Category Archives: ~ my 2cents …

~ my 2cents ...

the other Washington … what happened to Metro

05/17/2015 Nativegrl77

It’s now 2015 and a proposal for more buses has been put on the table by king county

WHAT?

On May 1st, 2015 king county and surrounding residents were told …

Metro transit to add more buses, more trips this fall

The regional transportation agency will buy more buses and provide more trips beginning in the fall.

WHAT?

I get the feeling that the whole idea of light rail has been lost maybe the funding gone wrong and well, bertha hasn’t been cooperating with the workers. This makes me question where all this money is coming from and why shouldn’t those dollars go toward what we all have come to know as “Light Rail.” While most folks probably agree that we all need better parking, if king county is trying to reduce or redirect cars from coming into downtown they should keep have or offer a great alternative… right. I don’t know about you but that doesn’t necessarily include more buses. I hope there are more voters willing to demand answers spend the sudden influx of funds on light or any rail into place as we have all been waiting for.

From 2010 through 2014 we were told among other things that Metro Service cuts are proposed …again?

a Re-post because taxpayers should know what happened to Metro between 2010 and 2014 ?

Metro must plan now for major service cuts in absence of funding

We’ve cut costs, raised fares, and created other efficiencies to preserve most service over the past five years. But temporary funding authority from the state expires in June, and unless action is taken on stable funding, Metro must plan now for drastic service reductions next year.

More than 80 percent of Metro’s bus and DART routes would be affected.

Riders and communities across King County would feel the impacts: fewer travel options, longer waits between buses, more transfers, more-crowded and less-reliable buses, and increased traffic congestion.

http://metro.kingcounty.gov/am/future/why-cut.html

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Washington transit system: Our roads got a grade of D , light rail reduced and now our bridges

Posted by Nativegrl77 on 11/12/2013

Dear Washingtonians

Below is a snippet of an article and petition you should sign from the Washington Chapter of the Sierra Club.Senator Curtis King, Co-Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, is promoting a new transportation funding proposal that will set us back decades. This new budget proposal fails to fund over $900 million worth of projects that are necessary to operate our transit system, provide street improvements for bikes and pedestrians, and address polluted water runoff associated with roads.

Our bridges are literally crumbling around us. Workers can’t get to jobs because their bus service has been cut. The new road “mega-projects” being considered in the transportation funding proposal would dramatically increase climate changing pollution and increase sprawl. The Senate transportation funding proposal is simply unacceptable.

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Don’t Eliminate the “Ride Free Zone”

Washingtonians need to ask … what did the savings of $2 million with the elimination of the “Free Zone” do for our transportation when our bus services might still be cut !!!

TO: Seattle City Council

I wrote about The “ride free zone” ending way before the September 29th deadline hoping they would rescind the order to end it. Today, the local media showed and interviewed the people who have suffered from the new change and not in a good way. The thing that struck me most aside from the obvious was the comment about “a one time set-aside for bus tickets,” of $250,000 in emergency money for homeless people to ride Metro.

Below is a video and article that is heartbreaking

Homeless hopes public helps with discounted Metro bus tickets … click on the link below for the video and article !

http://www.king5.com/news/cities/seattle/Homeless-council-member-ask-for–174292691.html

It was a nice surprise to hear that people are still protesting the elimination of the “Ride Free Zone” giving full exposure to the real reasons why the Seattle King Council voted to eliminate the “Ride Free Zone.” Yes, we all know about that 2million dollar savings but the mission to make the downtown and the transit look and smell beautiful by leaving the homeless, disabled and those needing services out in the cold, which btw are all located on or near the “Ride Free Zone.”

In 2011, king county hit its residents with a two-year vehicle license fee that was supposed to help keep metro alive. Now, Metro Bus Riders find out that a deal done with Republicans will eliminate the “Ride Free Zone,” a Merchant straight away and beautiful feature of the City of Seattle – free for over 35 years.

The facts are; that more than 10 million boarding’s are logged each year inside the Ride Free Area; another 9,000 rides are taken each day without fare. There are reports that without the compromise reductions in Metro would have affected 80% of all bus riders including the poor. Unfortunately, balancing budgets off the backs of the middle and poor has been a Republican mission since 2010. It is with great sadness to think and or believe all that King County Officials seemed to have forgotten or sacrificed for that 2 million “Ride Free Zone” cost savings per year. This includes tourists, people commuting home from across the water, downtown workers accustomed to hopping on the bus to grab a quick bite, or get some dry cleaning, pop into a store all within an hour and low-income folks who, if you ride in the zone now; know they use it to get around daily.

King County Officials say the “Ride Free Zone” will end after Sept. 29; tell them that making deals with Republicans to phase out an urban mainstay for so many, is bad for Seattle.

If, this new mega-projects monstrosity is real yet will create an environment for more pollution and increase sprawl …

We must say NO

challenge who was in charge of spending

demand accountability

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Congratulations! You saved King County Metro! …Julia Deak Sandler, Prevent Metro Transit Cuts in King County, WA Campaign

Posted on 08/17/2011

We did it! You and I, with our coalition partners and all the individuals we set in motion, have saved metro. The King County Council enacted the $20 Congestion Reduction Charge last night, after some intelligent, bipartisan negotiation and compromise, and I am so proud of them. Jane Hague and Kathy Lambert, in particular, really rose to the occasion. They not only made those controversial “yes” votes that carried the day, but they improved the proposal by giving 8 free bus tickets to everyone who pays the $20 car tab fee and letting those who don’t want them donate that value to social service organizations. Doesn’t it feel great to see your democratic government working the way it’s supposed to?

The lesson we can learn from this success is that our participation matters. Without the outpouring of “overwhelming” support for transit, this deal never would have happened. When democracy works, it is because we push our elected officials to do the right thing. I know this success has inspired and energized me, and I hope it’s done the same for you.

If you feel a little giddy at this vision of what participating in your democracy can do, here are some ways to keep at it:

1. Join me in going past this temporary 2-year solution. We need to find permanent, progressive funding for transit, and convince the voters to vote for it. If you would like to work on this issue with me and our local organizational partners, please reply to this email. We’ll be starting the discussion with a free movie screening of the film Contested Streets (a transit documentary) on Fri. Aug. 26th at 7pm at Bethany UCC, corner of S. Beacon St. and Graham St. in Beacon Hill. Please join us for the screening and discussion. RSVP

2. If transit is not your pet issue, and you just like standing up for common sense, progressive causes and social justice, there are ways to do that, too. Since last November, I’ve been volunteering with my local MoveOn Council and have found it to be a great way to develop my skills and learn from more experienced and active citizens. Each council is a group of active individuals that works on national campaigns with the national MoveOn.org organization, but can also weigh in on local issues or help members get involved with local advocacy groups.

3. Last but not least, you can make your own petition on signon.org at any time! Any individual can start a petition about any issue, so consider it, and let me know if you have questions.

These are dire times in many ways. We are struggling economically, environmentally, and politically. But there are rays of hope, like this victory today. Just remember, there are more of us than there are of them, and all we need to do is stand up and make our voices heard. Please stand with me in the years to come and help make King County the kind of place we all want to live in.

Thank you and Peace be with you, Julia Deak Sandler

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Final Vote on Bus Cuts on Mon. 8/15

Posted by Nativegrl77 on 08/11/2011

: Image via Wikipedia

Your support for saving King County Metro has made a huge difference. More than 8,200 people signed our SignOn petition to save our buses, and more than 14,000 total signed letters or petitions. The testimony at the 7/26 hearing was fantastic, and we didn’t lose! But we also haven’t won yet…

We need six of nine councilmembers to vote in favor of the two-year stop-gap measure to save our buses. We have the support of 5 members, but the sixth has been elusive.

The King County Council was set to vote on the matter that day. Luckily, thanks to the thousands of people who voiced their support, the four remaining councilmembers – all Republicans – agreed to take three more weeks to seriously consider the the measure.

Now, we must double-down. This is our last chance to save our buses from devastating 17% cuts that will significantly hurt 4 out of 5 riders. Though I started this petition as an individual, I’ve learned that many professionals are working on this and related issues under the umbrella of the Transportation for Washington campaign. Here’s what they recommend:

First, please send your own personal letter to the King County Councilmembers. There are no more opportunities for public testimony, so calling or sending another letter is the best way to remind them of our arguments. Feel free to edit or add personal details.

Click here to send your letter. http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5127/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=7814

Next, pack the meeting on Monday, August 15. Click here to RSVP. http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5153/p/salsa/web/questionnaire/public/?questionnaire_KEY=608

Finally, we need volunteers to help petition, phonebank, write letters to newpaper editors, and enter data. Email Brock Howell, field director of Transportation 4 WA, at brock@futurewise.org to volunteer.

Thanks again for your support. Your dedication to the betterment of our society and planet warms my heart. Together we can save our buses. Stay strong & don’t give up!

Peace to all of you,

Julia Deak

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~ my 2cents ...

Remembering the BP Oil Spill ~~~

04/20/2015 Nativegrl77

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Site (Photo credit: Green Fire Productions)

just another rant ..,

In memory of the BP oil spill … A day just like today, the sun came up and the light of day gave way to a whole lot of life, but on 4/20, the morning light showed just how bad the BP oil spill disaster was, uncovering an event that will forever affect the Gulf Coast. As the media pushes, viewers begin to listen because they have questions, the media thinks they have solutions and the answers to how each Political Party will handle the disaster that is BP. They will talk about the BP oil spill and the damage to marine wildlife and habitat, the economy, the health of the people, those who worked and fought the oil as well as the local government weather and each other to save the Gulf Coast.

We all need to Remember the eleven people who died.

I still wonder just how much the Republican Party of No knows about the lack of preparedness drilling oil companies seem to be engaged in.

The BP oil disaster … proof of our need for rules regulations and while some oil companies rely and exist on short cuts and deregulation; Congress, specifically those from oil Country have avoided legislation that would make sure it does not happen again. Republicans did not seem fazed by the oil disaster whatsoever, screamed for more drilling though eleven people died, no heads rolled and no one did any jail time. It was the worse spill in our history yet Congress has swept it under the depths of the ocean that clearly needs man’s help. I have a riddle …what happens when a big corporation might knowingly try to save money by betting on worst-case scenario. Well, we do not know how many other narrow escapes there were or why they simply chose not to have high-tech equipment already in place or a multi-billion dollar plan B, but luck ran out and somebody’s risk analysis tool failed.

President Obama is willing to change direction on issues when the facts and or evidence show themselves. The moratorium President Obama put in place was a move coming from a President who has common sense. The BP oil disaster, led to major delays and or cancellation of offshore drilling and this clearly upset Republican members of Congress. Yet, given the latest information, maybe they should be more accountable for pushing for less regulation, less time waiting for permits more space for drilling; like that, 84,000 acres BP is or will lease to Ohio; which happens to be Boehner country. It is with great sadness folks on the right talk about drilling, like that old cliché … for us by us. FYI – it will take at least ten years to produce enough of our own to make a slight difference; in the meanwhile we should be implementing a full range of things including wind and solar but Republican oil seems to be more important. Yes, there are jobs, jobs, jobs in that there oil but betting against the odds puts more than an oil platform at risk which cannot be said enough times . A human error

I have to say the first reports of the explosion and then word that everything was okay made me wonder …common sense tells you okay the well is underground; it could bleed out, up or both. This spill, the worse ever is a warning to change the rules regulations, the way the clean-up process works with all equipment close or at least get an emergency plan in place. Safety first, seems like common sense at work though not too lucrative. I am no expert, but emergency equipment should always be available immediately. However, I saw nothing but boats watching, waiting for the leak to show and spread.

I haven’t heard much lately, but folks want to know what exactly is the status of the wildlife, those eyeless, clawless oddly deformed shellfish or fish with open sores some gulf coast fishermen may have caught though the FDA said “no worries,” we all wonder how much pollution they theirs or we are being subjected to.

~ my 2cents ...

Ferguson bias

03/23/2015 Nativegrl77

just another rant …

Ferguson is back in the news and most of the media whether from the states or overseas describes Ferguson as an “embattled city” has also had some positive changes happen since that DOJ report.

This report not only informed America that a small town has been under control, it has been used as a revenue source and subject to search seizures stops while driving ,shopping, walking for just being black. Ferguson is 67% black 85% cited and those residents make up 93% of all arrests. However, their police department is about 96% white and if you listen to the Mayor or police officials their excuses are that far and few Blacks apply, or are not qualified to be on the force. The DOJ report in my opinion validated what residents were saying after Mike Brown was killed, some say has been going on for years possibly decades lest we include comments about other “Ferguson’s” all over our country is obviously disturbing. It is now our 21st Century reality that comes from fear, politicians who get votes from fear mongering and a learned behavior culture that should be followed and reformed as the DOJ report suggests even if this scathing report comes from outside authorities. Yet, after watching the press conference, the viewer gets the idea that the information from that DOJ report is devastating, brutal and based on fact though Ferguson officials appear to be acing like they are going to stall or shove immediate changes to the back burner. We all saw Mayor Knowles reaction and it may have been a natural response by folks in leadership or those in positions of power, but the longer they wait to implement change the tougher it will be to hold his title even if folks have been leaving or supposedly fired. This finding by the DOJ was validating and clearly just the beginning as real change will take elections that replace the problem and get those into office that will have the courage to diversify Ferguson. They need leaders that create solutions, take responsibility and not run or hide from it. Finding out that some of these people in leadership positions will be paid for a year is offensive. I object to paying people who clearly ignored, avoided, closed their eyes or participated quietly if those emails were sent out in-house only with racial slurs or bias is on the backs of those leaders in the police department.

Anyway, I was checking my email looking at blogs when a blogger exercising their 1st amendment rights seemed to have sparked a response from me and as stated on their blog ~~ feel free to respond and that response is below …

This is just my opinion and quite possibly it has some ill feelings attached, but maybe you should re-read your entry because you constantly state that you only know what is being reported yet you write.

“In my mind’s eye I can almost envision some backward baseball cap vigilante thinking to himself/herself that he or she was taking the appropriate action required to “Take Murica Back.”

I hope folks know that what gets reported can be subjective and while there are several reports from Wednesday are that the shots came from across the street, which they say were almost a block down, behind and away from where the peaceful protestors were. It was also reported that police drew guns within seconds on what seemingly were peaceful protestors even while there was “agitation” prior to the shooting and quite possibly “outside agitators.” We all need to be reminded that this is also something that has not occurred since August, which could very well mean someone from the outside was at it again and or it could have been a resident. I want to make sure you know believe me anyone who shoots at civilians and or police for no reason are guilty, but you have decided to tell your readers what that looks like and that is just wrong. Why, because we do not know if the shooter/vigilante had a backward baseball cap yet. Unfortunately, this seems to be code for “black male” and if that assumption is wrong, I would definitely stand corrected. I was taught to know, that not all white folks are bad, racists , wear White Hoods, feel like overseers, slave owners or as if what’s needed is to put absolute control over a community that is over 67% Black 85%cited and 93%arrested fined and has been the police/town revenue …fundraiser since who knows how long

~ my 2cents ...

joan rivers and the entertainment industry

12/23/2014 Nativegrl77

FYI … I started writing this on September 4,2014 … I probably left out so much but it’s a rant

So, the country and the world heard that Joan rivers passed away. I have to admit I liked her, and then I did not because she seemed to offend or target blacks. Then I did again because before going ugly I decided to listen to more of her monologues and found out that no one was safe quite frankly! She was funny while being very offensive, she provided her audience with gasps while on point and if you were actually listening, she was an activist for several protected groups! There always seemed to be a negative focus on her family life. I admit, at first she seemed to have had some rocky interactions with her one and only child, but also turns out this woman not only made fun of other races and social groups she was the first to dissect her own life, loves least we talk about that face. In addition, her great relationship with her daughter became a lucrative collaborative effort that brought Joan back more than once and made folks say, wow she is back. I could list all the reason Hollywood tried to knock her down, actually they kept her down for about a minute while she was reinventing herself over and over as the good ‘olé boys obviously were scared; did what they could to make her life miserable and they did …I blame them for the ultimate knocking and shutting out. We can all say well, he had issues he was not strong enough he had too much pride … well Joan loved him and had her own personal thoughts about him that she did express … period and she had to face yet another wall she had to climb forced upon her by an industry that needs some serious intervention. The SAG needs to do more for its card holders as more and more young actors decide life is just too hard and as I listen to the media praise and diss Joan Rivers, it made me wonder who started the red carpet ..Hey, who started the red carpet interview knowing the path was not exactly a yellow brick road probably quite bumpy for any woman daring to be on it much less doing interviews. I decided to go to wiki…yeah I know, but it stated that red carpets started in the states around 1821 for President Monroe. Then in 1902, the NY central railway pushed plush carpets, the film industry for premieres and then in 2010 somebody decided to remove the red carpets due to potentially hazardous conditions in high winds, which seems to have been only for Presidents, Airports and the Pope.

Today, folks interested in “Film Stars” or any entertainment event seems to plan their lives around seeing the red carpet interviews, who gets the red carpet treatment though folks back in the day said noooo, it’s too dangerous it is definitely alive and well, sometimes overly or poorly done but done. It sounds like Joan Rivers first acknowledged appearance was around 1977, they said, she did her first Première. There is a lot of information but nothing that tells us who was that first interview on the red carpet… We all know Joan Rivers is the person that coined “who are you wearing” on the red carpet, yet, people keep asking how did she get there; fact is Joan was in the fashion industry when she was just in&out as a college graduate followed by more entertainment gigs. I am not going to do a Joan Rivers timeline because it is all over the airwaves and all you have to do is listen

Rest in Peace Joan

~ my 2cents ..., ~ pop culture

dwts 2014 winners

12/23/2014 Nativegrl77

Get ready for some great Dancing Skating and Music from 2014 through Spring 2015!

Could we get meryl&maks skating and or dancing to great music on or back on National TV ?

For someone who has been a movement participant since forever, an athlete and sports enthusiast along with some dance training, it was a treat to find a show that focused on a genre of dance that was popular but seemingly underground unless you knew where to go, hot, but not so much here in the states unless you knew where to go, suddenly on national TV. I have followed, been a fan, been frustrated with dwts, dumped it, tuned in again and had some not so good things to say, but dwts season18 2014 was beyond fun to watch. A show the whole family can watch with a lot of conversation and as some of the contestants&pros shed lbs., it makes you want to move a bit more. Yes, we viewers have a whole lot of attitude about some dwts drama, but I think that is definitely a part of the producers agenda baked in …and viewers response never cease to disappoint. We get locked in, over react or join up to try and make our votes count!… geez, I mean come on( in my best Bruno Tonioli) voice and this year was no different. I am and have been what folks call a “Maks fan” even before melb. and when they did not win I stopped watching until Season16. In Season 16, there not only were more willing people of colour participating, the youngest competitor ever seemingly brought dwts back and younger viewers tuned in, ok, the end result was awful and I stopped tuning in on the regular until rumors of maks being on the show again kept popping up. The Maks and Meryl partnership was/is amazing, wonderfully, seemingly personal and fun. As we all watched their friendship progress we saw what happens when connections on the dance floor are made, seem raw, real, effect affect the masses that put smiles, tears and love in the hearts of those who appreciate dance, contests and maybe some drama made us viewers vote for this fabulous partnership/couple.

I loved meryl and maks together, hope their partnership …is continued and look forward to seeing future dance or any project(sss) from them …

I have to admit that dwts shows prior to melb and after were not that exciting, maybe because not many entertainers of colour were participating not to mention the fact that the pros were great but few were people of colour let alone not originally from the US and while the optics were odd … Those “things” became less important once the dances began. I love that the dancers have to earn their pro positions while in troupe … experience matters

Anyway, Congrats to Meryl & Maks, the 2014 dwts winners! so deserved!

watch this space … As more dance more music skating and more charity events come from this partnership!