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.

PubliCola Picks Cathy Dahlquist for State Rep District 31, Position 1

2010 Election, Opinion, Politics   July 29, 2010 at 5:49 pm PublicolaPicks

Although we don’t like the front-running Republican in the race, Pierce County Council Member Shawn Bunney, we do like the other one, Enumclaw School Board Member Cathy Dahlquist.

Bunney is terrible on some of PubliCola’s make-or-break issues—transportation and the environment. As a Pierce County Council and Sound Transit board member, he has advocated consistently for highway expansion (supporting, for example, the highway-heavy 2007 “roads and transit” measure, but opposing a subsequent light-rail-only measure because it didn’t include funding for highways), and against environmentalists (fighting for the environmentally irresponsible Cross Base Highway, which would serve sprawl and pave over some of the last remaining oak prairie in Western Washington).

The other Republican in the race, the one we like, Dahlquist, is running on our other big-deal issue: education reform. Dahlquist’s Obama-esque ed reform position—upping graduation requirements, holding teachers accountable—earned her the endorsement of PubliCola faves the League of Education Voters and Stand for Children. (Both groups also made hefty contributions.) The legislature needs members who will focus on education reform, especially after, in an embarrassing reality check this week, Washington State got knocked out of Race to the Top, Obama’s education grant program.

The Democrat in the race, South Prairie Mayor Peggy Levesque, has a boilerplate D agenda—invest in clean energy, raises for teachers, and progressive tax reform.

PubliCola picks Cathy Dahlquist.


  • ivan

    You two pathetic little hipster choads are really doubling down on stupid with your anti-teacher crusade. Fortunately, we parents know who is there for our kids, which is why we support our teachers.

    That's your problem. You don't have kids, so you don't *know* any teachers, much less interact with them on a daily basis. So it's no wonder you swallow the propaganda, and march in lockstep with this so-called “reform” program that the privateers are feeding you.

    Education is expensive, but ignorance is more so. Every day in every way, Publicola demonstrates that. Gullible, stupid little dupes, both of you.

  • Ryan

    “PubliCola faves the League of Education Voters and Stand for Children”

    Oh God.

  • Phil

    Then why do you keep reading? Surely your vitriolic energy could be better applied elsewhere—like, say, not measuring your childrens' educational progress effectively?

  • fount

    I'm wondering about this education reform crusade myself. It all seems to be based on the idea that teacher quality is the problem. Just fire all the bad teachers and you're fine.

    This is a most limited analysis of the issue. What about poverty? What about language issues? What about structural issues like resource allocation?

    You teach in a classroom with non-english speaking recent immigrant refugee kids who wonder where their next meal will come from? Well, you better make sure they pass their next proficiency test at the same rate that Redmond rich white kids do, or you're FIRED.

    This is also all based on the idea that once you get all the “bad” teachers out, there is a horde of fantastic, committed, innovative teachers waiting in the wings to fill these positions. You're not raising the salaries, you're not offering additional resources…in fact, with rigorous performance assessments you're making the job HARDER for the same pay…and yet you expect a whole new crop of totally different and totally higher quality teachers will appear?

    I'd be fine with education reform if it was comprehensive. But it's not. From NCLB to DC to Chicago to the League of Ed Voters, it is simply a war on teachers. It's a fight against the symptoms, ignoring the disease.

  • ivan

    Don't forget corporate-backed “astroturf” groups like “Stand for Children,” one of Josh and Erica's “faves.” Go on PDC and look at who they support, and who supports and finances them, and then wonder at the gullibility and the sheer mendacity of these two pitiable excuses for “journalists.”

  • Donolectic

    In summary, Ivan is virulently pro-union – in this case, the teacher's union. Woe to anyone who threatens it!