Results tagged “taxrevenue”

On Sunday, February 1, regular Metro fares will increase by 25 cents. Their handy fare revisions chart [pdf] goes into more detail: kids, senior citizens, or disabled riders won't have to pay any more than previously to ride the bus, but regular riders will soon be paying $2 for the pleasure of riding in peak season and $2.50 for peak two-zone rides. Off-peak regular fare will be $1.75 for one- or two-zone rides. Metro blames "a weak economy, record fuel prices in mid-2008 and falling sales tax revenues" for their budget woes, and notes that the fare revision will help them maintain their current system rather than to increase route coverage or frequency. Guess that means fewer quarters in our bank account to spend on jalapeno poppers.

When the inevitable anti-tunnel initiative was filed, Governor Gregoire said she'd be disappointed if there was a delay. (A delay? Dealing with the viaduct? Pshaw.) The governor is in a hurry to disburse that estimated $2.8 billion, conjured up for a design that's said to be one percent complete. (Here we pause to admire the precision of knowing what one percent of a plan looks like.)

This morning we were down at the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce breakfast and regional economic forecast discussion, which opened with chair Tayloe Washburn being emotionally overcome while talking about how strapped food banks are for donations. (At which point we sorely regretted suggesting the chamber was "populated largely by jaw-dangling idiots," and wished we'd stuck to the rule of vilifying awful ideas rather than the people whose heads they're stinking up.)