The 520 Tolling Implementation Committee added a visit to Mercer Island to the series of open houses about how tolls can help pay for a new 520 bridge between Seattle and Bellevue. The Mercer Island open house on August 13, 2008 gives the public a sixth opportunity to provide input and learn about four tolling options being evaluated by the committee. The open houses will include comparisons of

Mayor Greg Nickels has announced a series of "car-free Sundays" in August and September, where some streets will be closed to motor vehicle traffic. If the experiment is successful, the program could be expanded next year.

The Bellevue City Council will seek comments from people about proposed changes to the city’s Comprehensive Plan and other recommendations related to developing a light rail system at a study session Monday at City Hall.

KIRO Team 7 Investigations have prompted: “the State Auditor to launch an inquiry into why hundreds of thousands of your transportation tax dollars are being funneled to a charity.”

“Investigative Reporter Chris Halsne spent weeks unraveling how some major transit agencies might be skirting laws on lobbying and gifting.

The law generally prohibits government entities from collecting taxes from you, then using that money to lobby for ballot measures or tax increase initiatives. We discovered that Sound Transit, King County Metro and some other taxing authorities may have figured out a way around that.”

The whole article is pretty interesting- Sound Transit and other public agencies, as well as cities are all giving money to Transportation Choices Coalition:

“The Washington Policy Center says it found out that Sound Transit donated at least $156,000 to Transportation Choices in the past 10 years. That’s something we confirmed through Open Records.

WPC transportation director Mike Ennis says, “Even the most casual taxpayers can see the conflict of interest when you have a public agency giving money to an organization that lobbies on behalf of that organization. That’s not what public money is intended for. It doesn’t matter how noble the cause is for some of these groups.”

Again, using the Open Records Ace, KIRO Team 7 Investigators discovered Sound Transit is just one of at least 15 government agencies donating your tax money to Transportation Choices via something labeled “membership dues.”

Sound Transit recently donated $22,000.

King County Metro handed over $30,000.

Other transit agencies donating to TCC via membership dues in 2008 include: Community Transit, Pierce Transit, Intercity Transit, Whatcom Transportation Authority, Ben Franklin/Richland Transit, Spokane Transit and Kitsap County Transit.

Other government agencies that contributed your tax dollars to TCC’s charity include the cities of Seattle, Kirkland, Redmond, Sammamish and Edmonds. The Port of Seattle donated as well.”

The concern is expressed here:

“We called State Auditor Brian Sonntag and showed him the financial relationships we uncovered. He tells us he will open a formal inquiry.

Sonntag told Halsne during on on-camera interview, “They can’t ‘give’ your tax money away.

There has to be a benefit.

My first general impression is that there are a lot of questions — a lot of questions that need to be answered on behalf of citizens and tax payers. This is a lot of money.”

Washington law says that if your tax money is given to charity, there has to be a specific return, something of documented value given back. Lobbying can’t legally be that value and, according to Sonntag the label “membership dues” isn’t specific enough.“Membership to what? That would be my first question. I mean, it is a club? An organization? What are your dues paying for? That’s a question that citizens have a right to an answer.”

The audit will at least point out how pervasive this practice is.

Read the full article at: http://www.kirotv.com/investigations/16811658/detail.html

Station Break Seattle Weekly, WA - Jul 30, 2008 By Elizabeth Dwoskin Sound Transit makes a bet on voters' light-rail delusions. By Mark D. Fefer Last week's decision by the Sound Transit board to put a ...

The state Legislature budgeted $2.8 billion last year to replace Seattle's deteriorating Alaskan Way Viaduct with another elevated roadway...

2010 is now when the state thinks it can have two new ferries plying Puget Sound.

Tolls to cross Lake Washington could cost commuters $6.85 a round trip, be levied on both the I-90 and 520 bridges and change people’s decision to cross the bridge itself, according to a new study unveiled Wednesday in Bellevue.

The Enterprise Newspaper reports on the comments by Lynwood Councilmen Ted Hikel & Jim Smith:

“Lynnwood’s City Council approved a resolution supporting the 15-year option.

But Lynnwood Councilman Ted Hikel, who opposed the resolution with colleague Jim Smith, said it will cost too much to bring light rail to Lynnwood by 2023.

“We can’t afford to put in a program that is not fiscally responsible,” Hikel said. “Think of how many lanes of bus-only pavement we could put in . . .”

He said the transit board looked at the political tea leaves and decided “a big Democratic turnout is going to be there and they will vote for it.”

“I’m just astounded that people aren’t looking at the dollars involved,” he said.