An international treaty has driven the destruction of deadly chemical weapons that had been stored near the Oregon community. Children in nearby counties no longer have to practice for the kind of disaster Saddam Hussein would have loved to inflict.
Seattle's old Auto Row is now a very vibrant urban village. Keeping it so will involve a lot more attention to grunge and grime, as well as ways to save high-character buildings from falling victim to rising real estate values.
The infamous "Seattle process" has developed out of, and caused, a big gap in trust here. In the case of the viaduct, voters seemed to scream out their dissatisfaction with the slow, painful cycle of distrust and debate.
A new protest movement against Wall Street brings with it a need to figure out what lies beyond signs and sit-ins. WTO reminds the author of pitfalls to avoid for the protesters in Seattle and elsewhere.
Puget Sound is a poster child for the problems of regional transportation planning. One big roadblock: long-standing distrust of Seattle.
