You'd think – after the Iraq debacle and any number of lesser blunders elsewhere – that people abroad would have stopped thinking of the United States as the first responder of the world.

You'd think. Buried in the Associated Press' coverage of demonstrators being beaten by soldiers in Myanmar was this plea from an unidentified onlooker:

"Why don't the Americans come to help us? Why doesn't America save us?"

The poor guy must have been watching too many documentaries on the Normandy invasion. Hasn't he noticed that we Americans haven't been doing a spectacular job of saving nations lately?

The state has turned to experts from the University of Texas for help in straightening out the math standards used for the math portion of the state’s WASL test.

The Texas team will lead revision of the state’s K-12 mathematics learning standards – a task to be finished in four months. The work starts next week.

Poorly developed math standards get much of the blame for high failure rates on the math part of the test required for high school graduation.

The standards are supposed to determine what students at various grade levels should know and to serve as a guide for instruction by teachers. But outside experts who reviewed the math standards earlier this year found them seriously flawed.

A team from UT’s Dana Center for Mathematics and Science Instruction won a competitive application process.

Here’s our Aug. 31 editorial on a highly critical review of the math standards by outside experts.

Here's our current schedule of editorial board meetings with outside groups.

Oct. 2, 10 a.m. No on Referendum 67 campaign

Oct. 3, 9:30 a.m. Save NE Tacoma, re Northshore project

Oct. 3, 3 p.m., Spiro Manthou, candidate interview

Oct. 4, 10 a.m. Citizens for a Better Ballot, Kelly Haughton, Richard Anderson-Connolly, re charter amendments

Oct. 8, 2 p.m., Julio Quan, backers of Tacoma’s Proposition 1, universal health care

Oct. 8, 3 p.m., United Way leaders, re early learning initiative

Oct. 10, 10 a.m., Historic Tacoma, historic preservation efforts.

Oct. 11, 10 a.m., Sheriff Paul Pastor, DSHS secretary Robin Arnold-Williams, re protocol for following up on reports of abused foster children.

Oct. 15, 1 p.m., Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland, update on DNR issues.

Oct. 30, 10 a.m., Higher Education Coordinating board representatives, re higher ed planning.

Spotted this sign on my way to work this morning. It's a reminder that eight Pierce County charter amendments will be on the Nov. 6 ballot. it's unusual to see yard signs on charter amendments.

Citizens for a Better Ballot, the group that campaigned last year for ranked-choice voting – also known as instant-runoff voting – is behind the "No on No. 4" signs. Proposed Charter Amendment No. 4 would delay the county's first ranked-choice voting election until 2010.

Note the "Pick a Party" tag on the sign. That's a reminder voters opted for RCV at least in part as a reaction to the demise of the states' blanket primary. With RCV, there is no primary – just one election in which the winners are determined in a process of elimination.

RCV proponents want to remind voters how much they hate "pick a party" voting in closed primaries.

=> Read more!

Tacoma’s not the only city with a controversy over siting a children’s museum. Chicago, well known for its support of museums, is also debating the issue.

Chicago’s case is a little different: whether it’s appropriate to put a private, pay-for-entry children's museum in the city’s public Grant Park. And there’s also a racial element that I don’t think applies to Tacoma. But the basic issue is the same as the controversy over the proposal by the Children’s Museum of Tacoma (which also has an admission charge) to build a new facility on the Thea Foss Waterway: the potential loss of open space.

The land the museum wants to build on in Tacoma was purchased with money set aside for preservation of open space. Opponents want the Foss Waterway Development Authority, the owner of the property, to find a different location for the museum.

Here’s the Associated Press article.

Residents oppose plan for children’s museum at popular park along Chicago lakefront
By CARYN ROUSSEAU
CHICAGO (AP) — Nestled between Lake Michigan and downtown skyscrapers, Grant Park is the crown jewel of the city’s lakefront, a mile-long ribbon of green that draws local residents and tourists alike.

=> Read more!

People have been waiting a long time for Sound Transit to launch its first "reverse commute" – i.e. Seattle-to-Tacoma instead of Tacoma-to-Seattle – Sounder run.

Or maybe not.

The reverse commute's maiden voyage Monday attracted only 44 passengers from up north in the a.m. Tuesday's ridership fell to 25 coming south. Wednesday, it was 32.

The numbers weren't impressive, but they've got nowhere to go but up. The people at Sound Transit remain bullish. Linda Robson of the agency's media relations office had this to say:

"What’s important to note is that each year for the seven years Sounder has been running, we’ve seen double digit growth, including 20 percent ridership growth since last year, and even 9 or 10 percent additional growth that we’ve retained since the I-5 construction."

Anyway, it's nice to know that at least some people are coming to Tacoma from Seattle and points north to work, shop, whatever, not just vice versa.

Northeast Tacoma residents must be seething about this billboard that popped up recently at the corner of Norpoint Way and 29th Street Northeast.

I just about fell out of my car when I first saw it. The sign, mounted on a big pylon only a few feet from the streetcorner, all but slaps you in the face as you drive up the hill on Norpoint Way. I hate billboards in general, but this one is the most offensively located billboard I've ever seen.

The billboard stands on the property of an Indian-owned smokeshop. It was put up by Fourpoints Communications, a Kent-based company that specializes in putting up billboards on Indian-owned trust lands Fourpoints claims to be helping Native Americans diversify their income; of course, the company's share of the revenue is purely incidental.

The same company is fighting the City of Puyallup, which has ordered removal of a large billboard along River Road. The site is owned by Ed Comenout, a Quinault who contends city zoning laws don't apply to Indian-owned property held in trust by the federal government. A hearing examiner's decision is due in January, but that surely won't be the last of it.

I'll alert the newsroom to a possible story. If you know more, post it here. I have an e-mail in to Tacoma City Councilman Jake Fey, who represents Northeast Tacoma.

King County Executive Ron Sims has done just what we’ve feared all along would happen with Sound Transit. With a Seattle-centric view, he has come out against the roads & transit package and contends light-rail shouldn’t be extended to Pierce County. Basically, he’s saying we’ve got the Sounder trains, and that’s good enough. It would consign Pierce County to be an economic backwater for decades and force Pierce County commuters to stick to the highways.

We aren’t big fans of the death penalty, but it’s the law in Washington, where as a practical matter it is carried out only for the worst of the worst murderers. Convicted serial killer Robert Yates Jr. falls in that category, which is why we’re glad the state Supreme Court voted 8-1 to uphold his death sentence.

About our editorials:
If you have comments or questions about these topics, please email them to david.seago@thenewstribune.com. Editorials represent the consensus view of The News Tribune's editorial board.
Want to sit in on a daily ed board meeting? Email cheryl.tucker@thenewstribune.com to make an appointment.

Friday is Ask a Stupid Question Day. (I know, I know; there’s no such thing as a stupid question. And if you believe that, you’ve never had to work at an information booth.)

So, if you have a stupid question, post it here. Maybe someone will be able to answer it. Or if you've been asked a stupid question, let us hear about it.

Here are two Web sites (click HERE and HERE) with a lot of really good stupid questions. (Hey, I think I’ve wondered about a few of these myself.)

And here are some stupid questions asked of park rangers at some of our national parks (none, unfortunately, in Washington), compiled by Outside magazine.

Grand Canyon National Park
• Was this man-made?
• Do you light it up at night?
• I bought tickets for the elevator to the bottom – where is it?
• Is the mule train air conditioned?
• So where are the faces of the presidents?

Everglades National Park
• Are the alligators real?
• Are the baby alligators for sale?

=> Read more!

State lands commissioner Doug Sutherland may have provided campaign fodder for his 2008 election opponent this week.

The candidate likely to be Sutherland’s main Democratic rival, Eastern Washington rancher and environmentalist Peter Goldmark, announced a kickoff campaign tour of the state Thursday and Friday. He called Sutherland, a Republican, “too tied to corporate special interests and selling off our precious public lands for logging and development at pennies on the dollar.”

That’s what enviros have been saying for years about Sutherland, a former Tacoma mayor and Pierce County executive. But Sutherland backers recently sent out invitations to a fund-raising reception Oct. 16 at a private home on Lakewood’s pricey Gravelly Lake.

The event’s sponsors include George and Wendy Weyerhaeuser, Spokane Rock Products, Washington Aggregates and Concrete Association, the Asphalt Paving Association of Washington, Rinker Materials, Miles Sand & Gravel and Concrete Nor’West.

Here's the latest word from state Rep. Dennis Flannigan on the aftermath of his widely reported (on this blog, at least) catastrophe on the pitcher's mound at Cheney Stadium:

Friends, Family, and enemies who won't hurt me:

Many of you know last Wednesday, while pitching in a benefit softball
game I took a  well struck ball in the face. Tooths flew, good people
helped, and I headed to the Tacoma General ER room. They kept me three
hours and sent me on my way with my teeth glued together, and that
there probably was no jaw fracture, but a soft bone holding my lower
teeth had fractured. .

The next day, I met with my dentist -- the reputable John Winskill. He
said, "Play right field." It would not be the last time I heard that
idea. John cleaned up what he could, and told me to return Monday when
the swelling would offer a better look. He looked yesterday and sent
me to see Dr. Steffen, Oral Surgeon, today.

Dr. Steffen says, too much drainage. So, let's kill the bacteria,
spend the next six weeks seeing what happens. Meaning, I have teeth
I'll could lose, but by reviewing them over six weeks we might save
some. That's good. Got my stitches out. He's concerned about pus and
drainage that we're taking steps to overcome. One important question
remained. Food?

He said: Options range from soup to mac and cheese and maybe meatballs
carefully cut up and placed on the back teeth by tiny wait people who
are very careful. I think it is won ton soup, Pho Bac, and Ilse's
delights for a few months. Maybe a pot sticker once in a while --
carefully carved into little stickers.

Next week he'll check to see if the infection is in check. Meanwhile,
I gargle with real bacteria fighting stuff. It's called Acid-lite.
What is acid, anyway?

I'm fine, headed toward unintended weight loss. No complaints there.
Not writing for any other purpose than checking in. Take care. Thanks
for prayers, good wishes, and friendship.

Bill Gaines, a hometown boy who became Tacoma Power superintendent just a year ago, will move up to Tacoma Public Utilities' top job as director.

The Utilities Board announced its choice this evening. Gaines was a top power executive at Seattle City Light when he joined TPU last fall. A Wilson High School graduate, WSU grad and MBA degree-holder from UPS, Gaines spent much of his career as vice president for Puget Sound Energy.

Gaines will replace longtime director Mark Crisson, who is leaving to become the top lobbyist in Washington, D.C., for the public power industry.

A curious side-controversy of the blowup over the "General Betray Us" ad a couple weeks ago had to do with advertising rates.

Republican critics – up to and including Dick Cheney – claimed that The New York Times had given MoveOn a special low price, $64,575, on the full-page ad."TIMES GIVES LEFTIES A HEFTY DISCOUNT FOR 'BETRAY US' AD," chortled a New York Post headline. The Times denied any such deal.

This week, though, the Times acknowledged that it indeed had undercharged MoveOn to the tune of $77,508, which the Democratic activist group said it has now paid.

The Times insists the mistake was inadvertent. Maybe so – but no newspaper advertising department I have ever met forgets its ad rates or loses sight of $77,508 worth of accounts receivable.

Ron Paul's got it made. If campaign signs are any indication, he's far ahead of the rest of the Republican presidential field – at least in Tacoma.

Look around. How many Mitt Romney or Fred Thompson signs – of any kind – have you seen? Who's seen even a bumper sticker for Giuliani? But Ron Paul believers make their loyalties known.

The largest signs, home-made jobs, obviously, are usually posted on public property in places not so prominent that they would get removed immediately by the sign police. The one shown here, for example, is on a fence on South 25th Street not far from the Tacoma Dome parking lot. Cars obscure it much of the time, but at least people walking to Dome events get an eyeful.

The largest trove of Ron Paul signs I've seen is in the dark canyon where South Tacoma Way starts up the hill from Pacific Avenue. Seems to me like hiding your light under a bushel. Or maybe supporters are angling for the homeless vote.

Who is Ron Paul, you say? Well, put it this way: Whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, you'll find half his positions pretty sensible and the other half appalling. Find his campaign Web site here.

Our editorial board doesn't often do this, but we asked the finalists for the Tacoma City Council At-Large Position 8 seat, David Curry and Marilyn Strickland, to return for a second round of endorsement interviews.

Four strong candidates ran in the August primary. It was such a close call among the four that we agreed to endorse Curry and Strickland. We also agreed that in any case we would ask the two primary winners in this race to return to return for another visit. Only two board members interviewed the four primary contestants, so we wanted the full ed board to hear the finalists.

We met Tuesday with Curry and Strickland in back-to-back interviews. Just as we expected, both performed exceedingly well. It's a shame they are running against each other. Curry is director of the Tacoma Rescue Mission and chairman of the Tacoma Public Utility Board. Strickland is development director for the Tacoma Public Library.

Strickland was asked if race has been an issue in her campaign; she's of black and Korean descent. Both race and gender have been, she said. During doorbelling walks, she's had voters notice the lack of a wedding ring and ask her why she's not married or if she's gay. A voter called her and demanded to know her position on Initiative 200, the 1998 statewide ballot measure that banned affirmative action in state and local government. After pointing out that I-200 was a settled matter that the City Council couldn't change, she asked the caller if he was asking other council candidates the same question. "That stopped him cold," Strickland recalled.

Curry told us he sometimes feels that he is running more against the people backing Strickland than against the candidate herself. That was a reference to the fact that political heavyweights like former Tacoma Mayor Brian Ebersole and Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg are supporting Strickland and rounding up help from their allies. Strickland also won important endorsements from the city's police and firefighter unions.

Curry also spoke of growing up in a home abandoned by the father and how that shaped his life and career. Both Strickland and Curry, incidentally, are Mount Tahoma High School graduates.

The ed board will decide its endorsements on Oct. 9 and start publishing them around Oct. 14. Mail ballots will go out Oct. 19. The election is Nov. 6.

Federal Way city officials shouldn’t act like crafting a legally sufficient teen curfew ordinance is impossible. Tacoma has shown how to do it, by carefully documenting the problem and narrowly targeting the rules and providing appropriate exceptions. Tacoma’s ordinance has never been challenged in court.

The latest National Assessment of Education Progress test results for Washington show an alarming drop in scores among African-American students. The NAEP report is one of the best indicators of state performance in student achievement because it is based on the same test in all states.

About our editorials:
If you have comments or questions about these topics, please email them to david.seago@thenewstribune.com. Editorials represent the consensus view of The News Tribune's editorial board.
Want to sit in on a daily ed board meeting? Email cheryl.tucker@thenewstribune.com to make an appointment.

If you’re an education policy wonk – or just an interested observer in the ideological wars over “school choice” and vouchers – check out the Think Tank Review Project.

The project was founded by academic researchers out to scrutinize think tank reports with scholarly rigor and debunk false or unfounded claims.

For example, the latest report dissects a recent paper from the conservative Friedman Foundation that claims to make the case for giving parents vouchers and letting them choose public or private schools. A reviewer from the University of Illinois says the report is “based on selective and shoddy evidence, and makes misleading and sometimes false claims.”

The project also issues annual Bunkum Awards to think tank reports “judged to have most egregiously undermined informed discussion and sound policy making.” A look at the list shows some big names among conservative outfits: The Cato Institute, the Reason Foundation and the Manhattan Institute.

This, of course, invites accusations from the right that the Review Project people are all academic lefties who hate capitalism anyway. But they rightly point out that the think tank reports they criticize are rarely peer-reviewed by established scholars, while their own academic work must meet those standards.

My own observation, based on years in the opinion trade, is that if you know which think tank is issuing the report, you know what side it’s going to take.

Tacoma blogger and real-estate tracker Kevin Freitas has a brief report on efforts to create new homes for residents to be displaced from the old Winthrop Hotel.
He says Prium, the developer who bought the Winthrop with plans to restore it as a working hotel, is considering building housing at two locations in South Tacoma.

See Kevin's posting here. I'll see if I can scare up more information from Prium CEO Peter Ansara.

Prium is building the Hannah Heights condos kitty-corner from the Grand Cinema in downtown Tacoma and the Chelsea Heights condos at Sixth Avenue and South J St. The former looks like it is nearly ready for occupancy, while the latter is nearing the final stages of construction.

The Point Defiance Zoological Society has named Caryl Zenker, a TVW vice president, as its new executive director.

Which means that TVW, the non-profit organization that televises state government, is running out of Z’s at the top. TVW President Cindy Zehnder is also leaving, taking over as Gov. Chris Gregoire’s new chief of staff on Oct. 1.

Zenker has been TVW’s head of marketing and development for four years. In her 20-year career as a non-profit fundraiser, she’s worked for public-radio station KPLU and the Tacoma Art Museum. Zenker lives in Tacoma with her husband and two sons.

Zenker succeeds Kathleen Olson, who left the Zoo Society in March to become executive director of the Humane Society for Tacoma and Pierce County.

The Iranian leader’s appearance at Columbia University was great display of the American values of free speech and public forums — freedoms denied in Iran.

Now a protracted court battle begins over the Sonics’ lease at Key Arena. We’re rooting for the city all the way. A deal is a deal, and the Sonics should be held to it.

About our editorials:
If you have comments or questions about these topics, please email them to david.seago@thenewstribune.com. Editorials represent the consensus view of The News Tribune's editorial board.
Want to sit in on a daily ed board meeting? Email cheryl.tucker@thenewstribune.com to make an appointment.

Think you know your Puget Sound history?

Captain George Vancouver (pictured) and Lieutenant Peter Puget are the names most people associate with early European exploration of Puget Sound. But many others, their names now forgotten, contributed to the region’s “discovery.”

Maritime historian and author Les Eldridge tells their stories in a program at 7 p.m. Oct. 4 at REI’s flagship store in Seattle.

Eldridge’s talk is the second in this year’s People For Puget Sound REI Speaker Series, “Exploring Puget Sound,” which features monthly talks on
“what makes Puget Sound special and what we can do to save our Sound for
generations to come.”

For details on admission, reservations and future programs, go here and click on "events."

Not many readers realize that Tacoma Community College, the subject of a Sunday editorial, was a creation of the Tacoma School District in years when the beloved Angelo Giaudrone (pictured) was superintendent.

That's why the editorial prompted this response from Harold Snodgrass, who was the district's spokesman in the Giaudrone administration:

Thank you for the editorial on TCC...though I bristled a bit at the "done-on-the-cheap" comment.

I was part of Angelo Giaudrone's staff in the 1950s when we lobbied the legislature and the state board of education for one of the nine community college authorizations and went to the public for the money to build. As the PIO I was involved as a staff resource to the citizens committee we organized to promote the bond issue. I coordinated visits of the members to several existing community colleges...and ran up a lot of long distance phone bills getting promotional ideas from some of my PIO friends in the community colleges. As it turns out it was such a popular idea that we got an almost unbelievable yes vote...I do not remember the numbers but it was well beyond 60 percent.

I agree that we got the job done economically. But we asked the architect, Bob Price, to come up with a square footage cost that would give us the first 12 or 13 buildings needed.* Given the legislative limits on levies and bond issues I think the results were satisfactory. The need was for space immediately...we were not necessarily building for the long term.

*If I were to guess the square footage cost was around $5 or $6. More permanent buildings that came later were anywhere from $50 to $100 per square foot. Of course I am recalling events of 50 years ago so you would need to check the records if they are still available.

A friend sends word that state Rep. Dennis Flannigan, very slowly recovering from taking a line drive to the mouth in a charity softball game last week, thinks he's lost five teeth – but his dentist won't know for sure until the swelling goes down.

I'm pretty sure Denny, D-Tacoma, will opt to be scorekeeper for next year's game. Best wishes for a speedy recovery from Dave and the Opinionaters.

If you get the headline on this item, you're ready for this news:

Today is National Punctuation Day, when we who live by the written word salute the glories of the well-placed apostrophe and the delicately inserted semi-colon.

Ted Pease, "professor of interesting stuff" (and journalism, too) at Utah State University, sends along this appropriate quotation in honor of the occasion:

“My attitude toward punctuation is that it ought to be as conventional as possible. The game of golf would lose a good deal if croquet mallets and billiard cues were allowed on the putting green. You ought to be able to show that you can do it a good deal better than anyone else with the regular tools before you have a license to bring in your own improvements.”
— Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961), writer, 1925

For more on this lamentably forgotten occasion, go here and there.

It's not a matter of whether presidential candidates often stretch the truth. Of course they do. But how often do they do it? And when do they come close to outright lying?

Attentive citizens might make good use of two Web sites that track the accuracy of factual claims made by candidates seeking the White House in 2008. (Thanks to the Wall Street Journal for pointing them out.)

Check out FactCheck.org and Politifact.org. Both are run by credible independent organizations, and the latter includes a "Truth-O-Meter" that gauges how misleading a candidate's assertion is. The settings range for "True" to "Pants on Fire."

Sample from Truth-O-Meter: Rudy Giulani, on Hillary Clinton's health care plan, says, "“What they will do is socialized medicine.”
Rating: False.

You can click on the rating link to get an explanation.

Lots of speculation around town about who the Tacoma Utility Board will name to succeed retiring Director Mark Crisson. Mayor Bill Baarsma Friday calls it "one of the best kept secrets in town."

He grumbled a bit that the Utility Board hasn't had a more open process by naming the finalists and bringing them around to see how they do with employees and the public. The board is expected to announce the director on Wednesday.

The Utility Board was created under the city charter as a semi-autonomous body in order to insulate the power and water utilities from politics. The City Council appoints the board members and approves the budgets, rates and major borrowing proposals of the electric, water and rail utilities, but otherwise it has no authority over the utilities.

So the the Utility Board can pretty much hire a new director any way it wants to. It would be surprising if current Tacoma Power Superintendent Bill Gaines weren't one of the finalists. I've heard that the other two finalists are outsiders, but don't bet the mortgage on that.

The top spot at TPU is an attractive job. Thanks to farsighted decisions made decades ago, Tacoma is in good shape for power and water supplies for next few decades, at least, and enjoys rates that are among the lowest in the region.
And the fact that the director doesn't have to answer directly to elected officials has to be a plus, from an executive's point of view.

Seattle City Light, by contrast, is part of general city government and its chief reports to the mayor. Gaines was a top manager there before he took the Tacoma Power job last fall.

If you haven’t seen the creative new PEMCO ad campaign, check it out by clicking here.

It includes humorous profiles of a number of pretty familiar Northwest characters, including Sandals and Socks Guy, Ponytailed Software Geek, Obsessive-Compulsive Recycler, and The Coug and The Dawg.

I found my stereotype – #99: Smug Hybrid Owner. It’s spot on, down to the “eyes searching for full-size SUVs to sneer at” and the “polar fleece vest,” which I’m wearing as I write this to celebrate the coming of autumn this weekend. (Plus it was COLD this morning.)

I figure Dave Seago – who is known to bike several hundred miles before breakfast with his freakishly fit wife – fits into #5: NW Male Action Figure, but I can’t find a profile that really fits my other colleagues, Kim Bradford and Patrick O’Callahan. There’s a page on the Web site for creating your own profile, though. I suggest New Mom Itching to Come Back to Work for Kim and Urban Pioneer Empty-Nester for Pat.

Remember that item in The Nose column (9-15) about the Montana writer who actually rhapsodized about the "aroma of Tacoma" ?

Then Billings lady really gets carried away: "Tacoma has its aroma, and I have mine. I believe it might welcome me with moldy, open arms. I know my arms, perspiration stains and all, will be raised in return."

"Stop that lady at the border!" The Nose cried. Well, I tracked down Billings lady, otherwise known as Karen Mockler, and sent her the riposte from The Nose. She responds:

Thanks for passing along the blog about me and my poor hygiene. I laughed -- as you may have gathered from my essay, I'm pretty philosophical about personal humiliation.

I don't know if you saw the letter-to-the-editor in the early-August HCN (High Country News) issue that followed on the one where my essay appeared, but a Boulderite wrote in to complain that I hadn't lauded Boulder highly enough. (I called the place heaven, but true Boulderites are never satisfied.) Truth is, I'd still rather hang with Tacoma folk: at least when they give me a bad time, they have a sense of humor about it.

And yes, I have been to Tacoma. Visited it for the first time last December. My husband had applied for a reporting job at the TNT, and we drove around downtown looking for the paper, until we finally asked someone for help and they sent us up over the hill. I liked downtown, and some charming neighborhoods nearby. If we ever end up there, I promise to wash regularly. (No guarantees about off-gassing, though. You guys need *some* kind of aroma.)
Best,
Karen

Holly Armstrong, familiar to us media types as top spokesperson for Gov. Chris Gregoire, will leave her post in November.

In an email to friends, colleagues and media contacts, she said she is moving to Denver to be closer to family and friends.

I'll miss her. Besides being highly competent and professional, Armstrong, a native Iowan, is a fellow fan and participant in RAGBRAI, an annual week-long bicycle tour that takes 10,000 people across the entire state, west to east, in July. Every time Armstrong accompanied the gov to the TNT for an editorial board meeting, we'd compare notes on the latest ride.

Armstrong is the second member of the governor's top staff to announce plans to leave. Last week Tom Fitzsimmons, Gregoire's chief of staff, announced his resignation. Thursday, the governor named Cindy Zehnder, president of TVW public affairs network, to succeed Fitzsimmons.

We received a press release Thursday from the House Republicans touting the fact that state Rep. Joyce McDonald, R-Puyallup, “is among four women in Western Washington named by The Business Examiner as 2007 Women of Influence."

Of course, my reaction was: Who are the other three? Don’t they even rate a P.S. at the end of the release?

I had to go to the Business Examiner’s Web site to learn the identities of the other three. Now I know why they didn’t rate a mention.

They are Julie Anderson, a Tacoma city councilwoman who works in Gov. Chris Gregoire’s administration as a senior policy advisor; Laurie Jinkins, community activist and another Gregoire senior administrator; and Lakewood Mayor Claudia Thomas. Pierce County Republicans have endorsed Thomas’ opponent, Lisa Ikeda, in the Nov. 6 general election. Ikeda is vice president of the 28th District Republican Club.

Here’s the House Republicans' press release.

Streetcar enthusiast Morgan Alexander would like to round up fellow believers to help rejuvenate Tacoma Streetcar at a meeting at 6 p.m. Sept. 26 at the Tacoma Public Library’s main branch downtown.

Alexander says the booster group has been largely dormant the last year because he and other streetcar fans were focused on helping a city feasibility study. City Manager Eric Anderson’s long-term downtown transportation vision includes streetcars. (News story).

Now, Alexander says, “We are refocusing on being more of a supportive organization (like a "friends of...") instead of a lobbying type organization. The goal is also to get as much participation as possible- the goal is to make this a true community effort.”

Abuses described in TNT story Sunday show that the state needs to tighten regulation of bounty hunters. (In a response on the letters page, state licensing director Liz Luce promises just that.)

Allowing aggressive private security outfits like Blackhawk to operate in Iraq with no accountability is unacceptable.

About our editorials:
If you have comments or questions about these topics, please email them to david.seago@thenewstribune.com. Editorials represent the consensus view of The News Tribune's editorial board.
Want to sit in on a daily ed board meeting? Email cheryl.tucker@thenewstribune.com to make an appointment.

We hear that state Rep. Dennis Flannigan, D-Tacoma, playing infield for the Pierce County Notables in a charity softball game at Cheney Stadium last night, took a line drive in the mouth.

According to my correspondent, a trip to the ER ensued, and oral surgery might be necessary. No other details immediately available.

Update: Participants say Flannigan was pitching when the accident occurred, and he may lose some teeth. Former county exec Joe Stortini's team brought out a safety net to protect the pitchers for the rest of the game.

Stortini's 70-and-over squad, a championship-caliber senior softball team named after his Joeseppi's restaurant, won handily. More importantly, passing the hat in the stands netted around $1,200, my good friend Pat Flynn reports. Her game summary:

Dan V. and C.R. (TNT business writers Dan Voelpel and C.R. Roberts) did a great job umpiring. C.R. got hit with a line drive to the leg and went down gracefully, but was OK. Doug MacArthur was the P.A. announcer and was fabulous and funny. He reminded us that he was the play-by-play guy in 1960 when the Tacoma Giants started. It really was a class act. Nice community evening. I'm glad I live in Tacoma.

King County Executive Ron Sims, once Mr. Sound Transit, reportedly won't be endorsing Proposition 1, the big highway-and-mass transit package on the regional ballot this November. (See Dave Seago's Tuesday posting below.)

"I'm neither going to support it nor oppose it," he told the Seattle Times on Tuesday.

What's going on here? Not so long ago, Sims was chairman – and champion – of Sound Transit. He is still a board member. He's been right at the heart of the planning for Proposition 1, which would expand highways but also extend light rail from downtown Seattle to Tacoma and other places.

Now it's "Never mind." Kind of like Abraham Lincoln saying, halfway through the Civil War, "Save the Union? Let Jeff Davis do his thing down there? Whatever."

This does make purely political sense, if you see Sims as a calculating cynic. King County is raucously divided between those who love highways and hate transit, and those who hate highways and love transit. Neither wants to see the other camp get a dime. Endorsing Proposition 1 could make both groups hate you.

One of the measure's chief opponents, Mark Baerwaldt, is praising Sims for his political courage. "As a former chair of Sound Transit, no doubt this was a difficult decision for him ..."

Yup. Taking no position on the most controversial issue on the ballot – that must have been a tough one, all right.

A feisty letter to the editor, like a good cup of coffee in the morning, is bracing. Here's one from a reader taking exception to our Tuesday editorial declaring Orting School Board candidate Gary Walkup unfit for the position.

You sanctimonious windbags. How dare you lecture the voters of Orting on how they may “redeem” themselves. We are not a bunch of backwoods hicks who do not know any better. In fact, the voters have a better understanding of the issue than The News Tribune or Gazette have.
The support for Gary Walkup for the Orting School Board is in reality the community’s angry and frustrated response to how the school district is managed. Right now, Joseph Stalin could run and probably would be elected to the post.
The voters of the Orting School District fully know the facts of what happened, and they recognize a smear job when they see it. They are also forgiving enough to give individuals a second chance.

Pretty snappy, all right, but we're not going to put in print. Not that it would hurt our feelings, but the letter is little more than name-calling and doesn't address the issues raised in the editorial.

The federal and state governments shouldn't be extending subsidized health insurance to families with comfortable incomes before children of lower incomes have been covered. The current program, SCHIP, hasn't come close to that goal.

What’s the Tacoma Port Commission afraid of? There’s no good reason for the commission not to televise its public meetings, or at least put them on the Web. The problem is that these commissioners just aren’t used to doing business with the public watching.

About our editorials:
If you have comments or questions about these topics, please email them to david.seago@thenewstribune.com. Editorials represent the consensus view of The News Tribune's editorial board.
Want to sit in on a daily ed board meeting? Email cheryl.tucker@thenewstribune.com to make an appointment.

The state chapter of Progressive Majority, seeking to boost the ranks of minority elected officials in Washington, is backing city council candidates in Tacoma and University Place.

Marilyn Strickland and Rose Ehart are among the beneficiaries of a “Racial Justice Campaign Candidate Fundraiser” scheduled Oct. 11 in Seattle. Strickland is a Tacoma City Council candidate; Ehart is running for the University Place City Council.

U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Bainbridge Island) and former Gov. Gary Locke are among the sponsors of the campaign. The fundraiser will be held at a private residence in Seattle.

Who should show up for an ed board with the Approve67 campaign but Tacoma's own state Rep. Steve Kirby?

We editorially chided the South Tacoma Democrat earlier this year on the issue of payday lending (He defends it, we want more restrictions). But Kirby has a thick hide (could have said "head" there, but I won't) and cheerfully led a presentation on behalf of Referendum 67.

That's the November ballot measure that would allow judges to assess treble damages if insurance companies are found to have unfairly denied claims. Insurers and business groups want voters to repeal the law, passed by the Legislature earlier this year.

Kirby and Sue Evans, a consultant who often represents the legal industry, brought along Laura and Tom Thiery, a Gig Harbor couple. The couple told a story (details here) of alleged mistreatment by an insurance company after their South Hill Dairy Queen flooded in a plumbing failure.

The couple sued but ended up accepting a settlement for much less than their actual losses, they said.

Kirby contended that many insurance companies routinely offer less than the full amount of claims, knowing that aggrieved customers will decide it's not worth their while to go to court. Posing the risk of treble damages would discourage insurers from routinely forcing customers to go to court to get fair compensation.

"This would level the playing field," Kirby insisted. As chair of the House Insurance, Financial Services and Consumer Protection Committee, Kirby played a lead role in passing the legislation.

We're scheduled to meet with the Reject67 campaign Oct. 2. We'll report their side, too.

Opponents of November's Roads & Transit ballot package pounced today when King County Executive Ron Sims said he would neither endorse nor oppose it.

A KING-TV blog item reported that Sims, a former board chairman of Sound Transit, declined to support the measure and would give no explanation.

That prompted Seattle businessman Mark Baerwaldt, who's personally bankrolling the NoToProp1 campaign, to make hay of it in a statement to the the media.

"We applaud Ron Sims leadership on this issue. As a former Chair of
Sound Transit, no doubt this was a difficult decision for him, and we
sincerely appreciate his publicly acknowledging his unwillingness to support
the Prop 1 package, and his telling it so straitforwardly to voters."

No word yet from the pro-R&T campaign.

The City of Tacoma's troubled Public Works Department will lose Bill Pugh, its director for 14 years, to retirement at the end of March, the city said today.

Pugh has also been serving as assistant city manager. The anouncement of his retirement follows the involuntary "separation" of assistant public works director Craig Sivley, who will retire Oct. 1.

Sivley was put on leave earlier this month after after a massive St.Helens-Broadway LID project disintegrated. The City Council, upset about perceived mismanagement of the project, rejected the LID on an 8-0 vote.

Pugh has been a city employee 33 years.

Cases of teachers involved in sexual conduct – one in Tacoma, another in Federal Way – demonstrate how important it is for school officials to err on the side of student welfare when dealing with such cases. Of particular concern is new information, reported in the TNT Sunday, that shows Tacoma School District officials knew earlier than they had previously indicated about misconduct issues that should have warned them away from hiring Jennifer Rice, a teacher now charged with child rape.

The state Department of Labor and Industries must surely have more important and useful things to do than trying to upend the traditional system of caddying at golf courses. An inspector’s finding that caddies at Pierce County’s new Chambers Bay Golf Course are employees, not independent contractors, is ludicrous.

About our editorials:
If you have comments or questions about these topics, please email them to david.seago@thenewstribune.com. Editorials represent the consensus view of The News Tribune's editorial board.
Want to sit in on a daily ed board meeting? Email cheryl.tucker@thenewstribune.com to make an appointment.

The latest performance audit completed by the state auditor is out today, this one focusing on the state's nine educational service districts.

The audit summary indicates the districts are generally performing well, but auditors found $9.4 million in potential cost savings and $5.4 million in potential new revenue the districts could gain.

One example: Districts are failing to take advantage of a federal telecommunications tax rebate that could provide $10.5 million in revenue over five years.

The ESDs are regional organizations that provide services to local school districts. The report also recommended that lawmakers eliminate the ESDs' role in deciding boundary disputes among local districts.

Ah, nothing like a difference of opinion. PLU English Professor Charles Bergman's Sunday Insight article calling on the Makah Tribe to give up whaling didn't sit well with another PLU faculty member.

Coming soon is a rebuttal from PLU Professor David Huelsbeck, who contacted us Monday and asked to respond. He says:

I am an anthropology professor and have worked with the Makah Tribe for 30 years. I regularly take PLU students to Neah Bay in January for 2 weeks as part of a course on Makah Culture.

Many of my students begin the course believing that whale hunting is not good.
They finish the course understanding the importance of the whale in Makah Culture.

I sent a letter to the editor because I believed Bergman's culturally "tone-deaf" piece in yesterday's paper required an immediate response. But 250 words is not nearly enough to try to explain all the misconceptions surrounding this issue.

Pierce County Auditor Pat McCarthy and former county Executive Joe Stortini (pictured) are leading rival softball teams in a charity softball game Wednesday at Cheney Stadium.

The game, a benefit for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life of Tacoma, starts at 6 p.m. Admission is free, but donations wil be accepted.

Stortini will field the champion 70-and-Over team sponsored by his Tacoma restaurant, Joeseppi's. McCarthy's team is called The Notables. Dan Voelpel, a business columnist for The News Tribune, and C.R. Roberts, a business reporter, will umpire. Former sportscaster and UPS athletic director Doug McArthur will serve as game announcer.

According to McCarthy:

The Notables, composed of local and state elected officials, will wear black and white jerseys and caps provided by sponsor Comcast.
The roster also includes:
- Ken Blair, Bethel School Board
- Hans Hechtman, Fircrest City Council
- Gerry Horne, Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney
- Jim Kastama, Washington State Senate (25th District)
- Terry Lee, Pierce County Council (Chair)
- John McCarthy, Pierce County Superior Court
- Helen McGovern, Lakewood City Council
- Paul Pastor, Pierce County Sheriiff
- Doug Sutherland, State Public Lands Commissioner
- Rick Talbert, Tacoma City Council
- Michael Transue, Ruston City Council (Mayor)
- Mike Weiman, Fircrest City Council
– Sherm Voiles, Sumner School Board
– Dennis Flannigan, state represenative, 27th District.

State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler isn’t merely endorsing Referendum 67, a November ballot issue hotly opposed by insurance companies. He’s wading into the fight.

Kriedler strongly backed the measure today in a mass email sent by the Approve67 campaign. Excerpts:

--Every year, my office receives thousands of complaints from auto owners, homeowners, property owners, and small business owners about delays and denials of legitimate insurance claims. That's unacceptable -- and that's why I'm urging all Washington voters to Approve Referendum 67.

--Unfortunately, the insurance industry is threatening to spend nearly $8 million to try to defeat Referendum 67 with a campaign of misinformation.  So let me help set the record straight:
Auto and homeowner insurance premiums will not go up because of Referendum 67.  The fact is that if insurance companies treat their own policyholders the way they are required to be treated by law, insurance rates won't change.  The only insurance companies with something to fear are those who make a practice of acting in bad faith with their own customers.

I'm not surprised that Kreidler, a Democrat who's expected to seek a third term as insurance commissioner next year, would join the traditional Democratic groups – labor, trial lawyers, consumer advocates – backing Referendum 67. I am a little surprised that the state's top insurance regulator would throw himself so vigorously into the campaign.

Referendum 67 would retain a new state law, passed by the Legislature this year, that allows judges to assess triple damages if they find an insurer wrongly denied payment of a claim. Currently, policyholders can sue insurers for denying claims but they can't seek additional damages.

Defeating the referendum would repeal the law, strongly opposed by insurance companies and business groups. Naturally, trial lawyers and insurers are at each other's throats over this one. Arguments from the opponents here.

Click on Read More for full text of Kreidler's message.

=> Read more!

Organizers of next summer's Tall Ships event in Tacoma hope to persuade the City Council to sign on as an "admiral-level" sponsor. In which case the event would be called "State Farm Presents: The City of Tacoma Tall Ships Festival."

City Manager Eric Anderson told council members in a memo today that Tall Ships organizers will address the council at a study session after city staff has had a chance to study financial details of the event.

Our editorial today on a secret-meetings lawsuit against the Shoreline City Council was a step behind the news. We'll have another editorial Tuesday noting that the lawsuit was settled Friday.

An attorney for the plaintiffs, Greg Overstreet, emailed me word of the settlement on Saturday, but I didn't see the message until I returned to the office Monday. Overstreet, by the way, was state Attorney General Rob McKenna's open-records ombudsman until he went out on his own this year; his partner is Michele Earl-Hubbard, another specialist in open-records and open-meetings law.

This morning's editorial prompted a question from a mole inside one of Pierce County's local governments:

Curious that you had to go all the way to Shoreline for your content. It appears you used the editorial to "warn" a local public organization or two about private meetings. Am I accurate? If so, mind telling whom?

My reply:

You know who you are.

Actually, it was a meant as a general finger-wag. The port commission got dinged (by us) last year for holding scheduled two-by-two meetings with the director for briefings so the sessions wouldn't have to be public meetings. This year the Tacoma School Board got crossed up in some of its deliberations.

Mainly, we used the Shoreline case because 1) It was egregious, and 2, they got caught.

Credit-grabbing press releases from poiticians are nothing new, but some are really a stretch. The latest from U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert's begins thusly:

Reichert Introduces Legislation to Prevent Looming Government Shutdown
Bill Would Save Critical Government Services from Stoppage

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Dave Reichert (WA-08) announced today his introduction of legislation to keep the government open while Congress debates federal spending priorities.

Reichert’s bill, the Preventing Government Shutdown Act, H.R.3508, enables essential government services to continue should Congress and the President fail to reach agreement on the 13 annual federal spending bills or a continuing resolution to keep the government funded . . .

We can all sleep well tonight. For the record, Reichert, R-Auburn, is in his second term, and the next congressional election is only 14 months away. 
 

Historic Tacoma will host three free lectures this fall on Tacoma's historic churches and the challenges they face in an era of declining revenue and attendance.

Tuesday, September 25, 7 pm
Tacoma’s Historic Churches: Architectural styles, history, and their contributions to the development of Tacoma and its neighborhoods. Speaker: Gerald Eysaman, AIA. Location: Center for Spiritual Living, 206 N. J Street

Tuesday, Oct. 30, 7 pm
Historic Building Stewardship: The challenges, realities and opportunities. Panelists: Gary Knudson, AIA, and Gene Grulich, AIA. Location: First Congregational Church, 209 S. J Street.

Tuesday, Nov. 27, 7 pm
The Religious Iconography of Tacoma’s Churches: A lecture and building tour. Speaker: Caroline Swope, architectural historian. Location: First Presbyterian Church (pictured), 20 S. Tacoma Ave. S.

For more information, contact Sharon Winters at swinters@nventure.com

The Pierce County Democratic Central Committee released its endorsements for November's elections today. The most interesting choice is the one it didn't make in a high-profile Tacoma Port Commission race.

Although the party endorsed incumbent Clare Petrich for Port Commission Position 5, it made no choice in the Position 3 race between Simpson Tacoma Kraft general manager Don Johnson and engineer Bill Casper.

I asked the D's county chair, Nathe Lawver, to explain:

Being a partisan organization, we look at a number of different aspects when reviewing a candidate, and try to select the one who best represents Democratic values.  The central committee did not think either matched up with enough of our values for a complete endorsement.

All of the races the ballot this year are non-partisan. Here's the Democratic endorsement list:

Metro Parks, Tacoma Position 2: Tim Reid
Tacoma School Board Position 1: Debbie Winskill
Puyallup School Board: Cindy Poysnick
Port of Tacoma Position 3: No endorsement; Position 5: Claire Petrich
Tacoma City Council Position 1: Harold Moss
Position 3: Lauren Walker
Position 7: Julie Anderson
Position 8: Marilyn Strickland
University Place City Council Position 6: Rose Ehart; Position 7: Jean Brooks
Fircrest City Council Position 3: David Stemp

Issues:
Yes on Referendum 67
No on Initiative 960
Yes on 4204 (Simple majority for school levies)
Yes on both Roads & Transit measures

I don't dare take on Jim Johnson – one of the smartest justices on the state Supreme Court – over his reading of campaign finance law. But I will dare to pick a nit.

Johnson and his libertarian colleague, Richard Sanders, disagreed with the majority ruling Thursday that several attack ads in 2004 amounted to campaign hits subject to finance disclosure. For the majority and minority opinions, open case numbers 77724-1 here.

Johnson, citing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, said that state Public Disclosure Commission had been given too much leeway to "subjectively" consider the context and timing of an ad when deciding whether its sponsors were political operatives.

The ads in question excoriated Deborah Senn – a candidate for attorney general – for a deal she made with an insurance company she had fined when she was insurance commissioner.

"Who is Deborah Senn looking out for?" the ads asked. "Deborah Senn let us down."

But timing and context would seem to be slightly relevant here: Senn was no longer insurance commissioner at the time – and the hits aired just before the primary election for attorney general. There's no way they weren't part of the campaign against her.

I'm not saying Johnson's wrong on the law. But if he's correctly citing the U.S. court decision, then that decision is wrong. Timing and context are anything but irrelevant to an ad's purpose – as was crystal clear in this case.

Here is our editorial on the subject.

Walkers using the popular three-mile trail at the new Chambers Bay Golf Course in University Place have noticed bulldozers at work, leveling and shaping large expanses of dirt north and south of the course.

Click here to see drawings showing what the North Meadow and South Meadow are supposed to look like when they’re ready for the public late next summer. The parking lots and a new restroom may open sooner, Pierce County senior planner Anne-marie Marshall-Dody says.

The 11-acre lawn in the South Meadow is for large public events and, the county hopes, will serve as a staging area for future pro golf tournaments. Notice that a loop around the South Meadow will extend the Soundview Trail.

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray is taking credit for spreading another $50 million in “job-creating defense contracts” around her home state in a new appropriations measure headed for the Senate floor.

None of that would make its way to Pierce County, however. A Kent company would get $2 million for Navy small-boat lifts. Outdoor Research in Seattle would get $2 million for advance cold weather battlefield gloves. A Port Orchard firm would get $6 million to build small, fast river boats for the Navy. And so on.

But no defense contracts for Pierce County. Maybe the fact that we’ve got Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base is supposed to keep us happy. But don't we make anything besides soldiers around here?

Saturday:

The 10th anniversary of Tacoma’s Grand Cinema reminds us how much the non-profit art-house theater has added to Pierce County’s cultural scene. It was the Grand that brought such independent hits as “O Brother Where Art Thou”, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” and “Sideways” to South Sound filmgoers.

Sunday:

We hail the state Supreme Court ruling declaring that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce violated state campaign disclosure laws when it refused to disclose the donors behind a $1.5 million ad drive in the 2004 attorney general’s race. Voters should know who funds such political activities.

We like a plan to provide community colleges with financial incentives to improve student achievement. Plan said to be first of its kind in the nation.

Monday:

A lawsuit against the Shoreline City Council is one of the worst abuses of the state’s open meetings law we’ve ever seen. Four council members privately contrived to fire the city manager and name his replacement, cutting the three other members out of the loop. Worse yet, city taxpayers are paying more than $340,000 for their legal defense.

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell is visiting the University of Washington Tacoma Sunday to tout Democratic efforts to expand college student aid.

The 2:30 p.m. meeting is unlikely to attract much, if any, press coverage. Even on a slow news day, this isn’t news. But UWT Chancellor Pat Spakes, Pierce College Chancellor Michelle Johnson and TCC Vice President Tim Stokes are among the scheduled participants.

According to Cantwell’s announcement:

The Senate recently passed the College Cost Reduction Act which provides the most significant increase in student financial aid since the G.I. Bill.  The bill addresses the rising cost of college debt by cutting interest rates, capping monthly loan payments, and offering loan forgiveness to those in public service careers. 

Congressional Republicans oppose the bill, and the White House threatens a veto. They contend the bill shifts aid away from the neediest low-income students.

The event will be in the student center in UWT’s Mattress Factory Building.

Pierce County Councilman Terry Lee, R-Gig Harbor, has dropped out of the 2008 race for county executive. He'll run for assessor-treasurer instead.

From this morning's email announcement:

Lee, a longtime public servant in land use and an outspoken advocate for private property rights, feels the Assessors's office is a good fit
as he looks to continue to serve the citizens of Pierce County.

We comment on the president’s speech at 6 p.m.: It appears Bush will announce a token troop reduction and otherwise stay the course with current U.S. strategy in Iraq. The president is still hoping for “success” in Iraq, but there is little hope that another year of “surge” will bring Iraq closer to political reconciliation. As much as some Democrats want to force the beginning of a large-scale withdrawal,
it’s obvious that it will be up to the next president to figure out Plan B.

News stories on the death of Alex, the celebrated and responsive 31-year-old African parrot that had an almost-human relationship with its master, ought to give pause to Pierce County Council members who won’t extend to to exotic birds the same protections the law gives dogs and cats.

About our editorials:
If you have comments or questions about these topics, please email them to david.seago@thenewstribune.com. Editorials represent the consensus view of The News Tribune's editorial board.
Want to sit in on a daily ed board meeting? Email cheryl.tucker@thenewstribune.com to make an appointment.

City workers in Tacoma are installing 10 "high-tech" street signs that will admonish drivers who exceed the speed limit. How cool is that?

The city just announced it has bought 14 " Vehicle Activated Traffic Calming Signs." Tacoma is only the second U.S. city to adopt them. The first 10 will be up by the end of the month. According to the city:

The high-tech signs are predominately black, but when a vehicle approaches at a speed higher than the posted speed limit, the sign comes to life in bright LED text. The text reflects the posted speed and flashes beacons, which instruct the driver to ‘slow down’. Unlike signs currently being used in neighboring jurisdictions, these signs do not reflect the speed of the vehicle. The new signs are meant to serve as a prompt for drivers to be mindful of the law and watch their speedometer.

The signs can also record traffic behavior, including speed, volume and average speed. The city can use the data to tell whether the signs are having an impact in slowing speeders.

If that doesn't work, maybe the signs should be redesigned to shoot out tires.

Update: City traffic engineer Spencer Beier says the installed cost of the signs will be about $6,500 apiece. Locations for the first 10:

South Tacoma: 56th/Fife
South Tacoma: 35th/Tyler
South Tacoma: 74th/Verde
South Tacoma: 74th/Fife
West End: Vassault
West End: Narrows
West End: 12th St
West End: 6th Ave
Eastside: Portland Ave: (2)

What's wrong with the sentence?

The U.S. business of chemistry, which relies on natural gas as a vital raw material and which employs 5,215 people in Washington, is meeting with Senator Cantwell on Capitol Hill this month to ask him to:

This is from a message sent today by a PR firm on behalf of the American Chemistry Council. The council wants us to urge Washington's U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell to vote for legislation aimed at expanding natural gas supply in the U.S.

One of those (Your senator's name here) form letters. Sloppy work.

One of the arguments against building a new Narrows bridge was that it wouldn't do much. The reason: There are four lanes on the old bridge. The new bridge would have three, including an HOV lane. When the new bridge opened, the old bridge would be reduced to three lanes, one restricted to transit and car pools.

So the net gain – for $850 million – would only be an HOV lane in each direction. And traffic in the regular lanes will still remain horribly congested.

It hasn't turned out that way. A delegation from the state Department of Transportation – including acting director Paula Hammond and regional administrator Kevin Dayton – came in Wednesday with the traffic report.

Eastbound on the new bridge, according to a DOT study, the cars are now flowing nearly as fast in the middle of the morning rush hour as they are at midnight – right around 60 mph. No similar study has been done on the afternoon westbound rush hour, but it sure looks like it's moving smoothly, too.

=> Read more!

Prominently labeled "Complimentary Gift," the plain cardboard package that landed on my desk today felt like a box of bricks. Ye gods, the shipping charges, I thought; this must be a 15-pounder.

It turned out to be one of the strangest things I've ever found in my office mail.

My guess about the weight was a little off. The contents, a beautifully illustrated, 800-page book called "Atlas of Creation," actually weighed 12 lbs. Somebody has the means to ship a monster tome like this to newspapers around the U.S.

That somebody is a fellow named Adnan Yahya, of Istanbul, who must be the Muslim world's leading creationist. He somehow has the resources to publish and widely distribute the giant "Atlas" to demonstrate – scientifically of course, with hundreds of gorgeous fossil photos – that evolution is a fraud.

A little Googling will get you the author's Wikipedia entry and lots of entries in Turkish. You can visit this site to order his books, including the "Harun Yahya Big Set" (50 books and 60 DVDs) for only $599, marked down from $998.

But watch the shipping charges.

Storm Reyes, an insightful Native American who has written many things for us, didn't like our suggestion the Makah Nation might prove less than eager to bring to justice the five Makahs who killed a grey whale last Saturday.

In a letter published today, she called our Tuesday editorial "rude and inexcusable" and said the illegal hunt "does not reflect the actions of the entire tribe."

Probably a lot of Northwest Indians would take similar umbrage over any implication that a tribe can be blamed for the actions of a few scofflaws.

"Blame" is too strong a word, of course. But it's hard to believe that, in that tiny tribe of 1,000 members, no one else knew what the five whalers were up to before last Saturday. Try to get away with something that audacious in any town of 1,000 – especially one packed with close relatives. People do talk.

Plus, the leader of Saturday's venture was a bit of a Makah celebrity. He was the leader of the celebrated 1999 hunt that legally took a grey whale. He's a member of the tribe's whaling commission. Two of the other four rogue whalers were also part of that 1999 hunt. No one's going to notice these guys when when they start assembling harpoons?

Reyes is absolutely right: The tribe itself wasn't responsible for Saturday's hunt. But it's a good bet that someone out there could have stopped it.

It's a political artifact, is what it is. A homeowner in Tacoma's North End has this sign on his front lawn.

It's a perfectly good sign, but Jack Fabulich isn't running for port commissioner any more. Fabulich, is finally hanging it up this year after serving on the port commission for 30 years. Got tired of paying the filing fee, I guess.

I twitted Fabulich about the sign at a recent community event and asked if he knew who put it up. "Aw, that's just some old Yugoslav," he said.

This happens all the time. With my colleagues, I read our daily page proofs late in the afternoon to check for bad headlines and typos (I know, we don't always find them all). Then I find myself looking up and asking something like, "Who is Nancy Grace?"

I really don't have a clue, but there she is, mentioned by Dave Barry in the excerpts of his online column we run every Wednesday. My colleague Cheryl Tucker rolls her eyes. I've done it again: I've demonstrated why every editorial page staff needs a designated TV watcher and pop culture expert.

Shuddering with distaste, Cheryl informs me that Nancy Grace is "that awful, horrible woman on CNN" known for her nasty interviewing style – a sort of female pit bull, I gather.

I only watch old movies, the Seahawks and the Huskies. I never got the channel-surfing gene. The other day at proof time, I asked who Glenn Beck is. Today, Cheryl had to tell me who Suze Orman is. They inhabit a TV universe I never see.

That's why Cheryl writes our editorials on topics like Sanjaya or the end of "Friends." Part of the culture, to be sure, but I'm out of the loop. But if you dig county land-use planning and solid waste disposal policies, I'm your man.

Despite critics who had begun rebutting him in advance without knowing what he would say, Gen. Petraeus on Monday provided the Congress provided a credible, honest picture of “inconsistent progress” in Iraq. But that’s only the military side of the equation. The war will only be ended politically, and there’s not the least sign yet that Iraqi leaders are using Petraeus’ military strategy to end the bloodshed.

We’ll round out the column with excerpts of editorial opinions on the Petraeus-Crocker testimony from other newspapers around the nation.

About our editorials:
If you have comments or questions about these topics, please email them to david.seago@thenewstribune.com. Editorials represent the consensus view of The News Tribune's editorial board.
Want to sit in on a daily ed board meeting? Email cheryl.tucker@thenewstribune.com to make an appointment.

George Will is the most widely syndicated newspaper opinion columnist in America, and most newspaper editorial pages run more conservative columnists than liberal ones. Does that mean the notion of "the liberal media" is a myth?

Media Matters thinks so. A liberal media watchdog group that focuses on "conservative misinformation' in the U.S. press, media matters claims that 60 percent of newspapers print more conservative columnists than liberal ones. Twenty percent print more liberal columnists, and 20 percent are balanced. (News story here.)

We dropped George Will last year and replaced him with conservative columnist Kathleen Parker, mainly because we felt Parker's writing style was more accessible. Will is undeniably brilliant, but too often he sounds like an Oxford don. (in fact, he does hold a degree from Oxford).

Our columnist breakdown:
Conservatives: Kathleen Parker, Charles Krauthammer, Jonah Goldberg, David Brooks and occasionally Morton Kondracke.
Liberals: Ellen Goodman, Paul Krugman, Maureen Dowd, Leonard Pitts, Eugene Robinson and occasionally Bob Herbert.
Middle of the road: Tom Friedman, David Broder.

Yes, I know: A survey of columnists on editorial pages doesn't prove anything about supposed bias in news coverage or editorial opinions among the big national newspapers that most often draw fire from the right.

Paul D. Eaton (pictured), a retired Army general who now lives in Gig Harbor, is back in the public eye again.

Eaton has been a vocal critic of the administration's handling of the war in Iraq. In addition to writing oped pieces (here's one) for The New York Times, he's made a number of speaking appearances around the country.

Today the Times published questions six experts on the war would ask Gen. David H. Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker if they had the opportunity to question them before Congress. Here's what Eaton said he would ask:

1. Gen. Petraeus, why have the White House and State Department failed you by neglecting a diplomatic and economic surge to complement the military one?
2. Based on the counterinsurgency calculus in the new Army manual you helped write, you don’t have sufficient manpower in Iraq, even with the surge. Why has the administration not given you enough troops?
3. Americans are well aware of the shortages of materiel, from rifle scopes to armored Humvees, our troops have suffered from. Why, for example, have you not been given a sufficient number of the effective mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles called “MRAPs”?

— Paul D. Eaton, a retired Army major general who was in charge of training the Iraqi military from 2003 to 2004.

I asked Tacoma Public Utilities today for an update on the search for a director to succeed Mark Crisson, who's leaving for a new job in the other Washington. Utility Board President Bob Casey responded.

We advertised nationally for this position and also engaged Carl Mycoff, who has a utility industry executive search firm, to contact potential candidates. Our application deadline closed on August 24th. We had a total of 27 applicants, five of whom are current city employees. This is a high profile position within the utility industry, and we had an excellent pool of candidates.
The Board reviewed all resumes, and also sought input from Mr. Mycoff and Mark Crisson regarding the qualifications of candidates. The Board narrowed that group of 27 down to 5 people to interview, two of whom are city employees. We conducted interviews last Tuesday and Wednesday. After the interviews, the Board further reduced the list to 3 candidates, and we are currently conducting reference checks on those three. Since all of the candidates are currently employed, at this point we are not releasing names of the candidates.
We hope to finalize a decision by September 26th, and a final decision will be made at a public session of the Utility Board.

The Heritage Foundation, the richest and most prolific conservative think tank,
has a new feature on its website for the right-minded.

It's called "A la Chart," a graphical representation of some issue of concern to Heritage thinkers. The current one portrays the national debt, which will hit a record $9 trillion on Sept. 19.

You don't have to be conservative to blanch at the level of debt we're passing on to future generations. Today's chart points out that $9 trillion is enough to buy three new cars for every U.S. household at last year's average price of $27,800.

It's Sept. 10, and the Christmas shop is going up in Tacoma Mall outside Macy's. I was fleeing the scene so fast I didn't check to see when it was officially opening.
UPDATE: On yet another errand to the mall, I learned that the Christmas shop opens tomorrow (Friday) – a full nine days before the end of summer.

Consider yourself warned. Only 105 shopping days left.

There really ought to be a law about this: No Christmas stuff out until at least the end of summer. I'd be happy to have it named Tucker's Grinch Law.

Don't get me wrong; I get into the holiday spirit in a big way – in December. I even take a week off just to do all my baking, decorating and wrapping. But crikey, it's 80 degrees outside! Too early for Christmas stuff, even at the Tacoma Mall.

Backers of an $18 billion Roads & Transit measure on the November ballot are crying foul over opposition campaign ads that hit the airwaves last week.

The Yes on Roads and Transit campaign sent letters to KIRO Radio and Fisher Communications complaining the ads are so misleading they should be pulled off the air. Such ads, deputy campaign manager Jon Scholes said, “represent the worst in American politics.”

Complaint highlights:

1. The ads say Proposition 1 will cost $157 billion over 50 years; they also say the taxes “actually will last forever.”
Backers say the Sound Transit portion will cost $10.8 billion; with interest and other costs, it would total $38 billion over 20 years. The roads portion would cost about $7 billion in 2006 dollars; with debt, the total would be $14.17 billion, to be paid off no later than 2037. Backers say opponents are including Sound Transit taxes voters approved in 1996 in their figures.

2. Ads say the average household would pay almost $2,000 a year in taxes if the measure passes. Backers say it would cost $230 a year.

3. Ads say Proposition 1 would double the local sales tax. Backers say it would increase the sales tax by .006. To double it would require rising the sales tax by .020.

The Seattle Times reports that the ads were placed by a group called NoToProp1.Org, funded entirely so far by Mark Baerwalt of Seattle, a longtime Sound Transit foe.

Loved this beautifully succinct letter to the editor in The New York Times today about the presidential primaries:

To the editor:
In this digital age, why not solve the problem with ones and zeros?
1 person
1 vote
0 TV ads
0 private money
1 date for the primary
1 general election
1 winner by public vote
Dona Hooper Lessin
New York, Sept. 3, 2007

Instant editorial: Geez, is there any good reason two sparsely populated, mostly white states, Iowa and New Hampshire, with South Carolina and Nevada thrown in for some token "diversity," should have such a disproportionate influence on America's choice of presidents?
There has to be a better way. We in Washington have just about zero say in matter. Ain't democracy great?

A resident of Tacoma's Proctor District questions why a church is allowed to use Mason Middle School for its Sunday services. It seems to violate the separation of church and state, she said in an email she also sent to the Tacoma School Board.

Here's my reply:

Hello, reader,
I may be able to get you a more complete answer on Monday, but I can tell you that court decisions have firmly established that religious groups have the same right as any other private groups to rent public facilities for meetings. The Tacoma Dome is rented by the Jehovah’s Witnesses for several days each summer; it’s one of the biggest events the Dome hosts all year. The Dome exhibition hall is sometimes used for prayer breakfasts. And a number of other schools in Tacoma and other Pierce County communities hold their services in public schools; they have to pay rent for use of the space.

In fact, there is a trend among “new churches” these days to rent space and exist and work as living congregations rather than using time and resources to build a permanent church building. It’s a different approach to the church experience. I know of one congregation that meets in the auditorium at the Washington History Museum on Sundays.
Your question was a good one, but there's nothing nefarious going on here. I’d be surprised if Mr. Dugan said anything differently.
Regards,
Dave Seago, TNT

Update: Here's a summary of 1993 U.S. Supreme Court decision on the right of religious groups to use public schools after hours if other community groups have the same privilege.

--

Should we publish anti-gay letters to the editor? It's sometimes a tough call, especially when they concern issues of public policy such as gay marriage or anti-discrimination ordinances – or prominent figures like U.S. Sen. Larry Craig.

If some readers believe homosexuality is immoral, or that gay marriage is wrong for religious reasons, we generally believe they have a right to say so in their letters, provided they keep a civil tone, present a reasoned argument, and connect their comments to current events.

But when letters reflect outright homophobia, calling homosexuality a "sickness" or a "disease," we draw the line. A reader reacted strongly to a letter in the TNT last week that urged compassion for Sen. Craig. Here's part of what he wrote:

Many today fawn over homosexuals as noble victims or cultural heroes, rejecting what seriously taken scientific evidence has reveled concerning homosexuality.
But people of conscience know homosexuality is not an inborn characteristic like skin color and that homosexuals are not powerless to help themselves. By mainstreaming homosexuality, denying the truth concerning homosexuality and downplaying the dangerous, indisputable risky and deadly consequences associated with homosexual behavior, we as a country are betraying those who hope to overcome their homosexual addiction.
A caring society would rally around the highly successful "homosexual reparative therapy" programs . . .

Ultimately, I decided against running the letter. It wasn't really about Larry Craig.

Pierce County Republican Party Chairman Deryl McCarty reports these endorsements for local races in November:

Port of Tacoma Commissioner Position #3:
Don Johnson endorsed.

City Council Positions:
Tacoma at Large Position 8, Marty Campbell preferred
Orting City Council Ron Emmons endorsed.
Lakewood City Council:
Walter Neary endorsed.
Lisa Ikeda endorsed.
Don Anderson endorsed.
Bruce Banfield endorsed.

Lakewood Fire Commission Darrell Shiley endorsed.

School Board Positions:
Puyallup : Larry Carney preferred.

I 960 endorsed.

The Pierce County Dems are set to settle their endorsements Thursday.

We get some over-the-top letters to the editor. Here's one, comparing initiative meister Tim Eyman and religious revolutionary Martin Luther (the one on the left).

Apparently, the "powers that be" seeking to crush Eyman have little sway over the state Supreme Court, which on Friday unanimously ruled that his latest anti-tax initiative should be on the November ballot.

Here's the letter:

Every time Tim Eyman comes up with a measure to save folks money, the powers that be scramble to crush him, using the constitution to do it. It's predictable and all too familiar.

For instance, when Martin Luther realized officials of the Catholic Church were extorting money from the populace by charging to reserve a seat in purgatory, as Eyman realized the city was extorting money by charging exorbitant fees for car tabs to fund pet projects and salaries not related to road maintenance, the Church, like the government, set out to discredit Luther by defaming his character and calling him a blasphemer in the name of God.

=> Read more!

Washington’s U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee has become a leading champion of polar bears endangered by global warming.

Inslee issued a statement calling them “the canary in the coal mine” today after new scientific studies (news article) said polar bears are more imperiled than previously thought.

The new reports say Arctic ice is melting faster than earlier predictions, and 40 percent of the summer ice could disappear by 2050. Some scientists think the summer ice could disappear completely as soon as 2030.

Inslee is leading an effort to have the polar bear listed under the Endangered Species Act (Inslee letter here).

The sad part is that even if greenhouse gas emissions were drastically curbed now, the polar bears will still be threatened.

But the forecasts for the bear over the next 50 years could play out, regardless of emission regulations, scientists said today.

"The reality is at least in the short term, the energy that is in the system will stay in the system," USGS director Mark Myers said. "Certainly within that 45-year period we're looking at a continuation no matter what we do with greenhouse gases."

We were startled today to get a request for an editorial board meeting with Darcy Burner, the Democratic challenger itching for a rematch next year with Eighth District U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert.

It's way too early, we told Burner's eager scheduler. Call us next year.

It's not hard to see why Burner's camp is pumped up. This week her only primary rival, state Sen. Rodney Tom, bowed out after seeing the flood of cash that an online fundraising blitz brought in for Burner. Burner says she's already raised $400,000 for her campaign.

Reichert is still standing by the president's war policy, which nearly did him in last year and will make him even more vulnerable in 2008. Reichert won last year with 51.5 percent of the vote.

Apparently our blogging software is having "issues." That's why readers may be having trouble posting comments, and why some previously posted comments have disappeared. The techies are working on it.
--Dave Seago

The folks who are organizing the 2008 Tall Ships festival coming to Tacoma for the Fourth of July told us in an editorial board this morning that they've just received word that the Coast Guard training barque, Eagle, will attend.

The Eagle is a three-masted sailing barque with 21,350 square feet of sail. It's home port is the Coast Guard Academy at New London, Conn. It is the only active commissioned sailing vessel in the U.S. maritime services. Her surviving sister ships include the Mircea of Romania, Sagres II of Portugal, Gorch Fock of Germany and Tovarich of Russia.

Eagle was built in 1936 by the Blohm & Voss Shipyard, Hamburg, Germany, as a training vessel for German Navy cadets. Eagle is a seagoing classroom for 175 cadets and instructors from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

In other updates on Tall Ships 2008, organizers told us they have:

- Seven confirmed ships, with "handshake agreements" on another 22.
- Four "gun-battle" ships that will stage cannon fights on the water, a popular feature from Tall Ships 2005.
- Plans for education programs at the festival for children 12 and under, after-school programs in area schools leading up to the event and a "Youth on Board" program that will allow 50 young people to board four vessels in Victoria, B.C., and help sail them to Tacoma for the festival.
- Plans for four "villages" at the event, three on the waterfront and one downtown. Each village will have its own entertainment stage, food booths, educational programs and visitor services. A shuttle will run between the villages.

The group has 400 volunteers already, but needs 2,000 to pull off the event. To volunteer, call 253-284-3263 or e-mail organizers at info@tallshipstacoma.com or click here.

Saturday:
Our headline on Evan McCord’s death described him as a politician. That was all wrong. McCord was not about running for office; he was a citizen leader who played a key role in transforming and cleaning up Pierce County government in the wake of the scandal involving convicted sheriff George Janovich.

Sunday:
We’re mighty glad the German police were on the job and able to block the plotters planning massive terror attacks on American targets in Europe. As the anniversay of 9-11 approaches, we’re sadly reminded that the terrorist threat seems scarcely diminished since then.

We wondered why the state Supreme Court bothered to hear an appeal from opponents trying to keep Tim Eyman’s latest initiative off the ballot. The court’s unanimous ruling against Eyman’s foes suggests the justices simply want to set a ringing precedent that will head off any further attempts to get the courts to intervene against ballot measures before the people have spoken.

Monday:

We hail the efforts of a developer who is working with Hilltop neighbors to bring new businesses and life to one of the neighborhood’s most troubled locations.

About our editorials:
If you have comments or questions about these topics, please email them to david.seago@thenewstribune.com. Editorials represent the consensus view of The News Tribune's editorial board.
Want to sit in on a daily ed board meeting? Email cheryl.tucker@thenewstribune.com to make an appointment.

Two Tacoma city officials lost their jobs this week, apparently for their roles in two recent city management debacles.

Assistant public works director Craig Sivley was on the hot seat after the St. Helens/Broadway LID was rejected 8-0 by an unhappy City Council last week. Although a majority supported the LID, council members were upset by changing reports on costs and voting results on the LID.

Assistant city attorney Cheryl Carlson was let go in connection with the procedural errors that forced the city to drop its appeal of a hearing examiner's decision on the proposed Northshore residential development in Northeast Tacoma.

Here is Tacoma City Manager Eric Anderson's memo today to the City Council:

Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council,

This is to inform you that Cheryl Carlson’s employment with the City was terminated as of yesterday. She had resigned effective later this month. She was not given the option to exercise that resignation, but was terminated.

Also, Craig Sivley will be separated from City service as of the end of this month. Until that time he is on administrative leave and will not be in the office.

I will be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Tacoma City Manager Eric Anderson

We’re glad to see Pierce County and the state working together, for a change, on a smooth transition of the county mental health system to state control. The state’s commitment to keeping the crisis triage center open through mid-2009 is especially important.

The soldiers of 3rd Stryker Brigade are finally coming home, having endured an especially tough tour that was unexpectedly extended three extra months. The 15-month combat tour was the hardest yet faced by any Fort Lewis unit. They paid a high price in casualties, but they served well. They and their families deserve the best.

About our editorials:
If you have comments or questions about these topics, please email them to david.seago@thenewstribune.com. Editorials represent the consensus view of The News Tribune's editorial board.
Want to sit in on a daily ed board meeting? Email cheryl.tucker@thenewstribune.com to make an appointment.

Here's a shocker: Research just published in the Journal of Epidemiology has concluded that rock musicians are more likely to die a premature death than teachers, nurses and mortgage brokers.

Hard to believe that the likes of Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Keith Moon, Elvis Presley, Janis Joplin and Kurt Cobain have shorter-than-average lifespans than average people. But so claims the study.

Rock journalist John Aizlewood says it's because "being creative requires living on the edge in a way that being in insurance doesn't."

Being creative brings early death? Pablo Picasso was creative. Michelangelo was creative. They both lived into their dotage. Over-the-top self-indulgence seems the real problem.

The injustice here is that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards (pictured) – who pioneered the frenzied, self-destructive rock star style – are still alive. Though with Keith Richards, we're not sure how anyone could tell.

Does a bear deserve capital punishment for being a bear?

Wildlife agents are now hunting the bear that attacked a bicyclist in Kitsap County's Banner Forest Heritage Park. Its prospects aren't good. The policy is to kill any big predator that attacks a human – for fear that it'll discover we're so wimpy and succulent it's worth coming back for seconds.

I can see it for a bear that's actually out for humans. But there's some evidence that this was a mommy bear separated from her cubs.

We humans give the females of our own species a pass when they get rowdy in defense of their offspring. Why not give a poor bear the same break?

Chiming in: I got an email today from a Mason County reader who's convinced that the victim of the bear attack was riding the trails with two unleashed dogs, although the victim claims the dogs were leashed.
He thinks the dogs caused the attack.
I can't say, but I know it's pretty hard to ride an an ordinary bike on the street with two dogs on a leash. I can't imagine doing it on a trail in the woods.
--Seago

Here’s what you do if you’re Congressman-for-Life Norm Dicks and you hope to stay in the majority that long as well:

You host a fund-raising reception for a first-time Democratic congressman from Ohio at Seattle’s tony Washington Athletic Club. The beneficiary is U.S. Rep. Zack Space (pictured), from Ohio’s 18th District, who scored an upset win in 2006 but is facing a tough fight for re-election. The national GOP is convinced his win was a fluke, says this article from The New York Times.

This is a nice convergence of interests. Dicks wants to keep the Democrats in charge of the House, where he’s at long last chairman of the House Interior appropriations subcommittee. Space could use the help.

And Space happens to be in Seattle on Sept. 15 because the Huskies are playing perennial power Ohio State. You know who Space has gotta root for, even though his buddy Dicks is a former Husky linebacker.

Here’s the question: Will Space raise more money if the Huskies win? I figure that locals who are both loyal Democrats and rabid Husky fans would be so giddy they'd spray champagne around the room and stuff wads of cash in Space’s pockets. Oherwise, who'd want to peel off the big bills for an Ohio guy trying hard not to look smug?

Loved this windup graf on an Aug. 31 Wall Street Journal editorial (registration required) on Idaho Sen. Larry Craig, who may or may not resign:

The Republican Party needs to get its house in order. It is a mess. And that cleanup should include the living room, the library, the front porch and, we daresay, the restroom.

Today, the Journal offered what was supposed to be a sympathetic column on Craig’s problems by Quin Hillyer, a senior editor at the ultra-conservative American Spectator magazine. Excerpts:

Obviously, it appears as if the rumors of his history (of doing the sort of thing that he is suspected of doing) are probably true. And if he has been doing any sexual acts in a public rest room, that's bad, very bad . . .

But really, what this means is that this man needs help. Even knowing that he was under serious scrutiny for such alleged behavior, for him to do it (again) anyway shows a terrible, and bizarre, compulsion. It shows a bad psychological problem, and possibly a psychiatric one. Somebody who would risk his career for such activities is crying out for help . . .

I fail to see how it is hypocritical for Mr. Craig, though, to have voted against "gay marriage" and special "gay rights." One can participate in homosexual acts and yet still think, quite consistently, that it is bad public policy to create special rights and protections for homosexuals or to put the positive imprimatur of the state on the "union" of two homosexuals.

To be clear, I think Mr. Craig should leave the Senate. He is a moral reprobate, on several levels. But somebody needs to have compassion on him, and not make him feel abandoned as a human being . . . And please find him some counseling, so he can somehow try to put his life back together and find some redemption.

If these are kind words, spare me such sympathy.

Here's an odd story from Reuters. I'm assuming it's not a hoax, though you never know.

Officials at the state-run airline of Nepal apparently have been experiencing problems with one of their Boeing 757s. Their solution: Sacrifice a couple of goats to the Hindu sky god Akash Bhairab.

The sacrifice must have worked, or (my guess) a mechanic figured out what the problem was. Either way, it did not end well for the goats.

To read the full story, click here.

That’s a mighty big mess of egg on the face for the Tacoma City Attorney’s office for bungling the city’s appeal of the Northshore development ruling. But there’s no guarantee the city would have succeeded, and the developer may have good grounds for its suit against the city for improper denial of the permit. With the project going forward, the developer would be wise to soften community opposition by developing according to updated open space regulations instead of the outdated ones that contain loopholes.

it’s good that the Bethel teachers strike was settled quickly, but the question is what will the settlement cost the district and how it will impact other district programs and functions. Initial impression is that the teachers came out with pretty generous pay increases.

Short editorial tribute for former 8th District U.S. Rep. Jennifer Dunn, whose death was just reported. She served her district well, skillfully balancing her Reaganite political views and the socially moderate leanings of her constituency.

About our editorials:
If you have comments or questions about these topics, please email them to david.seago@thenewstribune.com. Editorials represent the consensus view of The News Tribune's editorial board.
Want to sit in on a daily ed board meeting? Email cheryl.tucker@thenewstribune.com to make an appointment.

As noted earlier (see Dave Seago's August 30 posting below), the state's Democrats are lining up to make a choice more fateful than Pepsi or Coke: Hillary or Obama.

The latest is King County Executive Ron Sims, who has just been named co-chair of Clinton's Washington campaign. It's a bit of coup in one respect: Sims – who is black – has passed on Barack Obama, the nation's first serious black contender for the presidency. (Yes, yes, I'm aware of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Shirley Chisholm. I said "contender," not "candidate.")

One amusing thing about these announcements is the way candidate and chair lavish such unstinting praise on each other.

According to Sims, Clinton is "the experienced leader this country needs." But that pales beside "Clinton's" (who knows who actually writes this stuff?) praise for Sims' "courage and achievements," his "across the board" innovations, his tireless efforts against global warming, his national leadership, his "passion for civil rights" and on and on. He's a "bold leader."

So who's getting the most out of this deal?

Planned editorials for Wednesday (back to school special):

1. Tacoma’s newly rehabilitated Lincoln High School – a historic and educational landmark – opens for business.

2. Commencement remarks for students commencing the school year.

About our editorials:
If you have comments or questions about these topics, please email them to patrick.ocallahan@thenewstribune.com. Editorials represent the consensus view of The News Tribune's editorial board.
Want to sit in on a daily ed board meeting? Email cheryl.tucker@thenewstribune.com to make an appointment.

Is there a Mr. Thompson Signs running for public office in Tacoma?

The casual observer might get that impression from one of the many signs posted in the public right-of-way along Ruston Way. Executed in the same small-first-name, big-last-name format as most political signs was one advertising the company that churns out the signs for candidates.

I understand the political free speech reason why cities don't collect candidates' signs that have been erected in public rights-of-way. But I fail to see how that protection should extend to this kind of commercial message. Please remove "candidate" Signs' signs – pronto!

Sorry, faithful blog readers. We've got no juicy tidbits today. Not even any dry, stale tidbits.

The thing is, it's Labor Day. We aren't killing ourselves trying to keep this blog up on the only national holiday devoted to not working.

You shouldn't be obsessing about online stuff, either. Eat a hot dog. Go fishing. Lie around. The whole point is to take the day off.

Washington's Republican Attorney Gen. Rob McKenna dropped by for an informal ed board Thursday, mainly to tout his statewide campaign to help consumers fight identity theft.

The best part of these visits is always the part where we just shoot the breeze after hearing the pitch. This time, it was McKenna's lament that "we're a damaged brand" that stood out.

His remark came as we discussed Dino Rossi's chances in a rematch against Gov. Chris Gregoire next year. McKenna said there's no doubt Rossi's going for it, although Rossi hasn't officially announced. Rossi lost to Gregoire only after two recounts in 2004.

McKenna was alluding to the war-and-scandal-plagued national GOP and the White House, but the downdraft will hurt Republicans in Washington state next year, he glumly predicted. He also said Rossi will have to offer "real ideas" on issues like education and the environment to have any hope of defeating Gregoire.

McKenna thinks Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg, a Democrat, might go after his job next year, even though "he's told other people he thinks I'm doing a pretty good job. I think I'm doing a pretty good job, too."

I asked McKenna if he thought The News Tribune should automatically endorse the hometown boy if it comes to McKenna vs. Ladenburg. "Of course not," he retorted, with the barest hint of a smile.

One feature of teacher strikes never ceases to irritate.

It's not the fact that the teachers are off the job when classes ought to be starting. It's the fact that coaches are on the job.

In Bethel, as in past strikes elsewhere, the players are on the field. School athletics keep on going, strike or no strike.

A skewed sense of priorities, don't you think? Reading, writing and 'rithmetic are expendable; sports aren't.

One way to guarantee public pressure to settle a strike would be to put that all-important football season in jeopardy.

It's a feast for irony lovers. Gov. Chris Gregoire has refused to publicly divulge the names of some people she didn't appoint to the Sunshine Committee.

The Sunshine Committee's job is to see whether officials are refusing to publicly divulge too many things.

State law actually does extend confidentiality to people applying for public employment. That might be justifiable in cases where applicants may be putting their existing jobs at risk by applying for a new one.

But as Toby Nixon of the Washington Coalition for Open Government notes, the members of the Sunshine Committee aren't paid. Two of them are working journalists. These are public employees?

Is Gregoire – no great champion of open government – trying to conceal the actual champions she did turn down? Just a thought. No, make that a suspicion.

Olympia attorney Greg Overstreet – who specializes in public access to government – isn't amused. Here's his take on Og-blog.