This editorial will appear in Friday’s print edition.

A decision by the Federal Railroad Administration on the controversial Point Defiance Bypass is great for Amtrak. But it could be an economic blow to the future of several South Sound communities and add to the transportation nightmare thousands of commuters already face every day.

And it’s all to shave a few minutes off of Amtrak trains’ time between Seattle and Portland, and run a few more trains on that route. That’s an unacceptable tradeoff.

On Monday, the FRA gave the go-ahead to the $89 million bypass project that would reroute Amtrak trains from along the Puget Sound shoreline through South Tacoma, Lakewood and DuPont. A three-year study found that the project – which would extend by 3.5 miles the rail line now used by the Sounder train to Lakewood – would not adversely affect the environment.

Perhaps, but sending high-speed trains down tracks that cross at-grade intersections would certainly lead to accidents, huge traffic disruptions and economic impacts, especially to Read more »

This editorial will appear in Friday’s print edition.

Tacoma’s two Alcohol Impact Areas – where merchants are prohibited from selling certain cheap, high-octane beverages – have had success in decreasing public drunkenness within their boundaries.

But the success is only partial if they’re just pushing that problem into other parts of the city.

That’s apparently what’s happened since formation of the Urban Core District in 2001 and the Lincoln District in 2008. Many of the chronic inebriates who can no longer buy their mind-numbing rotgut head north or west into neighborhoods that aren’t in either AIA. Alcohol-related police calls have risen there as have emergency medical calls – which often are for people who have passed out drunk.

The problem has residents in the North End and the West End now seeking approval for their own AIA.

Tough luck, South Tacoma and University Place. If the Tacoma City Council gives the go-ahead for its third and geographically largest AIA, and the state Liquor Control Board agrees to it, your neighborhoods will be next in line for the overflow – and the problems that go along with that, including increased panhandling, homeless camping and public intoxication. Read more »

This editorial will appear in Thursday’s print edition.

Here’s something you don’t hear a lot of Washington residents saying:

“Sure wish we had more billboards cluttering up the landscape – especially the big, really bright kind you can hardly take your eyes off of.”

These signs don’t have a lot of fans among the public, who tend to view them as visual blight. So it’s hard to figure out who, exactly, state lawmakers are trying to please in sponsoring House Bill 1408 and Senate Bill 5304, which would let cities approve electronic billboards along state highways that cross their boundaries. (State Sen. Tracey Eide, D-Federal Way, is the only South Sound legislator among the co-sponsors.) Read more »

This editorial will appear in Wednesday’s print edition.

Come fall, the Chihuly chandelier in the University of Washington Tacoma library will have some competition in attracting visitors to the campus.

That’s when a major leg of Tacoma’s Prairie Line Trail is scheduled to open, turning the old railroad track bed that bisects the UWT into a place for walking, biking and imparting a little information about the area’s history.

Toward that last function, Gerald Tsutakawa has been commissioned to create a bronze sculpture for the trail memorializing the Japanese community that once lived in the area and the Japanese Language School they attended. The trail will include spaces for future placement of historic markers.

That’s important because of the role the Prairie Rail Line played in Tacoma’s formative years: It became the western terminus of the Northern Pacific Railway in 1873.

The UWT’s plan for its part of the trail – arrived at after much listening to the public’s wants and concerns – is simple, yet inviting, incorporating remnants of the old rail line, including the tracks and signals.

The Portland-based design firm Place is handling the $4 million project and has also been hired by the City of Tacoma to design its part of the trail.

Eventually the trail will link the Brewery District, UWT, the Museum District and the Thea Foss Waterway. The goal is to connect that trail with the planned 6.5-mile Water Ditch Trail from downtown to South Tacoma. This urban trail system promises to be an attraction for residents and visitors alike.
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As a Museum of Glass member, I get regular emails about what’s going on there. Today’s email had a link to MOG’s live hot shop cam, which I wasn’t aware was available.

Here’s the link. Scroll down and the site gives you a way to ask questions of the artist. Currently in the hot shop is Raven Skyriver, winner of the 2012 Red Hot People’s and Artist’s Choice Awards.  He’ll be speaking at the museum at 2 p.m. Sunday.

According to MOG, “Raven is inspired by his upbringing on the San Juan Islands . . . and influenced by …

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Tacoma’s coming to the big screen, and maybe not in a great way.

The New York Times had a blurb today about a new movie, “Blue Caprice,” that is getting very good reviews at the Sundance Film Festival. Click here to go to the film’s website. It’s about the relationship of the Beltway Snipers – John A. Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo. The former is portrayed by “Grey’s Anatomy” alum Isaiah Washington, whom the Times describes as “ferociously magnetic” as Muhammad.

Apparently much of the film is about their time in Tacoma, but I can’t tell from the publicity …

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This editorial will appear in Thursday’s print edition.

When South Sound lawmakers talk about their legislative priorities, near the top is finishing state Route 167 – the six-mile Port of Tacoma bypass. But completing the SR 167 extension has been a priority for more than two decades. It’s time to stop talking about it and get moving on it.

With competition growing from Canadian ports and a widened Panama Canal threatening to take shipping business away, Washington lawmakers and local business interests recognize how important it is to get trucks quickly between the port and points east.

The Washington State Department of Transportation refers to the $1.5 billion SR 167 extension as “a critical missing link in the state’s highway network.” Besides moving trucks more efficiently, the freight corridor also would take a lot of big semis out of heavy Interstate 5 traffic, decreasing accidents and rush-hour gridlock. Read more »

We’re now more than a week into the stalemate between Tacoma’s Click Network and Fisher Broadcasting, owner of KOMO (the ABC affiliate airing on Channel 4 locally).

Their dispute – over how much Click will pay Fisher to air KOMO and four other channels that I don’t get so I don’t care about – means Click customers are only getting the message at right on their screens when they turn to Channel 4.

For the latest news story, click here.
I don’t know about other Click customers, but I’ve found that I’m getting along just fine without KOMO. …

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