Seattlest just got done attending the press conference for the re-opening of the Downtown Bus Tunnel. After two years of work, it's set to reopen next Monday. That's exactly two years (as King County Exec. Ron Sims was fond of repeating over and over today) after it closed. We have to say, we're pretty impressed with what they've done. more ›

They're actually doing it. The Port is getting King County Airport (AKA Boeing Field) in exchange for an Eastside rail corridor and a bag of baseballs. A bunch of Agreements were signed today making it so, with the other interested party being King County. When this deal was first floated to the public in October it was made clear that the rail corridor would be transformed into a recreational trail, something that we found to be kind of neat but also kind of wasteful, although we didn't really shed many tears for the Spirit of Washington dinner train that was going to be displaced in the process. In the press release this time around the recreational possibilities of the corridor are downplayed somewhat, but that's still the intended use. The County promises to do some research into making it a transit pathway, although they insist that such a transit line isn't currently needed. more ›

In the old days, when men were men and trees fit in the ground, newspapers were no less biased than the average KVI caller. Most were organs of one political party or the other, and as a result were very entertaining. more ›

We're glad we stuck around for the audience Q&A after the panel discussion on gentrification Thursday night, hosted by the University of Washington's Evans School of Public Affairs. more ›

Yesterday while most of the city was all a-twitter about President Hu’s visit to the city (today he will get a tour of the Fun Forest, and attend a live taping of Northwest Afternoon), Ron Sims proposed a plan to pay for more buses by raising the county sales tax one tenth of one percent. more ›

This Thursday the UW will host a panel discussion about change in Seattle's Central District, pitting gentrification against "revitalization"--the latter, we hope, being something said panel will subject to more rigorous definition. We are pleased to see this topic discussed in a public forum, but these days we wonder who listens to panels any more, much less an academic-sponsored one (as opposed to those ever-popular corporate-sponsored panels--everyone listens to them). What happens after the panel? Will EW cover the hot after-panel gossip? more ›

Well, it happened. In a 7-2 vote that was never extended to the public, the King County Council agreed to spending at least $500,000 to change our logo from a crown to the likeness of Martin Luther King Jr. And to add to the surreal ludicrousness of this move, Ron Sims is designing the new logo. The jesters are now running the castle, Seattle. more ›

On Friday the City Council capped off a busy week by appointing Sally Clark as Jim Compton's replacement. more ›

Until we had to actually consider it we had absolutely no opinion of the waterfront trolley. We just watched it going by day after day from the loading dock behind our office. Generally empty. Everytime it clang-clanged its way through the intersection across the street we'd glance up and mutter curses at whichever driver thought they could beat it through. Just once did we see it hit someone. It was a minivan and we only got to personally witness the aftermath. What do you call it when something on rails does very little damage in a collision? If it were two cars you would have called it a fender bender. more ›

At Seattlest, we read the candidate endorsements so you don't have to flip that far into your paper. In our thorough research, certain themes emerged. At the P-I, they wrote endorsements as if they were late for a meeting. For Seattle City Council--return all the incumbents, they say. Statewide Initiatives? Say no to everything! Port Commission? It's time for change! more ›

We're currently toning our TV watching muscles for the fall and we're extra excited about the new Seattle-based legal drama set to premiere as a part of Q13's Sunday lineup. King County Cold Case (or "K3C" as we'll immediately start calling it) is the story of a local crime lab headed by a hard-nosed prosecuting attorney played by Tom Skerritt. Hillary Swank will costar as a lawyer recruited by the department from the most-dangerous-offender project. One of the more significant subplots will involve a chaotic on-again off-again romance between Skerritt and Swank and their struggles to hold onto anything substantial in the present while they investigate the criminals of the past. more ›

There's approximately 550,000 people in Seattle, and about 45,000 of them voted yesterday. What did this select few decide? more ›

King County will be holding its primary election next Tuesday; however, in two races the primary will also act as the general election. Because Democrats live in the city and Republicans live on the Eastside, the two races that feature only candidates from a particular party will be decided next week (or in the courts sometime next June). more ›

Council member Carolyn Edmonds by a vote of 381 to 288. more ›

Political party infighting is nothing new, and as a result of the King County Council shrinking from thirteen seats to nine it is back in a big way. more ›

Downsized King County Councilman Dwight Pelz, who originally planned to run for Richard Conlin's Seattle City Council seat, flip-flopped last week, and will instead run against Richard McIver. more ›

Metropolitan King County Council interjected on the issue of the region's various Tent Cities yesterday, setting guidelines for the temporary permits the homeless communities will require. While it's nice to finally see the council acknowledge Tent Cities, the ordinance comes across as unnecessarily restrictive to Seattlest's eye, although others believe it is not strong enough. more ›

It looks like a city council race will have issues other then off leash areas and transportation woes. The fate of the trolley has become part of the campaign for those seeking City Council Position 2. more ›

We all remember Peter Venkman listing the side effects of a possible Armageddon, "Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, incumbents running against incumbents, mass hysteria!" This fall mass hysteria may be coming to a ballot near you. more ›