Did I wake up in Chicago?

When I opened Thursday's Seattle Times, I blinked away the notion I was reading Chicago's Tribune! What the heck is going on? The mayor and sub-mayor get their streets cleared immediately ["Staff botched snow response," page one, March 19], while blaming Mother Nature for two weeks' stop-action at Christmastime (pity the poor shop owner). Transportation honcho Grace Crunican runs off to Portland during the mess and Councilmember Sally Clark scolds Councilmember Tom Rasmussen for trying to get answers.

The two bumpkins in charge (with combined salaries of $170,000) have no experience in snow or ice removal and tons of salt sit idle.

Continue on The Times' front page and read about gross waste of your money and mine by Lt. Milton Footer in the Fire Department ["Report: City fire official misused position"]. Footer is so busy securing free Hannah Montana tickets, he forgets to send out 70 invoices worth $195,000.

In both these cases, where's the oversight?

Kudos to Times reporters Susan Kelleher, Christine Clarridge and Bob Young for exposing Seattle's botched and unethical officials. Brings Illinois' bandits and the AIG debacle to mind, doesn't it?

-- Margaret Symons, Seattle