Posted Tue, Dec 20, 1:26 p.m.

It's about real estate, not transit. Always has been, always will be.

Posted Thu, Dec 1, 10:25 a.m.

Can you then please explain to me how what used to be a 15-20 minute express bus trip from downtown to Sea-Tac was slower than the 45-50 minute ride that central link now offers? The buses ran from the terminal every 15 minutes, Central Link every 10ish, but after a ...

Posted Wed, Nov 23, 10:12 p.m.

One of the elements that I never see in any discussion of the new waterfront is the inclusion of Seattle’s waterfront history. This bit of shoreline hasn’t been “natural” for 140yrs, and Seattle’s growth depended on the working waterfront. Granted modern container harbors are more efficient, but for 100 years ...

Posted Thu, Oct 27, 1:41 p.m.

Another example of someone who knows how I should live my life and is willing to spend my money to make me live his way.

Posted Mon, Sep 19, 11:22 a.m.

Really? Just because you don’t like seating in the round doesn’t mean that there weren’t other important moments subtly highlighted by the seating configuration. Seating in the round puts the audience into a much more intimate relationship with action on stage, shrinking the aesthetic distance between the performers and the ...

Posted Fri, Aug 12, 11:46 a.m.

Not a penny for bike improvements unless the bike riders have to pay too. They complain about the roads, and then run every red light they see. Bad pavement, they endanger pedestrians on sidewalks. The bikes use public resources just as the rest of us do. If we have to ...

Posted Fri, Jun 3, 9:16 a.m.

So how much do businesses in other locations (Capital Hill, Queen Anne, Ballard) have to suffer from the new metered hours before city hall becomes "pragmatic" and realizes that the new rates and hours are stifling them? Or is the city just responding to the big anchors in downtown because ...

Posted Thu, Jun 2, 11:17 a.m.

Nice idea to a certain extent, although to work civic entities better be willing to step up to the plate and increase support for these groups. Without homes, its very hard for groups to survive (Note the "if" City Opera survives in the quote) as audiences become "accidental" instead of ...

Posted Thu, Mar 3, 8:19 a.m.

RE animalal All art is “dubious”. The question in arts funding is what kind of civilization we wish to be, what kind of world we want our children to inherit. Are we just at the mercy of corporate commercial culture, where the effectiveness of “art” is judged by its ability ...

Posted Thu, Feb 17, 1:04 a.m.

Wow, an urbanist creed. Really? How sweetly romantic. Why am I reminded of sophomore English class, bands of earnest young boarding school students gazing longingly at each other after a rousing reading of Catcher in the Rye? Creeds, like fads, come and go faster than hemlines rise and fall. People ...

Posted Tue, Feb 15, 2:36 p.m.

Is there anything in this city that we are not willing to sacrifice on the alter of transit? It seems what you are suggesting is to either have the city come up with the necessary economic support to condemn the land for, then build and maintain the facilities for at ...

Posted Tue, Nov 23, 10:07 a.m.

Doesn’t anyone else think that Huxley used the term “savages” to describe the people that are more human than the characters from the technological society in Brave New World? That this was a pointed satire? So in effect, by allowing this “suspension” demanded by a parent who evidently cant judge ...

Posted Thu, Sep 16, 10:56 a.m.

Isn’t this exactly why we have 100,000 sons and daughters in Afghanistan? While “war” may not be the right way to fight these guys, it is right that we oppose fanatical extremism. Its just too bad we have so much of it ourselves, homegrown. Good luck Molly--- I hope we ...

Posted Fri, Sep 3, 9:29 a.m.

IF MOHAI proved to be better negotiators than the city, it is unfair for the city to cry foul and whimper for more money. If MOHAI had botched the deal, would the city be offering to help out this valuable civic asset? I suspect not. You also have to ask ...

Posted Mon, Aug 16, 10:45 a.m.

I've never seen anyone riding a bike up Queen Anne Avenue, which suggests that the largest constraint of bike commuting is the topography of the city. Seattle has done it before with the Denny Regrade. Why not just extend that plan to Queen Anne, Magnolia, and Capital Hill? Our forefathers ...

Posted Fri, Jul 2, 8:44 p.m.

Baseball or soccer Coke or Pespsi Humans just seem to break down into certain catagories. I've always thought that Americans like to use their hands,therefore soccer was the game of less industrious peoples who understimate the value of hand offs, jump shots, backhand stabs, and high sticking. For me the ...

Posted Mon, Jun 21, 11:24 p.m.

The “fill up some store fronts” idea has some merits, but also many draw backs. Under current occupancy /use zoning in Seattle, spaces that might allow sufficient audience sizes (say 100 seats) tend to be too expensive for the small performance groups that might use them. Seismic demands, sprinkler systems, ...

Posted Fri, Mar 12, 10:04 p.m.

I still say that we should all stop listening to this demigod—listening to him just gives him validity, which any thoughtful person knows he doesn’t have. As Bugs Bunny would have said—“What a maroon!”

Posted Fri, Mar 12, 8:56 p.m.

Re love obsolete tech Sine you are no longer paying attention, Poncho essentially ceased operations few months ago. And your claim of “dozens of art founders” really is just a few families, long supporters of the arts, and two or three other family originated foundations that, among other things, supports ...

Posted Fri, Mar 5, 11:39 p.m.

I was just thinking the same thing. Nice to know I'm not the only one thinking that we might just be smart enough to really screw things up by being smart. And that the "smart" ones are very willing to point out how every one else should be "smart", first.

Posted Sat, Feb 27, 1:26 a.m.

There are times when these threads start reading like some of the dystopian sci-fi I read in the ‘70’s. I’m still not clear on how I can raise an appreciable portion of my annual caloric intake on my 4X8 deck. Any suggestion?

Posted Sat, Jan 23, 2:54 p.m.

re jabailo-- I agree. long live government of the corporations by the corporations for the corporations. If people "Looked back" to the past, perhaps its because looking forward to the corporate serf state that looms in the future seems a pretty stark place. After all, presidents and senators only make ...

Posted Thu, Jan 21, 12:54 a.m.

Maybe I didn’t understand the election, but it seemed to me that the first African American to win in a nation wide election did so not because he wanted to be Bush Lite, but rather because he wanted to change the course of America, perhaps even have the federal government ...

Posted Thu, Jan 14, 12:53 a.m.

I was there too, and juiced or not, he still had to hit it, still had to catch up with RJ's heat. I can still see the flat arc that the ball traveled (I was in right field bleachers), the apex seemingly right over the left field fence. Juiced or ...

Posted Mon, Dec 28, 9 a.m.

All of this seems to be a pretty good argument for rebuilding a viaduct. I do wonder if the surface street supporters have found a way to stop business flight from Seattle? What’s to stop Seattle from becoming a bedroom community of Bellevue?

Posted Wed, Nov 4, 9:55 a.m.

OK let me get this straight. For what ever reason Washington decided to buck the national trend of anti unionism and corporate socialism, and we want to start a commission to find out who's responsible for such anti-American actions? Seattle and Washington didnt cower in the face of corporate extortion ...

Posted Sun, Nov 1, 1:24 p.m.

Great article Knute--but I still keep wishing for "non of the above".

Posted Mon, Sep 28, 10:02 a.m.

I've come to think that the best way to really get any of these guy's goat is to just ignore them. Silence is their greatest fear next to not being the center of attention.

Posted Mon, Sep 21, 10:26 a.m.

Maybe I missed something somewhere but didn’t the cities’ DOT estimate increased travel time originally? ( 1984 was an excellent novel, wasn’t it?) It would seem to suggest that Ms Crunican’s numbers are either made up, or is she depending on a certain amount of east/west traffic to use the ...

Posted Thu, Aug 27, 11:39 a.m.

I thought this was a compelling piece, and raises several serious questions about growth patterns and transportation. But most of all don’t these statistics prove that you cant force people to live someplace they don’t want to? Density strategies, perhaps even transportation routes, can’t force people to move into areas ...

Posted Sat, Jun 27, 5:19 p.m.

If only Seattle had more Gelato bars, and Vancouver more coffee shops.

Posted Sat, Jun 27, 5:08 p.m.

Part of the outrage is the “everyone does it” shrug, but part of the outrage is also that an incident like this comes after period of real hope. As events play out—locally and nationally—it seems as if the Dem’s victory last fall was just cosmetic. The system has not changed, ...

Posted Fri, Jun 19, 10:50 a.m.

Thank you Ted for this concise argument against our current mayor. Let me just add that, if you judged merely by the City of Seattle’s various web pages, it would seem that he is a complete ego maniac. I would venture that there are as many pictures of him there ...

Posted Mon, Jun 8, 9:48 a.m.

This is a good idea with one problem—Starbucks drip coffee is uniformly terrible.(Granted this is a personal taste thing—but the drip does seem to be over roasted.) Love the espresso, and even the tea is good, but a basic cup of Starbucks drip rivals 20,000 mile motor oil from my ...

Posted Thu, May 21, 10:48 p.m.

Great article--- I hope Crosscut can do more county coverage.

Posted Tue, May 5, 12:39 a.m.

How can you compare the Victoria waterfront with the Seattle waterfront? When was Victoria EVER an industrial port? How much international trade goes through Victoria? Yes its pretty, and its a nice place to waste a few days, but comparing the two as a port?---- I have to stop, this ...

Posted Fri, Apr 10, 12:01 p.m.

How better to deal with people that don't composte? Use water bottles? Use plastic bags? Or drive cars?

Posted Fri, Apr 3, 2:12 a.m.

One of the masters (one of two house cats ) commanded me to chastise Mr Berger, and to inform him that cats have long played an important role in human history, from ancient Egypt and Rome, to medieval whitchcraft, to modern market capitalism. Furthermore, they dont mind if we give ...

Posted Wed, Mar 18, 10:37 a.m.

Each time I drive though the near neighborhoods of Freemont, Ballard, Crown Hill , or the area around Northgate and SR99, I marvel at the new blocks of tinderbox townhouses that have appeared in the last three years. It doesn’t take much imagination to see these developments, often already rentals ...

Posted Thu, Mar 5, 11:49 a.m.

So, if we put a 2.3c per mile tax on cars you would raise about $180 a year more than you do with a 10c raise in the gas tax for a car that travels 10,000 miles at 20 miles a gallon. Are you telling me that you can install, ...

Posted Thu, Feb 19, 11:37 p.m.

What about the unfunded transportation projects (I'm thinking Mercer Mess, and any of these silly streetcars?) Are these items atually on the budget? And if so why not delay them until the crisis is over? Yes there is a stimulus effect by doing the project, but does it offset the ...

Posted Mon, Feb 2, 3:46 p.m.

Thank you for pointing out that democracy was invented by pagans. I’m so tired of the right expressing the certitude that the creation of the United States or the penning of the Constitution was inspired by the Judeo Christine god in the same manner that St. Agustine was inspired by ...

Posted Thu, Jan 8, 11:58 a.m.

Although at least an agnostic, I could be convinced that I saw the hand of God in the subject matter of the google ads banners placed next to this article.

Posted Sat, Jan 3, 12:28 a.m.

Washingtonians will never accept a progressive income tax-- why do politicians think we would accept this? The government doesn't need to know where I am at any given time, period. The proper response to the goverment on this one is "bugger off!". Raise the gas tax (as the feds are ...

Posted Tue, Dec 16, 1:44 p.m.

I like the idea of dis-interested review board. But does it just layer on an addition pool of potential corruption? Because that’s really what the study finds. No, its not corruption in the sense that the governor of Illinois is corrupt. Rather its the natural corruption of a system that ...

Posted Fri, Dec 5, 1:31 p.m.

Ted, Thank you for this article, I'm sending it to all my politically active friends. If we are to unseat Quimby---er, Nickels and his brood, we have to start now. If it were just these crazy transportation plans it would be bad enough, but its also the zoning rulings, the ...

Posted Tue, Dec 2, 12:30 p.m.

Knute, Why so worked up? The wording on the placard, with its reference to the solstice, sounds more pagan than atheistic anyway. What’s the solstice anyway? Just a certain point in the earth’s orbit. Yes it’s “natural”, but to watch the KING 5 video of the group’s spokesman complain about ...

Posted Fri, Nov 21, 2:36 p.m.

To B Lukoff So perhaps, to make the division more succinct, I would term myself a political atheist in that I adamantly call for the separation of Church and State, while being in a theological sense an Agnostic, thinking that there is the possibility (probability) of there being much more ...

Posted Thu, Nov 20, 1:07 p.m.

This is such a complex issue I’m finding it hard to even write about it. As one who leans towards atheism (Agnostic is such a loose label) I loudly applaud any and all efforts at separation of Church and State, and find many fundamentalist movements (Christian, Muslim, Hindi etc) to ...

Posted Tue, Nov 18, 1:22 p.m.

I am mixed about your possible venture into the non-profit world. As a member of the non-profit arts world I’m less than sanguine about another competitor in the ever shrinking philanthropic world. However I can see that in the current media world a fresh model might better serve the mission ...

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

This is the first peice of writing that I've seen that offers any hope to the end of the reign. Down with Quimby!

Posted Thu, Sep 25, 1:34 p.m.

Odd Beauty to it: It strike me that Chopp's plan is perfect–the creation of something big, expensive, perhaps a little silly, certainly a little over the top and containing elements that nobody wants. After years of haggling, pandering, lack luster political maneuvering, cronyism, electioneering, grandstanding, delays and cowardice, Chopp's Folly ...

Posted Wed, Sep 3, noon

lamb in Rove's clothing: I suspect that the more we learn about her and her "governing style", rather than her highly romanticized political image, and people will more and more realize that she is a practitioner of Bush/Cheney/Rove politics, vindictive, and self important. Some of her actions suggest that she ...

Posted Wed, Sep 3, 11:32 a.m.

Truth more damaging: The Writer's claims of Palin's vindictiveness seems to be corroborated by today's NYT article about Palin's roots. ("Palin's Start in Alaska: Not Politics As Usual.") Many of the residents of Wasilla that the writer of that piece talked to refused to comment. On reading that piece I ...

Posted Tue, Sep 2, 10:59 a.m.

glass houses 2: Upon further reflection, one must wonder if the McCain campaign, knowing the Palin situation when they picked her, isn't trying to remove these social questions from the debate while at the same time luring the Christian Right back into the Republican fold. Any Obama-Biden mention of these ...

Posted Tue, Sep 2, 10:43 a.m.

glass houses: In the specific, the imminent grand parent hood of Gov. Palin isn't a valid campaign issue. It is personal, a matter for her family to deal with, and in essence, no business of the American people at large. However the screams of "privacy" from the Rght do seem ...

Posted Fri, Aug 29, 10:23 a.m.

Response to mikerolm (sp?): Ya sound a little bitter there Mike--- get a grant request turned down? I thought Susan's article was clear and insightful. An interesting glance into the workings of a non-profit for those not used to the non-profit world, and a level headed assesment for those who ...

Posted Tue, Aug 19, 2:09 p.m.

Remember to vote: Lannie, It's the ridiculous tax structure in Washington state that is regressive, and if you've paid any attention to state politics over the last twenty years you know that neither party is ever going to change the minds of the voters in this state and get them ...

Posted Fri, Aug 15, 10:57 a.m.

Really?: I'm a little stunned actually--- The S.L.U.T usage so perfectly describes this multi million dollar tax payer boondogle-- serious wonkish Mayor sucking up to pro developement software giant, and building a "tranportation asset" favored more by tourists than residents, et el--- that the usage is more in the realm ...

Posted Mon, Aug 4, 11:05 a.m.

Quimby Must Go: Thanks Knute-- Its nice to see someone in the Fourth Estate who's standing up to him. But the question still remians-- at what point do the voters say "enough already" and are we there yet? We can chill after he's gone.

Posted Wed, Jul 30, 10:24 p.m.

getting ones goat: There are worse things that you can do to a goat--- So I've been told.

Posted Tue, Jul 29, 11:24 a.m.

its not just driver vs biker: At least in Seattle it seems that everyone is getting more pissed off, and everyone is driving biking or even walking more aggresivily. Most of my driving is in the core area of the city, and seldom does a day pass when I dont ...

Posted Tue, Jul 29, 11:08 a.m.

is growth irrevocable?: This does raise a question as to what effect a real energy constriction would have on growth. The Feds are saying that Americans have curtailed their driving this summer substantially: if a long termed, substantial energy shortages occur, dont the prospects of growth dim? The affects that ...

Posted Mon, Jul 21, 1:08 p.m.

Marching ahead backwards: I dunno, between the 6pak townhouses, the ugly block condos being built (see Ballard) and the forthcoming streetcars, you can see Seattle developing a whole new urban design classification; Retro 19th Century Slum Tenement Chic. Is there any one who can fight the developers in this city?

Posted Tue, Jul 15, 12:24 p.m.

Mayor in a bubble--: Just transit or just roads--people are beginng to hurt. And with gas and food going up in prices, and net worths (ie equity in their houses) going down or even looking to go down, are people really going to vote for new taxes? While I support ...

Posted Thu, Jul 3, 9:38 a.m.

Quimby must go!: Wouldnt any other mayor, in any other city, get booted out on his a-- if he lost a major sports franchise? So is it us? Churchill once said that democracy doesnt guarantee good government, only the government that the people deserve. So what does that say about ...

Posted Fri, May 30, 8:46 a.m.

Life in a pocket: I just want to thank you for pointing out in print what has been obvious for years-- Our good Mayor Quimby is a shill for Alan in particular and most other deep pocketed developers who want to make a buck at tax payers expense. My shock ...

Posted Thu, May 15, 12:10 p.m.

Blow the team up: The season is over for the M's--thats not sour grapes, it's not being a bitchy and dissapointed fan-- its a fair assesement of the reality of this team. SO--- release the "veterns" who dont produce-- or bench them. Richie deosnt need to play one more game. ...

Posted Tue, May 13, 11:40 a.m.

It's not about moving people: What struck me about the plan to put streetcars through Freemont and on to Ballard is how closely the route followed areas that have been the target of developers who need to get rid of many of the industrial/business tennets before they can construct high ...

Posted Tue, May 13, 2:12 a.m.

Quimby must go----: All very good to rant and quote-- but how do we stop Quimby and his gang from micromanaging our lives? Although filling an ever increasing physical space ( bricks and glass houses come to mind) he is still a small man with more power than any of ...

Posted Tue, May 6, 11:52 a.m.

Thankfully, he's just a policy wonk...oh.: I thought the Hugo Chavez comparison apt. Quimby must go.

Posted Tue, Apr 29, 12:19 a.m.

Big Brother and then some: So it doesn't bother anyone that the computer and by extension, the govt. knows where we are at any given moment? Will this information be available for anyone? Lawyers in divorce cases? Employers who wish to determine where the employees lunch? Corporations who want to ...

Posted Sat, Feb 2, 2:30 a.m.

High-rises can make sprawl too: Saying that building in the center means you don't have to build further out assumes that the population is remaining at a fixed level. We know that's not the case. And saying that new buildings allow the older buildings to become less expensive also is ...

Posted Fri, Feb 1, 1:52 a.m.

Quimby must go: I don't quite get the argument that highrises somehow help stop sprawl. By building more and more high rises, don't you raise the cost of living downtown so that those who really work downtown, the majority who don't make over $100,000 a year, end up having to ...

Posted Mon, Jan 14, 7:16 p.m.

Reverent.: The Piper-- Reverent to what? I can respect your religion, so long as it doesnt conflict with my Constitutional rights--- but do I have to revere it to stay in the dialouge of the mainstream? I think not. I hope not.

Posted Mon, Jan 14, 7:02 p.m.

Glad to know what Jefferson thought----: Its hard to discern exactly what Jefferson had in mind as a "creator". The 18th century Deists with whom he identified in the '70's and 80's generally held the "Creator" to be more of a passive principle, a detached force that started it all ...

Posted Mon, Jan 14, 11:53 a.m.

Render unto Caesar...: The need for the separation of church and state that the Framers intended in the Constitution is very well illustrated in this thread. Because beliefs are involved, beliefs that ultimately can only be logically proven to a point where faith must bridge the gap between reason and ...

Posted Thu, Nov 8, 10:38 p.m.

Visionaries? We dont need no stink'n Visionaries: The Piper suggested that we need visionaries to come up with new transportation plans-- Those wouldnt be the same "visionaries" who squandered a quarter of a billion dollars on the Seattle Monorail are they? Gee, hope not.

Posted Sun, Aug 19, 1:56 a.m.

Privacy matters: Once we willingly give up our privacy--which in the name of comfort we seem to be willing to do---it will be very hard to get it back. And like that extra sweater that you should have taken along on the 10 mile hike, you dont miss it until ...