Ready to pay $6.85 round-trip to drive across the 520 bridge? Me neither. That's the proposed toll that would raise money to help pay for improvements to the floating fossil. But the idea of a toll begs another question, something I've been dying to get reader input about: Do you think having a toll on local bridges like 520 will sway voters to vote for the proposed light rail measure this November? Thoughts?
Meanwhile, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels and King County Executive Ron Sims have dueling opinions about light rail in today's Seattle Times. Sims says we should wait a couple years before we invest in light rail, while Nickels gives us "10 lame reasons to delay mass transit."
Fair price? The Seattle City Council will vote Monday to decide whether to accept Mayor Nickels' proposal to impose a 20-cent fee for plastic grocery bags. ...
Fair assessment: The Seattle Municipal League releases its ratings of the best legislative candidates of 2008. ...
Pain killer: Richard Roesler at the Spokesman-Review notes yet another heated campaign in Washington — the race for the apparently coveted position of state insurance commissioner. ...
Tax headache: Marilyn Watkins at the Everett Herald joins the ranks of folks who think Washington needs a new tax structure. ...
Stamp act: U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Seattle, is supporting a $5 billion bill that would provide "gas stamps for the needy." Naturally, his opponent in the state's 7th Congressional District, Steve Beren, thinks it's a pretty dumb idea. ...
Circus act: Times columnist Danny Westneat wonders where Seattle's voters are going to find the money to pay for all the ballot measures offered by the city this November. ...
Now cramming: The state Board of Education could decide Thursday that high school students must pass two years' worth of algebra courses to graduate. The op-ed board at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, meanwhile, says increasing state standards is a good thing. ...
Now blogging: The Oregon Liquor Control Commission has launched a new blog. Today's post explains about "why you can't just serve yourself wine out of a vending machine." Riveting stuff. Hat tip to The Oregonian ...
Now plagiarizing: Monica Guzman at the Seattle P-I wonders if Vanity Fair meant to rip off cartoonist David Horsey's recent spoof on The New Yorker's satirical cover featuring Barack Obama as a Muslim. ...
Cell phone driving death watch: The P-I reports State Patrol officers are more likely to give you a "talking-to than a ticket" if you're caught talking on your hand-held phone while driving. ...
