Results tagged “surface”

For a clue as to what a Seattle sans P-I might be like, look no farther than this Seattle Times article on the ragtag group of citzens--gosh, looks like they're the entrenched power elite, actually--that has pluckily banded together to force a tunnel down Seattle's throat, vote or no. Calling the group a collection of "business leaders, neighborhood activists and environmentalists," the story doesn't name any actual activists or environmentalists. There's attorney Tayloe Washburn, from the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce; Rob Sexton, Downtown Seattle Association; and David Freiboth, King Co. Labor Council. The car-friendly folks at the Discovery Institute's Cascadia Center are in on it, too. The group reminds us of the band of merchants in Westerns who are always willing to sell out the rest of the town if it means they won't be personally inconvenienced--or might profit in some way. And of course they always have the mayor's ear. Stakeholders is exactly right. They do think they own the place.

It's a fact that chambers of commerce are populated largely by jaw-dangling idiots; we joined a chamber once but dropped out after we kept trying to unlock our front door with a light bulb. That is why we're not surprised to hear that the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce is pushing what they call "surface-subsurface hybrid" as a replacement for the Alaskan Way Viaduct. The Seattle Times explains that charming "subsurface" nomenclature for you: "Washburn's idea is to put the viaduct traffic in a tunnel, either a deep-bore tunnel or a lidded trench." Hey, is this thing on? Seriously though, Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, you guys wanna run the hat around? Got a few billion dollars? No. Oh. Then shut the fuck up.