High Speed Rail for Seattle - Sweet!

Technical Difficulties

Do to circumstances beyond my control (I was hit by a car and my arm was broken) I won't be posting much for the near future. I'll be back eventually.

Thanks

Panel urges Sound Transit to closely monitor spending

Panel urges Sound Transit to closely monitor spending

Sound Transit's costs are rising dramatically, and it's hard to tell if it's because more service is being provided or individual costs are being inflated, an oversight group said.

In a report issued last week, the agency's Citizen Oversight Panel said "costs in virtually every area of Sound Transit operations continue to grow rapidly, reflecting increases both in transit service and base agency operations."

The report, presented to the agency's board, said operating costs are set to increase nearly 8 percent this year from last year, to $65.4 million, which includes salaries and benefits for 394 employees. The staff will include 22 new positions, 18 of them in transportation services.

The report urged the Seattle-based transit agency to more closely monitor costs "so that a culture of cost control and operational efficiency becomes established."

Despite what many Puget Sounders think, between Sound Transit and Metro the Seattle Metro area has a pretty great bus system. Keeping an eye on costs is always a good thing but if people aren't careful a "culture of cost control" could turn into a "culture of cutting service" that would impact people in poor areas that need bus service the most.

No Parking Anytime: Mail boxes going the way of, well, snail mail

No Parking Anytime: Mail boxes going the way of, well, snail mail

honda Porter says it's not just losing a little slice of Americana that has her lamenting the dwindling number of mail collection boxes in Seattle.

After all, she said, she still mails a check to pay her bills -- it just feels safer than paying online -- so when the blue mailbox on Beach Drive Southwest near her West Seattle home disappeared, she complained about the inconvenience.

But, she admits that she's succumbed a bit to the societal shift that's led the Postal Service to remove about a fifth of the roughly 800 mailboxes that were on Seattle-area streets five years ago.

Seventy more were removed last week, dropping the number below 600, said U.S. Postal Service spokesman Ernie Swanson.

I hope they keep a reasonable number of mail boxes around even if they don't get used as much as their fairly arbitrary standard dictates. There are some areas where it isn't easy to get to a Post Office and a lot of people still use the mail for paying bills.

Microsoft cuts draw criticism on visa issue

Microsoft cuts draw criticism on visa issue

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley told Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Steve Ballmer that U.S. employees must have priority over immigrants working under visa programs in a round of job cuts announced Thursday.

Grassley, the senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, asked Ballmer how many of the jobs cut will include those with H-1B visas or other immigrant-worker credentials, according to a letter dated Thursday on Grassley's Web site.

"During a layoff, companies should not be retaining H-1B or other work visa program employees over qualified American workers," the Iowa senator said in the letter. "Our immigration policy is not intended to harm the American work force.

I'm not anti-immigration at all. I think that immigration has been the foundation on which our country has built its financial and industrial power. However, I also don't think we should go out of our way to recruit foreign workers through the H-1B visa program when we have plenty of qualified Americans that need jobs or will be needing jobs in the near future. Companies like Microsoft make the argument that there aren't enough qualified workers in the U.S. for their needs. Personally I think they like to hire through the H-1B visa program because it cuts their expenses by lowering salaries and by sponsoring the workers they have workers that for the most part can't quit or they will have to go back home.

I don't know if MS is canning American workers in favor of H-1B workers but I sure hope that someone is watching to make sure Americans aren't losing out due to some loop hole in the law.

Bad News for Jobs in Seattle

It's not a good sign that in the last 3 weeks all three Seattle icons have announced laying people off - especially since most of them are getting let go from the local headquarters. Not only do these layoffs make it harder for people to find a job, it cuts thousands of dollars out of our local economy which may snowball into more job losses. Our unemployment rate is already over 7% now - how high will it go?

Starbucks may let more go

Diane Daggatt, a managing director at McAdams Wright Ragen, wrote in a note to clients, "Locally, we're hearing another big round of layoffs is coming at SBUX. Perhaps 1,000 or one-third of SBUX's headquarters may be cut as well as some district managers and field employees, but not baristas.

Microsoft Pri0 | Microsoft cutting 1,400 jobs today; up to 5,000 in next 18 months as recession hits harder | Seattle Times Newspaper Blog

In a press release issued moments ago, Microsoft announced that it is cutting up to 5,000 jobs in research and development, marketing, sales, finance, legal, human resources and IT in the next 18 months, starting with 1,400 today.

It marks the first company-wide layoff in Microsoft's history and comes as the company reports fiscal second-quarter earnings that missed the low-end of its own guidance for sales and earnings per share. Its Windows business declined 8 percent as PC sales growth ground to a virtual halt in the quarter ended Dec. 31.

Business & Technology | Boeing plans workforce reduction of 4,500, with layoffs in second quarter | Seattle Times Newspaper

Boeing said Friday it will cut its Commercial Airplane workforce in 2009 by about 4,500 people, mostly in Washington State.

What Are Tax Brackets? - Speak Out California Weblog

What Are Tax Brackets? - Speak Out California Weblog

A "progressive" tax is one where the tax rate increases as income increases. A progressive tax structure consists of brackets. You pay a certain tax rate on income up to the next bracket. After that bracket is reached, a higher tax rate applies to income that is earned that is above that amount. Let's say that you pay 5% on income below $10,000 and 7% on income above $10,000. So if you make exactly $10,000 of income the tax is $500. At $10,100 the tax is still that $500 on the amount below $10,000 and $7 on the additional $100, for a total of $507. The key point is that only the amount in the new bracket is taxed at the higher rate.

I thought I understood tax brackets but apparently I didn't.

Many people believe that once you reach a higher bracket you pay the higher tax rate on all the income that falls below that bracket amount as well. I have actually talked to people who think they need to "get their income into a lower bracket" to avoid paying a higher tax rate, because they think that a higher tax rate would apply to all of the income they earned.

I remember thinking the same thing. I think we get a lot of misconceptions about taxes from "common knowledge" passed on from our parents, friends and coworkers. We need to be more diligent as a country and not let this type of misconception propagate.

Zombies: 100% Post-Consumer Human : The Order of the Stick Store!

Zombies: 100% Post-Consumer Human : The Order of the Stick Store!




I love this t-shirt design, I mean how can you resist environmental zombies? It's by Rich Burlew writer and artist of The Order of the Stick an awesome web comic. Go read it and support Rich by buying stuff from his Cafepress store.

U.S. to finance 40 percent of light rail extension costs

U.S. to finance 40 percent of light rail extension costs
"The federal government will increase its contribution and finance more than 40 percent of the cost of extending Sound Transit light rail service from downtown Seattle to the University of Washington.

Groundbreaking for construction will be in a few weeks, and work to remove buildings from a Capitol Hill station site will begin this month.

Federal Transit Administration acting chief Sherry Little said Thursday her agency will finance $813 million of the $1.9 billion project. Federal approval came, Little said, after her agency insisted that Sound Transit add $127 million in 'contingency' amounts for unforeseen costs of tunneling, 'one of the riskier components' of the expense."

This is good news. I'm not too thrilled that this leg will end at Husky Stadium, I'd rather have it go the Ave somewhere but I guess the extension from their though to Lynnwood will take care of that.

Fix is on for Viaduct, opposition files initiative to stop it

Fix is on for Viaduct, opposition files initiative to stop it: "An agreement ending years of discord over replacing the aging Alaskan Way Viaduct will cost $4.24 billion and entails a new state Route 99 corridor from the sports stadiums to South Lake Union in a tunnel, restoring the land to a four-lane surface street.

Gov. Chris Gregoire, King County Executive Ron Sims, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, and Port of Seattle Chief Executive Officer Tay Yoshitani Tuesday formally announced their agreement to replace the highway along Seattle's central waterfront with a deep bored tunnel under downtown Seattle."

Personally, I think we should have repaired/rebuilt the viaduct but I'm not totally opposed to a tunnel as long as the new waterfront is not just going to become "Condo Heaven" like the waterfront down by the cruise ship terminal.

What we really need down on the waterfront is a nice large park with a kids play area and a venue that can be used for the outdoor concerts and events that used to be held on Pier 62/63 before it was deemed to be unsafe in 2004. The Summer Nights concert series has bounced around ever since and have been cancelled several years.

I will try to remain optimistic but with Mayor "Suck up to the Developers" Nickels in office it's kind of hard.

Senate boosts wilderness protection across US

Senate boosts wilderness protection across US

T

he measure - actually a collection of about 160 bills - would confer the government's highest level of protection on land ranging from California's Sierra Nevada mountain range to Oregon's Mount Hood, Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado and parts of the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia. Land in Idaho's Owyhee canyons, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan and Zion National Park in Utah also would be designated as wilderness.

This is a good start to the new Congress. I'm kind of surprised though that Mt Hood and the Sierra Nevadas weren't already protected.

For sale: The P-I

For sale: The P-I

Alas it looks like Seattle is going to become a one newspaper town.

After 146 years of delivering news, the Seattle P-I faces becoming what it has chronicled: history.

The Seattle P-I's parent company, The Hearst Corp., said Friday that it has put the paper up for sale and will stop publishing unless someone buys it in 60 days. If no buyer emerges, the paper would either become a Web-only publication or cease all operations.

Maybe Paul Allen will buy it to keep the more liberal voice of Seattle alive.

New Mexico Independent - Big solar plant planned for Mesa del Sol is still full steam… er, sunshine… ahead

New Mexico Independent - Big solar plant planned for Mesa del Sol is still full steam… er, sunshine… ahead

The Associated Press is reporting that despite the current economic downturn, Schott Solar, a New York-based manufacturer and distributor, is still doing well and the plans for a 250,000-square-foot Albuquerque solar panel plant are going ahead as planned. The plant will be built in the Mesa Del Sol area on the southern end of Albuquerque.

This is just the kind of manufacturing that we need to build in the U.S. to help save the middle class and keep us from slipping into third world nation status - basically an exporter of raw materials and a play haven for the rich.

Obama, Spider-Man on the same comic-book page - USATODAY.com

Obama, Spider-Man on the same comic-book page - USATODAY.com

On Jan. 14, Marvel Comics is releasing a special issue of Amazing Spider-Man #583 with Obama depicted on the cover. Inside are five pages of the two teaming up and even a fist-bump between Spidey and the new president.

And you can get this comic at your local neighborhood comic shop. Mine is Arcane Comics & More. You better get it when it comes out on Wednesday though because its already up on e-bay for $15.00. (I refuse to link to e-bay auctions gouging people for a comic that hasn't even hit the stands yet.


update 1/10/09: Added cover image

NASA reports graphic details of Columbia deaths

NASA reports graphic details of Columbia deaths

I'm glad they released this report. The knowledge about what happened to the Columbia astronauts during reentry may help save lives in the future. I was particularly interested in this:

And in the case of the helmets and other gear, three crew members weren't wearing gloves, which provide crucial protection from depressurization. One wasn't in the seat, one wasn't wearing a helmet and several were not fully strapped in. The gloves were off because they are too bulky to do certain tasks and there is too little time to prepare for re-entry, the report notes.

The fact that the shuttle is designed so poorly that tasks necessary to landing (I assume that's what they mean) can't be performed while the astronauts are wearing their gloves is amazing to me. This is an inexcusable design flaw and it boggles the mind how it happened. However, this is just the kind of thing that future engineers need to keep in mind when designing new vehicles. Hopefully, the release of this report will help stimulate conversation and ideas to make the next generation of space vehicles, both government and private, safer.

---
I remember the day the Columbia burned up on reentry: February 1, 2003 It was my 33rd birthday. Two days later David Horsey the political cartoonist for the Seattle PI published this cartoon:



It not only explains why we go to space it sums up the reasons why we will always push to explore new frontiers and strive to learn all there is to learn. It is part of what makes us human. If we ever lose that impulse because we are afraid or because its too expensive to we have other priorities then we will have started down the road to our own decline as a people.

Nickels' gun ban assailed

Nickels' gun ban assailed

Nickels called for banning guns on city property after a shooting at the Northwest Folklife Festival on May 24 that injured several people. The 22-year-old suspect had a concealed-weapons permit, despite a history of drug abuse and mental health problems.

Although Nickels' proposal is an administrative one, anyone caught bringing a gun to a city park or building could be ticketed or arrested for criminal trespassing.

State Attorney General Rob McKenna issued a decision in October stating that cities cannot pre-empt state gun laws. McKenna said the mayor's proposed restrictions would violate state law blocking cities from enacting gun rules.

I think that this kind of arbitrary gun ban is a bad idea not to mention that it is illegal under state law. Don't get me wrong, I do believe in gun control but this sort of knee-jerk reaction to an isolated incident is wrong. The system failed when it issued the permit to the shooter not when it allows people with legitimate permits to carry weapons.

Mental health system ailing

Mental health system ailing

I've long believed that a lot of problems with homelessness and murders like this one can be traced back to the Reagan administration cutting funding for mental health back in the 80s. With less funding many mental health institutions were closed and people with mental health issues went untreated and many who needed to be institutionalized were put out on the streets. These people wouldn't be a threat and indeed many could probably lead fairly normal lives if they had the help they needed but instead they were cut loose and in some cases are a danger to themselves and others.

Voter's Intent and the Hand Recount in MN

I ran across this blog post about the recount in Minnesota a little while back and I thought it was interesting especially since I have a little experience in the area of judging voter intent due to my stint working as a duplicator at King County Elections.

Aside from clerical errors, most if not all of the changes to the ballot total in the MN Senate race will be caused by ballots that weren't counted by the optical scan machines during the first counting process. Optical scan machines will reject ballot or not count votes for a variety of reasons including using pencil to mark the ballot, not filling in the line or bubble enough, circling a candidates name or some other marking method and damage to the ballot that will not allow it to pass through the machine. If a ballot is rejected by the scan machine it it examined to determine the problem and (at least in King County) if the voter's intent can be determined the ballot is duplicated by a team of two people and then run through the scan machine in place of the original.

In my experience the most common problem is using pencil or a light colored ink to fill in the vote. In this case the intent of the voter will be easily determined and the ballot will be duplicated or hand counted with no debate. The next most common problems are damage to the ballot itself and stray marks in the timing lines that run around the edge of the ballot. Again the intent of the voter in these ballots is not generally hard to determine and the votes can be counted with little debate. Where the real trouble begins is when the voter fails to follow directions and doesn't mark the ballot the way the instructions indicate or fail to correct a vote in the correct manner.

The sample challenged ballots in the article on the Minnesota Public Radio blog are mostly of the incorrect marking/correction type. Most of the other challenged ballots seem to be based on the "no identifying marks" rule in the Minnesota Statute governing voter's intent. Like the Washington guide to determining voter's intent a wide latitude is provided. The idea is that if there is ANY reasonable way to determine who the voter wanted to choose that vote should count.

If you haven't done so yet, go to the MPR page and go through the samples. Pay attention to who challenged the vote and on what grounds.

OK, now it seems to my admittedly unbiased eye that the Coleman campaign challenged too many votes where the intent was fairly obvious - mostly cases where the Franken vote wasn't in the bubble but was obviously on the same line or next to Franken's name. The Franken campaign had some dumb challenges as well (#9 on the first page where the mark next to Franken was clearly erased) but they have fewer. Regardless, based on the provided samples I think BOTH campaigns are challenging too many votes and are at least somewhat intentionally disenfranchising Minnesota voters. Again, the Franken people seem to be doing so less than the Coleman folks, but I expected better from them than I do the Republicans who have a history of screwing with elections. If the voter intent is obvious the ballot MUST be counted these ridiculous challenges only serve to delay the outcome and put a shadow over the eventual winner.

The purpose of any election is to determine the will of the people. No matter how you or I feel about a particular candidate or issue a fair election should determine the winner. It is incumbent upon us to make sure that every vote cast is counted if the voter's intent can be reasonably determined. The representatives of both campaigns need to get their heads out of their rear ends and remember this as they go about this tedious but necessary task. Their job as a member of the campaign may be to get their man elected but their first duty as an American is to make sure the election is first and foremost FAIR and ACCURATE.

Washington - Not so Good

Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary

H/T Atrios

Joe Lieberman to Dems - You don't have the balls...

How Joe Lieberman Kept His Post

I know I don't understand all of the nuances of the Senate and the Democratic party; but how does this guy keep his chairmanship of one of the most powerful committees?!? Not only did he endorse the REPUBLICAN candidate for President AND go on the road stumping for him simultaneously heavily criticizing Obama, but he was shortlisted for the Republican Veep spot!

Is it just Harry Reid or does the entire Democratic Party have no freakin' cojones? I realize that the Dems need to have as many votes as possible in the Senate to avoid constant "fillibustering" (yes there is a reason it's in quotes) and get Obama's agenda accomplished, but doesn't letting Lieberman get away with doing basically anything he wants kind of erode party discipline? Obviously I am missing something.