Posted Wed, Feb 8, 8:20 a.m. on Pro and con on the hiring of Norm Dicks' son for a Puget Sound job Inappropriate

The Puget Sound Partnership is a corrupt political action arm of the Democratic Party. It exists to ensure "science" supports - nay, compels - the Party's regulatory/taxing agenda. Ditto the remora-like "non-profits" that swim alongside, grooming the behemoth and eating scraps from its kills.

When David Dicks "left" the Puget Sound Partnership, The Party created him a position at UW's College of the Environment. Which, increasingly, has become a corrupt political action arm of the Democratic party; existing to provide the "science" to support - nay, compel - the Democratic Party's regulatory/taxing agenda.

Posted Wed, Feb 8, 8:18 a.m. on Norm Dicks and son: the story of earmarks for Puget Sound Inappropriate

The Puget Sound Partnership is a corrupt political action arm of the Democratic Party. It exists to ensure "science" supports - nay, compels, the Party's regulatory/taxing agenda. Ditto the remora-like "non-profits" that swim alongside, grooming the behemoth and eating scraps from its kills.

When David Dicks "left" the Puget Sound Partnership, The Party created him a position at UW's College of the Environment. Which, increasingly, has become a corrupt political action arm of the Democratic party; existing to provide the "science" to support - nay, compel - the Democratic Party's regulatory/taxing agenda.

Posted Wed, Feb 8, 7:57 a.m. on Inside Politics, 2012: How Obama helps Washington D's, and Romney can help the R's Inappropriate

I can only speak for myself, but choosing a candidate generally boils down to the person and not party affiliation. I generally vote Democrat, but have campaigned for Republicans who I admire. Mr. McKenna has been a clear thinker on issues going back to the King Co. Council, and his term on the Sound Transit Board. Many of his doomsday scenarios on boondoggles are coming home to roost, so right now, he's the most honest and smartest guy in the room - worthy of my support.
I suspect I'm not alone in the coming election.
Mike Skehan

Posted Wed, Feb 8, 7:32 a.m. on How King County, Legislature came to say no to electronic billboards - or at least 'not yet' Inappropriate

An excellent article and frightening news, the House and Senate bills would reverse 50 years of Washington’s hard won protections against the billboard industry’s legal challenges to our communities. Clear Channel is the world’s largest outdoor media company and monopoly owner of this region’s billboards. There are reasons Mitt Romney makes $27 million in his sleep.

Our cities can’t afford for Washington State to let go of its national leadership and laws protecting our highways. This reversal would place our cities and counties in a direct line of fire against this aggressive giant in its land-rush for new territory. When Tacoma banned a transformation to digital billboards, CC was trigger-happy with litigation against their daring to say NO (a $75M claim). This is a well-funded, national roll-out by the industry for digital everywhere. But other places are winning against this visual pollution, energy waste, and safety issues, through public outcry. In just a few years time, Arizona suffered the rapid onslaught of digital billboards ruining their state and has now deemed digital billboards illegal.

Washington is an easy target (as was Oregon) because most of us are asleep, believing we’re protected by our green and sustainable reputation. Or people are cynical in assuming that billboards mean somebody is getting paid. But billboards get a free ride. Our local businesses pay a premium for our environment and services, while billboards are simply parasites under antiquated off-premise sign/land-use codes. They pay no more than a measly sign permit fee (in Seattle approx. $15 mo) for hundreds and now thousands of square feet of our street's use.

We need to tell our WA representatives we don’t want these digital billboards to start here now or ever. Seattle is the next battleground with over 500 billboards downtown. The outdoor industry has been greasing City Hall for years, while draining our coffers with back-door legal costs through enforcement attempts on much smaller, traditional billboards! We all need to wake up quickly and protect our beautiful state and cities, it's our greatest asset.

Posted Wed, Feb 8, 6:40 a.m. on Inside Politics, 2012: How Obama helps Washington D's, and Romney can help the R's Inappropriate

I wrote this before Santorum swept Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri. I still believe Romney is the inevitable nominee, if only because the other contenders have significant flaws as candidates. But this shows again that Republicans are not excited about uniting behind Romney. Romney many not lock this up until the big, winner take all primaries in April.

Posted Wed, Feb 8, 5:55 a.m. on Wounded Gingrich turns to bringing down others Inappropriate

After having watched this news conference, the only remarkable thing about it was that a smaller part of the usual venom was directed at fellow-Republican Romney, while the greater part was directed as it normally is, at Obama in particular and the Democrats and the media in general. Santorum is barely acknowledged and Paul is ignored. That level of venom directed *at Democrats* is taken for granted by DC villagers like Mr Van Dyk, who doesn't note it at all in his remarks and review.
Not to say that listening to Newt complain about the political style he had so much of a hand in creating being used against him isn't a hoot. 'That petard is long, sharp, and deeply offensive!', says he. Ha ha!!
And I may have been hasty in saying TVD was correct in calling Romney as the nominee. This morning's headlines don't indicate that this contest isn't over yet. If this election were a movie, the critics would be damning the director for the abuse of dramatic license.

Posted Wed, Feb 8, 4:57 a.m. on Inside Politics, 2012: How Obama helps Washington D's, and Romney can help the R's Inappropriate

Jay's problem is messaging, his message is "Gregoire hand picked me to continue her legacy, I have never expressed a difference of opinion with the Governor or the Democrat controlled legislature or their policies." That's four more years of budget deficits, higher taxes and fees and ineffective management.

Posted Wed, Feb 8, 3:11 a.m. on Inside Politics, 2012: How Obama helps Washington D's, and Romney can help the R's Inappropriate

If as you say on the first page, that the gap in party affiliation has indeed dipped to +/- 4, then surely the state Republicans have a less than credible excuse this time around if they don't take the governorship. In other matters, I perceive a less than ringing endorsement of the redistricting cronyism, of which I'm fully supportive of criticizing. The horse trading will of course hurt both parties, and the electorate, for the benefit of the eight incumbents that you mention. Seeing as how Reichert and Herrera-Beutler (and McDermott, to be fair) have accomplished little in power, it's disheartening to see their incumbency strengthened.

As for Gregoire's seat, Inslee's real problem is messaging, or lack thereof. His stance on the issues are in line with a majority of Washingtonians, yet by not properly focusing on concrete and easily understood planks, he's susceptible to McKenna beating him with a populist/'Morning in Washington' sort of platform. As a liberal Dem., I'm alll for green jobs, but Inslee seems to fundamentally miss the anger that many low and middle income Americans hold towards the neo-liberal, globalization-cheering policies of the incumbent elite. Washington may be Dem leaning, but the electorate here still holds fast to many 'Western conservative' tendencies, which may even lean libertarian or anarchist if given the correct push. A platform arguing for basic services at the expense of our ever-burgeoning trade relations with Asia could strike a chord with conservative Dems.

Posted Wed, Feb 8, 2:57 a.m. on Ratmansky's 'Don Quixote' at PNB is stunning balletic feat Inappropriate

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Posted Wed, Feb 8, 2 a.m. on Midday Scan: Ed Murray into the lion's den on taxes; new shot at light rail to Federal Way Inappropriate

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Posted Tue, Feb 7, 9:38 p.m. on Last chance for some late election shuffles Inappropriate

John Koster, is "too much a Tea Party candidate to be well matched for the affluent, tech-rich, highly educated" voters in the newly drawn 1st Congressional district? C'mon, David. Time to come down off your Seattle centric perch and breathe some fresh country air. With 60% of the population in the 1st residing north of King County, Koster the conservative will be a force to reckon with. It's going to be fun watching the left-wing techie trio (Ruderman, DelBene and Burner) explain their positions on global warming, the 2nd Amendment and gay marriage to the farmers, evangelicals and blue collar folks in east Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties.

Posted Tue, Feb 7, 8:25 p.m. on West Coasters: Call home! Inappropriate

Salty people and smoking bans are incompatible.

Posted Tue, Feb 7, 7:33 p.m. on When there's no cost to them, Olympia's liberals stand strong Inappropriate

This article is BS.

Worker Privacy would have cost the state exactly $0 and the Governor, senate majority leader, and speaker went our of their way (after telling organized labor they would support that common sense legislation) to kill the bill.

Posted Tue, Feb 7, 5:51 p.m. on When there's no cost to them, Olympia's liberals stand strong Inappropriate

One thing the legislature has right—both progressive and regressive initiative writers need to come up with whole solutions, funding source included. Problem is, with the feds setting the example for "unfunded mandates," very few of those who take matters into their own hands have been willing to handicap themselves with integrity.

Posted Tue, Feb 7, 5:39 p.m. on West Coasters: Call home! Inappropriate

This reader, and I am sure many others, executed the round trip in reverse. Arriving in Boston long long ago, I thought I'd reached heaven prematurely. I soon learned what regular or (I think it must have been black) coffee meant, but had to wait until sultry summer to learn the down side of no use of or funds for a car. A vacation back home featured a sunny morning float off the east side of Vashon with Mt Rainier looming like one could reach out and touch it. Need I say more?

Although to this day I still long for Boston of that time period—so affordable even very young sprats rented pieces of history on Beacon Hill and joined the Boston Brahmin in their highly discreet ways. It's not only Home one can never find the same again.

Thanks Peter!

Posted Tue, Feb 7, 4:41 p.m. on Inside King County's homeless count: the uncertainties and the lessons Inappropriate

AN and supersinic, apparently neither of you are reading much about homelessness, why it happens, and to whom it hapens.

Shelter turnaways have been increasing, and in fact there are counts, and this year during the day of the count, turnaways of families from shelters was counted. Think of that when you're harummphing about why people "choose" to be homeless: children are being turned away from shelters because there's no room. A local family shelter was having so many turnaways, they are going out to religious congregations begging them to get on a schedule to take people in. But the religious community is already doing major work helping people who find themselves homeless, and our capacity to do so is not endless.

AN, the count certainly did include Seattle. 1,898 people were found in Seattle without shelter on the night of the count.

Posted Tue, Feb 7, 4:05 p.m. on Komen fight opens door to election showdown on women's rights Inappropriate

"Second, those who would batter a private charity for Komen for having a policy to remove funding for a time when an org was under investigation reminds me of a persistent panhandler downtown."

When organization as large and influential as Komen drafts a policy that precludes a current grant recipient from receiving (or even applying) for future funds, then supporters of Komen should expect said policy to be applied in a consistent way. Planned Parenthood was the only grant recipient swept up in this. Penn State University receives funds from Komen and is indeed under investigation for failing to report child sexual abuse and was it a target of this policy? Nope. The Komen Board has only itself to blame for the controversy. Women and men were outraged and Komen has paid dearly for that.

This same Catholic Church protected pedophiles for decades. And now it is squealing about having to provide contraception as part of their insurance benefits to employees of Catholic affliliated institutions? These are not employees of any Arch Diocese - they are specifically exempted. This mostly hospitals and colleges many of which already provide this coverage. Give me a break!

Posted Tue, Feb 7, 3:53 p.m. on Komen fight opens door to election showdown on women's rights Inappropriate

The central question here is whether the federal government can compel private organizations to engage in activities which those organizations consider immoral. I don't agree with the Pope that birth control is immoral, but neither do I believe that I have the right to settle that argument with him at the point of a gun.

...And ultimately, that's the method the federal government employs to win an argument.

Posted Tue, Feb 7, 2:36 p.m. on WA's gift to taxpayers? $29.3 billion Inappropriate

I'd sure like some more details. Who doesn't pay the real estate excise tax? Who doesn't pay the estate tax? If a mega business with lots of $$ reserves (think Microsoft) invests its reserves, why should it be exempt? What are the different fuel tax exemptions?

Posted Tue, Feb 7, 2:31 p.m. on How about some more Seattle basketball? Inappropriate

Yes, animalal, and remember when that California developer (fancy houses) wanted $70 million to upgrade the Kingdome? King County briskly shot that down and then went on to tear down the entire Kingdome and build the present palace- ostensibly with Allen's money but with enough long term side benefits to Allen to actually pay for it. We are blessed with brave, far-seeing government here. Tough negotiators.