As Ali MacGraw reminded the world in 1970, love means never having to say you're sorry. In its relationship with the U.S. Department of Justice, the Seattle Police Department is sidestepping the word "sorry," proof positive of MacGraw's endless-love axiom. The only relationship wrinkle concerns those city attorneys questioning why the SPD should be sorry in the first place (a litigious adulteration of Love Story.)
"City attorneys have filed court documents in a federal civil-rights case attacking the 'reliability and trustworthiness' of the U.S. Department of Justice report that found Seattle police officers routinely use excessive force, even as city and federal lawyers attempt to negotiate a plan to fix the department," the Seattle Times' Mike Carter and Steve Miletich write. "The documents, filed May 18, challenge an effort to admit the Department of Justice report as evidence in a lawsuit against the city over an officer's threat to 'beat the (expletive) Mexican piss' out of Martin Monetti Jr., a Latino man who was being questioned in a robbery two years ago."
Is the end game to elbow the feds to back down (not a prudent strategy) or to go kicking and screaming into a negotiated settlement?
It was former Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels's day, the groundbreaking of the SR 99 tunnel with Gov. Chris Gregoire and other political honchos. In fact, Nickels, a tunnel champion, stood in as de facto mayor with the real mayor AWOL. Mayor Mike McGinn may have wanted to express a kind of principled back turning on a project he criticized from its inception. Or perhaps he was being a wee immature. As Woody Allen observed, "Ninety percent of life is just showing up."
"McGinn was noticeably absent from Wednesday's ceremony. That disappointed some, although it was not a surprise, given his opposition to the $1.1 billion tunnel (the entire viaduct replacement project will cost about $3.1 billion)," the Seattlepi.com's Scott Gutierrez writes. "McGinn battled the state, City Council, labor and businesses over the tunnel, and was a driving force behind a referendum on the project last year. The result, however, was not what the mayor hoped — 60 percent of Seattle voters said to go ahead and build the thing."
In the 1st Congressional district race, the smart money is on Suzan DelBene (which presupposes that the smart money is, well, smart.) The supposition is that DelBene is the only candidate capable of defeating Republican John Koster in the newly drawn swing district. So, why so little DelBene mojo?
As the Seattle Times' Jonathan Martin writes, "DelBene is bumping along near the bottom of the most recent poll, tied for fourth in the seven-way scrum for the redrawn 1st District. She has an impressive business resume, a personal fortune. She spent $4 million in 2010 against Rep. Dave Reichert."
DelBene can take solace in the example of former Gov. Booth Gardner, also a poor poller in 1984. An infusion of cash, a television blitz, and direct mail were all factors in his eventual win. A salient difference, however, is Gardner benefitted from a later primary and faced just one Democratic opponent, then-State Sen. Jim McDermott.
A University of Washington professor and researcher, Jay Shendure, has helped discover a method of fetal-genome tracking. It's a big (expletive deleted) deal, and it's making national and international news.
"For the first time, researchers have determined virtually the entire genome of a fetus using only a blood sample from the pregnant woman and a saliva specimen from the father," the New York Times' Andrew Pollack writes. "The accomplishment heralds an era in which parents might find it easier to know the complete DNA blueprint of a child months before it is born."
Lastly, it may be affordable to go on that summer road trip after all (at least in Oregon and Washington.) As the Oregonian's Joseph Rose reports, gas prices are set to drop. Seriously.
Link Summary
Seattle Times, "City blasts DOJ's findings on Seattle police in court filing"
Seattlepi.com, "McGinn absent at SR 99 tunnel groundbreaking"
Seattle Times, "Can Suzan DelBene close the gap with 1st District voters?"
New York Times, "DNA blueprint for fetus built using tests of parents"
The Oregonian, "Oregon, Washington gas prices to plummet (finally!), AAA says"
