A couple of years ago, I posted about a new radar on Washington's coast near Aberdeen proposed by the National Weather service. Now, more than two years later, the new radar will finally be up and running next Friday. The only other radars in this region are one in Portland and one Camano Island, which is partially blocked by the Olympic Mountain range. Now we'll have more accurate predictions for how much rain will fall on short notice. This kind of accuracy could have helped people prepare better for the Chehalis River floods in 2007. The radar can take readings as far away as 240 miles off the coast. It is also a dual radar, the first in the nation, which can measure incoming clouds vertically as well as horizontally. It cost $9 million, $2 million more than the proposed cost.

It's fitting, since today is the first day of fall and our rainy season will start in the coming months. We've been warned that this could be another La Niña year, with a wetter and colder winter, but we'll see what happens. For now, we'll enjoy the new fall weather.

As I'm sure everyone has heard by now, the Seattle Seahawks upset the defending Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints 41-36 this past weekend in the Wild Card game. One play in particular was pretty awesome - Marshawn Lynch ran 67 yards and broke at least 8 tackles to score a touchdown late in the 4th quarter. Qwest Field erupted so loudly that the ground shook enough to register on a seismic monitor about 100 yards away.

I had briefly considered actually going to the game since tickets were still available as late as Friday and were only about $60 each. Neither of us has ever been to an NFL playoff game, but I figured the Saints would win though and I didn't feel like sitting in 35º weather for 4 hours. As it turns out, it was one of the best, most exciting NFL games I've seen in a long time. And finally, Seattle can be proud of something sports related! Now if only we could beat the Bears this coming weekend...

We'd mentioned before that Seattle has 45% more dogs than children, and another study confirms that Seattle has relatively few children. In fact, of all US cities, Seattle has the second lowest rate of children living in the city limits, behind San Francisco:

Less than 20 percent of all Seattle households included children younger than 18, compared with 34 percent nationally and 33 in Washington state.

While the low rate of children here is striking, it's not especially surprising, considering the high cost of living, especially for home ownership, which prices many families out of the city and into the suburbs. And, with Seattle's city limits being smaller than sprawling cities elsewhere in the country, suburban expansion long ago filled Seattle to its edges, pushing families looking for new developments into suburbs outside of Seattle. Seattle also attracts singles and young married couples like us without children who create demand for small condos and apartments.

According to a news article and video on King5.com, the Seattle waterfront might be getting a ferris wheel soon. The owner of Pier 57 has applied for a permit for a 175-foot tall ferris wheel. There is currently an arcade with an old-style merry-go-round on the pier. The Alaskan Way Viaduct will eventually be torn down with a tunnel being built and the waterfront will be revitalized in the next few years. A ferris wheel would be an interesting addition to the touristy area of the city. I'm not sure how much I like it being part of the already beautiful skyline, but I suppose I could get used to it.

It's time for another election and that means more initiatives to vote on. Unlike Texas, any initiative can make the ballot if it receives enough signatures before the election.

So, in addition to the hotly-contested, high-profile race for state Senator and the low-profile and mostly uncontested races for various judge positions, there are several interesting initiatives that we can vote on.

One initiative would establish a state income tax for high-income individuals. Another two initiatives would both privatize liquor sales and remove some regulations (liquor is currently only sold in state-run stores). We can also vote to repeal taxes that were recently placed on sales of candy and soda.

Many of these initiatives are heavily supported by various industries, so we're seeing commercials in favor and opposed to many of these initiatives. It's nice to have the opportunity to vote on fairly significant potential changes to state laws, though it can be challenging to make the right decision.

I've never been that interested in trick-or-treating, but apparently Seattle is the best city in the country to do it according to a study by an online housing blog. The study calculates the "Zillow Trick-or-Treat Housing Index" using four equally weighted data variables: Zillow Home Value Index, population density, Walk Score, and local crime data from Relocation Essentials. Based on those variables, the Index represents cities that will provide the most candy, with the least walking and safety risks. San Francisco, Portland, San Jose, and Denver rounded out the top 5 cities.

The study ranked the individual neighborhoods in each of the top 20 cities as well. The top 5 Seattle neighborhoods to trick-or-treat in are Wallingford, Ballard, Queen Anne, Roosevelt, and Ravenna. I'm not at all surprised that Wallingford is at the top of the list since it's very family friendly and there are lots of nice homes in the area. Ballard is a very safe and walkable area as well, with lots of families. We were in the Queen Anne area this past weekend and saw lots of Halloween decorations on many of the houses there. Halloween and trick-or-treating seem to be a big deal here in Seattle.

According to a recent Travel + Leisure review, Sea-Tac International Airport is the best in the nation in terms of delays, with only 10.6% of flights being delayed. By comparison, 22.3% of flights are delayed at D/FW International Airport, the 3rd worst in the nation. According to the survey, the best time to fly in or out of Sea-Tac is before 10:00 am. The worst time window is 6–8 p.m.

Sea-Tac is one of the best airports I've been in. I've always liked that it's smaller than the gigantic D/FW Airport and isn't nearly as hard to get around between the terminals and concourses. It's still definitely large enough to get most places we want to go via direct flights. Sea-Tac rarely changes the terminal or gate on you at the last minute, which is nice. I've always been able to get through security rather quickly and most flights I can remember have been on time. The only exception to that was our flight out for Christmas in 2008 with the terrible snow storm that hit the area that winter. I also really like Alaska Airlines, which has its main hub at Sea-Tac.

Sea-Tac also has a lot of public art inside it, making it one of the most unique airports I've seen. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the terminals, which comes in handy while waiting 1-2 hours for flights. It is also served well by Link Light Rail from downtown Seattle, although we've never actually taken it to or from the airport the entire way. We hope to do that this Christmas.

All of these factors add up to a generally stress-free traveling experience, which is not very common at other airports.

And because I like interesting statistics, here are the top 10 domestic routes out of Sea-Tac in 2009 by number of passengers (from Wikipedia):

1. Los Angeles, CA - 744,000
2. San Francisco, CA - 719,000
3. Anchorage, AK - 681,000
4. Denver, CO - 650,000
5. Chicago, IL (O'Hare) - 589,000
6. Phoenix, AZ - 550,000
7. Las Vegas, NV - 540,000
8. Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN - 519,000
9. Spokane, WA - 503,000
10. Dallas/Fort Worth, TX - 484,000

Whenever we go to the coast, we always see "tsunami evacuation route" signs and are amused since it seems so foreign to us having not grown up in this area. Some locals in small towns along the coast have removed the signs so that tourists aren't scared away. But tsunamis really are very dangerous and apparently the West Coast is totally unprepared for such an event. Apparently there's a series of 39 buoys all along the coast from Alaska to South America that are supposed to detect tsunami waves and alert areas that will be affected by them. However as many as a third of them are down for maintenance issues at various times.

The last earthquake and tsunami from the Cascadia fault occurred 300 years ago. The last tsunami to hit the northwest coast was in 1964 when an Alaska earthquake caused a tsunami that damaged Cannon Beach, OR. Here's an excerpt from a Seattle Times article that explains what parts of the northwest coast are considering in order to be more prepared for tsunamis:

The Oregon town of Cannon Beach is considering construction of an earthquake- and tsunami-resistant building that could serve both as a city hall and a refuge. On Washington's Long Beach Peninsula, where there's very little high ground, leaders are mulling the idea of building berms where people could gather to escape a tsunami surge.

We live near Puget Sound, which isn't that close to the Pacific Ocean, so tsunamis aren't as big of a threat to us, but are still possible.

The streetcar that runs through our neighborhood and ends downtown will have a new plaza built around it at its downtown terminus over the next few months. We don't ride the streetcar often, but we walk around the area, and that part of downtown will benefit from having a plaza.

The plaza is part of an effort to create more vibrant, urban spaces for people to gather and enjoy, said Charles Bookman, SDOT's director of traffic management. The plaza surface will consist of granite pavers, illuminated at night with inlaid LED lights. The plaza will feature a kiosk for food vendors, covered parking stalls for bicyclists, new street lighting and a rain garden to drain stormwater runoff.

A second boarding platform will be installed for streetcar riders. The South Lake Union Streetcar hit 2,193 weekday boardings last month, it's highest ridership ever.

Target is opening a store in downtown Seattle! The Seattle Times wrote an article about it recently. They will be moving into a three story space on Second Avenue between Pike and Union streets, which is really close to Pike Place Market. Most of Target's 1,700 stores are in suburban areas, but there are a few in urban areas. This location will occupy a space of 103,000 square feet, a little small compared to a regular size Target, which is 135,000 square feet.

Troy and I can't wait until it opens! Ever since we moved here, we've said over and over how much we wish Target would build a store downtown. It will be so much closer to us and we'll be able to walk there instead of having to drive to the one at Northgate. Unfortunately, it won't open for at least a year. But I'm sure we'll be there the first week it opens!

A new Seattle city ordinance effective today requires all restaurants to use recyclable or compostable containers instead of styrofoam. Restaurants will be subject to fines up to $250 if they are non-compliant. By doing this, Seattle will prevent up to 6,000 tons of trash and leftover food from heading to the land fill every year. I'm not sure why this wasn't required 10 years ago, but it's a good step in the right direction. This is just a sign of how Seattle is more environmentally-oriented than other cities.

Washington state made it illegal to talk on your cell phone and drive a couple years ago, but it was only a secondary offense, meaning the police needed another reason to pull you over. However as of this past Thursday, drivers can be pulled over just for talking on their mobile phones.

The law doesn't apply if you're using a hands-free device, but holding the phone to your ear with your shoulder apparently doesn't count. There are also a few exceptions to the law, including "if you set your phone to 'speaker' and hold it in front of you."

It's also not illegal to make a peanut butter sandwich while driving, as far as I'm aware. I have been driving more over the past few weeks, at least for work, and have had occasional reason to use my cell phone. I do have a headset for my personal phone, so I could use that, although plugging it in and putting it in my ear seems to be a lot more distracting than just talking on the phone like normal.

Early this morning while I was at work, I heard a big crash and thought it was thunder. It turned out to be the facade of the Icon Grill collapsing on the sidewalk. I can see Icon Grill right out my office windows and the whole sidewalk was a mess. The bricks came crashing down from the top of the building and injured 3 people. Thankfully no one was killed. There was rubble everywhere; it looked like we'd had an earthquake. Here's a good video about it on King 5 News: Icon Grill facade collapses

I wonder when Icon Grill will open again. I guess I didn't have any plans to go there any time soon. It's just crazy, I've walked in front of it so many times. That facade could have come down at any time.

Eric and I left work to go to Qdoba for lunch yesterday. We walked through the Westlake Center like normal, but when we got to the doors on the other side of the mall, we noticed a huge crowd of people outside.

It was a celebration for the Vancouver Olympians from our state, including J.R. Celski of Federal Way who won two bronze medals. We didn't have time to stop and watch, but as we walked by I tried to see if Apolo Ohno was there. He is by far Washington's best-known winter Olympian and is also from Federal Way. It turns out he wasn't, he was busy doing tv appearances in New York and LA. I would have been upset with myself if I had passed up a chance to see Apolo in person.

Here's an excerpt:

The Olympians were generous with their time, signing autographs and posing for snapshots for more than an hour after Mayor Mike McGinn proclaimed "Washington Olympians Day in the City of Seattle."

McGinn's proclamation praised the 14 state athletes who competed at the Vancouver Games, winning six medals — two silver and four bronze.

Anyway, I just think it's cool that the Olympics were so close to Seattle this year and that we have several successful Olympians from Washington state.

Here's a video from Komo 4 News about the first service in our new church building yesterday:



Here's the article that goes with it: Article about First Church

The 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver will be here soon. We watched some of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing on the Canadian Broadcasting Corp (CBC) channel, which we thought had much better coverage than NBC. They showed more live unfiltered footage of events and they also weren't so biased towards US athletes.

Unfortunately this year, CBC won't be showing the Olympics in the Seattle area. We're only 140 miles away, yet we won't get Canadian coverage. I guess it doesn't matter much to us though, since we don't have cable any more and only get local channels.

An article from the Seattle Times summarizes it pretty well:

CBC, the Canadian network available on cable here, won't be carrying the games. Local fans will have few alternatives to NBC, which tape-delays coverage of most premier events for West Coast audiences. CTV, the largest privately owned network in Canada, outbid CBC for the broadcast rights in that country. But CTV is available almost nowhere in the state of Washington.

Seattle was named most literate city in the country. Here's some about the study:

This study focuses on six key indicators of literacy: newspaper circulation, number of bookstores, library resources, periodical publishing resources, educational attainment, and Internet resources.

Based on my perception of the city, I'm not surprised about that at all. Bookstores are pretty common, though they've been struggling lately and the city's landmark Elliott Bay Book Company is moving from Pioneer Square to Capitol Hill. And many people here have graduate degrees - Seattle is a very educated city (almost to the detriment of diversity). The city also is big on libraries and overwhelmingly passed a measure in 1998 to improve all neighborhood libraries and build a new central library.

I read this morning that a 104-year-old church building in the Dallas neighborhood of Oak Cliff will likely be demolished so that a school can be built on the site. I suppose I've been living in Seattle for too long because I found this pretty shocking.

But now that I look back through the news at the recent history of preservation in Dallas, I remember how poorly the city and community treat historic buildings. A couple years ago, an 85-year-old East Dallas YWCA building was demolished. And last year, preservationists were shocked as a 1950s office building was demolished without warning.

Yeah, now I remember, this is how Dallas does things - it's in the name of progress.

One of the problems in Dallas is that the inner-city has been so neglected that anything seems better than abandoned buildings. But when you demolish a historic building, you destroy history, which is something that you can't get back, and one of the attractions that can help to revive and enliven the inner-city. That's not progress.

By contrast, Seattle recognizes that history and progress aren't polar opposites. New buildings stand side-by-side with re-purposed old buildings and the contrast adds further to creating an interesting and livable city, moving towards the future but respectful towards the past.

Heck, in Seattle, preservationists got landmark status for a former Denny's restaurant. The building was eventually demolished, but it came very close to preservation and was a top news story, showing the importance of preservation here.

Unfortunately, Dallas doesn't yet seem to know how to make progress while preserving history and in the process fails at both.

Seattle has been ranked the 5th most pedestrian-safe city in the country.There are lots of cities out there that are pretty unsafe for walking and around 5,000 pedestrians are struck by vehicles and killed each year. So, it's good that we're able to walk in a pretty safe city for walking considering how much walking we do.

Back in August, Seattle's primary election determined that our current mayor, Greg Nickels, wouldn't get another term. He was fairly unpopular for various reasons that I haven't been able to get a good understanding of since I've been here. I think some people felt he was too environmentally-focused, at the expense of other things, like crime. He spent lots of city money on a streetcar line and wanted to require businesses to charge for plastic grocery bags. I'm sure the city's poor response to the snow and ice covered streets last winter didn't help him either. The winners of the primary, Joe Mallahan and Mike McGinn, have been campaigning for the general election for the past few months.

One of the major issues of the mayoral election has been the replacement of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. The Viaduct isn't structurally sound and has needed to be replaced for many years. Things take a while to happen here (you may remember we just got light rail here a few months ago), but as we recently posted about, Mayor Nickels made an agreement with the state to replace the viaduct with a $4.2+ billion tunnel.

Part of McGinn's platform was that, as mayor, he wouldn't let the tunnel be built because of the cost involved and of the potential benefits of alternative plans to the tunnel. Late in the campaign, he backed off a little and said that he'd allow the tunnel to be built, but he'd ask tough questions about it.

On the other side, Mallahan was in favor of the tunnel and part of his platform was that he'd use his business experience to help the city government run more efficiently.

There was a lot more to it than that, of course, and it was a close race. McGinn was more popular with young urbanites, and Mallahan was more popular with older and wealthier folks. Last Tuesday was voting day and it has taken a while to count all the ballots, but it appears that Mike McGinn will be our new mayor.

It will be interesting to see if the tunnel actually does get built and in what direction McGinn will take the city from here.