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Paying for our growing pains

A horse. The Growth Management Act serves as a tug-of-war between environmentalists and property-rights advocates, who disagree over rules governing wetland buffers and vegetation removal, and so far, the environmentalists are losing the contest. But it's more complicated than that. Opponents of strict provisions on rural areas say they shouldn't have to pay for the environmental sins of the cities.

The future of 'nowhere'

Bellevue, Wash. Urban planners love to hate the suburbs, but what's going to become of them? Will Bellevue eventually become a post-carbon ghost town or a new urban hybrid? Some reflections on the urban/suburban debate.

Sausage Links, ice cream man edition

Despite the near-record temperatures predicted for the weekend, officials from around the state are asking agencies to "freeze." Last week, Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire ordered a hiring freeze for state employees in an attempt to ease Washington's mounting budget deficit. Yesterday, the Snohomish County Council ordered a hiring freeze for all of their county's agencies. Not to be outdone, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels proposed a $5 million spending freeze for the City of Seattle yesterday. On a related note, Seattle's fleet of ice cream carts are expanding their service around the city, in a move experts say could result in widespread brain freezes. ...

Death by a thousand cuts

Loggers. Pacific Northwest corporate history began with timber, and with the demise of Weyerhaeuser it's a fast-fading cultural heritage.

(Not) in the garden: bees

When I was growing up, a summer wasn't a summer until my first bee sting. Honeybees, in particular, were everywhere. During picnics we would often have to move from place to place until we found a shady bee-free zone at the local park. Playing kick-the-can in the afternoons, racing through the neighborhood yards was its own Olympics:

A new owl plan with the same old goal: more logging

Northern Spotted Owl. The new Northern Spotted Owl recovery plan could be worse, but the Bush administration hasn't given up on cutting a billion board feet a year in Northwest forests.

My day with the ranchers

Weekend Essay. An urbanite spends two days with ranchers in Montana and comes to see that she has much in common with them: ground.

Gauging the biofuels backlash

Corn. Some would have you believe that making fuels from crops and other biomatter is responsible for food shortages. Probably not, but there are legitimate questions about the net gain — is there one? — of producing and using biofuel versus conventional petroleum.

Salmon on the Columbia: See you in court

Columbia River fish ladder. The federal agencies are back for a fifth round in federal court, still cooking up very strained arguments for minimal efforts to save the fish. Two things might change the impasse: a new case for saving dams due to climate change, and the bestirring of Congress. Here's a survey of the high-stakes issues.

Conservation groups buy pieces of Montana — a lot of pieces

Swan Valley, Mont. The Nature Conservancy and the Trust for Public Land are buying 500 square miles of western Montana from Plum Creek, the timber real estate investment trust, for $510 million. It involves a federal financing mechanism, to the consternation of conservatives, and compromise, to the displeasure of some environmentalists. But it is preventing development of forest habitat.

Polimedia lunch links, flip-flop edition

Jim Camden at the Spokesman-Review mined his YouTube account for videos of Barack Obama's now infamous switch on campaign financing, while also noting John McCain's back flip on the off-shore oil drilling ban. ...

A long wait for Seattle P-patches

Queen Anne P-patch. Demand is greater than ever for a 10-by-10-foot urban farm. City officials say 1,650 people are waiting for a plot at one of 54 gardens.

Unearthing baby giant earthworms

Scientists have returned from Peshastin, WA, near Leavenworth, with what they believe may be two juvenile giant Palouse earthworms. Soil scientist Jodi Johnson-Maynard and another researcher from the University of Idaho found the specimens last week after following up on the possibility that the elusive worm species lives in the area.

The farm bill: Great news, but hold your nose

"Legislative Victory for Land Conservation," reads the alert from the Land Trust Alliance. The e-mail reports sweet news for anyone chafing under the Los Angeles-ization of the Evergreen State: the re-establishment of tax incentives for donated easements to conserve sensitive lands and open spaces.

Another Teton Dam

Teton Dam. The golden age of dam building has long since passed, capped by the tragic failure in 1976 of the last big dam, an earthen structure on the Teton River of Idaho. Few new dam projects are being proposed these days, and many dams are being purposefully breached. But that hasn't stopped some from resurrecting the possibility of a new Teton Dam.

A city of scolds

Plastic water bottle. Seattle City Hall has cracked down on drinking and clubs, it's on the verge of banning fast food and taxing plastic grocery bags, and now even plastic-bottled water is a civic sin. Switch to tap water! says the mayor. Mossback thinks enough is enough.

Greg Nickels' rebel yell

Mayor Greg Nickels at CityClub. Seattle's mayor waves the flag of secession. In so doing, he may have waved goodbye to a future in state politics.

Winter in late April

Up to a foot of snow could fall in the Cascade Mountains over the weekend. And some Snohomish County lowlands are already seeing flakes. This wacky blast of winter has ski areas cheering and farmers worried.

Did I assassinate Garfield?

Garfield County Courthouse.

When it comes to pissing off rural America, I think I'm one up on Barack Obama.

So much talk about so few fish

Chinook salmon. The salmon fisheries of the Northwest have spawned a new industry of bureaucrats, lawyers, environmentalists, sport fishers, commercial interests, scientists, and natives, all focused on the absence of fish. Meanwhile, four sockeye returned last summer to a lake in Idaho once teeming with tens of thousands.

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Mossback »

Heart attack on McCain

I saw this coming. Last night after John McCain's GOP convention speech, the hall was blasted with the sounds of Seattle band Heart's rocker "Barracuda," which became the convention's theme music for Sarah "Barracuda" Palin (Barracuda was a high-school nickname). I figured an objection would be raised.

'Me' for president

Palin wouldn't be the first Northwest secessionist on a national ticket

Arts Beat »

Leader of African-American lecture forum is departing

Stephanie Ellis-Smith, who founded the Central District Forum for the Arts 10 years ago, says it's time to move on.

The music you like tells a lot about your personality

The rebirth of activist theater

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Business / Technology »

Palin is not a foe of Big Oil — she's an oil baron, too

In Alaska, she wasn't defying the oil companies in the way most would understand it. She was trying to get more money out of exploiting the state's resources.

The view from Skid Road

How Google plans to crush Microsoft

Politics / Government »

Bob Herbert: John McCain, you're no populist

"If there were any good ideas at this convention of mostly rich and mostly right-wing delegates about how to haul the country out of this mess that the G.O.P. has gotten it into, they were kept well hidden. Perhaps they were tucked away behind the more prominently displayed creationism and 'just-say-no to global warming' documents."

Palin is not a foe of Big Oil — she's an oil baron, too

How pro-life absolutism conflicts with the family-values agenda

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Lifestyle / Leisure » Kindle.

My word of mouth on Kindle

A veteran author and book lover gives props to Kindle, despite Amazon's lack of advertising for the electronic reading device.

The music you like tells a lot about your personality

Final episodes: Northwest Afternoon sails into the sunset

Travel »

Our Convention Center has growing pains

Seattle's Convention Center is taking a close look at expanding, perhaps at a different location. It might complicate the coming legislative session if it puts its hand in the state trough of money for tourism-related taxes. Also crowding around the trough are the Huskies, King County arts, Seattle Center, KeyArena, low-income housing, Puget Sound cleanup, and more. And the Convention Center might topple some other interesting transportation dominoes.

Mount Baker

A new wine region emerges in Colorado

Recreation / Outdoors »

Mount Baker

In Washington's Cascade Mountains.

Proposed: Rename Seattle's Freeway Park for Jim Ellis, civic leader

Whassup with Wasilla

Flip Side » Customer service.

In touch with the average American

That seems to be a virtue everyone can agree on this campaign season. So let's define what that means.

The funny thing about Seattle ...

'Drill their brains out!'

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