Posted Mon, Feb 13, 1:21 p.m.

I read this story last Thursday at Sportspressnw.com under the head "Top virtue, worst parts of arena proposal" and now the Crosscut editors deem it "The big risk in a new sports arena". Now, that's spin. Hey, Crosscut! You're showing your bias.

Posted Thu, Oct 6, 11:47 a.m.

Mike Henderson has it backwards. Beltre did himself no favors by spending the prime of his career as a right handed power hitter in that desert known as Safeco Field. Maybe he didn't meet the expectation of his 04 season in LA but for five years we didn't have a ...

Posted Thu, Sep 15, 12:43 p.m.

Judging from the number of comments here Mr Kugiya has written a piece that has touched a nerve. There are a couple of ideas that could help though. Segregate cyclists and motorists where possible. Provide bike lanes on adjacent residential streets or use existing medians parallel to arterials so that ...

Posted Tue, May 17, 10:34 a.m.

An interesting perspective was presented by Anne-Elisabeth Moutet on the BBC yesterday when she conjectured that perhaps there was a Freudian aspect to Strauss-Kahn's actions. That his wife was a driving force of his pursuit of the French Presidency and this was perhaps a self-destructive and humiliating way to end ...

Posted Mon, Dec 20, 10:36 a.m.

Thank you Hugo for spotlighting another local institution. By realizing the experience and service is at least half of the equation the Canlis family has kept their restaurant at the head of the class in Seattle dining. I went there for my high school prom years ago and more recently ...

Posted Mon, Oct 25, 12:53 a.m.

As someone who has been running the lake off and on for years, the project has made great improvements particularly at the south and west sides of the lake. Gravel parking lots and rail lines have been paved and made walkable and rideable. If that alone reflected the $30m invested ...

Posted Fri, Oct 8, 5:53 p.m.

It may be that McGinn has an anti-auto bias. It would certainly be consistent with his Sierra Club background and the green and sustainable philosophy this city has taken the lead in. But as Dean Locke implies, it seems whoever is writing these proposals is young and active and they ...

Posted Mon, Aug 2, 12:57 p.m.

Growing up in Seattle I remember spending hours of time as a kid on the rides and amusements at the Center. I wandered through what used to be the Fun Forest a couple of years ago and was disappointed to see what it had become. However when this City was ...

Posted Fri, Jul 30, noon

Putting up the deep-bore tunnel to a vote is a non-starter, literally. We all know the electorate is pretty evenly divided into three camps, surface, viaduct or tunnel, so a yes or no vote to approve any one option is doomed to fail. If we are to have a vote ...

Posted Wed, Jun 9, 6:33 p.m.

This city, both the people and its government, has a definite problem with business. It seems to have started with the $73 million the city kicked into the Nordstrom project and its adjacent parking garage at Pacific Place. Somehow that project was painted as the worst deal the city ever ...

Posted Tue, Jun 8, 11:10 a.m.

BlueLight - Wow. Are you new to the area? Washington State Ferries inherited its Native named fleet when it took control of Black Ball in 1951. And today it continues a marketing scheme started by the Black Ball Line of naming local vessels with names that sounded local. The Kalakala ...

Posted Sun, May 23, 11:41 p.m.

It's time to consider what Safeco Field has become in the eyes of the players - the antithesis of the Kingdome and Coors Field in Denver. Since its construction, Safeco has become known as a pitchers park and conversely, the place where sluggers and hitters can't. Pitchers like Washburn and ...

Posted Sat, May 15, 3:51 p.m.

Bella, to start with your examples of USC and Miami are poor. Since 1937 Miami has played in the Orange Bowl and thus has not played a game on or near campus for 73 years. Since the Orange Bowl's demise the team has had to play its games 21 miles ...

Posted Fri, May 14, 10:46 p.m.

Thanks, Bella for your idiotic suggestion to get rid of Husky Stadium and move Husky football to Qwest Field instead. A little research on your part would show similar experiments at Minnesota and Tulane have been colossal failures. Husky football has a different atmosphere and audience that cannot be found ...

Posted Thu, May 13, 4:05 p.m.

"But if neither infielder improves at the plate, neither will be playing for the Mariners during the post-season." - the only postseason this team will be playing in is the Arizona Instructional League, which it can be argued just about every player on the roster should be attending.

Posted Wed, Apr 21, 10:56 p.m.

Thank you for saying what everyone in this city has thought for years. Lenny Wilkins is indeed a treasure and a generous, outstanding, humble example of a gentleman. If the Sonics did nothing else in their 40 years here but to bring him here and make him part of our ...

Posted Wed, Apr 21, 3:08 p.m.

The missing link in this discussion is the lack of federal funding. This city fiddled around for decades and missed the largess that Warren Magnuson earmarked for Seattle mass transit during the 1960's. That money instead went to Atlanta. What if we could have had 67% federal financing for a ...

Posted Tue, Apr 13, 11:09 a.m.

Digging has always been and will always be a risky venture. The problem is that with our increasingly dense urban environment this kind of tunneling is the least impactive means of providing or improving our transportation infrastructure. The Downtown corridor is pinched geographically anyway and plowing up blocks of our ...

Posted Tue, Apr 13, 10:10 a.m.

It seems the Mariners are a first-class organization in almost all ways. Good in public relations, community service, fan relations, creating a family atmosphere in the stands (ever been to a game on the East Coast?) and helpful staff people from ticket takers to vendors. All these things are a ...

Posted Sat, Apr 3, 1 p.m.

After reading this article yesterday I was motivated to go over to the UDistrict and try Samurai Noodle. I've sampled most of the new ramen joints in the city since being turned on to it last year at one of LA's Little Tokyo shops and agree that in terms of ...

Posted Tue, Mar 23, 10:33 a.m.

I think McKenna's stance goes beyond simple politics. He has a point: The Health Care bill may extend to far into states rights. This is something that should be decided by the courts and unfortunately, because of the current composition of the Supreme Court, may prevail. As a politician this ...

Posted Tue, Mar 16, 12:11 p.m.

I'm not sure your idea of naming alleys would hold up. Despite the new urbanism you cite, we've lost a lot of Downtown and Belltown alleys to the mega block development of the last ten years. Give it another 50 years or so and there won't be anything to name ...

Posted Tue, Mar 9, 11 a.m.

Thanks for pointing out the relevance of this building but reading the Kitsap Sun blogs shows the other side of the argument, too. Its been abandoned for over 20 years and falling apart. Vandals and transients seem to have done their damage to the building and it is a general ...

Posted Tue, Feb 23, 2:36 p.m.

Thank you for a timely piece, David. In a time of limited budgets and resources, it's time to simplify and get parks back to their core mission - provide space for nature, contemplation and recreation in an urban environment. If that purpose is lost in knee-jerk reactions to things like ...

Posted Fri, Feb 5, 11:17 a.m.

First, a correction. If I recall correctly, Behring, although a Bay Area resident, tried to relocate to Anaheim to fill the stadium there. He went so far as to open Seahawks offices there for a week before the NFL forced him to move back. I've often wondered if Behring's terrible ...

Posted Tue, Jan 26, 1:06 p.m.

Given the lack of political experience in the new regime I don't doubt there was some surprise at the reaction to Hizzoner's Seawall press conference, but don't for a second think that this isn't a move to separate the Seawall from the Tunnel. This is clearly part of the Mayor's ...

Posted Wed, Dec 30, 10:36 p.m.

There still are a few of the ROS's left in the city. The original Metropolitan Market (aka QA Thriftway) atop QA, Ken's Market a little further up the hill, Marketime on Fremont Av., and the aforementioned Bert's Red Apple. The relocated Ken's on Greenwood Av is perhaps a Rotten New ...

Posted Mon, Dec 28, 4:14 p.m.

Ms. Moon has presented the People's Waterfront Coalition's position paper under the guise of journalism with this piece. Her doom and gloom article outlines what is essentially the agenda about how she and the McGinn Administration plan to torpedo the Tunnel Project. There is no question that this project is ...

Posted Sat, Dec 5, 8:51 p.m.

This proposed law seems assume the larger vehicle always is at fault. What happens if the cyclist is clearly violating traffic laws at the time of the accident? How would this law have affected the recent case of the cyclist running over a child crossing the street near the Market? ...

Posted Sat, Nov 7, 1:25 a.m.

I'm not sure Sammamish City Council is the right place for John. People who have a reputation for depth and thought like a Jim Compton, a political reporter, seem a better fit for the details and wonkishness a councilman needs. The few times I've met him he has always been ...

Posted Sat, Nov 7, 1:12 a.m.

I'm not sure why so many young intellectuals, particularly women, pick up the so-called "objectivist" philosophy of Ayn Rand. I thought most grew away from it over time. But it's apparent that rather than evolving from that, Malkin proceeded to wrap herself ever more tightly with that banner and in ...

Posted Thu, Nov 5, 12:31 p.m.

Good article Dick. I have to admit I had the same thought as I reviewed the recent redistricting maps. Ballard High seems to be serving less and less of Ballard. Using Lincoln to help serve Queen Anne and Magnolia would make sense but this would be a band-aid solution. Long ...

Posted Tue, Nov 3, 11:49 a.m.

Prof. McKay doesn't mention that there is a public bias toward certain offices. Even Seattle area voters generally lean toward Republican candidates for certain offices both locally and statewide. Usually these are races which the GOP stereotype of "tough" or fiscally conservative is an advantage in the job description. Attorney ...

Posted Tue, Oct 20, 8:29 p.m.

Looming behind these expected cost overruns is the requirement by the City to take sole responsibility of them. I have not seen much written here about this amendment our friend and neighbor State Speaker of the House Frank Chopp inserted into the legislation. This seems like a way for Olympia ...

Posted Tue, Oct 20, 12:06 p.m.

The point raised by this study is that every project with rare exception goes over budget. I don't think this is stunning news to most of us. What is more critical is how the inevitable overrun is handled. So many of Seattle's large public projects are flawed by the slashing ...

Posted Fri, Oct 9, 1:46 p.m.

Thanks Feliks. I took my niece to a game last week and she was able to see Griffey hit one out, too. I'm glad I'm not the only who understands the feelings of family, connection and community that sports can give us.

Posted Fri, Oct 9, 12:46 p.m.

What the Seattle Way represents is diverse inclusion and grassroots participation. It is essential to democracy and is rightfully a point of local pride. But it is a double-edged sword. Consensus is almost impossible and sharp and lasting divisions often result. It is far too easy for the participants to ...

Posted Mon, Sep 14, 3:42 p.m.

Good piece but it doesn't address the biggest determinant of change to a neighborhood - its affluence, which is a function of politics, its inhabitants and the value of the property. Compare the four neighborhoods you mention, Pioneer Square, Belltown, SLU and Courtland, to say Madison Park or Laurelhurst. There ...

Posted Mon, Sep 14, 2:39 p.m.

I applaud the editors for giving Mr Vance a platform here. I think presenting both sides is healthy and honest unlike some other outlets that claim to be "fair and balanced". Like my uncle once told me, if someone spends most of their time telling you how honest and loyal ...

Posted Wed, Sep 9, 11:45 a.m.

I read the San Francisco report you mention in your follow-up comments and and thought it fairly summarized the SDOT intention. I don't know if you had access to that before you wrote your piece and if it changed your opinion. I noted the SF report states these "sharrows" are ...

Posted Wed, Aug 19, 4:12 p.m.

Frankly, I was very surprised McGinn is the front-runner. It shows how much the anti-tunnel and anti-tax sentiment has. I can't say however that this is an endorsement on the power of his environmental record since the same voters soundly rejected the Bag tax. If there is a lesson to ...

Posted Fri, Aug 7, 2:04 p.m.

I agree with Stephanie's assessment. But Mayor of Seattle could be a springboard for the "right" candidate. The only way a Seattle Mayor could attract statewide interest is if Seattle were to somehow elect a Republican. Some big cities in recent years like New York and Los Angeles ran into ...

Posted Mon, Aug 3, 5:47 p.m.

I have a prediction. This city will dither about the Alaskan Way Viaduct until the next earthquake knocks it flat (hopefully without loss of life). At that time the public outcry will be as loud as it was after the collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minnesota. After the national ...

Posted Mon, Aug 3, 1:27 p.m.

Knute - I don't always agree with you but your analysis of the mayoral race is spot on. August is too early for a primary but after a few years we'll get used to ballots stained with watermelon juice. Granted, Nickels has other flaws and his heavy-handed style rubs Seattlites ...