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The Navy wins on sonar, not that anyone's surprised

Posted Tue, Dec 2, 6 a.m.

Here's an analysis of the recent Supreme Court decision to continue allowing the Navy to use sonar in the presence of marine mammals. It's not as simple an issue as you might think.

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Up yours, Virginia

Posted Tue, Dec 2, 6 a.m.

Dispatch from the War on Christmas: Atheists make fools of themselves in Olympia while violence breaks out at Wal-Mart. The sacred season is now a very, very sick season.

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What Somali pirates can learn from Walla Walla and Wall Street

Posted Wed, Nov 26, 7 a.m.

Washington's death row inmates and corporate fat cats are employing strategies that could come in handy for seagoing brigands.

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Seattle's misguided gun ban

Posted Mon, Nov 17, 6 a.m.

Mayor Greg Nickels plans to defy state law with a gun ban that is worse than an empty gesture: It puts law-abiding citizens at greater risk.

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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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A humble tribute to Cam DeVore

Posted Sat, Nov 1, 6:55 p.m.

A prominent Seattle attorney's absence is felt not just by his family, friends, and colleagues but by his yoga community, as well.

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Anger over the right to die

Posted Fri, Oct 24, midnight

If God wants to join the political debate over assisted suicide, he should expect a bloody nose.

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The screws of Buildergate tighten on Dino Rossi

Posted Mon, Oct 6, 4 p.m.

With so many Republicans bringing suit against the GOP gubernatorial candidate and two builders' groups, it's not easy to dismiss the widening case as mere partisan politics. Move the needle for incumbent Gov. Chris Gregoire, and score points for Attorney General Rob McKenna.

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How accurate is Battle in Seattle?

Posted Wed, Oct 1, 3 a.m.

A journalist and former Seattle City Council member who led the council's investigation into the WTO riots faults the film for claiming too much for the protesters. More disturbing was the picture of dreamy nonchalance in planning that the investigation revealed about City Hall and Seattle Police.

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The murky dealings of Brightwater

Posted Wed, Sep 17, 3 a.m.

King County officials allocated money from the massive Brightwater sewage-treament project to fund mitigation in Snohomish County and to help a business in the vicinity of the facility relocate. That's illegal, say plaintiffs in a lawsuit. If they win, King County will take a sizable financial hit, calling the very nature of its leadership into question.

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Chop, chop

Posted Tue, Sep 9, 11 p.m.

As Mayor Greg Nickels moves to close a tree-cutting "loophole," it's time for a complete rethink of Seattle's rules and regulations regarding trees. And we better act fast.

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On the fire line

Posted Tue, Aug 26, 4 a.m.

The U.S. Forest Service considers changing its firefighting protocol in the wake of sentencing over handling of the Thirtymile Fire, which claimed the lives of four firefighters.

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Paying for our growing pains

Posted Mon, Aug 25, 4 a.m.

The Growth Management Act serves as a tug-of-war between environmentalists and property-rights advocates, who disagree over rules governing wetland buffers and vegetation removal, and so far, the environmentalists are losing the contest. But it's more complicated than that. Opponents of strict provisions on rural areas say they shouldn't have to pay for the environmental sins of the cities.

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Northern fights

Posted Fri, Aug 22, 4 a.m.

Next in the Alaska scandals roundup: An errant senator's son and Troopergate. Part 2 of 2

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The real games are in Alaska

Posted Thu, Aug 21, 4 a.m.

How to keep up with all the scandals rocking Alaska's government? A veteran Juneau politics reporter offers this primer. Part 1 of 2

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Death by a thousand (paper) cuts

Posted Wed, Aug 20, 4 a.m.

A magazine distributor is doing what the Bellingham police and a prosecutor tried to do and couldn't.

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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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Puget Sound triage

Posted Thu, Aug 7, 5 a.m.

Cleaning up the Sound for real requires political will, not feel-good projects that play well in the media but have little ecological impact. It means focusing on rural, not urban, areas. But that's not where most taxpayers live. It will also take a monumental infusion of cash, which could come from a variety of sources, including a mitigation 'bank' for private polluters.

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A new owl plan with the same old goal: more logging

Posted Wed, Jul 23, midnight

The new Northern Spotted Owl recovery plan could be worse, but the Bush administration hasn't given up on cutting a billion board feet a year in Northwest forests.

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The geekiest arsonist

Posted Wed, Jul 16, 3 p.m.

Software engineer Jennifer Kolar is to be sentenced this week in federal court for her role in Earth Liberation Front arsons, including one at the University of Washington. Her time in prison will be reduced because she turned state's witness, but that doesn't mitigate the fact she is now regarded as a snitch by peers and could be labeled a terrorist by the government.

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Other media

Police had confiscated slain UW student's rifle 2 years ago They returned it to his father, after numerous requests, who gave it back to his son.

Startling share of teen sex workers in Portland are from across the Columbia Vancouver newspaper details how pimps move young prostitutes across state and city lines to frustrate law enforcement.

Bellingham online firm is questioned on missing funds from sports clubs Alaska ski group says Countmein.com isn't saying what happened to $150,000 it collected from its members.

Retail crime seems sure to rise as economy sours Making problem worse, property theft less than $10,000 in parts of King County won't be investigated by sheriff's office because of staffing shortage due to budget cuts.

Execution put off for condemned killer Darold Ray Stenson A state court refused to lift a stay of execution, so the state agreed to delay.

Blog posts

Sic Semper Tyrannis!

Posted Fri, Nov 28, 2 p.m. 2008

Supreme Court Justice Richard Sanders made a spectacle of himself, shouting "Tyrant!" But he also had a point.

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As the city grows alarmed at gang shootings, the Police cite soothing statistics

Posted Fri, Nov 28, 7:40 a.m. 2008

Also, there's a new initiative and the SPD promises to work more closely with other departments. Please stop worrying.

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Will Rossi's deposition end up hurting Gregoire?

Posted Thu, Oct 30, 6:51 p.m. 2008

Though supporters of Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire had hoped yesterday's highly politicized deposition of Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi would yield a "smoking gun" in the Buildergate lawsuit, little was actually learned.

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Dino Rossi must give a deposition about Buildergate before the election

Posted Mon, Oct 27, 6:49 p.m. 2008

The order from a King County Superior Court judge for Rossi to be deposed may not be the kiss of death for the Republican's campaign, but another week of headlines about the allegations aren't going to help his poll numbers.

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Decision due Monday on whether Dino Rossi has to give a Buildergate deposition

Posted Fri, Oct 24, 12:47 p.m. 2008

A lawsuit will proceed after a ruling by a King County Superior Court judge. But we might not learn anything from the Republican candidate for governor until after the election.

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Sausage Links, my lobbyist took me to lunch edition

Posted Thu, Oct 16, 2:16 p.m. 2008

What's better than being a lobbyist? How about being a politician who gets freebies from lobbyists? Better yet: being one of the politicians who received more than $18 million in campaign contributions from lobbyists.

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Rossi court date delayed: Move the Guvometer in Gregoire's favor

Posted Thu, Oct 16, 12:21 p.m. 2008

A King County Superior Court judge has delayed a hearing to decide whether Republican challenger Dino Rossi will have to testify in the Buildergate case. That ensures an extra week of headlines and uncertainty about his relationship with a builders PAC.

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Sausage Links, Weathermen edition

Posted Wed, Oct 8, 3:10 p.m. 2008

Joel Connelly has finally admitted to consorting with known terrorists. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer columnist writes today that, along with his late dog, S'Murphy Brown, he made a cup of tea and a toasted bagel for Weatherman Bill Ayers, the 1960s anti-Vietnam War radical who targeted the Pentagon and U.S. Capitol in a series of bombings. GOP operatives have been trying desperately to link Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to Ayers — the two are not close, but have met several times over the years and served on a charitable board together — in an effort to curb Obama's sizable lead in the polls and turn the focus of the campaign away from the economy. So far, the plan hasn't been a success. Connelly, meanwhile, is ashamed:

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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, the big debate edition

Posted Thu, Oct 2, 1 p.m. 2008

So. Tonight's the big vice-presidential debate between Republican Gov. Sarah Palin and Democratic Sen. Joe Biden. Which Palin will show up? Will we see the pitbull with lipstick or the incoherent Couric interviewee? It's anybody's guess. But with expectations already at rock-bottom, it's fair to assume she'll look better than many liberals think. What about Biden? As former Gore advisor Michael Feldman wrote in the Washington Post this morning, Biden's mission is not to screw it up. ...

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