Liberal Talk Radio

Following the Contrarian’s recommendations — nay, exhortations! — I watched Street Fight tonight. It’s a great film, highly recommended.
One thing that struck me, watching the film, is the kind of person it takes to succeed in politics… and governance. We’re about to elect a sitting U.S. Senator to the White House for the [...]

Yesterday, I rediscovered this story about my adopted hometown.
Listen.

10 years ago, we were Bowling Alone, now we’re not even bowling at all.

Eduardo M. Peñalver argues in the Wa-Po that the bursting of the housing bubble combined with high gas taxes might mean the end of sprawl. I’m not that optimistic, but it’s an argument we need to hear more often. With all the cockamamie ideas out there for reducing global warming (”huge mirrors in [...]

In a lame attempt to be contrarian, noted sprawl apologist Joel Kotkin writes in Sunday’s Seattle Times that dense city living causes global warming, because they generate “heat islands” which extend far beyond the city’s boundaries.
No, wait — he doesn’t actually argue that, but you have to read the piece twice to realize [...]

I saw this on the Seattle Channel the other day, but it went past rather quickly, and I’m glad there’s a print reference that I can link to. In an article about Tacoma’s ban on panhandling, C.R. Douglas finds a homeless man with an interesting perspective:
Tacoma’s approach does seem like a hard sell [...]

New Orleans developers are building more mixed-income, multifamily units:
Real estate specialists predict that these projects will serve as catalysts for the neighborhood’s revival. “The Tulane corridor will transform into something it hasn’t been for 50 or 60 years,” said J. Mark Madderra, a principal in Madderra & Cazalot, a mortgage banking firm, who is a [...]

Nice account of how hizzoner has been steamrolling the seven dwarfs:
“The mayor is ignoring (a) cherished principle of our democracy: the separation of powers. No executive, whether they are President George W. Bush or Mayor Nickels, can ignore legislative authority, particularly when it comes to the administration of something as fundamental as equal justice under [...]

While I’m sympathetic to this idea in theory, I think the idea of having residential apartments on top a Stadium — or anywhere inside Seattle Center for that matter — is a bad idea. How long before the tenants decide that Bumbershoot is a noise issue and try to shut it down?

The Rainier Cold Storage building, a landmark in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood, is set to be demolished. The building is a striking fixture of the neighborhood. Georgetown simply won’t be Georgetown without it. But before we start blaming the developer and clamoring for the torches and pitchforks, let’s first read a bit about [...]