Real Sustainability

So the past couple of days I’ve been ‘slumming’–attending the Des Moines ‘Ad Hoc’ Aviation Committee meeting and then a Burien City Council Meeting on Monday. And then the last StART meeting on Tuesday. I’ve made no secret of my disdain for these groups but that has little to do with the people who are,

Port Commission Letter: Flights Too Low and Too Loud

A letter to all Port Commisioners, dated 07/24/2018 following the Regular Commission Meeting. Commissioners, Today, a resident of Federal Way presented you with data about flights arriving too low from a popular web site AirNoise.io. As you were told, residents use the site all the time now to make complaints. You responded with interest–which is

Stop asking for another airport!

A pet peeve of mine. This is something I often see when protesters get in front of some politician for one of these three minute Public Comments. The person comes in with a seriously researched argument. They’re really making a great point. And then they reach the end and their big finish is: “And in

FAA Seat Suit Lacked Sincerity

There has been all sorts of talk about the failure of this law suit to demand a higher minimum legroom standard from the FAA on commercial passenger flights. But it was doomed to fail with an agency like the FAA. And why it failed is important to understand if we are to improve the situation

PM 2.5s In Ulan Bator

For the past six months there have been a ton of stories in all the big papers and magazines as well as NPR and PBS about Mongolia–Ulan Bator to be precise. Depending on who you ask, the capital of Mongolia is now the most polluted big city in the world. And why that matters to

Kill ‘Em With Kindness

One of the most difficult aspects of explaining the airport to outsiders is the constant stream of positive spinning going on throughout the area. This spinning occurs on many levels and despite my using the verb ‘spin’ most of it is actually a sincere attempt to help the community. The problem is that the area

We Need A Professional

The airport communities need to establish a direct, formal relationship with the Commissioners of the Port Of Seattle. This should be accomplished either voluntarily or by statue and then executed by a dedicated professional. In short we need a professional airport advocate. The airport communities need this because our current system of communication, which has

Now and Later

Almost every politician or advocacy group in Puget Sound would seem to agree on some basic themes when it comes to controlling Sea-Tac Airport. And in fact, it is remarkable how similar the viewpoints are (at least in public) between almost anyone you might speak with. However there is one key difference between myself and

Century Agenda: Strategic Objectives

(As amended December 19, 2017. Goals are intended to reflect attainment in 2037, unless explicitly noted otherwise.) Strategy 1: Position the Puget Sound region as a premier international logistics hub Objectives: 1.   Grow seaport annual container volume to more than 3.5 million TEUs. 2.   Structure the Port of Seattle’s relationship with Washington ports to optimize infrastructure