Viva La Cola!

Founded in January 2009, PubliCola is a blog about Seattle written by journalists who are dedicated to non-partisan, original daily reporting that prioritizes a balanced approach to news. Started by longtime local editor and award-winning reporter Josh Feit, PubliCola is the first online-only news site in state history to get media credentials to cover the state capitol.

PubliCola was off and running. In June 2009, PubliCola hired another award-winning journalist, super-sourced Seattle city hall reporter Erica C. Barnett.

People were afraid that blogging would change journalism. Instead, we believe journalism can change blogging. Twenty-first century journalism may look and feel different, and yes Erica isn't afraid to get cranky, but we're committed to making sure online news still delivers independent, reliable, even-keeled coverage. And most of all, we're committed to making sure the coverage sparks honest civic debate.

Bringing you cola for the people, PubliCola is named after Publius Valerius PubliCola, the alias for the authors of the Federalist Papers—the original bloggers.

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The first online-only news site in state history to get media credentials to cover the state capitol and Seattle city hall, PubliCola has been called a “must-read” by the Seattle Post Intelligencer and a hot “New Media Mover and Shaker” by Seattle Magazine—which also cited our own Erica C. Barnett as the city's No. 1 news nerd.

The Court Said No

News   September 14, 2009 at 8:02 am Morning Fizz

fizz

1. Thurston County Superior Court ruled against Tim Eyman on Friday. Eyman had filed a suit complaining that the state’s Office of Financial Management’s miscalculated the hit state and local governments would take. (1033 limits the amount of revenues the state can spend.)

OFM’s fiscal note—which the agency was required to provide and publish in the Voters’ Guide—estimated that 1033 would cost the state $5.9 billion and cost cities and counties $2.8 billion by 2015.

Eyman’s suit demanded a new fiscal statement. The court said no.

2. Morning Fizz hears that longtime Mayor Greg Nickels’ staffer, legal counsel Regina LaBelle, got a job in D.C. with either former SPD Chief Gil Kerlikowske (now President Obama’s drug czar) or perhaps with former County Executive Ron Sims, now at HUD.

(MF also hears that outgoing City Council Member Richard McIver’s longtime staffer Paul Elliott, got a job  in Seattle’s Department of Transportation doing outreach in South Seattle.)

3. There’s a parade of comments on Erica’s scoop about Mike McGinn’s financial ties to Seattle’s business and developer crowd. Reporting last Friday about the backers of McGinn’s non-profit, Great City, Erica wrote:

The most prominent company on the list  is Vulcan, Paul Allen’s South Lake Union development firm. Although McGinn wouldn’t say specifically how much Vulcan had contributed to Great City, he does concede that the developer is among the organization’s top two or three contributors…

Several of McGinn’s positions on big city and development issues line up closely with Vulcan’s: He supports a version of the proposed $290 million “Mercer Mess” fix (although he says “we have to figure out a way to make it cheaper”), and he wants to make “incentive zoning” (a scheme in which developers get to build taller buildings in exchange for investing in amenities like affordable housing) more flexible than current guidelines mandate. (In 2007, Vulcan successfully lobbied the city to exempt it from some incentive zoning requirements for one of its developments in South Lake Union).

4. Morning Fizz is totally straight, but we’re definitely going to be at this Thursday’s art opening at the Re-Bar. The show features silkscreens of Seattle’s A-list drag queens and divas, and Thursday night’s 9pm show (sliding scale $5 to $10) features performances by all of them, including: Jackie Hell, Ade’, Ursula Android, and Sarah Rudinoff.

The Re-Bar is at 114 Howell St. And the silkscreens—which are fabulous—are going for $100 each.

Today’s Morning Fizz is brought to you by Washington Conservation Voters.

wcv1


  • Poop Scooper

    Guys,

    I love what you do. But the McGinn conspiracy thing is not a scoop.

    Let me back up one step. It might be a scoop for neophytes who think that the world is cut in black and white or blue or red.

    The fact is that Great City did take support from developers. You guys hate the ilk of John Fox and Pat Murikami, people who have a conspiracy theory for everything that doesn’t go their way. This kind of “reporting” plays into that kind of conspiracy mind set.

    There is no “man bites dog” here folks. So McGinn had lunch with a developer, and the developer kicked in some dough for Great City. Does that mean that somehow there is a weird dissonance between that ask for dollars, the acceptance of the money and then months or years later McGinn’s campaign for Mayor? Hardly.

    Now if McGinn was, like Fox and Murikami, anti-growth, and was taking money from Vulcan OK that’s “man bites dog.” But McGinn is pragmatic and to think that you can hold up a pair of “good guy/bad guy” glasses to view people’s campaign finance reports and say “gotcha” because somebody contributed funds to a campaign/non-profit in a way that seems inconsistent to the good guy/bad guy lens is ridiculous.

    You guys know better. All you have to do is look at your pained defense of Sandeep’s multiple alliances. Is Sandeep working for Constantine/Nickles and being involved with Publicola “man bites dog?”

    You said it isn’t. Neither is the fact that McGinn took contributions from developers.

    You can’t have it both ways. So let it go.

    Thanks.

  • Poop Scooper

    Guys,

    I love what you do. But the McGinn conspiracy thing is not a scoop.

    Let me back up one step. It might be a scoop for neophytes who think that the world is cut in black and white or blue or red.

    The fact is that Great City did take support from developers. You guys hate the ilk of John Fox and Pat Murikami, people who have a conspiracy theory for everything that doesn’t go their way. This kind of “reporting” plays into that kind of conspiracy mind set.

    There is no “man bites dog” here folks. So McGinn had lunch with a developer, and the developer kicked in some dough for Great City. Does that mean that somehow there is a weird dissonance between that ask for dollars, the acceptance of the money and then months or years later McGinn’s campaign for Mayor? Hardly.

    Now if McGinn was, like Fox and Murikami, anti-growth, and was taking money from Vulcan OK that’s “man bites dog.” But McGinn is pragmatic and to think that you can hold up a pair of “good guy/bad guy” glasses to view people’s campaign finance reports and say “gotcha” because somebody contributed funds to a campaign/non-profit in a way that seems inconsistent to the good guy/bad guy lens is ridiculous.

    You guys know better. All you have to do is look at your pained defense of Sandeep’s multiple alliances. Is Sandeep working for Constantine/Nickles and being involved with Publicola “man bites dog?”

    You said it isn’t. Neither is the fact that McGinn took contributions from developers.

    You can’t have it both ways. So let it go.

    Thanks.

  • Poop Scooper

    PS Most of the comments have nothing to do with your big scoop but rather issues related to growth, which kind of makes my point. Ooooo, McGinn and Great City’s views on things “line up” on South Lake Union. Well the issue is growth. Is it any big shocker that a pro growth group like Great City and a developer like Vulcan had some common ground? Again, hardly.

  • Poop Scooper

    PS Most of the comments have nothing to do with your big scoop but rather issues related to growth, which kind of makes my point. Ooooo, McGinn and Great City’s views on things “line up” on South Lake Union. Well the issue is growth. Is it any big shocker that a pro growth group like Great City and a developer like Vulcan had some common ground? Again, hardly.

  • Timothy

    Why must MF declare a sexual orientation?

    Methinks thou dost protest too much.

  • Timothy

    Why must MF declare a sexual orientation?

    Methinks thou dost protest too much.

  • the staffers move on

    Wow getting a new job in just a few weeks, very on the ball.

    One suspects Nickels staffers were sending out resumes PRIOR to the primary election.

  • the staffers move on

    Wow getting a new job in just a few weeks, very on the ball.

    One suspects Nickels staffers were sending out resumes PRIOR to the primary election.

  • Cook

    i agree with @3. posting your sexual orientation, then going on to call the silkscreens “fabulous,” is just a douchey move. well played, publicola, well played.

  • Cook

    i agree with @3. posting your sexual orientation, then going on to call the silkscreens “fabulous,” is just a douchey move. well played, publicola, well played.

  • http://publicola.net/ Josh Feit

    @5,

    You’re paying attention aren’t you Cook.

  • http://publicola.net/ Josh Feit

    @5,

    You’re paying attention aren’t you Cook.