The latest issue of Outside magazine lists Tacoma on its 2008 "Best Towns" list, citing the city's downtown rejuvenation, lively arts scene and abundant outdoor recreational opportunities.

The article (PDF document here) quotes city resident and Outside subscriber Lucinda Weddle:

Mount Rainier, a mild climate, Point Defiance Park, scuba diving, clean air, Commencement Bay, no state income tax.

The mag didn't explain how it determined its selections, but the headline says:

These 20 stars of America's 21st Century Renaissance are riding a wave of civic reinvention and fresh ideas.

Can't beat that for good pub.

Thanks to the City of Tacoma's Forward Tacoma email newsletter for calling this one to our attention. Subscribe here.

Was Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg lowballing the cost of his proposed ballot measure to save open space? It looked like it, but he wasn't.

The County Council indefinitely tabled his proposal Monday. Our news story the next day indicated that a property tax of "up to 16 cents per $1,000 of assessed value" would cost the owner of a $300,000 home about $2 a month, attributing the latter estimate to Ladenburg.

An alert reader sent us a letter to the editor asked if Ladenburg was guilty of "deception or faulty math." At 16 cents per $1,000, the actual cost would be more like $4 a month.

Our editors should have caught the discrepancy. County finance director Patrick Kenney explained it to me today, but I was almost sorry I asked. To make a long story short:

Not all of the 16 cents per $1,000 would have been devoted to the preservation of open space and farmland. But the portion that would have been would, based on a rough estimate, have cost the owner of a $300,000 home about $2 a month.

The tax impact is a "guesstimate," Kenney said, because it is based on some factors that won't be known until November, including the trend in property values that are particularly unpredictable this year.

Opponents of an initiative sponsored by a powerful labor union called on Secretary of State Sam Reed to reject it because its petition forms are allegedly misleading.

I think they have a point.

Local 775 of Service Employees International Union were to turn in signatures today for Initiative 1029, which would set higher training requirements for workers who care for the elderly or disabled people.

The measure is fiercely opposed by the home-care industry, which contends it will drive up costs and make it harder to recruit workers. Companies that provide private-pay care would have to pay for the training. State and federal taxpayers would pay for training state-paid workers.

The Community Care Coalition, an industry group, urged Reed by letter to reject the SEIU petitions because they describe the initiative as an initiative to the people, which would require a statewide vote in November. But the text of the initiative calls it an initiative to the Legislature, which means the measure would first go to the 2009 Legislature, and then to the ballot if lawmakers fail to approve it.

In an earlier Political Buzz blog post, a spokesman for the secretary of state's office said he thought the office would accept the petitions because he didn't think it was a big mistake.

I think it is a fundamental mistake, and who can tell whether it was in fact an intentional? It's a lot easier to tell potential signers that the initiative would give the people a chance to decide the issue right away than it is to explain that it would go to the Legislature first.

The tactic could be a strategy to pressure the Legislature to approve the training requirements. An SEIU-backed bill to the effect failed in this year's session. If the Legislature approves the initiative next year, the SEIU is spared the cost of running an expensive campaign to pass the initiative in November.

Seems to me the SecState's office should accept the petitions only provisionally today, subject to legal review. Here's what a spokesman for the office said this morning:

The Secretary of State’s Office did receive a letter from an attorney representing Community Care Coalition of Washington late yesterday afternoon. Currently, the office is reviewing the letter’s claims with legal counsel from the Attorney General’s Office. Meanwhile, the agency will proceed with accepting the petition sheets from I-1029 sponsors. They are scheduled to turn in sheets at 2 p.m. today.

Read on for the text of the Community Care Coalition letter to Reed. Read the case for Initiative 1029 here.

=> Read more!

No one ever accused the state Supreme Court of a rush to judgment. Ask the court to hear your case and it could be months before you hear if it's been accepted. Many more months could go by before the court issues a decision.

So we were intrigued to hear from Justice Mary Fairhurst, who visited this week for her candidate endorsement interview, that justices can take a hit to their pocketbooks if they don't get their work done on time.

Come to find out, the members of the court sign a declaration each month declaring – under penalty of perjury – that there are no cases sitting on their desks that have been there six months or longer. If ever a justice was that tardy, the state would withhold his or her paycheck until the work got done.

Can you imagine some schoolmarmish court official chiding the likes of the honorable Chief Justice Gerry Alexander, telling him to hurry up and turn in his homework? Neither can we, but it's kind of fun to try.

Friday:
We honor the Fourth of July by reprinting the Declaration of Independence.

Saturday:
We’re not so sure that losing the Sonics is a huge blow to Seattle.

Sunday:
Continuing our 125th anniversary series on The News Tribune’s corporate and journalist values, we examine our value of journalistic independence.

Monday:

Congress should fix a Civil War-era provision in the federal whistleblower act that requires whistleblowers to keep mum about their allegations until the Justice Department has had a chance to review them. In practice, this allows the administration to sit on complaints for years.

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.

Carter Clews writes editorials – some people might call them rants – for a group called Americans for Limited Government. He had some strong opinions about the U.S. Supreme Court's widely discussed ruling this month on a Second Amendment case.

Here's a sample of his style:

So, what’s Lord Stephen’s dual message in his dissenting opinion?
To the Founding Fathers: Eat dirt.

And to you: Drop dead.

"Lord Stephen" is Justice Stephen Breyer, upon whom Clews heaps truckloads of disdain. For entertainment if nothing else, I recommend a look at Clews' complete editorial.

Makes us newspaper opinionaters look like a bunch of pansies, doesn't he?