Washington
updated
1:28 p.m.
Contains only posts that are ID'd as local content. An explanation. Want to help improve our local content filter? Add keywords here.
What, specifically, was the motivation for the massive planned undertaking of rebuilding the Interstate 5 Columbia River bridge? Was the heavy traffic that periodically jams up (but actually is lighter than it was some years back)? Was it bridge deterioration (though other bridges around the region, ad eve in Portland, are in worse shape)? Willamette [...]...
Ridenbaugh Press (Washington) - 8:41 a.m. - 3 clicks 
As I mentioned in my last post , Seattle and Portland have very similar commuting patterns. The biggest difference between the two cities is that Seattle has higher rates of transit commuting, and lower shares of drive-alone commuters, than Portland. But there are plenty of interesting tidbits about the demographics of transit buried in the commuting data. Transit and Gender In both Seattle ...
Sightline Daily Score - Wed 11:48 a.m. - 5 clicks
Portland, OR has a national reputation as a transit powerhouse. Despite some recent funding woes ---which are depressingly common for US transit systems---the City of Roses' combination of bus, light rail, street car, and most recently aerial tram transit has earned national kudos. US News and World Report, for example, recently ranked Portland’s transit system as the the fifth-best in the co...
Sightline Daily Score - Tue 10:24 a.m. - 6 clicks
Ack! Please see the coda at the bottom of this post. If I were a sociologist I would examine the deeply irrational beliefs people having about parking. I’m serious. Start talking about meter rates or extending pay hours and you can pretty much throw logic right out the window. Exhibit A is last week’s Seattle Times story on restaurants in the Chinatown/International Distric...
Sightline Daily Score - Mon 11:49 a.m. - 9 clicks
Sightline Executive Director Alan Durning will be giving the welcome keynote tomorrow morning at a conference on the role of research in the field of children’s health. Alan will be speaking on the way research can inform public policy, looking at cases like our recent work on toxic flame retardants in couches. Get details on the event. ...
Sightline Daily Score - Mon 9:46 a.m. - 7 clicks
1. I've been waiting for a decent link from this blog for a little while. And, now from Jamaica to Olympia, and we're not good hosts : Americans don’t know how to make you feel at home in their country. There are constant reminders that I am not from here and while I could care less about those who choose to hold that against me, it is still something you will never have to encounter as a Jamaic...
Olympia Time - Mon 9:46 a.m. - 4 clicks
Local governments in Washington have had, in the last few years, a rash of cases in which (a) someone has refused to provide a public record, or charged an inordinate price for it, (b) the refused party took the agency to court and (c) the aggrieved individual won, along with a big settlement costing the [...]...
Ridenbaugh Press (Washington) - Sat 5:03 p.m. - 5 clicks
Man wearing hardhat on KOMO radio tower, Seattle, 1948. (posted without permission from, but with eternal admiration of, the Museum of History & Industry, Seattle)...
BlatherWatch - Sat 12:23 a.m. - 8 clicks
1. Flummel, Flummer, Flummo posts what I find hilarious: "I watched him read my card and stuff it in his pocket. There was nary a hint of embarrassment or shame." 2. According to Mark at Notes on the State of Olympia, the planning commission is in a hurry, but still probably won't make their goal: Finally, and most importantly, if we cannot meet this schedule by even one meeting because th...
Olympia Time - Feb 22 - 3 clicks
A good deal may ride on how the Wednesday night Republican presidential debate goes. But at the moment, Washington state seems poised to support Rick Santorum over Mitt Romney. From Public Policy Polling: Rick Santorum leads Mitt Romney by double digits in advance of the March 3rd Republican caucuses, a new poll from Public Policy [...]...
Ridenbaugh Press (Washington) - Feb 21 - 3 clicks
The story behind why a Public Utility District doesn’t provide electricity in Thurston County touches on some of the most interesting episodes in the debate versus public and private power and in politics in Washington State. This post is a follow-up to another post where I outline three historic narratives from Chris Stern's piece about the possibility of the Thurston PUD getting into the&nb...;
Olympia Time - Feb 19 - 3 clicks
Presidential longshot Ron Paul stopped here yesterday to a packed house with hundreds being turned away because of a standing room only venue. I know there are a lot of Republicans around here but was really surprised at two things. One, that there are that many Ron Paul supporters in this area and two, why he picked Vancouver when Portland is right across the river and is ten times as big as ...
Ornery Bastard - Feb 17 - 2 clicks
In honor of Mathias Eichler's recognition of being the best person in town (Awww-SUM), I give you Mathias' best idears as copied by other people and as told by Discover Thurston . And, when I say "copied" I mean borrowed without credit seemingly being given. Credit may have been given at some point, but not in these videos or anyplace else I could find. 1. First, is obviously, First F...
Olympia Time - Feb 16 - 2 clicks
Now that it seems that Seattle will make a nice big push for the return of the NBA, I might as well put out under what conditions I will support the league coming back. But, first, where I stand now. I'm fine with the NBA never coming back, ever. What was exposed about the league after the Oklahoma City owners came in -- how massive arenas need to be and how the league will work in concert aga...
Olympia Time - Feb 15
1. But, if you were to google "Sht people from Olympia Say," you see a video that achieves a greater hilarity than the average for the meme . Damn, don't google it, just here it is . If you haven't see it yet, have fun. 2. One of the two times I've seen the Vagina Monologues was at the Midnight Sun. Now, Alec points out, they're in trouble. Help save them . 3. Washington Our Home is...
Olympia Time - Feb 15
Like Oregon, Washington has a lands use regime stricter than most states (in a whole different world from, say, Idaho). But it isn’t exactly the same. One of the key elements in Oregon’s is the policy of protecting farmland. Development can, and often has been, blocked if it means changing the use of farm land [...]...
Ridenbaugh Press (Washington) - Feb 9
Via The Daily Olympian ... The Washington State Labor Council is giving an early campaign endorsement to Jay Inslee in the governor's race. The decision followed a vote by council delegates meeting in Olympia today. The council also endorsed U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell for a third term and Bob Ferguson for attorney general. Unsuprising choices, perhaps, but a ticket this strong consoldiated t...
Upper Left - Feb 9
