How is the U.S. going to fund surface transportation improvements in the future? Congress created the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission in 2005 to look at just that question and their report to Congress is due out Tuesday, Jan. 15. But Ken Orski, a Washington, D.C.-based transportation consultant, has a sneak preview. He reports that it includes some fairly controversial recommendations regarding tolling, congestion pricing, public private partnerships, and the future of the gas tax, all front-burner issues here in the Great Nearby. Are you bus and rail commuters ready for a "federal ticket tax?" Or how about a tax on every mile you drive?
I've been on the eastern seaboard promoting my book and talking with politically active people, in particular, in New York and Washington, D.C. The summary of reactions would be: McCain on verge of breakout; Hillary-Obama race tightening.
If Sen. John McCain wins Tuesday night's Michigan Republican primary decisively over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (Romney currently leads in the polls), he could be on the way to his party's nomination. McCain, it is true, did little in Iowa and won by only a modest margin over Romney in the New Hampshire primary. But, since then, big money has flowed into his campaign. Much of the money has been raised on the basis that McCain was the only viable mainstream alternative to populist preacher and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
The Seattle Symphony member and Town Hall music director presented a boundary-pushing concert, an artistic manifesto for contemporary classical performances. It's a road worth taking, even with some early bumps.
It was obvious for all to see yesterday, Jan. 12, that the Seahawks weren't prepared for the Packers and their snowstorm. But coming from the rainy, temperate Northwest, how could they have been?
Easy. Here's what they should do next year if they find themselves headed for Green Bay or any other upper-Midwest or northeastern outdoor stadium in January:
The Los Angeles Times weighs in today (Jan. 13) on Seattle's Googie controversy, with a story by Seattle-based staff writer Tomas Alex Tizon. The piece covers the basics of the brouhaha over the landmarking of the Ballard diner previously occupied by a Manning's cafeteria and more recently a Denny's. A landmark nomination of the building has been approved.
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