Posted Tue, Feb 1, 11:36 a.m.

While Rep. Carlyle's intentions are good, I believe he lands on the wrong philosophical point. There are several small counties that are bankrupt, for all practical purposes. They cannot maintain basic county services and the state has been bailing them out. The calculations should exclude state expenditures for state functions, ...

Posted Mon, Jan 3, 3:44 p.m.

More people will be homeless as a result of foreclosures, losing their Medicaid prescription funding, losing Disability Lifeline and losing Basic Health and not being able to work. We will see more "car camps" in urban parking lots and rural fields. More seniors and people with disabilities will be forced ...

Posted Sun, Jan 2, 12:36 p.m.

Here are my suggestions for ensuring that the redistricting map represents progressive values. The answer is "crowd sourcing." Be prepared to have our own geeks put up our own maps, with good rationales for them. Recruit those who will help. Start a public conversation. Develop criteria for redistricting and engage ...

Posted Mon, Nov 22, 1:33 p.m.

People's Memorial Association was born of the Depression, when the progressive minister of People's Church saw funeral homes preying on the families of their loved ones at a time when they were most vulnerable to being shamed into spending money they didn't have. The first funeral society in the U.S. ...

Posted Fri, Nov 19, 1:39 p.m.

The big message of the past 10, 20 and 30 years is the growing disparity between the incomes of the very wealthy, now occupying the top floors of condo/hotels in both downtown Seattle and downtown Bellevue, not just Medina. Seattle has passed four housing levies since 1980, dedicated to housing ...

Posted Fri, Nov 19, 12:14 p.m.

In 2003, revered GOP King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng and Rep. Ruth Kagi led a very broad bipartisan coalition of prosecutors, defense attorneys, sheriffs, judges and human services advocates to reduce the sentences of nonviolent drug offenders by 25% and transferred some of the savings to drug court, at a ...

Posted Fri, Nov 12, 11:40 a.m.

I am not a geographer, but I would feel better about Prof. Morrill's projection if he started from the premise that the new 10th goes in the area of highest growth, which is how I heard it works. Does Thurston County represent the highest growth? One area of very high ...

Posted Fri, Jun 25, 6:39 p.m.

Brewser would have done us a service by printing the Governor's eight questions, as the Seattle Times did. They are neocon by nature and intent. Governor's 8 questions 1. Is the activity an essential service? 2: Does state government have to perform the activity, or can it be provided by ...

Posted Tue, Mar 30, 1:22 p.m.

Kieth, Another way to phrase your point is that the House's approach is to avoid any across-the-board tax increase and to target taxes at avoidable "sins" such as candy and bottled water and at non-performing tax breaks, such as a break on taxing first mortgages given to WaMu before it ...

Posted Wed, Jan 20, 11:33 a.m.

The Republican leadership is standing firm on its “no new revenue, just cut state jobs and pay” message. They stand for “smaller government” on principle. Why is this a value? Shouldn’t government be based on needs, on the kind of community we want and the kind of jobs we want ...

Posted Wed, Jan 20, 11:21 a.m.

This piece was very helpful in putting to bed one of the major Republican talking points. Their major message is and has been: don't raise taxes on people or businesses. We know that includes rescinding tax exemptions that haven't lived up to their promises. The biggest of these, and the ...

Posted Tue, Dec 1, 6:13 p.m.

Having already cut non-required programs to the bone and beyond, the Leg now has to come up with revenues. They tasked JLARC with suggesting tax breaks to eliminate, then did not eliminate any. This list needs to be revisited, starting with the largest yield on the list of suggestions. From ...

Posted Tue, Sep 8, 3:28 p.m.

Joe Mallahan qualifies as a community organizer. He put himself through Catholic University in D.C. and worked as a legislative aide to Cong. Al Swift. He got an MBA from the U. of Chicago and at age 31 became president of a building supplies company. "During that same time, he ...

Posted Tue, Sep 8, 1:56 p.m.

It's really hard to believe that Mars Hill seminary that targets Gen Xers isn't related to the five-campus Mars Hill church that targets Gen Xers. Just because they are separate 501(c)(3)s doesn't mean they aren't related. Years ago, I visited Overlake, the megachurch, and learned that they trained their own ...

Posted Tue, Aug 25, 1:30 p.m.

The loudest laughs Friday night came from the block of tickets bought by the Seattle opera.

Posted Tue, Aug 25, 1:22 p.m.

Why do you fall into the trap of assuming Mallahan is anti-union because he works for a non-union company? He has repeatedly stated that he supports unions and the right to organize. Labor made a huge mistake when they funded very negative TV ads opposing him. Now they need to ...

Posted Tue, Aug 25, 1:03 p.m.

I appreciate Ted Van Dyk's clear statement of the cost and terms of Boeing's $3.2 M 2003 tax break for retaining 1,000 jobs. This is by far the largest corporate tax break in history--and they're asking again?? What Speaker Chopp needs to do is lead a reform of the way ...

Posted Wed, Aug 19, 1:18 p.m.

Last night I found myself in agreement with a Republican neighborhood activist from Queen Anne. Nickel's first screw-up was firing the Director of Neighborhoods. The neighborhood councils have never recovered and feel unloved and ignored. Seattle is a city of neighborhoods, not Downtown, South Lake Union and Denny Triangle. 2) ...

Posted Mon, Jul 6, 10:53 a.m.

Reuven, I am among those who are very happy to read your analysis, happy to see you sticking your neck out here. Your self-title "backbencher" indictes that perhaps you felt powerless in the Democratic caucus. Take time to get closer to Rep. Sharon Nelson who fought fearlessly against the Maury ...

Posted Wed, Apr 22, 10:59 a.m.

The Governor's decision-making process in cutting GAU was deeply flawed. If you look up the Priorities of Government list, 86 programs were ranked "high priority" and the next one, GAU, was ranked "low priority." What were the criteria? Assisting vulnerable populations was one. I don't know of a more vulnerable ...

Posted Tue, Jul 8, 12:32 p.m.

Depends on Your Definition of Bus Rapid Transit: David Brewster says, "Lots of money to save just a minute or two compared to ordinary bus trips." It depends on your definition of Bus Rapid Transit. To deserve the name, it should have a dedicated roadway with flyover or flyunder intersections, ...

Posted Fri, Jun 27, 12:04 p.m.

Don't Discount the Public Good in Voter-Owned Elections: The phrase "voter-owned elections" capsulizes the public benefit. The sums being raised and spent for Seattle City Council and King County Council are outrageous. It costs a minimum of $200,000 to mount a credible campaign for Seattle City Council. King County Councilmember ...

Posted Tue, Aug 28, 2:16 p.m.

Missing Writers' Almanac and Pronouns: I will miss Writers' Almanac, which always brightened my afternoon, besides marking the hour and letting me know my liberal arts education was incomplete. I know I shall also miss the verbs, pronouns and conjunctions in the announcer's speech. Public radio has always been known ...

Posted Fri, Aug 24, 3:41 p.m.

Challenge to Chris Vance to support public campaign financing: Is Chris Vance is being too modest? or forgetful? We all know that the grand Republican strategy since the Reagan era has been to start small, to run conservatives for local, often non-partisan offices, while gooming them for higher office. Therefore, ...

Posted Tue, Aug 14, 9:29 p.m.

Seattle School Board Needs More Light & Less Heat: Brewster pretty much smeared peanut butter over the whole thing. What we need is separate articles on the Port of Seattle (county-wide, interests more readers), the Seattle School Board (running in districts in the primary, then city-wide) and the Seattle City ...

Posted Fri, Aug 10, 10:33 a.m.

Increase in HUD funding is essential: Echols does a wonderful job of surveying low-income housing in the Pacific Northwest. Clearly, there are no easy answers. The progress represented by adoption of Ten-Year Plans to End Homelessness in Portland and Seattle is huge. Mayors, the King County Executive, the heads of ...

Posted Wed, Aug 8, 12:13 p.m.

Accommodating density in Seattle: Remember Belltown when it was the Denny Regrade? No one lived there, and no one wanted to. I support the zoning and density changes that motivated 10,000 people to move to Belltown since 2000, with many more to come. Many restaurants and small businesses have been ...

Posted Mon, Jul 30, 12:48 p.m.

Advice to Republican Strategist: Public Campaign Financing: If I were a Republican strategist advising mainstream Rs on how to build back their bench, I would advise the Republic Caucus to wholeheartedly embrace public campaign financing at the municipal, county and state levels. Polls show the public is ready for this. ...

Posted Mon, Jul 30, 12:28 p.m.

Message to Republican Strategists: Clean Elections: If I were a Republican strategist advising mainstream Rs on how to build back their bench, I would advise the Republic Caucus to wholeheartedly embrace public campaign financing at the municipal, county and state levels. Polls show the public is ready for this. Chris, ...

Posted Mon, Jul 30, 11:34 a.m.

Pam Roach Tears Herself Down: No one on the left has to tear Pam Roach down. She does it all by herself. What else can we say about the notorious Senator from the 31st? She is the laughingstock of Olymlpia. She makes the highlights reel of TVW year after year. ...

Posted Fri, Jul 13, 5:41 p.m.

RE: The port is a public agency, not a business Sarajane: We are in agreement that the Port should act like the public agency that it is. That was one of my main points--all commissioners should be clear about the Port's mission, moving people and goods. No where in the ...

Posted Wed, Jul 11, 3:18 p.m.

Port Commission Needs a Progressive Majority: David Brewster deserves a medal for producing very fine overview of Port dynamics. All voters should read it. We need to question candidates closely on their understanding of the Port's mission. If you don't hear something close to: "move people and freight," hang up ...

Posted Tue, May 22, 5:34 p.m.

Public Campaign Financing Passes Constitutional "Sniff Test": It was amazing in Olympia to hear some of the things the Rs said in opposition to public campaign financing. Some said "the public wouldn't want to see tax money spent this way," as if taxpayers couldn't distinguish between funding going for campaign ...

Posted Fri, May 4, 2:26 p.m.

Eagle is nesting--should be perched: Now that I think about it, I remember taking the prototypical tourist shot of self and son from the sidewalk on the street above the park. I remembered being disappointed that i couldn't see the Calder Eagle's base. Wouldn't it be a wonderful gift to ...