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The other side of the Sound Transit to Olympia coin: Olympia is an Island, leave us alone

February 12, 2015 / Emmett O'Connell / 0 Comments

The brainstorming about getting passenger rail into Olympia is alive!

Olympia’s best blog took their crack earlier and the Seattle Transit blog did their’s yesterday. All smart people all say, sure it could happen. But, there are obstacles. Sure, that makes sense. It hasn’t happened, so obviously there are reasons why it hasn’t.

I was going to reserve this post for a exploration into the past of the old Lacey to Olympia line that was ripped up and turned into a sidewalk. Alright, a glorified sidewalk.

But, after all this discussion, I think we need to bring up another topic. Should Olympia be connected by rail to Seattle?

You’re going to say: Of Course! State Capitol Right??

And, I’m going to respond with a selfish rejoinder. Well, its not like anyone is going to steal the state capitol from us anytime soon. So, why make it easier for people to get here?

Right now Olympia’s economy is supported by a steady flow of tax money into our community to support fairly well paying and stable state jobs. That’s not going anywhere. Jobs come and go, but overall, state work is pretty stable.

We’re also on the far southern edge of Pugetopolis. So, if overgrowth is going to happen, it’ll come from the north. But, in a way, we’re buffered from that because back 100 years ago Pierce County stole more than half of the Nisqually Reservation and gave it to the Army. Joint Base Lewis McCord sits out there like a massive empty breakwater against King/Pierce County growth.

Eventually Sparkland will reach around through Roy and Yelm and connect with Lacey. But, for the time being, we’re safe.

Connecting us to Seattle via convenient rail is just one more way to make Olympia a bedroom community living in the shadow of Seattle and King County.

And, in at least one part of my brain, more people living in Olympia and commuting up to Seattle for work is not a good thing.

Now, using that old Lacey to Olympia rail line that we turned into a glorified sidewalk for light-rail, a way to just get around town? Thats a great idea?

Maybe just using the old spur of that lost rail line as a Sound Transit alternative to Centennial Station. I don’t know, maybe? Better than downtown Olympia, I suppose.

One epic post on rail that beats me to the ground and four other random posts (Olyblogosphere for February 9, 2015)

February 9, 2015 / Emmett O'Connell / 0 Comments

1. Wow. The best blog in Olympia delivers again. This makes my post about Olympia and Sound Transit look like historic revisionism crap. Read this post (Link Fixed! Thanks TVDinner!) that dives really deep in to the policy of local rail.

2. Ecotone is an Olympia blog. Maybe not about Olympia, but blogged from Olympia. So, Maybe the 12th man should be for the greater good.

3. Gary also blogs from Olympia. He is NOT retired guys.

4. Why do they want to close the art gallery at Evergreen?

5. The future of the Co-op, being surveyed.

Why not punch a nice passenger line straight into downtown Olympia through Lacey?

February 5, 2015 / Emmett O'Connell / 0 Comments

Connect one of those green lines up with the light blue line: BANG. Passenger rail!

I swear I was going to write this piece way before the Olympian had a story yesterday. But, here it is: you know there used to be a rail line that passed through Lacey from a connection with a major line and into downtown Olympia?

Did you know that that rail line closed down in the 1990s and was eventually turned into a walking trail? And, did you know this sort of railbanking is sometimes reversed, trails back into rails-style?

Unfortunately, what was eventually turned into the Woodland Trail wasn’t railbanked at all, it was abandoned and taken over by the cities. Railbanking implies a continued ownership by a railroad company and a temporary use as a public trail.

From what I can tell, Burlington Northern totally walked away from the old line.

There is one section at the edge of the Lacey border that is still owned by Burlington Northern, but the rest of the old rail line is now owned by Lacey and Olympia.

And a discussion between local leaders about 10 years ago about local rail options didn’t cover reactivated this line much at all.

Here’s what I don’t get about what was going on in Olympia and Thurston County in the early 1990s. Why not use the old rail line as a passenger terminal, a way to bring Amtrack into Olympia proper?

This is the is the same era that saw the old Amtrack shed at East Olympia replaced with a semi-useful station at Yelm Highway. The Centennial Station is still way out in the sticks though. So, instead of taking of half-step with Centennial, why grab the old Burlington line through Lacey and into Olympia and go whole hog and bring Amtrack Trains downtown?

I’m sure there would have been logistical challenges with turning a passenger train around Union Pacific line south of town, and possibly other logistical challenges I’m not getting. But, the history I’ve found no discussion at all about the idea. We seemed stuck on having passenger rail all the way out beyond Lacey and turning over an urban rail line to a trail.

Just seems weird to me.

This post is a day late, maybe pretty irrelevant right now: My love letter to sudden Seahawks fans

February 2, 2015 / Emmett O'Connell / 0 Comments

I’m typing this post out Saturday night before the Seahawks second Superbowl in two year. The third their entire history.

I meant to write this for last Thursday, but I got sidetracked by my sudden fascination with Olympia history. So, on the Monday after the Superbowl, this may seem like the most irrelevant post ever.

And, first, before I launch into my main point, just a memory. I don’t remember the year exactly, but I do remember the feeling. I was a transplanted Seattle everything sports fan in Delaware. My family had moved there at the beginning of middle school. It was likely the best way I could exercise my feelings that I never wanted to move away from Washington.

But, whenever there was a Seattle team on cable sports or any national broadcast, I’d sit down and watch. I spent a lot of time trying to decide whether it was the Detriot Lions or the Seahawks playing. Those that remember the gray Hawks helmets will get that one.

Anyway, this particular game was a Monday nighter in Seattle. The era of Cortez Kennedy. Boy, they sucked. The announcers were disgusted. The Seahawks were really really bad. I mean bad.

But, I wanted to watch and the announcers openly grumbled why such a bad team would be featured in the national spotlight. I really just wanted to see the Hawks and the interstitial shots of Seattle.

Anyway, there’s my best (aside from making a 1995 Seattle Mariners scrapbook, also in Delaware) Seattle sports bonafide.

And, here’s my thought about all the new people who did not notice when Russell Wilson was drafted, but seem to know a hell of a lot about him now. To all the new fans of the Seahawks who will likely not pay much attention when they’re losing again. To everyone who owns way more Hawks stuff than me (one t-shirt vs. like 20 Sounders items).

To all of you (I won’t say bandwagoners) enthusiastic folks: Welcome. You are my people. You weren’t with me on that sad Monday night in Delaware, but you’re here now. And, that’s all that matters to me.

I kind of wrote about my feelings on this topic here. But, this what I’m writing now is more personal.

I will share one anecdote of new found fandom and then I’ll stop. One of my coworkers about 15 months ago could not care less about the Hawks. Despite living in western Washington for years, I suppose sports just isn’t her thing.

But, she is a writer. She tells stories for a living, so after slowly creeping into following the Hawks a little last year, this year, she’s thrown herself into it with a sudden fervor of the converted. And, the way she explains it is that the Hawks are like a really good t.v. show.

The games have a plot, they have emotional peaks. There are also interesting characters on the team that shape how the game develops. Quiet destroyer Lynch. Honorable leader Wilson. Wild genius Sherman.

And, in the manner that sports is really just entertainment, her entry into the Hawks is an honest one.

You may still have not a deep understanding of Seahawk history. Dave Krieg small hand jokes are lost on you, sure. But, you’re here. And, you came here your own way. In an honest way. So, thanks. Hopefully you’re here for awhile.

Does anyone have a nice drone they’d like to take out and recreate Olympia’s famous bird’s eye view?

January 29, 2015 / Emmett O'Connell / 0 Comments

Wouldn’t you want an updated version of this view?

You don’t need me out there with you. But, let me show you what I came up with about seven years ago:

The only real hard thing was coming up with where today you’d need to be to find this view. The change in the city’s shoreline since the 1870s makes it almost impossible to spit ball it. But, if you take a look at this KMZ file in Google Earth, you can find a nearly where the perspective of the original birds eye view takes you.

Now seven years ago I poked around, trying to find a nice perch to take the same perspective from. I came up with a few good options, but ran out of time and interest to follow any of them up.

So, this is where you come in dear anonymous drone owner.

Since 2007, drones have arrived. Nice, inexpensive (somewhat) drones that people own and use. So, taking an hour or so, flying around the perspective line, I bet someone could come up with a nice recreation of the birds eye view photo.

And, when you do, would you mind emailing it to me? That would be awesome!

Paywall to Public Records update: Still nothing going on

January 26, 2015 / Emmett O'Connell / 0 Comments

Thurston County sent out a press release recently that seems to be pointing in the right direction. Actually nothing at all though:

“Implementation of this integrated document management system will provide easy access to court documents, the ability to store documents locally and is cost effective to maintain. This system will benefit all parties involved.” said Enlow.

You know, except the public.

What Enlow is talking about here is an internal document and work management system between the various threads of the local legal system. Judges, bureaucrats and the clerk being all on the same, updated system. But, this — as far as I can tell — is an inward facing system. It doesn’t do anything to provide public access to records within the court system.

And (I note in a very self referential manner) is a problem in Washington State.

We have strong laws protecting public access to public records in this state. Except when it comes to records in our courts. There is a clear common law (legal tradition) in that court records are public, but we’re charge exorbitant prices for court filings. In one case, I could’ve paid $30 for a 16 page document for a case concerning a ballot initiative.

The reason behind this paywall is a state law amended ten years ago that allow county clerks to charge a steep price for digital public records, well beyond the costs allowed by our other state public records laws.

Not every county collects these fees. Whatcom County stands out as a local government that allows free access to its citizens. According to the Whatcom County clerk, Dave Reynolds, this both lowers costs to his staff, but also provides free access (yeah!) regardless of income.

The Case Management System of Superior Courts referred in the press release above was literally the most prominent issue in the clerk race last year. The eventual winner wanted to join the statewide system now being developed. The loser wanted a home-brewed system. Literally an entire race bent on which backroom computer system the clerks and courts should use.

I’d rather we spend our time opening up public records to the public. We should either pull back the 2005 law change or ask our clerks to be more like Whatcom.

Why is Crosscut so bad at metonymy of Olympia, but the Spokane paper so good?

January 22, 2015 / Emmett O'Connell / 0 Comments

I’m not going to bother really trying to prove this observation with numbers. But, here’s how my headline reading brain had divided up the legislative coverage and use of the term Olympia:

Crosscut is horrible. Replete with Olympia this, Olympia that.
Most of the rest are okay. Usually “in Olympia” sort of things. The Seattle Times is the biggest example I can bring up in my memory.
The Spokesman Review’s Spin Control blog is the best. They officially use the WAleg hashtag (minus the #) in their blog headlines instead of the classic “Olympia:” starter.

But, why is Crosscut the worst at using the term Olympia in a way that makes me mad?

For as much talk as their is about “a new model of journalism” (and I think Crosscut is doing a pretty good job at what they do), Crosscut was founded by a lot of well meaning people from a previous generation of Seattle well-doers.

And, I think that’s the point. Using Olympia as a shorthand for state government, the legislature or even the governor, seems to be a practice of people who have been around Puget Sound politics for awhile. Olympia is down there, its nearby, it is where politics on a certain level happen in this state.

Olympia is close enough to know it is there, but to also misunderstand.

The Spokesman Review, on the other hand, is literally geographically removed from this. Olympia is not nearby. It might as well (and historically likely could have been) practically been in another state. Olympia is not a placemark for people outside of the Puget Sound. So, when it comes to state government, or the legislature, they are literally the state government and the legislature.

So, if you’ve gotten to the end of this piece and you have no idea at all what I’m talking about, follow the “metonymy of Olympia” link directly under the headline and see how far you can read.

Left undone or not done well at all (Olyblogosphere for January 19, 2015)

January 19, 2015 / Emmett O'Connell / 1 Comment

1. Washington, our home, talks about posts left unfinished.

2. Stuff With October brings you a mildly infuriating floor tile somewhere in Olympia

3. If you don’t know Mathias Eichler and the massive impact he’s had on Olympia in a short time, then getting researching. Most of that impact seemingly is in the past, but he’s still around and kicking. Catch up with his 2014.

4. The best blog in Olympia is doing Olympia Visions. Awesome. Simply awesome.

5. Birds, Bees, and Butterflies and their Owls in the Ravines.

Let’s bring HB 1711 back from the dead and unleash municipal broadband in Washington

January 15, 2015 / Emmett O'Connell / 0 Comments

A couple of days ago, the White House called out 19 state laws that inhibit local governments from tearing down barriers to internet access. Embarrassingly, one of those laws is in Washington State. Sprinkled throughout our RCWs are specific prohibitions preventing local governments (like PUDs or port districts) from selling internet access directly to consumers.

While local governments can set up internet networks, they have to find a middleman (like a local ISP) to take a cut and then sell to consumers. These are the same customers that (as taxpayers) are paying for the backbone of these networks anyway.

While a few local PUDs are getting around these prohibitions by providing free public wifi, this retail prohibition is a major stumbling block to broadband access in Washington State.

Now, President Obama wants it gone. And, it turns out that in 2011 a handful of Washington legislators wanted it gone too. HB 1711 would have erased the prohibitions to local governments to provide internet access to their citizens. The bill saw public hearings during the 2011 and 2012 legislative sessions. But, it never even received a vote out of committee.

Muninetworks wrote a nice roundup of who opposed the bill then:

The bill’s opponents may be separated into two groups. The first is the usual gang of big, absentee corporations like CenturyLink, Frontier, and Comcast that typically oppose any legislation that could create competition to their services. They have a ton of lobbying power and very little desire or capacity to solve the rural broadband problem in Washington state.

The second group is more interesting. It is a collection of local businesses that are actually rooted in the community. Many are ISPs that operate on existing wholesale-only networks owned by public utility districts. They are afraid of either being kicked off the network or having to compete against the PUD itself in provisioning services. These are certainly legitimate fears.

Unfortunately, the small providers are also limited in the capacity to build the necessary networks needed to bring modern connections to everyone in the state. Offering service on an existing PUD network requires far less capital than building their own network. If the state wants to move toward a Washington where all residents and businesses have fast, affordable, and reliable access to the Internet, it has to risk upsetting the small ISPs. They do not have the capacity to connect rural Washington; the public utility districts and local governments have not just the capacity, but also the responsibility. It is time for the state to stop making it all but impossible for them to do so.

But, now the debate has changed. It isn’t just an argument about whether areas can be served by internet providers. Even in cases where a local ISP provides access to publicly provided infrastructure (not even considered data on cell phones and satellite internet), people are getting online. Largely.

The debate now is about net neutrality. Corporate providers are throttling speeds, giving preference to the data they want to see go through. This is antithetical to the idea of the free flow of information in our country.

We have free public libraries and an open public postal service because information has to flow in a democracy. In Washington, we don’t have to wait for the FCC to do the right thing. We can do it right now by bringing the ideas behind HB 1711 back.

Previous posts:
Olympia and Thurston should follow Poulsbo and Kitsap’s lead (at the very least) and what your PUD candidates think about that

The Thurston County PUD, local internet, net neutrality and the next fight

Welcome to Olympia 2015

January 12, 2015 / Emmett O'Connell / 0 Comments

Welcome to Olympia legislators, reporters, lobbyists, staffers and other hangers-on! Here are just a few simple rules. We’ll get through the next few months, just:

1. When you’re talking about the state legislator, the governor’s office, the governor himself or a state agency (of any sort), don’t say Olympia.

This is metonymy (press as media, etc). I know what it is. I don’t like it and you shouldn’t do it.

2. Its okay to say “down in Olympia” or “I went to Olympia to…” but I’d still rather you not. They’re so darn close to “Olympia wants to raise our taxes” that its better just to be more specific.

Why is this a bad thing? Just to recap:

1. State legislators are elected by people all over the state. They happen to come to Olympia. Pretty simple. Lay the blame (or credit) on the feet of who deserves it. The people who vote, from all over the state.

From the Metonymy of Olympia Archives:

Welcome to Olympia 2014 graphic

The Welcome to Olympia zine

The very first Metonymy and Olympia post from 2007 (!)

Holy crap, I just realized I’ve been on this kick for eight years! Man, I am pretty insufferable, aren’t I?

I suppose it begs the question as to why this sort of thing bugs me so much. Why does a random political headline writer going all “Olympia to Seattle: Pay Your Own Bills” bugs me so much. Probably because I don’t see Olympia as a particularly political town. That we’re anything special in regards to government.

Sure, obviously, I know a lot of people who work for state agencies, the legislature or something else related. But to me, that’s more like everyone in town working for just the one big employer in town. Its where we work, not how we live.

Also, it isn’t like the way we live here is as some cabal looking to screw the rest of the state. The people who make the actual decisions (guess what) are elected every two or four years and come from out of town.

So, welcome to Olympia. Don’t say Olympia.

Olympia Time