Posted Wed, Sep 10, 6:29 p.m.

Knedlik's Action Dismissed: That judge didn't want ANY part of rewriting what ST wants in the voters guide. He's smart enough to keep his fingerprints off it.

Posted Mon, Sep 8, 4:08 p.m.

The Gates Fdn. Can't Clean ST Up: Like most cities, Minneapolis is expanding its light rail transit lines. Well it should expand its light rail lines - the entity that builds and operates them there can do the job quickly and efficiently. But compare that transit services provider with Sound ...

Posted Tue, Sep 2, 9:25 p.m.

She's a clone of Washington State's/King County's/Seattle's government leaders: So Palin has a non-progressive tax agenda. And she signs off on huge piles of new debt. She jams through sales tax increases. She's being advised by the same municipal financing consultants and lawyers the local and state politicians running the ...

Posted Sun, Aug 31, 4:40 p.m.

RE: ??????: Thanks for your thoughtful reply, John. You note the board does not discuss the 1996 law's limits on ST's taxing and spending authority in open board meetings. The reason for that is simple: they are violating those limits, and they are fully aware of that fact as can ...

Posted Sun, Aug 31, 9:44 a.m.

??????: Funded so far, about 19 miles of light rail from Husky Stadium to the Airport, John, is that incorrect claim based on the same imaginary court case that "MadisonAve" alludes to above? In all seriousness, you do understand that the Phase I build-out period tax revenue spending limit the ...

Posted Sat, Aug 30, 8:09 p.m.

RE: Nobody Ranks Higher than ST: All of our competitors - from Asia to Europe - . . . are building hundreds of miles of rail, while we sit around on our hands Maybe there are other countries building rail. That doesn't justify the financing plan ST is putting forward, ...

Posted Sat, Aug 30, 4:07 p.m.

RE: Nobody Ranks Higher than ST: Well that is a random rejoinder. "Monorail apologist?" I don't understand how the monorail debacle got as bad as it did, and I sure as hell never was an apologist for it. Disagree with anything in my post above? Set out your best argument ...

Posted Fri, Aug 29, 10:03 a.m.

Nobody Ranks Higher than ST: This "boondoggle" ranking is due to ST's Phase I projected light rail costs. Those are a small part of the financial harm Sound Transit is doing to this region. What economic benefits does ST give our economy overall? Virtually none. Here are ST's hoped-for financing ...

Posted Wed, Jul 30, 9:52 a.m.

RE: Better Now - Better Tomorrow: It is not clear that buses will actually serve more for our money, especially if we never invest at the scale the mostly bus proponents idealize about. ???? You need to get up to speed on local transit issues, Tarl. Too bad you don't ...

Posted Tue, Jul 29, 9:45 a.m.

RE: Same leopard, different spots: Dear Rep. Eddy ("debo"): Do you and your colleagues in the legislature believe voters should approve "ST2 version 2?" Would passage of that ballot measure help or hinder the legislature in the future as it tries to address the more critical transportation system needs in ...

Posted Sun, Jul 27, 4:18 p.m.

promises, promises . . . don't believe 'em!: From John Niles: the Sound Move taxes from 1996 that were promised back then to be reduced somewhat if a light rail expansion plan were to lose in a future election Look, everybody knows supporters of taxing measures on ballots can lie ...

Posted Thu, Jul 17, 12:39 p.m.

Cost of Projects in the Subareas: I can see how the new proposal is so popular now - none of the costs of the projects have been disclosed, and the amount of new taxing needed hasn't been estimated. There has been general talk about the new trains and bus service ...

Posted Thu, Mar 6, 12:01 p.m.

RE: um....: Will Kvedlik is disbarred anyone? Why are we listening to that guy? Knedlik's forgotten more about push polling than you'll ever know.

Posted Thu, Mar 6, 10:04 a.m.

RE: Leadership lacking? Do a survey!: But when the government can't gain the public's trust, they resort to tactics like "surveys"(which I'm sure are mostly taken by insiders and special interest groups), and then they can use the "results of surveys" as a talking point for why we need to ...

Posted Wed, Mar 5, 12:11 p.m.

RE: a sad band of ST haters plays the media again: a very small percentage of people polled after the election liked using sales tax increases to pay for roads and transit. The lege is to blame. That's the funding source it gave the agency.

Posted Wed, Mar 5, 12:03 p.m.

RE: Sound Transit survey is improved, but ...: an option promised in the 1996 election establishing the agency is no longer provided by Sound Transit in its questionnaires or anywhere else ... that of freezing the light rail program at some near-term point and rolling back the tax rate to ...

Posted Tue, Jan 22, 9:28 a.m.

what went wrong last time: Prop. 1 was annihilated by voters. Take out the votes of those living on either side of the Montlake Cut (too much money, too little sense) and you are approaching 42% yes to 58% no. Trains are popular; the way Sound Transit tries to pay ...

Posted Fri, Dec 21, 10:34 a.m.

one bad apple, as they say . . .: "Sonntag has dug into one of the public sector's biggest rat's nests" The good news here is how the I-900 audits haven't revealed other nests. These vermin are contained. Eradication should prove to be a straightforward matter. Fortunately the budgets had ...

Posted Wed, Dec 19, 2:12 p.m.

Window Dressing: "It centers on moving aside turf-oriented, self-serving agencies such as Sound Transit and transferring power to a more objective, more responsive regional body." All I can say is WOW! Mullin, Vaska and Gorton are all ultra-pro Sound Transit. Reid Shockey was nothing but a go-along to get-along type ...

Posted Wed, Dec 19, 1:58 p.m.

Sub-Area Equity STAYS: From the story: "And the notion of "sub-area equity," Gregoire said emphatically, has got to go." Although her heart's in the right place, she's wrong on this one. The voters in the Sound Transit Region put the sub-area equity measure into place to ensure that money raised ...

Posted Thu, Aug 16, 10:47 a.m.

Transponder Tolling - Pluses Far Outweigh Minuses: We don't know whether the Wa. State Transportation Commission or the legislature even would approve tolls. We certainly won't know whether those bodies would approve tolls on SR 520 prior to the November vote. This grant offer certainly is not a reason to ...

Posted Fri, Aug 3, 9:41 a.m.

A Better Plan: The most pressing problems we need to address are SR 520 and SR 99 viaduct. Should ST2/RTID not be approved, those are the two projects that the legislature would address. And they would do so immediately. That is the better plan. That plan means accountability: politicians accountable ...

Posted Thu, Aug 2, 5:18 p.m.

Rollback of ST Taxes: "In 1996, the campaign said we would continue or rollback these taxes in 10 years; now is that point, one year late" The "campaign" may or may not have "said" what is related here. Whatever the "campaign said" really is immaterial. What is material with respect ...

Posted Thu, Aug 2, 12:34 p.m.

Can you back that up?: I've heard Freeman, Jr. is just putting on a show. He wants to give the appearance of opposing RTID/ST2, while at the same time laundering big money through NAIOP to support it. You claim he's spending money to defeat it? How much money, and what ...

Posted Thu, Aug 2, 11:31 a.m.

---- Unsupportable Assertion Alert ---: This assertion is bunk: "An additional tunnel under Capitol Hill will be built regardless of the outcome of the November election." I'll start with the one way it COULD be true: if ST uses revenue sources OTHER THAN local taxes or bond sales proceeds to ...

Posted Thu, Aug 2, 11:06 a.m.

Vote No on RTID/ST2: There is only ONE faction responsible for the contents of the ST2/RTID ballot measure -- the political base of the local R's and the local D's. That is why the RTID/ST2 ballot proposition features no taxing limits, no bonding limits, and no tax revenue spending limits. ...

Posted Tue, Jul 31, 12:21 p.m.

---??????-----: "Kemper Freeman Jr. HATES the package." Think, son. Obviously the commercial property developers in downtown Bellevue want ST2/RTID - and Kemper Development Co. would be the biggest winner of all. The financial gain for those players would be huge. They could up their rents for their tenants. Better access ...

Posted Tue, Jul 31, 9:52 a.m.

Allen's PR Team, Hard at Work: One reason Allen's PR team is working overtime on his image now relates to the upcoming RTID/ST2 vote. Allen and a couple of other commercial property developers would get even richer if that measure is approved in November. Vulcan is the major private beneficiary ...

Posted Fri, Jul 27, 9:51 a.m.

You're Excused: -------------- Posted by: dltooley on Jul 27, 2007 8:32 AM If I follow the thread of this argument correctly . . . [excised]. ------------- You're just confused. Don't worry about it. What we're actually discussing here is whether or not ST has the right to pay for extending ...

Posted Thu, Jul 26, 11:36 a.m.

Maybe Nickels and Sims Will Answer Your Question? - Part Two of Two: A more detailed description of the legal limits within which ST must operate requires looking at the terms the voters approved a decade ago. Are you aware of what the actual ordinance the voters approved in 1996 ...

Posted Thu, Jul 26, 11:31 a.m.

Maybe Nickels and Sims Will Answer Your Question? - Part One of Two: I saw that statement as well ("100% of local funding is secured"). It could just refer to how the revenues would be available if ST2 passes in the fall. Otherwise, it sure doesn't look like ST could ...

Posted Wed, Jul 25, 9:45 a.m.

Interesting Article - Clarification of One Point: This article points out there really is no net "green" benefit from what Sound Transit is doing (at least through the next generation's lifetime). And goodness knows there's no economic benefit from light rail to any but a relatively few individuals and businesses. ...