Posted Tue, Apr 24, 7:33 a.m.

This isn't a "new anti-tax initiative" - it's a repeat of an old anti-tax initiative. If this passes and the Legislature is again stuck trying to balance a multi-billion dollar budget with one hand tied behind its back, perhaps they'll prioritize their next round of budget cuts on the eastern ...

Posted Fri, Apr 20, 9:53 a.m.

"I cannot imagine successful companies like Boeing and Microsoft not having a long range plan and a projected budget to support that plan, so why should we expect less of our state?" Something else that's hard to imagine: a multi-billion dollar company being managed through a bicameral 147-member 'board of ...

Posted Tue, Mar 27, 12:24 p.m.

"Haugen is part of a vanishing species in state (and national) politics: She’s a character and a strong personality who panders to nobody." Please - her pandering to locals who don't want to expand the ferry dock at Keystone is why the state had to buy new boats that are ...

Posted Tue, Jan 3, 9:14 p.m.

Brendan Williams represents what all true liberals are feeling these days: we haven't abandoned the Democratic Party, it's the Democratic Party that's abandoning what were its core principals and us with it. I have far more respect for people like Brendan who stick with their core beliefs rather than simply ...

Posted Sat, Jul 16, 8:59 a.m.

I wonder how a "dryland wheat farmer from the middle of nowhere" can square being a champion of smaller government while still relying on ag subsidies and a taxpayer funded irrigation system built during the New Deal?

Posted Tue, Jun 14, 7:48 a.m.

Wouldn't an "Observation Wheel" at the Seattle Center just block the view of people atop the "Observation Needle?"

Posted Sun, May 1, 12:52 p.m.

Just as long as they don't become too big and start screwing their passengers as badly as the major airlines. Last December I booked a flight from Seattle to New Orleans via Denver on United for early May - more than four months in advance. A week before my flight, ...

Posted Tue, Apr 5, 7:11 a.m.

Wrong-headed? No. Wimps? Yes!

Posted Fri, Apr 1, 8:31 a.m.

One reason Washington scored so poorly in this report was due to it inability to address a major scoring criterion - providing a check-book level detail in a user-searchable format. LEAP has developed a 'Vendor Checkbook' page, but haven't activated it yet. Once they clarify privacy concerns regarding the disclosure ...

Posted Wed, Mar 23, 10:05 a.m.

I think maybe we should listen to the Teabaggers and "run the government more like a business" - charge all those rural communities a "fair market price" for the water they get from this irrigation project instead of subsidizing it.

Posted Thu, Feb 3, 7:53 a.m.

The title of this article is a bit disingenuous - transportation funds cannot be used for things that most people would associate with "social services" because of the 18th Amendment to our state constitution. Could funding for high-speed rail be put to better use promoting other forms of transportation? Perhaps. ...

Posted Wed, Jan 26, 7:51 a.m.

This isn't a "Bill" - it's a Resolution. As such, it carries absolutely no weight in law.

Posted Mon, Jan 24, 11:52 a.m.

"If WSF’s ferry routes were viewed as roads, they would represent about 1.4 percent of the state’s highway system." Measured how, in miles? If so, that's a completely inappropriate way to measure where the money should go, since not all miles are equal. Some highway sections - especially across water ...

Posted Wed, Dec 15, 3:27 p.m.

Zuckerberg did all that - but he didn't do it in 2010. Why is "Time" so far behind the times? Did they just see the movie and figure he was just as good as anyone else? The "Person of the Year" has been a cop-out for ages. They once had ...

Posted Thu, Dec 9, 11:06 a.m.

I'm from New Orleans - tell me again how these are "beignets" if they're made with potato and they're not covered with powdered sugar. If anything, they're more like deep-fried gnocchi - but they are NOT, in any way, beignets!

Posted Wed, Dec 8, 10:17 a.m.

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group recently released a report on HSR called “A Track Record of Success detailing how HSR has provided economic benefits around the world and what the US needs to do – it’s online at http://www.washpirg.org/home/reports/report-archives/more-reports/more-reports/a-track-record-for-success-high-speed-rail-around-the-world-and-its-promise-for-america WashPIRG has also focused on what this means for the ...

Posted Tue, Dec 7, 6:54 a.m.

Obama shows his post-midterm strategy: Chamberlain at Munich. I'm sick and tired of him always - ALWAYS - rolling over and never calling the Republican's bluff. Next time I'm voting for Churchill.

Posted Fri, Nov 19, 7:41 a.m.

Q: "What polls got the U.S. Senate race right?" A: None of the ones you aggressively touted predicting "a rising Republican tide" would give Rossi a win...

Posted Wed, Nov 3, 11:07 a.m.

The "confidence" on the Right is just part of a "con-game" that plays on the childish desire in all of us to have our cake and eat it too - something that is totally devoid of "principal." Look at the Conservative economic model: less spending, lower taxes, no debt, and ...

Posted Wed, Nov 3, 8:23 a.m.

"...her Republican challenger, who has had two close gubernatorial losses." He had a close gubernatorial loss in 2004, but I don't think 2008 qualifies as "close."

Posted Tue, Nov 2, 1:30 p.m.

John could be right - if enough people are sitting at home with ballots watching the early returns from the east, vote for someone in WA according to who's winning in Kentucky, and then run down to the elections office to turn in their ballot before 8pm.

Posted Mon, Nov 1, 12:46 p.m.

So the argument against improving rail is that no one uses it? How many people drove cars more than a half century ago - especially over long distances - until we invested in an interstate highway system? It's virtually guaranteed that more people would use a high-speed rail network - ...

Posted Fri, Oct 29, 12:08 p.m.

Meanwhile, a new poll of WA voters by KCTS-TV and KPLU Radio shows: 46 percent trust "Obama and Democrats" to "make the right decisions and improve our economic conditions." Only 36 percent chose the Republicans. The "generic ballot" for Congress shows Democrats doing better in Washington than across the country. ...

Posted Mon, Oct 18, 9:35 a.m.

Dear Chris Vance: Exactly how would a pollster conduct a poll or release its results "within a week or so of election day" when vote-by-mail makes "election day" a meaningless anachronism of the past? Stuart: Thanks for a concise and logical explanation of what's what. While it's disappointing to see ...

Posted Mon, Sep 20, 2:30 p.m.

They've concluded the measure would be "really bad for the economy and really bad for job creation." I wonder how that arrived at that conclusion, since there's no data to back it up? It's more likely they've concluded it would cost them a few bucks out of their own wallets ...

Posted Mon, Sep 13, 7 a.m.

The premise of this article is BS. Just because we wait doesn't mean we "love" it - it'd be more accurate to say we "suffer" it.

Posted Wed, Sep 8, 8:22 a.m.

"Building a major sports stadium is the local equivalent of invading Iraq." As well it should be, since both are needless endeavors promise far more than they ever deliver. Increased tourism and economic activity paying is always used as a marketing tool to get taxpayers to foot the bill of ...

Posted Wed, Sep 8, 7:54 a.m.

AGAIN with the "rising Republican tide" meme? Geez, didn't Vance use that in his last bit... and the one before than... and every piece he wrote during the previous five election cycles? I guess he figures if he writes it often enough he'll eventually get it right. Even a blind ...

Posted Tue, Sep 7, 7:22 a.m.

The management of PSP in general, and of David Dicks in particular, have squandered any credibility the organization may have in its short existence - they need to clean house before they can clean the Puget Sound.

Posted Tue, Aug 24, 10:17 a.m.

I don't know that a Supreme Court decision from 1932 carries all that much weight anymore, and I 'm sure that Bill Sr. had a few lawyers research that before he decided to back this initiative. As far as the Legislature tinkering with I-1098 two years after it passes, I ...

Posted Thu, Aug 19, 7:10 a.m.

What hasn't changed is the rhetoric, but don't worry - even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Posted Wed, Aug 18, 6:18 p.m.

Again with the "Republican tide" meme? According to Chris Vance, that same tide has been rising for how long now? If he were correct about any of his prognostications, Governor Rossi would be half-way through his second term in office. I appreciate that Crosscut wants to have contributions from across ...

Posted Wed, Aug 18, 1:21 p.m.

Just because a business owner SAYS that a bike lane factored into their relocating doesn't mean it's true. How can it be when GM Nameplate isn't even ON Nickerson - it's nearly a mile south, on 15th! This is the same guy who recently hosted Dino Rossi at the business, ...

Posted Wed, Aug 4, 7:42 a.m.

This is so easy - just require anyone who wants to comment to provide a real name, verified with a credit card to which a one-time fee of $1 can be charged. The USPS does this to verify on-line change-of-address requests.

Posted Thu, Apr 22, 6:37 p.m.

If Ennis were saying we should increase mass transit funding to expand van-pools, I'd agree - but somehow that's not the impression I get from this or anything else he's ever written. Van pools are a great ADDITIONAL option - but the only work if you can commit to a ...

Posted Wed, Apr 21, 8:28 a.m.

Has there EVER been an election cycle when Chris Vance didn't predict a rising tide for Republicans? Why bother giving such an obvious party hack (whether they be Republican or Democrat) a platform? If anyone wants to know what they have to say, they can always visit the Party website ...

Posted Wed, Feb 17, 6:53 p.m.

Pointing to Republicans picking up a House seat - In ALABAMA - and a Senate seat in Mass. where the Democrat ran a pathetically slip-shod campaign is pretty weak evidence for the case that any Republican in WA can beat someone like Patty Murray - who has a solid track ...

Posted Wed, Feb 17, 7:40 a.m.

I predict that Chris Vance will always predict "a rising Republican tide," always reference the results of conservative Bob Moore's push-polls, and will be the last person to ever concede that a Democrat has an edge in any race. If Chris Vance were worth reading, the Governor Dino Rossi and ...