People
Best Philanthropist, New-School
Already a successful local businessman with his family’s Pacific Coast Feather Company (what could be more Northwest than feathers?), Nick Hanauer joined the ranks of the seriously wealthy as an early investor in Amazon and by selling his Avenue A Media to Microsoft. Since then, he’s been a prominent investor and a surprisingly vocal advocate for higher taxes on the wealthy. If his giving, through the Barton Family Foundation, has been discreet, Hanauer is now an important national voice on income inequality. He joined Robert Reich in the recent documentary Inequality for All to promote policies to restore the middle class. It’s our spending in the middle, he and Reich argue, that drives the economy—not the buyers of private jets and second (or third) vacation homes. Appearing on The Charlie Rose Show and at TED, Hanauer has become the counter to the Koch Brothers, who would pull up the drawbridge behind them and leave us peasants to starve. He’s a 1-percenter who lobbies for the rest of us. Tax equity and government regulation are a good thing, he told GQ’s Jon Ronson last year: “In every country where you find prosperity, you find massive amounts of regulation. Show me a libertarian paradise where nobody pays any taxes and nobody follows rules and everybody lives like a king.” (Uh, Somalia? Nope.) BRM
Best Philanthropist, Old-School
While his old Microsoft buddy and co-founder Bill Gates is busy fighting malaria, the man behind the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation has been reshaping his hometown. Though today a Mercer Island resident, the once-bearded billionaire’s giving goes way beyond his Seahawks’ improved fortunes in the NFL. Over the past 20 years, his foundation has awarded more than $450 million in grants. Local cultural entities include ACT, 4Culture, Velocity Dance Center, the Wing Luke Museum, SIFF, the Seattle Symphony, and SAM. Also on the long list of beneficiaries are the Seattle Public Library, the UW (hence the Allen Library), the Burke Museum, the Tacoma Art Museum, Northwest Film Forum, and the Bellevue Arts Museum. As an individual, of course, Allen bought and refurbished the Cinerama and built the EMP Museum (still a reliable tourist draw). And though the ill-fated Seattle Commons scheme didn’t work out, the now-thriving South Lake Union amounts to a huge economic gift to the city, too. All those free-spending young programmers may not be using MS-DOS anymore, but we might not have them there were it not for Paul Allen. BRM
Best Lawyer
Best Gadfly
The definition of gadfly, as provided by Merriam-Webster: “A person who stimulates or annoys, especially by persistent criticism.” While Seattle stalwart Dave Meinert tends to stimulate the Weekly more than he annoys us, there’s no question the man isn’t afraid to speak his mind. It’s a fact he’s proven time and time again over the years, whether helping to bring down the hated Teen Dance Ordinance back in the day, more recently panning the state Liquor Control Board for denying Seattle the chance of later bar hours, or banning Google Glass inside his 5 Point Cafe in Belltown (which was genius, by the way). An experienced music promoter, a shrewd businessman, and now a respected voice inside City Hall (he’s been involved in the ongoing City Center Initiative roundtable discussions, for example), Meinert can sometimes infuriate elements of this city, but there’s no question he provides stimulations and annoyances that make Seattle more interesting. MATT DRISCOLL
Best Villain
Equipped with tomahawk staplers, the beast known as Poster Giant is a real-life terror on Seattle’s streets. Once, while on a valiant independent postering campaign, I encountered a Poster Giant acolyte. “You can’t poster here,” he sneered at me, holding his stapler at the ready and staring me down. “If you try, I’m going to take them down.” Bewildered at his audacity, I retreated to safer ground. The next day, I found 80 percent of my posters torn down, replaced by fliers for a KeyArena show from some deplorable German necromancers who call themselves Rammstein. Last year, Grrl Army led a noble quest to combat Poster Giant’s misdeeds on Capitol Hill while simultaneously spreading the good word about ending rape culture. The legendary back-and-forth battle lasted for weeks, with Poster Giant tearing down Grrl Army’s posts as quick as the latter could put them up. Reports from townsfolk at local taverns reveal that Poster Giant claims whole streets as its “territory.” Engaged in ongoing combat with public art and independent bands, the Poster Giant beast has chosen the left-hand path of destruction, covering city-commissioned murals and filling single telephone poles with 32 copies of the same poster, laying waste to those who were there before. KELTON SEARS
Places
Best Up-and-Coming Neighborhood
There are two up-and-coming stories happening in Hillman City, the outwardly sleepy strip between Columbia City and Rainier Beach. One is an immigrant story, as it has become a vibrant center of Seattle’s growing African Muslim community and other immigrant groups. Libra African Gifts keeps the latest Nigerian cinema in stock. The pizza place, Eyman’s, follows Koranic dietary law. So does the El Salvadorian joint on the next block, where one can peruse socialist literature while waiting for a heaping plate of lamb and rice. The other up-and-coming story is a more common one: With cheap property prices and close proximity to both hip Columbia City and hoity Seward Park, white professionals are becoming more comfortable moving in. A new brewery is definitely not halal, but is owned and operated by women, an awesome advance in Seattle’s male-dominated brewing scene. An incoming roastery is promising to bring a “new wave” of coffee to Seattle, and will deliver its products by bike. We hope these two storylines can continue together, but things might come to a head when someone asks for pepperoni on their pizza at Eyman’s. DANIEL PERSON
Best Place to Take Visitors
I was reminded of the Emerald City’s enchanting charms on a recent flight back to Seattle. The panorama is breathtaking as you descend: A fleet of ferries dutifully chug to and fro like friendly cousins of Thomas the Tank Engine. Forest-green islands dot the sound, framed by the craggy peaks of the Olympic mountains, freshwater lakes, and a sophisticated skyline. I’ve been told by out-of-town company that the picture exceeds expectations. Once at sea level, you can make your visitors part of that picture with a ferry ride to Vashon Island. From the Fauntleroy terminal, it’s a short 10 minutes to the laid-back island, just long enough to take in the briny breeze on the deck (a sensation you won’t get on a plane). Bring a bike and get your exercise: a grueling mile-long trek uphill into town. But such extremes are what make the region so spectacular, and the trek is worth it once you level off and abundant farmers markets, live music, excellent restaurants, wine tasting, and fantastic Puget Sound views await you and your date around every corner. Once you’re ready to catch the return ferry, you’ve earned the long, steep bike ride downhill—and it’s absolutely exhilarating. GWENDOLYN ELLIOTT
wsdot.wa.gov/ferries
Best New Icon
The city’s been going round in circles for years, so it’s only fitting that it’s got a Great Wheel to commemorate that civic trait. But what a wheel of fortune it is. Soaring 175 feet above Pier 57, the 280,300-pound Wheel, which opened June 29, 2012, has magically reshaped our skyline in ways incomparable—unless you consider what the Tacoma Dome has done for the City of 3
Destiny (kidding). Sometime this month, the one-millionth rider will plunk down $13, hop aboard one of its 42 fully enclosed gondolas, and take that 12-minute ride out over Elliott Bay and up into the stars. And like the wheels on the bus, it goes round and round. ELLIS E. CONKLIN
1301 Alaskan Way, 623-8600 , seattlegreatwheel.com
Best Remodel
Seattle’s grand living room is bustling again, a civic treasure wondrously remade. The King Street Station is more than a mere train station. It is an essential civic space, a distinctive city portal that rekindles the lure of a romantic journey amid a gently swaying community. The elegance of train travel begins and ends at the station, of which ours was once among the finest in the land, this proud terminal erected in the early 1900s for the Great Northern and Northern Pacific railroads. The station’s 245-foot clock tower, in fact, was modeled on the campanile that rises in the Piazza San Marco in Venice. Before the Smith Tower sprouted in 1914, the clock tower was the tallest structure in Seattle. Now the splendor returns. Gone are the dingy low ceilings, the fluorescent lights and gum-scuffed floors, the torn plastic-leather chairs, the gorgeous terrazzo floor cracked beyond repair. Come and behold its restoration. Mill about its spanking-new waiting room, all white and silvery, resurfaced with steel plating and replastered to replicate the glories of its original countenance. Good to have you back on track, King Street Station. EEC
303 S. Jackson St., seattle.gov/transportation/kingstreet.htm
Best Restroom
Sometimes I like to go in the bathrooms at
Elliott Bay Book Company
even if I don’t have to use the toilet. Designed like a model showroom in a Pottery Barn catalogue, the three huge restrooms at the back of the store’s cafe are absolutely immaculate. You’ve got the clean toilet, sure, but also so much more. While you do your business, you can turn to the side and doodle on the massive chalkboard on the wall. Pick one of the many colors of chalk available and scribble whatever literary poop joke you can think of. Maybe To Kill a Mockingturd. Or the Charles Dickens classic A Tale of Two Shitties. And we can’t forget Thomas Hardy’s raunchy Tess of the d’Poopervilles. If you are having trouble thinking of something quippy to write, invite a friend! There are little chairs and benches in there too, so your bookish pals can join you. Too cramped downstairs for the reading going on? Host your own reading in the bathroom! There’s plenty of room. KS
1521 10th Ave., 624-6600, elliottbaybook.com
Best Place to People-Watch
Every weekday except Monday, they line up like clockwork—waiting for cured-meat perfection. The line at Salumi never ceases to amaze; on a sunny day, when Seattle’s hipsters and cubicle-dwellers apparently have hour-plus lunches, it’s not uncommon for the line to stretch for a block. This captive environment—each person patiently waiting for a chance at one of the best sandwiches Seattle has to offer—presents a unique opportunity to view humanity at work. Sure, the coppa is to die for and the mole is divine, but the real treasure can be found in the people-watching. Ironic facial hair? Check. Flip-flops and cargo shorts in March? Check. Uptight 3
office dudes? Check. Blue-collar salami freaks? Check. The line at Salumi has it all. And since these people aren’t going anywhere, the gawking is great. MD
309 Third Ave. S., 621-8772, salumi curedmeats.com
Best Place to Meet Single Women
Maybe it’s the kombucha on tap. Or it could be the tasty roasted-mushroom-and-risotto cakes. Whatever it is, the PCC in Fremont has become a mecca for the city’s most organic, all-natural eligible ladies. Whilst picking up a nice slice of veggie pizza from the hot-food counter, it’s almost impossible to bestill your beating artichoke heart with the unreasonable amount of beautiful, smiling ladies that seem to beam from every isle. When the employees at the checkout stand look you in the eye and ask if you’d like to pay five cents for a paper bag, they stare right down to your soul. Nine times out of 10, you’ll forget you brought your own eco-friendly reusable satchel amid all your stammering. Even the customers will stop you in your tracks. Oh, look, that gorgeous woman perusing the almond-milk selection is holding the newest Fantagraphics graphic novel. Swoon. And over there, a highly driven woman who just finished yoga class is pondering not only which locally sourced pesto sauce she might purchase, but also considering the logistics of opening her own studio for her art practice. Mega-swoon. KS
600 N. 34th St., 632-6811, pccnaturalmarkets.com
Best Place to Meet Single Men
If you are an eligible adventurer seeking well-equipped men with high Strength and Charisma stats to join your party, look no further. Full of some of the noblest gentlemen warriors in the kingdom, Gamma Ray Games is your one-stop shop for tabletop games, Magic: The Gathering cards, and single men. Time your arrival to Magic deck pre-release nights or booster draft tournaments for optimum dude numbers. If you are lucky, you might be able to tap some mana and some hunks. If you are a little kinkier and more into role-playing, head over on Wednesdays for some steamy casual “D&D Encounters,” where you can live out your deepest, most intimate fantasies. And if you get overwhelmed by all the men, never fear. Femme gamers find solace in Ladies RPG Night, where you can play in peace with your fellow valkyries. KS 411 E. Pine St., 838-9445, gammaraygamestore.com
Best Place for a First Date
Taking a date to Bluebird Microcreamery & Brewery is a great gauge of whether or not you should dump your potential new significant other. If they don’t enjoy their time at Bluebird, they probably just hate all good things/having fun. Surrounded by a holy matrimony of delicious in-house ice creams and microbrews, it’ll be hard to tell whether you’re more in love with what you ordered or with the person sitting across from you. Every flavor of ice cream at Bluebird is an aphrodisiac, served in a warm waffle cone crafted on the spot as you order. Try the peanut-butter ice cream, which will have your eyes rolling back in an ecstatic fit of joy. For extra cutesiness, the place is stocked with every board game imaginable, so you can make small talk with your date as you Triple Word Score in Scrabble (and hopefully real-life-score later). And when you’re full of beer, ice cream, 3
and budding love, you can walk one block to Cal Anderson Park for a romantic little stroll, where you might hold sticky, ice-cream-covered hands for the first time. Me-ow. KS
1205 E. Pike St., 588-1079, facebook.com/bluebirdseattle
Best Place for a Last Date
The best place to start a last date is definitely an alleyway, which is exactly where Liem’s Aquarium & Bird Shop is located. When you enter through the small, dark door, a robotic automatic greeting message is triggered by a motion sensor that will startle you and your significant other, a premonition for the tragic finality this date will hold. You suddenly find yourself inside a small hallway, lit only by the eerie glow of the aquarium lamps that envelop you in aquatic, loveless horror. Fish. So many fish. Coming at you in writhing masses from every angle. Many have strange, tumorous-looking growths. Others lie dead in the water, not unlike your romance. It doesn’t matter where you look, the fish are everywhere—just like this relationship’s warning signals as of late. Because the entire room consists of a single corridor split into two smaller walking paths, you and your date will have to get uncomfortably close to these sickly fish and to one another in order to maneuver through, a symbolic reflection of your unrepairable intimacy issues. While this might be your last time together, remember, there are plenty of other fish in the sea. Maybe some that don’t have weird growths on them. KS
511 Maynard Alley S., 624-0537
Best Cemetery
Bruce Lee’s spirit may roam Lake View Cemetery at night, but I’m sure it’s wandered across the road to The Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery more than once. As one of Seattle’s most legendary warriors, he would probably have lots to chat about with the ghosts of the Civil War veterans who haunt the gorgeous space. Nestled quietly on East Howe Street on the far north end of Capitol Hill, the G.A.R. cemetery is a beautiful, meditative portal into a dark chapter in American history. Anchored by the massive flagpole/obelisk at its center, the graves radiate outward in circles like ripples, bearing the names of those who fought against the Confederacy. It’s incredible to visit the space and contemplate the fact that somehow, all those 526 soldiers managed to make it this far west after the war ended in 1865, when Washington was still just a territory. Back then, only the burliest of pioneering lumberjacks contemplated settling here. KS
12th Avenue East & East Howe Street
Best Suburb
On a walk one morning, I spotted a raccoon, freshly stripped of its fur, on the corner of a fence. I was horrified, but my boyfriend calmly reminded me of the man we often see in McLendon’s Hardware dressed mostly in animal pelts. In any other ’hood, such a sighting might point to some gruesome teenage prank, but in White Center, it’s likely a humble witness to a grizzled bachelor’s survival skills. Annexed neither by Burien or Seattle, White Center, in unincorporated King County, remains a vortex where such encounters are commonplace. You’ll surely find some on 16th Avenue, which retains its infamous sex shops, dive bars, and now multiple marijuana collectives. Yet that street also boasts one of the area’s best breakfasts (Meander’s Kitchen), fabulous pizza (Proletariat), amazing burgers (Zippy’s), and a hipster ice-cream shop (Full Tilt). There’s also great coffee at DubSea, good local suds at Big Al’s, and fine cocktails at Company Bar, where you can dine on croquettes while homeless folks loiter 10 feet away on a sidewalk littered with condoms and barbecue-sauce packets. It’s rough around the edges, but it also offers a look at urban life, sometimes through strange coincidence, unlike anywhere else in King County. My boyfriend and I recently found a bag of weed—about $1,000 worth of herb—on the sidewalk. We knew it had likely been forgotten in a stoner’s haze and took it to a neighbor in the biz. It was his brother’s stash. GE
Best-Kept Secret
Do you need to patronize one of the restaurants along the downtown waterfront to enjoy the spectacular view across Elliott Bay? No, you don’t. As Seattle Weekly has reported in the past, property owners on the piers are required to set aside space for the public. It’s locating those public areas that can be a problem, given the lack of signs that advertise them. Presumably that’s why you never have a problem finding an open picnic table at Pier 56, a spot that offers a panoramic view of the bay. This is the pier shared by Argosy Cruises and Elliott’s Oyster House, and you might think that’s all that’s there. But head straight back on the path that cuts between Elliott’s two outdoor seating areas and keep going—past the sign that says “No alcohol beyond this point,” beyond the juncture at which the pier tapers into just one row of Elliott’s diners. Eventually, the pier will open up again and you’ll see a row of picnic tables. Nothing makes you appreciate Seattle like eating lunch at that pier on a sunny day, watching the light glimmer off the water and the ferries head toward the Olympic Mountains. NES
Media
Best TV News Anchor
The hair. When you’re talking about KOMO’s Dan Lewis, the conversation has to start and end with the hair. Always impeccable, never a wisp out of place, Lewis’ hair has anchored the KOMO newscasts since he arrived in Seattle in 1987. Oh, sure, Lewis’ body and brain has been along for the ride—interviewing presidents, traveling the globe, and as of late posting sunset pictures to Twitter in his spare time—but without the hair is there any chance Dan Lewis becomes the man we know today? Chances seem slim. “Dan Lewis is easily the best in the business. Heck, he’s one of the best people period,” says Dan’s son Tim, who joined the KOMO operation this year as a weekend sports anchor and admits his bias. “I’ve never met someone with a better work ethic and downright passion for broadcasting. There are three things my dad loves more than anything else in this life: his family, doing the news, and that beautiful hair.” MD
komonews.com
Best Reporter,TV/Radio
I saw Brandi Kruse cover this year’s May Day fiasco. She was wearing high heels and clutching a Starbucks cup, just as the “anarchists” were beginning their march from Capitol Hill to the downtown core. She looked a little out of place, but I’m sure she needed the coffee. By all 3
indication, the woman doesn’t sleep . . . ever. A tireless reporter for KIRO Radio, Kruse’s station bio claims she’s “spontaneous and adventurous in her free time.” I’m not buying it. I don’t believe she has free time. She’s at every last-minute press conference. She’s at every crime scene. In the past year alone, Kruse was first to report the pillow-purchase tiff between police monitor Merrick Bobb and the city budget office; first to document the sordid high-school sex-pic Twitter scandal that entangled two star athlete brothers at Edmonds Woodway High School; and first to discover the fiasco that marred Mayor McGinn’s photo-op attempt to melt weapons collected during a January gun buyback into “peace bricks” to be placed at area schools (see Best Blunder, below). Kruse deserves this award, and a few days off. MD
kiroradio.com
Best Reporter, Online/Newspaper
Jseattle, who cranks out news on his Capitol Hill Blog at the rate of a cable-news-channel ticker, shows us what a neighborhood blog can be. Always ready with context, Justin Carder—as jseattle is known to the IRS—is straightforward with his treatment of an area of Seattle that can get a little bit abstract and overwrought. And in covering the most vital neighborhood in Seattle, we all benefit. From documenting the rise of milk theft at grocery stores (it’s really a thing!) to Macklemore’s video shoot at Dick’s, his reporting has a way of engaging even those of us who try to avoid the area at all costs. And its sheer relentlessness is something at which to marvel. DP
capitolhillseattle.com
Best Newspaper Columnist
Even by Danny Westneat standards, Danny Westneat is having a great year. Holding down The Seattle Times’ Sunday and Wednesday column slots, he’s done precisely what a metro columnist is supposed to do, shaking up cocktails of skepticism, reporting, and demagoguery that—somehow—both put into words what the reader was thinking all along while telling him things he never knew. He knocked the assault-weapon ban completely off the rails this session when he got the sponsors to admit they didn’t actually know what they were sponsoring. His spoof story reporting that state Republicans, witnessing the strong growth of Seattle’s economy, were reforming their platform to more closely mirror our local politics efficiently debased the bullshit coming out of Olympia. It was simply elegant. And, like any smart columnist, when he didn’t have anything else to write about, Westneat griped about parking fines and bridge tolls in a mighty cathartic way. They might not rival bloody marys, but Westneat’s cocktails are a satisfying Sunday morning treat nonetheless. DP
seattletimes.com
Best Blog
Public transportation policy is like contraception: lots of people use it, but that doesn’t mean anyone wants to talk about it. The wonder of Seattle Transit Blog is that it finds ways to make even the most mind-numbingly nuanced aspects of transpo policy not only accessible but engaging. Witness the reams of comments most posts get—131 comments about the placement of the Link Light Rail station at Sea-Tac? We have to call entire genres of music “bullshit” to get that kind of traction. The bloggers have their biases—obviously they are strong supporters of mass transit—but they use that love to eviscerate King County Metro as often as they do car-obsessed lawmakers in Olympia. Which is comforting, because sometimes it seems like no matter how bad it gets on the bus, nobody wants to talk about it. DP
seattletransitblog.com
Best Blog Post
Sure, when Washington voters passed Initiative 502, it was historic. But when the Seattle Police Department’s in-house blogger extraordinaire, Jonah Spangenthal-Lee, wrote about the implications, the results went beyond historic: Shit got downright epic. Spangenthal-Lee’s “Marijwhatnow? A Guide to Legal Marijuana in Seattle” is perhaps the SPD Blotter post to end all posts, an effort full of Lord of the Rings and magic-show references that, thanks to equal amounts of honesty and humor, earned recognition from the likes of Rachel Maddow, Al Jazeera, and The New York Times and has more than 420,000 page views to prove it. “This was a big win in the fight against governmental boring-ness,” says Spangenthal-Lee. “We knew people were going to have questions about pot, and we knew we wanted to put out something people might actually read and retain, but we never could’ve possibly predicted ‘Marijwhatnow?’ would’ve spread like it did.” MD
spdblotter.seattle.gov
Best Twitter
Choosing to follow Ken Jennings on Twitter, one might expect to be titillated with 140-character outbursts of brain-teasers or trivia, or perhaps a random musing about maps. What one gets, though, tends to go something like this: “The cool thing about someone saying they’re a ‘cineaste’ is that then you get to murder them.” Sometimes a self-effacing Seattle dad, other times a crude social commentator, Jennings seems to have caught a second gust of celebrity after his record-breaking 2004 run on Jeopardy! He has 132,500 followers, and, if this tweet is any indication, people like it: “All my relationships should be like Twitter, where I just randomly talk about myself all day and everyone tells me how great that is.” Not bad for someone ESPN the Magazine claimed had the “personality of a hall monitor.” Fear not, trivia fans, Jennings doesn’t forsake trivia completely. He’ll link you to the various freelance columns he writes. And just the other day, he dropped this nugget: “TRIVIA TIME! Ben Franklin believed our national bird should NOT be the bald eagle but rather ‘this bitchin’ thunderbird I painted on my van.’ ” So there you go. DP
Politics
Best Politician
Seattle politics are so goddamn boring. With a few notable exceptions, our municipal elections amount to geriatric sausage-fests. The sausages in question are white. And they’re all, so to speak, members of the Democratic Party. It’s not because Kshama Sawant isn’t white, is a woman, or is on the unpickled side of 60 that we like her. That would make us superficial. We like her because she’s an honest-to-god socialist who’s willing to throw a few Molotov cocktails into the cloistered hatch-pits of our terribly staid civic “debates.” And after getting nearly 30 percent of the vote when she ran against state House Speaker Frank Chopp in last year’s election, she’s shown herself to be more than a gadfly. The Seattle Central Community College economics teacher channels a fist-raising leftist zeal that’s been all but extinguished in the United States. As she runs against Richard Conlin for city council, she is hoisting the banner for a $15-an-hour minimum wage—the wage demanded by the fast-food workers who walked out on the job in the spring, a strike that all Seattle’s Democratic leaders said they supported before hedging on whether they’d take any action as policy-makers to make that wage a reality. As Kshama says: “Both the Democrats and Republicans serve the interests of a tiny financial aristocracy.” Do we agree with her? Beside the point. It’s just nice to have a politician with some guts. DP
Best Press Release(s)
What’s the key to a great press release? Mayor McGinn’s righthand man, Aaron Pickus, should know. Though this summer Pickus took leave from his post as the mayor’s spokesman to volunteer for the McGinn re-election campaign, handing mayoral PR responsibilities to Robert Cruickshank, Pickus’ prolific prowess makes him a shoo-in for this award. He’s written a ton of them for the mayor, who’s shown during his four years in office that he loves nothing more than a good bike ride and a great celebratory press release. Ice-rink opening in Cal Anderson Park? Pickus has a press release for it. Mayor’s got a new goal for stormwater management? Pickus has a press release for it. Felix Hernandez pitches a perfect game? Pickus has a press release for it. “Same as a good article,” Pickus says when asked what makes for a good release. “Short informative lede, write like Hemingway.” Does that mean drunk? “Always,” Pickus responds. We assume he was joking. MD
Best Blunder
Mayor Mike McGinn took to the podium in early May to announce the city’s latest feel-good attempt at curbing gun violence. The program’s name was Weapons to Words, naturally announced at one of the countless warm-and-fuzzy press conferences the mayor held in the lead-up to this month’s primary election. The idea was to melt down guns collected during a January buyback and turn them into inspirational plaques—inscribed with children’s words—and place them at schools around the city. The only trouble was, the guns had already been melted down and turned into rebar, a fact the bearded man in charge learned the morning of the scheduled press conference. What did he do? Trudge on with the photo op, of course, triumphantly announcing a program the specifics of which he knew were completely impossible. Two days later, KIRO Radio uncovered the truth (see Best Reporter, TV/Radio, above), and McGinn was forced to apologize, explaining that the program would continue after future buybacks produced more weapons. So far, no such follow-up buyback has been scheduled. And though most voters probably didn’t hold this laughable gaffe against McGinn when filling out a ballot (there are plenty of other gaffes for the mayor’s detractors to focus on, after all), it still served as a glaring black eye for an incumbent who already had plenty of bruises. MD
Transportation
Best Car Share
Nothing ruins a gorgeous Seattle sunrise or sunset like a traffic jam. No matter what poll you read, we consistently rank on the list of America’s most congested cities, and if you’ve ever tried to head in any direction on 99 during rush hour, you don’t need statistics to tell you that, do you? What Seattle drivers do need to be told—or rather, gently reminded—is that carpooling works! Fortunately, car-share services like Lift and Uber are gaining traction with riders, but nothing beats making the most of the vehicle you already own by getting butts in those seats. You don’t need a service or an app for that—just do it! It never ceases to amaze me during the morning commute when my boyfriend and I breeze through the HOV lane while one-person-per-car traffic idles bumper-to-bumper in adjacent lanes. In a city often named one of the “greenest” in America, the irony is that what happens on our roads is far from it. Carpooling is a simple time-, money-, and eco-minded solution to get moving—and enjoy a brilliant sunrise stress-free while you’re at it. GE
Best Bus Route
Oh, route 358, you poor, maligned thing. You course through the troubled water that is Aurora Avenue, serving Fremont frat boys and hard-up motel dwellers alike, packing ’em in and getting ’em home or downtown or anywhere but here. Between 7 and 8 a.m., nine of your green-and-yellow carriages will bear south, each one fuller than the next as you take them 12 and a half miles from Shoreline to the courthouse, Bitterlake to Belltown. And what do you get for it all? Entire Reddit threads, Tumblr accounts, and Twitter feeds about how “sketchy” you are, how “sex acts are common,” and how one guy saw a lady get kicked off for huffing paint while in transit. Listen not, 358. Let coddled Route 26, that conveyor of Wallingfordites and Green Lakers, keep the grime from beneath its manicured fingernails. Yours is to toil for the working man, and you do it mightily. DP
metro.kingcounty.gov
