The Stranger writes, "a somewhat guarded Hansen couldn't have cut a more striking contrast to the familiar cast of multimillionaire owners out to make a quick buck off of taxpayers."

Critics of the mayor say he is being less than transparent and is being guided by developer interests. Others, however, say there's no developer conspiracy at all.

Cities across the country are remaking parts of their core into districts aiming for a lively nightlife, but they often end with something that has all the charm of a mall meeting Disney's Epcot Center. A few cities have had success, though, with non-prescriptive, less-regulated approaches.

The Seattlepi.com's Amy Rolph decides which city is better.  

The Seattle Times reports, "More homebuyers chased slim pickings in King County last month, sending house prices to their highest level since December 2010."  

Publicola reports, "McIver (and his co-columnist, Rainier Valley Community Development Fund director David Essig) argues, the city should consider building an 'elevated civic center' connecting the Mount Baker light rail station with the Mount Baker Transit Center, which serves Rainier Ave. buses, across the street."  

King5.com reports, "May Day demonstrators who marched through Seattle turned violent Tuesday, as several black-clad protesters used sticks to smash downtown store windows and ran through the streets disrupting traffic." 

The Seattlepi.com reports, "With time running out to replace the aging Elliott Bay Seawall, the Seattle City Council showed Monday it likely will ask voters to pass a 30-year property tax bond measure to pay for the project."