Posted Tue, Sep 15, 12:10 p.m.

Good piece, Ted. The pain caused by the greed on Wall Street to middle and poor income families in this country is staggering and will have long-term ramifications for the country. There has been little remorse and more significantly, little reform. I think you were also right that Obama bite ...

Posted Tue, Mar 17, 12:31 p.m.

Boy Knute, As someone who generally admires your work, this was a very disappointing piece in the extreme! But your stance actually is representative of a truly sad phenomenon I've noticed by people within the media. Maybe such people are too close to see whats going on, and maybe a ...

Posted Wed, Feb 25, 5:26 p.m.

I had no illusions about Obama and was not carried away as some Democrats by his rhetoric. He is a Clintonian. Edwards by platform was really more of a solid progressive. But that said, Obama is extremely bright and he faces a situation that will require more than the status ...

Posted Mon, Feb 23, 12:38 p.m.

I found Knute's comments on a re-ruralification facinating and on target. Please read Kathleen Norris's book 'Dakota' that is a fascinating series of unsentimental essays on the economic struggles of small towns in South Dakota. A few thoughts. This country has lost its food security with the over globalization of ...

Posted Wed, Feb 18, 11:23 a.m.

It is good to be hard-nosed but here's the thing. Journalism cannot be fully equated with manufacturing widgets. Flat screens come along and the old TV sets are obsolete. Factories retool, some companies go under, that's the market. However, journalism, the fourth estate, is both a business AND a public ...

Posted Wed, Jan 21, 9:29 p.m.

Chris, I looked at the link and it did not address my concern but talked around the point. The trillion dollar trade deficit means that we are importing far far more than we export. Just like the national deficit there is no magic here - we are consuming and spending ...

Posted Wed, Jan 21, 2:43 p.m.

I have three words for Chris: 'balance of trade'. I think traditonal conservatives (Andrew Bacevich) are very worried about our huge trade deficit that is paired oh so nicely with are huge national deficit. This is not a sustainable situation for this country. We are talking trillions and trillions of ...

Posted Wed, Dec 31, 11:47 a.m.

Ted makes some good points. I have seen the transformation of Seattle from a middle class family friendly city to an unaffordable city with an ever decreasing number of children. The City has missed several opportunities to make infrastructure investments that benefit the broad base of people. Instead too much ...

Posted Fri, Dec 26, 10:58 a.m.

The City response to handling the snow was absolutely ridiculous. It caused thousands of us to miss valuable days of work during an economic crisis. It left streets in an extremely dangerous condition. Pathetic.

Posted Fri, Dec 19, 4:13 p.m.

I wonder what countries have been most successful in (1) TRULY identifying crucial infrastructure needs (2) developing projects that truly meet regional needs EFFECTIVELY. Although we would like planning to be a rational process, it is often very fadish - driven by what's the next cool thing (stadiums, light rail)rather ...

Posted Tue, Dec 9, 12:39 p.m.

I am thankful for Sonntag's work. He seems to be to be a competent and ethical public servant who is performing a valuable public function. The proof that he is doing his job is that he has rattled some people - if everyone liked him it would only demonstrate he ...

Posted Thu, Dec 4, 12:04 p.m.

It's great to see Knute writing on pieces like this again!!! I agree with Knute whole-heartedly about building more boondoggles. Two points: (1) We have neglected our EXISTING infrastructure for something like 50 years. There are aging bridges, roads, water & sewer & electrical systems throughout the US. A recent ...

Posted Wed, Jul 30, 1:51 p.m.

Free trade radicalism: I have noticed that free trade zealots usually label their opponents as protectionist with the inference that they are opposed to all trade in any shape or form. Yet a balanced approach to trade strikes a middle ground and hopefully a positive trade balance unlike our massive ...

Posted Mon, Jul 7, 11:45 a.m.

Historic Districts and urban villages: Since the urban village planning of over a decade ago upzoned all the neighborhood cores to 85ft, it seems that a Preservation District may be one tool to protect the historic streetscapes of these areas, like West Seattle's Junction. Density can still occur in the ...

Posted Mon, Jul 7, 11:34 a.m.

Funny: You are right Knute, the new third place might be the car as our hyper-busy lives make sitting in a coffee shop a real luxury. I like that your commentary is always leavened with satire (I don't know what the coffee equivalent would be to that).

Posted Fri, Jun 27, 2:54 p.m.

Building upon existing infrastructure: http://www.loe.org/shows/shows.htm?programID=08-P13-00016 I highly recommend that Knute and others check out this link to the NPR Living on Earth program that has an interview with Jaime Lerner that former Mayor of Curitiba, Brazil - world famous for it's amazing bus system and sustainable city planning. It is ...

Posted Thu, Jun 19, 12:44 p.m.

questions: The are two questions that often get mixed up in the growth debate in Seattle: (1) How much density? (2) How to do density? Both are important and questions. We may have more control over the second question than the first, at least in the short term. Density can ...

Posted Fri, Jun 13, 12:32 p.m.

some thoughts: I think comparing America to a Thai border town is an extreme comparison and probably negates by hyperbole some of the valid points you are raising. Just as the FDR era that lasted into the 70's represented one approach, the Reagan era that actually had seeds in the ...