Top of the News
A stunning study of air pollution in South Seattle suggests highly elevated cancer risk
Microsoft »Microsoft's top China executive has lived the country's transformation
- Seattle Times
- MSNBC: full Olympics coverage
- Ron Judd: Ode to the opening ceremony
- A Boise Christian activist is deported
The ACLU's marijuana TV special, hosted by travel maven Rick Steves, is on cable, of course
Workplace / Labor »In outsourcing baggage handling, Alaska Airlines violated a union contract, an arbitrator rules
Most Popular
In Seattle, let the people 'chill'
Is Big Nanny running your town?
Walkability is nice, but it's not making us skinny
Space tourism is nigh, but a new space age is not
Most Commented
Vision 2040 for Pugetopolis
(32 comments)
In Seattle, let the people 'chill'
(16 comments)
Seattle's money madness
(16 comments)
Our balls on ice
(12 comments)
Is Big Nanny running your town?
(10 comments)
A bicoastal newspaper crisis
(10 comments)
Time for a bus-fare reality check
(10 comments)
Walkability is nice, but it's not making us skinny
(8 comments)
Space tourism is nigh, but a new space age is not
(8 comments)
Death by a thousand cuts
(7 comments)
Knute Berger
http://www.crosscut.com/mossback/Recent Stories
Land rush on top of the world
The search for the Northwest Passage spurred the European exploration of the Pacific Northwest. With global warming, Arctic land claims are heating up as the U.S., Canada, Denmark, Russia, Iceland and Norway vie for sea lanes, the seabed and once ice-bound islands. Finally, there's a great visual to sort out these competing claims.
Seattle's money madness
The region is facing an economic slowdown, multiple budget crises, and big tax increases. Without a rapid, realistic response by voters and policy makers, November could be ugly.
Travels with Charley and GPS
A Depression-era book series is the ultimate road-trip must-have, a way of comparing past and present as you tool around the country like a latter-day John Steinbeck. And in Washington, a new version even links travelers to the digital age.
In Seattle, let the people 'chill'
Politicians have resorted to some some pretty childish arguments in defense of policies in recent days.
Why shopping 'green' won't save the planet
Seattle's obsession with largely symbolic green measures (banning bottled water at City Hall and taxing plastic bags) and the current trend of marketing everything from hybrids to condos as "green" might actually do more harm than good.
Our balls on ice
Has the last Seattleite with local pride turned out the lights? A recent trip to Safeco Field makes me wonder.
Spying in defense of liberty
Barry Goldwater famously said that "extremism in defense of liberty is no vice." But I suspect even the late Arizona senator and 1964 GOP presidential candidate might be creeped out if he knew about the privatization of Big Brother. Is it OK for private groups to infiltrate domestic citizen's groups? Is spying in defense of liberty a virtue or a vice?
Walkability is nice, but it's not making us skinny
Current theory says that a city's walkability promotes health and will impact the fight against obesity. The claim is that America's weight problem can be helped by making cities more pedestrian-friendly. It should follow, then, that our most dense and walkable cities are where the skinny people are, right? Well, not really.
Is Big Nanny running your town?
The libertarian magazine Reason has published a list of the biggest nanny cities in the country. The results for the big cities on the Pacific Coast are interesting. Portland is caught in a kind of "nanny sandwich" between Seattle and San Francisco. Apparently, the most ecotopian town in the Pacific Northwest has escaped the worst excess of politically correct fussiness.
All the rage
What's to blame for all the anger as cyclists, drivers, and citizens fight over their rights on the streets? Is it $4 gas? Young punks? Class warfare? Poor urban design? It's time to theorize.
The pet peeve
A number of bloggers have been looking into the Southern California habit of putting "the" in front of freeway numbers, as in "don't take The 5 because it's really backed up." People in other parts of California are alarmed at the spread of the habit throughout the state, and I've heard it creeping into Seattle jargon, as well.
More fun than Deliverance!
Spend your summer vacation in Eastern Washington, an exotic locale where lakes are slippery, the Scablands surprising, and wheat farmers are smashing stuff for fun.
RFK Jr.'s plot to destroy the planet
Environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently paid a visit to Washington and sang its praises, but I'm not sure why he'd be welcome these days.
Our cultural amnesia
In the midst of exponential growth, Seattle can't remember how to be Seattle. It's time we went back to school and learned how.
Googie resurrected in Ballard?
The group Sustainable Ballard is sponsoring a bike rack design contest. The winners will have their racks made and installed at key neighborhood locations. Sustainable Ballard says there is a "dearth" of bike racks in Square Head City. Winners of the competition will be announced at the Ballard SeafoodFest July 26-27.
A design-savvy city defined
A report lays out a road map, backed by polling that revealed surprising attitudes of Seattleites and Portlanders about their hometown architecture.
Last stand for the Alaskan Way Viaduct
As the process to replace or remove Seattle's elevated waterfront freeway grinds on, a last-ditch pitch is being made to keep it standing.
A-Rod as the new Katie Holmes
Seattleites like to believe there's something more important than money. Which is why when Alex Rodriguez left the Seattle Mariners for the Texas Rangers and a $252 million contract, people were pissed. A-Rod had said he wouldn't sign just for money, but in the end, that's what he did: departed for a dead-end team that paid him more than he was worth — and more than they could afford. You may remember what Seattle fans did when he returned to Safeco Field in 2001 to compete against his old mates: The fans spewed venom, booed, and dumped baskets of play-money from the upper decks. It was a rare show of resentment from live-and-let-live Seattle. Our egos were bruised and illusions shattered because A-Rod could be bought.
Go, Nuke Building!
The University of Washington's More Hall Annex, aka the Nuclear Reactor Building, has become a cause celeb for fans of mid-century modern architecture and atomic history. The UW is planning to demolish the building, but a graduate student, Abby Martin, has mounted an effort to get the structure listed on the National Historic Register of Historic Places. Time seemed to be running out, but it ain't over yet.
The Rose City blooms while the Emerald City fades
Portland and Seattle are among the top 10 "best-designed" urban areas, but Seattle ranks lower in part because of its record on historic preservation.
Finally, some good Seattle sports news
When I edited Seattle Weekly, I issued a ban on soccer coverage. Why edit a newspaper when you can't, very occasionally, act like a tin-pot dictator and shape it to your perverse desires? I left the paper two years ago but hoped the new editor would realize my no-soccer edict was a lifetime ban. Apparently not. There's a new dictator in town, and the moratorium has been lifted. The editor himself has written a column about soccer in Seattle. The good news: He's not buying the hype that it's the next big thing.
Getting the jitters
Starbucks' "third place" concept is under pressure from laptops, McDonald's, and a decline in snob appeal.
Screwed by the Okies — again!
Who's to blame for losing the Sonics to Oklahoma City? That's the question being kicked around town. But I wonder why it is that "world class" Seattle keeps getting its collective ass kicked by the Okies.
The dangers of imperfect storm predictions
In the wake of the investigation into the 2006 "Hanukkah Eve" rain storm that hit Seattle and drowned a Madison Valley woman in her flooded basement office, I questioned the terminology of "100-year storms." In doing a quick survey of media stories, I found that central Puget Sound had experienced a minimum of six "100-year storms" in 20 years. I concluded that the term was misleading. Now, with the terrible flooding in the Midwest this year, it's becoming clear that the terminology is hurting some flood victims.
When animals attack, and also when they don't
It's the time of year when animal-human encounters are on the rise. Bears are picnicking on hikers, moose are invading trailer parks, and muskrats are blamed for destroying entire towns. You could be next.
Seattle revels in heliophobia
With sunny, hot weather now and the coldest spring in memory starting to fade into the past, local media ramped up its predictable gloom-and-doom coverage of sunshine. The Saturday, June 28, edition of The Seattle Times carried a classic of the genre: "Sun isn't always good news," blared the headline previewing the first warm weekend of summer.
Helpful Civic Suggestion #1,987
Now that everyone, including the former head of the state Department of Transportation, is riding Metro, can some savvy Seattle ad agency please put some thought into campaigns that revitalize an under-used resource? I'm talking about those dreary, pathetic interior overhead advertising rack cards. Can it really be that the only paid advertiser in town is Jobdango?
Ballard landmark lawsuit will be dismissed
Now that the Ballard Manning's/Denny's has been thoroughly demolished — I took a look at the site last evening and believe me, the landmark structure is hamburger — owner Benaroya will be ending its legal action against the city's Landmarks Board.
The 'uncivilized' interview
The art of the Q&A is tricky, and TV pundits have often turned it into a public form of waterboarding. Bill O'Reilly runs his own little Guantanamo on Fox. NBC's Tim Russert, however, understood that intelligence could be gathered more humanely.
Good mourning, Ballard: Googie is gone
The My Ballard blog reports that the landmark Manning's/Denny's diner was demolished early this morning. A demolition permit was issued by the city just last week.
You don't need a hybrid to guzzle less
Driving an economy beater may help the planet in some small way, but most people are looking for a more fuel-efficient ride. Would you recognize one if the miles-per-gallon rating was staring you in the face? Probably not, according to two Duke University professors, Richard Larrick and Jack Soll, who published the results of a study in the latest Science.
A Seattle Expo legacy emerges from the trees
The University of Washington cut down a row of beautiful poplars on campus over the weekend. I love poplars and hated to see that. But as we approach 2009, the centennial year of Seattle's first world's fair, the tree-cutting at least had the benefit of revealing a lovely architectural legacy of the expo.
Pagan or perv? Nude etiquette in Fremont
I went to the Fremont Solstice parade June 21 for the first time in many, many years and saw the famed nekkid bike riders. But I have a few questions about the etiquette of public pagan nudity in Seattle, so weigh in if you have an opinion.
A Manning's Googie twin?
You may have seen the story about the demolition permit issued by the city of Seattle for the Ballard neighborhood's Manning's/Denny's, which is slated to be torn down for condos. Despite its designation earlier this year as a city landmark, the Landmarks Board later voted not to protect the structure, saying that saving it was not financially viable. That cleared the way for its destruction. But all is not lost for fans of Googie architecture in the Northwest. A Manning's/Denny's lookalike has been spotted in Portland. Forget the old Twin Teepees, we may have twin Googies!
Save the planet: Buy a used Geo Metro
After my story "Unsustainable Seattle," in which I questioned conventional wisdom regarding green buildings and touted the ingenuity that preserved Cuba's pre-embargo auto fleet, a reader pointed me to a story from Wired that says the best way to get a greener ride is to buy a used car. There's a rich source of embodied energy in '90s fuel efficient beaters.
Left alone in Seattle? Dream on
Ballard holdout Edith Macefield wasn't a hero. She was a victim of modern Seattle and its values.
Fired up and ready to go — home
The state Democratic convention in Spokane was both inspiring and stultifying. Among the delegates who bothered to show up, there was passion, tedium, booze, sunshine, and a desire for change.
Sailing into oblivion
Seattle's last old Pacific schooner is about to be dismantled. The Wawona's impending "death" this summer offers a lesson in the challenges of maritime preservation. It's a tough end for a landmark ship that people have worked so hard for so long to save.
The second-worst winter ever was a Seattle spring
This glorious June has been like a multimillion-dollar ad campaign for Lesser Seattle. Mossback is treasuring every chilly, rainy moment of it. I am heading east of the mountains this week, and it greatly amuses me to be checking pass reports only 10 days before the summer solstice. Snow is expected on Snoqualmie Pass.
Unsustainable Seattle
When you consider the carbon footprint of new construction, this city promotes growth and development policies that are wasteful, destructive, and myopic. Greens and historic preservationists need to find common cause in creating a truly sustainable urban landscape.
Knute Berger is Mossback, Crosscut's chief Northwest native. He also writes the monthly Gray Matters column for Seattle magazine and is a weekly Friday guest on Weekday on KUOW-FM (94.9). You can e-mail him at mossback@crosscut.com.
Land rush on top of the world
The search for the Northwest Passage spurred the European exploration of the Pacific Northwest. With global warming, Arctic land claims are heating up as the U.S., Canada, Denmark, Russia, Iceland and Norway vie for sea lanes, the seabed and once ice-bound islands. Finally, there's a great visual to sort out these competing claims.
Seattle's money madness
Travels with Charley and GPS
The visual iconography of 'Yes we can'
Tallis in Seattle
Former Seattle Symphony violinist Ralph Heino is dead at 91
Sausage Links, money for nothing edition
Was the latest Elway poll a little off? Released Monday, Aug. 4, the poll showed Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire leading Republican challenger Dino Rossi by a whopping 16 points. Today, Seattle Post-Intelligencer columnist Joel Connelly says Elway "may be wrong." Meanwhile, both candidates are still sparring over Gregoire's recent accusations of racism in a Republican attack ad. Rossi, however, has responded by saying: How could the ads be racist? I'm part Native American myself. ...
In outsourcing baggage handling, Alaska Airlines violated a union contract, an arbitrator rules
The U.S. Commerce secretary stumps for John McCain at Piecora's Pizza in Seattle
John Edwards: I had an affair and lied about it, but I didn't father that child
Sausage Links, money for nothing edition
People for Puget Sound responds
BC Ferries offer better fare
Even though I'm a Washingtonian, if I had to choose between the Washington State Ferries (WSF) and the BC Ferries, the Canucks win by a kilometer. Granted, BC Ferries has had its share of mishaps. In 2006, the Queen of the North sunk while cruising the Inside Passage on its 18-hour journey between Port Hardy and Prince Rupert. One hundred and one passengers were on board, and two are still missing and presumed dead. Human error was blamed for the sinking. Two years later, the Queen of Oak Bay lost power and plowed through dozens of boats at a marina in West Vancouver while attempting to dock at the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal.
How good a deal is Costco, really?
Must be a recession: Whole Foods now stresses bargains
Private beach
Sheriff: 'Matter of time' before someone was killed due to lax forest safety laws
The Navy Blue Angels return to an Air Force town — landlocked Spokane
BC Ferries offer better fare
Even though I'm a Washingtonian, if I had to choose between the Washington State Ferries (WSF) and the BC Ferries, the Canucks win by a kilometer. Granted, BC Ferries has had its share of mishaps. In 2006, the Queen of the North sunk while cruising the Inside Passage on its 18-hour journey between Port Hardy and Prince Rupert. One hundred and one passengers were on board, and two are still missing and presumed dead. Human error was blamed for the sinking. Two years later, the Queen of Oak Bay lost power and plowed through dozens of boats at a marina in West Vancouver while attempting to dock at the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal.
Boutique shopping guide
Princeton Review confirms Evergreen's status as a tree-hugger's school
Ron Judd at the Olympics: 'I'm a ceremony geek, through and through'
Visit Oklahoma City!
In outsourcing baggage handling, Alaska Airlines violated a union contract, an arbitrator rules
Sidewalk crack addict
The Fearmongers, Definers, Swiftboaters, and Borkers square off
Losing your favorite Starbucks? The five stages of grief
Ron Judd at the Olympics: 'I'm a ceremony geek, through and through'
Visit Oklahoma City!
An Everett Herald columnist apologizes for plagiarism and resigns
Contact Crosscut
Tools