Bellevue ordinance unfairly punishes the victims

I can't think of a more blatant punish-the-victim law than the Bellevue ordinance -- endorsed by The Seattle Times ["Bellevue is right to corral carts," Opinion, editorial, July 9] -- that fines businesses for shopping carts that are stolen and abandoned on the streets. What's next, fining fast-food restaurants when customers throw paper cups by the wayside?

I shouldn't have mentioned it -- some bureaucrat reading this will think it's a good idea. Or will The Seattle Times be required to retrieve every newspaper that's found blowing down the road?

Ridiculous? Of course -- as ridiculous as the Bellevue shopping-cart ordinance.

-- Stephen Triesch, Shoreline

A mechanical solution to cart theft

I appreciated The Seattle Times' editorial concerning shopping carts and how to control their pilfering and return to the proper store.

It reminded me of our experience in Brussels, Belgium, several years ago when we visited a supermarket, and seeking a shopping cart, found a line of readily available carts, secured in a dispenser much like the ones that dispense luggage dollies at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. We had to insert one euro coin to release our cart, and when we were finished with it, returned it to a similar receptacle where our coin was fully refunded as soon as we secured the cart back at the end of the queue.

Pretty simple mechanical solution to a vexing problem.

-- Ben Yount, Federal Way

Borrow a shopping-cart system from our northern neighbors

The shopping cart scenario that Bellevue and other cities deal with on a daily basis has a very simple answer: Go to Canada and borrow another great idea from our progressive pals to the north.

Safeway and several other Canadian grocers have the perfect plan already in place: Attach the shopping carts together at the handle, then make the customer put a quarter into the second-to-last cart to release the last one.

When the customer returns and reattaches the cart, the quarter is returned. Shopping carts that are not returned are ripe for street people to return and garner 25 cents apiece -- much more lucrative practice than scouring down a bagful of sticky aluminum cans.

Surely it would not take a huge effort for our grocers to put their collective heads together and pattern our shopping-cart system to work like the Canadian plan.
This solution is as close as your backyard, grocers!

-- Marilynn McGlashan, Seattle

Elevated line best for Bellevue

Editor, The Times:

Mike Lindblom's article in Monday's Times ["Bellevue wants a tunnel; Microsoft says not so fast," page one, May 4] failed to identify the clearly preferred route through downtown Bellevue: Alternative C7E, an elevated line running alongside 112th Avenue Northeast from approximately Main Street to an I-405 overpass at the north edge of Overlake Hospital Medical Center.

Not only is this route/configuration cheaper --the $500-600 million estimated cost is less than half of either of the tunnel options -- but there is minimal impact on total East Link ridership. And there would be no east/west traffic impacts during operation.

Although Sound Transit's proposed elevated design would impact a number of businesses along the route, these impacts can be minimized by placing the support piers on the east side of the 112th Avenue Northeast roadway. A variation of this alternative would be to run the line on the surface, which would further reduce the cost, but with the imposition of some interference to east/west traffic during operation.

Clearly, an elevated or surface configuration along 112th Avenue Northeast is an attractive option to the costly tunnels proposed by some Bellevue City Council members.

-- David F. Plummer, Bellevue

Express-lane closure only the beginning

Everyone who is upset about the traffic snarl caused by the three-week closure of the I-90 express lanes ["HOV lanes closing on I-90 bridge," NWMonday, May 4] should think about the fact that they will be closed to all traffic for a much longer time while being converted to light rail.

And even when that is finished, we don't really know how many more light-rail passengers will be accommodated in those lanes than could be accommodated by express bus routes with special on/off ramps in conjunction with high-occupancy vehicles. So brace yourselves, Eastsiders.

-- Gary Ritzman, Mercer Island

High-capacity light rail will ease traffic

In his column on the Eastside light rail ["Eastside light-raid options should focus on mobility," Opinion, guest commentary, May 5], Michael Ennis says using the I-90 floating bridge for the route has two big challenges.

One is loss of the HOV lanes, reducing the capacity of the bridge for peak-direction buses and automobiles. If the rail system is doing its job, which is to be the high-capacity link, this will not be a big problem.

Light rail should attract a considerable percentage of people now using cars to reach major employment centers both in Seattle and the Eastside. Most buses should act as feeders to the rail line rather than running back and forth across the bridge. Sound Transit and King County Metro must work together as a system, particularly on this link. The rail line will have a much higher capacity than the two highway lanes it will replace, and it will be a two-way facility able to serve today's large reverse-direction flows.

Ennis is also concerned about stray electrical current from the rails, which might cause damage to steel components of the bridge. This really is a paper tiger because means to control such damage exist and are routinely employed on modern light-rail lines. Sound Transit has also cut the current in half by doubling the voltage to 1500V, compared to the 750V used on most light-rail lines and the Seattle Streetcar. Rubber components in the rail mountings will both reduce vibrations transmitted to the bridge and electrically insulate the rails from it.

All the stakeholders must work together to create a good design for this long-overdue rail connection between Seattle and the Eastside. It will be very expensive and construction will be seriously disruptive, as it always is. The existing bridge is an opportunity to reduce the cost and risk involved in this project.

-- John Aurelius, Indianola

Promises like witch's pearls

Chained as I know you are to the regional power brokers, it is not surprising (but still depressing) to read the drivel you put out in the Sunday Times: "Bellevue's Rail Vision" [Feb. 15, Editorial].

You almost got the title right -- you just left out a couple important modifiers. A better, more accurate title would have been: "Bellevue railroads citizens into poverty."

Times' reporter Katherine Long's previous Bel-Red propaganda bulletin ["Re-envisioning Bel-Red," page 1, Feb. 13] didn't get it right either. By carefully selecting the acolytes from Bellevue's development-driven power brokerage, she managed to find some in favor, yet all equally ignorant and uninformed about the city staff's and council's Bel-Red rescue plan.

It is a plan modeled after the federal government's rescue efforts following Hurricane Katrina -- a plan now being updated to include the government's convoluted, arcane "rescue plan" designed to impoverish current and future U.S. citizens.

Bellevue's Bel-Red rezone plan is not "smart growth," it is just warmed-over city building based on the city staff's and council's reading of Robert Moses' success in wreaking havoc on New York City. And, of course the nuts at Cascade Land Conservancy welcome this kind of interventionist-public policy with open arms because they seek to restrict public access to public lands.

Yes, Bellevue's so-called "leaders" are championing the Bel-Red rezone and Sound Transit's uneconomical, inflexible East Link transit scheme. And they are showering Bellevue citizens with promises, like the pearls from the witch's house in Grimm's "Hansel and Gretel."

But, rather than the fairy-tale characters' happy reunion with their father, Bellevue citizens can only look forward to increased taxes to pay for our "leaders'" bloated appetites.

Bellevue citizens have no say in the council's irrational plans because they have been left in the vast forest of nonsense created by the city council and their take-it-or-leave-it acolytes on the city staff.

Your refusal to print one single word of opposition to Bellevue's mind-boggling Bel-Red rezone plan, and your turncoat endorsement of Sound Transit's noncost-effective light-rail project shows how seriously your brains have been shrunk by the regional power brokers' vise.

Times readers are the poorer for their uninformed comments on important issues affecting the region's citizens.

-- David Plummer, Bellevue

Mike Siegel / The Seattle Times Mike Siegel / The Seattle Times

An aerial photo of Bellevue shows the Bel-Red corridor, between Bel-Red Road and Highway 520. The corridor, a 900-acre section of the city, is expected to be rezoned to allow dense urban development around future light-rail service.

A 21st century vision
for transportation, growth

Editor, The Times:

Last fall, even in the midst of a giant economic downturn, our region wisely chose to make a massive $17.8 billion investment in a 21st-century transportation vision because of the benefits we knew it would bring.

One of the touted benefits was the large amount of private capital investment the light-rail stations would bring in, and it looks like developers in the Bel-Red corridor got the message ("Re-envisioning Bel-Red," page one, Feb. 13).

In November, we loudly called for a new vision for transportation in our region. But like most bold, forward-looking visions, it can't be done with one vote for one mass-transit expansion. We also need to make sure those light-rail stations are surrounded with the high-density communities that will maximize the investment.

Bellevue is allowing higher-density zoning around these four new light-rail stations, but allowing and requiring are entirely different animals. The Transit-Oriented Communities bill (HB 1490) will ensure that the $17.8 billion investment we're making over the next 15 years is maximized by calling for high-density communities around our shiny new stations. Let's not just hope they get it right; let's get it right.

-- Kat Scott, Seattle

Streetcars would be better

The Seattle Times endorsement of the East Link proposal because of its role in enhancing development of the Bel-Red area is absurd.

The reality is that streetcars similar to those used near Lake Union would be far more suitable for that area. They would be more aesthetically appealing, allow more-frequent stops and avoid the need for any large station.

Sound Transit's current plans for East Link light rail will be an environment disaster along the route chosen through Bellevue and will doom the vast majority of Eastside residents who commute into Seattle to future gridlock because of loss of bridge center section.

-- Bill Hirt, Bellevue

A socioeconomic balance

Editor, The Times:

Regarding Katherine Long's article, "Re-envisioning Bel-Red" [Time, page one, Feb. 13], someone may want to ask the city how it plans to maintain or enhance the number of light-industrial jobs that could be displaced with this new development.

True sustainability is more than just preserving fish habitat and improving pedestrian amenities for those who can afford it. It's also about creating a socioeconomic balance that preserves industrial jobs close by, so that communities can be self-sustaining and transportation costs of people and products can be reduced.

-- Thomas Lunke, New York, N.Y.

Keep them new

If you wonder how important the park levy is for Bellevue, think of these noteworthy parks in notable cities: Grant Park in Chicago, Forest Park in St Louis, Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. These are well-designed, unique parks that are old. They look and feel old. In visiting, I have often thought what a beautiful place these parks must have been ["Bellevue Parks, Yes!," editorial, Oct. 10].

Compare that to the Bellevue parks. Look at Kelsey Creek Farm: Here you have an old homestead farm with its animals and two barns, yet it is beautiful, clean and well-maintained.

The Bellevue parks are an extension of our backyards. They are where our kids play ball, where our families have picnics and where we often hold special events, like weddings.

The Bellevue parks levy will allow Bellevue to continue to maintain its parks as it has done over the past 50 years due to previous park levies. Our current park levy is running out. Without continued funding we'll have limited maintenance and growth. We'll find it hard to keep up the high standard of maintenance that we now expect, or to preserve the few green spaces left in our rapidly growing city.

-- Lynne Robinson, Bellevue

Two less words
Democratic congressional candidate Darcy Burner is absolutely correct in stating that, "people are playing stupid semantic gotcha games" over her not really having a degree in economics from Harvard even though she was quoted twice in public as saying, "I loved economics so much that I got a degree in it from Harvard."

The only problem here is that Burner is the one playing the "stupid semantics game," or as most of us would view it, outright lying to the electorate about her academic qualifications.

Burner's double talking, after the fact reminds very much of former President Bill Clinton's now famous statement about what is the meaning of is?

If Burner was really so pressed for time at the debates on Oct. 8 and Oct. 10, all she had to say was, "I loved economics so much that I minored in it at Harvard."

This simple statement actually uses two less words than her original fabricated statement. If every word really mattered and she was really so pressed for time at the two debates, all she needed to do was to tell the truth.

-- Stephen Kramer, Tacoma

But he has an A.A.
Now that you have described Democratic congressional candidate Darcy Burner's Harvard computer science degree, with only "an emphasis in economics," to be an "exaggeration" in a front page expose, please follow up with a story about U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert's qualifications based on his Associate of Arts degree from Concordia Lutheran College.

Personally, if I were hiring a U.S. representative and the candidates' resumes listed a bachelor's degree from Harvard vs. an A.A. degree from some obscure college that requires Wikipedia research to locate, the choice would be Burner.

-- Bill Taylor, Renton

Not an exaggeration
As recent Harvard graduates, we have a shocking revelation we would like to share with your readers: Democratic congressional candidate Darcy Burner may have received a degree from Harvard in 1996, but she was neither a computer-science major nor an economics minor, and she was certainly not both ["Darcy Burner's claims of a Harvard econ degree an exaggeration," News, Oct. 22].

The terminology our university uses can be tricky. Graduates of Harvard College (which is part of Harvard University, but actually predates it), receive artium baccalaureus (A.B.) degrees, also known as Bachelor of Arts in English, and instead of majors, we have concentrations. We call teaching assistants "teaching fellows." And despite last year's addition of secondary fields, there was and is still nothing called a minor at Harvard.

As her profile on The Seattle Times' Web site correctly states, Burner's education is, "Harvard University, B.A. in computer science with a special field of economics, 1996." And as she explains on her own Web site, at Harvard, Burner "earned a degree in computer science and economics." There is no contradiction here, no exaggeration, and certainly no lying.

At Harvard, we have joint concentrations, which are like double majors. As of this year, we also have primary and secondary fields, which is like a major and a minor. And to make matters even more confusing, when Burner was at Harvard, the computer-science department required students to choose an area of specialization. Burner chose economics. As a result, Burner completed five upper-level economics courses, in addition to significant course work in computer science and mathematics. Burner's course of study was almost certainly more intensive than that of the majority of economics concentrators at Harvard.

Voters in Washington's 8th Congressional District have more important issues to worry about than the terms in use at Harvard. We hope that The Seattle Times recommits itself to investigating issues that really matter as the election draws near.

-- Jean Yang, Cambridge, Mass., and Seth Flaxman, Switzerland

Agenda's blocking my view
Nice scoop.
Let's put a front-page story on a slight discrepancy in Democratic congressional candidate Darcy Burner's bio regarding her economics education. We'll call it an "exaggeration" in the headline and imply some major character flaw.

At the same time, let's bury a major broken campaign promise from gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi in the Local News section, even though it is one of the major platforms on which he is running. That way you can tilt the direction of both races so it wills out along your endorsements.

Next time you consider placement of your stories maybe you can ask yourselves the question: "Which one will impact our reader's lives more?" And then try to answer that question honestly without your agenda getting in the way.

-- Dave Leitch, Sammamish

Be consistent
I was thrilled and encouraged by your endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama for president ["The endorsement game: how the process works," Editorial column, Sept. 21].

You stated that Obama is "a little young, but brilliant."

You further stated that if he seems "brainy and professorial, that's OK. We need the leader of the free world to think things through, carefully."

And, you contend, that "on numerous issues, from media consolidation to health care, Obama… makes up for a thin resume with integrity, judgment and fresh ideas."

I wholeheartedly agree.

Yet, there is another candidate in Washington who you have overlooked.

That candidate is also "young, but brilliant", and "thinks things through carefully" and "makes up for a thin resume with integrity, judgment and fresh ideas.

I am therefore confused and disappointed that you did not extend your logic and endorse the congressional candidate who possesses the identical qualities as Obama: Darcy Burner for Congress.

Burner is definitely "brilliant. " She has "fresh ideas," and she is also in step with Obama's positions on the war, education, energy and the economy. Burner has proposed a detailed plan for moving the troops out of Iraq, which was part of your rationale for endorsing Obama.

If we truly want change in Washington, we need Burner to work for it. I have no doubt that, if elected, she will do just that.
-- Kathy Rule, Mercer Island

Do it right
Regarding Monday's editorial on the case for an eight-lane Highway 520 bridge ["The new 520 bridge: a case for 8 lanes," editorial, Oct. 6], I question the source of your expert opinion.

Engineers say that an eight-lane alternative will not improve congestion because traffic will clog up once Highway 520 reaches Interstate 5. You offer Eastside road planner James MacIsaac's "solution": two lanes of traffic could be peeled off at Montlake. But anyone who has tried to exit westbound Highway 520 at Montlake during afternoon rush hour knows that the line can snake back to the middle of the bridge because of slow traffic on Montlake.

In the same section of your paper is a story about inflated cost estimates put forward by foes of the light-rail ballot initiative. It turns out that the person providing these exaggerated numbers is none other than the same James MacIsaac. It seems that MacIsaac is not a reliable source of objective information.

Perhaps your editorial would have been more credible had you consulted an actual transportation engineer, or at least someone who does not appear to have a strongly pro-roads, anti-transit agenda.

Certainly, strategic highway improvements, such as lengthening merges by adding collector-distributor lanes, can really improve congestion by making it easier and safer for traffic to maintain constant speeds as vehicles enter and exit the freeway. But just throwing extra lanes on Highway 520 doesn't seem right.
-- Jamie Strausz-Clark, Seattle