Since when would a series of store closures along First Avenue help to revitalize downtown Seattle? Mayor Bruce Harrell and Seattle Department of Transportation’s vision of a First Avenue connector streetcar would risk such an exodus. If city officials were to honestly engage business owners and managers along this vibrant commercial area with over 500 small businesses, they would get an earful.
I recently visited with dozens of such stakeholders on First Avenue from the Pike Place Market to Pioneer Square. When informed that the connector would eliminate street parking, left turns, most commercial and passenger loading zones, and reduce traffic to one no-stop lane in each direction, virtually all were alarmed, many saying it would do irreparable damage to their ability to operate.
One Pioneer Square owner, still reeling from First Avenue utility construction completed a few years ago, said: “ I’ve run multiple stores here for almost 40 years, through roadwork, the Great Recession, and the pandemic, and the Connector is the one thing would kill us”.
We’ve already seen this movie. Merchants were key to stopping the SDOT-proposed First Hill streetcar line extension north of Denny Street in 2016. After initially embracing the project, the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce changed its tune, opposing it after witnessing the damaging impact the line had on businesses on Broadway. Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Sierra Hansen commented, “If we want to see Broadway thrive, the streetcar is actually the best way to undermine that…it would basically gut access to businesses on Broadway…it limits the access to panel trucks which are the lifeblood of these businesses”.
Advocates cite the operational prospects of a combined streetcar network joining the Capitol Hill Line, terminating in Pioneer Square, and the South Lake Union Line, terminating at Westlake Mall. The existing streetcars averaged about 3,000 passengers a day in 2022, a shrinkage of 35% since 2018. Among the reasons for the decline: would-be passengers worked from home or switched to the new “C” Line and bus routes 40, 62, and 70. The bus lines are frequent, penetrate downtown, and have better transfers with Link Light Rail.
The South Lake Union line had 180,211 passengers in 2022, an average of only 4 riders per trip, despite terminating in the downtown shopping core, a few blocks from the Pike Place Market. I don’t believe that tepid ridership is what streetcar proponents imagined when they conceived the system two decades ago. SDOT’s ridership projection for a connected line has been 20,000-24,000 riders per day. That would equal about 125-150 riders per trip, every hour, 16 hours a day. In what universe is that even possible?
The connector has recently been re-branded by SDOT as the “culture connector.” That designation is a stretch. The proposed Connector network along First Avenue barely comes within a half mile walk of Climate Pledge Arena, The Seattle Rep, Opera, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Museum of Pop Culture, Space Needle, Children’s Museum, Children’s Theater, Chihuly Museum, and Science Center. It would take more than twice as long by traffic-battling streetcar than to go on foot from the Capitol Hill Line’s terminus at First and Jackson to reach the Paramount, ACT, the Moore and 5th Avenue Theaters in downtown Seattle. One of the two arts venues the connector would pass directly in front of (the Showbox) would face an unmanageable loading situation. The project’s “culture” connection would be thin, at best; destructive at worst.
If public transportation to cultural venues is desired, the city should consider less costly, inefficient, and less rigid options that would not require dedicated lanes, and would reach such venues more directly. Electric bus routes could be adapted to downtown needs as they develop rather than be permanently set in concrete like the iron tracks of a streetcar.
First Avenue businesses and residents would not survive without commercial and consumer delivery, passenger load, and disability access vehicles. The new waterfront park will bring more passenger cars, not fewer. Parking demand would rise in the midst of fewer parking options. Eliminating First Avenue parking would further reduce customer visits. Dependent on street parking, Pioneer Square would be hit particularly hard. Vehicles going in and out of parking garages onto single lane traffic on both sides of First Avenue near Columbia Street would cause chronic multi-block backups in both directions. Worse, the First Avenue Connector wouldn’t add a Pioneer Square stop south of Cherry Street.
Then there is the exorbitant price tag of about $300 million ($140,000 per yard) for the three-year Connector construction project. Plus the 50% higher perpetual operating costs relative to buses, long maintenance lead times, and safety issues to pedestrians and two-wheelers. Factor in how slow and unreliable streetcars are, and their disappointing passenger counts. Then consider the irreparable damage to the historic and thriving business and residential communities along the First Avenue route.
The last thing we should do for our fragile downtown is to create new economic dead zones downtown. The Seattle City Council will soon make decisions on funding feasibility studies for the midtown Connector and associated capital spending. That money would be far more constructively used elsewhere.
Jim Margard is a retired entrepreneurial investment manager, founder and partner of Rainier Investment Management, and a Chartered Financial Analyst. He serves on the Finance Committee of the Pike Place Market Foundation and resides at First and Union.
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This song was sung by 3000 people in Haifa a few days ago. Arabic, Jewish and other voices, brought together by the singer Matthew Paul Miller. They had to learn this song in their 3 languages in about an hour as a sign that they want peace. All one can see then, is the beauty of human beings, trying to bring good into this world… 💞🦋💞🦋 Let’s All stand United and Spread Peace and Harmony🙏
Advance care planning is inherently problematic given that we cannot predict our future ailments and, importantly, cannot predict how we will feel about our quality of life when we’re afflicted with serious illness. Discussions with loved ones help, and the legal durable power of attorney is important. However, loving families may disagree about what your wishes are.
Dr. Barak Gaster has published a now widely used Advance Directive for Dementia, which addresses life-support choices in the various stages of dementia. Also, End of Life Washington has developed a more flexible and extensive set of Dementia Directives, allowing revocation and changes by the individual affected.
There ultimately comes a time to “let go” for all of us. Because advance directive documents are always nuanced, the deep discussions we have with our loved ones are critical to help them support our wishes at the end.
Jim deMaine Seattle The writer, a former pulmonary and critical care physician, is the author of “Facing Death: Finding Dignity, Hope and Healing at the End.”
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Today and every day we are inspired by those who have sacrificed to serve and protect others. On Veterans Day, we honor our veterans’ unwavering commitment to preserving our freedom. Your sacrifices, whether on the battlefield or on the home front, have been instrumental in safeguarding the liberties and opportunities we hold dear as Americans, and we are forever grateful. Your legacy, and the legacy of all veterans, is a testament to the strength, resilience and unity of our great country.
This Veterans Day we’re encouraging everyone to Go Beyond Thanks and reach out to a veteran they care about. Listen to their story to better understand their service and advocate for them. It’s important that all veterans feel respected, connected and supported.
At USAA, we’re uniquely aware of the challenges of the military community and acknowledge that some veterans have burdens and scars from their service that may not be visible but are their painful reality. Veterans die by suicide at a rate of 1.5 times that of the general population.
In June, USAA and founding partners Reach Resilience, an Endeavors Foundation, and the Humana Foundation launched Face the Fight, a coalition of like-minded companies and organizations focused on addressing the veteran suicide epidemic by raising awareness and finding solutions. Though we have much more work to do, one thing is for certain: connections matter.
To learn more about how you can Go Beyond Thanks, visit usaa.com/veteransday. And to find out how you can join the fight against veteran suicide, visit wefacethefight.org.
We owe our veterans a debt of gratitude – and more. Thank you for your service, and may you continue to be a source of inspiration to us all.
Wayne Peacock
USAA President & CEO
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Thu 12/7 at 7:30 PM | $20-$25 | In-Person & Livestream Global Rhythms: The Klezmatics
Hanukkah Dance Party Immerse yourself in the vibrant and eclectic sounds of the globally renowned Klezmer superstars, The Klezmatics. On the first night of Hanukkah, Town Hall Seattle will come alive with the soul-stirring melodies and foot-stomping rhythms that have earned The Klezmatics a Grammy award and a place in the hearts of music lovers worldwide.
Originating from the cultural hotbed of New York City’s East Village, The Klezmatics have crafted a unique blend of Eastern European Jewish tradition, contemporary themes, and diverse musical influences. Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind musical journey at Town Hall Seattle – an evening that promises to be reflective, illuminating, and unforgettably fun!
Mayo Clinic psychologist Matthew Schumann reminds us that expressing gratitude is brings a host of mental and physical benefits: feeling thankful can – improve sleep, – elevate mood and – support immunity. – decrease depression, anxiety, chronic pain, risk of disease.
That said, our brains are designed to problem-solve rather than appreciate. To create a habit of gratitude and to reap the benefits, we must intentionally override this focus on problem.
Your Fitness and Wellness Committee is here to help! We invite you to outward expressions of gratitude during the week of November 12-19. You will find blank apples and leaves and pens near a Gratitude Tree in three Skyline locations: Cascade Tower on 4th floor Glacier Lounge, Olympic Tower lobby, and Terraces 5th floor credenza near the Exercise Room. Please write what it is for which you are grateful and hang it on the tree. Geez, go ahead and write several! Then share your thoughts in conversation and ponder the buoyant neurological effect of giving thanks.
Since taking office, the Biden administration has focused on using diplomacy in foreign affairs and has used it to solve global issues by strengthening regional partnerships.
On Friday, President Biden hosted the first leaders’ summit for the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity (APEP). Biden announced the creation of APEP in June 2022 to establish a forum positioned to improve the economies of countries in the western hemisphere, with the idea that stronger economies will be able to address economic inequality, bolster supply chains, and “restore faith in democracy by delivering for working people across the region.”
APEP is also designed to strengthen the Los Angeles Declaration for Migration and Protection that established a responsibility-sharing approach to addressing this era’s historic migration flows. Rather than working solely on getting Congress to pass legislation to fix the border—as Biden has urged since the beginning of his term—the administration has focused on the prosperity and security of the countries from which migrants come, so that they feel less pressure to leave.
The administration has worked hard to develop that strategy. Vice President Kamala Harris took the lead in “diplomatic efforts to address root causes of migration from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras,” and in July 2021 she released a report on strategies to slow migration from the region. In June 2022, at the 9th Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, the administration helped to bring to reality a long-standing realization among many countries that migration must be addressed on a regional level rather than with patchwork attempts by individual nations. That’s when the U.S. got 21 governments to sign on to “a comprehensive response to irregular migration and forced displacement in the Western Hemisphere,” known as the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection.
The Biden administration has emphasized that it wants to work with the region, not dictate to it, and the leaders of APEP are working with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to fund improvements to infrastructure and train skilled workers and entrepreneurs. The IDB is an international financial institution, owned by 48 member states and headquartered in Washington, D.C., that provides development financing for Latin American and Caribbean countries.
A senior administration official on a background call on Friday noted that “the APEP countries are collectively hosting the majority of refugees and migrants in the Western Hemisphere” and that “each has been significantly impacted by the historic flows in recent years.” The official said that President Biden deeply appreciates how regional partners have offered new legal status to millions of people displaced in the western hemisphere, and noted that APEP is part of stepping up to support those countries and create incentives for other countries to do the same.
“The bottom line is that President Biden believes that targeted economic investment in top refugee and migrant host countries is critical to stabilizing migration flows,” the official said.
Please join us for this special presentation in the Mt. Baker Room sponsored by your Health Care Committee. Eric is a researcher, teacher and author widely recognized for his studies on aging and dementia, particularly the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) research project. This study is recognized worldwide as a unique look into aging–because of its size and long duration. Eric is now retired and beginning to change his personal outlook on aging–let’s hear more about that!
Following the talk there will be an optional opportunity to purchase a signed copy of Eric’s book for anyone who is interested–no obligation of course: Enlightened Aging: Building Resilience for a Long, Active Life–$20.
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Next Sunday, November 12, there will be a pop-up movie in OT Performance Hall at 3p. Movie With The Grands is a wonderful time to invite your kids and grandkids to come watch a film with you. Or you can invite a neighbor or friend. Or you can come by yourself. Just come and laugh with us!
The film will be Charlie Chaplin’s “Modern Times”, a film from 1936 and a silent film with title pages. It is a film that all ages love, and it makes everyone laugh. Seeing Charlie on a big screen is pure pleasure. What a great way to spend an hour and a half on Sunday afternoon!
Please join us at the Performance Hall on Sunday, November 12th.
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We’re living in a brutalizing time: Scenes of mass savagery pervade the media. Americans have become vicious toward one another amid our disagreements. Everywhere I go, people are coping with an avalanche of negative emotions: shock, pain, contempt, anger, anxiety, fear.
The first thing to say is that we in America are the lucky ones. We’re not crouching in a cellar waiting for the next bomb to drop. We’re not currently the targets of terrorists who massacre families in their homes. We should still start every day with gratitude for the blessings we enjoy.
But we’re faced with a subtler set of challenges. How do you stay mentally healthy and spiritually whole in brutalizing times? How do you prevent yourself from becoming embittered, hate-filled, calloused over, suspicious and desensitized?
Ancient wisdom has a formula to help us, which you might call skepticism of the head and audacity of the heart.
The ancient Greeks knew about violent times. They lived with frequent wars between city-states, with massacres and mass rape. In response, they adopted a tragic sensibility. This sensibility begins with the awareness that the crust of civilization is thin. Breakdowns into barbarism are the historical norm. Don’t fool yourself into believing that you’re living in some modern age, too enlightened for hatred to take over.
In these circumstances, everybody has a choice. You can try to avoid thinking about the dark realities of life and naïvely wish that bad things won’t happen. Or you can confront these realities and develop a tragic mentality to help you thrive among them. As Ralph Waldo Emerson would write centuries later, “Great men, great nations have not been boasters and buffoons, but perceivers of the terror of life, and have manned themselves to face it.” And that goes for great women, too.
This tragic sensibility prepares you for the rigors of life in concrete ways. First, it teaches a sense of humility. The tragedies that populated Greek stages sent the message that our accomplishments were tenuous. They remind us that it’s easy to become proud and conceited in moments of peace. We begin to exaggerate our ability to control our own destinies. We begin to assume that the so-called justice of our cause guarantees our success. Humility is not thinking lowly of yourself; it’s an accurate perception of yourself. It is the ability to cast aside illusions and vanities and see life as it really is. (Continued)
Years before the United States entered World War I, the war came to the U.S.
As conflict exploded in Europe, the German Empire commenced a widespread plan of espionage and sabotage to sway American public opinion against entering the war and to disrupt shipments of war materiel from the neutral United States to Germany’s enemies, like Britain, Canada, France and Russia.
So while America would eventually go to war “over there,” the fight over here began years earlier. And one night the sound of that explosive campaign was loudly heard across Puget Sound.
In early May 1915, German U-boats were sinking cargo ships and civilian vessels at sea. An attack that had a major impact was the sinking of the British passenger liner, the Lusitania, off the southern coast of Ireland. Nearly 1,200 passengers and crew lost their lives, including 128 Americans. International outrage exploded. There were even so-called “Lusitania riots” as public wrath focused on Germans abroad. In Victoria, B.C., the military was called in to quell a weekend of anti-German rioting.
The coasts were particular targets for sabotage and spying. Busy West Coast ports from San Diego to Seattle were tracked by agents — Americans and Germans — working under the supervision of Germany’s diplomats and military attaches. They tracked rail shipments and freighter cargoes and schemed to plant bombs. A particular focus was war supplies being sent to pre-revolution Russia. A railcar with vehicles destined for Vladivostok was torched in Tacoma. Bombs were ordered placed on outgoing ships. (Continued)
