As expected, the commission creates a new Congressional District in Democratic stronghold Olympia, fashions a majority-minority district for Adam Smith, gladdens two Republican hearts, and creates a nonsensical, jump-ball district where Jay Inslee is vacating his seat. GOP is the winner.
In the Depression, FDR won re-election over populist insurgencies by running on a strong jobs and fairness platform. Obama, slower to respond, still might do the same, helped by the fading of the Tea Party. Here are some lessons from American history.
After the public bailed out the banks, the banks turned around and kept foreclosing, handing out bonuses, and hoarding their cash. The Bible tells a story about people who get all kinds of help and will not share.
Regions such as Snohomish County that fell hard for developers' dreams of remote housing projects are paying a severe price in foreclosures and short sales. The cruel market correction confirms the economic value of denser, closer-in residential patterns.
Welcome to Kent, frontline for the forces transforming America's suburbs: poverty and hardship, global diversity, and exciting new energy and innovation.
