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2025-11-30Burien, Des Moines, SeaTac file petition to review SAMP
On the last day of the sixty day deadline, the Three City ILA filed a Petition for Review in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the venue which typically reviews FAA decisions in Washington State. The petition asks the court to consider the September 24 Sustainable Airport Finding of No Significant Impacts/Record of Decision (ROD) -
2025-11-28Ep #15 The Airport Director’s Dad Joke
After 50 years of community engagement and millions spent on advocacy, why do airport communities continue to lose battles over noise, air quality, and expansion? The uncomfortable truth is that the Casino rewards community engagement—an approach that never works--over developing one that does. -
2025-11-26Sean Duffy wants you to dress for success when you fly
With the Thanksgiving holiday expected to be the busiest in FAA history, Secretary Duffy has given multiple public statements encouraging travelers to ditch their sweatpants. With rising concerns over bad behavior as flying becomes more stressful, his thinking: “When people dress better, they tend to behave better. Alternatively, the Secretary could work towards funding high-speed -
2025-11-23Where airport mitigation always falls short
Project funding shows one way to fairer outcomes Summary: The recent Miller Creek Restoration ribbon cutting was framed as a win for regional partnerships. Agreed. But a funding review shows that Burien and SeaTac ratepayers covered the majority of the cost—while the Port of Seattle used airport revenues and thus zero out of pocket. Background -
2025-11-19What’s the deal with indoor air quality?
A conversation with Dr. Georgia Lagoudas. Environmentalism has typically focused on outdoor air quality, but climate change is pushing more people indoors more of the time, even as airborne pathogens and wildfire smoke challenge indoor air quality. I discuss the fight for better indoor air with Dr. Georgia Lagoudas, who recently coordinated a global pledge -
2025-11-18SAMP legal challenge 2/2: different year, same mistakes
Analysis As reported in Part I: Between November 3rd and November 13th, city councils in Burien, SeaTac, and Des Moines each voted unanimously to enter into an Interlocal Agreement (ILA). The agreement retains outside legal counsel to challenge the Federal Aviation Administration’s Record of Decision (ROD) Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Sustainable -
2025-11-16
SAMP legal challenge 1/2: Three cities move forward, Normandy Park out
Piecemeal rollout suggests lack of shared commitment Between November 3rd and November 13th, Burien, SeaTac, and Des Moines each voted unanimously to enter into an Interlocal Agreement (ILA) to retain outside legal counsel to challenge the Federal Aviation Administration’s Record of Decision (ROD) Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Sustainable Airport Master Plan -
2025-11-09Des Moines City Council to consider SAMP ILA
Partnerships. Competing and conflicting interests This Thursday, the Des Moines City Council will vote to continue forward with an amended version of their SAMP Interlocal Agreement (ILA) — a joint legal/consulting framework for NEPA/SEPA review of the Port of Seattle’s Sustainable Airport Master Plan (SAMP). The arrangement began in 2018 with four cities: Burien, Des -
2025-11-07
Burien to move forward on SAMP ILA?
Council votes on ‘four city’ ILA. Four days later it’s, three? Burien City Council: November 3, 2025 Item 13.h (SAMP ILA) On Monday, the Burien City Council voted unanimously to move towards final consideration in renewing the SAMP ILA with Des Moines, Normandy Park and SeaTac. This agreement concerns a legal appeal process on the -
2025-11-05
Ep #14 A-Weighted
The Airport Communities Podcast Last week told the crazy story of Tagamet to describe something economists call perverse incentives–how people can waste so much money addressing a problem in the wrong way, you can’t even get research money to figure out how to address it in the right way. In another episode, we described No