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An excerpt from STNI: The Chicken or the Egg

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As many of you know, my day job is working with SeaTacNoise.Info. We have an upcoming documentary on the community history of Sea-Tac Airport. I'll be publishing a series of 'excerpts' and here is Part I: The Chicken or the Egg--1949-1990, which basically answers the questions: Who was here first? And: How did we let an airport so close to so many people get so big?...

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Court Lobby December 8, 2022

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This is the event referenced in my censure. Except that no one voting saw it. Because though the event occurred in December of 2022, I was only able to obtain it five months later. The rest of the charges were a fabrication. Employee complaints should be taken seriously for sure. But facts should more more. And this event should be taken particularly seriously because it represents the culture of the current government. We currently lack any semblance of evidence-based decision making. Council-Manager-Government, which has none of the guard rails of County, State and Federal governments, cannot work properly without it. In practical terms: this event is a microcosm of how all our decisions are currently being made. Fixing this process, making every decision based on facts and not on personalities, will make every decision better....

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Weekly Update: 04/16/2023

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April 13 Meeting had something for everyone, including

  • Drones, not Fireworks
  • Zoning along 216th and Central Des Moines
  • The Citizens Advisory Committee
  • The Marina Steps
  • Bonds for Marina stuff
  • Redondo Fishing Pier
  • Your taxes?
You should definitely read the packet, watch the meeting. The follow-up questions I've received make it clear that people are not understanding what is going on....

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Weekly Update: 04/09/2023

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The April 13 Meeting will have something for everyone, including

  • Fireworks
  • Zoning along 216th and Central Des Moines
  • The Citizens Advisory Committee
  • The Marina Steps
  • Redondo Fishing Pier
  • Your taxes?
You should definitely read the packet, write the City Council and show up!...

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City Currents Spring 2023 – Less politics, more cooperation, please

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A response to the Mayor's recent editorial in the City Currents Magazine where he again uses that forum to make the case for his policy preferences. I reject using public money to promote a political agenda. He goes on to scold the public for not being more supportive of the City's Marina and economic development plans. I offer some notes on how our downtown got to where it is and some practical suggestions for improving the downtown and Marina without spending millions of dollars....

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Ad Hoc Rules of Procedure Meeting #3 Post-game

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The third Ad Hoc Rules of Procedure meeting was, in some ways, the most chilling yet. It began with an argument over recording the meeting and went downhill from there. I strongly urge people to listen to 20:00 where the City Attorney uses a recent Supreme Court case to argue that the Council has an unlimited right to censure a member for basically any reason it chooses--including displaying any form of 'dissent' following the meeting or any form of 'criticism' of staff'. Though the term 'staff' was left undefined. There was also a lengthy discussion on 'hats'. As the kids say, "Mask off."...

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