Cascadia Report

Vancouver port gets expansion OK

The Vancouver Port Authority got approval for another expansion of its massive container-ship facility, bolstering Vancouver's long-term lead over other Cascadia ports.

The expansion would add another berth to the Deltaport facility, located on a man-made peninsula about 25 miles south of central Vancouver. Cargo is shipped by rail directly from the dock to destinations around Canada and the U.S.

The health of the ports matters because of the jobs and investment they generate (Vancouver estimates it now accounts for 69,000 jobs). Here's an earlier story I wrote about Vancouver's competitiveness compared to other Cascadia ports.

State considers limiting campaign donations

A state commission is considering limitating political donations by companies, unions and trade groups in order to lessen their control over elections.

Current rules say groups can spend as much as they want on executive or court races but individuals are limited to $2,800. Special-interest groups, often with names that mask their geographical location or political ties, have spent $2.7 million on state races so far this year, mostly on the nasty primary races for state supreme court.

Initiative campaigns are another story. So far, an initiative to repeal state zoning rules, I-933, has attracted $2.3 million for and against. A national group called Americans for Limited Government donated $260,000 to support I-933, which would require governments to either pay property owners for hindering development on their land or exempt them from zoning rules.

Democrats will need wider margins to win

New polls show Senator Maria Cantwell heading toward reelection and Darcy Burner in a tie with the incumbent congressman. The polls, while encouraging to supporters of the two Democrats, aren't enough.

Consider this week's New York Times Magazine story about how Republicans are using a database of voting-age residents to turn out more sympathetic voters. The system worked in Ohio in 2004 and recently won elections in Rhode Island and California that polls had suggested would be closer.

The system has since been expanded nationwide with more comprehensive data, Republican Chairman Ken Mehlman said. Precinct canvassers use Google Earth to map their routes with ever-more precision. "In Ohio, in '04, we got the tip of the iceberg," Mehlman is quoted as saying. "What we did over the last two years is we got the entire iceberg."

If the elections here are close, that turnout machine could determine the outcome.

Seattle health-care cuts echo BC's

The Seattle area may close two of its 10 main public health centers to balance ballooning health-care costs and the burden of uninsured residents.

The potential cuts are reminiscent of recent restructuring of the healthcare system in British Columbia, which resulted in public hospital closures and curtailed services.

Seattle's cuts threaten to erode the public safety net while shifting costs to the emergency rooms where patients may end up. It's not clear the moves would do anything to rein in soaring costs overall or make the region healthier. Similarly, British Columbia's attempts to manage rising costs helped undermine the public-health system and stimulate the growth of private health care. Was the trade-off worth it?

Washington company puts wrench in U.S.-Canada trade

The U.S. and Canada recently agreed to end their dispute over the trade of lumber. So it's perfect timing for a Washington company to file a new lawsuit on the issue.

Merrill & Ring Forestry of Port Angeles filed a complaint under NAFTA over Canada's refusal to let it export logs from the 8,000 acres on Vancouver Island that it has owned for a century. The suit claims damages of at least US$25 million at the hands of the Canadian government, which owns most of the country's forests and heavily regulates privately owned land.

The larger battle over lumber has cost both countries financially and in job terms. For example, Weyerhaueser said it paid $366 million in duties to export lumber from its land in Canada to the U.S. between March 2002 and Dec. 2005. That total includes $21 million in legal and other related expenses, according a company report. The duties were a factor in the company's 2005 decision to sell the British Columbia coastal lumber business, which was hard hit by the duties and has seen a steady dwindling of jobs as a result.

Border-tightening plan delayed

The U.S. delayed tough new passport rules that would have stifled Cascadia trade and tourism ahead of the 2010 Olympics.

Rules would have required Canadians to carry passports in order to cross the U.S. border beginning Jan. 1, 2008. On Tuesday, U.S. House and Senate negotiators decided to delay the requirement until June 2009. President Bush still needs to approve the delay, which is part of a $35 billion Homeland Security bill that includes fences and other steps along the Mexican border.

The delay is a victory for business groups and the Washington and British Columbia governments, which have been pushing for an alternative security system such as tamper-proof driver's licenses.

Surface replacement for viaduct more likely

Replacing Seattle's viaduct freeway with a package of surface roads and transit is looking more likely.

The City Council did the right thing last Friday by voting to replace the viaduct with a tunnel -- and suggesting a package of surface improvements as a fall-back option. They had the option of putting the issue to a public vote, which would have been divisive and simply delayed any solution. Instead they correctly realized that if voters are unhappy they can vote them out of office. But will the people who write angry letters to newspapers remember the decision?

Regardless, the state holds most purse strings for the state-highway project, which could cost $4.8 billion. Gov. Gregoire said Monday that she hasn't decided if supports a tunnel but doesn't want gas taxes to pay for it. That leaves tolls as a financing mechanism. Unfortunately the state's studies show that tolls won't work because there are many other routes and unused road capacity around downtown.

It's time to get serious about removing the viaduct before it collapses in the next earthquake. It's time, more importantly, to start fixing the bottlenecks on I-5 and around downtown that make people think a tunnel or new viaduct is the only sensible option.

Grants awarded to boost port security

Several ports and transit agencies in Cascadia are getting federal money to improve security, part of $400 million in grants nationwide. Washington's windfall was announced Monday by Rep. Dave Reichert (R, WA-8th), who faces a strong reelection challenge.

The Ports of Seatle and Tacoma will get about $10 million for "perimeter security." The Port of Olympia gets $327,000 to pay for access card readers. Another $2.9 million is going to Sound Transit, King County Metro and Washington State Ferries for security on light rail to Sea-Tac, the downtown transit tunnel and the Seattle docks.

Unfortunately, specifics on how the money would be used weren't announced.

More than five years after Sept. 11 the gaping holes in port infrastructure have been widely reported. For example, it's possible to drive a truck to the docks in Seattle without identification and reportedly less than 5 percent of all containers entering U.S. ports are checked. In April, 22 stowaways were found inside a container, a day after it arrived at the Port of Seattle.

Border clogged in security scare

The British Columbia-Washington border was effectively closed Sunday when about 60 Canadian guards walked away from their posts after hearing that a murder suspect was approaching. The closure of four border crossings clogged traffic for several hours.

U.S. Homeland Security warned the Canadian police that the "armed and dangerous" criminal was heading north from California and might try to cross the border. The unarmed Canadian guards have the right to leave duty if they believe their safety is threatened.

Canadian border guards have walked away from their posts about 50 times in the last year because of safety threats, including seven or eight times in B.C., according to the head of the border-workers' union. "I'm very sorry it has to happen,'' George Scott of the Customs Excise Union told CanWest News. ''But people are entitled to do a work refusal if they feel they're in danger.''

The Canadian government plans to arm the border guards starting in 2007 but has said it will take about 10 years to fully implement the plan.

Worthwhile reads from Sunday's newspapers

1. Anyone who's driven through Cascadia's forests this summer has noticed stands of drying trees and the hundreds of thousands of acres of wildfires. This thoughtful front-page story in The Seattle Times examines the link between climate change and the infestation of pine beatles that has killed trees and left the forests easy prey for wildfire. The effect is very real: the Tripod Complex fire in Okanogan County covered an area three times the size of Seattle and cost $82 million to fight.

2. Oregon habitually spends 99 cents of every tax dollar, but has no buffer and relies on income taxes, which quickly dwindle in an economic downturn. The result is a fiscal roller coaster that hurts schools, the public health system and long-term investment. Coming up with a more stable system is a mainstream politicial issue for the first time, according to this report in The Oregonian, the first in a series.

3. The battle to represent Washington's 8th congressional district is heating up, with a flurry of TV and direct-mail ads. Democrat Darcy Burner and Republican incumbant Dave Reichert have reserved $3.6 million in TV ads, according to the report.

4. National forests in Washington and Oregon are planning to close, shorten seasons or impose new fees at campgrounds, trailheads and other facilities to reflect cuts in funding under President Bush's 2007 budget. It's hard to argue with some modest usage fees. But why should recreational users -- who generally have a small impact on the forests -- take an increasingly large hit while logging is broadly subsidized by the government?

5. While Vancouver International Airport continues its expansion as Cascadia's largest international gateway, several smaller Lower Mainland airports are starting ambitious growth plans of their own. Langley, Pitt Meadows, Boundary Bay and Abbottsford International all plan expansion projects that could generate jobs and business for their communities. New terminals and runways could allow passenger service to Vancouver Island, Calgary, Seattle, Portland and Spokane.

Portland's financing method should be copied

The financing of Portland's massive redevelopment south of downtown, detailed in Willamette Week here, is an example of how to partner government and private industry on large-scale development.

The South Waterfront project is turning a huge swath of formerly industrial land along the Willamette River into condos and offices. Public investment in the project totals $195 million, including $74 million that is supposed to be paid back by future property taxes. Much of the cost is to extend the city's streetcar, build a tram up the hill to a university, and add parks and affordable housing. Private developers have also committed $70 million, according to the article.

For similar projects to happen in Washington, the same funding mechanism, called tax-increment financing, needs to be authorized. Business groups have pushed the issue and are likely to raise it again in the legislature.

Portland's project faces criticism because so far there's less demand for all the planned condos and offices than when the plan started. Still it makes sense for government to lead private investment in this sort of development. The result could be well-designed communities with open space, adequate transit infrastructure and future costs already built into the plan.

Primary results excite Democrats

The primary election vote totals in Washington's 8th district have Democrats excited about gaining a seat in Congress but it's way too early for them to celebrate.

As of late Friday, Democrat Darcy Burner led incumbent Rep. Dave Reichert by 1,288 votes out of a total 86,038. Since voters had to declare a party affiliation in order to vote, the results suggest that there is broad support for Democrats in the district. In 2004 the suburban Seattle district voted Democrat for president and U.S. Senate but also for Reichert. It earlier elected Republican Jennifer Dunn to Congress six times.

Democrats say Burner did well in the Republican-leaning rural part of the district and is "virtually assured victory" if she does the same in November. Republicans point out why it's too early to annoint a winner. In 2004, three Democratic candidates got a total 9,027 more votes than the four Republican candidates. But Reichert won by 5 percentage points in November.

Alaska politics draws regional attention

Southeast Alaska is part of Cascadia but the area gets little attention from the media in Vancouver, Seattle and Portland. That's why it's nice to see a front-page story about Alaska's politics in Friday's Seattle Times.

A scandal around the oil industry and debate about how much special treatment that industry should get from the state government threatens a big turnover in the November elections. Already the governor lost a reelection bid in the primary.

Rising costs to reshape election debate

A series of higher cost estimates for road projects and a statewide initiative should reshape the debate on each.

The cost of replacing the waterfront viaduct with another overhead freeway or a tunnel rose by about $1 billion each, thanks to calculations assuming a higher inflation rate and costlier materials, according to the state Department of Transportation. Official estimates of the cost to replace the 520 floating bridge rose by more than 40 percent.

Since there's not enough funding for either project, chances are that other options will be considered. In the case of the viaduct, replacing it with a combination of surface streets and improved transit suddenly looks even more sensible.

Meanwhile the state's Office of Financial Management estimated that Inititative 933, the so-called property rights measure, would cost cities, counties and the state up to $8 billion. The initiative would require governments to compensate landowners who feel they have been financially harmed by zoning and other regulations. If governments don't pay they would have to waive the regulations.

Early conclusions from the elections

The races for supreme court were the closest in Tuesday's primary election. Thanks to absentee ballots, the final results likely won't be known for days. Meanwhile here's a report on one challenger for U.S. senate:

Hong Tran, who was getting less than 4 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary against Senator Maria Cantwell, plans run for office again, according to this post on David Postman's Seattle Times blog. She sounds like she's got lots of potential targets.

She says Darcy Burner, who's challenging Rep. Dave Reichert in the 8th district, is getting national attention because she's well off. Seattle Rep. Jim McDermott isn't doing enough to represent the city and could use a challenge. And she plans to write an article about "how undemocratic the Democratic Party really is," according to the post.

Olympics organizers need more money

Backers of the 2010 Olympics are looking for another C$200 million in corporate sponsorships to cover the growing cost to host the games. The organizing committee says it still plans to meet its swelling budget.

The British Columbia government was slammed for underestimating the games' costs by about C$1 billion, according to a report last week by the province's auditor general. The report alleges that mismanagement is costing the province hundreds of millions of dollars in marketing income and that the cost of hosting the games will continue to rise.

Council should take a stand on viaduct

The state wants to know if Seattle prefers replacing the earthquake-damaged viaduct (otherwise known as State Route 99) or building a waterfront tunnel. But it seems that the Seattle City Council may punt the question to voters. That would be a mistake.

Any solution needs statewide financing and a tunnel likely costs about $1 billion more than other options. Politicians who don't see the need to pay for a gold-plated roadway in Seattle oppose it and the governor, who certainly faces a tough reelection battle in 2008, must be sensitive.

A better option is replacing the viaduct with better surface roads and improved transit. The state already has a thorough plan to keep traffic flowing during the several years that any viaduct-replacement project requires. Why not add to those measures permanently? While it's true that a larger city will need more transportation infrastructure, fixes like a more extensive city streetcar system and a remodeled I-5 could meet the demand.

The bottom line is that the city council needs to make this hard decision. Seattle doesn't need a costly and divisive election battle -- ala the monorail project -- leading up to a vote. Making tough decisions for the long-term future of the city is the council's job.

Vancouver airport to expand Asia business

Vancouver's airport wants to double the size of its freight-handling operation to meet growing demand for shipments between Asia and North America.

The airport has been expanding its passenger facilities and now has the most flights from Cascadia to Asia and Europe. The latest expansion plan would provide the same boost for the cargo business.

For-sale elections system needs fixing

A defeat of the chief justice of Washington's supreme court in tomorrow's election would be another victory for well-financed special interests. Preventing such an outcome should top the state's election reform to-do list.

Anyone who watches cable TV has likely seen the personal-attack ads in support of Redmond property-rights lawyer John Groen. Most of the $1.6 million spent on his campaign comes from the Building Industry Association of Washington, an essentially Republican organization whose purpose is to gut regulations, no matter the level of public support. Rather than attack the court's decisions, the ads malign the personality of Chief Justice Gerry Alexander, a 12-year court veteran who has the endorsements of most of the state's newspapers but far less money.

Groen gained financial advantage by taking large campaign donations after a law limiting those contributions was passed but before it went into effect. He is reportedly the only supreme court candidate this year who didn't uphold the intent of that money-limit law. The building association has run "independent" efforts to support the campaign since.

Washington shouldn't allow any single interest to buy an election, regardless of ideology. Money can't be eliminated from politics but a public system to maintain balance might help. An organization pushing the idea is Washington Public Campaigns, which cites successful examples of such a system in other states. Publicly financing just supreme court races would reportedly cost $4 million.

But reform shouldn't stop there. The state needs to set higher standards for elections in each of the 39 counties, guaranteeing equal implementation. It also needs to raise the hurdles for passage of citizen initiatives, which are often financed by special-interest groups that hire paid signature gatherers to put them on the ballot.

State needs to meet demand for tech workers

Washington isn't generating enough computer scientists and other technology workers to meet growing demand from industry here, according to this long Seattle Times story.

The state estimates that there will be 30,000 openings for computer specialists in the next decade, yet only a few hundred students graduate here each year with the necessary training, the story says. To meet the demand, tech companies want a series of educational reforms, including more funding for the the main research universities, creation of a new one to serve more students, and improved science K-12 education.

On the other hand, the head of WashTech, the state's largest union of tech workers, seems to dispute the need. He's quoted as saying that Microsoft and other powerful companies are trying to create an oversupply of workers to force down wages, and want to justify hiring foreign workers and outsourcing of jobs.

Seattle loses cruise line to Vancouver

A major operator of Alaska cruises will move from Seattle to Vancouver next year, reversing a trend toward more cruises from the U.S. city.

The Celebrity Cruises ship will be based in Vancouver because it's closer to Alaska. As a result, Vancouver will gain another 35,000 passengers passing through its airport, hotels and businesses.

In 2007, Seattle expects about 750,000 cruise passengers and Vancouver expects more than 900,000.

Election will test troubled voting system

King County is about to have another test of its troubled voting system. Meanwhile the elections department is without a leader and the county council is still debating whether the post should be appointed or elected.

The county should appoint a qualified leader for the elections department who takes the job seriously. But my recent experience with absentee ballots suggests that, thankfully, there's been some improvement since the rollercoaster recount in the race for governor two years ago.

When I moved back to Seattle earlier this year, I notified the county and mailed a notorized cancellation to the elections department in New York. I recently got an absentee ballot addressed to me at home in Seattle and another at my mother's house in the suburbs. The one at my home was clearly labeled as correct and included explanation -- in English and Chinese -- specifying that only that second ballot would be counted.

I expected a mix-up and there's still a possibility of trouble when the vote-counting starts. There's at least one report of an erroneoulsy mailed ballot from King County. But my experience makes me feel more confident that at least the ballots are getting out. That's a step in the right direction.

New high-speed rail a model for Cascadia

Amtrak trains in Pennsylvania will begin traveling at up to 110 miles an hour next month, the fastest American run outside the Washington, D.C.-Boston corridor.

The new service cuts travel times between Philadelphia and Harrisburg to 90 minutes from about two hours -- considerably faster than driving. The $145 million project includes new rails, which allow a smoother ride, and cleaner electric trains. Amtrak plans to add trains to meet the bump in ridership that's likely with the improved service.

In Cascadia, the governments of Washington, Oregon and British Columbia need to move faster to meet growing demand for an efficient way to move around the region. Train ridership between Vancouver, Seattle and Portland has soared along with improved service in recent years. But going by train is still slower and less convenient than driving.

Plans call for gradually improving infrastructure along the route in order to add frequency and speed the trips. By about 2013, eight trains a day would run between Seattle and Portland in three hours, and three trains would run between Seattle and Vancouver in 3:30. Currently there are no plans to add trains or cut travel-times between Seattle and Vancouver before the 2010 Olympics.

Another sign of region's robust economy

The unemployment rates in Washington and Oregon dipped a tenth of a percentage point in August, another sign of Cascadia's robust economy.

In Washington the unemployment rate fell to 5.2 percent and in Oregon to 5.5 percent. Last week British Columbia reported that its rate fell to 4.7 percent -- near a 30-year low.

The job market, which is stronger here than in the whole of either country, is likely one reason for tight real estate markets across the region. Yet the picture varied depending on location. In Washington, the Seattle area's rate fell to 3.9 percent, down from 4.2 percent in July. But Ferry county's rate was 8.8 percent.

Democrats shouldn't bank on lead in new poll

Senator Maria Cantwell widened her lead over Republican challenger Mike McGavick to 17 percentage points, according to a new poll. Yet it's too soon for Democrats to count on victory.

The Rasmussen poll conducted on Sept. 6 showed her lead widened from 6 points three weeks earlier. During that time she ramped up her TV advertising and McGavick suffered a self-inflicted wound over his botched confessional. That 11-point change shows there's still ample time for another wide swing before election day.

Remember that at this time two years ago now-Gov. Gregoire held a small lead over Republican Dino Rossi, after a competitive primary race. That gap closed, of course, and Gregoire won by 129 votes only after a lengthy hand recount and court challenge.

Trade agreement to be signed today

The U.S. and Canada are set to sign an agreement today to end the long-running dispute over softwood lumber. A negotiated settlement beats wasting more money on lawyers' fees, but it won't be the end of the issue.

Under the deal, legal proceedings would be dropped and the U.S. would repay about 80 percent of the duties it has collected on Canadian lumber imported into the U.S. Instead, Canadian exporters would have a quota that is linked to their market share in the U.S.

A move to alleviate a key source of trade friction between the U.S. and Canada is big news. Unfortunately the agreement won't solve the underlying problem because Canada has abundant low-cost government-owned trees and U.S. consumers demand inexpensive wood.

There is still significant opposition to the deal, which would be open for renegotiation within a couple of years. Canada has won a string of judgements under the NAFTA and WTO tribunals and many Canadians resent caving in to the U.S. It also still needs to be ratified by parliament, where it's part of a larger political-power struggle.

Tacoma may set development example

Tacoma may set an example for the region if it decides to go ahead with redevelopment of a historical building into a for-profit hotel rather than low-income housing.

The city council is set to decide on Tuesday if a private developer can proceed with plans to turn the 80-year-old Winthrop Hotel building into a new four-star hotel. The project would anchor other development in the north end of downtown, much like several museum projects did in the south end.

Of course, more affordable housing is needed throughout Cascadia. But the best way to get it is by increasing overall supply, not by sacrificing historical opportunities.

In Tacoma, the Winthrop was transformed into low-income housing as an urban renewal project in the 1960s but that obviously didn't solve the housing crunch. If it's returned to its previous stature, creating more pedestrian traffic and all-hours business activity, other residential development is sure to follow.

Cascadia unemployment still near record lows

British Columbia's strong economy kept the unemployment rate at 4.7 percent in August, near a 30-year low, according to a report Friday. Along with robust employment in the U.S. Northwest, the data suggest that Cascadia's economy remains stronger than in either country as a whole.

Vancouver's unemployment rate was 3.9 percent and Victoria's was 3 percent -- Canada's lowest. The national rate was 6.5 percent. Across B.C., construction and trades jobs increased in number while manufacturing and government shed jobs.

The Seattle area had an unemployment rate of 4.1 percent in July, compared to 4.8 percent nationwide. The latest Washington rates will be released this week.

canada pushing adoption of trade agreement

Canada's national government is pushing the provinces to accept the lumber trade deal it negotiated with the U.S., despite wide differences among the regions.

To uphold the deal, which would limit Canadian exports, British Columbia will impose an export tax when prices fall below a set level. Agreement on the deal is reportedly assured now that former opponents in Quebec dropped their objection as part of a wider bid for influence in the national government.

Even with passage of the deal, the dispute between lumber producers in both countries is likely to continue. Among the reasons: the slowdown in the U.S. housing market will reduce demand, making imposed taxes and caps especially onerous.

Ferries catching on as congestion grows

Cities nationwide are expanding ferry services and adding incentives to lure passengers amid increasing traffic congestion on land, according to an article in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal (reprint here). Washington's ferries are mentioned for testing programs to sell tickets online and automatically debiting the cost of monthly passes.

Miami, Washington, D.C., Honolulu and San Francisco are among the cities that have definite plans to expand ferry service, often with private companies. Hurdles include higher costs than other kinds of transit and poor connections between the docks and where people work. Yet the story cites a 4.5 percent increase in traffic in the last year on the Seattle-Bremerton run as part of a national trend.

Locally, ferries are still mostly considered an extension of the highway system. To serve more people, the state needs to look at more ways to encourage walk-on passengers instead of cars and encourage more frquent use. Market forces should be harnessed wherever possible, including by curbing subsidies for roads that compete with ferry service.

Meanwhile Kitsap County wants to add passenger service to Seattle but first needs to pass a tax to subsidize a broad system. The additional service would have regional impact, for example by connecting to cities such as Sequim. The reaction of voters will be a major test.

those were pleasant flights, but ...

Alaska Airlines' problems with maintenance and timeliness have been widely reported (including here). That's why I want to report my long-weekend experience with them.

The early-evening flight Thursday left Seattle on time and arrived in San Francisco 10 minutes early. Returning on Monday, the 737 both left SFO and arrived at Sea-Tac 15 minutes late. But then we waited 12 minutes on the taxiway because, as the captain put it, there was a "piece of equipment" blocking our way that the ground crew couldn't start or move. (Remember that many of Alaska's recent problems began when it outsourced ground operations in order to save money.) It took another 26 minutes for our bags to start appearing inside the airport while hundreds of passengers from multiple flights waited (there was no instruction about which carousel would carry the bags; the signboard listed incorrect information).

Even assuming that the baggage delays and confusion are Sea-Tac issues (and not Alaska's), my trip showed that the airline still has kinks to work out. The flights were smooth and service in the terminal and onboard was professional. But I'm still not convinced that behind-the-scenes crews are entirely up to the job.

Insist on a better Korea-trade deal

U.S. and Korean negotiators are arriving in Seattle for talks this week on a free-trade agreement between the countries. Trade-dependent Cascadia should support increasing trade -- but not at all costs.

This week's meetings are the third in a year-long series of meetings over the U.S.-Korea pact. They're notable in Seattle as the first major trade talks since the collapse of the WTO round in 1999.

But the venue is far less important for Cascadia than the potential long-term impact of a flawed deal. Indeed, many labor groups oppose any trade deal because of the threat to existing workers.

These negotiations shouldn't be a choice between free trade or no trade. That's the false premise set up by supporters of the Bush administration's pursuit of free-trade agreements to create a patchwork of lopsided deals that favor U.S. corporate interests. Such bilateral deals don't require the sacrifices necessary to make international trade truly work better.

In the current negotiations, Korea wants more market access and the U.S. wants intellectual property rules and financial deregulation. We shouldn't settle for that kind of bilateral horse trading. As host, Cascadia officials should instead insist that the U.S. put its will behind a comprehensive trade pact -- through the WTO -- that would benefit all parties.

Move on viaduct, floating bridge replacements

A state panel this week found again that Seattle's viaduct and the 520 floating bridge are in danger of collapse in an earthquake. The report adds urgency to removing the viaduct, which blights the waterfront, and to building a transit-friendly replacement for 520.

The panel concluded that the state has enough money to rebuild the viaduct and a portion of what's needed to replace 520. The problem is that Seattle wants a more-expensive tunnel along the waterfront and there's no agreement on how big the new 520 should be.

Replacing the viaduct with street improvements and building a transit-friendly six-lane 520 makes the most sense. But the key takeaway from the report is the need for action:

"The biggest risk these projects face ... is that of indecision and vacillation by political and civil leaders," the panel's report said. "If these projects are to succeed, the people in positions of elected and appointed authority must make decisions that stick so the projects can be completed."

More dissent on US-Canada trade deal

The impression that Canada caved to the U.S. in order to settle the dispute over the trade of lumber is fueling widespread opposition to the agreement and to the Canadian government.

Canada would forfeit some of the $5+ billion in duties paid to the U.S. government, under the deal to end the long-running dispute. Opposition to the terms is so strong that analysts say it could threaten the Conservative Party government this fall.