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 Publisher David Zeeck, Executive Editor Karen Peterson and Managing Editor Dale Phelps.

Editorial board bloggers

Editorial page editor 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.

Guest bloggers

Editor emeritus David Seago retired from The News Tribune in 2008 after 41 years at The News Tribune. E-mail him at sds99@harbornet.com.

Richard Davis’ column on state politics frequently runs in the print edition of The News Tribune. He was president of the Washington Research Council, a statewide think tank, from 1986 through 2006. Currently, as a principal with The Simeon Partnership, Inc. he coordinates the activities of the Washington Alliance for a Competitive Economy, a business coalition founded by the Research Council, the Association of Washington Business and the Washington Roundtable.

Karen Irwin of University Place, a mother of four, has been a frequent contributor to The News Tribune's print editions. She has also written for Seattle's Child, Puget Sound Parent, the Tacoma Weekly, the Fayetteville Observer Times and the political blog Right Meets Left. She graduated from California Lutheran University with a degree in English literature and is currently working toward a history degree.

Michael Allen, professor of history at the University of Washington Tacoma, was born and raised in Ellensburg. He served with the U.S. Marines in Vietnam from 1969-70. He has written five books, including the prize-winning "Patriot's History of the United States: From Columbus' Great Discovery to the War on Terror," "Rodeo Cowboys in the North American Imagination" and "Western Rivermen, 1763-1861: Ohio and Mississippi Boatmen and the Myth of the Alligator Horse." Allen lives in Tacoma and Ellensburg and has three children.

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What's on the minds of Tacoma News Tribune editorial writers
Thursday, October 9th, 2008
Posted by David Seago @ 05:39:06 pm

Don't take The News Tribune's word for it. Even professional transportation experts say Tim Eyman's lame-brained Initiative 985 is a bad idea.

This from Crosscut:

Washington members of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) voted Wednesday to oppose I-985. "The best professional judgment of these engineers is that I-985 contains significant flaws that will likely, on net, increase congestion and possibly impact safety on the roads and highways of metropolitan Puget Sound," the ITE reported Tuesday on its Web site.

The ITE is most concerned with I-985's mandated hours and rules for carpool lanes, which the society said could result in increased accidents, slower emergency response, poorer transit service, and even increased drive-alone trips.

See the engineers' full statement here. To me, I-985 is another example of Tim Eyman needing something, anything, to keep his perpetual initiative machine in motion. Otherwise he can't make a living.

Categories: Election 3 comments

COMMENTS:

jimkingjr @ 18:57 - Thursday, October 9th, 2008 Email
Eyman has yet to have had a single good idea- but, boy, does he get the free ink! Perhaps if we could get Washington State's media into therapy, and break this co-dependent relationship, he'd go broke having to buy ink like everyone else.
David Seago @ 21:18 - Thursday, October 9th, 2008 Email
That would be nice, Jim, but I don't think the press has the luxury of ignoring him. Unfortunately.

teyman @ 22:24 - Friday, October 10th, 2008 Email
I-985 accomplishes the following goals:

• Prods the Legislature and Governor to implement the many recommendations made by State Auditor Brian Sonntag resulting from the authority granted by I-900 to do performance audits of state and local governments
• illustrates the public's support for making reducing traffic congestion a top transportation priority
• opens up carpool lanes to everyone during non-peak hours – it’s what other states do
• requires local governments to synchronize traffic lights on heavily-traveled arterials and streets
• clears out accidents faster with expanded emergency roadside assistance
• uses a portion (15%) of sales tax revenue from the purchase of new and used vehicles for these policies -- $128 million per year (½% of the state general fund)
• removes the profit motive for red light cameras
• replaces the percentage spent on public art for transportation projects to instead go toward reducing congestion
• institutes critical taxpayer protections on future tolls – guarantees that tolls won’t be diverted to non-transportation spending, dedicating it instead to its project
• empowers the State Auditor to track revenues and expenditures, helping implement I-985’s reforms and reporting regularly to the public on its progress.

http://www.ReduceCongestion.org

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