Music festivals and fan conventions, art walks, author events, and reading parties.

The next few months are amazing for arts and culture in the Seattle area.

And every week, KUOW's Arts and Culture Podcast, Meet Me Here, will give you the inside scoop.

From inspired recommendations to surprising chats with artists, you'll discover what's truly special about Seattle's creative communities.

Listen to meet me here on the KUOW app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey there, from the KUOW Newsroom. This is Seattle Now.

I'm Patricia Murphy with a roundup of today's

top stories. No fool in today. We've got some news. It's Wednesday, April 1st. The Seattle City

Council has passed new limits on data collection from automated license plate readers and surveillance

cameras used by the Seattle Police Department.

I hope we can all agree that we do not want data that is collected through ALPR to be used

against our residents for immigration action, reproductive health care, or gender-affirming care.

That's Seattle City Council member Alexis Mercedes-Rink during yesterday's vote.

SPD will now be required to pause all

data collection from cameras and license plate readers for 60 days. If the city receives a warrant

to share that data with civil immigration enforcement, the pause could also be enacted if

the mayor and police chief determine the data is being used to track

individuals seeking reproductive or gender-affirming care. King County Executive Girmai Zahalai has

issued an executive order to open 500 new shelter units in 500 days. The order directs the county

to improve how housing and health services communicate with legal systems.

He says 500 units is not the final goal, but his order represents an urgent effort to break the links between homelessness, addiction, and incarceration.

Governor Bob Ferguson has put his signature on updates to the state's capital budget.

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