How Liberal is Seattle

[dragonmom]

<p>

“I believe that the relative liberalism of Seattle was a great and proud development 40 years ago. The place wasn’t Shangri La but it was absolutely a city of opportunity for newcomers of all stripes.”

</p>

<p>Seattle was a hotbed of communists in the '20’s. IWW anyone?<br>
WashDad, I do remember the billboard. I was surprised to dig up my high school graduation program a few months ago and see how many of my peers went to cc. Dads had been laid off from Boeing so a 4 year school wasn’t doable any more (even at $289/semester)<br>
OTOH, I get pretty fed up with the Seattle attitude some times. The people who are acting so Greener-than-thou seem to pretty much fill the parking garage at U Village with as many big SUVs as I see in Dallas.</p>

[emeraldkity4]

<p>The people who are acting so Greener-than-thou seem to pretty much fill the parking garage at U Village with as many big SUVs as I see in Dallas.</p>

<p>well, its a long walk from Broadmoor.
;)</p>

[drb]

<p>Sounds like Yogi Berra was right:</p>

<p>“No one goes there anymore; its too crowded.”</p>

[cclu]

<p>

it is overly liberal to the point that that school district was promoting the view that only whites were racist & that, racism, in Caucasians was a foregone conclusion.

</p>

<p>Funny, when I read this my automatic reaction was: “But it’s true!!”
-Seattlelite</p>

[WashDad]

<p>It’s not clear who said it first, but there was a joke around in the '30s that the United States consisted of “47 states and the Soviet of Washington.”</p>

[Baelor]

<p>^Still true, except for the 47 states part.</p>

[LongPrime]

<p>However, in Oregon, in the 20’s, we had the opposite. It’s tough being in the middle between California and Washington. :)</p>

[simba]

<p>“and one of the best mass transit systems in the world.”</p>

<p>I agree with that. And the drivers when they are not busy honking do follow the 60 MPH speed limit and the HOV lane guidelines and very good airport food.</p>

[emeraldkity4]

<p>*“and one of the best mass transit systems in the world.”</p>

<p>I agree with that. *</p>

<p>compared to what? NYC, Portland, SanFrancisco,Chicago, Vancouver?</p>

<p>

For riders of King County’s jam-packed buses, there’s good news and bad news. The good: The Transit Now program, which voters approved in 2006, will add 15 percent to 20 percent more service over the course of 10 years. The bad: That growth pace doesn’t come close to matching the growth in ridership. The number of people climbing aboard Metro has gone up by 20 percent in three years. Moreover, the number of full buses that bypassed waiting passengers jumped by 45 percent in just the last year.
“Are we meeting the demand for bus services? The answer is no,” said King County Executive Ron Sims. Despite the ardent desire of regional leaders like Sims to boost ridership, they have not carved a clear path for meeting the demand. Instead, local politicians are divided over whether to add transit taxes, fees and fares.
Sometimes Metro buses don’t show up at all, or arrive far more than five minutes late, which is the system’s on-time standard. An anecdote: Last month at First Avenue and Jackson Street in downtown Seattle, I waited for a Route 21 bus back to West Seattle that simply never came.</p>

<p>The same afternoon I was stood up by the 21, the 22 that was supposed to arrive 10 minutes later was still nowhere in sight 15 minutes after scheduled arrival. I left. I learned later from Metro that it did actually show up at First and Jackson. Eighteen minutes late. I’d like to say that in my experience these were isolated incidents, but they’re not. It’s been my impression, as a regular rider with an employer-provided bus pass, that about one in four waits for a Metro bus turns irrevocably fruitless either due to a no-show or excessive tardiness. I’ve received similar reports from other riders. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer noted earlier this year that on-time performance was down to 74 percent (it had been around 80 percent) and that more passengers getting on and off has added to delays.

</p>

[simba]

<p>LakeWA said,“one of the best”. Not THE best.</p>

[emeraldkity4]

<p>well I guess that works if it doesn’t matter if you get to school or work on time.</p>

<p>Or someplace else besides the UW or downtown Seattle.
just don’t try to go to the airport on Metro for an early flight.
I do see that it will only take 75 min to get to the airport ( 20 miles) from my house if I left mid day. Unfortunately when I tried to get there with public transportation for an 8am flight, it would have taken me over three hours.</p>

[jaf1991]

<p>And a few years ago, when I wanted to ride from Woodinville to Kirkland, I found that I would have to travel to the Bellevue transit station and then back to Kirkland. Needless to say, I didn’t ride, turning what was then a 20 minute trip into a 70 minute nightmare because, of course, the connections were mis-timed. My D works for Metro - not a driver!!! - but I think we would both describe the system as barely adequate. On the other hand, Snohomish County’s Community Transit, I think, does a better job of taking riders to where they actually want to go.</p>

<p>Don’t get me started on the Sounder.</p>

[WashDad]

<p>Your mistake, jaf, was in assuming that Metro includes the East side in its planning. I swear the only reason there are ANY buses east of the lake is so they can tax the whole county. If they were honest about “all Seattle, all the time” we could at least get rid of the handful of empty buses they send to the east side.</p>

<p>Have you seen that Microsoft now operates a private transit system (<a href=“http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2007/sep07/09-06RegionalExpressBusPR.mspx)?%5B/url%5D”>http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2007/sep07/09-06RegionalExpressBusPR.mspx)?</a> Unlike Metro, they run a bus from a stop about three blocks from my office right past my house. If only I worked for Microsoft (wireless Internet on every bus) I would love mass transit. The nearest Metro stop to my house is about four miles away.</p>

[Baelor]

<p>^ True, true! The Microsoft Bus system is excellent. A few private schools also have charter bus systems that get used extensively.</p>

[jaf1991]

<p>“Your mistake, jaf, was in assuming that Metro includes the East side in its planning.”</p>

<p>I know! What was I thinking?</p>

<p>And if mentioning Metro service isn’t enough to get those east side residents really good and riled up, just mention CAO.</p>

<p>If any of you reading this thread are from out of the area, CAO is a King County land use ordinance that requires rural property owners to leave a percentage of their property as natural vegetation. With no compensation for loss of use or property value. It’s in the courts right now.</p>

[WashDad]

<p>The CAO is properly called the “people in Seattle who wear black and want to go out into the ‘country’ and see trees instead of houses and stuff, despite the fact that where they live was raped and destroyed in a much more thorough manner than anywhere in – say – Issaquah, Fall City, or Duvall” legislation. Also known as the “those greedy jerks in the burbs and country should be glad to donate their property to the land conservancy so we can ride our $3,000 bikes out there and see the nice trees” act.</p>

<p>I would SO like to see King County split along either Lake Washington or the 405. Viva Cedar County!</p>

<p>EDITED: You know, if we split the county at Lake Washington, we could just tear down the 520 bridge and leave it that way! It wouldn’t bother me any.</p>

[dragonmom]

<p>Not along 405, only along the lake. West of 405 cuts off some normal neighborhoods and my old church.</p>

[jaf1991]

<p>“people in Seattle who wear black and want to go out into the ‘country’ and see trees instead of houses and stuff, despite the fact that where they live was raped and destroyed in a much more thorough manner than anywhere in – say – Issaquah, Fall City, or Duvall” legislation. Also known as the “those greedy jerks in the burbs and country should be glad to donate their property to the land conservancy so we can ride our $3,000 bikes out there and see the nice trees”</p>

<p>ROTFLMAO! I almost spit my coffee out onto my new keyboard when I read this! It’s hilarious and SO TRUE.</p>

[emeraldkity4]

<p>I haven’t worn all black since the 80’s.
;)</p>

[emeraldkity4]

<p>

Most of the folks whose homes are scattered among the woods on a rural road near North Bend didn’t know their neighborhood was about to change until the earth-moving equipment showed up.</p>

<p>By the time the excavators, bulldozer, truck and compactor finished their work, a pasture had been replaced by a perfectly rectangular soccer field.</p>

<p>Neighbors later learned the 1.6-acre field was just a start, and that the property owners were seeking a permit for a youth soccer camp with a house for the owners, dormitories for 96 campers and counselors, dining lodge, swimming pool, amphitheater and 58 parking spaces…</p>

<p>By saying no more than 490 cubic yards would be dug up or dumped — just below a 500-cubic-yard threshold — the Fewings avoided environmental review. Because that review didn’t happen, neighbors of the property on Southeast 150th Street near Interstate 90 weren’t told about the project and lost their chance to speak out before work began.</p>

<p>An engineer hired by rural ombudsman David Spohr said at least 3,036 cubic yards of dirt were excavated and 1,088 or more used as fill — six times more than the permit allowed.

</p>

<p>[Local</a> News | Soccer field dodged review, critics say | Seattle Times Newspaper](<a href=“http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004256024_soccercamp03m.html]Local”>http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004256024_soccercamp03m.html)</p>

<p>Apparently it’s better to say * I’m sorry* than ask permission</p>