by Carl Ballard — ,
– A couple different takes on Andrew Sullivan retiring.
– I remain both excited about the future of cell service in the bus tunnel and horrified that more people will be on their phones more times.
– While listening to this podcast, it occurred to me that Bertha the drilling machine may well be stuck for more days that Bertha Landes was mayor.
– I’m not sure running against the Kochs worked particularly well last time, but maybe.
by Carl Ballard — ,
The House Transportation Committee passed a bill to allow the next phase of Sound Transit to go forward, if approved by the voters in the ST region. Since it didn’t get any GOP votes, and since the GOP control the state Senate, that’s going to be a tough step. Anyway, good news: The most coherent, most decent, just generally best person you’ll ever hear of, Rep. Ed Orcutt, has decided to be an ass about it!
The bill passed 13-12 almost strictly along party lines. All but one Democrat voted yea, and every Republican voted no.
“Okay, Seattle” representative Ed Orcutt (R-20, Kalama) said, “go ahead and tax yourself into oblivion.”
So first of all — and I’m aware that this is me being a broken record — the thing that’s killing us here in Seattle isn’t taxing ourselves and getting the benefits. It’s the state taxing us and sending the money to places like Kalama. Also, that isn’t killing us too badly as we’re doing fine.
Second, what does “Okay, Seattle” even mean when you vote against letting Seattle do a thing? The bullshit paternalistic rhetoric doesn’t match the bullshit paternalistic action. Pick a bullshit paternalistic lane, and bullshit paternalistic stay in it.
Third, it’s the job of a state representative to do what’s best for the state. They really shouldn’t be gleeful about the failure (even if it’s just in their head) of a part of the state they don’t represent. Honestly, if he believes his nonsense, he isn’t fit to serve.
Fourth, Sound Transit isn’t just Seattle. When Seattle needed to tax ourselves to preserve transit service, we just went ahead and did it. This is for a regional transit plan, for goodness sake.
And finally, the whole premise is silly since Sound Transit will almost certainly be a net good for the region.
I wrote most of this post on public transit. In fact, most of the writing that I do for Horse’s Ass is during my commute. If we didn’t have decent public transit, I doubt I’d have the time to write on HA. I also do some actual paid work work on my commute from time to time. I’m not really sure what the economic value of that is, but it’s not zero. It’s certainly more than my output when I drive.
Beyond just me personally, this is a growing region, and we’re going to need to get people around. Better transit isn’t just a luxury. We’re going to have to pay for it somehow, and Sound Transit, while hardly perfect, is the best option we’ve got.
by Carl Ballard — ,
by Carl Ballard — ,
Sen. Sharon Brown has a press release about how she wants to modernize, ahem, what we call clean energy.* Some of it is fine (I think, but anyone with more knowledge of energy issues than me, please pipe in). Some of it is of the oh, let’s count the hydro power toward our clean energy requirements despite the initiative that people already voted on.
“By allowing some of the incremental electricity produced by efficiency improvements to hydro projects to qualify as an eligible renewable resource, we not only save consumers money, but we also help our employers free up the resources they need to hire more employees and give raises and better benefits to those already employed,” said Brown, R-Kennewick.
Efficiencies are awesome! But the good news is that there’s already an advantage to utilities to being efficient. It’s the market. The reason we have regulations like these are because we’re trying to accomplish things the market won’t do well. Also, is there ever a GOP program they can’t pretend is a jobs bill. We need to rely more on hydro than on energy sources with less downside because jobs. Also, didn’t we vote on this already?
Efficiency changes made to hydro projects allow more electricity to be produced from the same amount of water without any new diversions or impoundments. Currently, the I-937 law only recognizes hydro-efficiency improvements associated with projects owned by a qualified utility. Under Brown’s bill, this recognition would be extended to incremental electricity marketed by the federal Bonneville Power Administration.
Will of the people, and whatnot.
“As lawmakers heard from some of those who testified today, Washingtonians who have paid for these efficiency improvements to hydro projects should be able to see the benefits of those improvements,” said Brown. “Instead, Washington is sending its affordable hydropower to other states who consider it renewable, while our utilities are force to purchase costly power required to meet the state’s mandate.
Ignore the typos. This post can’t all just be me making fun of typos, and I’ve already done it once and will do it again. It’s just some intern, probably. Good for you for being here, and I hope you earn credits toward your middle school graduation.
Obviously, the thing to concentrate on here is that our standards for renewable should be rigorous. Our standards should be tough to hit because how we get our energy is valuable!
Also, not for nothing, but energy is incredibly cheap in Washington. For example, my apartment is pretty small, but I paid less than $15 for my December bill,** and that was with a fair amount of heat, what with it being December. A lot of that is, as Goldy has written, our socialist utility here in Seattle. So clearly socialism is a jobs program — QED — and I hope Senator Brown will lead a chorus of The Internationale. Unless she hates jobs.
“With so many families having to make the difficult choice between paying the light bill and putting food on the table, we have an obligation to look for ways to make energy more affordable. My bill would do just that by allowing our utilities to use clean, affordable incremental hydropower and pass any cost savings onto their customers.”
Right, so let’s take out the profit motive from things like utilities. Acknowledge that they make more sense as infrastructure and then everyone who uses the product will have more money. Brilliant! Oh, no, it’s just loosening regulation.
Anyway, one more typo to make fun of from a part of it that I’m basically fine with.
We really need to look at what we are going to use for baseload energy in the future. Wind power cannot replace wind power. Utilities have to balance every minute of our load with our resources and the power that our customers need.
Again, I’m not really one to make fun of typos, but this has been up for several days. And presumably it was a draft at some point. “Wind power cannot replace wind power” is like a riddle in a children’s book.
by Carl Ballard — ,
– No charges for person who killed man walking his dog in a Kirkland crosswalk
– There are new rules for attending Seattle City Council meetings and after reading this Seattlish piece, I’m also interested to see if they’ll just be used on Zimmerman and Bellomio or if there will be a larger crackdown.
– Tim Eyman’s “analysis” of initiative-related bills and amendments isn’t to be trusted
– Always glad when someone changes their mind to become pro-choice, but yeah, the follow up is important.
– If you were actually worried about the quality of the new Ghostbusters movie and not just of girl cooties getting on a classic, I would think the addition of Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy would be the surest sign that it’s in good hands.
by Carl Ballard — ,
– I’m always more willing to look at a candidate who Cascade endorses, and occasionally they’ve tipped the scale for me, so it would be sad to not have that any more.
– I don’t know how realistic the prospect of a $15 minimum wage would be for Oregon, but the fact that its opponents are into the scare tactics phase probably means something good for its chances.
– Chart of the Day: An uptick in threats against abortion providers
– I am not on a jury, and I didn’t contribute much here. Best of all possible worlds! I did get some reading done in the jury room. Pit? Juror dumping ground?
– My mustache is better than either the Senate Majority Leader’s or the Speaker’s. Also, I haven’t just had a mustache in like 5 years.
by Carl Ballard — ,
– Dori Monson is so, so awful.
– Two important nutrition/education bills to keep an eye on
– It’s kind of late in the game to be researching new transit alternatives for Highway 99.
– Looks like Obama can walk and chew gum at the same time (not a metaphor).
– Tacoma has a brand-new sick leave law.
– I have jury duty starting today (yes, again), so who knows? Maybe I’ll have lots of time to write or maybe I’ll be my usual hardly posting self.
by Carl Ballard — ,
There’s a bill to raise the minimum wage in the state to $12, and it got a hearing in the House Labor Committee yesterday.
Washington, one of nine states where minimum-wage raise bills have been introduced in 2015, would go from $9.47 an hour to $12 in a series of 50-cent hikes every Jan. 1 under the bill.
House Labor Chairman Mike Sells, D-Everett, said the bill “has a lot better chance in the House” than last year’s failed attempt for a $12 minimum wage because it phases in the raise slower. He is one of 41 co-sponsors of the bill, all Democrats. It could face longer odds in the Republican-led Senate, where all but one of the 20 names attached to the bill are from the minority Democrats.
If you’re interested in writing your legislator and telling them, politely, that you support this bill, you can find them here. Either ask you member of the House to support the one that just got the hearing, or your Senator that you’d like the bill to get a hearing. If you’d like to contact a member of the House Labor Committee, you can find them here.
by Carl Ballard — ,
– The health care law does whatever the GOP says it does, even if they said it did other things in the past.
– If you’re not happy about unfunded mandates, you could fund the things the voters passed rather than have a crappy amendment to the state constitution.
– Another reason to eat at Tutta Bella
– Since we’re going to hear a lot of har-har-har Algore since there’s a storm in the Northeast in January, it might be a good time to remind your uncle on Facebook or the Superbowl party next week that we had record highs here. Also, neither of those proves nor disproves global warming so much as the overwhelming scientific evidence.
– Lindy West talking to one of her trolls on This American Life was maybe one of the most amazing things I’ve ever heard.
– Either the NFL is opposed to the Marshawn Lynch victory celebration or they try to make money off it. [h/t]
– Youz guyz, I’m so sad that the Ark Park is probably going to have trouble finding an audience.
by Carl Ballard — ,
Look, I don’t really care if a bill is bipartisan or not. If a bill is a good idea, then the party makeup of that bill’s sponsors don’t matter as much as the number of legislators supporting it. Of course, in the state Senate with GOP control, the measures I support will probably need some bipartisan support to pass. And in the state House, I suspect most bills I like will be improved by being more partisan and getting GOP support would water them down. But whatever, the process is the process. And for people who are less partisan than me, bipartisanship is important.
If you want bipartisanship qua bipartisanship, there are ways you can reach out to the other side without compromising your values. Let’s see how whoever is in charge of the House GOP Twitter feed tried to show they are bipartisan.
As of last night, @WaHouseGOP members have introduced 151 bills with Democrat co-sponsors. #bipartisanwa #waleg
— WaHouseGOP (@WaHouseGOP) January 24, 2015
“Democrat co-sponsors”? It wouldn’t have cost them anything to write “Democratic” and show they were actually committed to a process that respects both sides. I mean honestly, it’s not that big of a deal, but they could try to make their tweets a bit less self-refuting.
Also, I tried to find some context and was only somewhat successful. If I’m reading this right it looks like there have been 1229 bills introduced in both houses. If you assume half of them are in the House of Representatives, that’s most bills in the House aren’t bipartisan. I don’t know. It’s 7:30 on Friday, and this is exactly how much research I’m willing to do before I go out.
by Carl Ballard — ,
– I’m glad that Sound Transit are so popular, but I’m still not so sure it will matter to the legislature
– Even in Emmett’s piece complaining about Crosscut and using “Olympia” as a stand in for the state government, he has more nice things to say about them than me.
– NARAL Pro Choice Washington are asking you to contact your legislator in support of the Reproductive Health Act.
– The 49ers should absolutely pick up Lane Kiffin. Maybe they can finally get a 100 yard field goal attempt.
by Carl Ballard — ,
Sorry this was so late.
– My Statement – Shanley [h/t]
– I can hardly believe that Fox News apologized to the mayor of Paris.
– Perhaps Seattle Should Find a Plan B for the Downtown Tunnel Project
– As is usually the case with sports stories, Joe Posnanski’s take on the Seahawks’ playoff victory was probably the best.
by Carl Ballard — ,
– Schools not only duty state has
– It’s always awesome that fetuses get more rights than women.
– Which Washington Legislators Take the Most Coal, Oil, and Gas Money?
– Well, that was quite a game.
by Carl Ballard — ,
The US House of Representatives passed a law repealing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that lets young people here without documentation a path to citizenship.
The House vote would put 600,000 so-called DREAMers back in danger of deportation.
An amendment, passed on a 218-209 vote, denies federal money or use of fees to enroll young people in the DACA program, and would not allow those already enrolled to renew.
This isn’t really a national blog, but I’m writing about it because I’m heartened by Patty Murray’s response: calling the vote “something horrible” casts it in moral terms as opposed to just well let’s have a difference of agreement. This is an important moral issue, and it’s important to say so. It’s important to raise our voices that, you know what, this is a really dickish thing to propose. And if it’s for political reasons or for what they actually believe, it’s still immoral. It’s still horrible. And it’s still worth calling out with that language.
by Carl Ballard — ,
– Seriously, seriously, seriously. One seat on a crowded bus, people [h/t].
– Why We Only Freak Out About Brown Terrorists — And Why That Helps Terrorism Spread
– Now we know the specific improvements Seattle bus riders will get thanks to the vote for Prop 1.
– We have some questions about the Seahawks “Would?” video.
– The animals at Woodland Park Zoo are supporting the Seahawks.
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