Many Words for Rain

Seattle Times: Could a 3-cent city gas tax be in your future?

2012-02-01T22:40:00.000-08:00

Localized gas tax, I'm all for it.

Washington cities and counties would gain the power to charge their own gasoline taxes, and increase car-tab collections, under a bill that goes to a Senate Transportation Committee hearing Thursday.
Senate Bill 4306 {sic SB 6582} would amend existing law to allow cities to enact a local gas tax of one, two or three cents per gallon, as described in Section 4 of the bill published Wednesday.
Could a 3-cent city gas tax be in your future?
Posted by Mike Lindblom

SB 6582

Have a great day,
Mike Baker

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HB 2612 Enacting the Washington voting rights act of 2012

2012-01-28T14:57:00.000-08:00

Do we really have to go to court to get rid of at large city councils?
I don't think so.

By definition, “at-large” elections are those in which public officials are elected to represent the entire city, county or state rather than a particular district.
“At-large elections systematically discriminate against minority populations,” said Matt Loretta, a political science professer from the University of Washington testifying on Thursday before the House State Government and Tribal Affairs Committee, “although that does not imply anything about the residents of that district. It does not suggest anyone is a racist.”
Backers of the bill cited the case of Yakima, whose population is 45 percent Latino but whose city council has never elected a Latino member, as evidence of racially polarized voting.
“The members of the Latino community may vote disproportionately for a Latino candidate, but their votes are not enough to overcome those of the city as a whole,” Loretta said. “Consequently, a substantial percentage of the population finds itself politically under-represented.”
According to the bill, following such an election members of the community could file a lawsuit against the city or county and demand to have districts redrawn to more accurately reflect the minority population and/or require representatives to be elected by district rather than at large.
In some cases, the outcome could even be overturned and a new election ordered as soon as feasible.
Rep. Jason Overstreet (R-Blaine), said he was confused by the bill’s assumptions.
“What are you inferring,” he asked. “People get to vote. People get to attend forums and learn about the candidates. Are you saying every election (in which a minority candidate loses) is racially motivated?”
“It doesn’t matter what their motivations are,” Loretta said. “They vote in racially polarized ways whether they’re racists or not. That’s why Latinos and other minorities are under-represented in the process.”

theOlympiaReport.com, Bill would allow minority groups to contest elections in court

The following message was sent to Representative Phyllis Gutierrez Kenney (D), Representative Gerry Pollet (D) and Senator David Frockt (D) of the 46th district.
TO:   Representative Phyllis Gutierrez Kenney

CC:   Representative Gerry Pollet
Senator David Frockt

FROM:   Mr. Michael Baker

STREET ADDRESS:   xxxx N xxxxx St
Seattle, WA 98133

EMAIL:   Communicat.with.Mike@gmail.com

PHONE:   (206) nnn - nnnn

BILL:   2612 (For)

SUBJECT:   I support this, wish it applied to Seattle

MESSAGE:   I appreciate the intent and potential result of the proposed legislation, and hope it passes.

It is unfortunate that there isn't a more simple way to break up the power concentration of at large elections based on population, similar to the way the federal, state, and county districts are formed. You don't have to be an ethnic minority to be underrepresented.
I would be thrilled to have the Seattle 10 mayor system broken up.
Would limiting the population a city could have before it would be required to break into districts accomplish the same result without going through the costly exercise of going to court?
The state legislature goes through redistricting every 10 years, I'm not sure why the state's most populous cities could not do the same. They already participate in this process to some degree.
A simple example would be requiring that cities have populations greater than 5% of a congressional district (or pick some other number) break councils into and odd number of districts, evenly distributing the population as "practicable". Allow for a mix of district and at large positions, but the at large positions can not exceed the number of district positions.
A population based solution might also resolve some resistance from other legislators.

RESPONSE:   Mr. Baker has requested a response to this message.

From POLITICO - GOP makes Obama look good

2012-01-26T21:42:00.000-08:00

These debates are making the Obama staffers in Chicago so giddy that after each one they are tearing off their clothes, running through Millennium Park and howling at the moon.

Title: GOP makes Obama look good

Link: <http://politi.co/z8LYI3>

If you have an iPhone, iPad, Android phone, or Android tablet and don't have the native POLITICO app for your mobile device, you can get it for FREE here:

Have a great day,

Mike Baker

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http://ManyWordsForRain.blogspot.com

Seattle Times: Council irked that McGinn didn't reveal hiring of arena consultant

2012-01-13T23:14:00.000-08:00

Well, they going to have to start engaging the public sometime, even if forced to by the Seattle Times.

Seattle City Council members said Friday they are troubled that Mayor Mike McGinn would hire a consultant to advise the city on the development of a new, state-of-the-art sports facility that could draw an NBA team back to Seattle — without conferring with them.

"I understand vague rumors are one thing. But if they [the Mayor's Office] felt this was important enough to enter into a contract, I think it would have been appropriate to notify the council at that point," said Councilmember Richard Conlin.
. . .
McGinn agreed to a $19,500-per-month contract in July with a nationally prominent sports-facilities consultant, Carl Hirsh.
. . .
"I understand the challenges of KeyArena and the economics of the NBA and NHL," Hirsh said Friday.

Hirsh, managing partner of Stafford Sports in New Jersey, has advised the San Antonio Spurs through construction of their new arena, the AT&T Center. He worked with the city of Orlando to negotiate an agreement with the Orlando Magic for a new downtown arena and with senior management planning a new Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Hirsh estimated it would cost $400 million to build a new arena, although the NBA's New Jersey Nets will spend $800 million on one in Brooklyn. A large portion of that was the cost of land, Hirsh said.

He said an arena could be built on as little as 7 to 8 acres, which is about the size of the parcel the Hansen investment group has shown an interest in acquiring. A limited liability corporation headed by Hansen recently purchased 3 acres on the east side of Occidental Avenue South between South Massachusetts and South Holgate streets.

Hirsh pointed to San Antonio as an example of a small-market city making a new arena pencil out financially. The AT&T Center is home to three teams — the Spurs, the WNBA's Silver Stars and the American Hockey League's Rampage. It also hosts a three-week rodeo as well as concerts and events.

The building was a partnership between the city and the Spurs, with San Antonio voters approving a visitor's tax on hotels, motels and rental cars to finance three-fourths of the costs and the team contributing the rest, said Rick Pych, president of business operations for San Antonio Spurs Sports.

Hirsh said many pieces remain to be put together to make a new arena work in Seattle. And he reiterated what the mayor and council members have said, that there is no firm proposal. But he said the developer is very motivated..

"Do I think it will be easy? No. Do I think we can put together a deal? Yes."
Local News | Council irked that McGinn didn't reveal hiring of arena consultant | Seattle Times Newspaper

If you go to the linked story and look at the contract with the consultant, page 12 you can see what he was hired to do for the city.

In a rare turn of events I will praise the mayor; he did the right thing, the right way.
He kept the situation close to him, worked to understand what is possible, framed his response in I-91 terms (which are almost meaningless since what is being proposed would more than satisfy that), and hired a real pro.

Had he gone to the council before doing any and all of that then this story would have been sandbagged by the sports haters.
I have thought that this would be his eventual downfall politically, but maybe not, hard to say now. His base of support involves some people that ride bikes and hate pro sports, and some that ride bikes and make movies about the loss of the Sonics, (and a f-ing great moving about biking through China). Does he keep the anti pro sports folks, does he then pick up the downtown business association because of this?
Very strange, I think it becomes a big positive for him but I don’t think it helps enough at the ballot box.

Good for him, good for ArenaSolution.org.

Seattle Times: Higher fees to play sports leaves kids on sidelines

2012-01-08T11:35:00.000-08:00

Multi-millionaire athletes enter our state to play games and make money without contributing to the extra-curricular sports activities those entertainment industries rely on to perpetuate their business model.

This state could, in accordance with the state constitution, institute a 1% income tax on professional athletes. They could then use that money to fund these sports programs instead of school districts, funding armature and professional sports facilities, instead of middle class tax payers.
Close that loop around sports and let it sink or swim based on its own ability to self-sustain.

Local News | Higher fees to play sports leaves kids on sidelines | Seattle Times Newspaper

This is not some "plan" to build an arena. This is just me expressing my broad policy position.

Predictions for 2012

2011-12-31T15:06:00.000-08:00

This is my third year making predictions. What I have learned from previous years is that the future is difficult to predict. I try to be as specific as possible, and hopefully entertaining.
I will re-use some predictions that were ahead of their time.

I called 2011 the "Year of the Hollow Victory". It just looked to me that so many public figures were waging battle that they may be missing the war. The microscope the media places on everything takes some getting use to seeing. The fact of the matter is that some media reports are informational, some news, and some simply wrong. Not every report deserves a full measure of rebuke.

2012 will be the year of people looking back at 2011 and 2012 becoming the Year of Buyer's Remorse

Here we go:
Obama wins re-election.
The Republican splinter is a fissure. A Republican will run as an "Independent". When the circus music stops, and some selfish book whore has sunk his (or her) party's hopes, it will leave some of the far Right on an every shrinking island.

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn will lose the 2013 election in 2012.
I know it looks like it is already over, but he still has parts of a fragile coelition that he has yet to break apart. He's got a basketball Jones, but doing the right thing for the right reasons isn't good enough for the rabid sports haters that have pooled up as one of McGinn's groups of support.

Initiative 502 will pass, legalizing marijuana at the state level.

Smoking in public places of medicinal marijuana will ironically be against the law.

A rerun from 2011: 1.b. Congressional Democrats will champion state's rights [for marijuana use].

Another rerun from 2011: 5. The state will grant counties the power and authority to raise taxes to pay for transit by popular vote, adding an increase to the Motor Vehicle Excise Tax limit, and property tax limit, counties and cities could use.

The Sacramento Kings will make plans to relocate to Washington State (no insider info here, just a straight prediction), prompting another team to beat hem to the market.

A third option, not Key Arena, will emerge as another multi-purpose arena location (again, no insider info here, just a prediction). This is a real estate problem.

Rob McKenna will be elected Governor of the State of Washington, and will instantly disappoint the Republican Party with his first proposed budget.

Bob Ferguson will win the race to be Washington State's Attourney General.

People living in Medina, Washington, will refer to the people living in Bellevue, Washington's 9th Congressional District as living in "District 9".

Dow Constantine will be the front runner to replace Rob McKenna as 2012 comes to a close.

Suzan DelBene will be elected to congress in the 1st Congressional District.

The color for 2012 will be a very dark green, almost black.

And now a little music, The Walkmen, In the New Year

Seattle Times: Wealthy ex-Seattle man behind NBA arena proposal

2011-12-23T22:54:00.000-08:00

The story from KING 5's Chris Daniels was light on details and heavy on innuendo. I had thought at the time that if there was a story that could be told via land acquisitions in Seattle that the Seattle Times would have the reach to put it together. In fact, I now regularly look at the Seattle Times business section to see if there are any more land transactions that could have something to do with locating an arena.

The Seattle Times is on the story. Between them and KING 5 I expect that if there is a story to be told that they will find it and tell it.

A wealthy San Francisco hedge-fund manager is the lead investor seeking to build a sports arena south of Safeco Field to lure an NBA basketball team back to Seattle, according to two sources briefed on the effort.

Christopher Hansen, 43, who has roots in Seattle and now heads Valiant Capital Management LLC, in San Francisco, is working with an investor group whose proposal has yet to be publicly unveiled.
. . .
McGinn, an avid basketball fan, has been working with the Sodo investor group for several months to explore how the city can assist, including help with financing, according to sources. As part of the effort, McGinn hired an arena consultant, sources said.
. . .
The group behind the Sodo effort is separate from a recently publicized campaign being led by longtime Sonics fan Brian Robinson and his organization, Arena Solution, to secure a new arena and an NBA team.

Among those involved in the Sodo plan is Wally Walker, the former Seattle Sonics player and team executive, sources said. Walker was a minority owner of the Sonics, serving as the team's president and general manager from 1994 until the team was sold to Clay Bennett in 2006.
. . .

Seattle Times: Local News | Wealthy ex-Seattle man behind NBA arena proposal

I think the media is missing the point of ArenaSolution.org. That effort is to support an arena solution, not any one particular solution.

Seattle Times, Politics Northwest: Steinbrueck eyeing mayor's race

2011-12-17T12:13:00.000-08:00

First, Steinbrueck should run, absolutely. I think he would be considered in the top 3 among the contenders no matter who people considered the other 2.
I think that gets him into the general election.

He also doesn't have the stink of the deep bore tunnel on him. He doesn't have the stench of being the champion of the losing side of that vote, and the de-facto loser of Prop 1 vote.

Former Seattle City Councilmember Peter Steinbrueck says he may run for mayor in 2013.

"I am seriously thinking about Seattle's future in a way that I have never thought of it in the past," he said. "It's two years out, so it's a little early to be making announcements."
. . .
As a citizen activist and then two-term City Councilmember, Steinbrueck focused often on land-use, fighting to preserve industrial land and limit building heights downtown. He was often a pointed critic of the Greg Nickels administration.

Steinbrueck's father, Victor Steinbrueck, is known for his work in land use, as well: fighting for almost a decade to save the Pike Place Market.

For years, speculation in political circles was that Steinbrueck's wife didn't want him to run. He wouldn't comment directly about personal matters, but said Friday that he and his wife were getting a divorce.

Tension between family and public life "often is unavoidable," he said, adding: "family and personal matters have always been important in my decision-making."

Since he has been back in town, Steinbrueck has made a few appearances in political life, including moderating a City Council candidate forum this summer. "There's a lot of talk going on around town," he said. "I've been hearing a lot of dissatisfaction, frankly, a lot of frustrations."

The right time for an announcement, he suggested, might be in about six months.
Seattle Times, Politics Northwest: Steinbrueck eyeing mayor's race

In no particular order:
Ed, tunnel champion, Murray
Peter, the boy who would be king, Steinbrueck

I think those two would make it through a primary, but not nessisarily together. They would split some faux green yuppie votes, and money, and old Seattle money.
Either one would then crush whoever noted below cobbled together enough splinter sub-groups to end up in the general election.

Then in order:
Mike, upzone cheerleader, McGinn
Tim, it's good to not be a cop right now, Burgess
wRong Sims
Sally, sometimes invisible, Clark
Bruce, I really do live in Seattle, Harrell

Peter, I hope you like hockey and basketball, taxing professional athletes, and not spending general fund money on anything except basic services we are struggling with. Otherwise,you will struggle finding the voters.

Seattle Times Editorials: Region's NBA dreams shouldn't involve public investment

2011-12-16T14:51:00.000-08:00

Leave it to the Seattle Times to point out the extremely obvious, we are not going to spend existing tax money on an arena.

SEATTLE basketball fans are excited by news that two different investor groups are trying to bring NBA basketball back to the region — either to the Eastside or Sodo area of Seattle.

But the idea will not go far unless the latest groups trying to replace the departed Seattle SuperSonics are willing to invest huge sums of private money in a team and an arena.

The current economic climate precludes public investment from any existing or new revenue sources, including the recently expired sales tax on bars and restaurants in King County.

An investor is acquiring property in the stadium area of Seattle and talks have taken place with Mayor Mike McGinn about efforts to attract a new NBA franchise and facility. Hockey is apparently part of the planning.

If the city wants to fast-track permits or make minor transportation adjustments to accommodate a job creating endeavor, that would be fine.

But with the state, county and city cutting numerous basic services, public investment cannot be part of the equation.

An investor is acquiring property in the stadium area of Seattle and talks have taken place with Mayor Mike McGinn about efforts to attract a new NBA franchise and facility. Hockey is apparently part of the planning.

If the city wants to fast-track permits or make minor transportation adjustments to accommodate a job creating endeavor, that would be fine.

But with the state, county and city cutting numerous basic services, public investment cannot be part of the equation.
. . .

But spending new taxes that only exist because professional athletes exists, that looks like a yes, as long as the tax can only be contained to those athletes and not spread to the rest of the population as an income tax.

One idea under consideration is to mix sizable private investment with some sort of tax on players or teams in all major league sports to cover the cost of building a new arena and future repairs to existing stadiums. This approach is used in a few other NBA locales.

If this becomes a prelude to an income tax, forget it. Voters are an unequivocal no on that idea. If it becomes something more creative, skepticism is the first reaction, but we need to hear more.
Seattle Times Editorials: Region's NBA dreams shouldn't involve public investment

Well, I think we all need to hear more about this "creative" idea. The sooner, the better.

Have a great day,
Mike Baker

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http://ManyWordsForRain.blogspot.com

Seattle Times: News: City approached about basketball arena near Safeco Field

2011-12-10T14:11:00.000-08:00

Seattle city officials have been approached by a private group looking to build a basketball arena in the Sodo District near Safeco Field in the hopes of attracting an NBA franchise, according to two sources who have been briefed on the talks.
. . .
McGinn's office confirmed Friday night that it is examining an "opportunity," but declined to provide specific information.
. . .
"Our office has had many enthusiastic overtures concerning the return of an NBA franchise to Seattle," the statement said. "Some of these offers have been serious. Some have not been serious. And the current speculation is over one of these proposals. We are looking at this opportunity, examining its specifics and how it fits our city. At this point, we have not received a concrete offer."

The statement added: "When we do reach that point, the City Council will be our first step in moving forward and then there will be an open process to evaluate that offer before we move forward. We would welcome a serious commitment from the NBA to re-establish a franchise with responsible ownership, to our community."
. . .
The group behind the Sodo effort is separate from a recently publicized campaign being led by longtime Sonics fan Brian Robinson and his organization, Arena Solution, to secure a new arena and an NBA team.

Among those involved in the Sodo plan is Wally Walker, the former Seattle Sonics player and team executive, the sources said. . .
Seattle Times: News: City approached about basketball arena near Safeco Field

The effort lead by Brian Robinson is a much broader effort, uses a different approach, and isn't actually in competition with the SODO effort.

The television report last Thursday was accurate:

“Everywhere I go people want it. If you talk to contractors, plumbers, electricians, they want it. If you go to the Bellevue Athletic Club, people want it. If you go to Rainier Beach HS, people want it.”

The group “Arena Solution” – which he calls a “group of people who want to talk about solving this critical problem” - lists an impressive collection of names. Former Sonics CEO Bob Whitsitt and local developer Craig Kinzer are part of the group.

“There are a number of people both private and public trying to make this work,” says Kinzer, who helped broker the deal for Benaroya Hall, Safeco Field, and the Children’s Hospital expansion, among others.
“Let’s make this more transparent,” says the CEO of Kinzer Real Estate Services. “We’re much further along than people realize.”

Kinzer, also a former Sonics minority owner, says there are “three or four” spots which have been seriously considered for an arena.
“I’m helping (Arena Solution) talk with all the jurisdictions and let them each know the things they can do.”
KING5.com: Group of civic, business leaders attempt 'Arena Solution'

The facts are, there is more than 1 group interested in building an arena, more than 1 site is a prospective site. What ArenaSolution.org is attempting to do is to perform a civic action, how can they help make an arena happen? Reaching out to these different groups and people isn't quite the same as leading a group of potential team owners that want to figure out an arena solution for their specific purposes.

ArenaSolution.org is interested in working with any and all potential owners of teams, facilities, leaders public and private.
ArenaSolution.org

I support the efforts of ArenaSolution.org.

The more, the merrier.

Have a great day,
Mike Baker

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http://ManyWordsForRain.blogspot.com

City of Seattle leadership structure survey

2011-11-23T14:47:00.000-08:00

Posted Wed, Nov 23, 2:20 p.m.

City of Seattle leadership structure:
1. How useful would Councilmembers elected by district be to you?

2. Compared to actual democracy, is our service quality better, worse, or about the same?

3. Compared to actual democracy, how effective is our service?

City of Seattle leadership structure survey

— Mr Baker

Seattle Times Newspaper Editorials: Bill to tap into online sales-tax revenue makes sense

2011-11-12T12:06:00.000-08:00

As the Seattle Times phases in and out of reality I thought I would highlight one of their editorials that makes sense.

The Seattle Times in favor of closing a tax loophole that should be regulated by federal law under the commerce clause of the Constitution.

WASHINGTON'S delegation in Congress, Democrat and Republican, should support the Marketplace Fairness Act, a bipartisan Senate bill that would allow states to collect sales taxes on online and catalog purchases across state lines.

For years, Washington residents have escaped sales taxes by buying online. People have enjoyed doing this, brushing aside the irksome thought that they were shortchanging local merchants, wiping out local jobs and undermining local governments. When the Internet was small and times were good, their irresponsibility could be overlooked. No longer.

Most states have an income tax. Our state does not, and has voted four times against one. If a sales tax is what the people want, they must update it for the 21st century — and in an Internet world, that means collecting the tax across state lines.
. . .
Seattle Times Newspaper Editorials: Bill to tap into online sales-tax revenue makes sense

This has been a loophole large enough to drive a UPS truck through the Washington State economy for a decade.
This is one of many distortions to the economy that need to be resolved.

Have a great day,
Mike Baker

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Visit me here:
http://ManyWordsForRain.blogspot.com

Rick Perry's Presidential Asparations Caught on Film

2011-11-10T20:49:00.001-08:00

Bike License Application

2011-10-16T22:46:00.000-07:00

How hard could it be?

Lawmaker drafts plan to bring NBA, NHL to new Seattle arena | KING5.com Seattle

2011-10-01T08:59:00.000-07:00

It will be interesting to see which politicians get out in front and support, which line up to follow, and if any pose genuine opposition. Mike Hope, a Republican, is running for Snohomish County Executive. Don't expect a bunch of Democrats to drop their own campaigns for re-election or support for other candidates to pick up this cause before the November elections are over.I have not seen the draft legislation yet, when I do I will post my thoughts here and/or at the Arena Solution website.To connect with the effort go to arenasolution.org

Representative Mike Hope (R, Lake Stevens) has drafted legislation that will fund a new arena. He believes it will not only bring an NBA team to Seattle, but a professional hockey team as well.. . .Brian Robinson, co-founder of the organization Save our Sonics, is on a task force with Hope aiming to bring the NBA back to Seattle, but in a new venue."It's affected a lot of people who used to watch these games with their kids," said Robinson. "The fact that we could see politicians actually get something done would bring a lot of excitement to a lot of people."The proposed legislation would require local and visiting professional athletes in the NBA, NFL and MLB to pay a fee for every game they play in Seattle. He says a lot of other cities already have similar laws built into their tax revenue. Hope says it would levy $140 million towards a new sports arena. He's also proposing specialty license plates for Sonics fans, generating another $10 million for bonds.http://www.king5.com/news/local/Lawmaker-drafts-plan-to-bring-NBA-NHL-to-new-Seattle-arena-130898198.html

Michael J. Baker
Seattle, Wa

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Sept. 22: King County Executive reaches creative solution that moves forward North Lot development

2011-09-22T20:55:00.000-07:00

No multi-use arena on the parking lot north of Seahawks Stadium.

King County Executive Dow Constantine today announced an agreement that will allow for the long-held goal of constructing a mixed-use development with affordable housing to begin in Seattle's Pioneer Square, on the parking lot just north of the old Kingdome site.http://www.kingcounty.gov/exec/news/release/2011/September/22NorthLot.aspx

Unfortunately, the county found a way to resolve a conflict. Darn meddling government.

Have a great day,
Mike Baker

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Visit me here:
http://ManyWordsForRain.blogspot.com

Google+ = AOL 1997

2011-09-04T23:23:00.000-07:00

If you want to take a giant step backward in the social consciousness of the Internet then just become a Google+ user. And yet it is worse than that, Google+ isn't just the worst work party you have ever skipped, it is also an unending telemarketer.

Sounds enticing? No?

All you have to do is always use your personal identity everywhere on the Internet and grant Google the rights to everything you say and do, as well as everything anybody you know says or does anything that is even remotely connected to you for their commercial gain, "We will record information about your activity - such as posts you comment on and the other users with whom you interact - in order to provide you and other users with a better experience on Google services.."

Google+, Googles version of Facebook, has come under fire not only for it's insistence on you submitting government identification as a condition of participation, but for its failure to engage in meaningful dialog on what they are wanting people to do.

Google Plus: no stupider moment for Google to subscribe to the gospel of Zuckerberg.

Google Plus's controversial identity policy requires all users to use their "real names". Commentators have pointed to problems with this, including the implausibility of Google being able to determine correctly which names are real and which ones are fake. Other problems include the absurdity of Google's demand for scans of government ID to accomplish this task and the fractal implausibility of Google being able to discern real from fake in all forms of government ID.

Google argues that people behave better when they use their real names. Google also states it is offering an identity service, not a social network, and therefore needs to know who you are and, thirdly, that no one is forcing you to use Google Plus.

However valid the first two points may be, they are eclipsed by the monumental intellectual dishonesty of that last one – no one's holding a gun to your head, so shut up if you don't like it.

Because when Google's chairman, Eric Schmidt, told NPR's Andy Carvin, "G+ is completely optional. No one is forcing you to use it", he implied the only time a service should come under critical scrutiny is when it is mandatory.

This simplistic theory of critical discourse is perfectly incoherent, implying that in a marketplace, the only role "consumers" have is to buy things or not buy things, use things or not use things, and that these decisions should not be informed by vigorous debate and discussion, but only by marketing messages.
. . .
Read the rest of Cory Doctorow's, Google Plus forces us to discuss identity: Google's Real Name policy embodies a theory that states the way to maximise civility is to abolish anonymity, here.

The Stasi were less intrusive.

Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO, has this nutty idea that if people had to use their real names then they would not be as mean. That's absurd, I know plenty of real assholes in real life, and I know their real names, but that hasn't prevented them from being assholes.

For that matter, I know Eric Schmidt used his real name and is using his company's position and power to stamp out anonymity. He's a real asshole, and I don't feel one bit better that I know his real name.

What the real world will miss out on by extinguishing anonymity is the kindness of strangers, expressed to strangers, in public forums, with the security of knowing that an expression of genuine human emotion is unconstrained by what somebody looks like or they have a name difficult to pronounce.

Worse yet, the Internet in many ways is still an expression of the written form of communication, where anyone and everyone is the writer. Some writers, sometimes, in some situations, want to be anonymous. They have their reasons. No one is forcing you to read them.

Eric Schmidt's desire to extinguish the nom de guerre is a affront to liberty, and is bound to be an epic failure.
This Internet bubble society has been tried before, it was called America On-Line. Welcome to your future Google+, AOL 1997.

In the mean time many well meaning and naive people will stuff your servers full of their personal information to be used against them later in their lives, under the guise of a "better user experience".

In Eric Schmidt's Google+ world N.W. Clerk doesn't exist, and that is a world not living in.

Seattle Times: Seattle's $60 car-tab fee: where it could go

2011-09-02T18:47:00.000-07:00

In an uncertain world there are few things harder to sell than higher taxes with an uncertain plan for those taxes.

As Seattle voters ponder whether to boost car-tab fees another $60, they can't peruse a simple list of projects and decide if they want to pay to have them done.

Instead, if they agree to pay an estimated $204 million over 10 years, the City Council would later make decisions about how to spend it.

The measure on the Nov. 8 ballot is different from a typical school or parks construction levy.

There's only a general plan for the money, but most of it would support transit, cycling and pedestrian projects. About one-fifth is earmarked for pavement repair or replacement.
. . .

Seattle Times Newspaper, Seattle's $60 car-tab fee: where it could go

When you can write a headline as an open question in reference to $200 million dollars, you have to wonder just how much effort will have to be made to get this tax to pass.

Seattle Times: Parking spat may stall project at CenturyLink Field

2011-08-26T20:56:00.000-07:00

The story about the parking lot north of Seahawks stadium that is slowly being sold by King County to a condo/apartment developer has reached the Seattle Times.

The problem: Developer Daniels Real Estate and the owner of the stadium, known until recently as Qwest Field, haven't reached agreement on replacing 491 premium parking stalls the development would displace.

King County owns the property, nearly 4 acres covering the northern half of the parking lot. The sale to Daniels is to close Sept. 12. Work on the first phase — 444 apartments in 10- and 25-story towers, plus retail — is expected to start days later.

But one of Daniels' prospective construction lenders put a hold on the loan last week, citing the dispute over replacement parking.

. . .
A series of inter-government agreements allowed the PSA and First & Goal to continue free use of the 491 stalls and all the revenue they generate until redevelopment happened.

Then the developer was to provide a replacement parking structure.

Those agreements also included language allowing the PSA to "seek transfer" of the 4 acres from the county if redevelopment hadn't begun by July 2008, and if the board determined it needed the property.

That's the provision the authority cited in its Aug. 11 resolution threatening to seek ownership.

It's unclear how far the PSA can push that. The panel can't condemn property, Hine said.

The sale contract the county signed with Daniels in 2007 included language requiring the developer to provide replacement parking both during construction and permanently, adding that it "must be acceptable to the PSA."

Yang said the county and Daniels both have lived up to their legal obligations. Daniels has offered to build a replacement garage on two sites, or to pay cash to settle the issue, he said.

PSA officials wouldn't discuss details of those offers. But Hine said none fully replaces what the stadium would be losing.

There's money involved here. The county expects to get $10 million from Daniels when the sale closes.

First & Goal collects $2 million a year in revenue from the 491 parking stalls, Postman said; a 1 percent parking tax the PSA collects on that goes to help pay off bonds sold to build the stadium.

But "it's not a question of revenue," said another Allen representative, Lyn Tangen. "It's a question of having adequate parking."

Seattle Times, Parking spat may stall project at CenturyLink Field

First and Goal, the stadium authority, whoever, should take control of the property, pay the county the 10 million dollars, build an underground garage, restaurants and shops on the street level and an arena on top.

He would make a killing, Seattle would get an indoor facility that would have the least involvement from the City of Seattle, and people that can afford an NBA ticket would flood local businesses 41 nights a year (and/or NHL).

Have a great day,
Mike Baker

Sent from my iPhone
Visit me here:
http://ManyWordsForRain.blogspot.com

Psychic friends connection: Malcolm Gladwell on 'Psychic Benefits' and the NBA Lockout

2011-08-24T22:29:00.000-07:00

Malcolm Gladwell does a fine job if telling one side of the story with fairly old information and remarkably little insight into the decline of the psychic friends network between sports professional sports are the public in general.
Here is Gladwell explaining the NBA as if this were 2007.

Psychic benefits describe the pleasure that someone gets from owning something — over and above economic returns . . .

The rationale for the NBA lockout, from the owner's perspective, goes something like this. Basketball is a business. Businesses are supposed to make money. And when profits are falling, as they are now for basketball teams, a business is obliged to cut costs — which in this case means the amount of money paid to players. In response, the players' association has said two things. First, basketball teams actually do make money. And second, if they don't, it's not the players' fault. When the two sides get together, this is what they fight about. But both arguments miss the point. The issue isn't how much money the business of basketball makes. The issue is that basketball isn't a business in the first place — and for things that aren't businesses how much money is, or isn't, made is largely irrelevant.

Basketball teams, of course, look like businesses. They have employees and customers and offices and a product, and they tend to be owned, in the manner of most American businesses, by rich white men. But scratch the surface and the similarities disappear. Pro sports teams don't operate in a free market, the way real businesses do. Their employees are 25 years old and make millions of dollars a year. Their customers are obsessively loyal and emotionally engaged in their fortunes to the point that — were the business in question, say, discount retailing or lawn products — it would be considered psychologically unhealthy. They get to control their labor through the draft in a way that would be the envy of other private sector owners, at least since the Civil War. And they are treated by governments with unmatched generosity. Congress gives professional baseball an antitrust exemption. Since 2000, there have been eight basketball stadiums either built or renovated for NBA teams at a cost of $2 billion — and $1.75 billion of that came from public funds.4 And did you know that under the federal tax code the NFL is classified as a nonprofit organization?5 Big genial Roger Goodell, he of the almost $4 billion in television contracts, makes like he's the United Way.
. . .

The best illustration of psychic benefits is the art market. Art collectors buy paintings for two reasons. They are interested in the painting as an investment — the same way they would view buying stock in General Motors. And they are interested in the painting as a painting — as a beautiful object. In a recent paper in Economics Bulletin, the economists Erdal Atukeren and Aylin Seçkin used a variety of clever ways to figure out just how large the second psychic benefit is, and they put it at 28 percent.7 In other words, if you pay $100 million for a Van Gogh, $28 million of that is for the joy of looking at it every morning. If that seems like a lot, it shouldn't. There aren't many Van Goghs out there, and they are very beautiful. If you care passionately about art, paying that kind of premium makes perfect sense.
. . .

The big difference between art and sports, of course, is that art collectors are honest about psychic benefits. They do not wake up one day, pretend that looking at a Van Gogh leaves them cold, and demand a $27 million refund from their art dealer. But that is exactly what the NBA owners are doing. They are indulging in the fantasy that what they run are ordinary businesses — when they never were. And they are asking us to believe that these "businesses" lose money. But of course an owner is only losing money if he values the psychic benefits of owning an NBA franchise at zero — and if you value psychic benefits at zero, then you shouldn't own an NBA franchise in the first place. You should sell your "business" — at what is sure to be a healthy premium — to someone who actually likes basketball.
Malcolm Gladwell on Malcolm Gladwell on 'Psychic Benefits' and the NBA Lockout

A couple things, the Hornets sold below market rate to prevent a sale at a massive loss (more or less a repo by the NBA), the Bobcats sold at a massive loss.
Never, ever, compare the NBA with the NFL. The NFL makes money, no matter how badly they try to screw it up. The NBA has high revenue but that doesn't always mean profit, and absolutely not profits on the scale the has anybody in the NBA acting like Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys. Remarkably few NBA team owners could whip out a checkbook and build an area knowing that they will make freakish amounts of actual, honest to goodness, profit from that investment in facilities. Know why? Because the actual value of an NFL team still puts it in the realm of being a profitable business.

The bulk of NBA franchise do not exist on the same financial planet as the bulk if NFL teams. The Dan Snyder reference is absurd in its meaninglessness to the NBA owner situation.

The bulk of the latest NBA franchise sales have more to do with the profitability of their associated arenas than with the actual NBA team. If the Memphis Grizzlies owner controlled all of the revenue in his building then he could have sold his team 4 years ago for $400 million dollars with very little effort. But he doesn't, so he bleeds money.

The public has stopped giving away brand new arenas.

The reality is that the NBA is a business because people borrow money to buy teams, and the lenders expect to get repaid. The cities that most of these franchises exist can no longer afford to play along in feeding this broken business.

Wealthy individuals owning teams has been on the decline for years, and lately so has the publics desire to fund sports facilities.

The fact is that in order for the NBA owners to keep this art form going they are going to have to pitch in on building facilities, borrow large sums of money to do it, and have to run their hobbies like businesses, or you end up like 1/4 of the teams, bleeding money while trapped in an arena lease that can't be justified by the profits the these teams are making.

As local theater stages went dark over the past year was it that wealthy people just didn't love them enough? I think not. Was it that they, too, were in a broken business model, that despite the psychic value, there still needed to be a viable business underneath?

That is more likely a better comparison, local live theater and the NBA, and neither is like the NFL.

Seattle Times Newspaper's Danny Westneat: Digging into Seattle's century-old debate

2011-08-14T20:44:00.000-07:00

Seattle, vote Yes on Referendum 1.

In 1904, the Great Northern Tunnel, although not the longest, was the highest, 28 feet, and widest, 30 feet, in the United States. The finished tunnel was lighted by electricity, well ventilated and large enough to accommodate a double line of tracks. In constructing the tunnel, $1,000,000 was spent on labor alone and $500,000 was spent for materials and other costs. The tunnel was intended for use by both the Great Northern and the Northern Pacific Railroads, who split the cost of construction.
Historylink.org

Today, in the Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat points out that we have a tunnel already, it is 100 years old, and was constructed to reduce traffic congestion.
I think it is odd that a journalist has to point something out to the anti-tunnel folks, including the mayor.

In part, here is Danny Wesrtneat:

Mayor Mike McGinn mostly opposes digging a tunnel for financial and environmental reasons, but he has also called the project "unacceptably risky." He cited how it will be dug through "extreme soil conditions" beneath a major American city.

But nobody ever seems to mention that we already have a tunnel down there. It was dug through these same soils. It's no minor tube, either. It's a mile long and 30 feet in diameter (enough room for two train ways). In places, it is 140 feet below the surface.

And here's the thing that gets me: They dug it by hand.

In April 1903, "an army of 350 workers with pickaxes, shovels and wheelbarrows began digging into the hillside" at the foot of Virginia Street, according to theSeattle history website historylink.org.

The Great Northern Tunnel is smaller — it's 60 percent of the length of today's proposed 1.7 mile-long tunnel, and only about half as wide. Still, at the time it was the largest train tunnel ever attempted (again — sound familiar?). Yet it took two work crews digging from opposite ends only 17 months to chisel the entire thing out by hand.

That's about the time it takes us to convene an advisory commission.

According to newspaper reports at the time, incessant water seepage hampered work, as did soil cave-ins, boulders and the discovery of a prehistoric forest. Yet the entire project cost only $1.5 million. Plus it's still in heavy use 108 years later. The last earthquake, in 2001, didn't crack it or move it an inch.

In today's dollars, the old train tunnel cost about $40 million — fifty times less than what we're projected to pay for the new tunnel.

"I don't think that train tunnel has ever missed a day of service," says Ron Paananen, manager of the state's team planning the current tunnel. "It changed the face of Seattle, and it doesn't get a lot of notice."

How can we be so freaked out by something when we did a version of the same thing more than a hundred years ago?

Danny Westneat | Digging into Seattle's century-old debate | Seattle Times Newspaper

I have mentioned it, many times, and so the joke goes like this:
1 hundred years ago, hundreds of pickaxes, hundreds of men, 10's of jackasses, were used to build the tunnel we already have.
Now we have 1 machine, hundreds of men and women, and 1 jackass - Mike McGinn, will be used to build this tunnel.

Regarding the $80 VLF, rail transit

2011-08-13T07:30:00.000-07:00

To: the Seattle City Council [sent via email, 8/12/2011]
Please, do not write an unending blank check for a light rail "idea". There isn't a plan, plans have defined duration and resources. Light rail in Seattle has neither, yet. You have a map.

Light rail should be, as the mayor said during his campaign, put to a vote. It should be better defined, and a separate ballot measure.

It is simply absurd to have the mayor "ask the hard questions" asking for a blank check for light rail.

Show that plan, let the people decide.

Have a great day,

Mike Baker

Seattle, WA

On Aug 11, 2011, at 12:30 PM, "Office of the Mayor" <Office_of_the_Mayor@mail.vresp.com> wrote:

Office of the Mayor
City of Seattle
Last night, supporters of an $80 vehicle license fee showed up at City Council chambers and asked Councilmembers to support the proposal previously recommended by Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee. People in support of an $80 fee included rail supporters, neighborhood advocates for rail, for transit reliability and transportation choices, advocates for pedestrian infrastructure, supporters of job creation, and other people from a wide variety of backgrounds. The Stranger characterized testimony as "overwhelmingly lopsided in favor of sending an $80 fee to the voters".

If you weren't in attendance, you can listen to public comment on the Seattle Channel, or read about the hearing here or here.

The community is making its voice heard in other ways. A group of leading environmental advocates wrote to the City Council in support of the $80 fee, writing "We ask you to place this measure before the voters. We are eager to support it. Polls show that the citizens of Seattle want this."

VOICE YOUR SUPPORT FOR RAIL TODAY:
Momentum for rail is growing, but the Council is still deliberating this proposal. If you haven't shared your thoughts about this proposal with the City Council yet, please do so today. The Council will make their final decision on Monday. Simply email Councilmembers:
richard.conlin@seattle.gov; sally.bagshaw@seattle.gov; tim.burgess@seattle.gov; sally.clark@seattle.gov; jean.godden@seattle.gov; bruce.harrell@seattle.gov; nick.licata@seattle.gov; mike.obrien@seattle.gov; tom.rasmussen@seattle.gov

LINKS:
Read the Mayor's Blog Post: "For Rail, Be Bold"
Watch public testimony from last night's Transportation Benefit District Public Hearing
Read more about emailing City Council
Read The Stranger's post about the hearing
Read the Fremont Universe post about the proposal
Read the Ballard KOMO post on the debate
Subscribe to Mayor McGinn's newsletter "The Reader"

Click to view this email in a browser

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the following link: Unsubscribe

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Office of the Mayor
PO Box 94749
Seattle, Washington 98124
US
Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy.

Chesapeake Energy and Aubrey McClendon can burn in Hell

2011-08-01T11:40:00.000-07:00

It is always interesting to see the ads that get placed on my personal blog. Usually, the ads are loosely tied to the content of the blog, Seattle, Washington State, King County, Arts, Sports ... Once in a while an advertisement will show up and I feel compelled to comment.

Today's gem, Chesapeake Energy.

I am not sure how this got here. I am able to filter this out in the future. For now, let me say this: Aubrey McClendon, the owner of Chesapeake Energy, can burn in Hell for eternity, the sooner, the better.

And as it turns out, July has set a record as the hottest month ever recorded in Oklahoma.

The line that I hope eventually forms of those that wish to kick him in the crotch, let me be first.

Seattle Times, Editorials: Republican budget drama comes at a real cost for taxpayers

2011-07-30T10:13:00.000-07:00

The Republican establishment supporting, big business championing, Seattle Times Editorial Board is throwing the Tea Party Republicans to the wolves (in this case, that's you). The facts are that the Congress has already committed, and in most cases spent, the money they are failing to borrow. The federal government passes a budget to appropriate (buy) funds beyond the amour of money it will take in so it can give billionaires a tax cut they didn't earn by providing the jobs they claim they are using the money for, and to fund two long wars.

The bills are coming due, pay them, or nobody will lend you money (or charge us more in interest to borrow money we are transferring to billionaires).

HOUSE Republicans favoring gimmicks over governance pushed the federal government to the brink of default on U.S. debt and obligations.

Self-righteous political partisans might find virtue in plunging the economy into a deadline-focused discussion of excess spending — if not skimpy revenue measures — but the theatrics come at a cost.
Editorials | Republican budget drama comes at a real cost for taxpayers | Seattle Times Newspaper

The Tea Party Republicans are jumping off head first into an imaginary pool of economics that doesn't exist. They have it half right, families pay their bills, where they have it completely wrong is that (unlike the Tea Party Republicans) when the bills are due for payment on the things they appropriate money for, we pay those bills, or our credit rating goes down.

It is pretty simple, the Tea Party Republicans didn't get way in the budget process and are now wanting another chance at the budget process. But they failed to notice that a majority of Congress voted for the COMPROMISE budget this borrowing is supposed to pay for. And a majority of Congress will raise the debt ceiling to pay for that budget.
The establishment Republicans (that includes the Seattle Times Newspaper) are siding with reality, and not with you.

The pendulum swings back from the crazy conservative side.

Seattle Times: Anti-tunnel campaign apologizes for attack on pro-tunnel environmentalists [perpetrated by Ben Schiendelman ]

2011-07-23T12:10:00.000-07:00

Ben Schiendelman gets the brushback pitch from environmentalists.

Goldman, a big contributor to progressive political candidates, including former Sierra Club activists Mayor Mike McGinn and O'Brien, chalked up the comments to "this kid" who "made a mistake."

Still, Goldman said, it was "totally inappropriate" to challenge the credentials and environmental experience of tunnel backers because they disagreed about the project.

The environmental community has been sharply divided over the $2 billion tunnel. The Sierra Club, Sightline Institute and Earth Day co-founder Denis Hayes have all blasted the project for encouraging driving, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and squandering transportation dollars that could be better spent on less-polluting alternatives.

But other environmentalists, including Fletcher and Goldman, argue that removal of the viaduct allows for the creation of an appealing green space along the waterfront, restoration of shoreline habitat, reduction of auto emissions and storm-water runoff, and the elimination of a huge source of noise pollution.

"There's an honest difference of opinion whether this is the best environmental solution," said Goldman.
Seattle Times, Anti-tunnel campaign apologizes for attack on pro-tunnel environmentalists

Ben Schiendelman is not helping the debate with the comments he and his minions, have made in regard to other environmentalists.
Who is Ben Sciendelman?
Acceding to the blog he has contributed to over the past 4 years, Seattle Transit Blog, it says this:

Contributor Ben Schiendelman joined in 2007 to better consolidate news and information about our upcoming transit expansions, and to build a better base to further grow our system. He previously wrote the blog Higher Frequency, and worked on the 2008 Mass Transit Now campaign. Ben refuses to own a driver’s license.

He found his love for transit, density and walkability in Japan, on the Shinkansen and in Kyoto, and later cemented it in France, both Strasbourg and Paris.

Ben is deeply involved in political activism for transit.

So, he isn't just "some kid". He is promoted by very minor media outlets as somebody that has written extensively on mass transit, is an activist, and apparently is well known enough to appear on KUOW as some sort of authoritative voice on the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Project that is capable of forming a knowledgable opinion and participating in a debate.

Well, maybe he isn't an authority on every aspect of the Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Project, and maybe the media should stop acting as if he is.

Al Franken says, "It's time"

2011-07-22T18:45:00.000-07:00

Listen up. This doesn't mean that Al Franken and I will be forced to leave our respective (and wonderful) wives and marry each other. It means that another married couple will not be denied the rights and privileges that other married couples have.

Begin forwarded message:

From: Al Franken <no-reply@alfranken.com>
Date: July 22, 2011 2:59:47 PM PDT
To: Michael Baker
Subject: It's time
Reply-To: info@alfranken.com

Dear Michael,
There's no good argument against marriage equality. There's no good argument for the Defense of Marriage Act, one of the most unfair laws passed in my lifetime. And there's no good argument for leaving it on the books.
What are we waiting for? The country has evolved -- Americans support the repeal of DOMA. So does President Obama. So does President Clinton, who signed it into law in 1996. So does Bob Barr, the Republican who wrote the darn thing.
I say it's time. It's time for gay and lesbian Americans to enjoy the same rights as the rest of us. It's time to toss the bigotry and the fear into the dumpster of embarrassing history where they belong. And you know what? It's time for progressives like you and me to stop waiting around for someone else to make this country what it ought to be.

It's time to repeal DOMA. Let's start right now, you and me. I've written a petition to get the ball rolling -- click here to add your name now!
Marrying Franni was the best thing that ever happened to me. And it's always pained me to know that our country denies that right to millions of gays and lesbians.
Over the years, those of us who support marriage equality have had to put up with a series of nonsensical arguments from those who support marriage discrimination. And, one by one, their ridiculous objections have been proven wrong.
Same-sex marriage doesn't hurt straight couples. It doesn't hurt kids who grow up in loving same-sex families. It doesn't hurt anyone. DOMA, on the other hand, is an ugly stain on our country. And every day we don't repeal it is another day we're making millions of Americans second-class citizens.
Let's make today the day -- sign my petition to repeal DOMA and let's get this done already.
I think we can do this, and I think we can do it now. But we can only do it if we convince decision-makers in the Obama administration and Congress that we won't shut up until this gets done.
So let's show them how many of us are prepared to fight for this -- right now. Sign my petition and tell Washington it's time to repeal DOMA.
This is going to be a tough fight. But it's a matter of simple fairness. We're right. And we can win. Are you ready to fight alongside me?
Thanks,

Al Franken
P.S.: The first step is signing our petition. But if you're ready to do more right now, how about forwarding this email to ten people or sharing it with your friends on Facebook? Or Tweet about it -- and make sure to use the hashtag #itstime.
Paid for and authorized by Al Franken for Senate 2014

Seattle Times: Seattle arts patron Bagley Wright dies at 87

2011-07-19T18:59:00.000-07:00

Artsfund, Seattle Arts Museum, the Reparatory Theater, Space Needle and World's Fair; keep in mind that it isn't always a matter of wealth but a vision of what you want your community to be. Seattle was fortunate to have someone that possessed both wealth and vision.

Bagley Wright, the influential Seattle arts patron, philanthropist, and one of the original investors in the Space Needle, died Monday following a heart attack. He was 87.
Seattle Times: Seattle arts patron Bagley Wright dies at 87

Village Voice Media, Seattle Weekly's parent company, is on the wrong side of child sexual exploitation

2011-07-15T21:02:00.000-07:00

Seattle Weekly is on the wrong side of child sexual exploitation. It's that simple.

[this is a long story for a blog page, get over it]
From the mayor:

News Releases

7/15/2011
Mayor Mike McGinn meets with Village Voice Media to discuss underage sex trafficking
Asks Backpage.com to pull down their ads until they put stronger
safeguards in place

SEATTLE - Mayor Mike McGinn, Councilmember Tim Burgess, and Assistant Chief Jim Pugel of the Seattle Police Department met today with representatives of Village Voice Media, which owns the Seattle Weekly and Backpage.com, to impress upon them the seriousness of underage sex trafficking and the need for them to act now.

"We specifically asked them to pull down all their adult ads until they have safeguards in place against underage trafficking. That should include a model presenting photo ID in person showing that they are of legal age, said Mayor Mike McGinn. "They were not prepared to agree to that request immediately, they indicated that they were taking that request seriously and would respond within 1-2 weeks. We have made our position clear and we expect them to take the actions we requested immediately. They need to clean up their act."

Underage sex trafficking is a serious problem in Seattle. A City of Seattle Human Services Department report published in 2008 estimated there are 300 to 500 children being exploited for commercial sex each year. In the last 12 months, 185 cases of underage sex trafficking were identified in King County.

Backpage.com is a well-known accelerant of underage sex trafficking. Since the beginning of 2010, 22 children advertised on Backpage.com were recovered by the Seattle Police Department. No juveniles were discovered on any other sites in that time - that includes ads on craigslist, The Stranger, and other adult sites. The problem is specific to Backpage.com. The Aim Group estimated that Backpage made $2.1 million in revenue off of erotic services since January 2011.

# # #

Office of the Mayor

And this, from Seattle Councilman Tim Burgess:

7/14/2011
More Facts on the Sexual Exploitation of Seattle Children

I acknowledge, this is not a pretty subject, nor is it one we enjoy talking about. Many would rather never deal with it. We certainly don't want to acknowledge that it occurs in our city. But the facts are irrefuteable.

Some children in Seattle and King County are forced into street and Internet prostitution. It is an ugly, violent and totally degrading experience for the victims of the predatory men who use and abuse these kids. And this terrible crime is being facilitated by a company that claims it is only defending the First Amendment: Village Voice Media/Backpage.com.

Over the past three years, 18 criminal investigations, all resulting in criminal charges being filed in King County Superior Court, have produced evidence that Village Voice Media/Backpage.com has been used as a vehicle in the prostitution of children. Five of these cases have resulted in trial convictions. Seven resulted in plea convictions. Six are pending trial.

First, some background. I’ve been deeply involved in the issue of prostituted children since the beginning of my Council term back in 2008. We know the facts. (You can read all of my earlier posts on this topic here.)
And because we do know the facts, we are intensely focused on rescuing these kids and protecting them and caring for them.

Our police officers in Seattle have shifted from their traditional approach; now they view these kids as victims, not criminals. Their effectiveness is evident. For each of the past three years, we have led the nation in the number of children rescued from prostitution as reported by the FBI.

Village Voice Media/Backpage.com may want to debate the scope of the problem, but that’s nothing but a massive distraction. We know the facts, the reality on the street. We’re not debating whether it’s a problem or not, we’re working hard to stop it and help these kids.

In fact, 13 months ago, Seattle became just the fourth city in the United States to establish a safe-haven, a residential facility run by YouthCare where these children can receive the care, therapy, education and love they need.

And the need for all of us to stay engaged and united on this topic continues. Over the past 13 months, YouthCare has engaged with 185 children—some referred to YouthCare by police and other organizations, others identified by YouthCare staff involved in outreach efforts—who acknowledged being commercially sexually exploited through prostitution. Of this total, 119 enrolled in a YouthCare program and 23 of these reported being prostituted through Village Voice Media/Backpage.com.

So Village Voice Media/BackPage.com can try to minimize the problem if they want, but we know the facts. Mayor McGinn knows the facts. My Council colleagues know the facts. The detectives who work in our High Risk Victims Unit know the facts. I know the facts. City government is united and resolute. We will act to protect our children and we will speak the truth about those who assist and facilitate harm upon our children. The facts compell this reponse.

Village Voice Media/Backpage.com knows the facts, too!

Everyone can see the facts because they are held in the case files in the King County Superior Court. They are clear and irrefutable. In case after case over the past three years, Dan Satterberg's prosecutors have established that Village Voice Media/Backpage.com is used to assist and facilitate the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

It doesn't have to continue. Village Voice Media/Backpage.com could chose to follow the very simple steps that other publishers follow that would make it almost impossible for this exploitation of children to take place. Their corporate irresponsibility is harming our community; it’s harming our children. That’s a fact.

I have headline news feeds on the right hand side of my web page, Seattle Weekly is no longer one of the sites listed. I encourage you to be on the correct side of child exploitation, and not support businesses that choose to minimize and deflect. Newspapers are a reflection of community standards, I am counting on the community to have higher standards.

It's that simple.

Steve Kelley: There's no reason NHL and NBA can't succeed in Seattle

2011-07-06T20:44:00.000-07:00

Why not here?
Steve Kelley | There's no reason NHL and NBA can't succeed in Seattle | Seattle Times Newspaper

Well, why not?

Grist.org (@grist) replied to one of your Tweets!

2011-06-29T11:09:00.000-07:00

I'm good either way.

Begin forwarded message:

From: Twitter
Date: June 29, 2011 9:53:45 AM PDT
To: Communicate.with.Mike
Subject: Grist.org (@grist) replied to one of your Tweets!
Reply-To:

Grist @grist replied to you:

grist Grist
@tweetmrbaker We loved your response so much, we had to put it in our latest post! Check it out: http://t.co/Ieawqrx
Jun 29, 9:53 AM via HootSuite

In reply to…

TweetMrBaker Michael Baker
@grist @michelebachmann #tellgrist It's run for the presidency, or I sell clothing for pets on QVC. I'm good either way.
Jun 27, 8:40 PM via Twitter for iPad

Seattle Times: High School Sports, Ingraham High School will get extreme makeover treatment — from ESPN

2011-06-23T20:01:00.000-07:00

First, the school wins a battle to replace portable classrooms with an actual building, scraggly trees and a crappy neighbor stood in the way.
Second, the school principal was fired! Then unfired!
And now this. . .

Ingraham High School learned Thursday that ESPN will renovate its athletic facilities this summer, and feature that project in a series called "RISE UP" this fall. Think "Extreme Makeover" — school gym edition.
. . .
ESPN, along with its sponsors and local partners, will supply the labor and materials. At Ingraham, plans call for refinishing the gym floor, redoing the old lighting, repairing the bleachers and work in the weight-room and locker-room areas.
High School Sports | Ingraham High School will get extreme makeover treatment — from ESPN | Seattle Times Newspaper

Good.

McGinn, 1 hour and 23 minutes, never said "tunnel"

2011-06-14T21:51:00.000-07:00

Tonight I was at Seattle's Bitter Lake Community Center. It was, more or less, retail politics. The Q & A with the Mayor Mike McGinn was literally and figuratively pedestrian. Northeast Seattle is where the sidewalks end, and open rainwater ditched are more common than sidewalks, and we've noticed.

After 1 hour and 23 minutes of Q & A the mayor was not asked about the Alaskan Way Viaduct, the Tunnel Option, the impending vote on the city council's mechanics of expressing approval, and McGinn did not offer any. It might have helped that media people were not asking the questions, and we are in the "other" Seattle, far, far away from downtown.

At one point I could see how somebody could actually vote for him, but it was a fleeting moment, temporary, like the temporary break from Tunnel talk for much more simple topics, actual needs.

On July 1st the city will start putting a mechanical boot on vehicles that have 4 or more outstanding parking tickets. That is a great idea, unless you live in your car, with your kids, and that is your home. When staffers that leave to work on campaigns against the tunnel i am convinced that their time and your energy could have your efforts better spent on things your are actually responsible for, that you have some direct control over.

No public official can come to northeast Seattle without getting asked about sidewalks.
Well?

Mike McGinn keeps getting asked about licenses on bicycles. He says that implementing a licensing scheme would actually cost more than the revenue it would actually collect. I have tried to explain this to my cat, she must have a license, and bicyclists must not. But finally, the mayor quipped that he might consider a bicycle license of some kind just so people would stop asking about it.
Well, meow?

A fleeting moment, I am sure.

What will Dean Carlson do?

2011-06-10T19:56:00.000-07:00

There is no good reason that should know the name, Dean Carlson (no offense). But it appears that I have seen Mr. Carlson read bill reports to legislators for the past few years, most of them saying almost the same thing about Lodging taxes and arts funding.

Then, I would see either the Senate spreadsheet of columns in blank and white, or the house spreadsheet with the red and blue arrows showing the endings and beginnings of funds.

At some point there would be a question about rental car tax credits. Folks from Yakima would testify and request inclusion in the bill, since they participate in using the "stadium" tax in Yakima. Yakima got screwed.

On Wednesday, June 15th, the governor is scheduled to sign the Arts funding bill, SB 5834.

What will Dean Carlson do now that he doesn't have the recurring arts bill and stadium funding spreadsheets?
I'm thinking I'm going to see Mr. Carlson, or somebody else from committee Staff, read the new Professional Athlete's Fee bill next session (and hopefully just next session).

Seattle Times: City tunnel feedback has state bristling

2011-06-04T08:49:00.000-07:00

The important part of this story is that it is the state's decision on the state's highway. Who do they choose to partner with, to include in developing the environmental review, or not include, that is up to them.

The comments so alarmed state transportation officials that in April they asked the Federal Highway Administration to dismiss the city as a colead on the project. They also weighed not giving the city a copy of the proposed final environmental-impact statement for fear of getting more comments in the same vein.

Ultimately, the state decided in consultation with the feds that after 10 years of active cooperation, the city should be included in the final review, Hammond said.
City tunnel feedback has state bristling, Seattle Times Newspaper

I am of the opinion that over the 100 year lifespan of the viaduct replacement (any of them) we will need a by-pass of some sort, improvements to our street grid, and more mass transit. The answer, eventually, is "all of the above", Tunnel+I-5 Improvements+Street Grid+Transit.

A million people will move into King County within my lifetime. Most will have to use transit, many will have to use cars, all of then will depend on trucks delivering goods to local markets and to our port. This is a port city, facilitating transportation movement is a requirement for the city, and of overriding interest to the state.

We are getting the state's tunnel, on our terms, or in spite of what we really need?
Flirting with eminent domain with the state is dumb, Mayor Mike McGinn is acting dumb. He should be leveraging this situation to get more transit to mitigate the impending traffic issues, instead he is compounding them, in a lose-lose situation.

At this time the only portion of this we have a commitment from the state to pay for is the Tunnel as a by-pass. Looking at this economy, and transportation revenues, this opportunity to have the state pay this much toward any portion of Seattle's transportation infrastructure is a limited time offer.

The by-pass tunnel is before us now, keep moving it forward.

Fwd: Constituent: About the Sonics

2011-06-03T18:42:00.000-07:00

You wish you lived in my Legislative District.

Rep. David Frockt replied to my email (below).

Michael

Thanks for your note. We are looking at all options.

My last memorable Sonics game was the clincher in game 5 of the 2005 Western Conference series against the Kings. My wife and I were there and it was fantastic. (We don't need to talk about the years after that.) Sports are a big part of the civic life of a region and I think we need to have NBA basketball back in the Puget Sound. This was our original team. Imagine Boston without the Red Sox or Chicago without the Cubs. I think for many of us, that is what it feels like here without a team.

As was reported, Rep. Mike Hope and I are planning to work with community groups and civic and business leaders to lay the groundwork for a team when one becomes available.   We have had good responses from a number of elected officials and civic leaders already. The past is the past, and I think there is a feeling that it is time to renew this effort.

As you know, our state and region are facing major budget and economic pressures. So we have to be realistic about what is politically possible. That said, where there is a will there is a way.   Even in this economic climate, other regions are finding ways to build or renovate arenas in ways that are sensitive to taxpayers by leveraging private sector resources . We have to be creative and we are going to need big time support from the private sector - a deep private pocket to make this thing a reality.

I was really encouraged by the supportive emails on this.   We'll be in touch as things develop.

David Frockt
State Representative, 46th Legislative District Assistant Floor Leader Serving on Judiciary, Education Appropriations, Technology, Energy, and Communications, and Rules Committees
Telephone: 360.786.7886
Toll Free: 800.562.6000
TTY: 800.635.9993
Office: Modular D, Office 104
E-Mail: David.Frockt@leg.wa.gov
Subscribe to my E-Newsletter: Click here

-----Original Message-----
From: communicate.with.mike gmail.com
Sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2011 7:19 PM
To: Frockt, Rep. David
Subject: Constituent: About the Sonics

HOUSE INTERNET E-MAIL DELIVERY SERVICE

TO: Representative David Frockt

FROM: Mr. Michael Baker(Constituent)

STREET ADDRESS:

Seattle, WA

E-MAIL: Communicate.with.mike gmail.com

PHONE: (206) nnn-nnnn

SUBJECT: About the Sonics

MESSAGE:

A friend sent me an email indicating that you and Rep. Hope have an interest in finding a way to return the NBA to Seattle.
I would be interested in what your ideas are on this.
In the end I think we end up with another PFD, or expanding the role of the Convention Center PFD.
One of the few revenue streams other states or municipalities have used is a "jock tax". Rodney Tom sank HB 2912 with a dozen amendments, ironically, one of those amendments would have fully funded a new arena.
http://tinyurl.com/ESHB2912-amnd101
I do not see the legislature mustering the votes for a B&O tax, but a "fee" of some kind would be worth considering.
Having Kobe Bryant pay for a new arena is an easier sell than Just about anything I have heard.

Anyway, I've been following this for a few years. Keep me informed.
Thanks.

NOTE: We are 99% sure that this constituent is in your district

RESPONSE REQUESTED: Mr. Baker has requested a response to this message.

Green and Gold Community Coalition

2011-05-28T22:35:00.000-07:00

This is what is next, a modern multipurpose arena in King County.

Why?
The outside sports and entertainment venues are covered. The inside theater infrastructure is covered, but the larger scale sports and entertainment is lacking.
Key Arena ice is too small for NHL hockey, its concourses, seats, retail footprint, all too small. Does that mean Seattle Center is out? No, no location in the Puget sound media market is out. But, anybody that thinks Key Arena is "good enough" should keep in mind that the Seattle Thunderbirds junior hockey team moved to Kent. It's not good enough for junior hockey. It may be fine for other events, but its competitive advantage is that it is the only indoor facility of its size in or near Seattle, that's it.

Faced with direct competition what will Seattle do?
Well, so far they have been fighting it.
That fight is not in harmony with the desires of the primary consumers of the sports and entertainment that occupies such facilities.
Fact.

Green and Gold Community Coalition
www.arenaseattle.com
Arena Seattle | NHL Seattle | NBA Seattle
www.arenaseattle.com
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How?
Existing taxes and general fund revenues are off the table. The reemergence of the "Jock Tax" may not be the way to get this done, but it will drive the discussion much closer to what the public could support, as well as align with private funding interests.

A popular argument against extending the "stadium taxes" was that if there was something new that somebody wanted to fund then they should make a new effort and let the existing taxes expire as was promised. Another argument was that the citizens are taxed enough already. Another argument was that some of the taxes were being extended to support something that sone said had nothing to do with tourism (affordable housing).
All that points you toward the "Jock Tax" in a hurry. The question becomes: will the opposition to extending the stadium taxes actually support a "Jock Tax" or were those all arguments of convinience?

There are people that will say no, to any tax, to sports, so don't waste your time getting them to say yes, but do understand their reasons for saying no.
There are people that think a billionaire can build it if they want it. True, but I am not a billionaire, I want it, and I do not see a billionaire building an arena. I do see millionaires coming to town to benefit from the infrastructure we have already built.

The question is: who is saying yes?
If there is going to be a meaningful effort to create a "Jock Tax" then you are going to have to get a supermajority of the legislature to vote for it, or find an existing fee on out of state workers that could be amended to include professional athletes, and deposited in an account (how about the Public Facilities District account the the Convention Center has, and designate the funds fir sports facilities infrastructure only).

Any way you slice it, I need to understand how this kind of fee/tax has been presented before, who supported it in the legislature, and why it failed before.

Senate Bill 5834 passed the Washington State Legislature, now what?

2011-05-25T21:33:00.000-07:00

First off, and straight up, I am very happy for 4Culture. They worked very hard to get this bill passed, thanks for asking for a little advice, I'm glad to give it, but it was all you (as was mentioned by some legislators on the House floor).
Well done.

King County is better because of your good work and we might all benefit.

To the sports fans that appear to be heavy readers of my blog, whatcha gonna do now?
The 2% Hotel/motel tax goes back to the control of King County after Qwest Field is paid off in 2021. 1/4 of the tax revenue is to be used for tourism infrastructure.

(vi) . . . On and after January 1, 2021, the revenues under this section must be used as follows:
(i) At least thirty-seven and one-half percent of the revenues under this section must be deposited in the special account under (e) of this subsection. [that's arts, heritage, 4Culture, etc]
(ii) At least thirty-seven and one-half percent of the revenues under this section must be used for nonprofit organizations or public housing authorities for affordable workforce housing within one-half of a mile of a transit station, as described under RCW 9.91.025 or for services for homeless youth. [just as it says, though I expect King County to use part of this to fund the program that gets teenage prostitutes off the streets]
(iii) The remainder must be used for capital or operating programs that promote tourism and attract tourists to the county. [well, that is 25% of $25 million dollars, and rises with inflation] SB 5834

So, will there be a battle over the 25% (iii) to be the public portion of an arena in Bellevue, Seattle, new or remodel, slow on the uptake Seattle, or overreaching Bellevue.

Sung Yang, you might not remember this, but, when we all had lunch last Fall I mentioned to you that I would support my friends in the arts community.
Dow Constantine might not have gotten what he wanted, but he got something to work with. I trust him to make the most of it.

Lastly, I have had the opportunity to give a few people words of encouragement in reference to these many bills, over the past couple years. All are meaning well, all hoping for anything, well, this is something.

An Amended Senate Bill SSB 5834 Passes the Senate, on to the House

2011-05-24T18:24:00.000-07:00

An Amended Senate Bill SSB 5834 passed the Senate, on to the House.

As it stands, after Seahawks Stadium is paid off in 2021 (or sooner), 1/3 of the money goes to arts and heritage, 1/3 goes to workforce housing and/or to support homeless youth, and 1/3 goes to promoting tourism that attracts people to the county.

In 2021 that revenue is projected to be $25,567,000 (cut it up into 3rds).
To see what the 2% hotel tax looks like going into the future, please check out the spreadsheet used to explain (the now dead) HB 1997 here.
7th column from the right, under the blue HB 1997 bar is a bright red arrow pointing to $25,567,000 in 2021.
Yes, that is a lot of money.
No, there isn't a sunset clause in the bill.

Yes, it still goes to the House for a vote.

Fwd: NEW 4CULTURE BILL [SB 5961] IN THE SENATE!

2011-05-21T18:32:00.000-07:00

What is more likely: this bill passing, or that the Washington State Legislature is just fucking with me?

There could be a third answer, it will come to me later, when I stop thinking that everything is about me.... Wait, that's it.

Advocates 4Culture are not taking "no" for an answer, so, come on, say "yes".

Ok, this bill (SB 5961) is somehow different than SB 5958 and HB 1997. It still has the no "new stadium" bit in there, but there is something else I can't quite yet put my finger on.

They need one more vote in the Senate.

The bill has not gone through a committee yet, and the Special Session could end Wednesday.

Begin forwarded message:

From: Advocate4Culture
Date: May 21, 2011 4:40:07 PM PDT
To: mike
Subject: NEW 4CULTURE BILL IN THE SENATE!
Reply-To: advocate4culture

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

Friends,

There's a new bill for 4Culture, which actually sweetens the deal for the arts. This is a direct outcome of your advocacy. We are being rewarded in this next attempt to pass a coalition bill.

The new bill, SB 5961 is dropping in the Senate today. We all need to send two emails immediately. The special session ends on Wednesday, so this is one of our last chance efforts. Lists and text suggestions below.

1. An email to people who voted yes for SB 5958.

Subject: Thank you and Yes on SB 5961

"Dear Senator,

Thank you for voting yes on SB 5958. I was saddened by its failure, but I noticed and am grateful for your support. Please now vote yes on SB 5961, which will fund 4Culture, saving jobs and growing our economy.

Thank you again."

Copy these email addresses into the BCC field for the above message. These are the nice people that voted yes on SB 5958.

lisa.brown@leg.wa.gov, maralyn.chase@leg.wa.gov, steve.conway@leg.wa.gov, tracey.eide@leg.wa.gov, karen.fraser@leg.wa.gov, jim.hargrove@leg.wa.gov, nick.harper@leg.wa.gov, brian.hatfield@leg.wa.gov, marymargaret.haugen@leg.wa.gov, steve.hobbs@leg.wa.gov, karen.keiser@leg.wa.gov, derek.kilmer@leg.wa.gov, adam.kline@leg.wa.gov, jeanne.kohl-welles@leg.wa.gov, rosemary.mcauliffe@leg.wa.gov, edward.murray@leg.wa.gov, sharon.nelson@leg.wa.gov, margarita.prentice@leg.wa.gov, craig.pridemore@leg.wa.gov, kevin.ranker@leg.wa.gov, debbie.regala@leg.wa.gov, paull.shin@leg.wa.gov, rodney.tom@leg.wa.gov, scott.white@leg.wa.gov

2. Send this email to Senators who didn't vote yes on SB 5958:

Subject: Vote YES on SB 5961!

"Dear Senator,

As a strong supporter of arts and heritage, I was hurt by the failure of SB 5958. I noticed you were not among the yes voters. With SB 5961, you have another chance to create jobs, grow our economy and keep our region competitive in the new economy. Failure to pass SB 5961 will kill jobs and stunt our area's economic growth.

Please vote yes on SB 5961. Thank you."

And here's the list for the no voters:

michael.baumgartner@leg.wa.gov, jeff.baxter@leg.wa.gov, randi.becker@leg.wa.gov, don.benton@leg.wa.gov, michael.carrell@leg.wa.gov, jerome.delvin@leg.wa.gov, doug.ericksen@leg.wa.gov, joe.fain@leg.wa.gov, mike.hewitt@leg.wa.gov, andy.hill@leg.wa.gov, janea.holmquistnewbry@leg.wa.gov, jim.honeyford@leg.wa.gov, jim.kastama@leg.wa.gov, curtis.king@leg.wa.gov, steve.litzow@leg.wa.gov, bob.morton@leg.wa.gov, linda.parlette@leg.wa.gov, cheryl.pflug@leg.wa.gov, pam.roach@leg.wa.gov, phil.rockefeller@leg.wa.gov, mark.schoesler@leg.wa.gov, timothy.sheldon@leg.wa.gov, val.stevens@leg.wa.gov, dan.swecker@leg.wa.gov, joseph.zarelli@leg.wa.gov

Okay, here we go folks. This is the next stage in our fight. Nobody said this was going to be easy. We're not giving up, and neither are you. We will get this done together.

Advocate4Culture Coalition

advocate4culture@gmail.com
Click here to join the Advocate4Culture Coalition!

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Sports Stadium and Arena Funding, User Pays (and I don't mean the fans)

2011-05-21T15:09:00.000-07:00

One year ago there was a King5/SurveyUSA poll that asked, "If an arena could be built for a new NBA team without using any taxpayer dollars, would you support? or oppose? building an arena?".

This past week two lawmakers, Mark Hope (R-Lake Stevens) and David Frockt (D-Seattle), have proposed revisiting a "Jock Tax" this summer, after the legislative session ends.

Lets's look at the survey, then see if the Jock Tax fits in the survey results.

Do you want a professional NBA basketball team in Seattle? Do you want Seattle to NOT have a professional basketball team? Or do you not care one way or the other?

Want team 41 percent

No team 18 percent

Don’t care 42 percent
Pie Chart here

If an arena could be built for a new NBA team without using any taxpayer dollars, would you support? or oppose? building an arena?

Support 72 percent

Oppose 20 percent

Not sure 18 percent
pie chart here

If an NBA team did come to Seattle, how likely would you be to go to a game? Very likely? Somewhat likely? Not very likely? Or not at all likely?

Very likely 19

Somewhat likely 22

Not very likely 26

Not at all likely 31

Not sure 1
pie chart here

How likely would you be to go to a game if an NBA team played in the Bellevue area instead of in Seattle?

Very likely 13 percent

Somewhat likely 16 percent

Not very likely 28 percent

Not at all likely 42 percent

Not sure 1 percent
pie chart here

This poll was reported on in a Publicola story last year.

Here are some assumptions and a few questions worth asking.
Assumptions:
There is a group of people that hate sports, all sports questions are answered "NO" (see question 2).
There is a group of people that love sports, all questions are answered "YES".

A supermajority support a free arena (again, question 2). The other questions in the survey center on NBA teams, and see that those answers are less than a supermajority. That may be because not everybody is an NBA fan, I'll call them hockey fans, or free facility fans.

Watching the perpetual struggle of 4Culture, and sports fans, struggle to get control of Tourism Taxes to fund Tourism related infrastructure is frustrating. The majority of Washington State Legislature is less than interested in helping. It will take a major effort for 4Culture to get an existing tax that is not part of the general fund partially dedicated to arts.

Imagine trying to raise a new tax for sports facilities... Looks impossible.
Imagine limiting that tax to tourists (people not living in Washington)... Next to impossible.
Imagine limiting the tax to just millionaires that directly benefit from the existence of the facility... I think we are heading into the "free arena" zone.

I think you could retain the tax advantage of athletes that live here by exempting them from this B&O tax because they pay residency taxes, sales taxes, gas taxes, real estate and property taxes.
I think you could retain the taxes from those that would buy a cheap condo here, but do not qualify for state residency.

I think this is the path of least resistance, in fact, I think there would be a small portion of sports haters that could support the taxing of athletes just because they dislike them that much.

It's worth pursuing.
I think the B&O tax on athletes should be based on a multiple of Poverty.

Numbers change with location and the economy, but lets pick a number for conversation sake. In 2007, a couple with an infant living in Bellevue would need to make (roughly) $31,000 a year to be self sustaining.
What if an out-of-state athlete was charged a B&O tax if they made $620,000 or more a year? Too low?
How about $960,000 a year?
The WNBA TEAM salary cap in 2010 was $775,000. The entire Storm team wouldn't make enough to qualify for that tax. The Seattle Sounders have had one player that could qualify, barely.
The "average" salary in the NBA this season is $5.765 million

Whenever is see arena funding debates revolving around ticket taxes, parking taxes, fan taxes, I like to come back to the NBA average salary and ask, why not them?

I am not seeing a private arena being built, that looks just as impossible. Residents are not paying for this.
Figure it out.

I see no good reason to not have Kobe Bryant pay for the building of a new Sonics arena.

2011-05-20T18:57:00.000-07:00

Washington State Representative Mark Hope (R-Lake Stevens) and David Frockt (D-Seattle) are hoping to form a Task Force this summer to develop a plan for funding sports arenas and stadiums.

“I think it’s an economic issue,” said Rep. Mike Hope, R- Lake Stevens. He believes the state should be involved in building an arena to lure a franchise back. He also believes it can be done without using Washington taxpayer money.

That’s why he and State Rep. David Frockt, D-Seattle plan to lead a task force this summer to come up with a solution.
“It’s time to revisit the issue,” said Frockt, who also acknowledges there is “no appetite for a public subsidy." Frockt believes the state needs to look at all the financing options on the table.
Hope suggests the state pursue a “Jock Tax” on visiting athletes to partially pay for a new NBA-ready building. It’s a type of tax already in place in several states.
“Right now, you have the Seattle Mariners, Seattle Seahawks going to California to play games, going to Cleveland, Ohio to play games and Cleveland is getting money from our players,” said Hope.
Chris Daniels, Could 'Jock Tax' help bring Sonics back?, KING5 News

This really isn't a new idea, the last time this idea appeared was last year when it was included in a dozen amendments Washington State Senator Rodney Tom sandbagged House Bill HB 2912 with (David Frocht, I sent a link to this amendment to you a few days ago).

2912-S.E2 AMS TOM CARL 101

2ESHB 2912 - S AMD TO S AMD (S-5336.1) 316
By Senator Tom
    On page 13, after line 28, insert the following:

"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 82.04 RCW to read as follows:
    (1) A rate of tax under this chapter equal to ten percent is imposed on the gross income of a professional athlete derived from Washington sources.
    (2) "Professional athlete" means:
    (a) a resident or nonresident athlete who renders labor or services to a professional athletic team that plays ina sports facility financed with ten percent or more public funds; and
    (b) A resident or nonresident athlete who has a gross annual income that is ten times the first-year base salary of a public school teacher in Washington state."
    Renumber the sections consecutively and correct any internal references accordingly.
2ESHB 2912 - S AMD TO S AMD (S-5336.1) 316
By Senator Tom
    In the title after "36.100.020;" insert "and adding a new section;"

           EFFECT: Applies a 10% B&O tax on professional athletes.
HB 2912, Amendment 316

10% looks a little high, and it is until you consider that Seahawks, Sounders, and Mariners pay California State Income Tax on the wages earned during that game, when they play there. Most of those athletes are in the 11% tax bracket. Still, the point isn't to tax professional athletes just for the fun of it, it's purpose is to fund sports facilities.

A story written in the LA Times back in 2009 does an excellent job of describing the situation, application, and examples.

If opening day is the best day of the year for professional athletes, then April 15 -- tax day -- is probably the worst. Especially now that 20 of the 24 states with franchises in at least one of the four major pro leagues -- the NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball -- have laws that require visiting athletes to pay state income tax for each game they play there.

Considering that top-level athletes in football, basketball, hockey and baseball now make an annual average salary of $2.9 million, that means big bucks for states such as California. Home to 15 major professional teams, the state raked in $102 million in taxes from visiting athletes in 2006-07, the last year for which records are available.
. . .
Athletes are taxed based on "duty days" they spend in each state. In baseball, there are approximately 181 "duty days," meaning a player earning $1.81 million would make $10,000 each duty day. Therefore, if that player's team had three games in California, he would be responsible for taxes on $30,000 of income.
. . .
At that point, all the tax collectors have left is a math problem to figure out that Ichiro Suzuki, the highest-paid baseball player in Washington, a tax-free state, will have to pay more than $218,000 in California taxes for the 25 games the Mariners will play there this summer.[2009]
. . .
The advent of the jock tax is commonly traced to the 1991 NBA Finals in which the Chicago Bulls beat the Lakers, then received tax bills from California for the three games played in Los Angeles. However, nonresident tax laws have been on the books in the state since the 1950s. . . .
When the Seahawks played the Steelers in the title game three years ago in Detroit, Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck reportedly had to pay about $10,000 in taxes to Michigan, a state with which he has no ties. If that game had been played in Florida, as two of the last three Super Bowls were, he could have kept the money.

The taxing life of a pro athlete: It's one of life's certainties: Athletes have to pay for income earned on the road., Kevin Baxter, LA Times (2009)

Please, read the entire story.

Understand this, our professional athletes are paying taxes in other states. As I write this, the Seattle Mariners are just about to start playing a game against the San Diego Padres, in California, and pay income tax. When the A's, Padres, Angels play in Seattle they do not pay an income tax, B&O tax.

I see no good reason to not have Kobe Bryant pay for the building of a new Sonics arena.

The only question I have is how much?

SB 5958, King County bill for Arts and Convention Center funding Fails in Senate, 24 to 22

2011-05-19T17:42:00.000-07:00

Failed. The people of Yakima County can thank Republican Senator Curtis King for the loss of tax revenue for your fairgrounds.
The people of King County can thank The Demicrats that voted with the Republicans for the loss of tax revenue for your convention center, Kastima, Sheldon (Roll Call).

SB 5834 is still on the Senate Floor Calendar. That bill does not have "stadium" taxes in it. That bill passed the Senate once already, during the Regular Session.

I think Senate will pass SB 5834 again.
It should be clear to the House that if SB 5958 failed then it is essentially pointless to pass HB 1997 again. Those two bills are darn near the same, the Senate bill being slightly more conservative.

If the House has any desire to pass anything they probably should minimize over prescribing the uses of the Hotel tax, and maybe just pass the bill as is.

SB 5958 Passed out of the Senate Committee: Government Operations, Tribal Relations & Elections

2011-05-17T16:06:00.000-07:00

Well done, on to the Senate Rules Committee.

Today at 1:30, it went on for about an hour, facts, stories, business and arts, former legislators testifying in favor (giving Republicans a good name), opponents not wanting to carry the tax, a young Republican cutting off his nose to spite his face, Chris Van Dyke returning to the scene of the crime, and lastly... those poor folks from Spokane that somehow are left off of the initial bill almost every time (giving good names to grandpas).

Public Hearing: SB 5958 - Providing local government funding of tourism promotion, workforce housing, art and heritage programs, and community development.

After testimony the committee took a breath, and declared themselves to be in Executive Session, where the bill was put before the committee, seconded, voice voted unanimously in the affirmative.

Executive: SB 5958 - Providing local government funding of tourism promotion, workforce housing, art and heritage programs, and community development.

Then there was applause, and a deadpan reminder from the committee chairman, Senator Pridemore, that there are to be no demonstrations in the committee room.

Always go big, 4Culture, always.

Another King County arts bill, SB 5958

2011-05-13T21:29:00.000-07:00

[self-editor's note, I'm recycling a prior post, get over it]
The Special Session rewound the clock. Here are a couple bills I am watching.

The first bill is the the Hotel Tax (only) version of the Arts bill, SSB 5834.
The reality is that the hotel tax keeps going with or without this legislation. What this bill does do is allow 4Culture to bridge its operating budget by spending down part of its endowment until Qwest (yes, I still call it Qwest) Stadium is paid off in 2021, then 4Culture gets a slice of the revenue after that. King County controls the rest of the revenue, for tourism investments.

What I like about this bill is its brevity. This bill gives King County some discretion (within existing state law) to make tourism investments around King County. I'm not sure why legislators from around the state think they know the best uses for these taxes starting a DECADE from now, and feel compelled to prescribe how every penny is spent, forever.
If a bill does not pass, then the revenue keeps going and control shift to the cities first, then the county. The revenue would get splintered, and 4Culture would pretty much die.

The second bill is a King County stimulus bill, SB 5958 (another version of HB 1997, HB 2912, etc). It is the dressed up as the arts bill, the Convention Center bill, what it is at its most basic element is a stimulus bill.
This bill extends the Food and Beverage tax to 2015, and that money accelerates the start of the Washington State Convention Center's expansion. The bill also provides funding for workforce housing in and around transit centers (the convention center expands over the Metro Transit property).

I would rather have SB give up $100,000 to the state affordable housing fund, and $100,000 to the state arts and heritage fund, both drawn from the state tax credit on the car rental tax.

I would prefer that SB 5958 were simplified so that over the next decade King County had the flexibility to determine for itself what tourism related infrastructure investments to make, and not have their hands tied by some state representative from some other part of the state that really doesn't care what happens in King County.

SB 5958 has a hearing on May 17, 2011, Scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Committee on Government Operations and Tribal Relations & Elections at 1:30 PM. (Subject to change)

Advocates4Culture will be there to testify.

RSA - Language as a Window into Human Nature

2011-05-07T21:25:00.000-07:00

While waiting for something or nothing to happen watch this video.

This was well done. Some key concepts in communication theory are explained, as well as a textbook quality explanation of what a "speech-act" is.

The speech-act is at the heart of most comedy.

Enjoy.

RSA - Language as a Window into Human Nature

Legislature Special Session, my guess

2011-04-29T21:11:00.000-07:00

The Special Session rewinds the clock on a couple bills I am watching.

The first bill is the state budget HB 1087. This is pretty much how the state will be for the next two years.

The second bill is a King County stimulus bill, HB 1997. It is dressed up as the Arts bill, the Convention Center bill, what it is at its most basic element is a stimulus bill.

Both bills were returned to the House Rules Committee by Special Session Resolution. My guess is that the House passes its version again, passes HB 1997 again and the Senate amends them both on the Senate floor, they go back to the House for concurrence.

I would rather have HB 1997 give up $100,000 to the affordable housing fund, and $100,000 to the state arts and heritage fund, both drawn from the state tax credit on the car rental tax.

I would prefer that HB 1997 were simplified so that over the next decade King County had the flexibility to determine for itself what tourism related infrastructure investments to make, and not have their hands tied by some state representative from sone other part of the state that really doesn't give a ratsass what happens in King County beyond just wanting to milk its residents and businesses for state tax revenue to be spread around the state.

Special Session begins for Washington State Legislature

2011-04-26T17:43:00.000-07:00

For the dedicated followers of Arts and Heritage funding bills I am armed with my trusty iPhone that got me through my final year at UW to read tea leaves and highlight just what makes a Special Session so Special.

First, lots of rules are tossed out the window. Bills have usually matured to the point that most lawmakers know what the will vote for or know what it would take to change their vote. So, bills move faster, get hearings faster, voted out of committee faster.

Second, what was left for dead is revived with the magic wand of the Resolution.

To that second point. . . Ta da!
HB 1997 lives again (ok, lots and lots of other bills are in the same "alive" status, and could live that way until the next full session.)

Apr 22 By resolution, returned to House Rules Committee for third reading.
2011 1ST SPECIAL SESSION
IN THE HOUSE
Apr 26 By resolution, reintroduced and retained in present status.
HB 1997

Nothing is really happening yet, but being alive is better than the alternative.

While we are skimming money off King County and spreading it around the state

2011-04-23T23:11:00.000-07:00

How about them arts?
So, the Washington State Legislature will return on Tuesday for a Special Session, fact.
The House version of the operating budget bill HB 1087 has $100,000 going from the King County arts, heritage, and affordable housing bill, HB 1997 to the state's affordable housing fund, fact.
This does not appear to be in the Senate's amended version of HB 1087.
The two versions need to be reconciled, hopefully keeping HB 1997 alive and necessary for implementing the budget (House version), and that bill will get passed.

What I am wondering is why $100,000 wasn't skimmed off for the state's arts and heritage appropriation? It's not like I am looking for less money for King County, but, mmmm, I'm thinking that those if us in King County that car about arts would understand that expenditure. Maybe the funds could would have to be administered by a King County non-profit to be spent in the state and outside of King County.
Just askin' think about it, come on, really think about it.

Word to Advocate4Culture.org (thanks for the kind words), to this point, I believe it is HB 1997 that is alive, and SB5834 is not alive as it does not have a housing component and was not specifically identified in a budget bill.
So there.

And now something "Special"

They'll be back: Olympia special session starts Tuesday | Seattle Times Newspaper

2011-04-22T19:35:00.000-07:00

Everybody look shocked.

The special session will start at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Lawmakers plan to adjourn Friday, ending the regular session without reaching deals on the operating budget or the construction budget. The 105-day regular session had been scheduled to end on Easter Sunday.

The full Senate is expected to return to Olympia on Tuesday, while the House will send most of its members home until budget negotiations reach an ending point.
Local News | They'll be back: Olympia special session starts Tuesday | Seattle Times Newspaper

Seattle Times: Gregoire says special legislative session needed to finish budget

2011-04-16T15:02:00.000-07:00

I'm a little behind since I was out of town for a week, so, here is the governor stating that a Special Session for the Washington State Legislature is needed.

Gov. Chris Gregoire said she's talked to leaders in the House and Senate and does not expect them to finish the work by the scheduled end of the session on April 24.

"They can't mechanically get there. I think it's unfortunate," the governor said Friday afternoon.

Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, said earlier in the day that she thought it was unlikely lawmakers would finish on time. Brown said the Senate was interested in a short weekend break and then continuing until they finished the job.

But Gregoire said she wasn't certain if she'd call them back immediately.
Politics Northwest | Gregoire says special legislative session needed to finish budget | Seattle Times Newspaper

I'll go back to what I have been thinking for a while, HB 1997 will come back as an economic development bill in a Special Session.

Washington State Legislature Special Session Likely

2011-04-16T14:25:00.000-07:00

With the House passing its budget last week with the passage of HB 1087 the Senate has roughly a week to pass the budget bill back. HB 1087 was in Executive Session on Friday (amendments and voting) it is unlikely that both houses will come to an agreement and have time to pass supporting bills that make the budget function, and have time for the House to consider the changes made by the Senate.

With a Special Session becoming mire likely, this is how it works:

- If two-thirds in the House and Senate vote to do so, the Legislature can call itself into special session. If they go this route, they can limit the scope of the work that they do.

- During a special session called by the Legislature, a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate can add items to the agenda.

- If the governor calls the Legislature into special session, she can suggest what they work on but they are not bound to that suggestion.

- In either case, the special session is limited to 30 days a pop.

- Some recent special sessions include 2001 and 2003 — each had three special sessions.

- Last year, the Legislature had two special sessions — a 30-day session immediately after regular session, and a one-day special session in December to make early-action budget cuts. Both were called by Gov. Chris Gregoire.

Details on how special sessions work, in case you forgot

Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown (D) was quoted by TVW on the chances of completing the people's business before Easter Sunday, the last scheduled day of the regular session.

If they can't get out by Friday, then they will take the weekend off and let the legislators that travel from around the state a chance to go home for a few days.

None of this is surprising.

Seattle sports stadium taxes may live on after all | Strange Bedfellows — Politics News - seattlepi.com

2011-04-09T13:24:00.000-07:00

All true, the House Ways & Means Committee passed the operating budget with Amendment 464 that adds $100,000 to the Affordable Housing Account using revenue from HB 1997.

Well, I guess HB 1997 is now necessary to enact the state budget, making it exempt from legislative cutoff.

House Operating Budget bill is HB 1087, and is on the House Floor calendar as of 4/8/2011. (Ed update: HB 1087 and its Amendments are being debated now, 3pm, 4/9/2011) (second Ed. HB 1087 passed the House 53 to 43, with 1 absent, 5pm 4/9/2011).

I thought this would have happened in a Special Session, but, I guess it makes better sense to have the House put it in and pass it over to the Senate.
The operating budget bill is in the Rules Committee racking up amendments (as expected). When they get rolling on the operating budget bill it could be an all day affair.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2011/04/07/seattle-sports-stadium-taxes-may-live-on-after-all/

Once the House version of the Operating budget passes to the Senate then it will go to the Senate Ways & Means Committee, then it's game on.

Have a great day,
Mike Baker

Sent from my iPhone
Visit me here:
http://ManyWordsForRain.blogspot.com

AP: WA senators leave key budget hearing in protest

2011-04-03T22:15:00.000-07:00

The power of the petty.

Democratic state Sen. Brian Hatfield of Raymond says he left a key Senate budget committee hearing on Friday in protest because one of his bills was killed in the House.

Earlier this session, Hatfield introduced and the Senate passed a bill that would change the types of biomass accepted as part of a clean energy law, grandfathering in pulp mills, including one in Hatfield's district. The House did not act on the bill.

Hatfield says he and Democratic Sen. Rodney Tom of Medina left in protest to get leadership's attention.

Their absence may have stalled the progress of a bill that would have extended temporary taxes on hotel stays, restaurants and car rentals to help fund economic projects in King County.

King County officials had expected to the measure to move out of committee, but fell a vote short.

Hatfield told the Aberdeen Daily World Saturday that he wanted to "rattle the cage." He says their absence shouldn't be blamed for the stadium taxes bill not going forward, though he says there may have been "collateral damage" from his protest.

Local News | WA senators leave key budget hearing in protest | Seattle Times Newspaper

Fwd: THIS IS IT!

2011-03-29T15:59:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, March 30, 2011, HB 1997 will have a hearing in the Washington State Senate Ways & Means Committee.

Begin forwarded message:

From: me
Date: March 29, 2011 12:30:10 PM PDT
To: you
Subject: THIS IS IT!

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

Advocates, we need you as much as ever. Our LAST PUBLIC HEARING (woo hoo) is scheduled and we need everyone and anyone to show up, sign in and be present. It's the most important action you can take to help save arts and heritage funding. If this is a basketball game, we're in the last 5 minutes and the hometown crowd needs to jump to its feet. It's our last chance to show up en masse and show those folks whose lives/economies/communities/jobs they're dealing with.

Senate Ways & Means hearing on SHB 1997
THIS Wednesday, 3/30/2011, 1:30 pm
Senate Hearing Rm 4 -- J.A. Cherberg Building -- Olympia, WA

Driving? Directions here.
Plan to arrive in Olympia around 1:15 to sign in -- we don't know yet where we are on the agenda, so plan to stay as late as 5 p.m. if possible. (If you have to leave early, that's okay though... signing in is a great help.)

Need a ride? Email advocate4culture@gmail.com
We'll be leaving Pioneer Square around 11:30 a.m. and hope to be back no later than 6:30 p.m.

BE THERE!

All best to you,

The Advocate4Culture Coalition

advocate4culture@gmail.com
Click here to join the Advocate4Culture Coalition!

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King County Arts Bills Move to Committees, HB 1997, SB 5834

2011-03-08T07:48:00.000-08:00

The Washington State Legislature passed two bills that would help fund King County Arts. Senate Bill SB 5834 has moved from the Senate to the House Ways & Means Committee. House Bill HB 1997 has moved from the House to the Senate Committee on Economic Development Trade & Innovation.

HB 1997 has a Hearing in the Senate committee on Thursday, at 1:30pm.
This bill would fund King County Arts programs, workforce housing around the Washington State Convention Center, as well as jump-start the expansion of the convention Center.

SB 5834 was was referred to the House Ways & Means Committee, but has not yet been placed on an agenda.
This bill just extends the Hotel tax, and part of the revenue fundsArts in King County.

King County Arts Bill Passes House, HB 1997, Moves on to the Senate

2011-03-04T22:23:00.000-08:00

A bill that would help fund King County Arts, as well as jump-start the expansion of the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle passed the House Friday night. HB 1997 moves on to the Senate for consideration.

A similar bill, though smaller in scope, SB 5834, has been placed on the Legislative Floor Calendar, currently waiting for a vote in the Senate.

HB 1997, "Providing economic development by funding tourism promotion, workforce housing, art and heritage programs, and community development."

Sponsors: Representatives Orwall, Kenney, Goodman, Fitzgibbon, Maxwell, Santos, Pedersen

SHB 1997
Economic development/funding
House vote on Final Passage
3/4/2011

Yeas: 55   Nays: 42   Absent: 0   Excused: 1

Voting Yea:  Representatives Anderson, Appleton, Asay, Billig, Blake, Carlyle, Clibborn, Cody, Darneille, Dickerson, Dunshee, Eddy, Finn, Fitzgibbon, Frockt, Goodman, Green, Haigh, Haler, Hasegawa, Hudgins, Hunt, Hunter, Jacks, Jinkins, Kagi, Kenney, Kirby, Ladenburg, Liias, Lytton, Maxwell, McCoy, Miloscia, Moeller, Moscoso, Ormsby, Orwall, Pedersen, Pettigrew, Reykdal, Roberts, Rolfes, Ryu, Santos, Seaquist, Sells, Springer, Stanford, Sullivan, Takko, Tharinger, Upthegrove, Van De Wege, and Mr. Speaker
Voting Nay:  Representatives Ahern, Angel, Armstrong, Bailey, Buys, Chandler, Condotta, Crouse, Dahlquist, Dammeier, DeBolt, Fagan, Hargrove, Harris, Hinkle, Hope, Hurst, Johnson, Kelley, Klippert, Kretz, Kristiansen, McCune, Morris, Nealey, Orcutt, Overstreet, Parker, Pearson, Probst, Rivers, Rodne, Ross, Shea, Schmick, Short, Smith, Taylor, Walsh, Warnick, Wilcox, and Zeiger
Absent:
Excused:  Representative Alexander

 
The following message was sent to Representative Ross Hunter (D) of the 48th district.
TO:   Representative Ross Hunter
  
FROM:   Mr. Michael Baker
  
STREET ADDRESS:   Xxxxxxxxxx
  
EMAIL:   Communicate.with.Mike  gmail.com
  
PHONE:   (206)
  
BILL:   1997 (For)
  
SUBJECT:   Well done
  
MESSAGE:   Good work on the bill tonight. I am glad to see it pass the House as-is. I hope the Senate is able to get finish something that has proved to be so difficult over the past few years. 

Have a great day, 
Mike Baker 
Seattle, Wa
  
RESPONSE:   No response required by the sender.

King County Arts and Heritage Bills Inch Ahead

2011-03-02T18:18:00.000-08:00

Both HB 1997 and SB 5834 passed out of their respective Rules Committees.
Both have been placed on the Legislative Floor Calendar, currently waiting for voting (HB 1997 in the House, SB 5834 in the Senate).
Not sure when either one will have votes taken. SB 5834 was placed on the Senate Floor Calendar today, HB 1997 was placed on Monday.

I have added a little scroll window on this page to show bill updates.

HB 1997, "Providing economic development by funding tourism promotion, workforce housing, art and heritage programs, and community development."

Sponsors: Representatives Orwall, Kenney, Goodman, Fitzgibbon, Maxwell, Santos, Pedersen

King County Arts Bills move on to Rules Committee for placement on the Floor Calendars

2011-02-26T15:52:00.000-08:00

Both HB 1997 and SB 5834 passed out of their respective Ways & Means Committees on February 25, 2011. Both await placement on the Floor Calendar, currently residing in Rules Committee (HB 1997 in the House, SB 5834 in the Senate).

HB 1997, "Providing economic development by funding tourism promotion, workforce housing, art and heritage programs, and community development."

Sponsors: Representatives Orwall, Kenney, Goodman, Fitzgibbon, Maxwell, Santos, Pedersen

Friday is Last Call for Bills in Committee to move out of Committee

2011-02-24T21:23:00.000-08:00

Friday, February 25th, is the cutoff day for bills to move out of their originating legislative committee.

4Culture has been advocating for the passage of a bill promoted by King County Executive Dow Constantine, that's House Bill 1997

HB 1997 is on the House Ways & Means agenda for Executive Session (vote), as it was the day before when it saw "No Action".
It will likely pass, but will it matter?

Tonight, February 24th, in the Senate Ways & Means Committee we had Senate Bill 5834 pass out of committee.
Senate Bill 5834.

AN ACT Relating to permitting counties to direct an existing portion of local lodging taxes to programs for arts and heritage; and amending RCW 67.28.180.

This bill extends the 2% Hotel Tax for Arts and Heritage through 2020. In 2021 when bonds this tax is paying off end the bill directs 37 and 1/2% to keep going to Arts and Heritage, and the rest, well, whatever RCW 67.28.180 covers.

SB 5834 received one amendment coming out of committee, that was to include Yakima County to keep its tax going, too. For whatever reason Senator Ed Murray keeps forgetting this detail, last year it was SB 6051 that was missing Yakima in a "clerical error".

No matter, SB 5834 is out of committee, and will move on to the Senate Rules Committee that will then place that bill on the Senate Floor Calendar. Once on the Floor, it is subject to amendments, where it could become the vessel to hold (cherry pick) items out of HB 1997, or not. Maybe it stays a single issue bill, it passes, and it least the Arts gets funding and the county gets something to invest in tourism infrastructure in 2021.

If I remember correctly, two years ago this drama played out in the Senate Ways & Means Committee on March 18th, where HB 2252 (HB 1997 without the Convention Center) went to die. That bill was replaced by SB 6116. SB 6116 died at the last minute of the 2009 session, on the Senate Floor, with the Striker Amendment stripping out Husky Stadium, 5 minutes too late.

This time I think we will see two bills go as far as either possibly can, with something passing. The "bill hostage" method just hasn't worked out so well in the past.

Tickity-Tock, cutoff deadlines are listed below.

February 25, 2011 Last day to read in committee reports from House fiscal committees and Senate Ways & Means and Transportation committees in house of origin.

March 7, 2011 Last day to consider bills in house of origin (5 p.m.).

March 25, 2011 Last day to read in committee reports from opposite house, except House fiscal committees and Senate Ways & Means and Transportation committees.

April 1, 2011 Last day to read in opposite house committee reports from House fiscal committees and Senate Ways & Means and Transportation committees.

April 12, 2011* Last day to consider opposite house bills (5 p.m.) (except initiatives and alternatives to initiatives, budgets and matters necessary to implement budgets, differences between the houses, and matters incident to the interim and closing of the session).

April 24, 2011 Last day allowed for regular session under state constitution.
Pass something.

Go Time 4Culture

2011-02-19T21:58:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, House Ways & Means Committee, 1:30pm

Michael J. Baker

Seattle, Wa

Visit me here:

http://manywordsforrain.blogspot.com/

Begin forwarded message:

From: Advocate4Culture
Date: February 19, 2011 8:05:03 PM PST
To: communicate.with.mike < at >gmail.com
Subject: Go Time 4Culture
Reply-To: advocate4culture

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

Hey you! We got a bill to save 4Culture. King County included it the economic development bill. It's HB 1997.

You are essential right now. We all need to do three things to keep momentum up for 4Culture.

(1) show up in Olympia for the hearing on Tuesday, February 22 at 1:30pm. THAT'S RIGHT! THIS TUESDAY.
(2) contact YOUR House Representatives to tell them you support HB1997.
(3) make noise about this on your facebook and twitter accounts, and forward this email to your lists.

There are instructions on the blog at advocate4culture.org. Please go to the blog, and do your essential part.

You are going to win this thing with all of us.

Spread the word, and let's get this done.

All best,

Josef Krebs

Advocate4Culture Coalition Member

Click here to join the Advocate4Culture Coalition!

Forward email

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King County: proposed state bill to help draw more visitors and conventions to King County

2011-02-19T10:31:00.000-08:00

On Friday, Washington State Representative Tina Orwall (D-33) introduced House Bill 1997.

In a statement from the King County Executive's Office the bill was described thusly:

Business, labor and arts leaders joined today in backing a bill requested by King County Executive Dow Constantine and introduced today in Olympia by State Rep. Tina Orwall to stimulate economic growth through support of programs that draw more tourists here.

"Every visitor we bring to King County spends money and provides revenues needed to support human services, housing, public safety, and transportation," said Executive Constantine. "As the economy begins to recover, we need to do all we can to position the region for economic prosperity."

Rep. Orwall's bill would reinvest four revenue streams currently dedicated to Safeco Field and Qwest Stadium to support arts and cultural programs, expand the Washington State Convention Center, establish workforce housing to help workers such as those employed in the hospitality, service, arts and related industries, and support other projects that spur tourism countywide and generate economic benefits.

"The arts are an economic engine that generates $1.75 billion in local activity that benefits everyone," said Executive Constantine. "The work to essentially double the capacity of the State Convention Center will provide thousands of good-paying construction jobs in the short term, and over the long term will draw hundreds of thousands more visitors who will spend an estimated quarter-billion dollars in new money here and create even more jobs."

"Cultural organizations employ 29,000 people in King County and generate $79 million dollars in tax revenue alone, according to a recent ArtsFund study," said Jim Kelly, Executive Director of 4Culture, the King County Cultural Development Authority. "Beyond the economics, the arts bring people together, allow us to share our diverse cultural traditions and build a sense of community that is inclusive for all."
. . .

The new expanded convention center is estimated to bring in 130,000 additional new visitors per year once it reaches stable operations. Expanding the facility sooner will result in $1.4 billion in additional economic activity over the first decade.
. . .

"Tourism dollars are enormously important to Downtown Seattle's well-being," said Kate Joncas, President of the Downtown Seattle Association. "Paired with an expanded convention center, greater investment in our hospitality industry not only means more visitor dollars, but more local jobs here at home."

Under the proposed legislation (HB 1997), four local revenue streams would stay in King County and be continued to support local economic growth:

* The 2% hotel/motel tax within King County would be continued. This revenue is committed to other purposes through 2020 but would be available for the activities proposed starting in 2021.
* The 0.5% sales tax collected at restaurants and bars in King County would expire as scheduled under law at the end of 2015. Because the bonds for Safeco Field are being repaid later this year, the remaining years of this revenue stream would be available for the proposed economic activities.
* Two car rental taxes totaling 3% would be continued.
According to Rep. Orwall's office, four specific projects are included in the legislation:

* $3 million per year from 2012 to 2020 would go to 4Culture, King County's Cultural Development Authority, which provides programs, financial support and services in the arts, public art, heritage and historic preservation.
* $5 million per year from 2012 to 2020 would go to the development of housing affordable to working people, such as those employed in tourism, hospitality, or arts related fields.
* $1 million per year would go to the Community Development and Preservation Authority Account to support the livability and visitor economy of neighborhoods near Safeco and Qwest fields.
* Remaining funds would support expansion of the Washington State Convention Center and other capital projects and programs that support tourism and generate economic activity in the region. The expanded Convention Center alone will draw tens of thousands of new visitors each year, and result in increased employment and tax revenue.

The Legislature last year converted the Washington State Convention Center from a state non-profit corporation to a King County Public Facilities District.

The main point of the bill can be found on page 10, in New Section 4.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4 A new section is added to chapter 67.28 RCW to read as follows:
(1) As provided in subsection (2) of this section, revenue deposited in a special MLK workforce housing, arts and preservation, convention and trade center, and community development fund, as provided in RCW 67.28.180(3)(d), 82.14.049, and 82.14.360, must be used only for affordable workforce housing; the expansion, construction, repair, or maintenance of a convention and trade center; art museums, cultural museums, heritage museums, and heritage and preservation programs; the arts; the performing arts; and community development.
(2) Beginning in calendar year 2012, the county must distribute money in the account annually as follows:
(a)(i) Through calendar year 2020, three million dollars for art museums, cultural museums, heritage museums, heritage and preservation programs, the arts, and the performing arts. The funds must be broadly and equitably distributed throughout the county, and provide increased outreach to underserved communities;
(ii) Beginning with calendar year 2021, 37.5 percent of the revenues described under RCW 67.28.180(3)(d) must be used for the purposes of (a)(i) of this subsection;
(b)(i) Through calendar year 2020, five million dollars each year for distributions to nonprofit organizations or public housing authorities for affordable workforce housing near or at transit stations.
(ii) Beginning with calendar year 2021, 37.5 percent of the revenues described under RCW 67.28.180(3)(d) must be used for the purposes of (b)(i) of this subsection;
(c) One million dollars for the Pioneer Square-International District community preservation and development authority under RCW 43.167.060 for projects requested by the community preservation and development authority and approved by the county legislative authority. The projects must have a historic preservation, economic revitalization, or tourism-related purpose. Beginning in calendar year 2013, and every year thereafter, the amount distributed under this subsection (2)(c) must be adjusted by the immediately preceding October-to-October change in the consumer price index; and
(d) The remainder for the construction, expansion, or repair of a public facilities district created under chapter 36.100 RCW to operate a convention and trade center transferred from a public nonprofit corporation under RCW 36.100.230(1); however, distributions under this subsection (2)(d) are allowed only to the extent that estimated future distributions under (a), (b), and (c) of this subsection can be made in their full amount.
(3) Beginning in calendar year 2013, and through calendar year 2020, the amounts distributed under subsection (2)(a)(i) and (b)(i) of this section must be adjusted by the immediately preceding October-to-October change in the consumer price index.
(4) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(a) "Affordable workforce housing" means housing for a single person, family, or unrelated persons living together whose income is at or below eighty percent of the median income, adjusted for household size, for the county where the housing is located.
(b) "Consumer price index" means the Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U) available from the bureau of labor statistics of the United States department of labor.

House bills have been overly prescriptive in the past, this one is no different. What may be different is that King County Executive Dow Constantine may have worked out agreements between competing interests for the tax revenues. It is hard to say, because the only substantive difference this year is that Husky Stadium out and the Washington State Convention Center is in. I expect the negotiated elements to survive a trip through the Senate Ways & Means Committee, but not the instructive nature of the House bill. Does anybody seriously think they can predict a meaningful investment of $1 million dollars a decade from now?

No.

In Senate fashion, they will likely agree to much of the intent and they segmentation (75% here, 25% there, this fund and that fund for a given purpose).

What could loosely be described as a companion bill that was also introduced yesterday is Senate Bill 5834.
Bill Sponsors: Senators Ed Murray (D-43, Majority Caucus Chair, Senate Ways & Means Committee Chair), Steve Litzow (R-41), Rosemary McAuliffe (D-1), Sharon Nelson (D-34), Andy Hill (R-45), Scott White (D-46), Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-36>, Joe Fain (R-47), Tracey Eide (D-30, Majority Floor Leader).

AN ACT Relating to permitting counties to direct an existing portion of local lodging taxes to programs for arts and heritage; and amending RCW 67.28.180.

I would include more text from the bill but there really isn't much more to it.

The House has most of the stadium taxes, county lodging taxes, car rental taxes, and about two years of the restaurant tax, in a fairly prescriptive bill going to a few things identified above. The Senate has the county hotel tax mostly going to arts, heritage, a tourism promotion.

What is likely going to happen, based on prior efforts; the House will pass its bill and it will be referred to the Senate Ways & Means Committee. The Senate will extract much of the agreement and provide for broader terms for the county to operate with a decade from now, while preserving the intent of the funds. The SB5834 will get a substitute that can actually pass in the Senate (please note the R's attached to the current Senate bill).

What gets put in or taken out of the final bill is anybody's guess right now, but you can see where the House is starting at, pretty much where they started two years ago with HB2912. Swapping Husky Stadium for the Convention Center in this session's effort will definitely help.

From my 2011 Predictions:

2. King County will represent those that "have" in Olympia, and they will gain control of what the state will stop doing. Yes, this is the year an arts bill passes in Olympia.
The state will stop spending $6 million dollars a year on arts programs, passing the responsibility to counties.
The Washington State Legislators will get out of the business of "One Washington" politics, where everyone either gets or is denied what somebody else in the state either gets or is denied. You don't want to be taxed so you don't want the mean old state to force services on you, good luck to the "red" counties. (not really a prediction, but a point of fact).

9. King County will revisit the plans for the expansion of the Washington State Convention Center (now a Public Facilities District), with a public/private proposal that is only missing one thing, the private business.

Lastly, why did those bills come out yesterday?
2/21/2011 the last day of the legislative session that bills can be introduced in the respective houses. Plenty of rules can be bent, but this was pretty much "last call" to get a bill introduced and passed in a fairly normal flow. Bills get hearings, executive session for vote in committee, floor votes, passed to the other side for more hearings, executive committee votes, floor votes, reconciliation.
The real exception to the 2/21/2011 cutoff is the Senate Ways $ Means Committee. If the House wanted a bill on this subject spelled out their way then they had to get something out there.

February 21, 2011 Last day to read in committee reports in house of origin, except House fiscal committees and Senate Ways & Means and Transportation committees.

February 25, 2011 Last day to read in committee reports from House fiscal committees and Senate Ways & Means and Transportation committees in house of origin.

March 7, 2011 Last day to consider bills in house of origin (5 p.m.).

March 25, 2011 Last day to read in committee reports from opposite house, except House fiscal committees and Senate Ways & Means and Transportation committees.

April 1, 2011 Last day to read in opposite house committee reports from House fiscal committees and Senate Ways & Means and Transportation committees.

April 12, 2011* Last day to consider opposite house bills (5 p.m.) (except initiatives and alternatives to initiatives, budgets and matters necessary to implement budgets, differences between the houses, and matters incident to the interim and closing of the session).

April 24, 2011 Last day allowed for regular session under state constitution.

* After the 93rd day, only initiatives, alternatives to initiatives, budgets and matters necessary to implement budgets, messages pertaining to amendments, differences between the houses, and matters incident to the interim and closing of the session may be considered.
(See the cutoff calendar here)

Good luck!

Egyptians are removing portraits of ousted President Hosni Mubarak

2011-02-13T20:19:00.000-08:00

In this frame from video , officials remove a portrait of ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak at the main Cabinet building in Cairo, on Sunday, Feb. 13 2011. Egyptians are removing portraits of ousted President Hosni Mubarak which have hung in public and private institutions throughout his three decades in power. (AP Photo / APTN)

Publicola.com Rumor of the Week: The NBA in Bellevue

2011-02-06T13:45:00.000-08:00

In Internet rumors we have this:
Rumor of the Week: The NBA in Bellevue

King County is lobbying to extend the hotel/motel tax to help Seattle pay for a revamped convention center in exchange for help bringing the NBA to Bellevue.

That is from Publicola.com, take it for what it is worth.

I am not sure why the Washington State Convention Center would need more money for their expansion. The Convention Center has control over the Seattle Hotel tax, was formed into a Public Facilities District last July.

Shorter Ryan Blethen: Do not take welfare away from newspapers

2011-02-06T13:05:00.000-08:00

Good-bye welfare for newspapers.

One of the more disturbing bills comes from Rep. Ross Hunter, D-Medina. House Bill 1818 would create a state-run website where all county notices. Current law stipulates that government notices must run in a newspaper, a longtime practice that has served the public well.

Newspapers are watchdogs of government. This is done in a number of ways, the most obvious being through reporting. As important are the paid legal notices.
. . .
The other consequence is financial. The Times, like other newspapers, stands to lose revenue. For a larger paper like The Times the hit would not be too bad. But for a weekly it will mean jobs, and may even force some weeklies to close. I have to believe that legislators do not want to be responsible for shuttering community newspapers.

Opinion | Bills threaten people's ability to remain informed of government actions | Seattle Times Newspaper

Legal notices are not going away, they are going the way of the internet, the internet that can be accessed for free at your local library.

This editorial is from the same newspaper that gave Don Brunell page space as a guest columnist, "State should change how it does business, not simply cut programs".

Among other things, this is what your guy Don wrote (emphasis mine):

An obvious example is the state printing office. Lawmakers have long bandied about the idea of privatizing this function. According to The Spokesman-Review, the state printing office, founded in 1854, employs 100 state workers. But most printing jobs can be done on agency printers and bigger jobs should be outsourced to private print shops.

While the budget for the print shop is relatively small, it illustrates an important principle: Just because we've always done something doesn't mean we should continue. This budget crisis provides lawmakers — and taxpayers — with an opportunity to take a hard look at the very structure of state government.

As long as it is an opportunity to take a hard look at something that impacts somebody else, then that is something the Seattle Times is willing to support. Blethen, we are all in this together, it is a "crisis". You have to do your part, too.

Get ready to make some noise!

2011-02-01T21:08:00.000-08:00

Begin forwarded message:

Hey 4Culture Lovers,

It's getting close. In a few days a bill will drop, part of King County's legislative agenda, that will save 4Culture. We are glad King County has included us in their priorities and want to help them get this bill passed. There are three things you can do right now:

1. Email/facebook/twitter your friends asking them to join the Advocate4Culture Coalition. Here's the page to join: http://www.advocate4culture.org/p/join-us.html

2. If you run an organization, consider including a notice about 4Culture in your next communication to your constituents. It can be this simple:

"Interested in helping arts and heritage in King County? Visit the Advocate4Culture website at www.advocate4culture.org to learn more and click on the Join Us! tab to become a member of the group that's working to save 4Culture, the largest single source of arts and heritage funding in King County."

3. Get ready to make some noise. Once a bill drops, we'll need you to make noise to your legislators and to those on the committees who will consider the bill. King County is thankfully leading the way this year, but extra noise never hurts. You'll receive action alerts that will direct you to the Advocate4Culture website.

For now, please reach out to your networks to continue to raise awareness. And be ready for the real action when we get a bill.

Thank you for your passion and energy. With your help we will renew 4Culture and ensure the future of the most important source of arts and heritage funding in our region.

All the best,

Josef Krebs

Advocate4Culture Coalition Member

Note to the Seattle Times on state budget cutting: We're in this together, some more than others

2011-01-30T16:42:00.000-08:00

I have deleted rude comments from the Seattle Times editorial so you can is is easier to see the story and the argument.

The short of it is that Adams (18,376), Asotin (22,290), Ferry (8,117), Stevens (46,616), Lincoln (10,393), Garfield (2,410), Yakima (241,446) and Wahkiakum (4,172) counties have populations that take in far more state tax money to run than they produce (wa.ofm 2010 estimate).

There are plenty of smaller counties than Yakima, and Washington State counties are not formed by some defined process, not by land mass or population, and not by how many people need representation ((Crosscut/Mossback). Lack of population is a different issue where those counties might want to consider consolidating into other counties to save money on administrative costs. The measure Washington State Representative Glenn Anderson (R - Fall City) is sponsoring is to address the gross imbalance of taxes a county paid to taxes it received. Anderson is one of three sponsors of legislation (HJR 4214) that address heavily subsidized counties.

WHEREAS, Taxpayers in certain counties of the state persistently contribute more in state taxes than the state expends in those counties; and
WHEREAS, Other counties of the state persistently absorb more state moneys than taxpayers in those counties contribute in state taxes; and
WHEREAS, Taxpayers in counties that contribute more in state taxes than the state expends in their counties reap a disproportionately small benefit from their tax contribution, and therefore bear an unjust and unreasonable tax burden; and
WHEREAS, The fiscal well-being of the state demands that each Washington county contribute to the economic welfare of the state; and
WHEREAS, Principles of fundamental tax-burden fairness call for dissolution and reorganization of counties that persistently absorb more state funds than their taxpayers contribute to state tax revenues;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON, IN LEGISLATIVE SESSION ASSEMBLED:
THAT, At the next general election to be held in this state the secretary of state shall submit to the qualified voters of the state for their approval and ratification, or rejection, an amendment to Article XI, section 3 of the Constitution of the state of Washington to read as follows:

(read the rest of the bill, and follow HJR 4214 here)

Attention Seattle Times: Some of us have noticed that the counties that persistently vote down tax increases locally and state-wide persistently take in more taxes than they actually generate.

The larger point is that these counties both complaining about taxation while essentially being welfare counties. See the "Ratio of Expenditures to Revenue" column here, and notice at the top the 6 counties get back less than they put in, and at the bottom are counties that in some cases get more than two times as much tax money in return.

State Rep. Glenn Anderson proposes a constitutional amendment to allow the state to dissolve and reorganize counties that receive twice as much in state services as they generate in tax revenues. Oooh. Bad idea.

SOMETHING strange is happening in Olympia, where two state lawmakers from King County are overly excited that urbanized and suburbanized counties contribute more tax dollars to state coffers than rural areas.

This fact is neither new nor news, but that has not stopped state Rep. Glenn Anderson, R-Fall City, from introducing a constitutional amendment to allow the state "to dissolve and reorganize" counties that receive twice as much in state services as they generate in tax revenues. He refers to Adams, Asotin, Ferry, Stevens, Lincoln, Garfield, Yakima and Wahkiakum counties. Oh, please.

It is obvious that urban-suburban areas will pay more on a percentage basis than rural areas. So what?

. . .

Anderson's point is that rural counties bristle at King and other wealthier counties for dominating the state budget and agenda. But these wealthier counties net export dollars to places where lawmakers complain.

Beyond that, Anderson says rural counties need a long-term plan to sustain themselves either by merging with another county or finding new ways to create jobs and become more self-sufficient.

The best way for Washington to dig out of its current budget crisis is to do it together as one state solving problems collectively.

. . .

. . . six counties contribute 75 percent of the state's total tax revenue and many others receive more in services than they pay.

If this is all about having a conversation about the imbalance, discuss at will. But the constitutional idea is going nowhere. That involves the state sloughing problem areas off to counties, which are in no better shape than the state.

Lawmakers must engage in solid budget cutting endeavors that do the least harm to all of Washington.

Editorials | Note to state budget cutters: We're in this together | Seattle Times Newspaper

The Seattle Times Editorial Board fails to offer a meaningful argument against the legislation, just that it would be "bad". The reality the Seattle Times is refusing to face is that the voters did vote down tax increases and so we are seeing a natural reaction of self preservation. In this state those that "have" also happen to have the population to ensure the counties that "have not" get exactly what they claim they want, less government.

Government in this little exercise is expressed in dollars.

Expect government to be transferred to the local level where possible, that is, taxes collected and kept at a local level. This local government will naturally invite people to question why tax money in some cases is held at the local level while in other cases it is redistributed in grossly uneven quantities to other counties.
Expect it, because that is where we are.

Last Tuesday, Goldy at The Stranger wrote a pretty good story on this, Since Red Counties Enjoy a Disproportionate Share of the State Budget, They Should Expect a Disproportionate Share of the Cuts
(see his groovy map below)

Don’t let Peter Callaghan's sports talk fool you – arts funding fuel tax extension

2011-01-23T16:02:00.000-08:00

Peter Callaghan, of the Tacoma News Tribune, has a story on King County's effort to wrestle away the hotel and car rental taxes from the control of the state. Where Callaghan might have the story not quite right is the who is driving the legislation.

Yes, Safeco Field wants a funding source for major capital repair. The current taxes do end with the paying off of the bonds used in the initial build of the facility. Washington State Senator Joe Zarelli said nearly two years ago when the Senate Ways & Means Committee took testimony on Senate Bill 6116 that this is a public facility with a substantial public investment that we do not want to find ourselves in a "Sonics" situation a few years from now.

Simply, they want to keep the admissions and parking taxes at the facility to fund major capital repairs. Any bill that includes King County hotel and car rental taxes getting extended pretty much must have this component. This required component does not mean that the Safeco and Qwest Fields (same boat, different sport) need is driving force. Both facilities are Public Facilities Districts, they have different partnerships with the private companies that use those facilities, but those PFD's could come back to the state or get transferred to the county and put the request to tax the users on the ballot. That is a much tougher route to go, no question about it, but it is not the death of those institutions.

What is in a life or death struggle is the funding for 4Culture in King County. I just do not see how they could lose 75% of their operating funds in 2012 and then come back later to the state or King County and ask for a tax increase across the board on hotels and have a glimmer of hope to have that pass.
4Culture needs a bill this session, and that bill will not get very far without the stadium tax extension.

King County Executive Dow Constantine will ask that a bill be introduced to allow the county to keep some taxes collected only within the county. Proceeds would be used for tourism-related facilities and projects.

“The proposal will honor the original intent behind these taxes,” said Constantine’s external affairs director Sung Yang.

Two of the taxes are now directed toward Safeco – the half-cent sales tax on restaurant and bar tabs and a 2 percent tax on car rentals. Yang said the proposal would be to maintain the car rental tax permanently but extend the food and drink tax only until 2015. (State Restaurant Association head Anthony Anton said the group would not oppose a temporary extension.)

Don’t let art talk fool you – sports teams fuel tax extension | Peter Callaghan - The News Tribune

I did not expect this story written that way now. What I am expecting is for a similar story to be written on February 2nd when the Arts and Heritage folks descend upon Olympia for Arts and Heritage Day
The arts folks will lament that they need the sports stadium folks, and Yakima (they use the Kingdome tax law), to get their bill passed.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2011

Road Trip to Olympia - Join us for Arts & Heritage Day

Clear your calendar on February 2nd.
It's Arts and Heritage Day in Olympia and we need all advocates to attend! The Washington State Arts Alliance and the Washington Museum Association are joining forces to coordinate this year's event.

Arts and Heritage Day provides an opportunity for you to meet your legislators, in person, so you can advocate4culture and tell them what is most important to you.

If you can attend, please visit this page and contact your team captain (organized by where you live). Your savvy captain will get you signed up and will tell you when meetings are scheduled with your legislators. There will be other advocates attending these meetings with you - so you won't feel alone. If you haven't been before, you'll see that there are many advocates that will guide you along the way. Arts and Heritage Day is a great way to see that you do have a voice in Washington State. Come join us!

If you need a ride to Olympia, or just need some encouragement to attend, send us an email and we'll help get you there.

POSTED BY ADVOCATE4CULTURE

I suggest that Peter Callighan join them and write that story, too.

Buried in the back page of the About 4Culture web site is their compelling story.

BACKGROUND ON 4CULTURE AND THE LODGING TAX
Funding for 4Culture will end in 2012 unless citizens, Representatives and Senators work to change state legislation this year.

WHY ARE LODGING TAXES A STRONG INVESTMENT THROUGH 4CULTURE?

4Culture invests $4.5M every year in artists & arts/heritage organizations and activities in King County. This is the single largest source of contributed revenue available in our community on a regular basis for artists, arts organizations, heritage organizations and heritage/preservation projects.

In 2009 alone, 4Culture provided financial support to:

168 individual artists & small arts groups
211 arts organizations
37 heritage organizations
87 cultural facilities
24 landmarks (preservation $$)
40 individual specialists for heritage projects and education curricula
17 heritage collections projects

Additionally, lodging tax funds supported 4Culture programs that gave
18+ KC school districts support for integrated arts curriculum training to principal-led teacher teams
400+ performing and visual artists presentation opportunities through 4Culture Site Specific
30+ visual artists exhibition opportunities in Gallery4Culture and the electronic gallery e4c
100+ performing artists promotional support through the 4Culture Touring Arts Roster
100+ heritage sites promotional support through Destination Heritage tourism brochures

4Culture is also home to King County’s award-winning Public Art Program.

These activities and more make our region an attractive tourist destination. They enhance our quality of life, define our sense of place and serve as a powerful economic driver for our local communities. The small investment of lodging tax for culture ripples throughout the local community, making art and history programs accessible; keeping neighborhoods active, safe and walkable; and employing thousands of residents throughout our region.

HISTORY OF 4CULTURE AND THE LODGING TAX

In 1990, the state legislature passed a law allowing a portion of KC lodging taxes to be used for arts and culture. 4Culture has stewarded these funds for 20 years. When the law was originally crafted, it had an expiration date of 2012 – and required that a portion of the tax be set aside for an endowment that would sustain the programs of 4Culture after 2012. Unfortunately, due to changing economic trends, there is not enough in the endowment account to maintain the level of support currently provided by 4Culture. If 4Culture began to operate solely off the endowment, the funding available for the cultural field would be cut by 75%.

Therefore, if new legislation is not passed to augment the endowment and designate future uses of lodging taxes for culture after 2012, 4Culture will need to start winding down programs and services. This cut of resources will obviously be devastating to many small non-profit organizations, artists and community-run programs in every corner of King County, and to the people employed in this sector.

The page ends with the likely description of the bill.

WHAT ELSE COULD BE FUNDED WITH LODGING TAXES?

The arts and heritage funding we are working for is just a small percentage of the available visitor taxes. Traditionally, lodging taxes have also paid for the construction of stadiums, and support of the convention center. The legislature’s obligation is to disperse these taxes among a variety of causes that can steward tourism, while potentially addressing some of our regional economic and social services issues. Other issues that may be in a bill with 4Culture include: low-income housing, heath and human services programs, regional centers publically owned facilities, and support for cultural districts (like the International District). Our opportunity is to position arts and culture at the center of these various goals. Culture is part of the solution to regional problems.

What that reads like is last legislative sesson's HB 2912. That bill was sandbagged and killed by Washington State Senator Rodney Tom's dozen floor amendments.
Let's see if Tom can control himself this year.

What may help the bill this time around is that the University of Washington will not be grasping at those funds for Husky Stadium. The university will remodel that facility on their own through donations and leveraging future revenues that will increase as a result of the major remodel.

Seattle Times: KeyArena's name to change; bank drops sponsorship

2011-01-22T11:10:00.000-08:00

The value and timing of the renaming depends on the location of a new arena.
Seattle Center's arena could retain a tiny bit more name value if a new arena is built in Bellevue as opposed to some place in Seattle, but not much.

I am sure it will still have some value. The question is how diminished that value is with its novelty as the only indoor facility of its size in the Seattle media market removed?
Does it then get a local second tier name?
Does it get a local name that is an international company but valued at the second tier price?

The market is big enough that a new modern arena could make money without completely destroying the value of Seattle Center's arena, just expect it to be what it already is, second tier, when the novelty of being the only major arena goes away.

Seattle Center officials are shopping the naming rights to KeyArena, the city's high-profile entertainment venue, after KeyBank let its contract expire Dec. 31.

Bill Boucher, KeyBank's regional marketing director, said the bank valued the presence it got from the sponsorship but decided not to renew the contract.

"Like every company, we continuously review our portfolio of sponsorships and strive to improve their impact and return on investment," Boucher said in a statement.

Cleveland-based KeyCorp, the bank's parent company, paid the city $300,000 annually for the past three years even though it could have walked away after the Sonics left for Oklahoma City in 2008. Before the team's departure, KeyCorp had paid the city $1.3 million a year since 1995.

In a statement Friday, Seattle Center Director Robert Nellams said he was confident the city would find a new partner.
. . .
Boucher said the bank isn't shying away from Seattle. Over the past 18 months, KeyBank has established new sponsorships with the Seattle Mariners, Tacoma Rainiers and Broadway Across America at the Paramount Theatre, Boucher said.

Business & Technology | KeyArena's name to change; bank drops sponsorship | Seattle Times Newspaper

How did that work out?
As evidenced by the market, not so well.

Seattle Times | Frustrated Gregoire says 'status quo does not work'

2011-01-16T18:58:00.000-08:00

Last week, Governor Christine Gregiore opened the Washington State Legislative Session for 2011 with her state of the State address. The speech included challenges to the legislature to be prepared to make fundamental changes to state government.

The governor has been giving interviews and proposals to prepare people for change as the state struggles with a $4.6 billion dollar hole in its 2011 - 2013 biennium, as well as almost a billion dollars in the current budget that ends June 30th.

When times were much better the state poured money into a variety of programs, as well as tax breaks to grow certain industries.

Gregoire says she doesn't have any choice given the budget gap and the reality that no more bailouts will be coming from Congress.

Surprisingly, though, Gregoire also seems unsure that the money she poured into education improved student achievement as much as she'd hoped.

"I came in here determined to make the system work better. To invest more money. I put a lot more money into K-12. But then you sit there and say, 'Why have I not been able to get the result I set out to achieve?' " she said.

Local News | Frustrated Gregoire says "status quo does not work" | Seattle Times Newspaper

Let's be clear about this, K-12 education support is a mandate in the Washington State Constitution (see here, ARTICLE IX EDUCATION). Gregiore's question has more to do with the system the state pumped money into than the amount of money. To be sure, if they state's educational system was in a position to produce a population of superior students but all it needed was money, then we would have seen a surge in standard test scores over the past few years. We didn't.
That is a fine example, and it is not the only one. Tax breaks are also investments in systems that made claims of being ready to produce exciting economic benefits and jobs, all we needed to do was either give a tax break, or increase taxes on somebody else, then we would see a surge in our economy over the past few years that were above standard. The unemployment rate in Washington State is remarkably similar to the rest of the nation.

Everything the state does in the public sector should be closely examined to ensure that our investments are beneficial.
Everything the state does for the private sector should be closely examined to ensure that our investments are beneficial.

As a result of these examinations and changes we will see county and city governments have to pick up some things that the state drops. The question is if the state will pass the means to stay in the business of health, safety, education, economic infrastructure investment.

The state has until April to figure it out.
Good luck.

Seattle Times, Ryan Blethen's Opinion | The trolls and bullies must not stifle community engagement

2011-01-15T10:08:00.000-08:00

The Seattle Times' Ryan Blethen has taken the tragedy of the shooting in Arizona and the resulting public discussion on the nature of public discourse to publish a self-serving opinion piece on how people say mean things on Seattle Times' comment boards.

No, I'm not kidding.

If we as a nation learned anything from the shootings in Tucson it is that stirring, meaningful speech is still possible. Yet it can be hard to hear above the roaring sewer that often passes for public dialogue
. . .
I questioned whether I should write this column. Are the commentors who hide behind fake names worth my time addressing? The answer is: occasionally.

Like it or not, what they say is part of the dialogue of The Seattle Times Opinion section.

My favorites are the regulars who comment on every column I write. Charlievictor has become so predictable after 531 comments, I don't even have to read what he writes. Without fail he always begins:

"Once again, the ethically challenged, self-dealing helium filled gas bag otherwise known as corporate welfare king Ryan Blethen ... ." Blah, blah, blah ... . On editorials he uses the same language and substitutes my name with "The Seattle Times editorial board."

The Charlievictors are harmless and not effective. The most they do is call me an idiot and claim the only reason I have a job is because my family owns the newspaper. Never heard that one before.

Some days I feel like we provide a service. A place to vent and hopefully prepare angry commentors to face the world a bit deflated.
Opinion | The trolls and bullies must not stifle community engagement | Seattle Times Newspaper

Dear Ryan Bkethen,
Maybe the Seattle Times could use their journalistic skills and separate how people are communicating with what people are communicating. They might realize that there is a consistent and repeating message by people that see the world all around come apart, not just the "nice to have" things but real people with real problems of homelessness and a lack of food. These people, apparently, have not benefitted from the billions of dollars of tax loopholes, and the business community that always championing the cause of somebody else giving something to make things better.

It appears that many people see big business, including the Seattle Times owners, as hypocrites. With one hand you champion your "new normal", with the other your hand is out for my tax money (that is what a tax break is, Ryan, my tax money).
Maybe the Seattle Times, and all of the businesses that champion for less government should actually participate in less government by willingly taking your hand out of my wallet. Let's go ahead an let the freedom of the marketplace determine winners and losers, and not have the state government pick winners and losers by giving you, the Seattle Times, a tax break.
Lead by example, Seattle Times.
This appears to be a starting point from which the "fifth generation Seattle Times owner", Ryan , launches into a critique of modern public discourse on the Seattle Times comment section. People are mean on the internet. That is true. It is also true that the anonymity that frees people to be mean also frees them to be nicer to complete strangers they have never met in the flesh. Ryan, it cuts both ways, your business just happens to be in the industry that profits from delivering bad news, tending to make people (wait for it) unhappy. When you compound that "delivering bad news for a profit" business model with editorials that routinely demand media freedom and less government, while taking corporate welfare, you are bound to be speaking from a logical disadvantage.
It's the hyprocracy, stupid.

Seattle Times Opinion: State should change how it does business, not simply cut programs

2011-01-08T12:15:00.000-08:00

Don Brunell, the president of the Association of Washington Business, points out everywhere the State of Washington can institute systemic savings, everywhere except in his own backyard.

Asking everyone to sacrifice, change the way the state works, and not be open and honest about the role the business community has in our tax mess is at best disingenuous.

For its part, the Seattle Times gives free media space to a lobbyist, a lobby they depend on for their own special tax break that ends in 2015.

The Association of Washington Business is the biggest pig at the trough.

Spending cuts are necessary given Washington's budget crisis, but more systemic change is needed. Guest columnist Don Brunell of the Association of Washington Business suggests five such systemic changes to how the state does business.

Unfortunately, lawmakers resist such changes until the last possible minute. And when a financial crisis finally hits, it makes the necessary cuts seem even more painful. But there are systemic changes the governor and state legislators can make to get spending under control.

• First, we must reduce or eliminate existing programs and lawmakers should not add any new ones. In Gov. Gregoire's first term, the state budget increased 31 percent with higher salaries, richer benefits, 6,100 new state workers, new programs and even a new state agency. In today's economy, taxpayers simply cannot afford it.

• Second, legislators should also resist raiding dedicated accounts set up by specific taxes to fund specific programs, such as hazardous-waste cleanup. Robbing Peter to pay Paul by moving money around and deferring payments doesn't solve our long-term problems.

• Third, state lawmakers should also find more innovative ways to provide public services. For example, the state should contract out services to the private sector when it is more efficient and cost-effective to do so, ensuring proper oversight and quality controls. To make that happen, lawmakers will have to change state law to remove contracting out from the collective-bargaining statute.

• Fourth, Olympia needs to change collective-bargaining agreements with public employees. Government workers must sacrifice to the same degree as private-sector employees. So far, that hasn't happened. Originally, the governor proposed increasing the health insurance co-pay for premiums from 12 percent to 26 but ultimately announced it would be 15 percent. Most private-sector workers pay 25 percent or more.

• Fifth, shorten permitting time, eliminate duplicative regulations and reduce costs for private-sector employers. Eliminating those unnecessary costs will free employers to create jobs, which will restore economic vitality and provide more state tax revenues.

None of this will be easy, but if lawmakers take this opportunity to make real changes in the way the state does business, we will all be better off in the long run.

[Don Brunell is the president of the Association of Washington Business, Washington state's largest and oldest statewide business association.]

Opinion | State should change how it does business, not simply cut programs | Seattle Times Newspaper

Don Brunell is right, but doesn't go far enough, and completely misses a spending program that is wasteful and anticompetitive; payments to one company over another through tax incentives must end. The free market will produce the best industries and companies in this state. Paying companies through the state tax system is costing all Washington tax payers tens of millions of dollars every year.

So, in Don Brunell's priority list at the top there should be a line zero:
• Zero special tax inducements/breaks/payments (the B&O tax is the B&O tax), and the immediate repeal of all tax inducements where the state is not contractually obligated, and where the state can not show a direct return on our investment of our tax money.

That's my tax money, too, Don Brunell.
Put up or shut up, Don Brunell.

I know we could save a little money on the state side by not having to have a team of experts figuring out which tax dodge business owes or avoids, which tax rate, for which service.

Here is an idea, if YOU are doing business in Washington State then how about paying your share of taxes?

Here is 1.1 billion dollars of freeloaders:
Consultants and miscellaneous business services worth $25.2 million
Legal services worth $199.8 million
Engineering & architectural services worth $84.4 million
Accounting and auditing services worth $84.2 million
Detective and security services worth $66 million
Computer and data processing services worth $66.2 million
Management services worth $131.7 million
Trade-ins of used products worth $176.3 million
Credit agencies worth $76.9 million
Security brokers worth $77.8 million
Insurance companies worth $5 million
Insurance agents worth $101.6 million
Real estate brokers & agents worth $5.3 million
Holding companies worth $7.6 million
Precious metals and bullion worth $6.4 million
Other financial services worth $41.6 million

Total: $1.1 billion.
(Source: http://www.publicola.net

Are we "One Washington", or not?

WSDOT - Big changes coming to First Avenue S. in Seattle as crews work to rebuild Alaskan Way Viaduct ramps

2011-01-03T11:08:00.000-08:00

In a few months Seattle might vote to stop what is starting today.
That, right there, is Seattle politics; vote in the future to stop something in the past because somebody doesn't like the decision made last year.

It's like a fuse, burning up from the southern mile.

SEATTLE – In less than a week construction crews working to replace the southern mile of the State Route 99 Alaskan Way Viaduct will reduce First Avenue S. to just one lane in each direction between S. Royal Brougham Way and S. King Street around-the-clock through April 1.

The long-term closures are necessary to give crews working for the Washington State Department of Transportation the space they need to safely demolish and relocate the First Avenue S. on-ramp to the viaduct.

The ramp demolition is a sign of things to come for the south end of the viaduct. Crews working for WSDOT and contractor Skanska USA Civil will demolish the rest of the seismically vulnerable viaduct between S. Holgate and S. King streets in 2012.

Monday, Jan. 3 – Crews will close both directions of First Avenue S. between S. King Street and S. Royal Brougham Way and the SR 99 on- and off-ramps at First Avenue S. between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. to restripe the roadway and set up the work zone.

WSDOT - 2010 - Big changes coming to First Avenue S. in Seattle as crews work to rebuild Alaskan Way Viaduct ramps

Dow Constantine had the Best Year of Any Local Politician

2010-12-31T13:26:00.000-08:00

There have been a few "Year in Review", or "2011 Predictions" made in the local media that curiously show Dow Constantine's picture and then their story runs off to the Seattle mayor and other local issues (yes, the mayor is treated as an issue).

I suppose it is implied that the King County Executive had a good year while some of the stories rehash the City of Seattle Executive's public conflicts. I know that it is not an exciting story, having to ask all of your county employees to give up pay to help balance the county budget.
It isn't as exciting as, say, having the new mayor grilled by the city council (so, no follow-up meeting?)

Well, the list of accomplishments is worth repeating linked here, listed below.

Full funding for the long-awaited replacement of the South Park Bridge, in collaboration with federal, state and local leaders.
Federal funding for long-term interim repair of the ailing Howard Hanson Dam to reduce the flood risk in the Green River Valley, in collaboration with federal, state and local leaders.
A regional partnership with cities on a new model for animal services.
A regional partnership with cities on jail planning, to avoid unnecessary construction of new city jails.
A consensus with regional leaders on reforms in theprovision of Metro bus service.
The purchase of 250 acres of Maury Island, including a mile of shoreline, that completes the Executive's 12-year effort to preserve the longest remaining undeveloped Puget Sound shoreline in King County.
Completion and adoption of the first-ever countywide strategic plan.
Completion of the first phase of an upgrade to the County's human resources business processes, replacing manual practices from the 1970's with more efficient automated workflows that provide critical access to real-time data.
Creation of a new County energy policy to achieve even greater energy efficiency, reduce operational costs, and curtail greenhouse gas emissions.
Reform of DDES permitting to a fixed fee model rather than hourly rates, and creation of a customer service unit for rural owners.
Adoption of a new King County budget, one week ahead of schedule, achieved several of the Executive's goals by:
Consolidating his effort to put County government back on sound financial footing by creating annual efficiencies of three percent, leading to budgets that will be sustainable over time,
Sticking to his principle of maintaining reserves without resorting to one-time gimmicks,
Working with more than 90-percent of the County's employees to preserve services to the public by forgoing a cost-of-living adjustment for next year, and
Preserving the principle of restoring services, to the extent possible, in those areas where employees have sacrificed their COLA.

The county is bleeding money, fact.
Without major changes in local tax structure the county, including Metro bus service, will see major cuts in every budget going foreword, fact.
The state legislature has resisted action to help the county because of the many budget problems the county has failed to begin to address in the past, fact.
This year the county pulled together to seriously begin to address major budget issues, including demonstrating leadership by example (except the King County Sheriff Deputies, and their shameless County Council weasel Reagan Dunn), fact.

So, with that I will state, Dow Constantine had the Best Year of Any Local Politician

Predictions for 2011, the Year of the Hollow Victory

2010-12-29T21:29:00.000-08:00

Last year my predictions revolved around Seattle's new mayor, Mike McGinn. McGinn was the outsider urban density lobbyist change agent (not much really changed).

It can be difficult to predict likely outcomes of a strong willed individual transitioning from random populist ideas to the cold reality of having to be the mayor of an entire city. As entertaining as it was, the world and my 2011 predictions will not revolve around the Mayor (you're welcome).
Feel free to review my 2010 Predictions.

2011 will be the Year of the Hollow Victory

I'll work my way from the outside in to Seattle.

1.a. Congressional Republicans will back their way into championing a Public Option and Universal Healthcare, thinking Medicare will become privatized at the state level.
1.b. Congressional Democrats will champion state's rights.

2. King County will represent those that "have" in Olympia, and they will gain control of what the state will stop doing. Yes, this is the year an arts bill passes in Olympia.
The state will stop spending $6 million dollars a year on arts programs, passing the responsibility to counties.
The Washington State Legislators will get out of the business of "One Washington" politics, where everyone either gets or is denied what somebody else in the state either gets or is denied. You don't want to be taxed so you don't want the mean old state to force services on you, good luck to the "red" counties. (not really a prediction, but a point of fact).

3. The state will take all municipalities "off the hook" for paying for state roads.
Mike McGinn gets his way, sort of.

4. The deep bore tunnel starts, Mike McGinn supporters go looking for a new mayoral candidate.

5. The state will grant counties the power and authority to raise taxes to pay for transit by popular vote, adding an increase to the Motor Vehicle Excise Tax limit counties and cities can have.

6. Seattle will lead the vote on increased MVET taxes in King County.

7. I predict a more practical challenge for one of 5 Seattle City Council seats will be from somebody not so identified with the tunnel, will have name recognition, and champion the lessor Seattle themes and memes. It looks like tunnel opposition, without the stink of losing that argument.

8. Bellevue will reveal a major public works proposal for a regional center, with a public/private proposal that only missing one thing, public money.

9. King County will revisit the plans for the expansion of the Washington State Convention Center (now a Public Facilities District), with a public/private proposal that is only missing one thing, the private business.

10. Seattle Center's Key Arena will become the worlds largest planter, much like people sometimes do with old boots, or toilets, as they prepare to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the World's Fair with a ferris wheel and urban blight.

11. Oil prices will rise (not that kind of oil). This will be a record harvest for Washington State high quality mint oil.

12. The redistricting will split the 8th Congressional District, causing a major shift in King County Democrats from Olympia Washington to Washington D.C.

As gasoline use drops, so does state revenue | Seattle Times Newspaper

2010-12-28T18:20:00.000-08:00

Better gas milage = less gas tax, because less gas is purchased, so there is less tax... Surprise!

The trend toward lower gasoline consumption is like a flashing yellow light in the new 20-year plan from the Washington Transportation Commission.

To improve or even maintain mobility in the state, the commission is recommending new ways to raise money beyond the gas tax: wider use of toll charges, a new vehicle excise tax, local tax options and a tax on alternative- fuel vehicles.
. . .
As gasoline use drops, so does state revenue, Seattle Times Newspaper

Rep. Ross Hunter named chairman of House Ways and Means Committee | Seattle Times Newspaper

2010-12-21T20:20:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Ross Hunter.

State Rep. Ross Hunter, D-Medina, is the new chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. He replaces Rep. Kelli Linville, D-Bellingham, who lost to a Republican challenger in the November election.

The House Ways and Means chair is one of the most powerful jobs in the state Legislature, serving as one of the lead architects of the state budget. Hunter, in a way, gets to keep his old job as chairman of the House Finance Committee as well. That panel was eliminated and absorbed into Ways and Means.

Hunter's counterpart in the Senate is Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, chairman of that chamber's Ways and Means Committee. Both men will play key roles in figuring out a way to close a projected $4.6 billion shortfall in the next two-year budget. The Legislature will meet in January to start working on closing that gap.

You can see all the committee assignments here.

Politics Northwest | Rep. Ross Hunter named chairman of House Ways and Means Committee | Seattle Times Newspaper

Ways & Means
Rep. Ross Hunter (Medina) - Chair
Darneille - Vice Chair, Appropriations
Hasegawa - Vice Chair, Finance
Carlyle
Cody
Dickerson
Haigh
Hudgins
Hunt
Kagi
Kenney
Ormsby
Pettigrew
Seaquist
Springer
Sullivan

All of the Democratic committee members of the Washington State House Ways & Means Committee voted in favor of House Bill 2912 last year, a bill that would redirect control of King County lodging taxes from the state to the control of King County, for use in arts, heritage, youth athletics, regional centers, arts centers.
Hopefully a similar bill is introduced this 2011 Session.
Who is the chairman of the Senate Ways & Means Committee? Ed Murray.
I think our questions will eventually revolve around floor votes in the House and Senate.

America's thirst for gasoline is dropping for the long haul | Seattle Times Newspaper

2010-12-20T20:26:00.000-08:00

Less gas consumption, less gass tax, less revenue to maintain our roads. The first Nissan Leaf was delivered to a driver in Seattle last Friday.
Expect tolling, and MVET taxes to make up some of the difference, which can compete with mass transit revenue sources.

Nation & World | America's thirst for gasoline is dropping for the long haul | Seattle Times Newspaper

Debaters find little agreement on Hwy. 99 tunnel plan | Seattle Times Newspaper

2010-12-17T11:09:00.000-08:00

This is the most accurate and concise news report the political conflict over the Deep Bore Tunnel replacement for the Alaska Way Viaduct, that is part of Washington State Highway system.

Politics | Debaters find little agreement on Hwy. 99 tunnel plan | Seattle Times Newspaper

Seattle Times: State lawmakers skip drama, cut budget by millions

2010-12-12T18:20:00.000-08:00

In a rare one day Special Session the Washington State Legislature met on Saturday to cut the budget.
The State Senate did meet on the floor, suspended rules intended to slow things down, referred the bills to the Ways & Means Committee for brief public testimony, and executive session to vote on passing the bills back out of committee. The House did the same, strangely quick. outgoing House Ways & Means Chair Kelli Linville remarked during the testimony in committee that it was going so quickly. She looked around the committee meeting room after the speakers that had signed up had already spoken to see if there was anybody else that wanted to testify. A few lobbyists went on record, almost apologetically, pointing out that we all know where we are and what is happening.
Quick and painful.

As the 4Culture, Arts and Heritage, as well as others that are wanting the King County hotel taxes to be given to the county, and the county and city governments go ask for more taxing authority for transportation, be sensitive to the situation many small communities find themselves in.

Below is a summary of what was cut, expect more when the legislature begins the 2011 session on January 10th.

State budget cuts

State budget cuts approved by the Legislature on Saturday include:
$50 million from public schools, including the elimination of funding to keep class sizes smaller in K-4 classrooms.

$51 million from higher education, including $11.4 million from the University of Washington, $7.5 million from Washington State University, $2 million from Western Washington University and $26.4 million from community and technical colleges.

$12.3 million from Disability Lifeline, a program that provides cash payments to the disabled poor. Monthly payments will drop from $339 to $258.

$27.7 million by reducing enrollment in the Basic Health Plan, a subsidized insurance program for the working poor. The state won't fill slots as they come open.

$48.4 million from the Department of Corrections, including the closure of the McNeil Island Corrections Center.

Reducing payments to health-care centers that receive federal money.

Reducing emergency payments to families in need but not on welfare. One-time payments will drop from $1,250 to $1,000.

Eliminating nonemergency adult dental care for the poor.

$13.8 million by extending last year's furloughs for state employees to include all Department of Social and Health Services employees, and requiring them to take two additional furlough days.

$17 million from natural-resources programs, including $5.8 million from the Department of Ecology.

A 6.2 percent across-the-board reduction in the governor's office, the budget office, the Legislature, the judiciary and the offices of separately elected statewide officials.

Source: Washington State Senate Democrats,

Washington State Legislature
Local News | State lawmakers skip drama, cut budget by millions | Seattle Times Newspaper

Washington State Legislature Special Session is Saturday, 9am (aka, One Day Sale)

2010-12-09T20:28:00.000-08:00

This Saturday the Washngton State Kegislature will stop their ongoing regular meetings in order to have a Spevial Session.
That's right, the legislature is in Olympia to have regularly scheduled committee meetings during the week, but on Saturday there is a one day fire sale of state programs in order to chop almost a billion dollars out of the current state budget that runs through June 2911. The budget that starts in July 2011 will also need significant cuts in order to have a balanced budget through June 2013.

What is cut on Saturday will set the stage for what stays cut, and what else is cut. The state will stop doing all kinds of things that counties can not afford to pick up, and large cities are just now figuring out is not there anymore.

I wish you all the best of luck.

sportspressnw.com | Local Sports, Local Writers

2010-12-01T18:06:00.000-08:00

About a eighteen months ago I had a chat with Art Thiel. Our discussion was about the end of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. On that day, June 1, 2009, Publicola.net announced that its online political newsy publication had secured financial backing. Mr. Thiel told me about his idea to try an online sports publication.
Here is a bit of that 2009 conversation:

Mike: At the same time, if you step away from here, and create your own, you are then competing with the PI or Hearst as an online entity, if you go that direction. So, people choosing to go that direction, it seems to me, that they, were, were people breaking into specialty subjects, or how did that come about?

Art: There was nothing that organized. It was just everybody who just thought that they had a talent or a skill who wanted to try to pursue it, who were looking at options. But, I mean, there’s maybe a collection of 15 to 20 people contributing to Seattle Post-Globe, which is the biggest group. But there is another group just started, just today, called investigate west (www.invw.org launches July 8th), which is lead by assistant metro editor Rita Hibbard and has several people who made their living investigative reporting, are together, for a website, that they hope will be sponsored. And, I think they had affiliation with University of Washington grant money that will help sustain them for a while. That’s another experiment. I’m working on a website with my colleague Steve Rudman that will off sports commentary, per haps, on a subscription basis (www.nwsportspress.com).
So, everybody’s got a different agenda, and a different timeline. And, obviously, it varies with urgency, a lot of people with younger kids are saying I’ll take any job I can get; PR, or construction.

Mike: But that’s not your position, that’s not where you’re at?

Art: Right, I want to continue in journalism, and I want to continue with this website. And the PI, also, Hearst did not fully commit to the electronic version until early in March. So, we didn’t know if they were going to pull this trigger, and they finally did. And they belatedly, at the end of that period, said ok, “you, you, you, and you”, and these steps [gestures] go up to the second floor where they were meeting everyone and making their proposals. And so, it was a very strange period there in mid-March where the phone would ring, and somebody would say, “come up stairs to the meeting room”. So, you’d watch who would go up the stairs to see who got the job, or, they came back down and said “no”, ‘cause some people did turn it down.

I did not follow-up and post the rest of our conversation, and at some point it migrated to the back burner.

It is good to see this come to life. It reminds me of what I haven't done, and what a benefit it is to have more voices in the local sports media.

Here is is, SportsPressNW.com | Local Sports, Local Writers

Home
About Sportspress Northwest

From Art Thiel and Steve Rudman, co-founders:

The coin of the realm, we are told regarding online content, is traffic. And traffic, it is said, travels best on the big, lower road.

So if success is sought, we are informed, we will pursue stories such as this:

WOODS, PALIN DENY BALLOON BOY IS THEIR LOVE CHILD; OCTOMOM SAYS, ‘HE’S MINE!’

Nah.

Welcome to Sportspress Northwest, where insight is our focus and content is king.

That’s not to say we aren’t having fun. But we’ve chosen the highway.

We’re covering Northwest sports with local writers, videographers and photographers who enjoy journalism’s standards, technology’s opportunities and users’ passion. We enjoy good writing and clear thinking. We like to look ahead, and look back, to get a clue about where we are today.

The media biz is in tumult, but that doesn’t mean there’s been much change in sports fans’ desires to be well-informed, amused, provoked and inspired.

We co-founded Sportspress Northwest Inc., and assembled a staff of savvy, credentialed journalists, in the belief that there are decent livings to be made on the web providing quality commentary, reporting and research for a large, local market of sports passionates. Yes, it’s a niche appeal, but with more than 50 years of combined journalism experience between us, we know this place has the capital, advertisers, sponsors and consumers to help experienced local journalists sustain a new effort at entrepreneurial journalism for a popular subject.

So we’re taking a little risk — free, fresh, familiar and, we hope, fun for Seattle and the Northwest.

Twenty-one months after the demise of the print paper where we worked, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, we start again with contemporary commentary, news, biography and history on platforms of audio and video as well as text and photos, using an able stable of pros who provide original reporting with minimal aggregation of content from other sources.

At the beginning, Sportspress Northwest is devoted to the how and why, not the what, of our five most popular teams –- Seahawks, Sounders, Mariners and University of Washington football and basketball.

Our main home-page feature, Pressing the Point, contains a rotation of our best stuff – columns, analyses and major features on events, issues, personalities and trends. Next door is Daily Beat, stories about the most significant developments on the teams in their seasons.

The primary navigation bar provides drop-down menus for each team that contain the most comprehensive seasonal information found under a single click in any local medium.

Under Rosters, you will find biographies of every current major league player in town. Read up on the playing histories of Ichiro, Jake Locker and Matt Hasselbeck, and you will win so many bets you will face the threat of banishment from the bar.

So too with Timelines, which chronicle all the teams’ non-game developments. Nowhere else will you find all 250-plus transactions the Seahawks have made since Pete Carroll became coach.

The bottom half of the home page is The Field of Play, where a collection of wry, informed takes, especially including the Exit 164 column by Seth Kolloen, will provide you the edge in every sports conversation.

Because our emphasis in Pressing the Point is on the how and why, game stories are secondary – most fans these days know outcomes instantly. But an account of every game in 2010 is available under Recaps, so you can grasp the sweep of a season and find key trends, moments and records in a single file.

Now and in the coming months we will roll out The Vault, the most comprehensive almanac and reference work ever assembled for a local market. It will be part of a collection of new, premium features that will include a modest annual membership in the Sportspress Northwest community.

With success, we will expand coverage to more sports – Storm, Seattle U. and Gonzaga basketball, Washington State University sports, preps, horse racing, motor sports, etc. Much of our faith in success rests with you, the discerning fans of sports and our region who have followed our previous work. Joining our new conversation here, through site visits and sharing via social media, will help us connect our sports community locally and around the globe.

We are at the beginning, far from complete. Free of the costs of print, helped by the availability of local media vets and new aces from blogosphere, and inspired by people willing to invest in the aspiration to quality journalism, Sportspress Northwest will grow and flourish — with your help.

New day. Pro standards. Cool tools.

Welcome.

Art Thiel

Awesome!

I just get this feeling that something is missing, but not ever forgotten.

Sodo site selected for homeless is found to be contaminated | Seattle Times Newspaper

2010-11-27T23:05:00.000-08:00

Seatlle Mayor Mike McGinn sure did mess this up. He offered his solution without understanding the situation. He can't lay this on the city council, or opponents of contaminated sites.

Mayor Mike McGinn chose the site this month without knowing it was contaminated, even though a city consultant reported those findings more than a year ago.
Sodo site selected for homeless is found to be contaminated, Seattle Times Newspaper

Two things need to be understood here: how will we clean up this site; where will the encampment go now?

Nissan Leaf runs equivalent of 99 miles per gallon | Seattle Times Newspaper

2010-11-22T19:00:00.000-08:00

That's a "gallon" of electrons.

The Nissan Leaf, an electric car aimed at attracting environmentally conscious motorists, will get the equivalent of 99 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving, based on government testing.

Nissan Motor Corp. said Monday the Environmental Protection Agency's fuel efficiency window sticker, which provides information about the car's energy use, would estimate the electric car will achieve the equivalent of 106 mpg in city driving and 92 mpg on the highway.

EPA's tests estimate the Leaf can travel 73 miles on a fully charged battery and will cost $561 a year in electricity. Nissan has said the Leaf can travel 100 miles on a full charge, based on tests used by California regulators.

Nissan and General Motors Co. are both releasing electric cars within weeks in the auto industry's most prominent attempt at mass-producing vehicles that shift away from petroleum. The Leaf does not have a gas engine and must be recharged once its battery is depleted.

Business & Technology | Nissan Leaf runs equivalent of 99 miles per gallon
| Seattle Times Newspaper

Click the link and read about the Chevy Volt, a electric-gas hybrid.

Welcome to the future.

My first Xtranormal video, Furry Costume

2010-11-20T22:06:00.000-08:00

If you do not have flash, then watch the iPhone version of the movie, Furry Costume, here.

New leadership Recommendations, Ed Murray as Senate Ways & Means Committee Chairman | Seattle Times Newspaper

2010-11-16T16:51:00.000-08:00

Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown says Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, has been recommended by the caucus Committee on Committees to become chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, one of the most powerful jobs in the Legislature.

The full caucus will take up the recommendation in December. If approved, Murray would replace to Sen. Margarita Prentice, D-Renton, who is in line to become the president pro tempore of the Senate.

Politics Northwest | New leadership for several state Senate committees | Seattle Times Newspaper

This is good news for Seattle, and King County.

I am going to repeat this from the prior post (again):
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2010

Seattle Times: State budget likely to go from bad to much worse

"Should we get out of the business of those things that we never heard a word in four public meetings or on a website with thousands of hits?" she asked. "Should we be funding it?"

When asked for an example, Gregoire said, "As hard-hitting as this may sound to people I very much respect, we heard nothing about the arts. If you put that into print I bet I'll hear something."

State Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus, isn't sold on the idea of cuts to the arts. "One of the things we know is the arts is a major jobs generator," he said. "There are 8,000 related art jobs in my legislative district alone. We have to be careful, if we're going to cut programs, that we don't create the anti-stimulus budget."

The state spends about $6 million every two years on the arts. While that might not sound like much money compared with the overall state budget, "We can't afford anything right now," Gregoire said. "Every time I get a call, I get 'Well, it will only cost X.' It's every call. I get this from legislators. I tell every single one of them ... I don't have X."

Local News | State budget likely to go from bad to much worse | Seattle Times Newspaper

Ed Murray is right, our economy in THIS area depends on arts funding. It also depends on Safeco Field being able to keep its parking fee as a means to fund capital maintenance. It also depends on a great variety of arts and entertainment to attract tourists, business, and in turn increase tax revenues, that in turn increase the general fund.
These "tourist taxes" are set to start expiring next year if the state does not take any action. To keep the taxes going takes a majority vote in the state legislation. Attempting to recreate these taxes later would take a 2/3 majority vote in the state legislature. Quite frankly, if the rest of the state does not see our business directly benefitting them then they are not likely going to be interested in supporting it on a purely ideological way.

Seattle Times: Bellevue budget shortfall amid Bel-Red revamp

2010-11-14T22:53:00.000-08:00

Bellevue and the Bel-Red development slows its pace to match the reality of the economy.

An ambitious plan to turn Bellevue's Bel-Red neighborhood into a bustling, urban center with a downtown Kirkland-style heart has run into an obstacle — a $100 million shortfall in the city's capital budget. . . .

The current budget proposal from City Manager Steve Sarkozy includes work on roads critical to Bel-Red, such as $32 million in design work for the future Northeast 15th Street, but excludes more peripheral projects, like the $2 million expansion of Northeast Second Street, which would help funnel traffic out of downtown.

The city must keep moving quickly enough to keep the confidence of investors like Wright Runstad, which has partnered with the city for the Bel-Red neighborhood. The Seattle developer bought the 16-block swath once occupied by Safeway's distribution center.

The city's ambitions for the area center on Wright Runstad's plans to build more than 3 million square feet of office space, 1,000 residences and parks in a style similar to Kirkland's downtown and roughly as big as Seattle's Pioneer Square. Sound Transit also is planning a light-rail station on the site.

Greg Johnson, president of Wright Runstad, said the company sees recovery in the apartment market and is moving forward with planning and development for multifamily buildings on the site, with the goal of having buildings open by 2013 or 2014, he said.

"There couldn't be a better time to do public-private [projects] because of the bidding environment," he said.

The city has committed to design work for Bel-Red and has tried to position itself for some projects for federal grants, both of which are important, Johnson said.

Bellevue has a reputation as forward-thinking and reliable when it comes to making public policy.

"We don't want them to slow down any more than they have," Johnson said. "They're debating whether they want to keep pace on projects or shift priorities. We're advocating keep the same priorities and at least commit projects to keep pace on design."
Bellevue budget shortfall amid Bel-Red revamp, Seattle Times Newspaper

Seattle Times Columnist Danny Westneat: Husky fan questions UW's 'Qwest' for a new $250 million stadium

2010-11-14T12:06:00.000-08:00

Let's follow the self-serving argument by Mick McHugh for just a second, and see what kind of tool for that business owner Danny Westneat is.

Why in the world is the University of Washington about to spend $250 million for a new football stadium?

"I'm here looking out at this $500 million football stadium, that we've already built, and which sits empty most of the time," McHugh said the other day. "Can't we think about all this a little differently?"

McHugh was at the helm of his Pioneer Square bar, F.X. McRory's. It's across the street from the Seahawks' football palace, Qwest Field.

For the past year, McHugh has been buttonholing anyone who comes by about his idea to have the Huskies play all their home games at Qwest.
. . .
"The UW is raising tuition, they're restricting local enrollment, they're closing themselves off from the community," McHugh says. "What if they took that $250 million for the stadium and used it for scholarships instead?"
Danny Westneat | Husky fan questions UW's 'Qwest' for a new $250 million stadium | Seattle Times Newspaper

Gosh Danny, I have no idea why a guy that owns a business across the street from Qwest Field is using you to lobby for more business at Qwest Field across the street from his business.

It's the money, stupid. You play in Qwest Field owned by a Public Facilities District then they get the revenue, at least some of it. You play in Husky Stadium the Husky Stadium gets the revenue, all of it.

Hey, maybe Westneat can go ask the owner of the Ram Restaurant at University Village if moving the football games away from his business to a good idea.

What Danny Westneat failed to do is gather facts before writing his column. He is clearly unaware that Husky Football pays for itself and covers the cost, and scholarships, in many other sports. This is nit an "either, or" proposition; either we fund academics or we fund athletics. The funding for academics comes from the State of Washington and tuition. The funding for the stadium remodel is coming from stadium revenues and private donations. Many of those private donors already give to the University of Washington as much as they are choosing.
It is their money, not yours.

“SUPERSONICSOUL: Home Teams and Heartache.”

2010-11-11T18:24:00.000-08:00

Seattle Times Newspaper, National Politics: Bachmann bid for GOP leadership gets cool reaction

2010-11-04T17:18:00.000-07:00

Self-proclaimed tea party leader Michele Bachmann's bid for a top Republican post in the House received a cool reaction Thursday from Speaker-to-be John Boehner, an early test of how GOP leaders will treat the antiestablishment movement's winners in Tuesday's elections.

"Constitutional conservatives deserve a loud and clear voice in leadership!" Bachmann, R-Minn., who founded the Tea Party Caucus, said in a one-paragraph Facebook announcement that she is running for GOP conference chairman.

House Republican leaders don't disagree. But that doesn't mean they want the hyperbolic Bachmann being a spokeswoman for the new majority during the 2012 election cycle.

Boehner, aware of the role tea partiers played in making him the next House speaker, is endorsing no one. His lieutenants are lining up behind Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas, leaving no doubt that Hensarling - and not Bachmann - is the leadership favorite to chair the GOP conference.

"There are few who have done as much for the Republican team as Jeb," the expected House majority leader, Eric Cantor of Virginia, said in a statement.
National Politics | Bachmann bid for GOP leadership gets cool reaction
| Seattle Times Newspaper

This will come back to hurt the GOP. The "wildly uninformed" have spoken. A self-proclaimed leaderless movement deserves a self-proclaimed leader, that little bit of hypocrisy only took two days to manifest itself.

Welcome to Washington DC Tea Party and two years of self-loathing.

Did the selection of Dino Rossi, a candidate that could run a close race, backfire on Washington State Republicans?

2010-11-04T10:10:00.000-07:00

Democrats retaining control of the Washington State Legislature should help King County gain control of its tourist taxes, and other transportation taxing options to support Metro Transit.

The votes are still being counted.

I mailed my ballot on Monday, it was received by King County Elections today. You can figure that most ballots mailed Monday or Tuesday would be counted by Friday. The numbers released tomorrow evening should be enough to declare winners in most races.

Usually late voting benefits Republicans, so I am told. I am guessing that a late "get out the vote" effort to boost U.S. Senator Patty Murray’s chances will benefit Democrats in state races, especially in King County.

I had heard that having Dino Rossi in the race against Patty Murray would give her a run for her money, and would prevent Murray from spending her money to help other races. I think that worked against the Republicans in races where a Tea Party Candidate was not running, for example: in the 48th State Legislative District Ross Hunter is about a point up on his opponent, former Washington State Republican Party Chair Diane Tebilius. She is anything but Tea Party material. Had Murray been up (or down) in the polls by 5 or 6 points the "get out the vote" effort would not have have had Joe Biden (twice), Michelle Obama, and a host of others showing up to support Patty Murray.

Here is the King County Elections web site.
Ross Hunter and Rodney Tom are in the 48 Legislative District, in King County.
The counts for state-wide and Federal elections are King Cointy’s numbers ONLY.
New numbers are available at 4:30 pm everyday until November 23, when the vote is certified.

The state collects and reports those totals (they have a neat iPhone app)

To further my Rossi selection backfired guesswork, it was quite likely that the state Senate was going to shift from Democratic Control to the Republicans by 1 or 2 seats, instead the Democrats might hold the Senate by 1 or 2 seats. One of those seats might be Rodney Tom’s.

• Three-term incumbent Sen. Tracey Eide, D-Federal Way, was leading her challenger, Republican Tony Moore, by just more than 2 percentage points in the 30th District in Southwest King County.

• Incumbent Sen. Rodney Tom, D-Bellevue, was leading his Republican challenger, Gregg Bennett, by just more than 1 percentage point in the 48th District, which includes parts of Bellevue, Redmond and Kirkland, along with Medina and Clyde Hill.

• Sen. Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens, was leading Republican challenger Dave Schmidt by 93 votes in Snohomish County's 44th District, which includes Mill Creek, Snohomish, Lake Stevens and parts of Marysville.

To gain a one-vote majority in the Senate, Republicans may need to take all three of those and hang onto other races in which they lead. Democrats made gains in all three of those races in Wednesday's count.

Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus, acknowledged his party could lose three or four Senate seats but said he was encouraged that Democrats gained votes Wednesday in some close races.

"It's a good trend," he said. "It continues to appear that we're bucking the national trend."
3 races in King, Snohomish counties could help Dems keep control of Senate, Seattle Times Newspaper

The Democratss took a beating in Washington State, but not to the degree predicted about a week ago. Maybe they have the National Republican Senatorial Committee to thank.

RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms

2010-10-23T12:07:00.000-07:00

As I age I am spending an usual amount of time uneducating my learning methods. A problem we may have is figuring out a cost effective way of delivering knowledge with the least waste for the consumer, the student, and know that any changes we make are actually better.

The future is always different than we think it is going to be.

2011 Legislative Session in Olympia, 4Culture, and Tourism Taxes

2010-10-20T19:40:00.000-07:00

Less than two weeks ago I sent an email King County Executive Dow Constantine asking him to have a a priority the return of King County's tourism taxes to the control of King County. Today I received a positive response.

As Mr. Constantine reminds me, he did testify in favor of such a bill last year. His testimony was March 18th, 2009, to the Washington State Senate Ways & Means Committee to be precise. The bill was SB 6116.
You can watch the vidoe of his speech by clicking on this TVW.org link here, and start watching at the 14 minute, 22 second mark. Of course, if you do that you would skip past Ross Hunter testifying in favor of the same Senate Bill over his own House Bill HB 2252. HB 2252 was overly "prescriptive".

Here was my message Mr. Constantine:

Dear Mr. Baker:

Thank you for your e-mail requesting that I advocate for 4 Culture funding during the upcoming session of the Washington Legislature.

I am a longtime supporter of arts, culture, preservation, and heritage programs and have a history of working to obtain funding for these purposes. Last year, as a County Councilmember, I traveled to Olympia to testify in favor of House Bill 6116, which would have extended King County’s local-option hotel/motel taxes and reserved a portion of the funds collected for arts and heritage. Earlier this year, I supported the latest version of this bill (HB 2192) and Deputy Executive Fred Jarrett testified in favor of its passage.

I will continue to support the use of visitor taxes to benefit programs and institutions that attract visitors to this region, including the arts, during this legislative session. I consider it a smart investment, as tourism is a major industry that benefits the entire state.

Thank you again for writing.

Sincerely,

Dow Constantine
King County Executive

From: Michael Baker [mailto:communicate.with.mike (at ) gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, October 08, 2010 11:15 PM
To: kcexec ( at )kingcounty.gov
Subject: 2011 Legislative Session in Olympia, 4Culture, and Tourism Taxes

The Honorable Dow Constantine

I want you to know that I am a sports fan and that you are also a parent and a proud citizen of King County. I urge you prioritize securing 4Culture’s funding future, as well as the other arts, entertainment, and heritage funding that would benefit by King County securing its tourism taxes in the 2011 legislative session in Olympia.

Have a great day,
Michael J. Baker
Seattle, Wa

Visit me here:
http://manywordsforrain.blogspot.com/

I know that I can count on you during the legislative session in January to support Dow Constantine's efforts. Hopefully, Ross Hunter will be there, too.

Fuck Dino Rossi, and his shallow, brainless, talking points

2010-10-17T21:08:00.000-07:00

This banner ad shows up on my page I figure I have the right to use it in commentary.

Dino Rossi is a fucking scumbag. He is a real estate speculating lawyer/banker. He believes and profits in the destruction of America. He is what is wrong about America's recent past that should not be repeated.

He may be in league with Satan.

Many Words for Rain

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Grist @grist replied to you:

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Green and Gold Community Coalition

Green and Gold Community Coalitionwww.arenaseattle.com

The Sonicsgate Movie Fan PageDrum roll please... we just formed a new nonprofit organization with Jeff Scoma of @SeattleTeamShop. Join us ->http://www.arenaseattle.com/

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RSA - Language as a Window into Human Nature

Legislature Special Session, my guess

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While we are skimming money off King County and spreading it around the state

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Green and Gold Community Coalition
www.arenaseattle.com

The Sonicsgate Movie Fan Page
Drum roll please... we just formed a new nonprofit organization with Jeff Scoma of @SeattleTeamShop. Join us ->http://www.arenaseattle.com/