson!
As always, there’s an @sightline.org video explainer
youtu.be/Or1_qVdekYM?...
Smaller, less expensive elevators would a) help more seniors live their lives and b) potentially help repair costs and timelines
youtu.be/Or1_qVdekYM?...
Smaller, less expensive elevators would a) help more seniors live their lives and b) potentially help repair costs and timelines
North America's Elevator Problem
YouTube video by About Here
youtu.be
February 5, 2026 at 12:37 AM
Reposted by Sightline Institute
Very comprehensive Vox article on building code research and reform efforts across the country, fearing John Zeanah’s report for the Center for Building on low-rise multifamily housing and Michael Eriksen’s academic work on building code costs www.vox.com/future-perfe... (gift link)
The hidden double standards driving our housing crisis
Apartments are safer and more affordable than single-family homes. Why do we treat them like a hazard?
www.vox.com
February 4, 2026 at 5:19 PM
Very comprehensive Vox article on building code research and reform efforts across the country, fearing John Zeanah’s report for the Center for Building on low-rise multifamily housing and Michael Eriksen’s academic work on building code costs www.vox.com/future-perfe... (gift link)
Yes! A big part of why the bill is so important -- proportional representation is the electoral gold standard 🤩
February 3, 2026 at 11:50 PM
Yes! A big part of why the bill is so important -- proportional representation is the electoral gold standard 🤩
Reposted by Sightline Institute
If you agree that retail spaces on the ground floor of apartment buildings should be optional, not mandated, here's something you can do:
Take pics of vacant storefronts in you neighborhood and post them as a reply here, with info about where they are.
And please share this post, thank you!!!
Take pics of vacant storefronts in you neighborhood and post them as a reply here, with info about where they are.
And please share this post, thank you!!!
To celebrate the possibility that SB 6026 will end mandates for apartment buildings to have commercial uses on their ground floors, here's a bunch of pics of empty retail spaces in Seattle's Capitol Hill, the most densely populated neighborhood in WA.
app.leg.wa.gov/BillSummary/...
app.leg.wa.gov/BillSummary/...
February 3, 2026 at 9:37 PM
If you agree that retail spaces on the ground floor of apartment buildings should be optional, not mandated, here's something you can do:
Take pics of vacant storefronts in you neighborhood and post them as a reply here, with info about where they are.
And please share this post, thank you!!!
Take pics of vacant storefronts in you neighborhood and post them as a reply here, with info about where they are.
And please share this post, thank you!!!
Reposted by Sightline Institute
A public hearing on this is scheduled for Feb 5th with remote access available. app.leg.wa.gov/committeesch...
Committee Schedules, Agendas, and Documents
app.leg.wa.gov
February 3, 2026 at 9:15 PM
A public hearing on this is scheduled for Feb 5th with remote access available. app.leg.wa.gov/committeesch...
Reposted by Sightline Institute
After adopting housing reforms that included eliminating parking mandates and increased density limits throughout the city, Bothell has seen a major jump in pre-applications for residential projects.
Average number of units entering pre-application over the past 5 years: 580
In 2025: 1000+
Average number of units entering pre-application over the past 5 years: 580
In 2025: 1000+
February 2, 2026 at 8:15 PM
After adopting housing reforms that included eliminating parking mandates and increased density limits throughout the city, Bothell has seen a major jump in pre-applications for residential projects.
Average number of units entering pre-application over the past 5 years: 580
In 2025: 1000+
Average number of units entering pre-application over the past 5 years: 580
In 2025: 1000+
WA's Protect Our VOICES Act (HB 2210) would allow local jurisdictions to opt into #RankedChoiceVoting (if they want to) and would provide consistent standards and resources. It has a House hearing on Thurs., Feb 5!
More bill info from @wavotingjustice.bsky.social:
More bill info from @wavotingjustice.bsky.social:
February 3, 2026 at 7:07 PM
WA's Protect Our VOICES Act (HB 2210) would allow local jurisdictions to opt into #RankedChoiceVoting (if they want to) and would provide consistent standards and resources. It has a House hearing on Thurs., Feb 5!
More bill info from @wavotingjustice.bsky.social:
More bill info from @wavotingjustice.bsky.social:
Reposted by Sightline Institute
From @citizen-cate.bsky.social at @sightline.org: What other jurisdictions can learn from Portland, Oregon's embrace of tiny homes on wheels, a flexible housing option that appeals with or without legality.
www.sightline.org/2026/01/26/f...
www.sightline.org/2026/01/26/f...
Fast, Affordable, Illegal | Sightline Institute
Homes on wheels are a lifeline for families, but zoning codes are still trying to keep them out.
www.sightline.org
February 2, 2026 at 9:24 PM
From @citizen-cate.bsky.social at @sightline.org: What other jurisdictions can learn from Portland, Oregon's embrace of tiny homes on wheels, a flexible housing option that appeals with or without legality.
www.sightline.org/2026/01/26/f...
www.sightline.org/2026/01/26/f...
Reposted by Sightline Institute
Lee dropped his video on behalf of local pro-housing group @sightline.org . They teamed up to make the case that the clunky elevators dictated by current code are incompatible with producing the relatively smaller mode of multi-family housing needed to increase housing stock.
I’m All Lost In, #120: Elevators as transit infrastructure; the NYT’s latest Trump failure; Doo-wop reels; and a fortnight of Australian Open nights. — Josh Feit's Poetry
I was reading a book by the light of my iPhone. The couple next to me was quietly doing origami.
www.joshfeitpoetry.com
February 2, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Lee dropped his video on behalf of local pro-housing group @sightline.org . They teamed up to make the case that the clunky elevators dictated by current code are incompatible with producing the relatively smaller mode of multi-family housing needed to increase housing stock.
Reposted by Sightline Institute
On Vancouver Island, Quatsino First Nation is developing clean, reliable sources of energy for its residents, from wind and solar to tidal power. It's all part of an effort to reduce costs and strengthen the remote community's energy independence. thenarwhal.ca/quatsino-ren...
Quatsino leads the charge on renewable energy | The Narwhal
On Vancouver Island, Quatsino First Nation is completing a 150-kW solar project, piloting tidal power and partnering with a wind farm in its push for renewable energy
thenarwhal.ca
January 29, 2026 at 6:09 PM
On Vancouver Island, Quatsino First Nation is developing clean, reliable sources of energy for its residents, from wind and solar to tidal power. It's all part of an effort to reduce costs and strengthen the remote community's energy independence. thenarwhal.ca/quatsino-ren...
Congrats, Missoula! 🥳
Council votes to remove all parking requirements for new Missoula developments
If the change carries through final approval of the larger code document, Missoula will become the first city in Montana to eliminate parking requirements for all new development.
missoulian.com
January 30, 2026 at 12:44 AM
Congrats, Missoula! 🥳
Reposted by Sightline Institute
People in all sorts of places want the option to live in MDUs.
Here's an example in Nanaimo, BC, where officials are working on new policies to allow people to live in MDUs full time and enjoy the benefits of this option that's unmatched in terms of low cost and quickness.
Here's an example in Nanaimo, BC, where officials are working on new policies to allow people to live in MDUs full time and enjoy the benefits of this option that's unmatched in terms of low cost and quickness.
Thank you to Kylie Stanton from Global for interviewing me about our efforts to legalize my tiny home so that lower-income senior relatives have a safe, autonomous, affordable place to live with our family. Permit fees should be flexible for lower-income folks. globalnews.ca/video/116425...
January 29, 2026 at 6:41 PM
People in all sorts of places want the option to live in MDUs.
Here's an example in Nanaimo, BC, where officials are working on new policies to allow people to live in MDUs full time and enjoy the benefits of this option that's unmatched in terms of low cost and quickness.
Here's an example in Nanaimo, BC, where officials are working on new policies to allow people to live in MDUs full time and enjoy the benefits of this option that's unmatched in terms of low cost and quickness.
See you tomorrow!🔌⚡
Don't miss this, Portland! Convo will build upon @opb.org + @propublica.org's coverage of clean energy bottlenecks in the PNW
January 28, 2026 at 10:07 PM
See you tomorrow!🔌⚡
Reposted by Sightline Institute
The Winter Olympics are running out of winter. For @nationalobserver.com www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/27/n...
The Winter Olympics are running out of winter
Warming winters are reducing the number of places that can host the Winter Olympics and Paralympics and could soon force the games to be held earlier in the winter, a new Canadian-led study finds.
www.nationalobserver.com
January 27, 2026 at 6:23 PM
The Winter Olympics are running out of winter. For @nationalobserver.com www.nationalobserver.com/2026/01/27/n...
Reposted by Sightline Institute
@mayorofseattle.bsky.social is a renter. So is our climate director @emilymoore.bsky.social – and Emily has ideas for the newly-inaugurated Mayor Wilson to help renters get in on clean energy action like heat pumps, plug-in solar, and induction stoves.
Katie Wilson Can Be Seattle’s Climate Mayor for Renters | Sightline Institute
New programs for heat pumps, induction stoves, and plug-in solar would let renters reap the rewards of the clean energy revolution.
www.sightline.org
January 8, 2026 at 4:38 PM
@mayorofseattle.bsky.social is a renter. So is our climate director @emilymoore.bsky.social – and Emily has ideas for the newly-inaugurated Mayor Wilson to help renters get in on clean energy action like heat pumps, plug-in solar, and induction stoves.
Reposted by Sightline Institute
Short session moves fast. Here's what was introduced and moved through committee last week: www.homes4wa.org/bill-tracker
Legislative session is here! Lawmakers in Olympia are weighing hundreds of bills — follow our top priorities through our new bill tracker: homes4wa.org/bill-tracker
Bill Tracker — #Homes4WA
www.homes4wa.org
January 26, 2026 at 9:22 PM
Short session moves fast. Here's what was introduced and moved through committee last week: www.homes4wa.org/bill-tracker
Reposted by Sightline Institute
Being on a municipal charter commission (a panel of residents who suggest amendments to what are basically local constitutions) is important work. We collected former commissioners' best advice: www.sightline.org/2026/01/20/a...
A Charter Commissioner’s Guide to Election Reform | Sightline Institute
Sightline asked former commissioners for their best advice. Here’s what they had to say.
www.sightline.org
January 20, 2026 at 4:27 PM
Being on a municipal charter commission (a panel of residents who suggest amendments to what are basically local constitutions) is important work. We collected former commissioners' best advice: www.sightline.org/2026/01/20/a...
Reposted by Sightline Institute
Months before Typhoon Halong hit Kipnuk, Alaska, @kylehopkinsak.bsky.social and photographer Marc Lester visited the area to report on a different story.
It gave them a chance to document a version of the village that no longer exists and maybe will never again.
With @adn.com
It gave them a chance to document a version of the village that no longer exists and maybe will never again.
With @adn.com
Documenting an Alaska Village, Before and After the Storm That Destroyed It
The story of Typhoon Halong’s destruction in Kipnuk adds an exclamation point to long-simmering fears about the future of Alaska coastal villages facing down climate change.
www.propublica.org
January 26, 2026 at 5:49 PM
Months before Typhoon Halong hit Kipnuk, Alaska, @kylehopkinsak.bsky.social and photographer Marc Lester visited the area to report on a different story.
It gave them a chance to document a version of the village that no longer exists and maybe will never again.
With @adn.com
It gave them a chance to document a version of the village that no longer exists and maybe will never again.
With @adn.com
Reposted by Sightline Institute
“I just love it here”
the latest from @sightline.org's @citizen-cate.bsky.social on **the fastest, lowest-cost housing solution** that could be in more backyards now—for aging parents, live-in caregivers, young people starting out, etc.—if only they were legal
the latest from @sightline.org's @citizen-cate.bsky.social on **the fastest, lowest-cost housing solution** that could be in more backyards now—for aging parents, live-in caregivers, young people starting out, etc.—if only they were legal
Fast, Affordable, Illegal | Sightline Institute
Takeaways Since NW Tiny Homes opened on Columbia Boulevard in Portland, Oregon, last July, business has been good. By September, the company had already hit its sales goal for the year. It sells styli...
www.sightline.org
January 26, 2026 at 8:27 PM
“I just love it here”
the latest from @sightline.org's @citizen-cate.bsky.social on **the fastest, lowest-cost housing solution** that could be in more backyards now—for aging parents, live-in caregivers, young people starting out, etc.—if only they were legal
the latest from @sightline.org's @citizen-cate.bsky.social on **the fastest, lowest-cost housing solution** that could be in more backyards now—for aging parents, live-in caregivers, young people starting out, etc.—if only they were legal
“We own the land. We own the house. But technically, we’re not living legally in either one.”
In WA, tiny homes on wheels are typically not allowed outside of RV parks. @citizen-cate.bsky.social talked to families who are making the flexible, low-cost option work, despite legal obstacles.
In WA, tiny homes on wheels are typically not allowed outside of RV parks. @citizen-cate.bsky.social talked to families who are making the flexible, low-cost option work, despite legal obstacles.
Fast, Affordable, Illegal | Sightline Institute
Homes on wheels are a lifeline for families, but zoning codes are still trying to keep them out.
www.sightline.org
January 26, 2026 at 9:00 PM
“We own the land. We own the house. But technically, we’re not living legally in either one.”
In WA, tiny homes on wheels are typically not allowed outside of RV parks. @citizen-cate.bsky.social talked to families who are making the flexible, low-cost option work, despite legal obstacles.
In WA, tiny homes on wheels are typically not allowed outside of RV parks. @citizen-cate.bsky.social talked to families who are making the flexible, low-cost option work, despite legal obstacles.
Reposted by Sightline Institute
"Commonsense reform: a remedy for ballot confusion over party nominees"
New article on #DemocracySOS from @sightline.org Alan Durning
AK, WA, CA don't allow parties to claim their nominees.Letting parties tag their nominees on the ballot = better elections
democracysos.substack.com/p/commonsens...
New article on #DemocracySOS from @sightline.org Alan Durning
AK, WA, CA don't allow parties to claim their nominees.Letting parties tag their nominees on the ballot = better elections
democracysos.substack.com/p/commonsens...
Commonsense reform: a remedy for ballot confusion over party nominees
Letting parties tag their nominees on the ballot would make elections clearer, fairer, and harder to hijack by disingenuous candidates.
democracysos.substack.com
January 23, 2026 at 7:39 PM
"Commonsense reform: a remedy for ballot confusion over party nominees"
New article on #DemocracySOS from @sightline.org Alan Durning
AK, WA, CA don't allow parties to claim their nominees.Letting parties tag their nominees on the ballot = better elections
democracysos.substack.com/p/commonsens...
New article on #DemocracySOS from @sightline.org Alan Durning
AK, WA, CA don't allow parties to claim their nominees.Letting parties tag their nominees on the ballot = better elections
democracysos.substack.com/p/commonsens...
"Washington has long enjoyed some of the most affordable and carbon-free electricity in the US. SB 5466 can continue that legacy."
@emilymoore.bsky.social testified today in support of launching a state transmission authority. #WALeg More here: www.sightline.org/2025/12/18/h...
@emilymoore.bsky.social testified today in support of launching a state transmission authority. #WALeg More here: www.sightline.org/2025/12/18/h...
January 21, 2026 at 11:16 PM
"Washington has long enjoyed some of the most affordable and carbon-free electricity in the US. SB 5466 can continue that legacy."
@emilymoore.bsky.social testified today in support of launching a state transmission authority. #WALeg More here: www.sightline.org/2025/12/18/h...
@emilymoore.bsky.social testified today in support of launching a state transmission authority. #WALeg More here: www.sightline.org/2025/12/18/h...