Crosscut articles of the past 10 days with the most clicks.
Crosscut articles of the past 10 days with the most reader comments.
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.
READ MORE 37 COMMENTS
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.
READ MORE 127 COMMENTS
Posted Sun, Jun 22, 10 p.m.
The recent former state secretary of transportation has been riding buses a lot lately and crunching numbers, and he's convinced light rail to the Eastside and more Sounder service has no place in a big new transit plan. He thinks an advanced bus rapid transit system is the best way to serve millions of people and smartly manage urban growth. Part 1 of 3
READ MORE 38 COMMENTS
Posted Tue, Jan 6, 6 a.m.
With some politicians calling for slashing funds for performance audits, consider all the money Auditor Brian Sonntag has been saving, and the dogs he's been watching.
READ MORE 6 COMMENTS
Posted Tue, Dec 30, 4 p.m.
The biggest change must come from ourselves, shifting from a culture of greed to one of community. The national shift seems more likely than a local one.
READ MORE 17 COMMENTS
Posted Wed, Dec 24, 12:01 p.m.
A Seattle transplant sums up the region's snowstorm-response failings.
READ MORE 22 COMMENTS
Posted Tue, Dec 16, 6 a.m.
There is a way to avoid huge overruns on mega-projects, but policy makers won't like the medicine. It replaces dreams and pork with data.
READ MORE 29 COMMENTS
Posted Thu, Dec 11, 6 a.m.
How the Chicago corruption story and other lavish raids on the public treasury (and trust) could induce an angry populist backlash.
READ MORE 2 COMMENTS
Posted Tue, Nov 4, 5:59 p.m.
Notes and quotes: Also, try finding a newspaper to save. ... Women could rule on Whidbey Island. ... Gov. Chris Gregoire's surprising margin. ... Countering conventional wisdom, Seattle-area voters said yes to higher taxes. ... A therapeutic celebration. Updated
READ MORE 6 COMMENTS
Posted Fri, Oct 24, midnight
Why didn't the Seattle mayor and the City Council get together on Proposition 2? Welcome to the politics of special levies and the artful shaping of each year's big ask.
READ MORE 11 COMMENTS
Posted Thu, Oct 23, midnight
The only thing keeping it from succeeding here are the myths propagated by foes, says this economics journalist. Here's a line-by-line debunking.
READ MORE 80 COMMENTS
Posted Tue, Oct 21, midnight
Our veteran politico says initiatives and their kin merely make elected representatives lazy. But if we must make policy that way, here's how he views the major issues.
READ MORE 30 COMMENTS
Posted Thu, Oct 16, midnight
There's a good chance the Proposition 1 ballot measure to expand light rail will fail, stalling for years comprehensive transportation planning in metro Puget Sound.
READ MORE 15 COMMENTS
Posted Wed, Oct 15, 2 a.m.
How an obsessed faction of residents drives the politics of an entire Seattle neighborhood.
READ MORE 22 COMMENTS
Posted Thu, Oct 2, 4 a.m.
Chapter 6: After a year of discussion on updating neighborhood plans, the City of Seattle saw the light. That would be the approaching beam of light rail in the first three neighborhoods.
READ MORE 3 COMMENTS
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.
READ MORE 18 COMMENTS
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.
READ MORE 16 COMMENTS
Posted Wed, Aug 6, 5 a.m.
The region is facing an economic slowdown, multiple budget crises, and big tax increases. Without a rapid, realistic response by voters and policy makers, November could be ugly.
READ MORE 20 COMMENTS
Posted Sat, Aug 2, midnight
Politicians have resorted to some some pretty childish arguments in defense of policies in recent days.
READ MORE 17 COMMENTS
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.
READ MORE 32 COMMENTS
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.
READ MORE 25 COMMENTS
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.
READ MORE 34 COMMENTS
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.
READ MORE 21 COMMENTS
Posted Tue, Nov 4, 1:30 p.m. 2008
Four issues that almost had this writer flipping a coin before going with the flawed-but-tried over the better-but-ain't-gonna-happen.
MOREPosted Mon, Oct 27, 2:06 p.m. 2008
The Washington Poll also found that Initiative 1000 is ahead and that Sound Transit Proposition 1 is no worse than tied and possibly ahead, based on the margin of error.
MOREPosted Fri, Oct 17, 2:30 p.m. 2008
Today's roundup includes bitter endorsements, big builder groups, and a reference to Alfred E. Newman.
MOREPosted 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.
MOREPosted Wed, Oct 15, 1:24 p.m. 2008
Today's political news round-up includes debates, donations, debunked advertisements, and unsolicited advice. ...
MOREPosted Tue, Oct 14, 1:10 p.m. 2008
So much for coattails. It's looking increasingly unlikely that Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire will benefit from the purported "Obama effect" in her re-election bid against Republican Dino Rossi.
MOREPosted 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:
MOREPosted 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.
MOREPosted 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." ...
MOREPosted Wed, Sep 24, 3 a.m. 2008
Now, we all know Microsoft was a big – like $200,000 big – supporter of Sound Transit's 2007 measure to expand light rail around Puget Sound. But as Mike Lindblom at The Seattle Times reported on Monday, the Redmond tech giant only plans to give $10,000 to the supporters of Proposition 1, this year's Sound Transit measure.
Sorry, Sound Transit. You are out of luck.
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