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The resignation of Boeing chairman and CEO Phil Condit confirms that it's time for Washington State to face up to the fact that the company, notwithstanding its storied past, is a hopeless, pathetic loser. Poor performance, lack of innovation, declining market share, a steady stream of layoffs, a recent track record of treating the region like an easy date--the list goes on. Now the company's ethical lapses are coming to light, resulting in the resignation of three company officials (so far), including poor Phil (well, not poor--his retirement package tops $3 million annually). And yet we continue to exhibit an unseemly desperation, offering Boeing $3 billion in tax breaks to win 7E7 work, at about $2.5 million in public subsidies per employee. Well, if we're so determined to whore ourselves out, let's at least pick a winner. We should hand that $3 billion over to European consortium Airbus (the world's largest commercial aircraft manufacturer) so it can start building planes here in Washington. SANDEEP KAUSHIK

Where's the Money?

An audit of the Seattle Monorail Project's tax collections by Cambridge Systematics, released with minimal fanfare and accepted by unanimous vote at the SMP board's November 20 finance committee meeting, included one jaw-dropping revelation: Berk & Associates, the firm hired by the monorail agency to evaluate possible tax revenue sources in 2001, could only provide invoices for $6,600. The monorail agency paid $213,000 for Berk's services, leaving more than $200,000 of the agency's money unaccounted for. ERICA C. BARNETT

Unhappy Anniversary

November 30 marked the fourth anniversary of Seattle's massive WTO protests. But unlike the last three N30s, this year's anniversary passed with no bang, and hardly even a whimper, from Seattle activists. Seattle Independent Media Center, a lefty news organization that was founded right before the Seattle WTO conference and has since spread worldwide, commemorated N30 by holding a movie night and fundraiser.

The quiet N30 may be indicative of larger problems within the Seattle IMC: Rumors are floating around the organization's chat boards about its demise. One web post from a Seattle IMC volunteer, dated November 29, stated, "Like a lot of institutions we are in trouble, but we are capable of growing from where we are." Seattle IMC was not available for comment at presstime. MAHRYA DRAHEIM

South Lake Spin

Mayor Greg Nickels' office released optimistic numbers this week hyping the alleged benefits of South Lake Union biotech development. The findings: as many as 39,000 jobs created citywide, both directly and indirectly, by 2025; $247 million in city tax revenues by 2025, assuming development moves beyond what is already in the planning or construction stages; biotech infrastructure development in South Lake Union would cost $421 million, with the city's share projected to be a mere $30 million (the remaining cash coming from federal, state, and regional public sources, plus private investment). Team Nickels' spin? That works out to an eightfold return on the city's investment. AMY JENNIGES