Posted Mon, Jan 16, 11:33 a.m.

Is Seattle alone in police abuses of force or is the problem police practices in the 21st century? I get the feeling Seattle's not unique in the U.S., just that video, audio and open records are revealing how policing is being conducted.

Posted Tue, Dec 27, 10:13 a.m.

Cars are incredibly safe. They have 3 point seat-belts, front air bags, side air bags, crush zones, federal safety testing, state laws mandating their use and age restrictions. Bicycles have none of that. However, there are far fewer fatal accidents on bicycles than cars. Yet when there is a fatality ...

Posted Mon, Dec 26, 3:20 p.m.

Cars are incredibly safe. They are intentionally designed with safety in mind. Bikes have zero safety features save a helmet just designed for slow speed falls to the pavement. Even given that car to car accidents far outstrip bike accidents in fatalities and injuries. The so called anger against bikes ...

Posted Mon, Dec 26, 3:09 p.m.

Where were the examples of Seattle hating bicycles? A few anonymous blog comments to a Danny Westneat column? He would get negative complaints if told readers the sky was blue.

Posted Sat, Nov 26, 3:49 p.m.

Thanksgiving has lost. Black Thursday/Friday was more successful than ever for retailers. President's Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day and Veteran's Day are just a few of the casualties in the losing battle with consumerism. The Martin Luther King Jr. Day is already fighting against car sales and electronic sales. In ...

Posted Tue, Nov 15, 6:23 a.m.

Perhaps an "entity" like dbreneman should bother reading the article instead of just the comments, as that was sort of the point of the article. I don't know if entities vote, but as for people they should give a damn about issues and elected officials that affect them. This nonexistent ...

Posted Sun, Nov 13, 6:43 p.m.

400,000 voters voted against SJR 8205 an unenforceable, antiquated part of the constitution. Perhaps if everyone was forced to vote more educated voters would vote. It's just stunning that over a quarter of actual voters are willfully ignorant on the issues and candidates they are voting on.

Posted Sun, Nov 6, 9:27 a.m.

The Legislature is going to cut and survive this special session at the expense of counties, cities and districts. The taxes will be again applied at the local level where local jurisdictions can afford them. The real test will be the 2013-2015 budget with another $2-$3 billion dollar shortfall. The ...

Posted Mon, Oct 10, 1:15 p.m.

Did Prius just copy Pilobolus?

Posted Sun, Sep 25, 10:08 a.m.

I can offer simple solutions to the issues you raise, but inflexisibility makes them politically dead. How do we fix the financial system? Well we can do little to solve the world's problems, but we can address the US's problems. We need to seriously look at monopolies and breaking up ...

Posted Sat, Sep 24, 10:10 p.m.

The opposite of "soak the rich" is punishing the poor. The poor cannot give any more. They cannot pay more in healthcare and see more cuts in pay or worse be laid off. Politicians and economists and apparently journalists all have a mindset of absolutes. That mindset has lead us ...

Posted Fri, Sep 2, 9:27 a.m.

When do I get to hot tub with the walruses? http://waterfrontseattle.org/upload/file_20110520124723/11_05_19_Public_Meeting.pdf

Posted Thu, Aug 25, 9:57 p.m.

Concurrency? It sounds like a crime Bernie Madoff committed. Why don't they just call it having sex with multiple partners? Are they paying be the letter?

Posted Mon, Aug 1, 2:02 p.m.

@Mickymse I think it mostly stayed in San Francisco. That's a long commute for anyone in Seattle.

Posted Mon, Aug 1, 10:21 a.m.

There are two main access points to enter Seattle from the north and the east. The ferries are the only access from the west. The south is the only way in with more than two options and oddly that is the only direction that has regular mass transit not tied ...

Posted Sat, Jul 16, 11:51 a.m.

So is John Carlson going to vote for President Obama? What is exactly the point? President Obama is actively drawing down troops in Iraq and Afghanistan President Bush did neither. Also there were strong reactions from the left to President Obama getting America involved with Libya. However President Obama did ...

Posted Sat, Apr 9, 7:06 p.m.

The proposed vote is not a public vote. It is a select vote of only Seattle voters. These people do not represent the sole taxpayers of the bored tunnel nor the sole beneficiaries of the tunnel. Do we want only want San Juan County voters to decide funding for ferries ...

Posted Fri, Mar 18, 3:19 p.m.

There is no law preventing Seattle from implemently a surface/transit option. The surface/transit improvements would likely have to be financed by the city anyhow. The real vote should be on Seattle financing surface improvements. If the city were to do that they would show the state a surface option is ...

Posted Fri, Feb 11, 3:15 p.m.

@John Carlson I think that was woofer's point, your piece lacks facts. It is just a fluff piece about the fondness of memory. President Reagan was an eloquent speaker, but he was not beloved by all nor was messiah that some conservatives make him out to be.

Posted Fri, Feb 11, 8:37 a.m.

History is what has made President Reagan the admired man he is today. History has washed away his illegal firing of the air traffic controllers. History ignores the Iran/Contra mess. Who knows how history will judge President Obama? Who knows if he won't get reelected? The Republicans are infighting about ...

Posted Sun, Oct 24, 9:03 a.m.

Gregoire and Rossi were tied at this time during the 2008 gubernatorial race. Polling is becoming more and more a voodoo science relying on old technology. Caller ID and cell phones have made polling obsolete.

Posted Wed, Jul 28, 9:30 p.m.

Please kill the tunnel Seattle. Give the rest of the state the money to buy more important transportation improvements.

Posted Sun, Jul 25, 4:14 p.m.

@cleanhousein2010 and vader Youse guys are all over the map, but you still haven't answered a simple question. Why put the idiots who got us into this mess back in office? Republicans never offered financial reform or healthcare or anything but their tax cuts, tax cuts, tax cuts plan.

Posted Sun, Jul 25, 1:32 p.m.

@vader and @cleanhousein2010 Replacing a Senior Senator from the majority party with a freshman Senator from the minority party is pure idiocy. You are not sending a message to anyone. Patty Murray and the Democrats balanced the budget in 2000. I am certainly not going to give the ball back ...

Posted Sat, Jul 24, 3:21 p.m.

@cleanhousein2010 When and where were the Republicans "kept out of the room"? Repeatedly President Obama has reached out to the Republicans. Senator Baucus consistantly held meetings with the Republicans on healthcare. The Republicans have offered nothing. They are still demanding unfunded tax cuts as their only answer. The Healthcare Reform ...

Posted Sat, Jul 24, 1:50 p.m.

When have the Republican's reached across the aisle to work with the Democrats? Their M.O. has been obstruct, obstruct and obstruct. The Tea Party doesn't matter in 2010 elections. The election will fall to individual candidates and their opponents. Senator Murray will succeed because she is a solid Senator and ...

Posted Fri, Jul 16, 9:08 p.m.

There can be no vote on the tunnel. The vote must be on whether to replace the viaduct or not. All other options are off the table. The bored tunnel is the only option for replacing the viaduct period.

Posted Thu, Jul 15, 9:52 p.m.

The bored tunnel is it. Final answer. The state is done with the viaduct game over. There will be no new legislation. There will be no replacement. The gamble is $2 billion for a risky tunnel or nothing. A vote will kill the viaduct replacement.

Posted Thu, Jul 15, 9:43 p.m.

There are only two options left on the table. Bored Tunnel or nothing. Every other option is dead. The surface/transit hybrid, a rebuilt viaduct and every other fantasy option. The state finished their job and made their choice. In less than six years the whole viaduct will be ripped down ...

Posted Thu, May 27, 9:32 p.m.

If someone commits to the time and effort to write a researched and factual response to a blog posting by the time they actually post their response the blog is dead. Comments are more akin to a cocktail party where someone might have a reasoned response, another might talking out ...

Posted Sat, May 22, 10:13 p.m.

The cost overrun issue has been known since April 2009. When Mayor McGinn said he would not stand in the way of the council's agreements, he knew about the cost overrun issue. The Legislature met and finished their 2010 session. Now after millions of dollars have been spent designing and ...

Posted Fri, May 21, 6:32 a.m.

@afreeman The city council has a fiduciary responsibility to use Seattle's finances in responsible ways. It is the taxpayer's money. Any loans Seattle made to "developing" countries must be low risk not speculative like Wall Street's crazy derivative schemes. Mayor Wes Ulhmann is probably one of Seattle's finest mayors; however, ...

Posted Wed, May 19, 6:30 p.m.

Another anti-car denizen of Bizarro World Seattle. Cars are bad, density is bad, skyscrapers are bad. Businesses in Seattle should be required to have all employees live in Seattle. Every other street in Seattle should be turned into forests or pea patches. Perhaps Seattle should accept the guilt of the ...

Posted Sun, May 16, 9:34 p.m.

I guess everyone's inserting their solutions into Kent's commentary. No where in there did I see a solution to Seattle's woes. It appears to be mostly a rant against people making $100K a year. Should the Seattle have spent less during good economic times? Probably, but to what end? Cities ...

Posted Sun, Apr 25, 11:39 a.m.

There are multi million dollar projects to expand I-405 on the Eastside, expand I-5 in Tacoma, expand I-5 in Everett and expand I-90 in Spokane, meanwhile Seattle is actively pursuing eliminating highway capacity. Former leadership believed and promoted the growth of Seattle. The current leadership seems to be chosing Detroit ...

Posted Thu, Apr 8, 8:47 p.m.

Light rail is totally wrong for 520. Buses are the only logical option. Mayor McGinn does not understand transit or transportation. He is fixated on light rail as the end all be all answer to everything. Everyone I know who lives in downtown owns a car. Those who don't depend ...

Posted Tue, Mar 30, 8:41 p.m.

There is always a time for a populist like Ross Perot. Fortunately there are few as charismatic or with as massive a bank account.

Posted Thu, Mar 4, 9:44 p.m.

Perhaps we can restore the Montlake Cut to its pristine condition. That would eliminate those gas hungry cabin cruisers traversing from Lake Washington to the Sound. It would also restore the navigibility to the Sammamish River. The locks would no longer be sea lion salmon buffets. Also without the 520 ...

Posted Mon, Mar 1, 6:13 a.m.

WSDOT took out the freeway bus stop because Montlake did not want it. It increases the freeway width and it serves no direct destination. If people want to go the UW, take a bus directly to the UW. If they want to go to Seattle then go directly to Seattle. ...

Posted Fri, Feb 26, 12:19 p.m.

Thirteen years of studies and meetings hardly seems like a "just build it mentality. The No Build option is not an option. There is no question we will have another earthquake or another serious wind storm. There is no fix for 520, it has been fixed to the extent it ...

Posted Thu, Feb 25, 10:56 p.m.

mhays Trains require huge real estate with their stations and in the majority of the suburban sites there will be needs for parking as large as the Tukwila station. Trains on 520 will displace trunk routes for buses. Sound Transit does not want a 520 transfer station so there is ...

Posted Thu, Feb 25, 9:28 p.m.

Vanpools are probably the most efficient and environmentally sound options around. When did they become the boogie man? Trains must be fed at large stations. They are operated continuously regardless of ridership. They will displace buses and 3 person carpools from using 520 efficiently. Finally nobody knows where the light ...

Posted Fri, Jan 8, 10:24 p.m.

There was no reason to let Jim Mora go unless the Seahawks anticipate going a completely different direction next year. Their lukewarm response to Mike Holmberg shows to me they are dumping their past and moving towards the future.

Posted Thu, Nov 19, 9:47 p.m.

PERS 1 was closed over 30 years ago. The majority of those employees have retired. Reneging on those pensions will bring an expensive lawsuit the state will ultimately lose. The die has been cast. The choice now is between investing hundreds of millions now to fund PERS 1 for the ...

Posted Thu, Nov 19, 9:37 p.m.

Who are these mythical "out of control" legislators? This state has not raised general taxes since John Spellman was Governor. They have made cuts after cuts. Unfortunately the public tells them to cut taxes and at the same time increase services. The people voted in 3 strikes laws, minimum wage ...

Posted Mon, Oct 5, 10:47 p.m.

The Governor isn't even considering taxes in her budget. Austin Jenkins post makes it clear there aren't any real taxing options. Senator Brown makes it clear they won't tinker with I-960 much. I don't think the Feds will provide another stimulus for Washington. The polling on 1033 shows a majority ...

Posted Wed, Sep 23, 7:50 p.m.

The average taxpayer sees NOTHING from I-1033. The tax cuts ALL go to the wealthy and big business. Everyone pays sales tax, but I-1033 doesn't affect an equitable tax. Eyman clearly got his marching orders from Michael Dunmire. It must be nice to pay half a million dollars to buy ...

Posted Tue, Sep 22, 9:48 p.m.

No wonder Eyman didn't include the Washington Policy Center's report. Even they consider a confusing mess. "It is unclear whether the exemption would apply only to the revenue raised in the year the vote occurred, or to all revenue raised as a result of that vote. It is also unclear ...

Posted Tue, Sep 22, 9:38 p.m.

This DOESN'T help the average taxpayer. I-1033 is a BIG giveaway to the wealthy and big business. I-1033 is NO SOLUTION.

Posted Tue, Sep 22, 9:34 p.m.

That is laughable. The opposition to I-1033 includes nurses, Microsoft, carpenters, Lutherans, the Sierra Club, business people, engineers, retired people, fire fighters all donating to fight this wretched initiative. Meanwhile the supporters of I-1033 have ONE donor supporting 80% of this recycled initiative. Both sides currently have the SAME amount ...

Posted Sun, Aug 23, 1:57 p.m.

The new Mayor of Seattle will either be Richard Conlin or Nick Licata. I simply cannot see political newbies having any effect as Mayor. McGinn or Mallahan will spend the next four years learning how to be a politician. Nickels steamrolled the council when he became Mayor. I'm certain the ...

Posted Mon, Aug 3, 11:37 p.m.

Americans for Limited Government Americans for Prosperity Americans for Tax Reform Colorado Club for Growth National Taxpayers Union Legislative Education Action Drive This organizations have sponsored similiar initiatives in other states.

Posted Mon, Aug 3, 5:53 p.m.

PJS You might argue about Eyman's other initiatives, but I-1033 is a seriously far right initiative. The initiative has been heavily funded by conservative groups and Eyman himself has been funded by the far right Sam Adams Alliance. For many counties and cities it will be a freeze if not ...

Posted Sun, Aug 2, 10:58 p.m.

teyman How quickly the far right chose to rewrite history. Thanks to the investment bankers culture that Eyman's benefactor Michael Dunmire was a part of, we are facing the worst economic crisis since the Depression. Investment bankers from Washington Mutual to Lehman Brothers greedy destroyed the economy. Not surprisingly Eyman ...

Posted Sun, Aug 2, 10:20 p.m.

teyman seems to be the only one obsessed with an income tax. The surest way to encourage an income tax is to vote for this tax cut for the wealthy. I-1033 will destroy tax collections for every city and county as well as the state. Our property taxes are considered ...

Posted Thu, Jul 30, 7:15 p.m.

Eyman clearly has zero respect for the voters repeating lies and half truths. The state is ranked 35th by the Tax Foundation for state and local taxes. Eyman does not believe in government at all. He has no need for public schools, police protection, fire protection or the courts. He ...

Posted Wed, Jul 29, 9:26 p.m.

I-1033 does not cut federal taxes. It can not and it never will. The eighth ranking is sololy due to federal taxes paid by millionaires and billionaires who live in this state. Using the eighth ranking is a goofy falsehood. Retelling a lie over and over and over and over ...

Posted Tue, Jul 28, 11:13 p.m.

Retelling a lie over and over and over again does not make it true.

Posted Tue, Jul 28, 7:44 p.m.

If you wanted to reenact I-601 you should've reintroduced I-601. Instead you rehashed the failed policies of Colorado's initiative. Retelling a lie over and over again does not make it true.

Posted Tue, Jul 28, 4:32 p.m.

I-1033 does not reinstitute I-601 that is clearly a lie. The formulas and the mechanisms are totally different. I-1033 is a bad rehash of the Colorado failure.

Posted Tue, Jul 28, 3:27 p.m.

I-1033 does not reeact I-601. I-1033 uses a different population and inflation formula than 601. I-1033 includes counties and cities. Comparing I-1033 to I-601 is another falsehood.

Posted Mon, Jul 27, 10:25 p.m.

teyman Read a post before you go off half cocked. That is what I said in the previous sentence, "Yet it do not address state spending, it addresses revenue." Jeses, you can't even truthfully quote a blog posting. This initiative does not just impact state revenue. This initiative impacts every ...

Posted Mon, Jul 27, 9:49 p.m.

PJS Yes Anandakos is making fun of your name. Your moniker is also a term for pajamas. I stand by my data and you stand by your data. I find it extremely tiresome when conservatives throw around the word liberal when that are losing the debate. I researched your data ...

Posted Sun, Jul 26, 11 p.m.

PJS Your data from the Washington Policy Center is nothing but conjecture itself. Shall we assume everyone in this state earns a dividend because the per capita dividends are $3020? That is nonsense. Clearly at careers.wa.gov the great majority of jobs require a degree. Compare that with any zip code ...

Posted Sun, Jul 26, 9:26 p.m.

PJS While that is better evidence, it is hardly convincing. Using a state average and using a state employee average is like comparing a dishwasher's salary to a head cook's salary. There are not nearly the amount of entry level jobs at the state verses the private sector. Many state ...

Posted Sun, Jul 26, 8:38 p.m.

teyman What bills are you refering to? -Property Tax Exemption Program for Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons -Property Tax Deferral Program for Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons -Property Tax Deferral Program for Homeowners with Limited Income -Property Tax Assistance Program for Widows or Widowers of Veterans Those are all laws. ...

Posted Sun, Jul 26, 3:46 p.m.

The state already offers property tax exemptions and deferrals for senior citizens and working families. -Property Tax Exemption Program for Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons -Property Tax Deferral Program for Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons -Property Tax Deferral Program for Homeowners with Limited Income -Property Tax Assistance Program for Widows ...

Posted Sun, Jul 26, 3:01 p.m.

Benton, Clallam, Columbia, Ferry, Garfield, Grant, Grays Harbor, Island, Kitsap, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lewis, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pacific, Skamania, Spokane, Wahkiakum, Walla Walla, Whitman and Yakima could all get the double whammy of having a lower economic baseline to work from, plus a net loss in population. Their services would be devastated. ...

Posted Sun, Jul 26, 2:07 p.m.

teyman Let's compare and contrast. I-1033 uses a yearly inflation and population formula, just like the Colorado failure. I-601 does not. I-1033 includes cities and counties in the initiative, just like the Colorado failure. I-601 does not. Eyman truly is showing a lack of respect for voters by pushing this ...

Posted Sat, Jul 25, 9:26 p.m.

PJS That was your report on government "waste". I stand by my assertion that state government is lean and mean. The population increased in Washington State and will continue to increase. Inflation also increased in Washington. That is why Eyman stole the population and inflation formula from the failure in ...

Posted Sat, Jul 25, 3:48 p.m.

teyman Eyman is truly phoning this initiative in. Senior citizens already get property tax exemptions in this state. Instead of the pennies I-1033 might save them, Washington State offers real tax relief for senior citizens. http://dor.wa.gov/Docs/Pubs/Prop_Tax/SeniorExempt.pdf Working families will have to pay out $100's of dollars for every penny I-1033 ...

Posted Sat, Jul 25, 3:37 p.m.

PJS I wonder if you even read the report. I practically reads like a love letter to the effiency of the state government. It identified approximately $150 million dollars in mostly one time expenditures as "waste". Out of a $30 billion dollar budget. That is perhaps 0.5% in "waste" if ...

Posted Fri, Jul 24, 8:49 p.m.

teyman You have a pretty low respect for voters when you continually roll out this throughly debunked 8th ranking. I have a little more respect that the voting public knows the difference between federal taxes and property taxes. The Tax Foundation and Forbes state in clear language our property taxes ...

Posted Fri, Jul 24, 2:58 p.m.

teyman The Forbes ranking is not for state and local taxes. In fact Forbes shows our state and local taxes to be below the national average. http://www.forbes.com/2009/05/22/state-local-tax-burden-personal-finance-map.html These are your sources and they both say our property taxes are low. Forbes and the Tax Foundation essentially oppose I-1033.

Posted Fri, Jul 24, 2:46 p.m.

PJS Per capita is an average of all people or workers and their income. By chosing to live in King County my per capita income is much higher than if I chose to live in Asotin County. It is pretty simple math. I have not advocated for an income tax. ...

Posted Fri, Jul 24, 1:58 p.m.

Tax Foundation Washington State property tax rank 21st. 50th is worst burden. Washington State income tax rank 1st. 50th is worst burden. (We have no income tax.) Washington State state and local taxes 35th. 1st is worst burden. "Washington's State/Local Tax Burden Below National Average" Washington State income per capita ...

Posted Fri, Jul 24, 1:32 p.m.

As pointed out earlier federal taxes have nothing to do I-1033. Therefore using the 8th ranking is idiotic.

Posted Fri, Jul 24, 12:43 p.m.

PJS It's amusing how you take Steve Zemke to task for detailing his reasoning for use the tax rating of 35th and yet you give Eyman a pass for tossing out the tax rating of 8th. You even produce your own undocumented rating of 16th. Using per capita assumes everyone ...

Posted Fri, Jul 24, 8:11 a.m.

Rasul Business impacts infrastructure much greater than the population and inflation formula of I-1033 can keep up with. A shopping mall has far greater impacts to a neighborhood than a few families moving into the same neighborhood. This initiative is not a simply a state initiative it impacts all counties, ...

Posted Thu, Jul 23, 5:54 a.m.

I-1033 is a "solution" looking for a problem. It continues to show your anti government bent. You and Dunmire won't even support an opposition party. How much did you and Dunmire contribute to Rossi's campaign? To any Republican or conservative candidate? A big goose egg?

Posted Wed, Jul 22, 9:16 p.m.

Believe it or not politcians are real people who pay taxes and who are deeply concerned about the impact and price of government services. It's clear from the responses to Jean's posting that the conservative movement is dead. Now the far far right has become the anti government movement. They ...

Posted Wed, Jul 22, 9:07 p.m.

From my reading the only "people" who stand to gain from this initiative are the moneyed and big business. The real estate cuts the wealthly and big business stand to gain are enormous. Yet the impact of their real estate has no relation to Washington states' population or inflation. It ...

Posted Mon, Jul 20, 8:47 p.m.

PhilTG 1) The initiative process is very flawed as we have seen this past year. A special session is called to codify I-747, yet I-728, I-732, I-937 and I-1029 were ignored. The only initiatives that seem to matter are anti-tax intiatives. 2) From my reading the only "people" who stand ...

Posted Mon, Jul 20, 12:20 a.m.

This is not something the left hates. It's something the right, left and middle oppose. The $66.60 you might save in property taxes will be immediately offset be the increase in out of pocket expenses to fund the very things 1033 will eliminate.

Posted Fri, Jul 17, 8:57 p.m.

It is clear Tim Eyman and Michael Dunmire hate government. Tim Eyman always savages any politician or government agency he mentions. His initiatives are not about reasonable government controls. His initiatives are about destroying government completely. I'm betting Tim has two or three initiatives already lined up for next year.

Posted Wed, Jun 10, 8:55 p.m.

New York City and Paris are flat as pancakes. Any elevation in those cities afford scenic vistas. Seattle has natural elevations, why would we need to create artifically what nature does so well?

Posted Thu, Mar 12, 9:11 p.m.

It's very likely there won't be any toll booths. Pay as you go was established with the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, now it has moved to the successful SR 167 HOT lanes. Next year SR 520 and likely I-90. Next I-5 at the Columbia River from there tolls on the I-5 ...

Posted Wed, Mar 4, 10:23 p.m.

Tax cuts are not the end all be all answer to economic problems. If that were the case President Bush's massive tax cuts should have catapulted us into the best economic times ever. This is not 1961 or 1981 or even 1931. The situation is different and the answers must ...

Posted Sat, Oct 4, 2:05 p.m.

Patty Murray: Apparently there is a huge disconnect between the Congress, President, the Treasury Secretary, Wall Street and business interests verses us unwashed masses who don't understand what the heck happened. I wish somebody could tell me why the financial institutions refuse to get credit after years of "creative" lending ...

Posted Fri, May 30, 10:26 a.m.

RE: Where is the solution?: There was no plan just a some safety improvements and a proposal to study putting Mercer under Fairview. Since Nick Licata is touting that proposal as an answer today, where was he in 1998?

Posted Thu, May 29, 9:05 p.m.

Where is the solution?: I looked at Nick's Urban Politics and nowhere is the cheaper plan referenced or mentioned and his newsletters go back to when Schell was mayor. I also feel that eliminating the zigs and zags will do something for the traffic. However I concede that traffic is ...