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The need for cruise control

Crosscut Focus: People vs. Puget Sound. An environmentalist explains why better federal regulations are needed to police polluters among the world's fleet of cruise ships: State and local authorities can only do so much. Over six months this year, Puget Sound will see 211 big ships bearing 835,000 passengers call on Seattle.

Guess which Northwest blogs will cover the Democratic National Convention

By Lisa Albers

The Associated Press reported today on the list of bloggers selected to cover the Democratic National Convention Committee. One from each state will form a "state blogging corps" who will be seated with state delegations during the convention in Denver this August. The group blog HorsesAss, led by "accidental activist" David Goldstein, was chosen from Washington state, and the choice for Oregon was BlueOregon, "the water cooler around which Oregon progressives will gather," another group blog.

Posted Wed, May 14, 2:18 PM

Why Hillary Clinton should stay in the race

Election 2008. There's no real reason for her to step aside until the convention, argues Crosscut's national political writer. Let her finish the last five primaries. But if she fails to get the nomination, she then must embrace Barack Obama and go to work for him during the fall campaign.

Barack Obama's big Oregon lead

Obama wearing sunglasses. A look at the polls suggests the Illinois senator's victory dance is warranted.

Seattle goes gah-gah over choo-choos

Streetcar in Seattle. As Seattle considers a plan to extend the South Lake Union Streetcar line, it's time to decide whether returning to a 19th-century transportation method is really the answer.

There's nothing new in a plan to save Puget Sound

Crosscut Focus: People vs. Puget Sound. While the Puget Sound Partnership works to include citizen comment in the process of developing a plan to save the Sound, some scientists say they already weighed in — back in 2006 — but it looks as if their comments are being ignored.

Puget Sound on Prozac

Crosscut Focus: People vs. Puget Sound. Pretty as it is, our signature waterway is a chemical dump for everything from oil to sewage — and even anti-depressants. You may be surprised (and disgusted) by what turns up there.

Seattle neighborhoods at one table

There Go the Neighborhoods: A Resident's Guide to Seattle Process Chapter 3: Members of the City Neighborhood Council refer to the body's role as "holding the city's feet to the fire," but that expression is more incendiary than the reality. The role is advisory, but sometimes its influence can be seen in City Hall initiatives born or programs saved.

Perhaps Oklahoma City would also be interested in a baseball team

1977 Seatle Mariners cap. OK, probably not — they already have a pretty good triple-A minor league team. So what the heck is going wrong at Safeco Field?

Hillary Clinton, will you please go now!

Hillary Clinton. Flip Side: With apologies to Dr. Seuss and Maureen Dowd.

Fast times and loads of fun, despite expensive gas

Weekend Essay. Photo story: Drag racing today is a AAA-sanctioned activity for high school students — on a track, without alcohol, and with plenty of supervision. But high-priced fuel takes a toll.

Another Teton Dam

Teton Dam. The golden age of dam building has long since passed, capped by the tragic failure in 1976 of the last big dam, an earthen structure on the Teton River of Idaho. Few new dam projects are being proposed these days, and many dams are being purposefully breached. But that hasn't stopped some from resurrecting the possibility of a new Teton Dam.

A city of scolds

Plastic water bottle. Seattle City Hall has cracked down on drinking and clubs, it's on the verge of banning fast food and taxing plastic grocery bags, and now even plastic-bottled water is a civic sin. Switch to tap water! says the mayor. Mossback thinks enough is enough.

Meet the dynamos who make Portland's art music snap and crackle

Mark Powell. Four who are scene-shifting classical musicians talk about why they came to Portland, and why "a big small town" can be a more promising place than bigger Seattle for an art-music revolution.

The revenge of the resource economy in the Mountain West

Salt mining in Moab, Utah. Despite slowing growth, the Mountain West is driven by a strong, complex economy that includes a natural resources boom, with industries such as mining once again on the upswing, a continued construction engine that seems to be resisting the housing slump, and the new standby, tourism.

A plea bargain douses the scandal of the Thirtymile Fire

Thirtymile Fire locator map. The darkest moment in U.S. Forest Service history won't be told — not to a jury, anyway.

A great ex-pat life — but a long way from home

Seattle's French Underground. Seattle's French Underground: Ensconced in metro Puget Sound, French nationals nonetheless feel the inevitable tug of the homeland. Conclusion

The city's own series of tubes

Utility poles owned by the City of Seattle. Would municipal broadband service for all residents be better and cheaper than what the free market is providing now? Seattle City Hall wants to find out.

Educated abroad, they are France's new foreign legion

Seattle's French Underground. Seattle's French Underground: Today's graduates are more likely to have studied abroad, and they're more open to leaving France for career opportunities — glamorous and humble. Many of them are settling in metro Puget Sound. Part 3

It's not over until Hillary Clinton's cash runs out

Election 2008. As Barack Obama takes North Carolina and Clinton narrowly wins in Indiana, it's time not for celebration or a victory concession but a look ahead at months of stalemate.

Greg Nickels' rebel yell

Mayor Greg Nickels at CityClub. Seattle's mayor waves the flag of secession. In so doing, he may have waved goodbye to a future in state politics.

Annals of Northwest secession

Flag of Jefferson. A primer of regional separatist movements, real and imagined.

For the French, Seattle's cachet is bio

Seattle's French Underground. Seattle's French Underground: There are thousands of emigrants in metro Seattle. They generally like our green and organic values, but the social norms here are an acquired taste. Part 2

An alternative reality show

Golf ball and club. In The Real Husbands of Seattle, power and success come at high costs, but you might have to read between the lines ...

Lawrence Brownlee shines in Seattle Opera's Puritani

Lawrence Brownlee (Arturo). A night to cheer Bellini fans: absolutely splendid music, excellent singers, and a chance to see a rising star tenor.

Parlez-vous a software language?

Seattle's French Underground. Seattle's French Underground: Thousands have invaded metro Puget Sound, many of them in search of opportunities and attitudes in technology that simply don't exist at home in France. Part 1

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Photo Gallery » The-Coeur-d'Alene

The Coeur d'Alene Resort

By the lake in northern Idaho.


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Mossback »

Your chance to join the Mod Squad

A number of events are coming up for people interested in preserving Northwest modernism, from Googie to Brutalism to starship chic. Here's a quick rundown and reminder of doings connected to stories I've been covering on Crosscut.

Puget Sound on Prozac

57 states — and the Soviet of Washington?

Arts Beat »

Jen Graves on Robert Rauschenberg's influence

"Rauschenberg's death feels like it hits harder than the death of any artist in recent memory, which sounds strange (quantifying deaths is a bad business) and makes very little sense. After all, the man was 82."

Tacoma wants a LIFT — Local Infrastructure Financing Tool — from the state

The New York Times cuts five from the arts staff

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Business / Technology »

Audio: There aren't enough ships to send Northwest products overseas

The low value of the dollar relative to other nations' currency means there's a booming business for exporters, if they can only get their shipments out. "Space is at a premium on out-bound vessels," reports Austin Jenkins.

Ah, about that Copper River salmon: not such a good 'carbon footprint'

2.5 billion paper cups: Starbucks takes a hard look at recycling and composting

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Lifestyle / Leisure »

Ah, about that Copper River salmon: not such a good 'carbon footprint'

Getting fresh, first-of-the-season fish means having it shipped to Seattle by air, which is a heftier environmental cost than freezing it in seawater and having it shipped here by other means. Even farmed salmon, in some cases, is a better deal, environmentally speaking.

An Ore. woman is the first female to win the brewmaster award

Available in Seattle this Friday: Copper River salmon

Food »

Ah, about that Copper River salmon: not such a good 'carbon footprint'

Getting fresh, first-of-the-season fish means having it shipped to Seattle by air, which is a heftier environmental cost than freezing it in seawater and having it shipped here by other means. Even farmed salmon, in some cases, is a better deal, environmentally speaking.

Included in the Farm Bill: $170 million in aid for salmon fisheries

An Ore. woman is the first female to win the brewmaster award

Flip Side » Hillary Clinton.

Hillary Clinton, will you please go now!

Flip Side: With apologies to Dr. Seuss and Maureen Dowd.

An alternative reality show

John Moe: Sorry, Seattle, I'm moving away

Sports »

Memo to the owners of the Mariners

In calling attention to some scathing advice for the team's ownership, penned by USS Mariner blogger and local author Derek Milhous Zumsteg, I'm giving short shrift to a very thoughtful, statistics-rich analysis of the poorly performing Seattle Mariners. But DMZ says what mainstream writers dare not, or at least in a way they would not, and it's worth highlighting the last three paragraphs of his assessment:

The worst team in baseball might ask Ken Griffey Jr., 38, to do the impossible again: save the franchise

Oklahoma City stakes a claim for the Sonics, no matter who owns the team

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