crosscut.com : Washington

'Me' for president

Crosscut — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 23:00:01 PDT

How we yearn to see ourselves on a presidential ticket, why John McCain wants a "soul mate," and what the Sarah Palin pick says about the battle for the soul of the GOP.

Sausage Links, 'Limbaugh with lipstick' edition

Crosscut — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:59:01 PDT

Sarah Palin has a zinger for you. And you. And me. The Alaska governor-turned-Trophy Vice-turned-bulldog with lipstick sent a fiery pot-shot-filled message to the nation and the media with her speech yesterday at the Republican National Convention. I believe it went something like this. ...

Northwest national candidates through the ages

Crosscut — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 18:00:01 PDT

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is hardly the first from this corner of the country to run for one of the highest offices, but those who made it to the general election are relatively few.

Carless and carefree: Bellingham to Vancouver

Crosscut — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:24:01 PDT

I prefer road trips that don't include me as the driver. And now with the gas gods scowling down on us, even folks who would never leave their beloved vehicles at home are opting for alternative ways to roam. Plus, lots can happen when you're not behind the wheel. You can read. Listen to tunes. Eavesdrop. Take a snooze. Or see familiar sights with fresh eyes. My favorite way to travel to British Columbia is a combination of trains, buses, boats, and planes. This is the second in a series on my carless, carefree getaway to BC. Depending on your time and budget, cut and clip as necessary.

Sausage Links, partisan hats and T-shirts edition

Crosscut — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:00:01 PDT

Republican presidential candidate John McCain might be the "anti-earmark candidate," but as The Seattle Times reports, McCain's VP pick, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, requested more than $197 million in federal earmarks for her state in 2008. Randy Stapilus at Ridenbaugh Press notes how "Palin employed a lobbying firm to secure $6.1 million in federal earmarks for a town of 6,700 residents while she was its mayor" in 2002. Meanwhile, Boise, Idaho, a town of more than 200,000, received $6.9 million in 2008. ...

In the garden: Le Tour des Plants

Crosscut — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:23:01 PDT

Although I wouldn't have picked the name myself, I have to admit it makes me grin just looking at it: Le Tour des Plants. Start your hybrid and bicycle engines running, my gardening friends, because more than 35 locations throughout Oregon and southern Washington are going to be hosting "plantastic events" beginning on September 13th and lasting through the following weekend. We're talking gardening tours, scavenger hunts, accessible experts, workshops, rare plant findings, and, why not? Bluegrass music.

Stymied by mosquitoes and bacteria

Crosscut — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 00:00:01 PDT

Impatient for solutions to AIDS, tuberculosis, and infectious disease, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation put out a call for anyone who thought they had an idea — and more than 4,000 poured forth. A second request for grant applications goes out today.

Sausage Links, Pac 10 edition

Crosscut — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:51:01 PDT

It's been a busy year for University of Oregon graduates Jill Hazelbaker and Tucker Bounds. Recently named the "Dynamic Duck duo" by The Oregonian, Bounds and Hazelbaker are two of the McCain campaign's top communications officers — the Republicans' first wave of defense against Democratic attacks. As reporter Jeff Mapes points out, it's not an easy job. ...

A state agency eyes public-private transportation funding

Cascadia Center — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 02:00:01 PDT

No less than the Washington State Investment Board, which oversees public pensions, is giving serious consideration to government-business partnerships to make infrastructure improvements. Experts identify several possibilities, including the Highway 520 bridge rebuild, I-5 across the Columbia River, and improvement of ferry service.

Miller times

Crosscut — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 12:13:01 PDT

Between national party conventions, I took an advance look at Joseph Miller's upcoming memoirs, The Wicked Wine of Democracy, to be published next month by University of Washington Press. The book provides an almost too-candid portrayal of politics and lobbying in the Northwest and nationally over 50 years and is an intriguing chronicle of some of the main figures in Northwest political life.

A Labor Day story: the cost of a finger lost

Crosscut — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 20:00:01 PDT

A South Sound resident recalls a story passed down from the time when workers were radical and for good reason: It was damned dangerous toiling in the woods and the mills.

One man's one-man team

Crosscut — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 11:00:01 PDT

Biding time until coach Tyrone Willingham is gone, cranky University of Washington football fans at least get to watch an NFL quarterback prospect excel. Jake Locker does so in spite of those around him.

A Seattle gold rush house is endangered

Crosscut — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 05:00:01 PDT

There's little question that Seattle was put on the map by the Klondike Gold Rush. The man credited with setting off that rush, George W. Carmack, spent the last dozen years of his life living in a big Colonial Revival home in what is now Seattle's Central District. The National Park Service says the George Carmack House is fit for the National Register, but it may be too late. A for sale banner hangs on it today touting the property as a 4,800-foot lot ripe for redevelopment.

The faux maverick's sidekick

Crosscut — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 03:00:01 PDT

Sen. John McCain's got a perception problem, and Gov. Sarah Palin is the solution.

The Filson of my dreams

Crosscut — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 07:00:01 PDT

A Seattle clothier makes a jacket so tough and so dear, it's hard to part with, even for a new one.

Sausage Links, tears for Obama edition

Crosscut — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:00:01 PDT

Who says there's no crying at conventions? Michael at NW Progressive, a delegate for Sen. Hillary Clinton blogging from the Democratic National Convention in Denver, says he "broke down and cried" when the former first lady moved to suspend the rules of the convention and nominate Obama by acclamation yesterday. "That was the low point of the entire week for me — emotionally and physically drained, and a bit numb," wrote Michael. Not exactly a rosy picture for party unity. But after more tears, hugs, handholding, and a classic Bill Clinton mid-speech lip-bite, most Democrats, even die-hard Clinton supporters, rallied behind Obama. Speaking of tears, Eli Sanders at the Stranger wonders why this convention has been awash in them. ...

A bipartisan mayor who's fond of prayer

Crosscut — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 03:00:01 PDT

Dave Edler of Yakima is an unusual politician in a bastion of conservatism.

Nickels peeks under the Cascade Curtain and gets pissed off

Crosscut — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:06:01 PDT

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Joel Connelly, blogging from the Democratic National Convention in Denver, had a nugget from Seattle's strongman mayor, Greg Nickels.

Sausage Links, 'piece of cake' edition

Crosscut — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:00:01 PDT

So. What did you think about Hillary Clinton last night? Most opinion writers in the media say the former first lady's speech at the Democratic National Convention was one of her finest moments. As Seattle Post-Intelligencer columnist Joel Connelly put it, the speech "erased the bad blood of a lengthy nomination battle ... and raised the party's blood for the fall campaign." Eli Sanders at the Stranger said she was "magnanimous," also calling it her "best, most selfless moment." I'm not sure I buy it. But I'll leave it up to you. Discuss. ...

Extreme Seattle

Crosscut — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:00:01 PDT

New demographic figures make clear what a statistical outlier Seattle is, with few families, few kids, high education, and rapid gentrification. Only San Francisco can compare.