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At last, E-Day

Posted Mon, Nov 3, 10:53 p.m.

Got time to read the state's hulking voter guide at the last minute? Neither do we. Here's the two-sentence version, our quick-and-dirty recap of the presidential, federal, statewide, and local races.

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Life is an electric highway

Posted Mon, Oct 20, 7:46 p.m.

At $109,000, it's not for everyone. But it's cutting the edge, it's fast, and you can get a sales-tax exemption if you buy a Tesla Roadster.

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'Zero net energy' homes: an experiment in Issaquah

Posted Wed, Oct 8, 2 a.m.

A Seattle-area developer and local governments have teamed up to build townhouses that, in theory, will give back more energy than they use. Will that work? It will depend in part on who lives in them.

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Puzzling bailout votes by the Washington delegation

Posted Fri, Oct 3, 3 p.m.

The House finally passes a porkier version of the measure. Meanwhile, we head into a recession.

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Remembering Keith Grinstein

Posted Thu, Oct 2, 4 p.m.

A friend recalls a good guy of the dot-com generation of executives, a dynamo who knew the importance of living in the now.

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Three advocates make the case for Sound Transit expansion

Posted Mon, Sep 29, 4 a.m.

These Snohomish County political leaders favor passage of Proposition 1, the measure on the ballot this November. Their rationale: The package's light rail component represents the future of transportation; increased bus and commuter rail will alleviate overcrowding; and it's a good value.

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The freaky economics of a ride to Sea-Tac Airport

Posted Thu, Sep 11, 3 a.m.

Because of fuel prices and out-of-sync regulatory bodies, it's actually cheaper right now to take a taxicab to or from Sea-Tac Airport than a shared van, which until recently was always the cheaper choice. But cab fares, too, will be going up, on Oct. 1. Here's how airport transportation pricing works.

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A state agency eyes public-private transportation funding

Posted Tue, Sep 2, 2 a.m.

No less than the Washington State Investment Board, which oversees public pensions, is giving serious consideration to government-business partnerships to make infrastructure improvements. Experts identify several possibilities, including the Highway 520 bridge rebuild, I-5 across the Columbia River, and improvement of ferry service.

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Extreme Seattle

Posted Wed, Aug 27, 1 a.m.

New demographic figures make clear what a statistical outlier Seattle is, with few families, few kids, high education, and rapid gentrification. Only San Francisco can compare.

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Midsummer night music, over the lake

Posted Wed, Aug 13, 3 p.m.

Vigorous, intelligent playing at the Seattle Chamber Music Festival's second home at Overlake School.

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Bellevue's 'Little Eichmann'

Posted Tue, Aug 12, 5 a.m.

Finding the banality of Nazi evil close to home.

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The campaign for Sound Transit will be 'going Facebook'

Posted Mon, Aug 11, 10 a.m.

Big and corporate didn't do it for last year's roads and transit measure, so the hurry-up, cash-starved campaign for Sound Transit 2 will be Internet-based and volunteer-driven.

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Time for a bus-fare reality check

Posted Wed, Aug 6, 5 a.m.

King County's Metro Transit service is under pressure from a surge in ridership and higher fuel costs. There are solutions to these problems, but they aren't painless, says this transportation analyst. Among other things, riders should be paying more — a lot more — and Metro should consider privatizing some routes.

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Vision 2040 for Pugetopolis

Posted Tue, Jul 29, 3 a.m.

An urban geographer uses un-rose-tinted glasses in peering into the crystal ball. He finds that we will not be able to do much about growing income segregation, congestion, gentrification in Seattle, and leapfrog development. Nor will rail transit help make things better.

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All the rage

Posted Mon, Jul 28, 4 p.m.

What's to blame for all the anger as cyclists, drivers, and citizens fight over their rights on the streets? Is it $4 gas? Young punks? Class warfare? Poor urban design? It's time to theorize.

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A dramatic vote in favor of a rail transit plan

Posted Fri, Jul 25, 10 a.m.

The weight of 40 years of paralysis about transit planning played a role in the Sound Transit decision to try one more time to convince the voters of the need for more light rail.

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Fixing our big flat tire

Posted Mon, Jul 21, 4 p.m.

Sound Transit, the Viaduct, 520, the Mercer Mess — everywhere you turn, there's a Puget Sound transportation problem awaiting solution. It's time for citizens to demand leadership from leaders and to push for reform of agencies and even government.

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Chamber music: the Lakeside formula

Posted Fri, Jul 18, 5 a.m.

A recent concert shows both the rewards and the pitfalls of Seattle Chamber Music Festival's philosophy of programming with mix-and-match musicians from the summer circuit.

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Sound Transit showdown

Posted Thu, Jul 17, 10 a.m.

The votes for a 2008 submission of a $15 billion package now are almost there, thanks to some last-minute concessions to Snohomish County. The election will be risky, but the transit agency faces greater risk by waiting until 2010.

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The case for more rail transit

Posted Mon, Jul 14, 10 p.m.

The region has tried a largely bus solution for 40 years, and by now the capacity flaws are apparent. If we are really serious about building density, we need to lay more rails.

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Including Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Bothell, Issaquah, Sammamish, Renton. Bookmark this page (Cntrl+D in Windows and Linux, Cmd+D on a Mac) if you'd like to check this topic regularly.

Other media

Four new local highrises pass architectural muster Lawrence Cheek tallies strengths and weaknesses of some of the last new buildings for a while, including the ambitious new Four Seasons near the Market.

As suburbs spread, wildlife adapts with a new pecking order A U.W. study finds how birds adapt. Hyper-fertilized lawns, for instance, offer slim pickings.

Bellevue Philharmonic in turmoil A new executive director has stirred up the musicians and created a major labor impasse

Bill Virgin: Are we over-retailed? A survey of the empty storefronts around the region, but the glut of stores may not be as bad or long-lasting as you would think.

Metro's real problem is too many suburban bus routes A Municipal League report rightly spots the political deal that keeps a lot of buses running around empty in the burbs.

Blog posts

Happy Nazi New Year

Posted Thu, Jan 1, 4:50 p.m.

2009 starts with a bang in terms of Nazi stories, which were a strong theme in 2008 too. In addition, we gained insights into the similar reading habits of Bush and Hitler.

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All I want for Christmas is a suburban swinger

Posted Sat, Dec 20, 11 a.m. 2008

From Republicans to The Stranger, everyone wants to grab a piece of crab grass.

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What is it about Bellevue and Nazis?

Posted Wed, Nov 26, 9:39 p.m. 2008

Two cases link the suburban city with Hitler and the holocaust.

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Reichert takes lead from Burner as more results arrive in King and Pierce counties

Posted Wed, Nov 5, 4:41 a.m. 2008

The race between Republican U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert and Democratic challenger Darcy Burner is still razor-thin. With 139,315 total votes counted, Reichert leads by just 1,149 votes.

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The Eastside: Is it blue yet?

Posted Tue, Nov 4, 4:37 p.m. 2008

Seattle's suburbs are trending that way, but there's plenty of red pride still east of Lake Washington.

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State by state with NBC's Chuck Todd

Posted Sat, Nov 1, 6:22 p.m. 2008

The network's political director surveys all 50 states for races and trends to watch. Here's what he sees in the Northwest.

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Is the local sky falling, or just getting grey?

Posted Sun, Oct 12, 1:20 p.m. 2008

The gloom may be overstated, but that's no reason for the business leadership of this region to keep abdicating from civic leadership.

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Sausage Links, townhall debate edition

Posted Tue, Oct 7, 3 p.m. 2008

Tonight is the second presidential debate between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, and it represents what could be a knock-out punch for the Democrats. That is, if you're still convinced the election isn't over. (Hint: It is.) If the current polls are any indication, McCain's only chance of winning this election are if Obama walks onto stage tonight wearing an Arab headdress and an Irani lapel pin, and after giving a shout-out to Reverend Wright and Bill Ayers, tells the television audience that Sarah Palin is a trollop.

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Sausage Links, HOV lane endorsement edition

Posted Mon, Oct 6, 1 p.m. 2008

The Seattle Times is recommending voters reject Initiative 985, the Tim Eyman-sponsored measure that would create a statewide "traffic congestion relief" fund, eliminate localized revenues for devices such as red-light cameras, and open HOV lanes during non-peak hours. The paper's editorial board writes, "I-985 is a poorly-packaged jumble of different agendas that will – please, listen carefully – worsen traffic in certain areas. It makes no sense to design a functioning, complicated traffic system by initiative." ...

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Sausage Links, pork barrel edition

Posted Fri, Oct 3, 5:29 p.m. 2008

What's the most important news of the day? It's not the passage of the Wall Street bailout bill. It's not the pundits' reactions to last night's vice-presidential debate. No. The most important news item of the day is that Saturday, Oct. 4, is the last day to register to vote. So if you haven't already, do it. ...

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