Not really sure about how extended parking meter hours came about, but last week the Times sure went out of its way to blame McGinn in the piece it did saying that restaurants have had few diners since the extension came along.

@1, and the wine thief debunked that little hit piece earlier today.

@2

Interesting piece--thanks!

McGinn also whined that the "dog ate his new proposal".

One-sided coverage? Oh, you mean like the Stranger. Put away your rape whistle, Goldylocks.

Cliff Mass points out that a quiet flu season probably has a lot more to do with it - scroll to the bottom of this post: http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2012/02/lo…

@6, that's a great find - Cliff Mass also calls more bullshit than that:

This is entirely wacky!  The program started in Sept 2011.   You will notice that the absentee rates for this Sept through January are virtually the same as the last TWO years. For some reason, 2008-2009 was a bit higher--but that is not an issue here.  So other than this February there is ABSOLUTELY no evidence that the new program is doing anything.  Where in the world did they get that the rate was cut in half?

Its ok, what comes around, goes around, McGinn doesnt have any problem taking credit for other peoples work.

"When I took office there weren't any cranes on the skyline," McGinn told the rapt crowd seated inside council chambers. "On my way to City Hall this morning I counted at least a dozen. It's good to see hardhats."

We can thank former mayor Paul Schell and Paul Allen for the development explosion in South Lake Union. Construction of large buildings can take years of planning before ground is broken. All those cranes existed before he was even elected.