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AuthorSearch Results
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June 22, 2012 at 7:07 am #603687
Topic: Financial Advisor Advice
in forum Open DiscussionSonomaParticipantHi. I am seeking recommendations for a smart, effective, no-b.s. financial advisor – preferably someone who is not interested only in selling/pushing their own company’s financial products. I understand the difference between fee-based and commission-based. I don’t want a slick salesperson, but, rather, someone who is truly looking after my own interests in these turbulent times. I already have an account with UBS, but I’m looking at other options. For instance, how about investment advisors associated with banks in West Seattle? Thank you!
June 22, 2012 at 3:45 am #761471In reply to: NBA arena to be voted on by the public?
JiggersMemberArticle in-depth..
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/7938287/arena-plan-moves-ahead-seattle-lures-nba
SEATTLE — Attempts to build a nearly $500 million arena that could bring the NBA back to Seattle took another step forward on Wednesday.
And if an NHL team turns out to not be part of the equation, the public investment will be less than originally believed.
The city, King County and private investor Chris Hansen announced a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday laying out the financial responsibilities for the proposed venue.
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“We have to keep taking steps along the way. I guess what I’m trying to say is it would be a real shot in the arm to our community to bring back the Sonics and that has value.
” — Seattle mayor Mike McGinn
The proposal included two significant changes, the result of three months of negotiations between Hansen and the local municipalities, from the original unveiled in February. The agreement indicates that construction on the facility could begin with only an NBA franchise on board. Previously, it was believed that both an NBA and an NHL franchise would need to be committed tenants to make the plan work.
The plan calls for nearly $300 million in private investment from Hansen’s group. The amount of public support would be capped at $120 million if it’s only the NBA making a return to the Puget Sound region. It would be $200 million if NBA and NHL franchises are involved.
The goal is still to bring both professional leagues, but the project can move forward with only the NBA in hand, which is the focus of Hansen, a San Francisco hedge-fund manager and main investor in the project.
“Our job is, as soon as possible, when we have an agreement in place, we’ll be very aggressive in our efforts to make sure that everybody knows that we would like to have a franchise back here,” Hansen said. “I don’t want to comment on specific franchises again, but we’ll do the best that we can.”
The agreement now goes before the Seattle City Council and King County Council for review. Both entities would need to approve the agreement for the project to move forward. No construction would begin until after a franchise has been acquired.
Other little nuggets are laid out within the 24-page MOU, including the bullet point that any NBA team using the facility will have to be named the SuperSonics, subject to NBA approval. Hansen also included a side letter where he suggests that KeyArena would be used for up to two years as a temporary home with a handful of upgrades paid for by Hansen’s investor group, ArenaCo. Following its use as a temporary facility, Hansen suggests KeyArena could become a smaller arena, a theater venue or exhibition center.
But the bulk of the MOU focused on the financial details of the public investment, which is to be paid for through taxes and revenues generated by the new arena and has a number of public protections included.
The project calls for about $290 million in private investment from Hansen’s group, along with $200 million from the city and county through 30-year bonds. Any franchise that comes to Seattle and uses the arena would be required to sign a non-relocation agreement that would span the life of those bonds.
All construction costs, including overruns, would be paid for by Hansen’s group, along with all environmental studies and permitting. Once that process is completed, most of the public investment is placed on the city.
The MOU calls for an initial investment of $100 million by the city for acquisition of the project site. During a second investment window, the city would contribute another $20 million if both an NBA and NHL team are acquired, with the remaining $80 million in public investment being bonded by the county.
If only an NBA team is acquired, the public bonding would be capped at $120 million with $115 million coming from the city and only $5 million coming from the county.
“We have to keep taking steps along the way,” Seattle mayor Mike McGinn said. “I guess what I’m trying to say is it would be a real shot in the arm to our community to bring back the Sonics and that has value.”
Specifications for the arena were also released. It would hold up to 19,000 for concerts, 18,500 for basketball and 17,500 for hockey and be constructed on a site just south of downtown Seattle in the neighborhood including Safeco Field and CenturyLink Field.
Putting a third sports venue is the same area has drawn concern about traffic and transportation, most notably by the Port of Seattle and the Seattle Mariners. Hansen’s group has paid for a traffic study currently being conducted by the Seattle Department of Transportation.
June 22, 2012 at 1:20 am #760857In reply to: Left/right? education
kootchmanMemberThat’s easy to do., and the stats were quoted… 25% (your lowest case, after they trashes WASL cause the failure rate was too high) since they went back to the old model of social passing for self esteem and so the EA has no measurement metric…. and 33% who do graduate have to take remedial class… there ya go… there’s your over 50% failure rate.
June 22, 2012 at 12:28 am #761363In reply to: samie was jumped this morning
TanDLParticipantSlightly off topic story here about attacking dogs… Last week at Westcrest, I watched an interesting situation. A large Rotweiler attacked a much smaller Shepherd juvenile. At first it went after the pup nipping and growling, but then escalated into a full attack. People in the park began to try and stop it, as it was a serious attack and as I watched from afar, I thought for sure someone was going to be bitten as the attacking dog refused to be called off, even though the young shepherd was screaming and on the ground.
When the aggressor finally stopped I saw a woman on the sidelines (not the Shepherd’s owner) step forward and ask whose dog it was. A man sitting right in front of the attack claimed ownership and the whole time he just sat there watching while others tried to stop the mess. The woman told him his dog was aggressive and he needed to remove it from the park.
The rottie’s owner said his dog had attacked because the younger dog was showing submission and told the woman she clearly didn’t know anything about dogs and needed to just relax. The woman told him that was the most absurd thing she had ever heard, that in fact she owned a dog business and he needed to a.) read the park rules about owners controlling their dogs and b.) understand dogs better himself, because a submissive dog does not invite attack under normal circumstances.
The guy got insulting and the crowd began to grow with other dog owners moving forward and agreeing that the aggressive dog needed to be removed from the park. The guy finally left with his dog, although he hurled insults at everyone as he was leaving, but it was interesting watching a community come together to take on an issue and solve a problem.
I’m glad you posted your tale on the Blog. This community can gather together and help solve this problem. The owner needs to restrain the Lab – simple as that – and maybe someone should print these Blog postings and present them to the owner.
June 22, 2012 at 12:24 am #761664In reply to: 4 out of 5 cars, 7 of 10, 14 of 20!!!
RobindianneParticipantDid you know it’s legal to use your cell phone if you have hearing aids in? I know that 4 of 5 drivers aren’t using hearing aids, just sayin’ if they were, they’re legal.
June 21, 2012 at 11:53 pm #760855In reply to: Left/right? education
JoBParticipantkootch..
that stuff i posted that you obviously didn’t bother reading proves that the kids are further “ghettoized” when you send them out of their district to charter and voucher schools…
the grad rates definately fall when you provide them with “opportunity”.
“parents with two kids in a privat school with no vouchers don’t vote to increase SPS funding. Parents with vouchers who see their vouchers rise when they approve a school levy… vote for increased taxes.”
sorry kootch.. holding public school students hostage for can get vouchers to send kids to public school is NOT the high road.
it isn’t even the cost effective road.
paying the cost of public education is much more cost effective than paying for institutionalization… even when you take all social benefit out of the equation.
June 21, 2012 at 11:39 pm #760854In reply to: Left/right? education
kootchmanMemberI gotta better web site for ya…. NEA… you ALREADY pay… you are giving vouchers to go to other schools what they do do oddreality.. is all those middle class families … not the 1%… they stop voting for more funding for public schools. I assure you this.. I will not vote for one more single dime to the public school system until there are vouchers and charter schools. The “poor” kids are already ghettosized… charter schools and vouchers allows some of them to be rescued. Look at the performance scores per HS … in Great Schools… Roosevelt gets the same funding as Northshore….. If you think it is the 1% per cent who are the exclusive users of private schools.. you are dreaming. It’s mostly middle class families struggling to meet the tuition bills. Go to the morning Vashon Island ferry…. that’s a de facto coucher program… the money goes from SPS to Vashon Island School district… parents who commute to Microsoft … their kids are in Mercer Island or Bellevue or Redmond schools… parents who lack the mobility watch their kids try and achieve in the SPS system. Here’s how it works… parents with two kids in a privat school with no vouchers don’t vote to increase SPS funding. Parents with vouchers who see their vouchers rise when they approve a school levy… vote for increased taxes.
June 21, 2012 at 10:40 pm #761461In reply to: NBA arena to be voted on by the public?
DBPMembergreatfree1 . . . you wouldn’t be connected with the legal profession by any chance, would you?
What’s inaccurate about saying the county voted down Taxpayer (Safeco) Field? I distinctly remember voting on that prop, and it didn’t say: “Please tell us how you feel about this funding package.” What it said was: “Would you like to buy a stadium?”
Yes of course, they talked about funding. But everyone knew we were voting thumbs up or thumbs down on the STADIUM — not the funding. And that’s exactly why people were so pissed off when the Legislature overrode our vote and made us pay for the stadium anyway.
June 21, 2012 at 10:22 pm #603684Topic: String Trio?
in forum Open DiscussionBarry2012ParticipantHi folks,
I’ve turned to these forums many times for advice/guidance, so here we go:
We’re getting married on July 21st 2012 and our string trio just backed out. I’m in need of capable people to play classical music for roughtly an hour or so. I’ve tried gigmasters.com and they’re crazy expensive, and I tried craigslist with no luck…. i’m willing to compensate anyone but I’d love to give the money to students or something, I emailed greenriver and got nothing back yet….
any advice??! Thanks in advance!!
June 21, 2012 at 8:13 pm #761658In reply to: 4 out of 5 cars, 7 of 10, 14 of 20!!!
dbseaMemberSelf absorbed, childish, thoughtless, too important, stupid . . . I could go on and on.
And every one of them deserves a big SLAP
June 21, 2012 at 7:10 pm #761507In reply to: Executive Privilege
DBPMember>>I don’t like this. I too was hoping that we’d have more transparency. —dbsea
Yeah. Me too, dbsea. And perchance, did you notice how vigorously this administration has been going after whistleblowers?
I’m not saying that government should never be allowed to have secrets, but when you get caught doing something really bad, that’s not the best time to start playing hide and seek with the documents, is it? People are naturally gonna wonder: What are these guys hiding?
June 21, 2012 at 6:11 pm #761655In reply to: 4 out of 5 cars, 7 of 10, 14 of 20!!!
miwsParticipantI’ve always wanted to do my own formal-ish survey on those drivers that blast into a crosswalk on their red light, to make that precious right turn on red, thereby greatly endangering pedestrians that are crossing legally, with their own WALK light.
In my informal observations over the years, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s seriously in the 90 percentile, and they are not always cell phone impaired.
Mike
June 21, 2012 at 6:07 pm #761649In reply to: Health Insurance
The Velvet BulldogParticipantThanks Master Researcher Mike. I found this interesting:
“Laws, who lives in Leesburg, Va., runs a small business that cleans and maintains commercial buildings.”
I’d bet the hoopster an iced mocha that she uses her car to get from place to place for her business, and that it probably needs to be fairly sizable to haul supplies, and pretty reliable to get around.
God forbid she slips on a wet floor while working, or gets T-boned while driving to a job. In “The World According to hooper1961” she’d get no help from us! Ironic though, that people who commit crimes and go to jail get health coverage. Hmmmmmm…
June 21, 2012 at 9:27 am #761499In reply to: Executive Privilege
kootchmanMemberThe Court held in Eastland v. United States Servicemen’s Fund[4] that Congressional subpoenas are within the scope of the Speech and Debate clause which provides “an absolute bar to judicial interference” once it is determined that Members are acting within the “legitimate legislative sphere” with such compulsory process. Under that ruling, Courts generally do not hear motions to quash Congressional subpoenas; even when executive branch officials refuse to comply, the Courts tend to rule that such matters are “political questions” unsuitable for judicial remedy.
Executive privilage needs to be reined in… Obamas job is to execute the laws of congress… not circumvent them, ignore them, or create his own…..
Article II, the principal duty of the President is to execute the law; that, under Article I, the law is what the lawmaker—e.g. Congress, in the case of statutory contempt—says it is and the Executive Branch cannot either define the meaning of the law (such powers of legislation being reserved to Congress) or interpret the law (such powers being reserved to the several Federal Courts); any attempt by the Executive to define or interpret the law would be a violation of the separation of powers; the Executive may only—and is obligated to—execute the law consistent with its definition and interpretation; and if the law specifies a duty on one of the President’s subordinates, then the President must “take care” to see that the duty specified in the law is executed. To avoid or neglect the performance of this duty would not be faithful execution of the law, and would thus be a violation of the separation of powers, which the Congress and the Courts have several options to remedy
June 21, 2012 at 8:27 am #759657In reply to: Our do-nothing president…
kootchmanMemberIt’s what we vote on when we have incumbents. what is their record of achievement. He had one plebiscite already…and, the votes were overwhelming. STOP! Change course, focus on the important issues. He had two years to make course corrections… and he pressed on with things that are marginal to the central issue. Jobs and economy.
How do you explain to a liberal, you are demanding so much, we don’t have the capacity to solve all your demands. Ir doesn’t exist. I remember an exchange with JoB… re: Greece… while she tried to convince me there millionaires all over Greece… they long ago took their Euros and fled. Greece makes NOTHING… they have no productive capacity left.,, it’s an empty economic shell, It cannot recover. At best, it may live off some loans or Euro bonds.. but even after austerity… they got nothin’… this is the land where hair colorists get to retire at 50 because they worked in a hazardous occupation. They work 25 years and then draw pensions for 40? Yet you applaud the state worker model that does the same. You can watch little hints of it. California has lost its gold coast status… the productive are leaving. Taking their talent and wealth… and leaving California holding a debt bag with no clue how to pay for it.
DPB.. I have reached my saturation point of symbolism… for symbolism sake. There isn’t enough personal income in the top 25 per cent.. to reduce the deficit. Oh, you may get some satisfaction to say the high achievers got taken down a peg.. but it’s a symbolic gesture. You run the greatest risk of all. You drive off the very engine that makes this fantasy speculations of how you would tax and spend other peoples money if only you could get your hands on it. Yo can still, to some extent be mobile enough to move to less onerous states. But when that real estate runs out… the capital and people will leave. See many new manufacturing jobs being created in WA? Nope. 4000 pages of Dodd Frank… not even fully written and enacted and small community banks are folding their tents and selling out… they can’t afford the legal and administrative overhead to read, understand and comply. Let Jamie handle it. Slap the equal pay act on small business… nothing but an open ended liability that no small business will put up capital for the risk. Even though all the data suggests that parity pretty much exists… just symbolism to garner a few votes. You kill the golden goose, reduce it to the size of a canary, and expect it lay eggs worthy of an ostrich. You scream about a 1 per cent…. and ignore the fact that the biggest chunk of your wealth isn’t in their hands… it is being transferred to government. Those are facts, You wan t more yet … from a government that borrows almost half of what it spends from a income base that could not not pay off 3 months of the existing deficit. Lesson to all the millenials out there… study hard and learn a foreign language, we are determine to make you so indebted you will never see the rewards of the small business owner. Your debt load is unprecedented in US history, You no longer live in a state where accepting welfare was “shameful”… it’s a national objective.
June 21, 2012 at 3:27 am #761416In reply to: Stolen: Hand-carved Thai statue
anonymeParticipantDavid, here’s your link:
http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/gms/3088707005.html
Don’t see any flying monkeys, but you never know.
June 21, 2012 at 2:57 am #761493In reply to: Executive Privilege
kootchmanMemberAhhhhh boo hoo hoo…. after 50 years of NEA, AFSCME, UAL, WEA, et al selling their votes for a siphon hose to the public purse, Citizens United got a voice too. That is treasonous? Get real. we have a majority conservative Supreme Court.. we have labored under some liberal ones too. The messiah is a couple sandals short and we ain’t going to be the donkey that carries him any longer. Your editorial talents are slipping DPB… get back on your game, or your wishful fantasies are getting the best of ya.
Remember the Valerie Plame incident? Oh good heavens, lame street media was all over it… for weeks and weeks… NBC finally mentioned Fast and Furious after months of ignoring it. Gosh didn’t the Democrats try their hardest to cite Rove for contempt of congress? why yes they did.. His aid let slip the name of an inactive agent… now, lets see how Obama handles the leaks of national security from his office, from his National Security Advisor, Tom Donilon…are ya thinking more “executive privilege” to come from Holder and Obama? Treasonous behavior… all to shine his tarnished star.
Isn’t it simply amazing? Bush did it all… it’s as if he never left office according to Democrats. So if Bush is still dominating the national political scene… what has Obama done? Is this the Medvedev/Putin tango? Obama just a place holder until we get a real president?
Bush dit it, Reagan did it, everyone did it,,, except Obama. Cliinton? was he the guy that threw 9 millon people off welfare under TANF?
“Under the ‘work first’ mantra, TANF caseloads plummeted by almost 70 percent, as nearly 9 million low-income parents and children were purged from the national welfare rolls.” THE Clinton that signed into law NAFTA, China Most Favored Trade Nation? THAT Clinton?
why yes he was! Gosh liberals sure seem to forget just how he balanced that budget!!!
June 21, 2012 at 2:33 am #761436In reply to: NBA arena to be voted on by the public?
DBPMember>>Can you trust City Council to make the right decisions?
Sorry, Jigs, but after being burned more than a few times by billionaire franchise owners and government, I’m a bit skeptical when it comes to stadiums.
Here’s a sample of recent stadium-related treachery (not necessarily in chron. order):
¶ County voters reject new baseball stadium.
¶ State legislature overrides voter decision and builds stadium anyway.
¶ Pink Panther Co. buys naming rights but nobody knows how much it paid for those rights.
¶ County realizes that earthquakes are dangerous. Kingdome is upgraded at public expense. (We’ll be paying that off until 2016.)
¶ Mr. Used Car Salesman decides Kingdome isn’t sexy enough for the Seahawks anymore. Dumps team.
¶ County voters reject new football stadium. Mr. Nerd vetoes that decision and convinces the Legislature to hold a special election, for which he will pay. Voter lawsuit is delayed until after the special election.
¶ Ka-boom!! Newly retrofitted Kingdom is blown into little bits.
¶ Mr. Coffee decides that Key Arena isn’t sexy enough for the Sonics anymore. Breaks contract, dumps team, sues city.
Sound familiar?
Sorry, but I don’t take anything on faith anymore. Especially when it’s a politician talking.
June 20, 2012 at 7:59 pm #761428In reply to: I don't understand.
kgdlgParticipantI think the curb bulbs are in general a very good idea, especially on two lane streets, to give buses priority to stop and load people quickly. It seriously cuts a lot of time off a bus commute, and this matters when getting people to ride buses.
That being said, this is a particularly bad location for this concept. I know it well, and I know the situation described above well. Planners should have considered the stoplight and the actual impact it would have on movement of traffic in and out of the intersection. In addition to the normal back-up here, the round building next to this stop is an SHA building with many disabled folks who require special boarding on the bus. This will double the back-ups since this loading takes twice as long if not more.
June 20, 2012 at 6:42 pm #761427In reply to: I don't understand.
JVMemberTom, the bus stop was a solution that created a bigger problem. There WAS a bus lane, but they wanted to give the bus priority so cars don’t slow them down.
“Traffic’s bad? Take the bus.”
“The bus causes a traffic jam at Morgan junction? Take the bus.”
A bad policy creates a worse problem. (see also plastic bag bans…thanks Nanny Government!)
June 20, 2012 at 6:25 pm #761111In reply to: tim pawlenty: bets are still open!
kootchmanMemberYou couldn’t get more divided than this administration. Some one is going to deal with Iran, one way or another. But I doubt the socialist democrats in Europe can or will help. They are broke.
Obama head two years fair winds and following seas… unobstructed. The people had a referendum, it was called the mid terms…. and they knew exactly what they were doing. They didn’t take over the House with a mandate to give Hussein a free rein and help slip ever deeper into the abyss.
It will be Romney. I watched his G-20 aftermath speech… he is clueless. Life is rough when the teleprompter isn’t in place.
June 20, 2012 at 3:59 pm #603669Jeff HParticipantLike the topic says…
For Sale: 2002 Jeep Wrangler X (TJ)
$13,000 (or best offer) – No trades please. Clear title in hand!
Mileage: 63,531 (as of 6/20/2012)
Location: West Seattle (98136), near Alaska Junction
Here’s the Craigslist ad:
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/3089657267.html
Respond here or through Craigslist if interested. Thanks!
June 20, 2012 at 6:50 am #761105In reply to: tim pawlenty: bets are still open!
JVMemberAs a side bet, how long will Obama keep Slow-Joe Biden around?
Hillary? No, she’d have him taken out!
June 20, 2012 at 4:29 am #761417In reply to: People Bullying People On Bikes
redblackParticipantman, if there’s one demographic i would not attempt to engage in pugilism, it’s the cycling public.
why would you pick a fight with someone who’s obviously in good enough physical shape to endure 206 on a bicycle?
(that goes for motorists, too.)
it’s like picking a fight with a boxer.
i’m not saying that all exchanges with cyclists have to be violent, or that cyclists are always in the right, but before i “pop off at the mouth,” i check out who it is i’m popping off to [sic].
…no matter how silly i think he or she looks in lycra.
just kidding!
June 20, 2012 at 4:26 am #751458In reply to: bed bug dog
JiggersMemberNot a public health problem? Mmmmm… just ask any homeless people when they sleep on those mats at the homeless shelters how much of a problem those bed bugs are.
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