What would you grade your roads

Washington’s roads, transit rate a D+, engineers say

Posted by Mike Lindblom

 

Washington state road and transit systems deserves a D+ grade, and overall infrastructure a C, says a report issued Tuesday by the Seattle chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

The good news is that “Washington state has got a very good track record in safety, in both road and transit systems,” said Shane Binder, one of 15 co-authors. The state’s goal of zero road deaths by 2030 is attainable, he said.  Road deaths declined from 633 in 2006 to 424 in 2011, a 28 percent drop, federal statistics show.

But the ASCE scored the state low because of its tenuous funding systems.  Pierce Transit and Community Transit have cut service, while King County Metro begs for new taxing authority to replace expiring sources and to grow with demand. On the other hand, Sound Transit is moving forward with most of its $18 billion expansion, including three rail lines, which voters approved in 2008.

Laura Ruppert, co-chair of the report-card committee, called the C score mediocre.

The group said Washington state highways are average, but city and rural streets are worse and drag the score down.

Meanwhile, the Legislature is considering a gas-tax hike of up to 10 cents a gallon along with other fees to fuel an $8.4 billion program — mostly highway expansions. Only $900 million is earmarked for maintenance and preservation. The plan has been blasted by retired WashDOT Secretary Doug MacDonald. Among other problems, it puts off a full redecking of Interstate 5 to some future round of tolls or taxes.

The Seattle ASCE’s report suggests gas taxes that keep pace with inflation, along with public-private partnerships that might save money. But the group wouldn’t judge OIympia’s 2013 package, when asked Tuesday. “We’d like to see a good balance between maintenance of projects, and new projects,” said Larry Costich, legislative correspondent for Seattle ASCE.

Washington’s scores by category were: aviation C, bridges C-, dams B, drinking water C-, rail C-, roads D+, schools C, hazardous waste C, and transit D+.

Seattle ACSE issued the report to mark its 100th anniversary. In March, the national ASCE declared U.S. infrastructure a D+ and in need of $3.6 trillion investment by 2020, to help the U.S. economy stay competitive.

Stop early dismissals in Seattle schools

There’s a new petition taking off on Change.org, and we think you might be interested in signing it:

Frequent early school dismissals are a terrible hardship on families.  Parents under financial stress, working parents, multi-child families, single parents, and many other caregivers have no good childcare and/or transportation options to manage early school dismissals.  We urge you to find a family-friendly way to provide teachers with the planning time they need.

Seattle Public Schools

Superintendent Jose Banda: Stop Early Dismissals at Seattle Public Schools

Sign the Petition

By F. J.                                                 Seattle, Washington

CARE2 : Antibiotics, Plastic bags Solar and more

 

a repost

How Pumping Antibiotics into Animals Could Cause Global Health Crisis China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of antibiotics, and like many other nations around the world, it does almost nothing to monitor… read more

Germ-Ridden Consequences of Plastic Bag Bans Cities such as San Francisco, Seattle and Los Angeles have been trying to ban plastic grocery bags for some time now. The effort has even garnered the… read more

3 Conservative-Friendly Reasons to Support Solar Written by Laura Michelle Burns Climate change is our responsibility whether our ticket is red or blue. We are all responsible for children’s health,… read more

Because One Transvaginal Ultrasound Just Isn’t Enough: Indiana Doubles Down Are conservative lawmakers just trying to one-up each other now? It’s the only reasonable explanation for a piece of legislation coming out of… read more

5 States That Will Be Hammered by the Sequester Unless something dramatic happens between now and Friday, it appears that budget sequestration cuts, designed to be so painful that they would force… read more

Progressive Radio in Seattle -

Information about the sale of Fisher Communications to Sinclair

Fisher Communications, owner of Seattle’s KOMO-TV and 19 other television stations, will be acquired for $373 million by Sinclair Broadcast Group, the country’s largest Fox affiliate.  Sinclair said it plans to keep Fisher’s three Seattle radio stations — KOMO Newsradio, KPLZ STAR 101.5 and KVI 570 — even though its focus is TV. (Seattle Times, April 11, 2013: http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2020756564_fisherbroadcastingxml.html)

In a recent conversation with someone who knows the Fisher family, I learned that the family only owns 30% of the stock in what is now a publicly traded company.  So, the decision to go ahead with this sale to a highly conservative media group is in the hands of the Fisher stockholders.  The Fisher family does have a long-time reputation as liberal (Dan Evans) Republicans, a species that may no longer exist, but there may be some hope that the family will want to purchase a station that could become a new progressive broadcasting station in the Seattle Area.  We can hope.

Come to the Meaningful Movie Night in Wallingford this Friday, showing “Corporate FM…the killing of local commercial radio”

Here is another story about the demise of the public airways.  The film shows at 7:30 PM at the Keystone Congregational United Church of Christ, 5019 Keystone Place N., Seattle.  For more information, check the website: http://meaningfulmovies.org/

You can hear your favorite progressive talkers for free using IHeart Radio

You can register for free and access several live progressive radio stations!  http://www.iheart.com/mobile/

If you know anyone who hasn’t signed our petition, please send them the link:

http://signon.org/sign/dont-let-seattle-lose-1?mailing_id=12129&source=s.em.cr&r_by=4666192

Sierra Club : the Economy and Environment

Tell Seattle City Council to pass a targeted hiring ordinance to improve the economy and environment! The environment and economy — when both are healthy we all thrive. So why are workers from around the Puget Sound, some driving nearly an hour one way to work, polluting the air and accelerating climate change, when there are hundreds of Seattle residents that could fill those jobs living near construction sites right in the city? The Sierra Club is teaming up with Got Green? (a local community organization working to ensure the green economy benefits low-income communities of color) to pass a Seattle City Council ordinance aimed at targeting local hiring. This ordinance will cut down on pollution, reduce commute times and make it easier for Seattle’s hard working low-income workers to find good-paying jobs leading to greater economic freedom. Tell the Seattle City Council to pass a targeted local hiring ordinance now and keep Seattle’s environment and economy healthy! Over the next six years Seattle will spend more than $6 billion public tax dollars improving our city‘s infrastructure and building public facilities. A Targeted Local Hire Ordinance will insure that our city’s public investments result in living wage jobs and paid apprenticeships for area residents. Wages earned by local workers typically are reinvested in neighborhoods and area businesses, boosting our economy and creating additional jobs. It will also promote public transportation as many city-funded projects are accessible by bus and or light rail. Additionally it will reduce trip commutes as local workers will have shorter distances to travel and will be able to stay in Seattle and afford the rising costs of living in our city. Tell the Seattle City Council to pass a targeted local hiring ordinance and help Seattle’s economy and environment thrive. Thanks for all you do for the environment, Robin Everett Beyond Coal Campaign Sierra Club P.S. After you take action, be sure to forward this alert to your friends and colleagues!

Protect Seattle from dangerous coal exports!

RSVP for Seattle‘s Waterfront Business Appreciation Event and protect Seattle from dangerous coal exports!

We all love Seattle’s waterfront because of its great restaurants, entertainment, art and culture — but mostly for views of our beautiful Puget Sound. It is part of why we choose to live here.

But imagine up to 18 coal trains, each a mile and a half long, rumbling through the waterfront daily — disrupting this vital economic tourist engine, polluting our water with toxic coal dust and making already-congested traffic worse.

That is what we will face if coal companies’ proposed 50-million-ton coal export terminal in Whatcom County gets built.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Join Mayor McGinn and Seattle waterfront businesses at a Seattle Waterfront Business Appreciation event and protect Seattle’s waterfront from dirty coal exports!

Here are the details:

WHO: Mayor Mike McGinn, Kyle Griffith, Pier 57 and Great Wheel owner, and Cary Moon, Co-Founder of People’s Waterfront Coalition

WHAT: Waterfront Business Appreciation Event

WHEN: Saturday, May 4from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

WHERE: Waterfront Park, 1301 Alaskan Way in between the Great Wheel and the Aquarium [Map]

 

Questions: Contact Robin Everett at robin.everett@sierraclub.org

NOTE: We will be giving out free prizes so that you and your family can enjoy the waterfront.  Wear red and get ready to have some fun!

Seattle’s waterfront businesses and economy will bear the cost of coal exports. It’s a bad deal for us and we need to stop it.

Join us on Saturday for our Waterfront Business Appreciation Event with Mayor McGinn, have fun with your family and learn how you can help protect Seattle from dangerous coal exports!

Thanks for all you do to protect the environment,
Robin Everett Beyond Coal Campaign
Sierra Club
P.S. After you take action, be sure to forward this alert to your friends and colleagues!

Progressive Radio Seattle

We had a famous local radio guest at our last Progressive Radio Seattle meeting! Following is the response from a Team member who couldn’t be there that I wanted to share:

“Hi. What interesting developments! I’m glad there are radio professionals who feel that broadcast radio is not doomed to irrelevance. My sense is that talk radio can be a means to build community and should be cultivated.

The problem is return on capital. There may not be enough profit potential to entice investors whose only interest is making more (and more) money, but there could be “social returns” that would stimulate donations and memberships from the community.

This means that there is an opening for alternative institutions based on democratic principles. We just need to frame the possibilities correctly, articulate institutional designs, and organize!” – PH, Seattle

We are still working to host a Reunion Event. If you want to help plan the event, and have not yet been contacted please email Julia: Juliachase@comcast.net

Thanks all for hanging in there.  We’ll send out another update soon with some additional information.

Spring&Summer ~~~ Has your state implemented a ban or reduction plan for Plastic Bags?

  

We all know that warm weather means shopping more often and …

Though there is a ban on plastic bags for many Retailers in many states, you wouldn’t know it. The ban or reduction of plastic bags was implemented on July 1 of 2012 in Seattle, WA.  It’s now 2013 and springtime, a time when folks are out shopping.  I get it, it is not lucrative to ask for reusable bags or to inform the public about the .5 charge for each bag, but given the idea that we all should be concerned about the environment; I do expect a little more effort to push reusable bags.  Some states have implemented their Ban or Reduction plans on Plastic Bags as well, but not much information is available about who will or is enforcing the new rules or how they are measuring the reduction rate, if at all. The struggle to clean up our environment should not be this complicated or hard and hopefully our city councils will keep at it with great zeal as the plastic industry has big $$ incentives to stall or stop it … They need to think about the next generation …  the Seattle City Council rules and regulations on plastic bags are below

 

How will the plastic bag ban work?

It’s simple – retailers are prohibited from offering plastic  carryout bags to customers. Paper bags may still be provided to customers for a  minimum of five cents – stores keep the nickel to help cover the cost of  providing bags. Everyone is encouraged to bring, sell and use reusable bags.

What bags?

Banned Bags Include: plastic bags provided at checkout of all  retail stores (bags less than 2.25 ml thick and made from non‐renewable sources). Exclusions: bags used by shoppers in a store to package bulk  foods, meat, flowers, bakery goods or prescriptions; newspaper, door hanger  bags and dry cleaning bags.

What stores?

Where the policy applies: all retail stores including but not  limited to grocery stores, corner and convenience stores, pharmacies,  department stores, farmers markets, restaurants and catering trucks. Where it’s not applicable: for take‐out food where  there is a public health risk if a bag is not provided.

What about paper?

Retailers may provide paper bags made of at least 40% recycled  paper for a minimum 5 cent pass through cost that retailers keep to offset the  cost of providing bags. Low income customers who qualify for food assistance programs  shall be provided paper bags at no charge.

 

If you would like to support me & my business buy  a reusable bag at www.beaseedforchange.org Get Our Eco-Friendly 100% Organic Bag ! Great for Shopping& the Beach- @ http://www.beaseedforchange.org

Progressive Radio Seattle

Hi All!

We had a famous local radio guest at our last Progressive Radio Seattle meeting! Following is the response from a Team member who couldn’t be there that I wanted to share:

“Hi. What interesting developments! I’m glad there are radio professionals who feel that broadcast radio is not doomed to irrelevance. My sense is that talk radio can be a means to build community and should be cultivated.

The problem is return on capital. There may not be enough profit potential to entice investors whose only interest is making more (and more) money, but there could be “social returns” that would stimulate donations and memberships from the community.

This means that there is an opening for alternative institutions based on democratic principles. We just need to frame the possibilities correctly, articulate institutional designs, and organize!” – PH, Seattle

We are still working to host a Reunion Event. If you want to help plan the event, and have not yet been contacted please email Julia: Juliachase@comcast.net

Thanks all for hanging in there.  We’ll send out another update soon with some additional information.

The Golden Tennis Shoe Awards

The Golden Tennis Shoe Awards are always exciting for me, but I’m particularly excited for this year as Dr. Jill Biden is going to be speaking with us! She’s an incredible person, and I can’t wait to talk with her — and with you.

Here are the details:

Monday, April 29
Noon Luncheon and Speaking Program
11:30 Registration Opens

The Westin Hotel
1900 5th Avenue
Seattle, Washington

The Golden Tennis Shoe Awards are a time to celebrate the accomplishments and service of those in Washington state who work to make our state better. And with Dr. Biden in attendance, I know it will be an extra-special day.

Click here to RSVP to the Golden Tennis Shoe Awards today!

See you there!

Patty Murray
U.S. Senator