Ridenbaugh Press
- Bridges[May 25, 16:12 PT] [Image] The collapsed Interstate 5 bridge across the Skagit River (photo/Washington Department of Transportation) Maybe 100 yards from our house, a bridge we use regularly was replaced across a narrow river fork. The bridge was showing some signs of cracking and crumbling, and the need to do something about... read more Blog Town, PDX
- Good Morning, News![May 25, 10:38 PT] [Image] Yay! Almost half the nation will block its poorest citizens from reaping benefits of Obamacare—largely because of objections from Republican lawmakers. People who are doing fair-to-middling, meanwhile, will be eligible for assistance. Smart policy! Memorial Day weekend travel plans and a collapsed interstate bridge... read more HorsesAss.org
 Friday Night Multimedia Extravaganza![May 25, 00:52 PT] Sam Seder speaks with Katherine Harris about scandals. The IRS/Tea Party Scandal: O’Donnell: The Republican ̵ 6;ignorance-fueled war’ on the IRS and Pres. Obama. Stephen: Boehner and the IRS/Tea Party scandal. Mark Fiore: Money for Nothin’. Jon asks, "What the hell happened?!?" Lawrence... read more Strange Bedfellows
Feds say money available to repair Skagit bridge[May 24, 11:03 PT] The U.S. Department of Transportation has money available that can be quickly deployed in repairing the Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told members of Washington’s congressional delegation on Friday morning. LaHood authorized an initial $1 million in emergency... read more Blog Town, PDX
- Good Morning, News![May 24, 09:29 PT] A bridge on Interstate 5 collapsed into the Skagit River north of Seattle, sending cars into the cold water but somehow managing not to kill anyone. The early theory is that a truck with an oversize load hit a steel beam on its way through. Is it too soon to talk about infrastructure and decay and austerity? It's... read more Cliff Mass Weather Blog
- Memorial Weekend Forecast[May 23, 22:58 PT] Memorial Day is not a dependable weekend around the Northwest...never has been, never will be. Generally we have a sunny, warm period in the middle of May (early May this year) and then we move towards the June gloom mode of low clouds. During the past few days we have had a closed upper low hanging over us (see graphic),... read more Seattle Transit Blog
- Breaking: I-5 Collapses in Skagit County[May 23, 20:11 PT] [Image] The I-5 bridge over the Skagit River in Mt Vernon has collapsed. Information is sketchy at this point, though multiple outlets are confirming vehicles in the water. UPDATE 7:10 AM:Seattle Times has more details. Briefly: No deaths; the proximate cause at this point appears to be a strike from an oversize... read more HorsesAss.org
- Can We Maybe Fix Our Infrastructure Now?[May 23, 19:38 PT] Jesus. Washington State Patrol confirms an I-5 bridge over the Skagit River has collapsed and at least two cars with people inside are in the water. The incident has closed all northbound and southbound lanes. [Image] Seattle Transit Blog
Obama’s Nominee for Next USDOT Secretary[May 25, 07:23 PT] [Image] Anthony Foxx, via City of Charlotte Late last month, President Obama nominated Charlotte mayor Anthony Foxx to fill the void that will be created by retiring Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. First, I think it’s appropriate to give credit where it’s due. Although Secretary LaHood wasn’t the... read more Sightline Daily
Where Are My Cars: Another Decline in Washington[May 24, 15:51 PT] [Image] Vehicle travel on Washington’s state roads fell again last year. It was a modest decline—just 0.8 percent—but as the chart to the right shows, it was a continuation of a full decade of essentially flat traffic. In fact, WSDOT estimates that total traffic on state roads was slightly lower in 2012... read more HorsesAss.org
- Maybe You’re A Drag To Ride The Bus With![May 23, 18:19 PT] This piece in The PI’s Big Blog about Seattle being a healthy city is fine. But I’m confused about this from the setup (bold mine): We may be hard to get to know and a drag to ride the bus with, but when it comes to being healthy, Seattleites rank right up there with Bostonians. What? Are we more of a drag to... read more Seattle Transit Blog
- East Link Station Access and Names in Downtown Bellevue[May 23, 11:29 PT] [Image] East Link map, via Sound Transit In yesterday’s open thread, commenter and long-time reader Mike Orr pointed out two surveys that Sound Transit is using to solicit input on East Link final design for the downtown Bellevue segment. One survey is a fairly straightforward multiple-choice form for station naming... read more Seattle Transit Blog
- Shoreline Light Rail Powwow[May 23, 07:30 PT] [Image] By MIKE ORR Shoreline started its Link station area planning with a public meeting on May 22nd at Shoreline City Hall. It was mostly an informational meeting, introducing the planners and the study areas. There was a wide variety of speakers, ranging from city staff to Sound Transit, the Puget Sound Regional... read more Seattle Transit Blog
- News Roundup: Phased Out[May 22, 07:02 PT] [Image] Photo by KurtClark What’s wrong with TOD at Othello Station? The continuing saga of the Waterfront Streetcar. Kemper Freeman expanding ($) his downtown Bellevue empire. Inslee approves the transportation budget ($) for the 2013-2015 biennium. Meanwhile, HB 1954 supporters rally. Link station planning meetings... read more Seattle Transit Blog
Northgate Open House This Thursday (May 23rd)[May 21, 12:30 PT] [Image] Image from Sound Transit The Northgate Station: Design and Accessopen house will be held at Olympic View Elementary School, 504 NE 95th Street from 6pm to 8pm May the 23rd. Thepre sentationwillbegin at 6:30pm. Sound Transitstaff will discuss: Refinements to station and plaza design. Preliminary results of Northgate... read more Politics Northwest
- Gun-control group putting ads on Metro Transit buses[May 17, 18:31 PT] A state gun-control group is putting advertisements inside and outside of dozens of King County Metro Transit buses, urging residents to "think twice about having a gun in your home." But the ads, paid for by Washington Ceasefire, were rejected by transit agencies in Snohomish and Pierce counties, said the group's board... read more The Stranger Blog
- There's No Workable Solution for Seattle's Homeless Camps[May 24, 14:23 PT] [Image] Anna MinardA full house in council chamber on Wednesday. Those pink signs read "Without food and shelter, people die." On Wednesday, the Seattle city council took another stab at what to do about Nickelsville, which has now been squatting on city land for two years. Residents of Nickelsville and SHARE's Tent City 3... read more HorsesAss.org
Candidate Questions: Seattle Mayor[May 24, 08:01 PT] I’ll email these to the Seattle mayoral candidates later today. I still haven’t figured out the calendar. I’ve put them here first in case y’all have any more suggestions or tweaks. I’ll update this post to reflect any changes if I make them before sending. 1) Now that I-502 has passed, what... read more Politics Northwest
Most Democratic district groups aren't backing McGinn[May 23, 11:33 PT] One early measure of the Seattle mayoral race is the fight for endorsements from the city's Democratic legislative district organizations. The groups of liberal activists, crammed into community centers, schools and union halls,provide an early sounding board and organizing heat-checkfor candidates at a time when few... read more HorsesAss.org
Candidate Questions[May 22, 08:02 PT] Later in the week, I’m going to send out candidate questions to everyone running for Seattle mayor. I have my own ideas about what to ask, but I thought I’d throw it out to the comment section before I send anything off. The general rule is it would have to be broad enough that it could be asked to all of the... read more Cliff Mass Weather Blog
- Biking Dry[May 17, 22:28 PT] Today is bike to work day and thus there is no better time to discuss how you can bike on most days without fear of getting wetor at least very wet. Yes, even here in the Pacific Northwest a little meteorological knowledge and technology can help you avoid those raindrops and enjoy a very pleasant ride on your bicycle.... read more Politics Northwest
Tim Burgess quits Seattle mayor's race[May 17, 21:35 PT] Seattle City Councilmember Tim Burgess has dropped out of the Seattle mayor's race. In a statement released this afternoon -- hours before the filing deadline -- Burgess said the city needs new and visionary leadership, and expressed concern that having too many candidates in the race might hinder that goal. "Instead, I... read more |
The Rambling Taoist
- Not One, Not Two, Not Three[May 24, 18:30 PT] Trey Smith Attorney General Eric Holder has just sent a truly incredible letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee. In it, he acknowledges that the U.S. has killed four of its own citizens in drone strikes. Casual news consumers may find that confusing. Hasn't there already been an extremely public debate about the killing... read more Ridenbaugh Press
- Crapo’s town hall[May 24, 07:54 PT] [Image] MARK MENDIOLA Reports The Idahoans who called into U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo’s town hall teleconference Wednesday night, May 22, virtually all expressed concerns about the federal government’s increasingly intrusive actions that they fear are eroding their constitutional rights. The nation’s debt crisis, the... read more Sightline Daily
- Weekend Reading 5/24/13[May 24, 07:54 PT] Eric Joel Connelly has an excellent piece on the way that Northwest tribes are fighting the coal export plans. A new multimedia documentary, Patricia’s Story, by Benjamin Drummond and Sara Joy Steele explores conservation fieldwork in Peru’s tropical forests and the importance for understanding the impacts of climate... read more PERRspectives Blog
- Apple Launches iRomney[May 23, 13:21 PT] [Image] On Monday, Congressional investigators revealed that Apple has side-stepped billions of dollars in U.S taxes "through a web of subsidiaries so complex it spanned continents and went beyond anything most experts had ever seen." Nevertheless, Tuesday's hearing before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on... read more BlueOregon
Jeff Merkley caught red handed asking the IRS to do its damn job[May 22, 08:42 PT] Now I get that team Tea Party is in a froth over the IRS situation. There's certainly been enough chum thrown at them by the media to get them there. But frankly, there are serious questions to be raised about how 501(c)4 groups are operating. These groups are supposed to be social welfare organizations that promote... read more PERRspectives Blog
- Welcome to the Darrell Issa Hall of Shame[May 20, 09:25 PT] [Image] With Washington engulfed in scandals real and imagined over the Benghazi tragedy, the IRS' handling of applications by political groups for tax exempt status and the Justice Department's seizure of AP phone records, California Congressman Darrell Issa is enjoying his moment in the sun. For Republicans "energized"... read more morialekafa
- Insanity Writ Large[May 17, 23:19 PT] I know you have all heard Einstein’s famous definition of insanity, “doing the same thing over and over and expecting to get a different result,” or something like that. What, then, are we to make of the 37 (count ‘em) times the House of Representatives has voted to repeal Obamacare. Doesn’t this probably set a record for... read more Ft. Boise
- Words fail[Dateline Unknown] That's what direct mail king Richard Viguerie says in a letter to his fellow outragees, the Republican Members of Congress (or at least the Speaker of the House and the Senate Minority Leader, to whom it's addressed), with a potpourri of political hacksactivists co-signing. Gary Bauer, James Dobson, Ralph Reed and Phyllis... read more Ft. Boise
- We're all outraged[Dateline Unknown] Maybe something Congress does will fix what's wrong with the IRS (if indeed something is significantly wrong with it, which has yet to be demonstrated). Will it come about as the result of committee hearings? I can't see how that could happen. Catching up on last Friday night's Newshour, and this snippet from "Chairman... read more Ft. Boise
- A question occurs to me[Dateline Unknown] While reading the latest news about the unfolding IRS scandal, and the offhand suggestion that "even in the best of times," the Internal Revenue Service is "the federal government's most reviled agency." Perhaps because I don't actually have that much revulsion for it; yes, it's an annual burden to voluntarily comply with... read more Ft. Boise
Who's going to jail for this?[Dateline Unknown] Saw that quip from Mr. Speaker, measuring his indignation as carefully as the fine-tailored suits he and Mr. Senate Minority Leader wear for their daily podium stand-ups. But consider Robert Reich's observation, posted to Facebook (at least) this morning: "Keep your eye on the big scandal. Although the IRS was wrong to... read more |
