Get on board
What’s the Weekly‘s problem with the Seattle Monorail Project [“A Battle for the Ballot,” July 7]? You guys emit a constant stream of anti-monorail articles, one after another, in a way that can’t even remotely be considered balanced journalism. It’s almost enough to make me quit reading your paper.
If we are ever going to start really fixing our city’s, and our region’s, long-term traffic problems, Seattle needs to build a mass transit system. For decades local politicians haven’t been able to do anything to address the problem. Now that a bunch of citizens have come together, proposed a plan, and got the ball rolling, the Weekly wants to kill it?
The Seattle Monorail Project might cost a lot, it might not even be the best possible solution, but it is time we did something! The cost of allowing traffic to degrade our quality of life and suffocate the city’s economic development is far higher still.
Chris Zazzi Seattle
The ‘C’ Factors
Knute Berger hit the nail right on the head with “Babes in Toyland” [Mossback, July 7]. A case in point is Seattle voters’ narrow decision to approve a project as frivolous and resource-wasteful as the monorail. After one of my neighbors explained his enthusiasm by saying simply, “I like trains,” I have finally concluded that the only explanation for the monorail vote is the “cuteness” factor: If a project is cute enough, Seattle voters appear willing to endorse it and tax themselves for it. Advocates display signs saying “Let’s Monorail,” a meaningless phrase that apparently sounds cute, and even possibly suggestive.
Berger phrases it similarly, referring to the “Monorail Cult” pushing the “People’s Boondoggle” based on the idea that it is “cool.” Cute or cool, the monorail is the exact opposite of a serious workhorse, blue-collar project like fixing or replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct, as Berger aptly points out.
I have lived in Seattle for over three decades, serving on numerous community boards and committees, but still can’t figure out what makes the place tick. Is it the water, all that coffee, the desperate desire to put the city on the map? Maybe someday I will finally understand why cuteness sells here, but in the meantime, I’d prefer an urban environment that actually works efficiently.
Jane Johnson Seattle
Old Man Mossback
Well, it looks like Mossback’s increasing age has finally turned him into a crotchety old man who can’t take “newfangled ideas” and is unable to see “Seattle’s inner child” maturing and growing and becoming a proud player in the world [“Babes in Toyland,” July 7].
He just can’t take the idea that people might want not only modern solutions to transportation concerns, but innovative ones as well. And that citizens might want to come together to propose new ideas for elevated transit in the city, and to replace the aging viaduct with something other than more roads and perhaps more beautiful than your average park or entertainment area.
Perhaps Berger would prefer Seattle to be more like other cities, where a few “adults” with lots of power, prestige, and money ram ideas, new laws, and tax- funded megaprojects down the throats of citizens? Or perhaps he is one of the folks who voted against a rail-based public transit system back in 1968 that would have been funded primarily by the federal government. Yes, while we sit in traffic today in Seattle, Atlanta has “our” rail system.
We’re paying for it today, literally and figuratively, because a majority of Seattleites nearly 40 years ago thought a rail system here was a silly fantasy. We won’t have traffic, they said. And who’s going to move out to Issaquah?
Michael Taylor Seattle
Unfair Advantage
Yes, Dave Ross is taking advantage of his 50,000-watt soapbox at 710 KIRO [Buzz, July 7]. He should have left his on-air spot the day after he announced his candidacy for Congress. KIRO’s management took the low road. The honorable, decent thing to do was to have Ross off the air sooner, not later. While it may be “officially” correct to wait until he files for the office, it is deceitful to be on the air and an avowed candidate for office.
It was my honor to hire Dave when I was news director/programming director at KIRO in the late ’70s. It was probably the best move I ever made while there. Ross is a talented, brilliant personality. Too bad this action spoils his remarkable achievements. KIRO lost the perspective of fairness.
Bill Wippel Normandy Park
Save it, Steve
I think the reason that Jena Malone’s character doesn’t get an abortion in Saved! is because it would fit every stereotype the hypocritical evangelicals have about pregnant girls [Small World, “The A-Word,” June 30]. Her character is morally superior to her dismissive classmates, in spite of becoming pregnant, and proves to them that she will take responsibility for her actions. The greater question is, why is Steve Wiecking so pissed off about such a small theme in a movie that utterly savages Christian clique culture? Was that not enough for him?
Greg Piper Seattle
Conditional Support
Rick Anderson’s June 16 article about the UW Physicians’ settlement [“Self- Diagnosis“] contained significant factual errors regarding the effect of the settlement on Harborview Medical Center. Because Harborview is a county-owned hospital and a vital community resource, it is important that these errors be corrected so that the public is not misled.
Contrary to what was stated in the article, Harborview will not be “required to cough up as much as $15 million” as a result of the settlement. The Harborview board was presented with information that the settlement may impact the university’s ability to provide funding for physicians’ salaries at Harborview at the levels it has provided in the past. Out of concern that we not lose members of our fine medical staff, who work very hard and had no part in the events that led to the settlement, the board passed a resolution stating its intent to provide additional funds for faculty support but only if two conditions are met: One, the university has to document the financial need for the additional support; and two, we will only provide additional support if doing so will not jeopardize the quality of care provided by Harborview or its financial stability. No funds have been approved as of this time, and we, as the board, will not authorize any such payments unless those conditions are met. Although the article states that the Weekly had obtained a copy of the board’s resolution, those key provisions were either overlooked or omitted.
While Harborview is owned by King County, it is managed by the University of Washington in a management agreement dating back to 1967 and renewed most recently in 1995. All the physicians at Harborview are employed by UW. The university’s management of the hospital has provided a substantial benefit to the community: Arguably, Harborview is the best trauma center in the nation. It consistently provides high-quality medical care to patients from all walks of life regardless of their ability to pay. The board, which is appointed by the County Council, is committed to maintaining the quality, spirit, and financial viability of the institution. That effort is not well served by media coverage that states we are doing something that we are not.
Kristin Houser President, Harborview Board of Trustees
Seattle
Rick Anderson responds: There were no errors. Harborview is required to pay up to $15 million under the resolution, which, as Kristin Houser must know, spells out payments of up to $3 million a year for five years. I didn’t say they have paid it—it’s a resolution to pay. The resolution does not use the definitive word “only,” instead calling the payment “subject to an assessment” of the hospital’s ability to pay. That gives the board much more wriggle room.
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