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Monday, June 30th, 2008
Posted by Kim Bradford @ 02:19:08 pm
From our soon-to-be man-about-town, Dave Seago: Kim,  Judging from the crowd reaction when Gregoire went by – big cheers – and when the Obama contingent went by – even bigger cheers – I will go out on a limb and predict that the governor and Obama will carry Seattle in November. We detected no cheers when the Ladenburgs passed by, but just having a D after the Ladenburg name on the ballot will be sufficient to carry Seattle. Remaining in political correspondent mode here, I should note that King County Exec Ron Sims was walking the route and hugging everybody in sight. Seattle City Council members paraded on Segways. Oh, and Congressman-for-Life Jim McDermott also marched, looking really old. Isn't it about time he packed it in? Apparently the Dino Rossi float broke down on the way to Seattle and couldn't make it. Back to you, Kim.
Categories: Taking notice
Posted by Patrick O'Callahan @ 11:31:17 am
Welcome Tall Ships! Their second visit promises to go more smoothly than the first, and we hope it will firmly establish their appearance as a regular event. Two-thirds of Americans can name at least one of the judges on “American Idol.” But fewer than one in 10 can name the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Sandra Day O’Connor wants to change that – and good for her. About our editorials:
Categories: What's coming
Posted by Patrick O'Callahan @ 06:39:09 am
The Supreme Court last week affirmed that the Second Amendment protects the right to bear arms. For gun advocates, so far so good. But a sharp-eyed Wall Street Journal reporter picked up on a clause in Antonin Scalia's opinion – in a footnote, no less – that could mean the ruling is far less sweeping than it appears. The crucial words: "... incorporation, a question not presented by this case ..."
Categories: Taking notice
• 1 comment
Sunday, June 29th, 2008
Posted by David Seago @ 06:05:24 am
Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg responded to my blog post yesterday about the attorney general's race. Based on an earlier item from the TNT's Political Buzz blog, I had noted that House Majority Leader Rep. Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, had said she wouldn't endorse Ladenburg for AG – because Ladenburg had opposed her bill requiring local governments to record their executive sessions. Ladenburg says that it it was all a misunderstanding.
UPDATE 6/30: A few commenters have challenged Ladenburg's assertion that Kessler is now supporting him, so I called her this afternoon to check. She said she and Ladenburg had a cordial conversation, but that she will not be endorsing – or supporting – anyone for state attorney general. She said she rarely endorses candidates, although she recently made an exception for her colleague Jim McIntire who is running for state treasurer. – KB
Categories: Taking notice
• 7 comments
Saturday, June 28th, 2008
Posted by David Seago @ 05:25:29 am
Pierce County Councilman Terry Lee, R-Gig Harbor, dropped by Friday to say how glad he is that I'm leaving the TNT. He really didn't say that. But amid an exchange of good wishes, I extracted quite a bit of news: Lee is optimistic that the county's proposed purchase of the Tacoma Narrows Airport will soon be greenlighted by the council. The county is currently conducting due diligence on the deal, as is the new Peninsula Metropolitan Park District. The county would put up $3 million, the park district $2 million to buy 644 acres that includes the City of Tacoma-owned airport, the Madrona Links golf course to the north, and all the property in between. Lee hopes the county can develop passive recreation use, such as trails and open space, in the buffer zone around the airport. The park district would buy and operate the golf course; unlike many others, Madrona Links is making money and could make more, Lee said. A key detail: The county wouldn't use general fund money for the purchase. The county's share would come from the sale of surplus county property near Elk Plain. Using general fund money would be a deal-killer, Lee said Lee also noted that groundbreaking for PenMet's new 97-acre Sehmel Homestead Park is set for 6:30 p.m. Monday. That's a big deal for Peninsula folks, who approved a $6 million bond issue in 2003 to help pay for it. Lee also says a county project extending the popular Cushman Trail along Highway 16 to Borgen Boulevard is going to bid, with construction to start this summer. Lee says the plan is to widen and improve the road should all the way to the new park. (Thanks to reader John Earl for correcting the wayward D that initially and wrongly denoted Terry Lee's party affiliation.)
Categories: Who's visiting
• 1 comment
Friday, June 27th, 2008
Posted by David Seago @ 10:55:10 am
Saturday: The Puyallup City Council is right to ban dogs from city recreational fields. Too many dog owners have been negligent about cleaning up after their pets. Besides, the city has an off-leash park to serve dogs and their owners. Sunday: United Way of Pierce County has a good shot at landing a multiyear Gates Foundation grant to mount a sustained and coordinated early-learning initiative. The goal, to keep disadvantaged children from falling behind before they even get to kindergarten, couldn’t be more important. The City of Tacoma’s plans to develop a Water Ditch recreational trail on abandoned railroad right of way from the UWT campus to South Tacoma is a great idea. But city officials need to make sure ownership and title questions are resolved before they consummate a deal with Burlington Northern Santa Fe that involves closing a railroad crossing at A Street near the head of the Foss Waterway. Monday: Now that the full record of the GAO review has been released, it looks like the Air Force all but threw the contest for a lucrative tanker contract to Boeing’s rival, a team including the parent company of Airbus. The Air Force and the Pentagon have much to answer for. About our editorials:
Categories: What's coming
Posted by Patrick O'Callahan @ 10:26:06 am
The Axis of Evil used to consist of Iraq, North Korea and Iran. Iraq's out. Now North Korea's out. Only Iran is left. Does that mean we're down to a Hubcap of Evil?
Categories: Taking notice
Thursday, June 26th, 2008
Posted by Patrick O'Callahan @ 05:30:23 pm
While we're on the subject of the Second Amendment ruling, here's a sober look at its likely real-world effects, by the reporter who covers the Supreme Court for the Associated Press. The NRA is breaking out the champagne, but it may be in for a bit of a hangover.
Categories: Taking notice
Posted by David Seago @ 05:20:23 pm
We have no reason to doubt the sincerity of Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna's strong support for a federal reporter shield law. He's been a champion of open government for a long time. But it doesn't hurt to be standing up for the press during an election season when he's facing a strong opponent and a few friendly newspaper endorsements would certainly help. Consider this headline on a news release today from McKenna's office: McKenna leads national movement for reporter shield law Gladdens a jounalist's heart, doesn't it? The release announced that McKenna and his counterpart from Maryland persuaded 39 other state attorneys general to sign a letter urging Senate leaders to support the Free Flow of Information Act. The act, similar to laws adopted in 49 states and the District of Columbia, recognizes a "qualified" reporter's privilege to withhold the identity of sources. The bill has passed the House and awaits action in the Senate. McKenna declared:
Gosh, that sends tingles down my spine. Because I'm retiring, I won't be around when our editorial board decides its endorsement in the race between Republican McKenna and Democrat John Ladenburg, the Pierce County executive. That's going to be a tough choice for the board, I think. Ladenburg has an impressive record as county executive and he's a hometown guy. But we also like the way McKenna has backed the cause of open government since he took office. Among other things, he created a post for an open-government ombudsman. Ladenburg didn't score any points with us by opposing a bill last session that would have required local government bodies to record executive sessions. The idea was to create a record that could be examined by a judge if officials were accused of illegally making decisions behind closed doors. Decisions, decisions!
Categories: Taking notice
• 5 comments
Posted by Patrick O'Callahan @ 05:09:18 pm
Second Amendment defenders have lately taken to talking up the right to bear arms as a "civil rights" issue. It sounds odd: Equating possession of a deadly weapon to the right to vote, go to the church of your choice, etc. Some of the logic amounts to innocence by association. The Second Amendment is in the Bill of Rights, alongside the First, the Fourth and the others. The right to firearms is surrounded by civil rights, so it must be one, too. But a little known chapter of U.S. history connects the dots a little better. In his opinion today affirming the right to bear arms, Antonin Scalia mentions the disarming of freed slaves in the South after the Civil War. He quotes an 1866 congressional report:
White Southerners undoubtedly feared getting attacked by former slaves who didn't view them kindly. But disarming freedmen also ensured that they'd be helpless if attacked or oppressed by whites, which is exactly what happened. This country has an uncommonly violent history. Like it or lump it, the Second Amendment is as much a part of our heritage as the rest of the Bill of Rights.
Categories: Taking notice
Posted by David Seago @ 04:47:11 pm
More than one reader has asked why we “reverse publish” anonymous online comments from the TNT website on our letters page, yet refuse to publish unsigned letters to the editor. Here’s an exchange I had with a reader today on this issue. Feel free to join in.
Christina, One distinction is that almost any reasonably articulate letter to the editor gets printed, up to 250 words. In exchange for putting the writer's name to it, the writer gets more room to express his or her thoughts and the "prestige" of having a letter published. As for the online comments, we publish only snippets of those comments and screen out unduly personal or malicious comments. No one who makes an anonymous online comment has any assurance that his or her comment will be used in print. I understand your annoyance in this case, but that's why we're handling the comments this way. Thanks,
I asked the Barbara Marshman, editorial page editor at the Mercury News if they print letters without the author’s name:
Categories: How we work
• 2 comments
Posted by David Seago @ 11:45:06 am
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling striking down the D.C. ban on handguns is not the end of the world for those who favor reasonable regulation of guns. Gun-rights absolutists did not get everything they want. Tacoma School Superintendent Art Jarvis gets high marks from the school board for his people skills, but nothing is more important that his No. 1 obligation and performance objective: Improving student achievement and cutting the dropout rate. About our editorials:
Categories: What's coming
Wednesday, June 25th, 2008
Posted by Patrick O'Callahan @ 05:41:52 pm
Secretary of State Sam Reed was in today and we wound up talking about Chris Gregoire's nano-thin, subatomic, infinitesimal – superlatives fail me – victory over Dino Rossi in 2004. The 133 votes that gave her the governorship, he noted, amounted to 46 ten-thousandths of 1 percent of the ballots cast. Legally, it was a victory for Gregoire. Mathematically, it was a meaningless difference. It would have been just as fair – though not legal – to decide the outcome with a coin toss. What's the margin of error in a state election? "We're doing well if we get it within a few thousand," Reed said. That might sound like an admission of negligence from the state's chief elections office, but it's a simple reality. Errors creep into the count from several directions. First, from the voters themselves, some of whom do everything but follow the directions. When they're supposed to connect the arrows, he said, "They will put an 'X,' a check or they'll write something." Their intent then must be interpreted by bewildered elections officials. And sometimes poll workers blow it – by giving voters the wrong ballots, for example. Things also go wrong when the ballots reach their destination, most notoriously in 2004, when King County election workers misplaced large batches of them. Reed is not given to conspiracy theories. "They're doing their best, but they're inundated with ballots." "We do it as fair a way as possible," he said, "and the final count is the final count." So with Gregoire and Rossi facing a rematch this year, and possibly running very close, what's to prevent another minuscule victory that falls within the margin of error – and leaves hundreds of thousands of voters angry and suspicious? Nothing but the odds against it. "You're probably not going to get an election that close," Reed said. So we hope. So we hope.
Categories: Taking notice
• 2 comments
Posted by Kim Bradford @ 10:23:35 am
I've been trading phone calls and e-mails with Kelly Steele, the state Dems spokesman, about our editorial that criticized the governor for taking campaign donations from the tribes. The party wasn't happy with the Seattle P-I story that sparked the editorial.
Technically, yes. But soft money donations do have an offsetting effect, freeing up hard money to be given to candidates (as the same P-I reporter later pointed out here). This is not the last time special interest groups that benefited from Gregoire's election will spend big to get her re-elected. Such is politics. Dino Rossi is also getting a special interest assist. But he has a political advantage Gregoire does not: He can claim that the cash won't buy favors. For an incumbent, connections between campaign contributions and past official actions are more easily drawn.
Categories: Editorial outtakes
Posted by David Seago @ 05:03:56 am
Name the six former Tacoma mayors who will be pouring wine for a parks fundraiser this weekend in the Rose Garden at Point Defiance Park. Take a minute and write down the names. Yes, this is a trick question. Because I thought for a minute today that controversial former mayor Mike Parker, long missing from the limelight, was about to resurface in Tacoma. False alarm. Drew Ebersole, director of the GreaterMetroParks Foundation, had to admit a mistake on the invitation he emailed out for a “Wine and Roses” fundraiser at the Taste of Tacoma event Friday through Sunday. The invite says current Mayor Bill Baarsma and “six former mayors’ will do the pouring from Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. I tapped my memory bank. Let’s see . . . Harold Moss, Mike Crowley, Brian Ebersole, Doug Sutherland, Karen Vialle . . . Good Lord, I thought, they can’t have found Mike Parker! Parker, who was mayor in the 1970s, was known for outsize yard signs, odd enthusiasms and some ethical entanglements. He tried to get the city to give a place of honor to a totem pole made by a chainsaw carver. He ran for Congress in 1976 but lost to some fellow named Dicks. Then he disappeared. But Drew Ebersole, nephew of the former hizzoner, regretfully told me Parker isn’t on the program. Just five former mayors and Baarsma. The former Metro Parks Foundation is now called the GreaterMetroParks Foundation, says the younger Ebersole, who became its director in January. Fifteen bucks will get you a taste of five wines and a souvenir glass. The proceeds, of course, benefit the city’s park system.
Categories: Taking notice
• 1 comment
Tuesday, June 24th, 2008
Posted by Patrick O'Callahan @ 06:24:38 pm
I met over breakfast this morning with Rick Allen, the president of United Way of Pierce County. The subject: early childhood education. Specifically, the early learning initiative United Way and various partners are poised to launch in the high-poverty areas of the Tacoma, Bethel, Franklin-Pierce and Clover Park school districts. The goal is to do what it takes – parent education, day care improvements, etc. – to help kids be ready for school by the time they reach kindergarten. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other benefactors are funding the effort, but communities are expected to make some commitment of their own in order to get the benefit of the outside funds. In Lakewood, the local contribution would be $50,000 – almost budget dust in light of the $98,000,000 the city government will spend this year. But Allen said he ran into some real pushback when he spoke to the Lakewood council about it last night.
Categories: Taking notice
• 2 comments
Posted by David Seago @ 09:49:42 am
Our editorial today about Lakewood City Councilman Walter Neary's gaffe --doing live blogging while citizens were speaking at a council meeting -- prompted an observation from the woman who sits across from me at the breakfast table. A good rule for cell phone users, texters and laptop-carrying elected officials regarding when use of the device is inappropriate: If others present would be offended if you started working on a crossword puzzle, then don't use your device. It's a deliberate show of inattention. Come to think of it, that's a good rule for cellphone use while driving, too. For the record, Neary has promised not to do it again. And here's the link to his blog, "Neary Sighted." Neary has further observations on the episode.
Categories: Editorial outtakes
• 1 comment
Monday, June 23rd, 2008
Posted by David Seago @ 06:47:55 pm
News coverage of the Iowa flooding hit home for Tacoma City Manager Eric Anderson, a transplanted Iowan who held the same job in Des Moines for nearly 10 years before arriving here. I asked Anderson for his thoughts on the disaster:
Categories: Taking notice
Posted by David Seago @ 06:32:14 pm
Republican – sorry, I mean GOP – gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi has created a dandy wedge issue to use against Democrat Chris Gregoire: dumping the WASL. In a letter to members of the state's largest business group, the Association of Washington Business, Rossi says:
According to WASL proponents, it's the first time Rossi has called outright for abolishing the so-called high-stakes test, although he has previously been critical of it. Rossi's stance was noted with some concern by people associated with the Washington Roundtable, another influential business group that represents the state's largest companies, including Boeing. The Roundtable played a key role in persuading the Legislature in 1993 to launch the education reform process that resulted in the Washington Asssessment of Student Learning. Both Rossi and Gregoire were asked by the AWB to submit statements to be relayed to AWB members. The governor's only reference to WASL was this:
For Rossi, the WASL is a neat wedge issue because the Washington Education Association, the state's largest teacher union and a reliable supporter of Democrats, detests the WASL. The WEA is out to defeat the re-election bid of state schools chief Terry Bergeson, the prime architect of the test. The WEA isn't backing off its support for Gregoire, however. The group invited her to speak to its recent annual meeting in Spokane. Bergeson wasn't invited. For the record, Rossi is correct that the current WASL does not include math or science components, which lawmakers delayed for a few years. The 90 percent pass rate Gregoire cited would certainly have been lower had that not been the case.
Categories: Taking notice
Posted by Cheryl Tucker @ 02:38:08 pm
 One of the clichés of editorial cartooning is the "pearly gates" tribute to the deceased celebrity. We've already received two such cartoons about the late George Carlin from our syndicated cartoonists, and I'm sure we'll get more. One, by former News Tribune cartoonist Chris Britt, runs Tuesday. The one printed here (a slight variation on the pearly gates theme) is by Jerry Holbert of the Boston Herald. What's really funny is that Carlin was pretty upfront about being an atheist, and many of his routines skewered religion. I'm guessing he'd get a laugh out of the heavenly themed cartoons paying tribute to him. My old TNT buddy Britt often e-mails me his cartoons a day before they go out in syndication so I can have more timely use of them. When I mentioned that Carlin's atheism might be a little at odds with the pearly gates theme, he responded: "Details, details." The lesson: Never let the facts get in the way of a good cartoon.
Categories: Editorial cartoons
Sunday, June 22nd, 2008
Posted by David Seago @ 04:23:30 am
One Tacoman singing the praises of bus transit these days is my friend Dick Coulter, who retired earlier this year from a job in Seattle. Over lunch the other day, Dick raved about how great taking the bus to Seattle for medical appointments turned out to be. His bus adventure cost him $1.75 round-trip, compared to the $25 he estimates it would have cost had he used his car. Now, Dick did have the advantage of a senior citizen discount card. But here’s his accounting for a trip to a couple of University of Washington clinics:
What about the cost in time, I asked Dick? Working folks usually can’t all day for a trip to Seattle.
Categories: Taking notice
• 3 comments
Saturday, June 21st, 2008
Posted by David Seago @ 10:43:38 am
Chip Vincent, a top Pierce County planner and a key player in county growth-management issues, is leaving this month to head the City of Renton's planning department. Escaping the political turmoil and financial woes buffeting PALS – Planning and Land Services – is a good move for Vincent, but it's a big loss for the county. Vincent, a Stadium High grad who has worked for the planning department nearly 20 years, is currently principal planner, reporting to department head Chuck Kleeberg. He oversees the process of creating and amending the county's land-use policies. Vincent has long been a valuable source of information and perspective on county land-use issues for the editorial board. His understanding of the state's Growth Management Act is second to none, and he has been a strong advocate for responsible planning. As I saw it, Vincent could suggest what the legal, smart and right thing to do was on any given land use issue. But you could never tell how the County Council politics, often pitting environmentalists against developers, would play out. The direction of PALS will be a key issue in this fall's county executive race. One candidate, County Councilman Calvin Goings, D-Puyallup, tried to force Kleeberg's firing in March, but the effort went nowhere. The downturn in housing has cut sharply into the department's fee-based revenues and forced a reduction in planning staff.
Categories: Taking notice
Posted by Patrick O'Callahan @ 05:42:22 am
Planned Parenthood isn't about to give up on its effort to require pharmacists to dispense "morning after" pills despite their moral qualms. A state rule requiring them to do so was suspended in November by U.S. District Court Judge Ron Leighton. He concluded that the pharmacists challenging the mandate would likely succeed in asserting a First Amendment right not to violate their conscience in filling prescriptions. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in the case on July 8. Planned Parenthood has just released a poll that suggests broad support for the state policy. Key findings:
Impressive numbers. Most people would certainly agree that women should have easy access to emergency contraception, especially when the alternative may be abortion. One problem, though: The court will be deciding this question on constitutional grounds. Federal judges tend to make a point of ignoring polls when First Amendment issues are at stake.
Categories: Taking notice
• 2 comments
Friday, June 20th, 2008
Posted by Cheryl Tucker @ 06:01:26 pm
Pete Callaghan has a story about the Washington Lottery pulling scratch tickets that look remarkably like candy wrappers. We'd rather have kids buying the real thing, not scratch tickets – right? If you haven't seen the tickets, here they are:    
Categories: Taking notice
Posted by David Seago @ 10:38:30 am
Get a load of this, from our sister McClatchy paper, the Raleigh, N.C., News & Observer. Blackwater has to be one of the most unscrupled corporations ever invented:
Here's the full story. As my colleague Pat O'Callahan notes, Blackwater wasn't clamoring to have its contractors who killed Iraqis tried by Sharia.
Categories: Taking notice
Posted by David Seago @ 10:29:31 am
Saturday: We’re guessing the third-base coach is next, then the catcher. What the heck, why not fire everybody except Ichiro? And Ichiro, off his game this year, better watch out, too. The wave of firings that cost Mariners manager John McLaren his job this week seems to be just about the only thing the club can think of doing in its current state of abysmal misery. Sunday: State utility regulators will have to take great care to see that ratepayers are adequately protected before it approves a proposed acquisition of Puget Sound Energy by a foreign investment group. Monday: About our editorials:
Categories: Taking notice
Posted by Patrick O'Callahan @ 06:17:19 am
We've established that Sumner is the Rhubarb Pie Capital of the World. See today's editorial. While you're at it, take a look at this thoroughly sourced Wikipedia article, done by someone with way too much time on his hands.  It's amazing what towns will call themselves. Some revel in absurdity, like Beaver, Okla., the Cow Chip Throwing Capital, Eau Claire, Mich., the Cherry Pit Spitting Capital, and Cawker City, Kan., Home of the World's Largest Ball of Twine. With others, you aren't quite sure if you should be laughing at them or with them, like Meeteetse, Wyo., the Ferret Capital, and Mount Ida, Ark., the world's Quartz Crystal Capital. Some earnestly promote their major industry, like Seaford, Del., the Nylon Capital, Dalton, Ga., the Carpet Capital of the World, and Fort Payne, Ala., the Sock Capital of the World. A few make very humble claims. E.g., Kirkland, the Gateway to Seattle, and Winnemucca, Nev., the City of Paved Streets.
Categories: Editorial outtakes
Posted by Cheryl Tucker @ 05:37:53 am
Thinking of sitting out the Aug. 19 primary and waiting for the Nov. 4 general election? You could miss out on having a say in some of the state’s hottest races. That’s because the primary could very well decide races for state Supreme Court, superintendent of public instruction, Superior Court and state Court of Appeals. If any candidate in those races gets more than half the votes, he or she wins outright. If no one gets more than half, then the top two vote-getters advance to the Nov. 4 general election. One Supreme Court seat definitely will be decided Aug. 19. Incumbent Justice Mary Fairhurst only has one challenger (Michael J. Bond), so it’s a sure bet one will receive more than 50 percent. Another high court seat could very well be decided in the primary. Incumbent Justice Charles W. Johnson faces two relatively unknown challengers, C.F. Vulliet and James M. Beecher. If I had to bet, I’d say Johnson will get the 50 percent plus one. This is the guy, after all, who unseated a sitting chief justice back in 1991. The only incumbent Pierce County Superior Court judge facing a challenge is Sergio Armijo. The primary will determine whether he or attorney Michael Hecht will win the position. The race that probably won’t be decided in the primary is for SPI, because there are so many candidates to split up the vote. Incumbent Terry Bergeson faces five challengers, including former Eatonville High School Principal Randy Dorn.
Categories: Taking notice
• 1 comment
Thursday, June 19th, 2008
Posted by Patrick O'Callahan @ 06:48:18 am
Today is Dump the Pump Day, the only national non-holiday dedicated to encouraging people to bike, bus, walk, hop, skateboard – anything but burn $4.30-a-gallon gasoline. Lynne Griffith, CEO of Pierce Transit, came by Tuesday to promote the event. We wound up chatting about alternative fuels, including the compressed natural gas that fuels the system's buses for the equivalent of 70 cents a gallon. One alternative she mentioned is methane from local landfills, which could be extracted and instead of being torched off for the benefit of the seagulls. So ... Dump the Pump. And while we're at it, Pump the Dump.
Categories: Who's visiting
• 2 comments
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008
Posted by David Seago @ 06:24:24 pm
Whether Puget Sound Energy's customers in Western Washington will be better served if the company is acquired by a foreign investment firm is still an open question. But there's no doubt PSE's top executives would benefit handsomely if state regulators approve the deal. CEO Steve Reynolds could clear more than $20 million if he exercises all his options after the sale, whether he retains his job or not, according to documents filed in the case pending before the state Utilities and Transportation Commission. Other top executives would walk away with packages worth $3.5 million to $5.9 million if they lose their jobs. The estimates, filed by opponents of the deal, are based on stock prices as of Dec. 31. I found these figures prowling around the documents filed by the Attorney General's Office of Public Counsel, which acts as an advocate for consumers in cases before the UTC. (Go here and enter docket number 072375 to find all documents in the case.) The office, headed by the improbably named Simon ffitch, came out against the sale today. Ffitch said the $7.4 billion deal would burden PSE with too much debt – as much as $4.2 billion. It would do little to improve service and leave ratepayers holding the bag if the projected cash flows fail to materialize. One ojection in particular resonates with me: Ffitch noted that taking PSE private would mean that detailed quarterly and annual financial reports would no longer be available through SEC filings. The prospective buyer is Macquarie Infrastructure Partners, an Australia-based group of Australian and Canadian investors. PSE management and shareholders back the deal on grounds that PSE needs to raise massive amounts of capital to fund new power generation projects and other improvements. The UTC will begin hearings July 28 and is expected to rule by September.
Categories: Taking notice
Posted by David Seago @ 01:49:57 pm
Because I'm the sort of guy who wants to be outdoors on weekends, I'm not a regular watcher of "Meet the Press." But the outpouring of tributes for the late Tim Russert, the show host who died suddenly of a heart attack last week, has shown what an impact he had on American politics. This tribute to Russert by Michelle Jaconi, one of Russert's longtime journalistic colleagues on the show, showed up in my email inbox today. Hardcore Russert fans will savor her intensely personal recollection of Russert.
Categories: Taking notice
Posted by David Seago @ 11:51:21 am
Wow. And what a huge black eye for the Air Force. That's our immediate reaction to the GAO decision today upholding Boeing's protest of the Air Force's controversial decision to award a lucrative aerial tanker contract to Airbus-Northrup Grumman. The Air Force made errors so egregious that the GAO recommend the Air Force pay Boeing for the costs of its protest. Wow. If the Secretary of the Air Force hadn't already been fired, this would have been grounds for termination. Here's the text of the GAO statement. It's also a huge vindication for Washington's U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, who has been relentless in criticizing the award, and for U.S Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair, who has been almost as critical. Oddly enough, U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert, R-Auburn, and U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Bainbridge Island, were first out of the box today with celebratory press releases. No crowing from Murray – yet. Murray's office sent one out this morning saying "Congress must demand answers from Pentagon." That went out BEFORE the GAO announcement. But it works just as well after the fact, too. Just in: Murray's statement appears below. Perhaps I should eat a little crow. I thought Murray was overdoing the usual backing-the-home-team thing on Boeing's behalf. Turns out Murray is right:
Categories: Taking notice
Posted by David Seago @ 09:53:25 am
Despite White House claims that abuse of detainees has never been a policy of the U.S. government, it is clear from newly released documents that the administration tacitly condoned and encouraged tactics that constituted inhumane treatment of prisoners. It may take generations to undo the damage this has done to America’s standing in the world. There is no assurance that any of the big ideas for redeveloping the area around Cheney Stadium will come to fruition, but there is no harm in exploring them in the public forums that begin Thursday. Public reaction will be one factor, but an even bigger factor is whether substantial private investment will be involved. And that, to repeat a cliché, remains to be seen. About our editorials:
Categories: Taking notice
Posted by David Seago @ 05:15:51 am
We received this complaint today about a June 15 letter to the editor knocking Pierce County Executive candidate Pat McCarthy. Our responses below show how we judge such letters. First, the original letter:
The complaint:
Editorial writer Cheryl Tucker, who selects and edits the letters, responded:
Another very similar letter came in Monday, from a Goings supporter who apparently missed the irony on chiding McCarthy for getting an endorsement that rival candidate Goings also sought. Remember now: Democrats Goings and McCarthy, Republican County Councilman Shawn Bunney and Tacoma City Councilman Mike Lonergan of the “Executive Excellence Party” go head to head in the county’s first ranked-choice voting election in November. No primary for this one.
Categories: Taking notice
• 4 comments
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008
Posted by Patrick O'Callahan @ 05:29:07 pm
You heard it from Dave Seago, below. He's headed next month for what promises to be a very active retirement. He's an avid cyclist, hiker, world traveler, civic leader and student of public issues. His friendship has been one of the greatest privileges I've enjoyed since coming to Tacoma. Journalism has been Dave's passion for 40-plus years, and we've all learned an immense amount from him. I'm trying to twist his arm to write an account of his extraordinary career in South Sound news. We will miss Dave, and we aren't happy about losing a staff position. But journalism is undergoing a second Gutenberg revolution as it migrates to the Internet. It's traumatic; traditional newspapers are getting leaner to adapt to new realities. But journalism will thrive as never before when it finds its footing in the new media world. We're planning on thriving, too. You'll see changes in our "hard copy" opinion pages and more changes in what we do on the Web. Meanwhile, we fully intend to keep Dave as connected to this operation as his retirement permits.
Categories: How we work
Posted by David Seago @ 05:27:25 pm
Pat McGregor, the South Tacoma resident who led a successful community fight to fight chronic public drunkenness and other blights in his neighborhood, has won a City Club of Tacoma leadership award. He's a deserving winner. We met McGregor early in his campaign when he sought editorial board support. We were happy to oblige. TNT columnist Kathleen Merryman has also chronicled his efforts. McGregor, a teacher at Chief Leschi School in Puyallup rallied his neighbors and won City Council support to establish the South End Alcohol Impact Area. The designation forces neighborhood stores to stop selling the cheap, high-octane booze that chronic inebriates favor. Here's a recent article describing the campaign. On Wednesday, McGregor will receive City Club's annual Dennis Seinfeld Leadership Award, named for a club founder and longtime Tacoma Community College trustee who died in 2006.
Categories: Taking notice
Posted by David Seago @ 04:12:29 pm
Yes, it's true that I'm retiring as of July 11. And no, I wasn't pushed out the door. Being paid to have opinions is a great job, but all good things must eventually come to an end. This is a good time for me to go. I will write a swan song before I leave, but I can truly say that it has been an honor and a privilege to do this work. I don't intend to disappear from community life, a |
