Inside the editorial page

What's on the minds of TNT editorial writers

Monday, May 5th, 2008

Posted by David Seago @ 03:52:54 pm

Tim Eyman's latest plug for donations sounds like a Jerry Lewis telethon.

“I’m jumping off a big cliff, please help catch me,” Eyman pleaded in his intimate, personal email today to “thousands of supporters throughout the state” and every member of the media, the Legislature and the governor.

Last week, the prolific professional initiative promoter announced he was taking a $250,000 loan on his mortgage to finance his latest venture, Initiative 985. In his follow-up appeal, Eyman wrote:

Your donation is needed to secure $30,000 grant to I-985 -- your
contribution is worth double this month -- matching program in May gets the
ball rolling in retiring my loan and ensuring I-985 qualifies for the ballot

The source of the matching grant is the Sam Adams Alliance, described thusly in this note from an alliance leader:

Your situation reminds me of why we launched the Sam Adams Alliance: America needs a political network that stands outside of the partisan struggle for power; a network of effective leaders and citizen watchdogs who can hold politicians and bureaucrats accountable without trying to take their place. The Sam Adams Alliance was formed to connect and support these citizen leaders across the country.

“Without trying to take their place?” Hmm.... could have fooled me. Check out Olympia reporter Chris Mulick’s take on this at his Tri-City Herald blog.

Categories: Taking notice

Oh, nooooo! Another casino billboard!

Posted by David Seago @ 02:54:05 pm

Billboard-haters have another reason to grit their teeth.

A new monstrosity-in-waiting appeard this morning near the Puyallup exit off Interstate 5 in Tacoma, just east of the Tacoma Dome.

Yep, it was inevitable: The Puyallup Tribe is putting up one of those huge, state-of-the-art, super-bright electronic billboards to advertise the Emerald Queen Casino. The tribe can do it because highway beautification laws don't apply on property held in federal trust for tribal members.

This one will be a whopper: Although it was still on the ground when I saw it, the top of the sign will be a large yellow logo bearing the casino's "EQC" trademark.

If that wasn't bad enough, a few minutes later I discovered that another tribal-trust billboard at the top of Norpoint Way in Northeast Tacoma has been erected. I thought it was divine justice when the first billboard on the spot, in the parking lot of a defunct Indian smokeshop, collapsed in a heap a month or two ago.

I wish the Puyallups well, but those billboards sure feel like a poke in eye.

Categories: Taking notice • 1 comment

Getting rid of graffiti

Posted by Cheryl Tucker @ 10:17:17 am

I was part of a News Tribune team that participated in Saturday's Operation Graffiti Cover-Up sponsored by Safe Streets. If you read today's story about the local graffiti
problem, you know it's not only creating blight in the community, but it's also draining budgets of local agencies like Metro Parks and school districts as they try to quickly get rid of gang tagging on their property.

More than 200 residents from around Pierce County gathered at the South End Neighborhood Center before going out and cleaning up 102 graffiti sites. (Puyallup and Lakewood held separate cover-ups.) The TNT team worked with some great folks: an East Side mom and her girls, a MultiCare employee and her girls, and a Habitat for Humanity mom and her boys (who got almost as much paint on themselves and they did on the graffiti).

Our group painted over gang tags at three sites along South McKinley Avenue. Even though it was raining lightly, we were able to cover up a lot of unsightly graffiti.

I'll definitely participate in any upcoming cover-up event. My only suggestions for improving it would be to cut the speechifying by at least half before sending us out to paint, and ask people to bring their own paint rollers if they have any. We could have worked even faster if our group had had more rollers and fewer paintbrushes.

Categories: Taking notice

Farrell family adds cargo

Posted by David Seago @ 09:10:27 am

Tacoma Port Director Tim Farrell and his wife, Jessyn, happily announced a special delivery on the first of May.

Emaline Muriel Farrell, their first child, entered the world safe and sound.

From the Farrells:

Dear Family and Friends,

We are delighted to introduce you to our daughter Emaline Muriel Farrell.

Her name is pronounced "EM-align", a name we discovered and love. Muriel is Tim's late Mom's name.

Emaline was born at 7:19 p.m. on May 1, 2008, weighing 7 pounds and measuring 20 inches long. Everyone is happy and healthy.

Thank you for all of your expressions of love and support. We'll send another note with pictures very soon!

With Love and Affection,
The Mommy and Daddy formerly known as
Jessyn and Tim

Jessyn Farrell is on leave from her job as director of Transportation Choices, a pro-transit advocacy group. For some reason, neither parent thought naming the baby "Freight Mobility Farrell" was a good idea.

Categories: Taking notice

Inside the editorial page

Inside the editorial page

This blog is designed to give readers a glimpse of our editorial-page operation and how we make our decisions. We’ll let you know who we’re meeting with, what they’re telling us, what events and issues we’re looking at. We’ll also pass on information and observations that may not make our print editions. In addition to the editorial board members who post on this blog, the board includes Executive Editor David Zeeck.

Contributing bloggers

Chief editorial writer Patrick O’Callahan oversees the online and printed opinion sections of The News Tribune. He came to The News Tribune in 1987 and has worked at Washington newspapers since 1979. E-mail him at patrick.ocallahan@thenewstribune.com

Editorial writer Cheryl Tucker, in addition to writing commentary, manages the daily production of the editorial and op-ed pages and edits letters to the editor. She began her journalism career in 1974 at a Virginia newspaper and came to The News Tribune in 1978. E-mail her at cheryl.tucker@thenewstribune.com.

Editorial writer Kim Bradford manages the online opinion section of The News Tribune and writes commentary. She joined The News Tribune in 2005 after working 11 years at newspapers in Washington and Maryland. E-mail her at kim.bradford@thenewstribune.com.

Editor emeritus David Seago retired from The News Tribune in July after 41 years at The News Tribune. E-mail him at sds99@harbornet.com.