The Daily Weekly: Hooch Policy Archive (Seattle Weekly)

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Posted March 21 at 8:34 am by Mike Seely

That'd be the P.I.'s Joel Connelly, a big guy who's never been confused for a big stoner. In his column today, he focuses on Edmonds-based Euro-sherpa Rick Steves' crusade to do away with punitive drug laws — kind of. Like many a Connelly column, the main subject (Steves) is discarded rather early, so as to free up space for JC to drive his argument home more forcefully, this time citing a park ranger buddy of his who, because he smoked a joint awhile back, has to cool his heels for a set time period before seeking a promotion. Park rangers, of all people, should be permitted to smoke a plant that comes from the earth which they tend. Connelly doesn't say it that wasy, but that's the insinuation — and it's spot-on.

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Posted Jan. 9 at 11:37 am by Mike Seely

We pragmatic lushes at SW knew this day would come to pass eventually (tip of the cap to Phil Dawdy), but Seattle's "wethouse" has been declared an unequivocal success, despite a nontraditional approach that flies in the face of America's stubbornly puritanical groupthink on treating and housing homeless drunks.

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Posted Jan. 8 at 10:09 am by Mike Seely

Governor Christine Gregoire has announced her support for legislation that would allow highway patrolman to start setting up sobriety checkpoints on Washington State roads, despite years of legal precedent pointing to their unconstitutionality (including a key ruling here in the 80's). I'm not an advocate of drunk driving, and I'm all for safer streets, but between this and the rampant expansion of red light cameras, I'm wondering where this trend toward vehicular Big Brotherdom ends. If I get nailed for some moving violation by a cop on a level playing field, fine — you got me. But roadblocks and cameras put the motorist at a distinct disadvantage, and life should be fair. Here's hoping the ACLU and Cato Institute come out with guns blazing in response to Gregoire's cheatin' ways.

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Posted Aug. 7, 2007 at 9:52 am by Mike Seely

Today's Seattle Times has a helfpul piece comparing Seattle's nightlife-policy-in-progress to what other cities (Austin, Hollywood, NYC, etc) with seemingly similar situations are doing. In it, all the usual safeguards — noise meters, the threat of fines, police presence, tiered closing times — are name-checked.

Great. Whatever works. But part of me continues to feel as though this debate shouldn't exist. Why? Where I come from, if you choose to live in a dense, populous, urban neighborhood, be it Belltown, Ballard, Fremont, Lower Queen Anne, the U-District, or Capitol Hill, putting up with nightlife cacophony is part of the contract. Buy a set of earplugs, already, and don't call the cops or whine to city officials unless you hear gunfire or some drunk breaks into your condo and defecates in your cat's water dish. You get what you pay for, and you paid to live in a vibrant, noisy, and sometimes crazy urban environment. So shut the hell up, or move to Forks.

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Posted April 17, 2007 at 7:58 am by Mike Seely

Woke up to a note from Blue Moon Tavern owner Gustav Hellthaler, announcing that he received word yesterday from the Liquor Board that his notoriously rambunctious bohemian watering hole will, for the first time in its fabled history, begin serving hard booze in addition to beer, wine, and hijinks. Last time the Moon sought such a license, jack-booted city personnel tried to shut it down. But thanks to Hellthaler's canny appeals to a functionally alcoholic press and a famous former regular in LaConner, that ambush was stymied. And now, victory at 80-proof.

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To Do List

Tuesday, May 13

Augusten Burroughs
Augusten Burroughs has become the rock star of the tell-all dysfunctional-f... More>>
Town Hall, Tue., May 13, 7:30pm

The Dirtbombs, Dan Sartain, Terrible Twos
Detroit's Dirtbombs are back with their first full-length in five years. Th... More>>
Neumo's, Tue., May 13, 8:00pm, $12 adv

Dorothy Rissman
Much to the chagrin of her Wallingford neighbors, Dorothy Rissman began dum... More>>
Fetherston Gallery, Daily from Mon., April 21 until Sat., May 24, 11:00am

87 more things to do today>>