City Neighborhood Council

I have just been appointed to be the Ballard representative on the transportation committee of the Seattle City Neighborhood Council. The CNC is a city-chartered organization which acts as an advisor to the mayor and city council on local issues and which coordinates planning and allocation of matching funds for neighborhood projects. The transportation committee is a forum for citizens' organizations to discuss and recommend approaches to solving mobility problems in the city of whatever sort. The major issue this year will be planning to replace the Alaskan Way viaduct, which was damaged in the 2001 earthquake and is in danger of collapsing. Bill Bryant, a friend from WHCC and 15th Ave will be the alternate Ballard rep.

I have been following both the monorail and viaduct projects for some time, but am still learning about transportation issues. If you have an opinion about how the city should solve its congestion and prepare for future growth, please drop me a line. I would love to talk about it with you.

Lileks and personal growth

Today's Bleat is exactly why I read James Lileks. Asked to comment on John Kerry's activities in the 1970s, he nails the issue: it is not important what Kerry thought when he was in his twenties, rather it is what he believe now and what perspective he has gained in the last thirty years. To defend that view, Lileks uses his own transition from '80s anti-Reaganite to his current libertarian-conservative self. As he puts it: "A great number of my [earlier] ideas did not survive contact with the real world." I have gone through a similar transition myself over the last 10 years, which is why his column speaks to me.

Site upgrade

I'm going to be upgrading my computer tonight starting about 8pm, which means the site will be down for a few hours. I hope to have everything back online by bedtime.