Posted Wed, Jan 9, 11:04 a.m.

Eco-Impact of batteries: Has anyone done a thorough cost-benefit of the benefit of burning less gas vs. the cost of manufacturing and disposing of massive amounts of batteries and the extra coal burned to create the surplus of electric power to charge these cars? (I know that in WA, the ...

Posted Wed, Jan 2, 2:18 p.m.

RE: How much space does a family need?: The problem with Belltown is that the neighborhood itself is not very appealing to families and the street-level amenities are paltry as compared to Manhattan. In Seattle you can still live in a single-family home in the central part of the city. ...

Posted Wed, Jan 2, 2:13 p.m.

RE: Also: First, I have no plan. Second, I hope that I didn't imply that EVERY development would be larger units. I just recall that when we looked for housing in Seattle, we could not find any apartments or condos (or VERY few) that had more than 2 bedrooms. I ...

Posted Wed, Jan 2, 2:08 p.m.

RE: why: If the condo were in a nice, residential area like most of capitol hill, montlake or greenlake (just as examples), I agree that a smaller condo is definitely very liveable. If the streets around the condo have amenities and safe play areas, then great. If the neighborhood is ...

Posted Wed, Jan 2, 10:57 a.m.

Hard to find space for a family: I have lived in SF and now live in Seattle. I can say in both cities that it is difficult to find the larger living spaces required for families. I don't understand why developers don't build larger condos and apartment/flats. It would be ...

Posted Mon, Nov 26, 2:09 p.m.

Ugh - I can't Stand to Read P-I letters on Politics: Who wants to wade through all that completely polarized mud-slinging? There is no conversation or debate in those letters. It almost always immedietely sinks to ad-hominem (sp?) attacks.

Posted Tue, Nov 6, 3:12 p.m.

fair use?: seems like fair use to me

Posted Thu, Oct 4, 12:56 p.m.

How to "Support" Suburban Transportation Infrastructure: Vance dismisses congestion pricing but I think that it should be strongly considered as a way to properly price the option of living in a suburb. Suburbs are cheaper (and these days not that much cheaper unless you go far out! :)because the state ...

Posted Sun, Sep 9, 12:55 p.m.

RE: Malls are NOT like Community Markets: I feel like you're mis-interpreting my assertion about the quality of certain gathering places as an assertion that we should somehow force people to change their behavior. Far from it. Who's mandating anything? It's not like I'm at the entrance to shopping malls ...

Posted Sun, Sep 9, 12:46 a.m.

Malls are NOT like Community Markets: Community Markets still exist. For example Farmer's Markets. And they are night and day different from malls. Shopping malls like Bellevue square have no connection to the community. The corporate tenants of the mall are in no way connected to the community like the ...

Posted Sat, Sep 8, 10:45 p.m.

That's what Shopping Malls are For!: What? No gathering places? What about Bellevue Square? What about Safeco and Qwest? OK, so the focus of gathering places has changed from civic life and culture to consumerism and corporate profits? But, I mean, other than that, what's the difference? I was just ...

Posted Thu, Aug 23, 4:46 p.m.

This would help your anti-growth agenda, wouldn't it?: Knute - you're anti-growth. I would have thought you'd be happy to see sports teams go because it might make people less inclined to move or stay here... :)

Posted Mon, Aug 6, 12:07 p.m.

RE: fat is the new smoking: I never suggested "throwing them in jail" or even "fining" them. So let's just cut the inflammatory rhetoric. Basing insurance premiums on actuarial data is neither a fine nor a jail sentence. It's common practice for many other types of conditions and behaviors -- ...

Posted Fri, Aug 3, 11:42 a.m.

RE: fat is the new smoking: Except you can't help getting old. It's not a choice. Smoking is a choice. Obesity (for most people) is a lifestyle choice. (I'm not denying that it's a complex issue. But I think we need to do SOMETHING. If higher premiums aren't it, then ...

Posted Fri, Aug 3, 9:44 a.m.

RE: First they came for the homeless drunks...: The fact that certain behaviors correlate to certain income classes is a red herring. While we should certainly be also advocating for better food choices in lower income areas (i.e. pushing for real grocery stores to replace liquor stores), education, etc. -- ...

Posted Fri, Aug 3, 9:36 a.m.

At Least They're Trying: So I guess the alternative is to simply accept that health insurance premiums will go up for all of us. FACT: Obesity causes chronic illness FACT: Obesity is increasing Therefore, chronic illness is increasing. Therefore, health insurance premiums WILL go up. I personally think that people ...

Posted Fri, Jul 6, 11:29 a.m.

Fundametrolism: I hereby coin the term "Fundametrolism" fun·da·me-tro·lism (fŭn'də-mětrol-ĭz'əm) n. a usually religious-seeming movement or point of view characterized by a desire to return to a nostalgic and idealized version or vision of a city or town, by rigid adherence to that vision, and often by intolerance of other views ...

Posted Fri, Jul 6, 9:54 a.m.

Poetic, but Trite: 1990? Wasn't that already the beginning of the end? I mean, how much of the "real history" of Seattle did you actually participate in? I don't know. I moved here last year and I can't get seem to find anyone that will talk about the history of ...

Posted Wed, Jun 13, 10:13 a.m.

RE: American Justice?: Douglas - if it makes you feel any better, I heard on the radio this morning that three employees of the staffing agency were arrested.

Posted Wed, Apr 18, 7:14 p.m.

Kent - how can a city be FULL?: Nonsense. A city is not an elevator. That is an impossibly naive example. 1. You cannot stop people from considering this region attractive for their own reasons. You cannot WISH them away. 2. You cannot impose price controls. Ergo - prices will ...

Posted Wed, Apr 18, 2:40 p.m.

No suggestions, no plan, over-simplification of the problem. Sigh.: I can sympathize with your angst. But you're completely over-simplifying the problem and in COMPLETE denial about unstoppable forces. You conflate urban density with both consumerism and expensive housing. Density does not automatically equate either to consumerism or expensive housing. Part ...