Politics here can be vexing (see below). But, have faith, it is even more vexing in some other venues.

I have spent part of my time over the past several years in a mid-sized central Arizona city. Over that period I have gotten to know most of the local as well as some state-level politicos and have followed local issues, though not to the degree that I follow them here.

Over a long period the Arizona city was run by a Good Ole Boy crew which put its candidates in office, mutually back-scratched, and kept ...

1) Talk to your neighbors and friends about the Sound Transit
plans and the issues related to the berm vs. Post & Beam.

2) If you’re a member of a group talk to them about this issue at
your next meeting, and try to get the group to support our cause.
We’ve actively collecting letters of support from groups.

3) Sign the Online Petition supporting the Anti-Berm and have
friends sign: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/844347001
Besides the online version we’ve collected over 400 signatures.

4) Send letters or email to the TNT Editors, Tacoma City Council, and Chamber of Commerce, let them know how you feel about the project ...

Because Crosscut carries such lively debate on issues of growth and the likely future of our communities, it’s time here for another look at the estimates on population change for counties and cities prepared each year by the state Office of Financial Management. The 2009 version is now available, and the news isn't good.

The numbers speak and they must be listened to. Once again they raise big doubts about whether Puget Sound Regional Council’s Vision 2040 strategic plan for plotting regional growth in King, Snohomish, Pierce, and Kitsap counties is uncoupled from what’s actually happening in ...

Broken scanner clouds light rail numbers MyNorthwest.com How many people are riding Sound Transit's Link Light Rail? We don't really know. An infrared scanner that's supposed to count passengers hasn't been ... and more »

Foes of Sound Transit berm to seek support with tour TheNewsTribune.com The folks opposed to Sound Transit's plans to build a berm to elevate railroad tracks through Tacoma's Dome District aren't giving up. Do It Right Tacoma, ... and more »

A technical glitch is hindering Sound Transit's ability to count riders on the month-old Link light rail line.

In the recent debate comparing Vancouver, BC and Seattle, I quoted Peter Steinbrueck as saying that Belltown was the densest neighborhood in the state. A frequent Crosscut commenter attacked that assertion saying that Belltown isn't even the densest neighborhood in the city:

Belltown is nowhere near the densest in the state. Capitol Hill and the U District had easily the densest census tracts in 2000, and even the densest tracts in Belltown haven't caught up yet. (If you count commercial land use, then the CBD obviously becomes the densest.)

Personally, I'd always understood that First Hill ...

Park closures: Why are green spaces getting the ax? Seattle Times Now, the operations of the train must be subsidized by taxpayers with $10 per ride if the number of riders estimated by Sound Transit are realized, ...

Three-for-one: MLK agency on the rocks, Prop. 1 conflict and X ... TheNewsTribune.com Big is the issue itself, regardless of whether McCarthy was trying to punish Merritt for his continued opposition to Sound Transit's plans to place tracks ...

KING5.com

Lack of Light Rail parking costly for passengers KING5.com The only parking that's being provided by Sound Transit is at the Tukwila Station, which is outside the Seattle city limits. There are 600 spots, ...