Will the country wake up to the need for infrastructure modernization following the horrors in Texas, or will we see right-wing politicians escape responsibility and go on demonizing clean renewable energy?
Category: Public Planning
Posted inPolicy Topics
Militant right wing violence and intimidation is sadly as American as cherry pie
For more than half a century, the police have treated right wing demonstrators and even terrorists differently than left wing demonstrators, a distinction that was again apparent on January 6th, 2021.
Posted inPolicy Topics
BNSF-operated train transporting Bakken crude oil derails in Whatcom County
There were no fatalities and no injuries were reported, though the derailment did result in an oil spill. Seven tank cars went off the tracks, with two catching fire, about twenty minutes before noon.
Posted inPolicy Topics
Republican plot to dissolve joint Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department collapses
At the last minute, erratic Republican Councilmember Pam Roach thwarted a scheme by Executive Bruce Dammeier’s operation to displace TPCHD with a standalone public health department.
Posted inElections
With I‑976 kaput, transit advocates focus on navigating out of the coronavirus pandemic
Tim Eyman’s assault on multimodal transportation infrastructure has been nixed by the Washington State Supreme Court, but the coronavirus pandemic and the Legislature’s failure to deliver progressive tax reform continue to threaten transit.
Posted inElections
HUGE VICTORY: Washington’s highest court rules Tim Eyman’s I‑976 is unconstitutional!
“Initiative Measure 976 contains more than one subject, and its subject is not accurately expressed in its title. Accordingly, it is unconstitutional,” the Washington State Supreme Court has ruled.
Posted inPolicy Topics
DNR fire meteorologist horrified by barrage of (human caused) Labor Day 2020 fire disasters
By the time the sun had set on September 7th, 2020, the Pacific Northwest had joined California in firestorm misery, with hundreds of thousands of acres newly burnt or burning.
Posted inPolicy Topics
Despite pandemic, Sound Transit’s East Link Line 2 remains on track for 2023 completion
The agency and its contractors are now at about ninety percent of civil construction and the structural work on the Downtown Bellevue Tunnel, one of the most important segments of the line, is complete.
Posted inPolicy Topics
Washington State Supreme Court hears oral argument in legal challenge to Eyman’s I‑976
Appellants and respondents in Garfield County Transportation Authority, et al. v. State of Washington will field questions from the Court’s nine justices.
Posted inPolicy Topics
Charting a path forward after the unexpected closure of the highly used West Seattle Bridge
With the West Seattle Bridge closed indefinitely, an opportunity beckons for smart planning decisions to improve West Seattle’s connections to Seattle proper.
Posted inLitigation
Tim Eyman’s I‑976 will remain frozen while State Supreme Court considers challenge to it
A panel of justices concluded that an injunction barring Initiative 976’s implementation should remain in effect through the remainder of the challenge asserting it is unconstitutional.
Posted inPolicy Topics
Sound Transit rebrands network for future expansions, braces for an uncertain future
Moving away from line names that are just colors, Puget Sound’s Regional Transit Authority is going to move forward with an alphanumeric color-coded system.
Posted inPolicy Topics
Washington, Oregon, and California unveil new alliance: Western States Pact
The United States’ Left Coast governors have made it abundantly clear that they — not Donald Trump — will decide when to lift their Stay Home, Stay Healthy orders and allow businesses that are currently closed to fully reopen.
Posted inElections
Another loss for Tim Eyman: Judge rules injunction against I‑976 shall remain in place
The disgraced initiative promoter turned Republican gubernatorial candidate has suffered another defeat in court as the legal battle against his anti-transit initiative continues.