Seattle-baiting, hating radio talk hosts: LIVE IN THE DAMN SUBURBS!

Seattle talk hosts dine elegantly, and daily at the banquet of anti-Seattle. No different than from Eastern Washington legislators and their sour grapes; the minority state Republican Party: or people from places like Centralia who think Seattle is Sodom & Gomorra.

(Eastern Washington legislators have constituencies to demagogue; Centralians are correct. Republicans can't prevail in the most populous city in the State, so continue the flawed strategy of running against it).

Seattle talkers are all so outraged about Seattle; so derisive of our "liberal mentality." Using personal pronouns as if they live among us, they tell Seattleites how not to spend our tax dollars, and what sort of aesthetic environment in which we, by their lights, must live. 

They all so make their living bashing us. They all so live in the damn 'burbs!

Far as we can tell: the Seattle newstalk hosts who live in Seattle are Ron Reagan, (KIRO m-f, 12-1p) Dan Sytman (KTTH m-f, 5-9a) New York Vinnie (KIRO m-f, 7-9p) David Goldstein (KIRO Saturdays, Sundays 7-10p) and Don O'Neill (KIRO m-f, 4-7p).

Here's where lives the rest of those who'd make our civic decisions for us:

Dori Monson, Mountlake Terrace
Michael Medved, Mercer Island
Rabbi Daniel Lapin, Mercer Island
Ken Schram, Kenmore
John Carlson, Bellevue
Frank Shiers, Bellevue
Dave Boze, Edmonds
Kirby Wilbur, Duvall
Bryan Suits, Monroe
Ron Upshaw, Auburn

(Dave Ross doesn't bash Seattle, and discusses freely living on Mercer Island, a wealthy white enclave in the suburban crescent.)

They, of course, have the right to say anything they please, so don't even bring it up. But we get chafed hearing them tell us how to vote and spend our money on the viaduct.

They're egging Seattleites on to settle for cheaper and uglier because they've bought their own rhetoric about what spoiled elitists we are; and because they can stir up callers by further promulgating that frame.

And it works. Listeners from across the suburban hills and dale call in bloviating about what Seattle deserves: ugly, cheap, "good enough." Anything else is "government-out-of-control;" or seen as some kind of fiscally frivolous foofaraw.

The issue comes down to whether Seattleites will pay for something extraordinary or something simply utilitarian - even if it's ugly.

BlatherWatch, so far, is favoring the aesthetic $5-a-month-on-the-utilities-bill choice, something (anything!) other than a rebuild. We know it's a tough sell- no matter how well-off we are; the Norwegian frugal sensibilities are hard for Seattleites to break away from.

Seattleites' normal knee jerk to the vision thing is the not unScandinavian, "it's good works if it works good." Maybe we could build the damn thing out of salvaged 2X4's and left-over concrete from the existing structure.

(it's nice to know the old Seattle sensibilities survive- too bad they have to be in battleship gray. When we've stretched in the past with such out-of-the-box (head) projects as the World's Fair, the Space Needle, the EMP, the hat & boots, the new library- we're so proud of ourselves! It's making the decision that's always the hard part).

We live in Seattle, but normally stay away from Seattle politics at Blatherwatch. It's a nasty little parochial arena that doesn't make a lot of sense once you get out of the city.

But the opportunistic buttinskyism of the suburban interlopers into this civic decision, pisses us off. These hosts, these out-of-town critics do not have Seattle's best interests in mind and blur clear consideration with their partisan and demagogic rhetoric.

Comments

[rev]

The compaint should not be that suburban residents are talking on the air about Seattle issues -- it should be that there's little or no discussion about the issues that effect the suburbs. More than half the population of metropolitan Seattle lives outside the city limits, but you wouldn't know it by listening to talk radio.

Now that the Eastside Journal is kaput, there's significant media attention to the local politics and other issues outside Seattle, except maybe the regional section of the Times. The only time TV pays attention is when there's a fire, murder or photogenic highway accident.

Sure, a half-hour about local issues in Woodinville or Auburn might be a turn-off to part of the talk-radio audience, but no more than yet another discussion about the Seattle City Council.

[joanie]

Norwegian frugalities? Let's talk hard budgets here . . .

And for people who live in the suburbs, Seattle remains a major destination. Seattle is where it's at . . . like it or not, that's a fact.

With the possible exception of seeing Dave Ross in one of his little plays or doing an antique/collectibles run and traveling through the burbs to get to or over the mountains, those locales hardly exist for me.

Build a few stadiums, art houses or ports elsewhere and that might change.

A five dollar addition to the utility bill . . . might go for that myself. But, a tunnel, I don't much like the engineering outlook. Keep trying for the surface solution . . .

[sparky]

I agree...when one lives outside of Seattle, one should leave the mess to those who choose to live in it!!

But be fair--- Seattle media does its share of trashing other communities, such as Tacoma and Portland, with a "We are so much better than you" attitude that makes those of us outside the King County area chuckle.

[chucks]

I really do not care what Seattle does to cure the viaduct mess. It is an issue for the people of Seattle to deal with for their own satisfaction. You folks are more than capable to solve that problem.
But if it turns to another big dig, please leave my Pierce County wallet alone.
My only real fear beyond that is liquifaction. Earthquakes and tunnels on the waterfront scare the heck out of me. The posibility of losing many of my neighbors to the north to a seven or eight earthquake is very real.

[hmmpf]

Pontificating from without is nothing new. How about some of your righteous indignance for the legislators, all of them from outside the county, who think the State ought to pony up for a NASCAR track near Bremerton.

[sparky]

Yeah I read where the only ones who want the track are those who would not have to live around it. I would think that it would be more popular out in Spanaway....

[adc]

I wish I could support the tunnel option, but it's a non-starter for me, and I travel the route daily.

My support for the monorail project ended up costing me $1200, for which I received absolutely nothing in return, and don't even get me started on Sound Transit.....

It's horribly naive for anyone to believe that the tunnel option will only cost an additional $5 per month on a utility bill, in my opinion. Perhaps they forgot to mention the zero after the "5".

I've lived here long enough to remember WPPSS, the Metro bus tunnel, the I-90 bridge, Sound Transit's origins, the monorail project, and now they expect us to believe anything they have to say, regarding costs on a tunnel project?

Not gonna happen, not buyin' it this time. Local pols tell us to look to the future. I am.

If future taxpayers want to tear down the new viaduct, go right ahead, but wait until after I move out of Seattle. Hopefully I'll be outta here no later than 2020.

[lukobe]

Funny you calling Mercer Island a white enclave in the suburban crescent. That implies that it's surrounded by minorities--which is plainly not the case. This area is so white it's not funny!

[spambutcher]

A bunch of "our money" is actually "their money"

When it seems a patch-up job would do - I don't blame others for not wanting to spend money on excavating Greg Nickel's fudge-tunnel.

It would seem the state legislature will likely ignore the vote - which matters more than the political pinch the Governor has gotten herself into anyways.

BTW - the term "viafuct" - is a registered trademark of SpamButcher.

[Justin Atheropinion]

The "viaduct" controversy was a major factor in me moving from the Southside to Island County--I traveled that corridor when they shut the Viaduct down after the Nisqually earthquake. Okay, "travelled" is the wrong term--I sat watching an ever-expanding case of gridlock in the SODO region. Took me 3.5 hours to go a route that usually took me 25 minutes every morning. The second closure-day I did something in-SANE: I drove 405 northbound to 520 westbound and made the trip in 1.5 hours, a 2 hour improvement!
I'm sure a diamond-encrusted tunnel with a neon-portrait of Greg Nickels would bring in the tourists for decades, but....whatever is done needs to be done fast and cheap. A tunnel (with an exit to Western and an entrance from Elliott and a 7 degree grade to the existing tunnel) is not going to cut it...especially for those who are all "nevrous-nelly" about "liquification" in the area--the excuse that brought down the Kingdome, but curiously now sports two sports arenas rather than one. And given just how disruptive the Metro Tunnel dig was to downtown, the "booming" waterfront would be better to have another fire and then rebuild for all the good a tunnel project would do them. Maybe that's the idea. Funny, though, that the folks who'll benefit the most from a tunnel--the developers--aren't putting up any money for the project that will surely line their pockets.
Rebuild the beast. Put Seattle City Lights wires underground while you're at it.
But get off the pot and do something.

[Thom]

All this says to me, is that anyone with any sense or talent moves OUT of Seattle at the first opportunity.

Some folks see the idiocy of a black-hole school system and Monorail-type taxes.

More power to 'em!!!

[Thom]

"(Dave Ross doesn't bash Seattle, and discusses freely living on Mercer Island, a wealthy white enclave in the suburban crescent.)"

Liberals are such hypocrites!!

What if the statement had been:

"Rush Limbaugh doesn't bash West Palm Beach, and discusses freely living in a wealthy white enclave in the suburban crescent."

Again...liberals are such hypocrites!!

[joanie]

will only cost an additional $5 per month on a utility bill,

I agree. The mayor wants this so bad he is minimizing costs and maximizing gains. It is guananteed to be another overbudget and probably underbuilt Seattle sales job.

Good post, adc. Michael, pay attention!

"Rush Limbaugh doesn't bash West Palm Beach, and discusses freely living in a wealthy white enclave in the suburban crescent."

Again...liberals are such hypocrites!!

What the heck is hypocritical about either comment - Ross's or yours of Limbaugh? Sometimes I don't get you, Thom. Explain the hypocrisy, please.

Actually, I don't think I've heard Ross bash anything. He always supports his claims intellectually. I've never heard him bash for the sake of bashing, unlike Limbaugh.

[Steve]

ADC wrote.

"My support for the monorail project ended up costing me $1200, for which I received absolutely nothing in return, and don't even get me started on Sound Transit....."

The only thing I can say to this...

SUCKER

[Proregressive]

I think the list of talk show hosts listed choose not to live in Seattle for the same reason that I don't - because most are raising children.

Seattle isn't a family friendly city. The percentage of its population that are children, is the second lowest in the nation (S.F. is #1). The Seattle public school system is decaying. There are problems with the homeless wandering the streets, panhandlers on the corners, police are required to turn their heads to illegal drug use, and then there's the gangs...

Don't you think that someone like Rush Limbaugh would choose to live in Seattle rather than in the 'burbs? He isn't trying to raise a family and the "where it's at" dynamic that Joanie mentioned is probably appealing to someone like him.

It might be interesting to get a list of broadcasters from KUOW or other progressive stations and find out where they choose to live, and if they are raising families. It think that there's more to this than just liberal-vs-conservative political views.

[Charpy]

Being someone who has commuted to Seattle on the WS Ferry going on my 8th year, I understand the importance of a tunnel vice a replacement or ground-level thruway (BTW, what ever happened to the bridge option?). However, living across the Sound does not allow me a voice, or a tax increase on the issue. I agree it should be up to the residents of Seattle, without outside influence. Whether it's from a Mercer Island talk radio host or the Governor.

[Charpy]

I want to ask a silly question. The Viaduct has always been advertised as "State Route 99". I've followed maps and "State Route 99" goes from Everett to Lakewood (SR512). My question is, what is the U.S. 99 sign doing on the Columbia Street onramp from First Avenue? Has anyone else noticed this?

I've also followed maps down the west coast. THERE IS NO U.S. 99. North-South U.S Routes go from 97 to 101 from Canada to Mexico.

Either that sign at the onramp needs to be taken down, or the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT should pay for the next generation thruway. Government funds are much better spent on this project then on the highway from Baghdad to Karbala.

[sparky]

Im not sure how old you are, but a long time ago my parents drove on Hwy 99 from Oregon to Marysville ...Hwy 99 is still very much in existence...Over the years it has been swallowed up by newer roads in the Seattle area, but north of Seattle it exists in bits and pieces, and it also exists south of Seattle..look for road signs that say " Old Highway 99". In Oregon, Hwy 99 is very busy east AND west of Salem..they are subsequently labled 99W and 99E...99E goes into Portland from Salem, and 99W from south of Eugene to Tigard...
Your maps are obviously new or not very detailed, is all...

[lukobe]

It think that there's more to this than just liberal-vs-conservative political views.

There always is.

Being someone who has commuted to Seattle on the WS Ferry going on my 8th year, I understand the importance of a tunnel vice a replacement or ground-level thruway

Thoughts on a cross-Sound bridge?

Oh, and re US99, Charpy--as Sparky said, US99 used to run from Canada to Mexico, but was replaced by I-5. State Routes 99 in WA, OR, and CA are all that's left. But US Route dosn't mean federally funded. The only true federally funded routes are the Interstates. Read the Wikipedia articles "United States Numbered Highways" and "U.S. Route 99" for more info.

[joanie]

Used to be the best hamburgers from Herb's stand on old 99 just south of Mt. Vernon and wasn't the The Farm which featured yummy chicken on old 99 south of Tacoma?

We used to drive it almost every weekend. An old 2-laner that was backed up every Sunday.

Missed it when the freeway was built. There's a lot of 99 left in Washington if you know where to find it.

[chucks]

Me too! I remember drive on 99 from Mtlake Terrace all the way to Seattle in the fiftys. We would stop at Dags for a beefy boy, than continue on to Grammas house in S. Seattle. It was so exciting to see the big buildings downtown from the new viaduct. That Smith Tower was just huge. Stood out as something special. Biggest building arround. The old Sears was pretty cool too.
We would leave the next morning for Olympia, stopping at Dairy Queen in Tacoma for giant milkshakes.
It was equally as exciting to see the capital building.
Where did the time go?
Just warm fuzzies for me.

[sparky]

Gee Chucks, you're an old fart like the rest of us :-)

[joanie]

And Chuck, wasn't it fun not to whiz by everything?

I remember being told that the US built freeways because they could double as landing strips . . . and that's why we didn't expand rail. I wonder if that was the right decision?

[adc]

Steve, there was no "SUCKER" angle about my decision to support the monorail.

Where my home is located, 2 monorail stations were slated to be built within easy walking distance from my front door.

Realtors assured me that this would have easily added 5% to the value of my home, which at the time equated to $35k +\-.

In addition, I attend, on average, 25 Mariner games per year, paying $20 to park each time.

The Monorail would have picked me up damn near at my front door, and dumped me off at Safeco Field.

Do the math. I would have been a SUCKER for NOT supporting it.

[joanie]

You're asking Steve to do the math?

Get real.

[sparky]

hee hee

[Steve]

Yes it seemed to good to be true didn't it. They seen you a mile away ADC, saw that neon SUCKER light flashing on your forehead and said we can sell this guy anything. I would bet you got caught in one of them Nigerian scams but you would never admit to it.

[Justin Atheropinion]

"Liberals are such hypocrites!!"

Everybody's a hypocrite over something, Thom...even you.
Of that I'm damned certain...

[chucks]

Yes Joanie
It was nice to go through the little communities, each with a personality with recognisable landmarks. You could look forward to the next place by more than a number on an off ramp.
Same was true with the trips to Manson, the trips to California etc.
Oh well, guess I got old and turned into my father. You know what I mean, great memories.

[Michael B]

I know I am awful late to this, but I couldn't help but notice you failed to mention Dan Sytman. Is it because Dan's Rainier Valley address doesn't jibe with your premise?