Three cheers for new upgrades for bikes on 2nd Ave. I still think people pretending to be confused about what the bike symbol on the stop light means when the last round came out were pretty awful. So I can’t wait for further dipshitatude.

Still, I hardly ever use 2nd. I see a lot more people on it than it used to have. Still, even though I’ve seen it, used it, and written about it, in a part of my mind, it’s still a 1 way, unprotected thing that drivers don’t use. I know this is wrong, but it still prevents some use from me. Also, I’m walking more than biking nowadays, but that’s neither here nor there.

This Open Thread is more rambling and half-formed than usual. Talk about whatever.

It’s obviously not huge news (I heard it on KUOW yesterday morning, but I don’t see it on their website, and there isn’t anything more current than the link below in a Google Search) but I’m surprised there isn’t more coverage of the legislature’s plan to kick McCleary down the road. Or, more formally: to start a task force.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m glad there’s even a tiny amount of forward motion. But the decision was 2012. The contempt was 2014. It’s 2016 now. We’re past task force time.

More cameras on buses seems like a no-brainer. Especially since they’ve been effective in the past. So cameras in 80% of Metro buses sounds like a good goal. There may be some privacy concerns with them, but I haven’t heard of the ones currently on buses being abused.

I am not a dog owner, but I know a fair number of HA readers are. So, you really should have been picking up after your dog any way, but now there’s going to be more enforcement of that and of off-leash areas. I’m of 2 minds. On the one hand, there is a lot of dog shit in the parks. Like a lot, a lot. It’s gross. On the other hand, I’m not sure a more enforcement approach is all that great in general.

If you want to name the new street sweeper, that’s cool. Don’t steal my 3 ideas, Farts, Fartz, and Fart Machine. Seriously, though, I’m glad that there’s a civic part of naming the sweeper, and it would be pretty cool to ride in it if you win the contest.

Whenever I hear about NextDoor, it always seems problematic. I’ve never used it, so maybe it’s not just a hub for people to complain whenever they see a Black person or a poor person in a wealthy neighborhood. But that’s the impression I’ve got of them. It could be a distorted picture, but kicking a reporter out doesn’t help.

I love when national publications talk about local issues. Even if it’s local people reporting, having to do it for a national audience makes it come from a new perspective. Usually, it’s more that sort of thing than new info. And when it is new info, it can be a gut punch that you didn’t know.

I don’t know how much y’all knew about Jacqueline Salyers, the Puyallup tribal member who was shot by Tacoma police (h/t). I had no idea. And it’s heart breaking for the family. This seems like the sort of story that a functioning local news would cover better.

There’s something great, or at least stereotype challenging, about the fact that Seattle’s Marxist City Council member organized a meeting for business owners to complain about city government. Specifically figuring out construction mitigation on 23rd Ave. I know, I know, it’s for small businesses, and representatives of the 23rd Ave Starbucks, for example, probably wouldn’t be welcomed.

I’m a big believer in parole over just locking people up. It incentivizes people to fix their shit in prison. And while it should be tough to get out of prison early for people who’ve committed serious crimes, it should be possible. I’m also not sure 3 strikes legislation, or in Washington’s case initiative, is a particularly helpful in reducing crime. It might make sense to go with something more grounded in crime prevention than sports metaphors. So, I’m glad that the Washington Sentencing Commission is proposing this, even if it has approximately 0 chance of passing the GOP Senate:

Three-strikes offenders serving life in prison without the possibility of parole should get a “second look.” That’s the position of Washington’s Sentencing Guidelines Commission.

It voted Friday to recommend a new review process for these prison inmates.

This is a non-binding proposal to the Washington Legislature. It basically says three-strikes inmates should be able to petition for early release after 20 years behind bars. Aggravated murderers would not qualify. A special “Second Look Review Board” would consider the petitions.

It has been over 2 decades since Washington passed the 3 strikes law. Even with the state becoming more liberal, I don’t imagine it would have much trouble passing again. Certainly, there will be victims who don’t want this sort of thing, and I’m not here to tell them how to feel.

Still, I hope the Legislature takes a good look at giving people another chance. It’s not even just for the criminals who should get another chance, or the cost of keeping reformed people behind bars. It’s as much about the kind of society we want to build. I’d like to build one where people can genuinely get out of prison.

Since I usually skip holidays for Open Threads, I’ll just give you a quick President’s Day rant now: Basically, we’ve had some terrible presidents. John Tyler? That motherfucker joined the Confederacy the first chance he got. We don’t need to celebrate the people who pushed slavery in this country and then committed treason when the slavery wasn’t enough for them. Richard Nixon? Are we celebrating Watergate or the bombing of Cambodia? Andrew fucking Johnson? Maybe we should rename the holiday Presidents Are A Mixed Bag At Best Day.

Congrats to Senator Sanders for the win in New Hampshire. I think that puts him in the lead in the (non-super) delegate count by 2. I have some family in New Hampshire and they’re either super conservative or much more liberal than me. So based on that small, unrepresentative, sample size, the result isn’t too surprising.

In many Washington State jurisdictions, there’s an election tomorrow. Get it postmarked by tomorrow. Or drop it off. Here are the locations for King County. I voted for both of the Seattle levies. I have to say though: I’m not a parent, but I paid enough attention when the latest round of school closures went through to find the we have to reopen schools because who could have predicted we’d need capacity arguments pretty ridiculous.

It is always amazing to me when I read things like this. “I’m old enough to remember the shock, replaced quickly by compassion fatigue, when urban homelessness first energed as a problem in the early ’80s,. Before then, hard as it is to imagine now, cities didn’t have homelessness issues – just a few random drunks and what were then quaintly called hoboes.” Geov isn’t the first person I’ve read with similar observations, and while I believe it, it’s tough to internalize. What seems like an intractable problem that has been there forever is actually a bit younger than me.

This (autoplays) is a few days old (they make Iowa Caucus predictions) but I just listened to it yesterday on my way to Drinking Liberally. It got me thinking about the foreign policy philosophies of the Democratic candidates. I would dispute that Clinton’s foreign policy philosophy is just about competence. I’d say that women’s rights are human rights was an animating idea during her tenure at State and in the Senate.

I asked a few people at Drinking Liberally how they would sum up Sanders’ foreign policy. And we found some interesting things about his record, but I don’t know if it’s predictive for voters or for the bureaucracy if he gets elected. I’d very much like to know more about his foreign policy, but I haven’t seen it yet. It’s one state down, so we may well see something that crystallizes it going forward.

(this has been edited a bit to make it clear I’m just talking about foreign policy)

Anyone had a chance to read Nick Licata’s new book yet? I have not, but I’m still excited to see him at SPL if I can get there on time. And I’m very glad that he’s having a post-retirement public life.