Cascadia Report

Category: Cascadia not cities

  • 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.

    lumber at Canadia millUnder 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.

    ferry by puget sound action teamMiami, 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.