We apologize, Greg. We got a little hot under the collar last week, after hitting one pothole too many, and we became...intemperate. The Pothole Rangers are not hiding out; they're working hard and filling potholes whenever you notify them. This weekend we were biking along, ready to dodge this one (pictured), when we were startled to see it had been filled, just three days after our post about it. Point for Mayor Nickels and the transportation crew. Our high-mileage 1970s 3-speed thanks you.

But we are still worried that, as we said, "these streets have passed their expiration date." (We count nine different patches in just this one photo.) Not that you can do anything about it right now, during the rainy season, except patch 'em up. But we think it's worth pointing out, as we're always being asking to fund new roads, how far behind we are in maintaining our existing ones. Capitol Hill, besides being the densest neighborhood in Seattle, represents some wealthy real estate. 30% of 98112 residents have a household income of over $100,000 per year. And still a good portion of its streets are in poor condition or failing.