Posted Wed, Apr 25, 12:31 p.m.

Overnight camping in parks is not speech; time for occupiers to occupy cells in the King County jail system.

Posted Mon, Apr 23, 10:31 a.m.

19 minutes from end to end? I'm betting closer to 30 minutes during peak times, rush hours, accidents, church events, and overall, this is just more road dieting and another poke in the eye to automobiles, trucks, taxis, and even buses. Here comes the maddening, shrinking, worsening world of mobility ...

Posted Sun, Apr 15, 7:15 a.m.

Regarding Amazon, years ago the high techies said they could not work in all the vacant downtown highrises because it stifled creativity so they went for the lowrise, campus style or the older Pioneer Square loft with high ceiling. The forced density crowd loves the high rise watercloset cramming of ...

Posted Sun, Apr 15, 6:35 a.m.

Anyone who 'feels guilty' for owning and driving a car probably has other 'issues'. Cars are similar to guns and baseball cards; they are part of some very valuable collections and should be admired, respected, and used properly.

Posted Wed, Apr 11, 8:08 a.m.

My goal for the last 46 years of driving has been to be able to find parking for my car. Never has my goal been to get out of my car and use 'transit' even though I have taken the bus a few times. Commercial properties, retail, and new residential ...

Posted Mon, Apr 9, 11:25 a.m.

Kansas City, Missouri and Seville, Spain are sister cities and the Country Club Plaza does have a Spanish flair. The Plaza has always been sacred ground in Kansas City and enjoyed some protection from bad behavior and bad publicity. Yet, the suburban Johnson County, Kansas, offers multiple malls and shopping ...

Posted Thu, Apr 5, 1:58 p.m.

sarah90, I stand by my source, business card in hand, who has many years in the SSA legal world.

Posted Tue, Apr 3, 8:53 p.m.

With mediocre convention facilities, exhibition space, and teeny bopper seating at Key Arena, Seattle and the region lose out on tens of millions of annual entertainment and business activitiy dollars, salaries, jobs, and taxes generated by such.

Posted Tue, Apr 3, 11:46 a.m.

Sources tell me that the local offices of Social Security Administration have hired more than 100 Obama bureaucrats and lawyers. Nationwide, there are massive increases in disability cases and 2,000,000 fewer total jobs now than in 2008. There is a move to getting off the employment, unemployment, and seeking employment ...

Posted Tue, Mar 27, 2:01 p.m.

Art, what is a sample menu food list and quality at any of the Japanese baseball parks?

Posted Tue, Mar 27, 1:06 p.m.

Dick Nelson and other Crosscut readers and participants should remember that Judge Bridges found 1,678 illegal votes had been cast in the 2004 Washington election for governor and he reduced the vote total by 4 for Dino Rossi and one for Ruth Bennett and could not assign the other 1,673 ...

Posted Tue, Mar 27, 12:32 p.m.

What goes on in all the other floor space of the former P-I building?

Posted Mon, Mar 19, 1:42 p.m.

Good thing that the late 1990's effort to land an Olympics in Greater Seattle collapsed before ever really getting started. Neighborhoods would have been trampled, trumped, neglected, shafted, short-changed, and screwed over by over-zealous downtown and big-project developers. We still got our new stadiums without all the 12 years of ...

Posted Fri, Mar 16, 7:52 a.m.

Very depressing article. I would instantly abolish the 25 member special interest collection of regulars who put race, diversity, ethnic politics, money, contracts, and kingdom building over the interests of the 46,000 K-12 students. The students could do a better job of selecting a new superintendent.

Posted Wed, Mar 14, 1:59 p.m.

14,000 expected retailers?? Maybe 1,400?

Posted Wed, Mar 14, 1:49 p.m.

At least the very misleading campaign slogan "marriage equality" is nowhere to be found in any of the language. Ref. 74 and Init. 1192 are not about equal rights or civil rights. The issues are precedence and presumptions both rebuttable and irrebuttable.

Posted Wed, Mar 14, 1:38 p.m.

As a member of the Friends of the Conservatory, I vaguely remember the 1991 planning document laying out an expansion/remodel. Opposition focused on traffic, 'tour buses', interference with tennis courts, demolition of a maintenance house, infringement upon parks vehicle staging space, and costs. 21 years later and after never getting ...

Posted Tue, Mar 13, 10:48 a.m.

I challenge the cited $425 billion for all states and $10 billion for Washington state as losses and budget cuts....perhaps a slowdown in automatic, yearly, anticipated, perpetual, expected percentage increases is a better and more accurate description.

Posted Mon, Mar 12, 8:37 p.m.

and the others "from Missouri" must be an obscure movie reference or tip of the cap to the slogan "Show me". Seattle is big enough to welcome the NBA and NHL and the big boy pants events and say goodbye to the outdated and 'built for 12 year old, skinny,teeny-bopper ...

Posted Tue, Mar 6, 1:52 p.m.

Home mortgage interest should join health insurance benefits as future non tax deductions...people without health insurance and ones who pay for it with after tax dollars are similar to renters and employees both public and private with generous tax free health insurance are similar to home owners who get the ...

Posted Tue, Mar 6, 12:10 p.m.

Mark, I can not thank you enough for laying out such a radical change in the delivery of health insurance!! Sort of 'single payor' where the payor is the individual and not the employer or taxpayer. Schools, government entities, Boeing, GM, Starbucks, Microsoft, and all other employers should be outlawed ...

Posted Mon, Mar 5, 12:28 p.m.

Seattle has approx. 620,000 residents. King, Snohomish, Pierce, and Kitsap counties have approx. 3,500,000 residents. So, are the 2,880,000 non-Seattleites in the 4 county area really a bunch of inferiority complex laden suburbanites? Watch for a national museum dedicated to suburbia to be constructed in Johnson County, Kansas, and specifically ...

Posted Thu, Feb 23, 12:03 p.m.

Everyone must pay their fair share of federal income taxes yet half of the population pays $0.00 in federal income tax.

Posted Wed, Feb 22, 8:02 a.m.

Obama, Bill Clinton, and any other big fish democrat opposed to same gender marriage should be featured prominently in all advertising on the referendum and initiative to uphold the 5,000 year old definition of marriage....less pulpit and more dem infighting are the ways to win!!

Posted Wed, Feb 15, 1:08 p.m.

Same-gender marriage is opposed by Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Hopefully, the 2 will be used in campaign ads aimed at reversing the re-definition of marriage. Lastly, 'marriage equality' is a misnomer and improper phrase which offends many civil rights advocates.

Posted Mon, Feb 13, 10:38 a.m.

Indeed, Seattle is ready for 2 more professional sports teams, a new $400,000,000-$500,000,000 facility, more adjoining meeting room space, and more sports bars and clubs in SoDo. Forget any expansion of the Washington State Convention and Trade Center at its current location.

Posted Mon, Feb 13, 7:57 a.m.

As a regular blood donor for 40 plus years, my knowledge of the rules and questions for donating blood tells me that any male same-gender marriage that is consumated would preclude both parties from blood donations and that would apply to any male sex with another male since 1977. Blood ...

Posted Mon, Feb 13, 7:51 a.m.

Years ago there was talk of a new airport for San Diego as it is quite small, hemmed in, and outdated. The convention center is great and should be the launching pad for more waterfront development including the stadium. Just beware all the train tracks between the waterfront and Gastown.

Posted Fri, Feb 10, 10:52 a.m.

Add the misuse of drugs for Addison's disease and back pain, false stories of being an Evelyn Wood speed reader of 5 national newspapers every day, and whatever else is locked up in sealed records or gone to the graves of countless apologists within his administration and fawning press corps, ...

Posted Fri, Feb 10, 7:44 a.m.

Jan, so the bill omits "unlawful" as to grandparents, cousins, and parents..how lovely!

Posted Fri, Feb 10, 7:38 a.m.

The lawyers have been racking up billing hours for decades regarding the so-called 'Hanford clean-up'.. I vaguely remember Slade Gorton and yet to be Seattle city councilmember Margaret Pageler exchanging letters in the mid-late 1980's representing whoever and whatever. Hanford will never be cleaned up.

Posted Thu, Feb 9, 10:50 a.m.

Who is Beth Hester? Is she as good as Karl Rove or David Axelrod? The pothole hotline 386-1218 has been a responsive pleasant surprise but the potholes are still everywhere. And, the new arena possibility will alienate many of the '99%/occupier sympathizer, liberal' McGinn base. Best for Seattle in 2013 ...

Posted Thu, Feb 9, 10:22 a.m.

What's next? Marrying one's parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, child, sibling, cousin, or even 2 same-gender heterosexuals marrying for tax and benefits reasons? Forget the religious dictum: a clear concise legal statement of the traditional definition of marriage is called for along with all the presumptions that can and can't be ...

Posted Tue, Feb 7, 7:37 a.m.

If only the tens of millions of liberal, poor people would pay even one dollar of federal income tax...if food stamps, EBT cards, welfare, subsidized health insurance, etc. would be eliminated....and sacred cows such as mortgage interest could be abolished and everything was flat tax based....then we ALL could concentrate ...

Posted Mon, Feb 6, 10:36 a.m.

Former Sonics owner Barry Ackerly 20 years ago offered to privately build and finance a $100,000,000 (give or take a few bucks) arena where Safeco Field sits now. Seattle elected officials shot it down. They protected the coliseum from competition and did not want to engage in street and utilities ...

Posted Mon, Jan 30, 7:37 a.m.

Potholes are huge and everywhere citywide...calling 386-1218 several times per week and reporting them to a real live person has been met with pretty good response and follow-through. As for McGinn and cars, Pontiac had a slew of similar models in 1969 including Le Mans, Custom S, GTO, and Tempest. ...

Posted Thu, Jan 26, 3:04 p.m.

Add storage units as another place where 'homeless' may be living, camping out, and perhaps storing possessions....for sanitary conditions and health code and building code standards to be ignored is just an invitation to an inevitable tragedy. 'Safe parking' car camps should be ended.

Posted Wed, Jan 25, 12:10 p.m.

The local office of DOJ has brought forth a laundry list of charges and allegations against SPD. SPD should respond and defend itself and perhaps whittle down the list. 'Separation of church and state' surely applies in this case!

Posted Tue, Jan 24, noon

Too bad it was Al Gore (whose father voted against the Civil Rights Act in 1964) who first used the Willie Horton case against Dukakis in the 1988 dem primaries. And, of course Obama's reference to bitter clingers to bibles and guns had no reverse racial undertones! Fact is, Obama ...

Posted Fri, Jan 20, 9:45 a.m.

Many more government jobs can and should be 'reduced in force'. School lunch contracts should be totally privatized; UW and all community colleges should be performance audited; liquor store privatization is the example for getting government out of many more areas. Seattle has too many parking enforcement officers and staff ...

Posted Fri, Jan 20, 9:34 a.m.

Perhaps some new 'leadership' at the top of state and local government would stave off the fall of local empires. Time for a Republican governor for the first time since 1980-84. Time for a further legal challenge and smackdown of the Washington Supreme Court and its mere allegations....dittos for an ...

Posted Tue, Jan 17, 2:59 p.m.

Hi, my name is Washington, and my hundreds of thousands of past and present government employees have a "greed is good" problem. They as a labor force gobble up a huge share of all taxes collected by state, local, and school entities. They pay very little and certainly not a ...

Posted Mon, Jan 16, 8:25 a.m.

Wow; banning plastic bags, banning phone books, red light and speed cameras, $4.02 total cigarette taxes per pack, etc. Founding Fathers must be proud!!

Posted Fri, Jan 13, 12:24 p.m.

Didn't the annual November computer show called COMDEX go bankrupt a few years ago after its sale of close to a billion dollars? I have been to one Consumer Electronics show in the 1980's and one COMDEX in 1995. The town was packed; room rates were jacked up 400% and ...

Posted Thu, Jan 12, 12:58 p.m.

The memorial service and tributes were outstanding, illuminating, enlightering, and remarkable. Your Pomeroy, Washington, story was incredible. It was an unforgetable evening.

Posted Tue, Jan 10, 11:02 a.m.

Did not in an earlier piece for Crosscut the author state that a Metro bus does 140 times as much wear and tear on roads as does a solo automobile or SUV? If so, why don't all bus riders across 520 pay their fair share fare with added bus fares ...

Posted Wed, Jan 4, 8:27 p.m.

All of the population and demographic statistics merit verification and raw numbers...where are they??

Posted Wed, Jan 4, 8:22 p.m.

Kent Kammerer was the type of person that baseball legend Reggie Jackson used to say about himself..."the straw that stirred the drink". Kent is sorely missed and his memorial service should not be missed!

Posted Tue, Dec 20, 10:52 a.m.

The 'findings' of the DOJ are more accurately and legally an end result of 'allegations' by a prosecutorial body seeking to justify itself. I suggest that no special masters be hired to extend this witch hunt that failed to find widespread systematic SPD failures. The DOJ merits its own outside ...

Posted Tue, Dec 20, 10:10 a.m.

George Benson of Seattle City Council fame desired the Pioneer Square dual train station area to be a transportation hub 25-30 years ago. Everything is not up to date in Seattle.

Posted Tue, Dec 13, 2:56 p.m.

mikerol: next up on the Seattle City Council docket...a non-binding resolution urging Mexico to ban all plastic bags especially ones used to store and transport drugs across the border.

Posted Tue, Dec 13, 2:42 p.m.

So, how many moving violation citations have been issued to bicyclists year by year?? Any research into "Tickets for Bikes" or do we not have such a policy?

Posted Tue, Dec 13, 2:36 p.m.

Wow! How did the USA survive from 1935-2010 with a full payroll tax for all workers earning earned income? From an initial 1% on the first $3,000, the payroll tax has morphed into a 12.5% on that first $106,800 supposedly split 50-50 by the employer and employee but that is ...

Posted Wed, Dec 7, 10:24 a.m.

Seattle would benefit by re-visiting the 1960 budget model and getting out of the business of model cities social engineering. I wonder what percentage of the $40,000,000 1960 budget and what percentage of the $919,000,000 2012 budget goes for labor costs of salary, benefits, and retirement. Are they both close ...

Posted Mon, Dec 5, 11:26 a.m.

So, the problem with 2am closing times for all liquor establishments is that dozens to hundreds to thousands of drunken patrons all hit the streets at the same time and cause all sorts of mayhem. How about not overserving them in the first place??

Posted Tue, Nov 29, 10:19 a.m.

'Walking the dog' is a code phrase for taking the dogs dump to someone else's trash can. Neighbor's trash cans, stranger's trash cans, city litter cans, parks litter cans, dumpsters, alleyways, etc are all the unwilling recipients of dog waste. Most all of it is in a blue newspaper plastic ...

Posted Mon, Nov 28, 2:39 p.m.

At 7-5 stand 3 teams: SMU, Missouri, and Washington. Any 2 would make for a good bowl game.

Posted Wed, Nov 23, 10:22 a.m.

Yes, it is true that many parking garages on single family and apartment and condo properties are used as junk, stuff, extra closet, and large storage areas while the household vehicle(s) fight for street parking. Draconian measures would require all registered, licenced, non-licenced, and junk cars to be parked off-street. ...

Posted Wed, Nov 23, 10:11 a.m.

All these monthly numbers and quarterly numbers get announced; then they are 'adjusted' up or down...the percentages all seem meaningless. The increase of 4900 government jobs is very disturbing. Could they all be new parking enforcement officers in Seattle moved around and clinging to their retirement and benefits revenue streams? ...

Posted Tue, Nov 22, 2:04 p.m.

Seattle residents have benefitted greatly by the defeat of the Commons levies in 1995 and 1996, the defeat of the 10 cent latte tax, the defeat of the 20 cent grocery bag tax, and the defeat of the $60 dollar flat rate car tab tax. Overturning soda and candy taxes ...

Posted Thu, Nov 17, 7:57 a.m.

Centers For Disease Control and National Institute for Health, and various local public health agencies have been given new laboratories for research and study of infectuous diseases sprouting up among the occcupy sites. Riot control exercises have been good training opportunities for local police departments and overtime pay is a ...

Posted Wed, Nov 16, 2:02 p.m.

Could there be many more of these market characters and newspaper hawkers with storage lockers, cash under the mattress, and other small to large assorted, accumulated fortunes? Some of our beloved street musicians and buskers are raking in tens of thousands of tax free dollars per year. I would love ...

Posted Thu, Nov 10, 1:45 p.m.

The Government Party, No Party, and Reform Party would all be employers and employees of governmental bodies. They would all demand generous salaries, benefits, and retirement packages. They as a labor force would consume 80-85% of any department budget. They would all be a drag and drain on the private ...

Posted Mon, Nov 7, 10:36 a.m.

How about all state, county, local, and government school employees pay a larger fair share of their health insurance and retirement plan benefits?

Posted Tue, Nov 1, 1:37 p.m.

Forty years ago a college economics 101 professor of mine would flunk any student who used the word 'need' in any economic discussion. Secondly, state and local governments scream 'cuts' when yearly automatic increases in spending are scaled back even though the total spent is always increasing year to year. ...

Posted Tue, Oct 25, 9:53 a.m.

The intoxication level of bicyclists and pedestrians involved in wrecks is also a missing component to the story....especially within the 8pm-6am time frame. We deserve more statistics related to pedestrian, jaywalking, and bicycle 'moving violations' and tickets issued. How many citations were given to bicyclists; I am betting that the ...

Posted Thu, Oct 20, 10:56 a.m.

Some of us have been burned by the 3 attempts to change the Seattle Charter in 1995, 2003, and 2009. The first 2 lost at the ballot box after getting the approx. 36,000 valid signatures. The 2009 effort only got 10,000 signatures. I suggest a revision similar to the Seattle ...

Posted Mon, Oct 17, 10:54 a.m.

"Occupy CenturyLink and Husky Stadium" drew 40 times the maximum number of Oct 15 occupiers/protesters at Westlake Park...kudos for proper priorities.

Posted Fri, Oct 14, 7:47 p.m.

Did Adbusters also inspire the post game mayhem, violence, and destruction following the Vancouver Canucks loss in the 2011 N.H.L Stanley Cup? How many arrests have the 'occupiers' racked up worldwide so far? How much taxpayer loss has been accumulated? How many businesses have suffered loss due to the mobs? ...

Posted Thu, Oct 13, 12:22 p.m.

Would McGinn treat Tea Party, Republican, right-of-center protesters with the same kid gloves? If he has a different policy for those he disagrees with, he is not fit to be mayor.

Posted Thu, Oct 13, 12:14 p.m.

Haven't several hundred banks gone under in the last few years? Where are Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, and WAMU? Where is Bernie Madoff? If the federal gov't forced banks to make bad loans and then forced them to take part in TARP, then the overly religious occupiers might want to ...

Posted Thu, Oct 13, noon

The socialism and tax policies hatched under FDR continue to exhaust, haunt, and ruin the lives of millions of Americans having to pay the freight for those merely riding in the wagon...just look at the expansive mission creep in the social security scheme and how the tax amounts and rates ...

Posted Tue, Oct 11, 11:15 a.m.

The dumpsters throughout the area should not be allowed to take up parking spots and should not be allowed to block sidewalks...let Clean Scapes come up with a solution.

Posted Tue, Oct 11, 11:08 a.m.

Rush Limbaugh outed the Adbuster involvement in 'occupy whatever' last week and remembered them involved in outing Jewish people in 2004 and theorized on all the meanings of '99'. He cited a David Brooks column today and stated that the occupiers definitely are not grass roots; they are responding to ...

Posted Wed, Oct 5, 1:28 p.m.

kieth is spot on; does the ordinance cover public and government buildings, courthouses, jails, community centers, port facilities, military facilities, Seattle Center, etc?

Posted Tue, Oct 4, 11:56 a.m.

Too bad all the local, county, school, state, and federal government employee workforce pay so little percentage of their own health insurance premiums and count on the 'taxpaying community' to pick up the tab. And, if all illegal alien residents decided to move, the numbers could look a bit better.

Posted Mon, Oct 3, 12:16 p.m.

The neighborhood matching fund program did provide some excellent brick and mortar improvements to Seattle's parks, playgrounds, school grounds, etc. More troubling were the requests for studies, surveys, outreach, social justice, awareness, consultants, f.t.e's. with benefits, and ongoing mission creep. 'Neighborhoods' became a job resting place for strategic planners and ...

Posted Mon, Oct 3, 11:43 a.m.

Far worse than the weight of Governor Christie are the nicotine addiction of Obama and all the revealed drug isues and health issues of JFK. Both were able to hide their health issues by a complicit fawning media.

Posted Fri, Sep 30, 10:12 a.m.

Yet, in the aftermath of the 2004 Washington election for governor, Judge Bridges found and disallowed 1678 illegal votes cast. If the Halsne stories contained one or 2 identified mistakes, what about the other dozens or hundreds of possible cases of illegal votes in 2008?

Posted Thu, Sep 22, 10:50 a.m.

So much for aesthetics; both the Kingdome and Alaskan Way Viaduct provided decades of events and access to a lively and vibrant Pioneer Square. The 2 new stadiums are essentially placed in the exact opposite sites for best use. Safeco Field should have been located much closer to Pioneer Square ...

Posted Wed, Sep 21, 11:45 a.m.

The ultimate and classic definition of 'trial balloon' sums up this piece. Who, exactly, is itching for a Daudon mayoral run? And, how many more current or past members of the Gates Foundation employee ranks are considered possible mayoral candidates? I'm surprised that the foundation has not hired Nickels, Sims, ...

Posted Fri, Sep 16, 11:09 a.m.

Is there going to be a James Carville solution to Obama's woes by firing a bunch of hopey, changy hacks? Is Obama clinically depressed and the New York Times also too depressed to run their story? Are there countless more Solyndras out there? What is really going on with Obama, ...

Posted Wed, Sep 14, 10:17 a.m.

Bill Moyers is 'Dan Rather with a D.U.I.' Never trust a former press secretary from a democrat regime.

Posted Tue, Sep 13, 7:39 a.m.

Some of the local Seattle roads just are NOT meant to be chalk filled with 'sharrows' and taken over by have it both ways bicyclists. Just as dogs, cats, and other pets, bicycles should be taxed, registered, and their owners subject to penalty when the appropriate laws are broken.

Posted Mon, Sep 12, 8:07 a.m.

The library is the one of the most over-rated, over-hyped, least functional buildings I have ever experienced. The New York cheerleaders set a glowing trend of approval upon its opening in 2003; the locals fell for it and now have learned to avoid the Taj Mahal of wasted space.

Posted Mon, Sep 12, 7:58 a.m.

Since 1960, Seattle has gained 50,000 in population while the 4 county region surely has added 1,500,000 plus. Case double closed; studio apartments and waterclosets with a view are not for everyone. Light rail station forced density ushers in 21st century ghetto style projects that will decay and resemble awful ...

Posted Fri, Sep 9, 7:51 a.m.

The charges by left leaning Bush haters that he knew in advance of the attacks and the focus on one August 6, 2001, Presidential daily briefing will never be forgotten by history.

Posted Thu, Sep 8, 10:43 a.m.

The legal question boils down to which government entity, if any, can force, via individual mandate, the participation in interstate commerce. Is Romneycare constitutional for Massachusetts? Is Obamacare unconstitutional due to the fact that there are 50 state insurance commissioners and ZERO federal ones? Also, there is no severability clause ...

Posted Wed, Sep 7, 4:42 p.m.

It is also a bottled wine shop; too small for Costco style private hard liquor sales though. The intersection of 17th Ave East and East Galer is very dangerous and another example of retail gone amok without any off street parking.

Posted Wed, Sep 7, 4:36 p.m.

Michelle Obama's bogus $350,000 hospital job, Karen Pletz's looting of a Kansas City medical school with outrageous salary and perks, and umpteen other examples exist of the Big Education rip-off that has been going on for decades. Every job ought to be audited yearly. No doubt the UW has numerous ...

Posted Sun, Sep 4, 12:49 p.m.

A park free of cigarette butts, panhandlers, dogs, bicycle lanes and sharrows, alcohol, and age-old posters on polls would be nice.

Posted Wed, Aug 31, 11:48 a.m.

America adds approx 3,000,000 new people per year and there is a steady exodus from rust belt cities such as Detroit, Cleveland, St. Louis, Pittsburg, Buffalo, etc. The exodus does not desire a watercloset studio apartment in Belltown. Over time, the suburbs will fill up the vacant housing tracts and ...

Posted Mon, Aug 29, 11:07 a.m.

Are there not millions of surplus, vacant, foreclosed homes, apartment complexes, and condos nationwide? Why spend borrowed federal and private dollars adding to the oversupply?

Posted Mon, Aug 29, 11 a.m.

From above, (Startups need low rent). Can anyone confirm any of the rental rates for all the new Tom Douglas restaurants in SLU? Low rent would be advantageous in a very tough restaurant climate and at least 2 more closed this past weekend in Capitol Hill and Eastlake neighborhoods. Nettletown ...

Posted Mon, Aug 22, 11:04 a.m.

Congestion was born here the day the R.H. Thomson road died.

Posted Thu, Aug 18, 12:35 p.m.

Will the assorted $20.00 and $60.00 new car tab taxes being imposed by King County and Seattle be used as a source of 'Jungle Fever' renovation for campers, bikers, and hikers, and lessen the amounts of money for deferred maintenance, road repair, and pothole removal?

Posted Thu, Aug 18, 7:47 a.m.

Mr. Dunphy knows much more about economics, business trends, statistics, etc. than grumpy old animalal but I do know a few basics. Number 1 is that apple and orange statistics are meaningless. North Dakota and other states have much lower unemployment rates than Washington. Number 2 is that the big ...

Posted Wed, Aug 17, 12:01 p.m.

Two sham, advisory, non-binding, meaningless, worthless votes (March 14, 2007, and yesterday) on SR99 and its most talked about 2 mile stretch give us the pre-ordained desired result by all the downtown pooh-bahs. Tearing down the viaduct and Kingdome both are nothing more than exercises in flexing aesthetic muscles while ...

Posted Tue, Aug 16, 8:02 a.m.

Peter, you should have stayed longer and had a shotgun seat navigator. As a Kansas City area resident off and on from 1960-1985, let me add a few clarifications. You probably got the interstate jitters from the I-29 out of the KCI airport somewhat meshing with I-435 signs for St. ...

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

The state's 'progressives' do not have any shame when it comes to demanding other's money for their wants and wishes. May cuts continue for years to come; may the state and local government workforce shrink similar to today's announcement of 120,000 fewer postal workers along with a new health insurance ...

Posted Fri, Aug 12, 8:02 a.m.

Excellent research and tons of valuable data here shows that the autophobes have been at work for decades at neglecting basic, annual, and deferred maintenance. Of special value is the breakdown of which type of vehicle does the most damage to streets. So much for buses, tofu and bicycle delivery ...

Posted Thu, Aug 11, 9:04 p.m.

Add Real Change papers, Planned Parenthood, the PIRG folks, ACLU, and other beggars to the left wing money grab going on as a daily 'in your face' on Seattle streets and in the neighborhoods. "Don't Feed the Birds".

Posted Tue, Aug 9, 11:57 a.m.

Too many tens of millions of Americans are not paying any federal income taxes; there are 47,000,000 receiving food stamps ie EBT; too many government employees and corporate employees are receiving health insurance and other tax-free benefits that skewer the system and make it more expensive for the individual policy ...

Posted Wed, Aug 3, 10:22 a.m.

So, a vote for the tunnel is a way for the state to blow all its money along the waterfront and leave the 520 bridge project wanting; hence the smaller 4 lane 520 that would make Montlake and Madison Park happy? Wow; what strategic thinking and foresight for the whole ...

Posted Tue, Aug 2, 7:36 p.m.

Another 70% anti-tunnel vote is possible; then what? The viaduct is as strong and sturdy as any old Pioneer Square building; just because it is ugly (remember the Kingdome?) does not mean that it should be torn down. It could have been retrofit and adjacent roads, ramps, and side streets ...

Posted Tue, Aug 2, 3:32 p.m.

Time for everyone to pay for their own health insurance premiums, doctor's bills, and get the government out of the business. Time to tax benefits at the ordinary income margin rate of the recipient. No more poor, working folks without health insurance paying taxes that pay for the benefits of ...

Posted Mon, Aug 1, 10:29 a.m.

How can Seahawk head coach proclaim that 'its all about competition' and then turn around and announce that Tavarious Jackson has already won the starting QB job and Charlie Whitehurst is #2 and whoever is #3?

Posted Thu, Jul 28, 10:58 a.m.

Can any of the named newbies win a barbeque contest, shoot a moose, and/or bartend with the best?

Posted Mon, Jul 25, 10:30 a.m.

Senator Marco Rubio will carry Florida for the red Republicans. And, the economy crashed after the dems took control of both houses of Congress in 2006. On Bush's watch; yet no one can name a specific Bush-only policy that caused the crash.

Posted Mon, Jul 25, 10:21 a.m.

Raise the 75 cent bus fare called "Regional reduced fare permit' for cardholders. Raise bus fares. Do not tax automobiles and trucks just to further subsidize bus riders and bicyclists. The war on cars must come to an end.

Posted Wed, Jul 20, 10:19 a.m.

Autophobes will have chest pains, headaches, heartaches, and numerous skin irritations when I-1125 passes; at least Obamacare covers their pre-existing mental and physical pre-existing conditions.

Posted Tue, Jul 19, 7:47 a.m.

Maybe it is time to review some of the other big media giants. False stories, bogus sources, and poor editing several years ago involving Jayson Blair and New York Times are examples. So are spiked stories involving American main stream media that had to be exposed by The Drudge Report ...

Posted Wed, Jul 13, 7:01 a.m.

Are these 'paid for riders' or lumped together total bodies? Is Amazon paying for and/or subsidizing the rides? Is the S.L.U.T. making money or losing money?

Posted Fri, Jul 1, 11:30 a.m.

The division is weak; Mariners could win it. Do not trade off any young prospects for an over-the-hill mega contract. Win with the current team.

Posted Wed, Jun 29, 7:13 a.m.

Who even knew that Paul Schell had been elected mayor of Vancouver, B.C. and that Norm Stamper was the police chief?

Posted Mon, Jun 27, 10:17 a.m.

James Farley's view of our area was summed up with his 1936 quote as the Postmaster under FDR that the USA was comprised of 47 states and the 'Soviet Republic of Washington'. Even today, the Seattle region is overly unionized and dependent upon monopolistic corporations, non-profits, and oversized governmental bureaucracies. ...

Posted Thu, Jun 23, 11:33 a.m.

Better idea. All 46,000 Seattle government school students somehow find their way into a private school. Abolish the district; eliminate the property taxes and levies going down the drain.

Posted Wed, Jun 22, 9:34 p.m.

Great!! Mandatory paid sick days based on number of employees and their number of employed days based upon the size of their employment pool. I love pitting workers against each other!!

Posted Wed, Jun 22, 8 a.m.

Paid sick days for law firms and lawyers that have $300.00+ per billable hour for some lawyers?? Hope the clients don't mind paying for a suret-to-be-abused billing cycle.

Posted Wed, Jun 22, 8 a.m.

Paid sick days for law firms and lawyers that have $300.00+ per billable hour for some lawyers?? Hope the clients don't mind paying for a suret-to-be-abused billing cycle.

Posted Wed, Jun 22, 7:59 a.m.

Paid sick days for law firms and lawyers that have $300.00+ per billable hour for some lawyers?? Hope the clients don't mind paying for a suret-to-be-abused billing cycle.

Posted Wed, Jun 22, 7:52 a.m.

Let's explore, investigate, dig deeper, perhaps do a freedom of information act request, and challenge that 10,200 employee number. Godden's primary opponents should also be on this assertion of 800+ fewer Seattle employees. Let's document from where all the cuts came from.

Posted Fri, Jun 17, 7:43 a.m.

Please explain the details of the Soros charity giving as he is identified as a donor to dozens of left-wing political agendas and known for investments into currencies, commodities, and global corporate funds. And, remember religious and church and faith based charitable giving and generosity as good value for the ...

Posted Fri, Jun 10, 10:26 a.m.

Welcome to Big Brother, 1984, and autophobia gone wild. The parking meters and kiosks are costing mucho dollars to fix and maintain while driving sales tax to the eastside.

Posted Thu, Jun 9, 10:03 p.m.

Mr. C.B. Hall should have paid for his cataract surgery out-of-pocket as his story reveals the evils of government involvement into the health insurance world. Single payer should mean that the individual pays; ie: no 3rd party involvement. Employer paid for insurance (especially taxpayer payed for insurance where the taxpayer ...

Posted Thu, Jun 9, 7:19 a.m.

The Dick Lilly piece on Seattle's projection for more kids and the possibility of new schools and/or re-opening closed schools that apppeared yesterday on Crosscut deserves scrutiny and specific numbers for students. There are approx. 46,000 students in the school district. How many more are expected over the next decade?

Posted Thu, Jun 9, 6:57 a.m.

I suppose that standard exemptions, deductions and the home mortgage interest deduction at the federal tax level are also 'tax breaks' that could be eliminated if the I.R.S. was to be abolished and we went to a flat tax or national sales tax that would begin at 0 and tax ...

Posted Thu, Jun 9, 6:49 a.m.

seattlecitizen, You probably meant to say the word 'failed'. Government schools are mistakenly called 'public'. Since 1983 and the research called "A Nation at Risk", government schools have been viewed to be in desparate shape. People may like some of them because they are perceived to be 'free'. Taxpayers are ...

Posted Wed, Jun 8, 7:25 p.m.

Lakeside Middle and High School should take over all of the author's proposed school sites without the overt influence of their famous alum Bill Gates. As one of Lakeside's many thousands of students, he has not demonstrated any specific K-12 teaching or administrative expertise. His foundation is a resting place ...

Posted Tue, Jun 7, 8:01 a.m.

Add Paul Ryan's medicare reform proposals that are prejudged by misleading and inaccurate criticism ('kills medicare; cave in to big insurance, etc). Individuals must be more directly involved in the payment for cost of all forms of medical, health, and work related insurance issues. The 8% of claims gobbling up ...

Posted Tue, Jun 7, 7:25 a.m.

Has Mr. Prelutsky visited all of the local bagel joints and found any as good as the ones from his hometown neighborhood?

Posted Fri, Jun 3, 11:05 a.m.

The 1200 workers and employees have many accomplishments that were achieved without such expensive and architect/trendy trappings. It will be interesting to monitor, observe, audit, critique, and evaluate all the good works to come during the lifetime of the foundation's buildings and to measure the influence the foundation has over ...

Posted Wed, Jun 1, 12:49 p.m.

My earlier posting neglected to mention that the game in question was on Sept. 14, 2002, and was one of 8 home games for Ohio State in their 14-0 season. Too much home cookin' and maybe the NCAA should look at the integrity of referees, too.

Posted Wed, Jun 1, 12:33 p.m.

Bigyaz; you are a correct spell-checker; however Tressel is suspected with strong evidence of 10 years of running a massively dirty program and of course there is the Woody Hayes attack on an opposing player. Big 10 toughness has historically been run over in the Rose Bowl by speed and ...

Posted Wed, Jun 1, 7:23 a.m.

Years ago, the WSU Cougers were playing Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio, and getting smacked around with lots of no-calls on the Buckeye team for penalties and the referee told the Coug quarterback something to the effect of "welcome to Big 10 football, son". I can't find the story online ...

Posted Tue, May 31, 9:22 p.m.

The sheriff awaits another US Supreme Court ruling upholding Arizona S.B 1070 after last week's 5-3 decision allowing Arizona state government to enforce 'E-verify'. As for Sarah Palin, she will do more in Arizona than be the front woman owner of an Old Scottsdale gift shop. Maybe the 'hockey mom' ...

Posted Tue, May 31, 2:03 p.m.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio must be wondering where the unique spelling of his name (Arpayo) comes from and Sarah Palin must wonder where this story's picture of her comes from. As baseball icon Reggie Jackson once said of himself, "I'm the straw that stirs the drink": it should be noted that ...

Posted Tue, May 31, 1:19 p.m.

In the spirit of Lawrence O'Donnell and his 'rewrite' portion of his show on MSNBC called "Last Word", the following suggestion is offered: Journalism schools across the country should have as class projects the examination and possible rewrite of the entire body of work as offered by the New York ...

Posted Fri, May 27, 2:10 p.m.

Can't 4 Culture just pass around more hats and tin cups at this weekend's Folklife Festival and not depend upon a gouging tax on lodging tourists and business people?

Posted Fri, May 27, 2:03 p.m.

I thought all 'Seattle and Washington state' filming was actually done in Vancouver, B.C. As for tax breaks, everybody should incorporate out of state and take every A-Z break available since it is the author's preferred political party that seeks to tax everything A-Z. The Beatles 1960's song, "Taxman" should ...

Posted Thu, May 26, 4:43 p.m.

Would the 'jock tax' be extended to actors, filmmakers, touring musical groups, acts, and concerts and others who may have high incomes and a few days of work in Washington state? Or, does the selective resentment only apply to professional sports?

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

Marijuana is not 'high quality medicine'. It is time for the respected traditional medical community to refute the claims of the medical marijuana crowd.

Posted Thu, May 26, 10:17 a.m.

Look at the N.B.A. and the recent $100,000 fine levied against Laker player Kobe Bryant and the $50,000 fine levied against Chicago Bull player Joquin Noah for anti-gay slurs against a referee and a fan. The political correctness police are out of control.

Posted Thu, May 19, 11:40 a.m.

Harris, Thank you for continuing the discussion. My own colonoscopy 2 years ago at age 58 fell under the financial terms I earlier described. I have asked in one telephone call for a set of preventative measures that I would be eligible for and an independent insurance agent is now ...

Posted Thu, May 19, 7:23 a.m.

Seattle Center could not happen today. The Seattle Commons fiasco and final triumphant victory from 1991-1996 proved that. Individual property rights and values prevailed over the misuse of eminent domain and condemnation. Costs have skyrocketed and Seattle Center may be stuck with relics such as Memorial Stadium and the Center ...

Posted Wed, May 18, 5:05 p.m.

Harris, Group Health does not provide me the cost-free preventative procedures as you write about. My individual policy with a $500 deductible and monthly premium of $571 (100% paid directly by me) then branches out into an 80/20 cost for service with me paying the 20% up to a maximum ...

Posted Tue, May 17, 10:37 a.m.

Add to the list of dicredited politicos and Hollywood dabblers Arnold Schwartznegger, John Ensign, Al Gore, Mike Lowry, Brock Adams, Warren Magnusen, all the Kennedys, Wilbur Mills, Jesse Jackson,and many more.

Posted Mon, May 16, 2:20 p.m.

Urbanists should add to their green religion zealotry list a fitness test, self-defense course, and a concealed weapons permit along with the appropriate hardware. Patrol your neighborhoods in groups, catalog all the expired licence plates, graffiti spots, and suspicious places and try to cooperate with the police and not instantly ...

Posted Mon, May 16, 12:02 p.m.

Wow, Eric from Portland should be exempt from paying a dime for his possible life saving polyp removal?? I thought preventive care costs were limited to the first $500. Why do people balk at paying for their own insurance and health care treatments? So they can have all the other ...

Posted Tue, May 10, 10:49 a.m.

Mike Wilson has toiled in the minors long enough. Time for a pay raise and chance to shine in the big leagues. Welcome Mike. Enjoy Safeco Field.

Posted Mon, May 9, 9:51 a.m.

Charlie's and Dick's Hamburgers on Broadway are 'pre-metrosexual' and there is a place on Lake City Way near the Seattle/Shoreline 145th border that is old school.

Posted Fri, May 6, 10 p.m.

Autophobia is Seattle's proof positive that religious fanaticism and creationism and 'intelligent design' are all alive and well in the Montlake Mess.

Posted Fri, May 6, 10:20 a.m.

Also, the King5TV expose of parking tickets being 'fixed' for a $125,000 yearly city employee. The entire parking enforcement 'work force' should be audited and subject to FOIA scrutiny to see who has gotten all the new jobs dishing out tickets (hint; SPD folks in need of 20 years). And, ...

Posted Thu, May 5, 10:44 a.m.

Montlake residents have been choking on vehicle fumes for 40 years as their opposition to the R.L.Thomson and Bay Freeways turned their 1200 home community into Seattle's chokepoint poster child. Bring on the big bridge and new 520 and keep the toll free crossing times between 11pm and 5am!!

Posted Wed, May 4, 1:01 p.m.

A huge percentage of the Seattle general fund budget is salary, perks, benefits, and retirement for employees. Keep cutting, consolidating, and not filling vacancies. 500-1000 fewer non-essentials will not be missed and will save millions.

Posted Sun, May 1, 9:10 a.m.

Trump builds expensive buildings and golf courses. Others get shot dead and their estates receive $1,500,000. Go figure.

Posted Sun, May 1, 9:04 a.m.

Diverse means minority, black, and/or non-white. If a city is 90% white, it is not diverse. If a city is 90% black, is it really diverse? Bizarre logic here.

Posted Tue, Apr 19, 2:48 p.m.

Most pro-athlete careers are a few decades less than the writer's. Realities of long term 'employment' or should it be 'unemployment'? And, journalists should resist making the story about themselves.

Posted Sat, Apr 16, 12:19 p.m.

Forget the artwork; how about parking spaces to compete with the $4.00/hour street spaces???

Posted Mon, Apr 11, 11:40 a.m.

Every worker's paycheck suffers from the evil cookie monster of 76 years of expanded F.I.C.A. payroll taxes. Foggy Bottom harbors many hidden socialists, communists, and spies still fighting for the evil empire and still rooting for the wrong side of the 'cold war'. And, the many years of unnecessary Depression ...

Posted Mon, Apr 4, 7:52 a.m.

Paul Allen was the (at first) anonymous donor of the $20,000,000 that funded the devious and ill-founded Seattle Commons toothache of an over-reaching, eminent domain, condemnation scheme in the early-mid 1990's. It was pure joy participating in the double defeat of that monster in 2 divisive, separate elections. It was ...

Posted Wed, Mar 30, 11:20 a.m.

Bits and pieces of anecdotal evidence and hearsay stories from some of the local panhandlers: the violinist with the yellow van and family with 6 houses over the Hiway 2 mountain pass who says he can fiddle away for up to $200 plus on a good day and gets donated ...

Posted Wed, Mar 30, 10:38 a.m.

Seattle city limits had approx. 563,000 people around the time of 1959-1963 and close to 100,000 in the Seattle School District. All of the rest of King County had to be less than 437,000 because I am sure the county population was less than 1,000,000. Now, Seattle has 608,000 and ...

Posted Tue, Mar 29, 10:38 a.m.

Yeah; and let's start charging bicycles and foot passengers to pay for all their special sharrows, pathways on I-90, new bridge accomodating pathways, etc. Tolling only drivers is sickening and will cause a real backlash in automobileland.

Posted Thu, Mar 24, 11:24 a.m.

Pete Holmes has no legal standing in any health insurance litigation. Rob McKenna properly represents the state of Washington due to medicaid and other issues. Pete should market some product under the Whole Foods model. They have their "365" brand and he could compete with his new gross misdemeanor "364" ...

Posted Thu, Mar 17, 10:53 a.m.

Over the last 5 years, parking meter and kiosk zones have expanded into the Cascade, Chinatown, Pike/Pine, South Lake Union, Belltown, and other neighborhoods at an alarming rate. Expanding hours of paid parking until 8pm adds to the total number of hours of on-duty parking enforcement officers. How many PEO's ...

Posted Wed, Mar 16, 12:26 p.m.

Joe, What about health insurance and other benefits for the 'part time' community college profs? And, don't part time state legislators, staff, and others get a full set of generous perks and benefits?

Posted Mon, Mar 14, 10:54 a.m.

It would be fascinating to know how many ex-Washingtonians who now live elsewhere (sunnier and warmer in particular) are on the receiving end of unemployment compensation and retirement checks and direct deposits including monthly Social Security. Maybe there is a net gain coming into Washington if new residents are receiving ...

Posted Sat, Mar 12, 1:24 p.m.

Obama can thank three things for his current status. Affirmative action; white guilt, and fawning media. He totally lacks competence, credibility, and leadership. His party will stick with him; independents have left him in droves; it is up to the Republicans to find and select the winning combination. I would ...

Posted Sat, Mar 12, 1:08 p.m.

Well written and it brings to mind the fact that most if not all of the shelters and energency centers have the early morning rule of 'up and out'. Hence, the libraries, grocery store entrances and eating areas, parks, street corners, and ATM locations, are the de facto daytime hangouts. ...

Posted Fri, Mar 4, 9:32 a.m.

The Port of Seattle Commissioners also are paid virtually nothing but a per diem stipend of $4,800-$6,000 annually and of course the travel junkets. They used to have no inside staff help assigned to them. In the last few years, the Commissioners have somehow gotten staff to assist them in ...

Posted Thu, Mar 3, 7:35 a.m.

What audits and controls are in place that would monitor all the money flowing through 4Culture? The 'arts' umbrella would have to be tightened and strictly defined so as not to throw money at dubious 'artists'. A better idea is to let all the stadium devoted taxes expire and sunset. ...

Posted Tue, Mar 1, 7:58 a.m.

There is no 'right' to public sector collective bargaining. 'CB' has been granted by the political bosses to the public sector workers in exchange for bribes, campaign contributions, campaign sweat equity, and votes. Comparisons here are apples to oranges to bananas and the real story is the taxpayers without benefits ...

Posted Mon, Feb 28, 4:18 p.m.

Mariners and Academy Awards Oscars must both strive to reach that younger demographic group of fans in the seats and elsewhere listening to radio and watching TV.

Posted Mon, Feb 28, 12:23 p.m.

Didn't Seattle have a recent mayor that lived on Whidbey Island throughout his 4 year term? And, for years there has been the 'rumor' that several firefighters live out of state all the way down in Arizona and are able to get a convenient work schedule. Seattle's 82 square miles ...

Posted Fri, Feb 25, 7:30 a.m.

As a trade show vendor/exhibitor, I see other cities rip off and gouge convention visitors, tourists, and fellow exhibitors with huge taxes and fees on virtually everything from booth space, 'decorations', special beverage taxes, sales taxes, rental car taxes, hotel room taxes, etc. Notorious tax traps are New York, Chicago, ...

Posted Thu, Feb 24, 2:55 p.m.

Can another entity define the Southern Poverty Law Center as its own hate group??

Posted Mon, Feb 21, 9:57 a.m.

Every major city has a penny, nickel, dime, quarter, dollar, etc. shakedown extortion set of taxes on its 'beloved' tourists and conventioneers. Hotel, motel, restaurant, car rental, and exhibit space taxes are onerous to individuals and businesses who pay the taxes. Not so for the traveling politicians and government employees ...

Posted Mon, Feb 21, 9:42 a.m.

Always beware the pet projects, sacred cows, and 'sob story' anectdotal wish lists of politicos past and present. Nothing should be done artificially in Pioneer Square just because of a 'worship at the alter of a walk to work'. The days of "Angry Housewives" and goodtime tailgaters on all sides ...

Posted Thu, Feb 17, 10:55 a.m.

Do I remember correctly that almost 4 years ago Seattle voters overwhelmingly REJECTED VIA ADVISORY VOTE both a new elevated viaduct and a bored tunnel?? Surface street and retrofit options were not allowed to be voted on. Bad mistake!! On most things, the mayor displays royal knuckleheadedness. On the Alaska ...

Posted Tue, Feb 8, 4:36 p.m.

R on Beacon Hill makes the case for mandatory tinted windows on all Seattle vehicles. Hence, equal opportunity discretionary stops with unknown racial identity of driver. Liberal Seattle probably wants a police force with no white cops. Guess what? Minority 'community leaders' would still seek fault and blame of the ...

Posted Fri, Feb 4, 7:39 a.m.

Just another year of extreme liberal, democrat, insider foodfighting as all the mentioned people and groups are on the same page of ideology. Whining over lack of funds, 'cuts', and looking for higher up government for more stimulus and bailout. The city has further deteriorated under McGinn; deferred maintenance grows; ...

Posted Thu, Feb 3, 11:57 a.m.

The shine is off and the thrill is gone for both the downtown Seattle library building and the Obama Administration. The New York architecture critics had bigger tingles up their legs for the decades old skinbox that Koolhaus finally unloaded than Chris Matthews of MSNBC had for the 'anti-Bush43' neophyte ...

Posted Thu, Feb 3, 11:20 a.m.

Ever the sarcastic cynic, I wonder how many Seattleites love potholes and broken streets. The theory exemplifies itself when observing long time and multiple year third world street conditions on Federal Ave East from blocks 700-2000 East. Dittos for 14th Ave East blocks 200-1100 East. Dittos for Prospect Ave. East ...

Posted Wed, Feb 2, 10:41 a.m.

Beware the word 'need' in any economic discussion; it got one an "F" if used in any way in beginning economics classes back in Texas in the early 1970's. There are tax inequities that somehow supercede common law and common sense but the best tax system is one with the ...

Posted Wed, Feb 2, 10:28 a.m.

If the trend continues; then the huge mega churches out in the suburbs and rural areas will someday be prime real estate subject to conversion into secular usage.

Posted Mon, Jan 31, 1:05 p.m.

275,000,000 visitors to the Olympics??? Maybe 275,000.

Posted Mon, Jan 31, 1:02 p.m.

If 100,000+ rich retirees moved to those single family homes in Charlotte: growth is good again.

Posted Mon, Jan 31, 11 a.m.

Looking at Seattle's 630,320 population wiping out much of the road and other infrastructure, I say 'sprawl' is good. The state would benefit if more people and action took place in Omak, Pomeroy, and Skamania County. This transfer scam is similar to the Catholic indulgences and carbon credit swaps proposed ...

Posted Fri, Jan 28, 7:30 a.m.

How many 'artists' and friends are actually LIVING in the studios, nooks, and crannies of the 619 Western?? My guess is roughly a dozen.

Posted Thu, Jan 27, 11:47 a.m.

Old Seattle 560,000 (100,000 kids in government school district); new Seattle 630,320 (46,000 kids in gov't school district). These numbers explain most of the Berger list details.

Posted Wed, Jan 26, 2:43 p.m.

Maybe lorenbliss will enlighten us all by citing examples of socialism and communism where things are so much better for all.

Posted Mon, Jan 24, 12:30 p.m.

Still waiting for anything, one thing, of substance from the Bamster prez. Rhetoric from him does include all the usual platitudes, cliches, and buzzwords of the hollow, common nature of today's discourse. The shine wore off during the infamous 'beer summit' and exposed him as prejudicial and petty.

Posted Fri, Jan 21, 7:55 a.m.

Dupnik and Obama both jumped the gun and prejudged incidents and were later proven totally wrong. (Dupnik's tirades against conservative talk and Obama's calling out Cambridge, Mass. police as acting stupidly and then having the embarassing beer summit). Dupnik stepped in it big-time and revealed himself to be an ineffective ...

Posted Mon, Jan 17, 2:22 p.m.

Transit = my car. As close to door to door as possible, thank you.

Posted Wed, Jan 12, 11:51 a.m.

The prejudicial Obama and his 'beer summit mulligan' added to the bombastic msnbc collection of left wing whack jobs both on their payroll and as their guests collectively far outweigh and exceed the right in efforts to poison the public dialog. As for Arizona, all they want is honest and ...

Posted Tue, Jan 11, 1:27 p.m.

When 2000 plus folks frequent 619 Western it is time for the fire marshall to do a full inspection. I never felt safe in this place on First Thursday even tho it had stairways on both sides. Exposed wiring and overcrowding drove me away.

Posted Mon, Jan 10, 10 a.m.

This author fails to reveal the shooter's obsession with congresswoman Giffords since 2007 which is long before the emergence of Sarah Palin and the Tea Party. Palin is wise not to respond to any attempts to connect her to the shootings. Author and leftists are now learning that the shooter ...

Posted Mon, Jan 3, 11:33 a.m.

Never spend anything at a tribal casino.

Posted Fri, Dec 31, 11:10 a.m.

Beware bogus, money laundering, faux-type public sector jobs that mostly exist in the government hierarchy of special district, school district, local, county, state and federal sacred cows. America supposedly has 156.3 million jobs; 26 million in all gov't levels if I read the latest Labor Dept. stats correctly. There are ...

Posted Fri, Dec 24, 9:53 p.m.

Instead of "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" and "All I Want for Christmas is My 2 Front Teeth", let's celebrate Christmas with a new song entitled "On the 1st Day of Christmas, My Taxpayers gave to Me, A Cycle Track Without an S.U.V". Scrooge says cyclists should pay ...

Posted Sat, Dec 18, 7:47 p.m.

The big number here is 153.9 million persons having worked in 2009. That's roughly half of the estimated 310,000,000 in the country subject to new census numbers in about 2 weeks. Relying on the workforce to provide sourcing for social security, medicare, and medicaid, and basing health insurance on employment ...

Posted Thu, Dec 16, 1:20 p.m.

These folks were incredulous when the point in time head count showed a decrease in their annual numbers of 'homelessness'. Support for shelters is admirable but at the same time the ineffective services such as 'tent cities' and 'referral/awareness/outreach/studies' should be discontinued. It would be helpful to have an accurate ...

Posted Wed, Dec 15, 10:49 a.m.

Ted, your personal connection to so many democrats is darned good reading material. Another 'obit' mentioned the 3rd marriage to Kate Marton who had divorced Peter Jennings 2 years earlier. A fascinating story would be for you to interweave all the 'power couples' over the last few decades and the ...

Posted Mon, Dec 13, 8:57 a.m.

Have no fear! 2011 might be a great year for extensive investigative pieces on some of the area's sacred cows. Disclosure of various union dues amounts and salary/benefit package totals of union leadership. Efficiency and accounting of charitable giving and foundation labor costs. Delinquent, bad debt details of various government ...

Posted Mon, Dec 13, 8:44 a.m.

Ever wonder why so many King County and Seattle Municipal Court judge positions are rarely contested in elections?? How incumbent judges avoid challenges would be a great 3rd part of this series.

Posted Fri, Dec 10, 11:30 a.m.

Aren't they supposed to be called 'bumbershoots'?

Posted Fri, Dec 10, 11:22 a.m.

Dick's "Coffee" would have been an interesting concept.

Posted Thu, Dec 9, 11:40 a.m.

And, Barry Ackerly proposed a 100% privately financed facility for around $100,000,000 in the early 1990's on the now Safeco Field site. The NY/Philly group brought in a team of 9 and got shot down by a Committee of the Whole Seattle City Council overly concerned with infrastructure and road ...

Posted Wed, Dec 8, 10:56 a.m.

No debtors from the athletics, sports, Key Arena hangovers?? And, One Reel is current on a $151,000 amount?? Interesting.

Posted Mon, Dec 6, 11:22 a.m.

Joolian; I'm sure that your bike, helmet, lights, and training wheels come in handy as you battle the 'fox news investors' on a daily basis.

Posted Mon, Dec 6, 11:06 a.m.

Why no faces or licence plates? This does not rival wikileaks.

Posted Fri, Dec 3, 3:34 p.m.

Beware the politician who 'has a roadmap' and is 'on a pathway' and is 'seeking common ground' on the always sought after 'level playing field' because 'at the end of the day' and at every question's end has the uncertain answer of "ABSOLUTELY" as in 'absolutely yes' and/or 'absolutely no' ...

Posted Fri, Dec 3, 3:20 p.m.

Just go underground and bootleg and get all your booze from Oregon, Idaho, and duty free shops worldwide. It has worked for many consumers for many decades.

Posted Fri, Dec 3, 3:12 p.m.

Legislatures and government do not create jobs. They suck the life energy out of private sector business and are tax hogs.

Posted Fri, Dec 3, 12:23 p.m.

GaryP; drug users, pushers, and dope smokers fund terrorism. See 30,000 dead in Mexico in the last few years and the havoc done to American cities. My gas comes from Oklahoma and Texas and Alaska and gas and autos are positive things in world history.

Posted Thu, Dec 2, 8:10 p.m.

Sportspress Northwest would be wise to hire broadcast and play-by-play talent coming out of the communications departments of Pepperdine, Missouri, and even Syracuse. There are tons of new potential live webcasts and radio broadcasts awaiting discovery.

Posted Thu, Dec 2, 12:02 p.m.

Federal judges who immediately make up unconstitutionality for California Prop. 187 and Arizona S.B. 1070 and piece-meal amnesty such as the D.R.E.A.M Act are all part of the 'open to no borders' mentality of flooding the USA with untold tens of millions of new dem voters. A proper amendment to ...

Posted Wed, Dec 1, 12:32 p.m.

Let's sing along and spread some holiday cheer......"Merry Christmas to all cyclists; here's what I'd like.... A giant water-filled pothole in front of every bike. You have ruined Seattle's roads with sharrows and road diets. It is high time for auto drivers to engage in some daily 'critical mass' riots." ...

Posted Mon, Nov 29, 1:51 p.m.

Corrected spelling above should be 'continue'. Are the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax rates correct and proper for all American taxpayers except for the 'rich'. If so, he still did right for approx 95% of the taxpayers and even the tens of millions who do not pay federal income taxes.

Posted Mon, Nov 29, 1:47 p.m.

Please define 'middle class' with dollar amounts because there is chatter galore about preserving the George W Bush tax RATES for the middle class. If $250,000 taxable income for an individual under Obama guidelines is 'rich', then is $249,999 and lower defined as middle class? And what % of people ...

Posted Thu, Nov 18, 10:26 a.m.

Labor costs, benefits, and pensions are a huge percentage of any government budget. Pare back 1% per year for as many years as it takes. Do not fill vacancies of any non-essential positions. Freeze hiring; cut administrative staff, consultants, commissions, frivolous patronage, and things will get better for taxpayers.

Posted Tue, Nov 16, 12:45 p.m.

All public employees pay 100% of their health insurance premiums and costs. Problem solved.

Posted Tue, Nov 16, 11:59 a.m.

Piece meal tax code tweaking has given us every screwed up government budget mess that we have. Tax rates should be as low as possible and not progressive and apply in equal zero based percentages to everyone. The tax RATE reductions in 2001 were sound attempts to move closer to ...

Posted Thu, Nov 4, 7:10 a.m.

The proposed density for Yesler Terrace should be scaled back and keep in mind that some of the current 561 units are heavily subsidized and some tenants have been there for well past 20 years. YT should not be another architectural statement but rather a common sense 'non urban village' ...

Posted Fri, Oct 29, 1:59 p.m.

Ahem; the Rand protestor Lauren Valle is a moveon.org thug with an arrest earlier this year and the Angle ads are not racist. How is Al Greene, the dem candidate for US Senate in South Carolina, holding up in comparison to the known Tea Party candidates?

Posted Fri, Oct 29, 1:52 p.m.

(cont. from above) included in the 90,000? Let's itemize the 90,000.

Posted Fri, Oct 29, 1:50 p.m.

Home equity, investments, portfolios, trusts, ownership of business and property, and earned income can all be included in the net worth of a millionaire. If Seattle 'Metroplex' of 3.8 million people has 90,000 millionaires, it begs the question: How many of them got there by way of public sector, government ...

Posted Thu, Oct 28, 12:08 p.m.

The perfect storm has arrived. Eliminate state employee salaries, benefits, etc. Increase private choice and options for spirits and real liquor. Cut down on auto pollution due to long drives to the few state stores. Prioritize essential functions of government. Vote YES on I-1100 and I-1105.

Posted Wed, Oct 27, 11:56 a.m.

Many millionaires who rely on municipal bond investment for tax exempt income are laughing all the way to the bank as Gates Sr. wants to tax the high end earned incomes of the 'rich'. Will Gates Sr. be subject to any new Washington state income tax?

Posted Wed, Oct 27, 10:14 a.m.

Is this just wishful thinking?? How many millions of votes have already been cast nationwide due to early voting?? How have they voted?? Where are the 'modern, chic exit polls' for early voters?? Tea partiers have blown away the early, left-wing zealotry of hate and look to be a lasting ...

Posted Wed, Oct 27, 6:41 a.m.

No lies by Yes on 1107 when the specific food items that are taxed are clearly able to be obtained by EBT cards; ie food stamps.

Posted Wed, Oct 20, 12:25 p.m.

Please list all the types of and specific misdemeanors and offenses of these offenders.

Posted Tue, Oct 12, 11:13 a.m.

Make that 'cliche' for the above comment.

Posted Tue, Oct 12, 11:13 a.m.

If ever the chiche 'comparing apples to oranges' were to apply to a study; this is it. Almost as painful as the decades of medical studies that lead the newscasts touting diet, exercise, weight loss, red wine is good/bad, oat bran is good/bad, etc.

Posted Fri, Oct 8, 10:17 a.m.

There are many ways to enforce the superiority of automobiles over bicycles and one should daily and frequently do just that; put bicycles in their place. Or else, their riders will demand more special treatment without paying for it.

Posted Fri, Oct 1, 7:34 p.m.

This park could have been done 15 years ago had not the misguided, eminent domain, condemnation, evil plan called the 'Seattle Commons' so captured the feeble minds of Seattle's elite. Thanks to all commons opponents, Seattle gets proper, market based development and a new park; it was worth the wait ...

Posted Wed, Sep 29, 10:37 a.m.

Please add to this story what minimal driving hours per week and experience it takes to get all the free medical, dental, and other benefits enjoyed by employees of Metro and King County government.

Posted Tue, Sep 21, 11:43 a.m.

1000?? Just because Portland has a 'dignity village' Seattle has to one-up them?? This is a long standing, festering political movement and statement that cruelly uses people. Sort of ongoing glorification of the "Grapes of Wrath" and 'Streetwise" documentary of Seattle street kids in the early 1980's. It is all ...

Posted Sat, Sep 18, 7:37 p.m.

Opposition to privatization of liquor sales continues the Shark's long streak of being on the wrong side of issues and merely carrying water for public employee unions. Does he get a pension yet from past years and how much?

Posted Fri, Sep 10, 12:18 p.m.

After years of American flag burning, disco music burning at Comiskey Park in Chicago in the 1970's, numerous book burnings, porno-obscene garbage called 'art', and left wing vandalism in the name of race riots and Bush bashing; it is hilarious to see the reaction toward potential Koran burning. After 20 ...

Posted Fri, Sep 10, 10:27 a.m.

The death penalty is very constitutional, not barbaric, and hugely popular. Too bad that 'journalist' observers of the executions and the criminals themselves become 'media darlings'. The tragedy is the drawn out legal fiasco of pointless appeals and the cottage industry of death penalty opposition. The clean up of the ...

Posted Wed, Sep 8, 10:11 a.m.

From I-90 in Washington to Arizona? What about any observations from Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Utah??

Posted Fri, Sep 3, 10:08 a.m.

Hopefully, the chain is not a fire or other safety hazard.

Posted Fri, Aug 27, 7:27 a.m.

Our 40th reunion class of 1969 partied until 4am in an unnamed central time zone suburban motel suite. No one had to catch a ferry; maybe a plane later that day. Your well written article resonated for another Class of 1969 grad.

Posted Wed, Aug 25, 3:10 p.m.

Mayor McDisaster merely awaits his first fistfull of viaduct and 520 toll money to be used for non-automotive causes.

Posted Wed, Aug 25, 3:04 p.m.

Wow; another transportation study and another $600,000. Conclusion: not enough sharrows and bike lanes; who is getting the $600,000 contract?

Posted Mon, Aug 23, 1:30 p.m.

Never feed a parking kiosk and/or meter. Park for free and walk the rest of the way. Only use those metered spaces on Sunday; after 6pm, and on holidays. Always get paid for aluminum and other recycled valuable metal; never 'give' it to the city and pay them to take ...

Posted Mon, Aug 23, 1:23 p.m.

Streets are for automobiles, trucks, and bus traffic. Trails are for bikes; sharrows and cycle tracks are AUTOPHOBIC.

Posted Fri, Aug 20, 11:43 a.m.

Many of the 'ethnic restaurants' around here appear to be family operations with lots of non-English speaking relatives and extended family members with the visible jobs. Maybe there is a bias against culinary school degrees.

Posted Fri, Aug 20, 11:12 a.m.

Hopefully, the Washington voter rolls are being purged of dead, moved away, and non-citizens and Rossi has a chance.

Posted Thu, Aug 19, 1:38 p.m.

Road diets are by definition autophobic social engineering and a mere cave-in to bicycles and autophobes.

Posted Mon, Aug 16, 10:32 a.m.

Initiatives if passed are good for 2 years; then can be tweaked by Olympia. So, Olympia could apply the state income tax to everybody if the courts uphold a state constitution intent of all taxpayers having the same rates. Bingo; permanent income tax. Vote NO on !-1098.

Posted Mon, Aug 2, 12:20 p.m.

Retrofit the existing viaduct; fix the mess underneath with all the tracks and right turns only, open up the lanes, and realize that the viaduct has been safe to drive on for 55 or so years.

Posted Mon, Aug 2, 7:19 a.m.

Find space in the neighborhoods, away from the SLUT and 'free bus zone' and get more space and really free parking for visitors. Central District near Planned Parenthood complex and other 98112-98122 zip code possibilities.

Posted Mon, Aug 2, 7:14 a.m.

Headline answer is "NO!". The term 'megachurch' has the mainstream media definition of right-wing, conservative, non-urban, rural rube, sprawl, etc. It is the inner city houses of worship that have folded over the last few decades.

Posted Wed, Jul 21, 4:04 p.m.

The courts should order writs of mandamus to Goldmark and Holmes and order them to stick to their elected jobs. McKenna represents all of Washington and how the state's medicaid plan is affected.

Posted Tue, Jul 20, 1:07 p.m.

The academia high salaries are obscene. These jobs are schmoozing, fundraising, delegating, and posing. Cougarland isn't much better with Floyd, et al.

Posted Tue, Jul 20, 10:27 a.m.

Too many dogs and dog owners and not enough ballfields for Sand Point and Magnusen Park mark the park's demise.

Posted Mon, Jul 19, 10:49 a.m.

700-800 library staff, hundreds of strategic planners, patronage, neighborhood department staff, 'spokepeople' by the dozens, women's rights, senior services staff, civil rights bureaucrats, the list goes on and on of many non-essential employees with huge benefit packages who are not missed on holidays and snow days. 1500 of Seattle's 11,500 ...

Posted Wed, Jul 7, 3:38 p.m.

Does Seattle really have 617,000 census estimated live bodies as per the annual tick in 2009?? Anyone care to guess what the 'official' April 1, 2010, census numbers will be for Seattle, King County, Washington, and the whole USA?? Suburbia such as Johnson County, Kansas, is still where most growth ...

Posted Thu, Jul 1, 9:15 a.m.

'All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others'. Paraphrase of Orwell's book Animal Farm. Gov't work is good if you can get it; who controls the flow of gov't jobs and benefits?? I hope this was a tongue in cheek column.

Posted Tue, Jun 29, 2:33 p.m.

Valet parking, dress codes, undercover law enforcement, zero tolerance of the scofflaw laundry list of misdemeanors, and beginning the 'clean up' earlier than 2:00am would probably help.

Posted Wed, Jun 23, 10:16 a.m.

Raise bus fares, ORCA card prices, and stop subsidizing Metro bus passes. Charge bus riders for all those on-street parking spaces lost to bus stops. Cars are great for 'door to door' trips and especially handy for disabled, handicapped, and special needs drivers and riders. Stop generous benefit packages for ...

Posted Tue, Jun 22, 5:19 p.m.

Forget 'whitey' and let's focus on the achievement gap between the 'Asian-Americans' and the 'African-Americans'. Someone please give a few of the leading reasons.

Posted Tue, Jun 22, 5:12 p.m.

Mobility of freight and all types of motorized vehicles is far more important than a southern version of the joke that is called Sculpture Park.

Posted Fri, Jun 18, 2:44 p.m.

The is a tremendous lack of leadership at the city attorney's office and hopefully all federal immigration officials will audit and scrutinize, and review all gross misdemeanor cases in Seattle Municipal and district courts with those 364 day sentences. Perhaps the State Attorney General should investigate the conduct of the ...

Posted Fri, Jun 18, 2:29 p.m.

'Single payer' probably means taxes. What taxes? More sales, property, b&o;, payroll, worker's comp, medicare,.......? The deep pocket got picked in this case, not the negligent driver who did not violate the non-existing 'cover the load' law. Say 'NO' to government run insurance slush funds unless you want to collect ...

Posted Thu, Jun 17, 1:16 p.m.

Who does the 55+ seniors style Big Blog??

Posted Thu, Jun 17, 1:11 p.m.

Someone please provide more specific names of places, cover charge dollar amounts, occupancy numbers, arrests, prosecutions, and is this all leading to allowing some bars to stay open until 3-4-5am??

Posted Mon, Jun 14, 4:42 p.m.

This is all make it up on the fly, cocktail napkin, helter skelter, spaghetti on the wall, shotgun, how can we fool them today stuff. First, modernize the Memorial Stadium by opening it up and see what naturally flows through the whole site.

Posted Fri, Jun 11, 12:45 p.m.

Wine shops must have ample parking and loading spaces.

Posted Thu, Jun 10, 10:31 a.m.

Fiorina and Whitman are high tech corporate giants. Washington's named 'techies' in this article were minor bit players along for the ride who never got close to CEO levels.

Posted Mon, Jun 7, 9:10 p.m.

'reasons beyond the stronger Euro' in the second to last paragraph should read 'stronger Dollar'. What about Asian tourists and the dollar to yen relationship??

Posted Fri, Jun 4, 6:42 p.m.

Too many executive directors and other full time equivalents on the non-profit payrolls. Performance audits would be good for some housecleaning and consolidation of the long running yet underperforming social service industrial complex groups.

Posted Tue, Jun 1, 9:10 p.m.

A solution is to never give the city anything of value. Find a private taker of aluminum, scrap metal, etc. and only give the city the waste glass, paper, garbage, grass clippings, etc. For the valuable stuff, try barter, exchange, and sale to private haulers and collectors.

Posted Thu, May 20, 10 a.m.

Bikes should join the horse and buggy cemetery and the bus and light rail non-efficient modes of transport. Cars, trucks, SUV's are the way to travel in the modern world.

Posted Mon, May 17, 9:52 a.m.

Australia has not been 'recession proof' over the last 30 years; Alan Bond and other billionaires had financial woes that spread nationwide in the late 1980's and early 1990's. The population is approx 6% of the US population. The comparison is not appropriate.

Posted Fri, May 14, 8:30 p.m.

Obama pre-judged the Cambridge, Mass. police incident and the Arizona law regarding illegals. He also displays mass hypocrisy in eating and smoking habits. Failed economic policy, trillions of dollars of new debt, and horrible appointments all combine to make him already a miserable failure. Ballot box repudiation in less than ...

Posted Fri, Apr 30, 1:51 p.m.

Heaven help the poor retail establishment folks who have to deal with all the hustling behavior on the sidewalk in front of their store while other storefronts are spared. What creative ideas are out there to get rid of and move along the business killing activity that keeps unknown numbers ...

Posted Fri, Apr 30, 1:44 p.m.

Ignore the one left wingnut federal judge out there waiting to strike down the Arizona law. Let's see how the 9 member US Supreme Court rules; hopefully they get the case as quickly as the Ref 71 case here in Washington.

Posted Sat, Apr 24, 4:27 p.m.

The article fails to mention in paragraph 2 the employer's parking lot as critical to the teaser that was in the daily Crosscut e-mail blast. Memory must be so confusing to write about. Also, 'fill coins into meters' deserves a mulligan.

Posted Fri, Mar 26, 10:16 a.m.

McGinn can get away with being whacky in whacky Seattle. Subjected to a poll of strung out ex-Strangers, the surprise is not surprising.

Posted Fri, Mar 26, 10:01 a.m.

The nicotine addicted smoking president 'created' a new 'right' of health care insurance. Some get it 'free' at work such as Microsofties and King County employees. Some write a premium check for the right. Over time, most or all will be required to have the right or pay a fine ...

Posted Tue, Mar 23, 10:47 a.m.

Queen Christine is not the boss of Attorney General McKenna.

Posted Mon, Mar 22, 11:07 a.m.

Ah, the Kennedy/Johnson 8 years of political and social turmoil, where the media protected two very deficient, deeply flawed presidents. Nothing against those who died recently; but does it not seem that media past and current templates and agendas always have favorable, positive obituaries of the dems?? Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, ...

Posted Mon, Mar 15, 8:56 p.m.

Since none of us neighborhood folks live in 'an all glass house', it is most appropriate to agree with Ms. Bagshaw and to throw verbal and other metaphoric stones at the proposed Chihuly Glass Palace on Seattle Center grounds.

Posted Wed, Mar 10, 7:06 a.m.

Ted, we deserve a specific head count as to the specific numbers of R's and D's in the Senate of 1964 and a clarification as to who really was filibustering. True, southern dems were opposed, but wrongly it is the republicans who are tagged as anti-civil rights. Percentage wise, were ...

Posted Fri, Mar 5, 2:59 p.m.

Kent; Excellent column. The words 'smart' and 'gay', and 'green', and 'sustainable' and 'affordable', and 'middle class' are among the most overly misused and ill-defined.

Posted Fri, Mar 5, 3:58 a.m.

Seattle Center is becoming more and more of a playpen for the estimated 1000 employees that will eventually be stationed at the Gates Foundation complex across 5th Avenue. Maybe they will get generous fringe benefits such as free admission to all the private venues within the 74 acres of Seattle ...

Posted Thu, Mar 4, 10:04 a.m.

Another reason why the double defeats at the ballot box in 1995 and 1996 of the eminent domain, condemnation driven, ill-fated, awful, evil Seattle Commons plans stand as 2 of the most significant and positive votes in Seattle history.

Posted Fri, Feb 26, 4:22 p.m.

The Obama show was as dreadful as his own personal anectdote about car insurance for one of his clunkers. Health insurance is another issue along with 'when does life begin' that is above his pay grade. The 17 Republican doctors that are in the House and Senate should write the ...

Posted Fri, Feb 19, 9:51 a.m.

Any 'non-essential' city employee that is not missed on Holiday Monday and any snow day should be eligible for 'reduction in force' assessment.

Posted Fri, Feb 5, 10:52 a.m.

Attention Autophobes: Please move very far away and take all of the defective Toyotas and Prius vehicles with you.

Posted Thu, Feb 4, 10:04 a.m.

Handicap spaces are OK but they should not be free. Nor should a handicap placard entitle a driver and/or handicap passenger a free space wherever a parking meter and/or kiosk exists for all other drivers. The massive amount of handicap placards deserves constant updating and auditing and scofflaws who cheat ...

Posted Fri, Jan 22, 9:31 p.m.

Steve; what about all of the temporary US Census Bureau jobs that will be ending after April, 2010? And, federal government and state and local government jobs seemed to have grown in numbers as well as health field related jobs.

Posted Sat, Jan 2, 12:03 a.m.

Seattle seems to be doing relatively fine without a 'new' police chief. Maybe a host of other appointments can go unfilled and/or be interim so as to save a few million bucks.

Posted Tue, Dec 29, 11:48 a.m.

Reject all things Alinsky and realize that tent cities, 'homeless advocates', Real Change sales forces, overt panhandling, and 'happy stories' about individuals are all in-your-face examples of efforts to keep the issue alive. That issue being the solicitation of public tax and private money and keeping the 'Big Homeless Machine' ...

Posted Wed, Dec 23, 2:40 p.m.

Kent; one of your best writings leaves 2 unanswered mysteries. Are you married to Sunnie? And, when did Bill Sellen die?

Posted Mon, Dec 21, 4:30 p.m.

Forget the water closet 'housing' in the north of Qwest Field parking lot. That should be a 20,000 seat all purpose arena and ringed with more upgraded bar, club, food, and meeting venues. The next earthquake may level many of the old run down, unsafe, structures under the 'Act of ...

Posted Tue, Dec 15, 4:47 p.m.

Party like it 2009 and readers should never pay for content. Drudge, Lucianne, Malkin, Red State, et al cover the right. Lefties have the local weeklies, Puffington, Politico, and TV/radio websites. Crosscut plays the happy medium middle. Life is good.

Posted Mon, Dec 14, 9:18 a.m.

Bashing Bainbridge leads one to believe that there are other issues at play beyond 'the perfect school'. The Seattle assignment was poorly handled and the writer should have rented on Mercer Island and not fretted over parties that do not end until 1:00am.

Posted Fri, Dec 4, 10:23 a.m.

The presumption of this article is that the bicycle rider is always non negligent and that the motorist is automatically negligent. WRONG. THE LAW IS FULL OF PRESUMPTIONS; SOME REBUTABLE AND SOME NOT. Constitutional issues prevail over cyclyist wish lists and desires. Stay on the Burke-Gilman trail or in your ...

Posted Thu, Nov 19, 7:39 p.m.

Obama gets an "F". 'Cap and tax' and 'health care insurance reform' legislation are both pathetic, phone book, trash talk tirades that smack of socialistic shenanigans. Dithering on Commander-in-Chief issues; the racial screw-up with the cop/professor, the abysmal overseas trips, the faux Nobel Peace Prize, the continuing nicotine addiction, excess ...

Posted Thu, Nov 12, 10:54 a.m.

Department of Neighborhoods has been dead weight for years. The sheer number of 11,000 employees should be shaved to the number of 'ESSENTIAL' employees necessary to run the city on all government holidays. Yesterday's Veteran's Day showed how many cars can be taken off the roads and salaries taken off ...

Posted Tue, Nov 10, 12:05 p.m.

The 'George Bush scanner story' is often cited and mis-characterized. The device was new technology and self-correcting. Bush Sr. was not being exposed to a grocery scanner for the first time. Contrast this to Hillary's campaign appearances at the unfamiliar gas pump and steering wheel and Obama's lofty bowling score ...

Posted Fri, Nov 6, 2:21 p.m.

Could the remaining historic vessels and ships be restored and counted as museum exhibit space and thus become part of MOHAI?

Posted Fri, Nov 6, 2:12 p.m.

$556,000,000 divided by 46,000 (number of students) equals $12,087 per student. More per student if there are other PTA, private funds, federal funds, etc. that are not included in the $556,000,000. Now; how many employees does SSD have and what is the total labor cost including salaries, benefits, and retirement ...

Posted Fri, Nov 6, 1:59 p.m.

Name anyone from the extinct P/I and/or Blethen Times that can hold a candle to Michelle Malkin! Her national success dwarfs the local dwarfs. This crosscut rant doe not even challenge any factual writings within Malkin's hundreds of columns and numerous books. It follows the lunacy of her hysterical, poor ...

Posted Thu, Nov 5, 11:04 a.m.

How about selling the excess capacity SSD properties over time and allowing Lincoln and the other schools to become private schools? It would be better if the SSD enrollment stayed at approx 45,000-46,000 and the 3000-4000 additional kids had the chance to go to private school. Also, the 46,000 number ...

Posted Mon, Oct 26, 10:17 a.m.

The bloated SSD administration was exposed 20 years ago by Linda Jordan, Barry Samet, and others in a group called People for Ethical Government. Seattle media have long been mere cheerleaders for SSD both as reporters and editors. Construction cost overruns and countless redundant administrators have been a long term ...

Posted Tue, Oct 13, 9:53 a.m.

Mayors with no control over specific school budgets and policy also have many thousands of private and home school students in their cities. Mr Lilly, are you also addressing these K-12 students or just the government school kids?

Posted Tue, Oct 6, 11:22 a.m.

Write in Rudy Giuliani.

Posted Wed, Sep 30, 10:08 a.m.

Sound Transit light rail needs these folks to pay full fare as Metro bus routes are cannibalized. And, such a diversity of gang populations has sprouted up over the last 30 years.

Posted Wed, Sep 23, 9:04 a.m.

Time for all levels of government 'workers', teachers, and bureaucrats at Sound Transit, Metro, etc. to pay for their own health care premiums and benefits. Property taxes should not be a source of luxury tax free benefits for anyone. Vote yes on I-1033; make the little piggies carry their own ...

Posted Wed, Sep 23, 8:48 a.m.

Sarah Palin is the real deal; the 'not funny in the last 25-30 years' SNL was and is a mere cheerleader for all things Prez Baby O. Hopefully, the rumored $11,000,000 book deal for Sarah Palin plus speeches will keep her on the national stage for a few decades. She ...

Posted Tue, Sep 22, 3:46 p.m.

Too bad the freeway was abandoned 40 years ago that would have connected 520 and I-5 to Aurora. Just as Atlantic/Edgar Martizez Road and Royal Brougham, Mercer and Valley Streets should have elevated connections to I-5 and Aurora. Autophobes have screwed up the Mercer Mess big time.

Posted Tue, Sep 22, 3:37 p.m.

Tolls and 'green talk' are indeed outrageous and simply autophobic. Autophobes have screwed up the region for the last 40 plus years. Roads, baby roads. And do it with existing gas taxes.

Posted Mon, Sep 21, 1:01 p.m.

Jody Powell and one of his assistant press secretaries Dale Leibach went on to decades of successful public relations careers in Washington under the firm names of Powell and Tate (Sheila), and Prism.

Posted Tue, Sep 15, 10:02 a.m.

You forgot the disasterous dolps of Volunteer Park a few years ago; hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to grass, trees, and other vegetation. Privately funded litigation shut them down. Dolps also feed the frenzy of irresponsible owners to run their dogs in other areas and school grounds. Seattle ...

Posted Tue, Sep 15, 9:52 a.m.

Are there really over 320 food banks statewide and are they monitored for identification and duplicate visits? Did you inventory the mode of transportation for the 170 individuals/family units? How many came via light rail, bus, foot, bicycle, and what about all the types of cars and SUV's. Any beer, ...

Posted Fri, Sep 11, 6:25 p.m.

Pleeeeze; the mantra, agenda, template, montage, cliche talking points are tiresome. Both are better than Nickels and Schell; both are not as good as Charlie Chong who in his prime would have been a fine mayor. The key is getting rid of the 100's of awful patronage slots. McGinn is ...

Posted Thu, Sep 10, 1:52 p.m.

Prez Barry 'Joe Camel' Obama mentioned a 30,000,000 number of uninsured American citizens in the speech. That is 17,000,000 fewer than the bantered about nebulous number 47,000,000. So; do the 17,000,000 illegal aliens face fines, penalties, and 8% of payroll to be taxed for not being insured? Or, will one ...

Posted Sat, Aug 29, 9:36 p.m.

Memo to Nickels and entire mayoral staff and all other patronage: Please leave town; do not steal anything from your workplace; and go form your own 'nicklesville' tent city somewhere in a different time zone.

Posted Thu, Aug 27, 11:20 a.m.

Let's take a look at charitable donations, will bequests, estate/death taxes, and other money trails in the next few weeks and months in order to measure the Kennedy legacy. The 47 year longevity in the Senate is also tarnished by the numerous personal scandals and sub-par behavior and hate speech ...

Posted Tue, Aug 4, 12:10 p.m.

"REJECT" Referendum 1 and kill the grocery bag tax. See page 22 of the voter's pamphlet and SMC 21.36.922 Civil Infractions Section B "violation of or failure to comply with any of the sections shall be a civil infraction......to a maximum monetary penalty and default amount of...$250.00 not including statutory ...

Posted Mon, Jun 1, 10:09 a.m.

Maybe our local and state and federal politicos can find $8,000,000 in federal stimulus porkulus borrowed tax dollars and 'save and create' a few jobs by building the fence. "Yes We Can."

Posted Fri, May 22, 10:57 p.m.

Solution: Write a check monthly for health insurance. No more employer subsidies; no more 'free' health benefits for KING COUNTY, METRO, TEACHERS, BOEING, MICROSOFT, ETC. No more golden retirement health insurance for auto workers, retirees, etc. Until health insurance is divorced from employment and until it is never a tax ...

Posted Tue, May 19, 10:45 a.m.

'Libraries For All', the Seattle campaign for all the new and renovated libraries, grades out as a B- or C+ due to its creation of lots of wasted space in the downtown facility and lack of square footage in many of the branch libraries. Also, the low percentage of budget ...

Posted Wed, Feb 18, 11:34 a.m.

Of the 11,201 current city employees, how many are 'community organizers'? There sure are alot of potholes, overflowing trash and recycle cans, and deferred maintenance issues in Seattle. Priorities have been skewered towards downtown bureaucracies, 'planners', and 'non-essentials' for far too many years.

Posted Fri, Feb 6, 11:58 a.m.

Wow--'short on specifics', 'green', 'autophobia', should mean a "3 Strikes; You're Out" for another far left nutroot who appears to ignore public safety and basic services.

Posted Fri, Jan 16, 11:35 a.m.

Let's look to Frank Chopp and a local Seattle initiative to once and for all KILL the tunnel. A 2 lane each way double deck tunnel over 2 miles long under 1st Ave. is a laughingstock. Let's stop it NOW!!

Posted Fri, Jan 9, 11 a.m.

If SSD enrollment went from 45,000 to 0 and all kids were private or home school beneficiaries, SSD would still want $550,000,000 and a Taj Mahal central planning edifice.

Posted Fri, Nov 28, 12:15 p.m.

Future 'Obamavilles' are not the answer. Many Seattle neighborhoods, businesses, and residents are tired of the daily onslaught of 'in your face homelessness' as demonstrated by tent cities, storefront panhandlers and paper salespeople, seekers of toilet facilities, etc. Why is Seattle a magnet and Kirkland/Mercer Island/Carnation/Redmond et al a 'homeless ...

Posted Wed, Nov 26, 5:48 p.m.

Never give away scrap metal and aluminum cans to the government recycle scam. Always get paid hard cold cash for such products at the private recycle depots. Dump worthless paper, plastic, etc. into your 'free' green cans. Make money by recycling as smart people have done for 20 years.

Posted Tue, Nov 25, 10:20 a.m.

President Ronald Reagan seemed to have thrived for decades in urban Los Angeles and was far more successful than anyone ever could imagine. Obama's Chicago community organizing in a town known for cold, wind, crime, corruption, and machine politics falls far short of Reagan. Anyone who bowls 37, confuses Kansas ...

Posted Fri, Nov 7, 9:47 a.m.

Too bad the angry, bitter, left-wing dems and others had difficulty saying the words "President George W Bush". For 8 years, they have been tossing angry slurs and saying "he's not my president". Thank God I 'pal around' with a higher class of Americans.

Posted Thu, Nov 6, 9:08 a.m.

The anti-Sarah Palin bias and bigotry was on full display throughout main stream media, cable, blogs, etc. In contrast, worship of affirmative action, political correctness, and liberal bias acted as roadblocks to any meaningful investigation of Barack Obama. Comedians won't even make many jokes about him. Body language and overt ...

Posted Fri, Oct 31, 10:49 a.m.

Governor Sarah Palin has been the star of the campaign. Imagine if she had ever used the Obama line quote "it's above my pay grade" as he did when fumbling the 'when does life begin?' question asked by Rick Warren at Saddlebrook. Her Gibson/Couric tv interviews were heavily edited; and ...

Posted Tue, Sep 30, 2:21 p.m.

Palin Power: Well, Obama has lots of foreign policy experience as a child student in Indonesia, college trip to Pakistan, and 8 day summer tour of 2008. He chose serial plagerist Joe Biden as veep to shore up his meager credentials. As for Tina Fey, she wouldn't last a week ...

Posted Mon, Sep 29, 9:53 a.m.

SNC possibilities: Maybe the federal mortgage and financial bailout can 'earmark' a private meeting home such as a repossesed yacht; lakefront mansion, abandoned WaMu storefront, or a former Starbucks coffee house. A full liquor bar would be a great addition to the already lively SNC meetings.

Posted Thu, Sep 25, 4:59 p.m.

Another napkin gone to waste!: So, the ChoppChopp Strip Mall/Expressway was cooked up by Frank on a napkin years ago. Hello Seattle Times' John Hinterberger and the infamous Seattle Commons napkin-drawn debacle of the early 1990's. Amateur, wannabie architects, engineers, and planners that have part-time gigs in Olympia; please wipe ...

Posted Fri, Aug 22, 10:29 a.m.

One dollar at a time: Maybe the Gates Foundation can do specific outreach and give a dollar or two to George Hussein Obama, newly revealed half-brother of Barack. Perhaps all forms of charity should be performance audited and war death related efforts would be a good place to start.

Posted Wed, Aug 6, 9:24 p.m.

End the $.25 cent fare: Millionaire seniors should NOT be given a $.25 cent fare. I would raise all minimum fares for all ages to $1.00. Even toddlers who get credit for HOV eligibility should get charged to ride the bus.

Posted Wed, Aug 6, 9:18 p.m.

Yes on I-985; No on everything else!!: Congestion occurs when certain freeway entrances and lanes are banned for single occupancy drivers. Vote Yes on I-985. Vote 'NO' on all unnecessary, non-emergency November, 2008, tax increases. None of them address 520 and the viaduct. Time to save ourselves a whole lot ...

Posted Tue, Aug 5, 1:42 p.m.

Cappuccino Cowboys: Red states/counties beware the arrival of the cappuccino cowboys and merlot maidens. Keep a sharp lookout for double voters in multiple states.

Posted Fri, Aug 1, 11 a.m.

More bogus 'greenery'.: Taxicabs should be 'de-regulated' as much as possible and encouragement to upgrade vehicles toward limo and town car standards is a better idea. Safety and trunk size should not be compromised in a mandated green push toward smaller, weenie, dip cars. More competition, please. A cap on ...

Posted Mon, Jul 28, 11:20 a.m.

Vote No on Light Rail Bailout: Of the 34 miles of light rail in ST2, 7 were supposed to be on line and paid for in the original 1996 package of a 21 mile route from Northgate down to 200th in SeaTac. This is a multi-billion dollar bailout of a ...

Posted Mon, Jul 28, 11:10 a.m.

Feminized 'The Seattle Way': Time for men to take back the decision making process and issue meaty, well reasoned opinions and rulings. Hearing examiners and judges should show a little legal expertise and not rely on one side's boilerplate rhetoric.

Posted Tue, Jul 22, 10:32 a.m.

More Roads for Safety and Capacity: Ted Van Dyk is spot on by 'highlighting' all of Sound Transit's past and current failures. The region is plagued by unsafe road chokepoints and a dearth of road lane capacity. Leadership does not exist at the state and local level; time to change ...

Posted Mon, Jun 30, 10:08 a.m.

Anonymous sources and editorials: When will anonymous sources and unsigned editorials cease to exist in the world of the dinosaur main stream print and electronic media??

Posted Mon, Jun 30, 9:41 a.m.

'Crowdsourcing'?: New words emerge from decades of 'borrowing' and buying other's research and product ideas. With estate and gift tax avoidance, the challenge is on for the Gates and Buffett money to be spent wisely. Maybe some DDT and some behavioral changes will help alleviate the scourges of malaria and ...

Posted Fri, Jun 27, 1:03 p.m.

Open invite for fraud: Say 'NO!!' to public financing. The left wing interests could 'bundle up' a huge lump sum from one or 2 fat cats and then break it down into 1000 small individual contributions and execute classic money laundering. fraud, and make another 'Strippergate' the model example. If ...

Posted Tue, Jun 24, 9:35 a.m.

Hey bus riders: Pay up; pay your fair share fare!!: Stop the subsidy madness and the 25 cent fare for seniors for King County metro. Raise all minimum fares to at least $1.00.

Posted Wed, May 7, 11:38 a.m.

Embarrassment: "Mayor Nickels admitted today that all the fluffy press releases and bogus environmental pronouncements are solely generated to deflect attention away from the fact that he is totally unable to solve any of the serious crime, public safety, transportation, neighborhood, and other quality of life issues facing Seattle."

Posted Mon, Apr 28, 11:44 a.m.

3324 No Shows: From 4278 authorized delegates to 954 credentialed delegates means that 3324 authorized delegates never showed up. To drop down to get below the 856 number, 99 would have had to wander out of the meeting. Stunning reality numbers for a minority party in King County.

Posted Thu, Apr 3, 2:50 p.m.

DEMAND FOR A NEW ARENA??: The Seattle market does not have a building suitable for political conventions, large trade shows, indoor mega-concerts, big-time hockey, big time basketball, etc. Let the games begin; or happen elsewhere.

Posted Wed, Apr 2, 11:26 a.m.

Chopp is a Flop: I can think of no problem solved; no solution, no progress, zip-zero-nada on any of the critical issues of the day coming out of Olympia. Public sector unions may be getting more spit-laden gravy but all the woes and horror stories of poor governance can be ...

Posted Fri, Mar 28, 8:47 p.m.

Free speech: Not having read the 7-2 case, nor the initiative that overturned the blanket primary, I suppose the individual free speech right to vote supercedes the collective assembly right of free speech previously exercised by the political parties. Too bad the politicos and judges cannot be so precise with ...

Posted Sun, Mar 23, 8:48 p.m.

Sick/Twisted: Sound Transit really is Sick/Twisted. Arrogant, autocratic, autophobic, and automatically wrong. As 2 blocks of Broadway are boarded up for demolition as part of a project that is many years behind schedule and billions over budget, they fret over just enough to keep their little gravy train rolling in ...

Posted Tue, Mar 18, 3:16 p.m.

Avoiding the sun: Private verbal conversations with no notes are the best way to avoid the sunshine. Cell phones and e-mails are suggested 'NO-NO's' for the real big fish in government and private business.

Posted Mon, Mar 17, 3:27 p.m.

Seattle hates privately funded arenas: Back in the early 1990's, Sonics owner Barry Ackerley and Spectrum Group from NY/Philly offered to privately fund a new arena on the old Kingdome Parking lot site which now is Safeco Field. The Seattle City Council killed the plan based on infrastructure costs. Many ...

Posted Thu, Mar 13, 11:50 a.m.

Owen vrs. Paterson: The Washington Lt. Governor appears to be more qualified than the NY Lt. Governor who has a lengthy, checkered legal and academic background. Paterson and the bar exam never consumated.

Posted Thu, Mar 13, 10:53 a.m.

Jobs for Planners, Contractors, Consultants, Architects, Political Contributors: Seattle Center rehab plans are an earmark, gravy train, government contract, and full employment program all wrapped into one huge gift for all of the usual Seattle suspects above mentioned in the subject line. Why not just do a poll of kids ...

Posted Tue, Mar 11, 10:10 p.m.

Solution: What is the annual car insurance premium for the Corvair?? Is it paid by Bush43, Limbaugh, Rutherford, the taxpaying general public, or the author? Not until everyone individually pays out of pocket with after tax dollars for health insurance will the problem ever be solved. It is immoral for ...

Posted Tue, Mar 11, 3:51 p.m.

Gas tax questions: The gas tax repeal failed. The state gas tax is approx. 36 cents per gallon. How much annually is raised in the state by the gas tax and how much is spent on Highway 2?? The dem controlled purse strings appear to be withholding critical safety improvement ...

Posted Thu, Mar 6, 3:12 p.m.

Stop the madness; Sonics are merely a tenant!!: There is NOTHING WRONG with Key Arena. This whole scam and Seattle Center Levy has turned into a playground for the front yard of the "death tax escape loophole" across 5th Avenue officially called the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The hundreds ...

Posted Wed, Feb 13, 8:01 p.m.

Tax scams: Foundations = 'Death tax escape clauses' by boisterous billionaires and their klan who only want the little people to pay the death tax.

Posted Wed, Feb 13, 7:57 p.m.

Still divided: Stars are blue staters; Tulls shade more red. Tulls has soft espresso flavor ice cream. SBUX has Safeway and QFC kiosk type locations. We have reached saturation; go with the independents and self-employed baristas.

Posted Fri, Feb 8, 2:29 p.m.

High tech travel scam: Whatever happened to the mantra of 'telecommuting will cut down on useless, expensive travel'? The goal of frequent flyer miles keeps the travellers flying and using credit/debit cards for those coffees and potato chips.

Posted Wed, Jan 23, 1:02 p.m.

Good News: Read all newspapers on-line. Fewer teamster members is a good thing.

Posted Wed, Jan 23, 6:56 a.m.

Cars are King: Fire any public employee who says "we've got to get people out of their cars." Finish all existing roadwork, lane expansion, interchange connections, etc. Open up HOV lanes to all traffic. Licence, insurance mandate and register all adult bicyclists; no more 'sharrows'. More parking garages; valet parking ...

Posted Thu, Jan 10, 10:28 a.m.

Microsofties are not libertarian: Real libertarians would pay for their own soda pop and health care insurance instead of letting nanny state monopoly employer MSFT do it for them via the corrupt federal tax code.

Posted Tue, Dec 18, 4:26 p.m.

No more new commissions: Summerwind has it mostly correct by outlining most of the taxes that need to be 'performance audited' before anything else gets taxed or tax increased. And Piper Scott has it wrong; Sound Transit and its 377 overpaid, bloated, benefit and retirement seeking leeches and the ST ...

Posted Fri, Dec 14, 2:45 p.m.

Goodbye: Every problem in the state of Washington can be blamed on the poor performance and lack of accomplishments by career democrats in the legislature and governor's mansion.

Posted Thu, Dec 13, 10:39 a.m.

More roads please: Thank God light rail is dead in the Puget Sound. It is not a congestion problem solver. The roads, interchanges, and connecting freeways of the 1960's-1970's should have been built. The worst mistake made is the claptrap convention center over the I-5. Time to think "B.E." as ...

Posted Wed, Dec 12, 12:48 p.m.

Halt the Upzones: The last 25 years of techies and dot.coms and the biotechs seem to prefer sprawling squat complexes as opposed to highrises yet Amazon will be used as a South Lake Union zone breaker in order to go up to 12-15-20 stories. Seattle would be better off if ...

Posted Fri, Dec 7, 12:44 p.m.

Not worth a nickel: Anyone who gives $$$$ to Greg Nickels suffers from severe "DDDD", that being Deficient Demented Donor Disorder. From extremely poor fiscal oversight while on the Sound Transit Board to faux issues such as global warming while all the usual urban issues go unaddressed and unsolved, the ...

Posted Thu, Dec 6, 2:39 p.m.

Council Jockeying: It matters little amongst 9 like-mindeds who chairs what committee. The names of committees have been extended over the years; special niche interests of councilmembers become cause celeb temporary issues. Burgess and Harrell will bring discipline and analysis to an otherwise sleepy and slovenly reactive body.

Posted Tue, Dec 4, 6:16 a.m.

Same panhandlers for years: A follow-up article would be nice as it focused on the favorite specific spots of panhandlers and Spare Change sellers--especially the spots in front of private businesses such as grocery stores. Capitol Hill has an entourage of folks who want the 15th Ave east and Broadway ...

Posted Wed, Nov 28, 1:27 p.m.

Dubious Washington Supreme Court: The post I-747 decision media coverage rarely discusses the 2 'rent-a judge for a day' characters that sided with the majority. A legal scholar needs to step forward and analyze whether or not there are 2 legal standards in cases before the Washington Supreme Court; one ...

Posted Tue, Nov 27, 11:31 a.m.

Flexcar scam: Was not Flexcar started and funded by AOL's Steve Case?? Correct me if necessary. Street parking is a crapshoot; lots of new green monster money grabbing kiosks everywhere; yet there remains 4 hour FREE parking for the Parks employees at the Denny/Dexter headquarters that is taken up and ...

Posted Tue, Nov 27, 11:23 a.m.

More Yesler specificity, please: This article leaves out so many specific nuggets of necessary information. Of the supposedly 1500 residents, how many are under 18 and where do they all go to school?? What is the sliding monthly rent spectrum from lowest to highest $$ amount?? How many subleases are ...

Posted Fri, Nov 23, 7:32 p.m.

Charbucks: It's the stock price, stupid. Why the decline??

Posted Mon, Nov 12, 10:39 a.m.

Artificial numbers: Accountants have ways to artificially value assets at varying amounts for varying reasons. These numbers are interesting in so far as to how much tax chopping can be accomplished by a lower asset value. Certainly, the P/I must be a drag on the asset value.

Posted Sat, Nov 10, 12:17 a.m.

Positive progress for SSD: Good riddance to racist Darlene Flynn (tutored well by racist Jim Street). The Seattle school district is @ 45,000 students and probably 20,000 of them would be better off if released from prison and admitted to quality private schools. I do wish the new school board ...

Posted Fri, Nov 9, 11:54 p.m.

Charlie Chong: Charlie Chong as a longtime activist, city council member, and mayoral candidate, certainly would have voted against the trolley. Hence, the future blue or black trolley gets named after Charlie Chong.

Posted Wed, Oct 31, 10:33 p.m.

PIAPS--Nickels phony trojan horse: Well, www.lucianne.com followers refer to Hillary as "Pig in a pant suit"--hence "PIAPS." Nickels deserves a similar moniker. He can not solve drug, gang, transportation, utilities, etc. problems so he signs on with the religious zealots who scream global warming nonsense. When he sheds 100 pounds ...

Posted Mon, Oct 29, 2:59 p.m.

Junk Mail: Vote early by mail; ignore the junk mail. The local mail box and postal station shops are full of unread, tossed political mailers ready for recycling. Ahhhhh, green Seattle!!

Posted Mon, Oct 29, 2:50 p.m.

Burgess List Omissions: Lots of names of former and current councilmembers did not make the Burgess list. Very bold words of criticism regarding many mediocre officeholders.

Posted Wed, Oct 24, 9:42 a.m.

Democrats are to blame for health insurance costs: Dems such as Jim McDermott always vote to deny the same tax benefits to individuals and small businesses who purchase health insurance that they allow large companies such as Boeing and Microsoft to get by being 'self-insured.' And, millions of public employees ...

Posted Mon, Oct 22, 11:18 a.m.

Consultants get percentage of campaign advertising dollars: Perhaps Mr. Vance can discuss in detail the percentages of direct mail and electronic media advertising 'buys'. To wit, are consultants wining because their local election 'cut' is being shaved??

Posted Mon, Oct 22, 11:14 a.m.

Vote by mail, early, and negate advertising value: Animal Al here voted and mailed it in 2 days ago. All further advertising to me is wasted. I am waiting for a federal or state or local prosecutor to investigate the literally millions of alleged illegal dollars flowing into the Hillary2008 ...

Posted Fri, Oct 19, 10:27 a.m.

More than 3 shot glasses on the bar please: It is time to flush out all the stories of local, state, and federal politicians and all of their drinking habits. Who did Michael Medved implore not to do radio interviews when sauced?? Who 'melted down' during a late night interview ...

Posted Wed, Oct 17, 12:53 p.m.

Overrated: The sculpture park has a great view and junkyard heaps and scraps of metal portrayed as so-called art. The expansion of the Venturi/shoebox/stairwell building probably is a positive.

Posted Tue, Oct 16, 12:40 p.m.

1678 illegal votes: Chelan County judge Bridges found 1678 illegal votes in the 2004 guv race. Federal prosecutors and US Attorney McKay were asleep and not on the case.

Posted Mon, Oct 15, 3:11 p.m.

Seattle Times Monday, Oct 15, 2007: Peyton Whitely has a huge article today--toward the end appears this sentence; "While millions of cars have been added to state and county registration--from 2.4 million in 1970 in the state to 6.7 million in 2006--virtually no new roads have been built in decades." ...

Posted Thu, Oct 11, 12:20 p.m.

How many new general purpose lanes get created by RTID/ST2: The global warming stuff is zealotry at its worst. Does Prop 1 give us any new road capacity for single occupancy vehicles and drivers??

Posted Tue, Oct 9, 4:06 p.m.

Channel 21=Propoganda: Channel 21 leans further left than public radio/tv.

Posted Tue, Oct 9, 3:58 p.m.

Chicago style politics sucks: Nickels and yours truly were born in Chicago. In January, 2006, I went back to the Windy City and saw the same style green parking meter/kiosks that are now spreading all over Seattle. Someone got a great contract. The South Lake Union area between Eastlake-Denny-Fairview-Mercer streets ...

Posted Mon, Oct 8, 2:46 p.m.

Not so fast: Ron Sims should have spoken earlier; maybe RTID/ST2 could have been kept off the ballot. Sound Transit and Light Rail have been in rogue territory for years. The bigger issue is the pressure to get on board the latest 'pooh-bah' issue of the day and the silenced ...

Posted Thu, Sep 27, 8:10 p.m.

Questions?: Can a white, heterosexual male ever be the victim of a hate crime?? Is a white female rape victim allowed to pursue a hate crime prosecution when her attacker is non-white?? Do non-whites and homosexuals ever get charged with hate crimes??

Posted Mon, Sep 24, 5 p.m.

Breaks: Mike--please comment on the pass from Hasselbeck to himself on the last drive. Was that not really a completion and several steps before being tackled for an 8 yard loss? That 'incompletion' was crucial to the set up of the winning TD pass.

Posted Mon, Sep 17, 1:11 p.m.

Spread the wealth: My hunch is to upgrade the current hospital campus without the massive expansion and bolster any and all surrounding hospitals that do similar work. Are there facilities in Spokane, Portland, Boise, Anchorage, etc. or is Seattle the magnet facility?

Posted Thu, Sep 6, 12:53 p.m.

Excellent column: Mike, you got it all right. Terrible calls that helped the home team should be replayed endlessly and sent to the Commissioner's Office. Reminds me of all the 'homer' calls the Celtics used to get 40-50 years ago, but the best television shot of the game was the ...

Posted Tue, Sep 4, 3:54 p.m.

Craig case out of context: Supposedly, there were 40 arrests of this type of behavior at the airport bathroom in May-June, 2007. Those stories and police reports would be helpful for context. Craig has been in Congress and Senate for 28 years and probably made several hundred trips through the ...

Posted Tue, Sep 4, 3:36 p.m.

Sue the pants off KnowThyNeighbor: When wrongly outed and possibly harassed or vandalized due to a falsely identified signature: do a reverse SLAPP suit. Put KnowThyNeighbor out of business.

Posted Wed, Aug 29, 10:04 p.m.

Too much competition: Hey Geezers, Wake up!! There are new games in town such as Capitol Hill Arts Center that appeal to younger, edgier audiences. It's called Darwinism.

Posted Tue, Aug 21, 3:34 p.m.

Thumbs down on skateboard parks: How can so called 'adults' on the Seattle City Council get jerked around by a bunch of skateboard park zealots? Both groups should skateboard and play together in the nearest HOV lane.

Posted Tue, Aug 21, 2:04 p.m.

Lauren Briel for City Council: For Seattle City Council position 1, vote for Lauren Briel. No gossip, no thrown beer bottles or plates.

Posted Tue, Aug 14, 9:31 a.m.

Shake things up: Seattle City Light and utilities stumbled last winter; time for new commitee assignments and council members. Lauren Briel and Al Runte would be upgrades to the Seattle City Council.

Posted Mon, Aug 6, 10:46 a.m.

Pander parade: The nutkooks got all the dem candidates to pander, promise, and pontificate and prove that they are pansies and patsies.

Posted Thu, Aug 2, 12:30 p.m.

Another "NO" VOTE on RTID-ST2: The hucksters are probably already printing up brochures and producing TVads that highlight pictures of the Minneapolis I-35W and New Orleans Katrina bridge collapses. Time to scare the sheepple again and by fear hoodwink the loons into future decades of wasted billions of dollars in ...

Posted Tue, Jul 31, 12:11 p.m.

Please take Will's land: Maybe Paul Allen will purchase whatever Will has and Will will move away.

Posted Wed, Jul 25, 1:41 p.m.

Light Rail is a scam: Sound Transit's light rail employees are counting on a 50 year revenue stream of high salaries, benefits, pensions, and lucrative contracts to amigos. They are 10 years short and billions of dollars in excess of 1996 projections. ST light rail is a failure.

Posted Tue, Jul 24, 3:01 p.m.

Lost in Seattle: If the Seattle Times 'brought down' Brock Adams, maybe they ought to investigate some more high profile elected officials and see if there is an ongoing 'alcohol/prescription drug' problem with some of our entrenched incumbents. Let's also ask the question, "Who is too old to continue in ...

Posted Tue, Jul 24, 11:55 a.m.

Lost in Seattle: Chris Vance makes some good points. However, unaccomplished dem novices such as Darcy Burner can get money and attention, and a Republican named Jim Nobles (elected to the Seattle Monorail Board) gets trashed by the Seattle Times editors when he dares run for King County Assessor. The ...

Posted Mon, Jul 16, 4:35 p.m.

Income taxes: Steve--is it not true that 50% of all 1040 filers pay NO federal income taxes due to the Bush tax rate decreases, deductions, exemptions, and earned income tax credits?? The 'working poor' may pay payroll, sales, property, and gas taxes, etc., but many do not pay any federal ...

Posted Thu, Jul 12, 5:08 p.m.

Future Port Suggestions: Send all the container ship business to Tacoma and California. Turn all of Elliott Bay into 'Cruise Ship City' aka 'Floating Water Closet/Toilet Association'. Lease one ship for the homeless; let them drink and smoke onboard. Advertise heavily in all the airlines in-flight magazines to draw another ...

Posted Tue, Jul 10, 10:33 a.m.

Never at 600,000: I would also bet that Seattle never had 600,000 for a census number in 1955; there would have been far fewer illegals and college students. Please flush out the census numbers for 1950, 1955, and 1960 (height of construction boom for World's Fair and I-5) and the ...

Posted Tue, Jul 3, 11:39 a.m.

Conspiracy anyone: How long will it take for Joe Wilson, Valerie Plame, Hillary Clinton, Keith Olberman, Chris Matthews, et al to scream 'vast right wing conspiracy!' and try to connect Scooter Libby, Karl Rove, Tom DeLay, Mark Foley, and President George Bush to the Webb case??

Posted Mon, Jul 2, 11:06 a.m.

You forgot New Orleans and Kansas City: New Orleans is the new Atlantis and Kansas City still has the best steaks, BBQ, and sports complex.

Posted Thu, Jun 28, 11:07 a.m.

Say goodbye to ethnicity and diversity, please: Why do government school districts and their customers suffer the wrath of ethnicity and race based only diversity zealots? Time for thousands and millions more to join the private school paths to excellent education.

Posted Tue, Jun 26, 3:01 p.m.

P/I manufactures another non-story: Has Bill Sherman hustled for support any lawyers either inside or outside the prosecutors office?? Last week the dems fired a shot about the Maleng campaign funds. Seems the P/I and dems are working together to create sideshows to the main event of lousy qualifications and ...

Posted Fri, Jun 22, 10:33 a.m.

'Baby, You Can Drive My Car': Single occupancy drivers, UNITE!! Vote NO twice on RTID this November. Greens are autophobic zealots/false religion fanatics. Sound Transit is a money grubbing cesspool. 55 CENT PER GALLON GAS TAXES AND TOLLS EVERYWHERE are mere social engineering schemes and more money grabbing. Your car ...

Posted Thu, Jun 21, 11:20 a.m.

Who funds committee for 2 newspapers?: Can someone disclose who is bankrolling the 2 newspaper group and who is paying the legal bills to whom?? Thank you.

Posted Tue, Jun 19, 11:29 a.m.

20,000 more Seans: School assignments make as little sense as Hillary's health insurance schemes/scams. Seattle kids deserve 40-50 more private school choices as the Seattle School District is probably only capable of managing that many fewer buildings and approx 20,000 fewer students. Sean is becoming a 'red-state' kind of guy!!

Posted Mon, Jun 11, 10:31 a.m.

London baloney: This massive tax increase comes from I assume a paid consultant hack from London--the unhappy English food capital of the world as in overcooked meat and 3 soggie vegetables. How much did this worthless study cost?? Tolls are for idiots who worship the Sopranos and dream of being ...

Posted Wed, Jun 6, 11:42 a.m.

More dem possibilities: Will Darcy Burner, Judy Nicastro, Heidi Wills, or Mary Kay LeTourneau dare to file for King County Prosecutor and bring their unique dem resumes and qualifications into the race?

Posted Wed, Jun 6, 11:29 a.m.

Gorebasm: Gore's ups and downs the last 7 years reveal a very insecure, unstable, non-disciplined, uncouth, lout/'toothache of a man'. His personality disorders and problems with the Clintons and Lieberman show how shallow his relationship skills are. His religious zealotry relating to human caused global warming is very scary stuff ...

Posted Mon, Jun 4, 10:24 a.m.

Time for bikers to pay: Right on, Stuka. A $5,000 annual head tax on all cyclists would be a good start.

Posted Sun, Jun 3, 1:37 p.m.

Follow the money: Perhaps a search through all of the PDC reports and Seattle and King County Elections contributions lists will reveal some interesting names in the Nickels campaigns. Dems appear very close to tribal gaming interests.

Posted Wed, May 30, 1:52 p.m.

Health insurance is a tax scam: 'Health care/insurance is largely an untaxed fringe benefit given to employees of large corporations, employees of all governmental bodies, union employees, and employees of non-profits. Self-employed folks and small businesses do not get the same full tax deductions as do large employers. ERISA--Employment Opportunity ...

Posted Fri, May 25, 1:44 p.m.

Nine blind mice: All nine councilmembers nibble from the same piece of politically correct, 'Seattle way' cheese.

Posted Thu, May 24, 11:49 a.m.

'Baseball flu': Mike Henderson makes excellent points; also add the 'flu-like symptoms' that keep athletes out of a daily line-up and can include such things as extreme hangover, out all night sleep deprivation, food/beverage/drug overdose, and avoidance of the tough pitcher by the batter from the same side of the ...

Posted Thu, May 24, 10:44 a.m.

No diversity on Seattle City Council: The all at-large, no districts, structure of the Seattle City Council prevents any ideological and political diversity. To get elected; one has to kiss the 'ring' of some dominant litmus test issue groups such as non-heterosexuals, environmental zealots, abortion on demand demanders, union only ...

Posted Wed, May 23, 11 a.m.

Repeal the Growth Management Act: Time to build more houses, businesses, prisons, etc out in the country and small towns of Washington. Spread the wealth; de-densify the 85 square miles of Seattle and allow more growth in the rural areas.

Posted Tue, May 22, 10:33 a.m.

Vegas Monorail should go to McCarran Airport.: The Vegas Monorail acts as a people mover during heavily attended conventions and as a shuttle for hotel/casino/restaurant/bar employees. Paramedics and fire department vehicles many times have to avoid the Strip and use all the back alleys and entrances. The airport connection probably ...

Posted Mon, May 21, 2:10 p.m.

Too early for 2012 speculation.: Now that 294,000 names have been purged from Washington state voter rolls since January, 2006, let's keep purging and try for an honest decent general election in November, 2008.

Posted Thu, May 17, 9:30 p.m.

Downtown library is a joke.: Three years ago, the 'drive by media' heaped tons of mantra, agenda driven, boilerplate template, montage, verbal viagra pablum on Seattle's new downtown wasted space called 'library.' It is a poorly designed, dysfunctional, shoddy floor constructed tacky tourist trap. The SAM/SPL building content swap is ...

Posted Thu, May 17, 7:16 p.m.

Underwood's share of the pie is????: Colby has 'raised' $42 million in 5 years for candidates and causes. What is his percentage/flat rate/contingency/retainer/take/cut/piece of the action?? Does he run a direct mail operation and/or media buy?? Specific dollar amounts would be very helpful.

Posted Wed, May 16, 9:49 a.m.

Kansas City is Mossback's next visit: Knute, spend some time with the Kansas City Star and the area's business journal and weeklies and monthly magazines for 'more of the same.' The downtown revival and stadium issues are amazing.

Posted Fri, May 11, 3:46 a.m.

Charlie Chong timetable: After the second defeat by Seattle voters of the 'Commons' on May, 21, 1996, a council member named Tom Weeks resigned. Charlie Chong emerged through a special election primary of 10 candidates and a general election victory over Bob Rohan in November, 1996. He chose to run ...

Posted Thu, May 10, 2:16 p.m.

Gil Meche, where are you??: The woeful Kansas City Royals have ex-Mariner Gil Meche who should be 7-0 except that the Royals give him no run support. Weaver replacing Meche does not look very good.

Posted Fri, May 4, 7:20 a.m.

What about "Exempt" vehicles: This is all so autophobic!!! Will all the government vehicles with their 'exempt' licence plates pay the tolls and fees?? What about all the PHONY handicap/disability licence plates that do not pay parking meter charges?? It is all a scam!! TAX THE BICYCLES BIG TIME.

Posted Thu, May 3, 8:43 a.m.

Phoenix and Kansas City comparisons: Phoenix has 4 relatively new, separate sports palaces for basketball, hockey, baseball, and football. Kansas City has 3 basketball venues downtown and no team; plus the best baseball/football complex in America. Both places have far superior convention facilities. Seattle has a lot of catching up ...

Posted Wed, May 2, 10:28 a.m.

Taxing the bikers: Mandatory licencing, registration, insurance, testing etc. to the tune of several thousand dollars per year per bicycle would be another great idea.

Posted Mon, Apr 30, 7:05 a.m.

CHAMPION CHONG: Mr. Kent Kammerer writes an excellent tribute to Charlie Chong that has also been superbly edited. Charlie also was wise enough to forgo golf in his latter years; 'golf' not being one of his favorite 4 letter words.

Posted Tue, Apr 24, noon

More 'civic' frivolity: Seattle does not need a downtown civic plaza that would in all probability ban initiative signature gatherers while welcoming autophobe rallies, homeless feeding programs, global warming zealot pow-wows, city employee escapes, and needle exchange opportunities.

Posted Tue, Apr 24, 11:13 a.m.

First Amendment headache: I believe that the University of Missouri-Columbia established the world's first journalism school roughly 100 years ago not knowing that the phrase 'seriousness of purpose' would be artificially contrived in order to protect its graduates. Bloggers worldwide should stand united for equal rights!!

Posted Mon, Apr 23, 12:35 p.m.

Reality at the Center: Key Arena is OK for all events except Sonics. Memorial Stadium needs a streamlined re-model and opened entrances and a versatile field for soccer, football, laccross, and concert seating. Clean-up the fun forest. Leave Center House alone except for minimal upgrades. My guess is $125-150 million ...

Posted Sat, Apr 21, 10:14 p.m.

CHECC WAS POLITICALLY CORRECT: The freeways should have been built. Autophobes and political correctness were alive and thus began the downward spiral of neighborhoods and schools. City Henchmen Exemplify Complete Capitulation--ie CHECC.

Posted Thu, Apr 19, 10:46 a.m.

What happened to safety concerns?: Funny how there is now dead silence on safety issues regarding the Alaskan Way Viaduct. If only the 9.5 cent per gallon gas tax had been repealed, there would be no funds other than retrofit money. Will Hiway 99 ever properly, seamlessly interchange with both ...

Posted Wed, Apr 18, 11:16 a.m.

Single Family Zoning Rocks: Broadmoor, Windermere, Laurelhurst, Washington Park, and select high end pockets of Capitol Hill, Queen Anne, and gold coast communities should NOT be the only neighborhoods protected from upzoning into 'townhouse/multi-plex/condo ghettos/urban village dumpsites'.

Posted Mon, Apr 16, 9:43 a.m.

P/I Circulation Question: The P/I daily circulation was 126, 225 on/about Oct. 31, 2006, down from approx. 206, 936 in 1993. How much further decline will occur during the next 10 years??

Posted Sat, Apr 14, 9:03 a.m.

Slum landlord contest: Who is a bigger slum landlord--The Seattle School District or the Port of Seattle?? Factors to be considered are undrinkable water, run down buildings and playfields, environmental cleanup sites, crumbling infrastructure, and deferred maintenance. Please comment.

Posted Fri, Apr 13, 3:25 p.m.

Plan B for the P/I: When the P/I daily circulation dips below 100,000--Take the pill and pull the plug.

Posted Fri, Apr 13, 10:57 a.m.

Crocodile tears: As a General Electric shareholder, I have been shocked at the 24/7 mediocrity of MSNBC. That low end cable station and CBS 'scalped' Imus as did the weak knee advertisers who buckle under the blackmail and extortion of Jackson/Sharpton. Hopefully, the liberal main stream media takes further hits. ...

Posted Tue, Apr 10, 7:32 p.m.

Seattle dailie's web traffic: The blogs and soundoffs are great vehicles for yelling back at the reporters and editors w/o having to buy the paper or leave a voicemail.

Posted Mon, Apr 9, 12:47 a.m.

The Color 'White': 'White' is a color, too. Yet, one would never know it by reading the free magazine 'Colors' that litters the Seattle junk newspaper boxes, streets, and recycle bins. Why do so many people of all colors and races flee the Seattle government schools?? It is a PRIVILEDGE ...

Posted Sun, Apr 8, 7:33 p.m.

Taxand Ticket the Bikers: Time to register, licence, tax, and ticket all the bicyclists who endanger all the drivers and pedestrians of Seattle. From no helmets to no heed to any of the rules of the road; the bike scofflaws must pay up and stop terrorizing auto drivers. Road diets ...