Just another day in paradise.
Just another day in paradise. Charles Mudede

University of Washington Station Might Be The Greatest Thing To Happen in the History of Seattle's Transportation: This weekend, make the trip to this station and see for yourself what urban transportation should look and feel like. And there is really nothing like this feeling. Indeed, it is interesting that what was once one of the most horrible traffic spots in the city, the Montlake Bridge area, has now become a little paradise of multi-modal transportation.

First, there was the opening of the best-looking train station on the line, the University of Washington Station, which was designed by LMN. The firm also designed the pedestrian bridge which smoothly, handsomely, nobly rises above Montlake Boulevard. The excellent landscaping choices on the bridge's east side (concrete seat walls, the trees that will grow up to be big, the fixtures), were made by Swift Company, and on the west side, the University of Washington section, by Gustafson Guthrie Nichol. As if this were not enough, on Tuesday UW Transportation completed and opened a much-improved stretch of bike and pedestrian lanes on the UW Burke-Gilman Trail that leads directly to "The Ave."

This trail is very busy, and so is the station, which is soon to have the most daily riders on the line, with 9,200 boardings per day. (Westlake has the most riders and Rainier Beach the fewest on Link.)

You must visit this vision of paradise. It will make you love your city more, and hate cars all the more. The car is going nowhere.

Democratic State Senator Reuven Carlyle Is Timid About Sound Transit 3: People like him have no sense of history. They do not know what a moment means or how to seize it. They shrivel, they worry about the public purse, they are paralyzed by second thoughts at the very moment giant steps are needed. Heidi Groover has the whole sad story about this sorry chap.

The Twilight of Homeownership? According to Zillow, lots of people in Seattle have the money but not the drive or will to own a home. KIRO reports: "The Emerald City ranks No. 5 on the highest share of renters who qualify to buy homes." Zillow's chief economist blames this situation on supply. Because there are not enough homes, the competition is too much, too bothersome for those who even have good credit.

Motorcyclist Killed Five Minutes After Receiving Speeding Ticket: From the mouth of Washington State Patrol spokesman Todd Bartolac: “It’s tough on the troopers because you look at it, and you just talked with this person five minutes ago, and now they’re dead.” But was not this man's death in the ticket he received? Had he not been stopped for speeding (he was doing 81 mph in a 60 mph zone), might not a wholly different path to the future have opened up, a path that most probably did not include that deadly parked truck, a future that saw him return home and, for a moment after removing his helmet from his head, watch the sunset on the City of Destiny? What we know for sure is that the traffic stop itself opened the path that led to his exit from this our one and only known (and maybe knowable) world.

Vancouver's 15 Percent Tax on Foreign Buyers May Not Do Very Much: But it could also be very successful, which would not be the best news for the government, at it is worried about the tax triggering a massive "correction" of the irrational property market. No matter how you look at it, Vancouver's is in a very difficult situation. It's very hard for the city to move forward or to go back to a happier time.

The Cars and Guns of Tukwila: Someone got shot while sitting in his car. He drove a short distance and crashed. The police arrived and were informed about the shooter and his location. Sure enough, the police found a man who fit that description at the location. SWAT appeared. A standoff occurred. Ramblings were heard. Shots were fired. The suspect was killed. And that was the end of this American life.

Feeling Closer to God In a Tight Situation: According to CNN, a JetBlue flight heading to Sacramento from Boston was tossed about the sky by turbulence that meant business. This is the turbulence we all fear. It is the kind that refuses to stop. It goes on and on. It only escalates. It makes the metal wings flap and the plane go this way and that. Every second in this situation is so dreadful and long. You are waiting for the plane to break into pieces and fall out of the sky. "People were flying out of their seat belts and hitting their head on the ceiling," said someone to CNN. 22 passengers and two crew members where injured by this bad encounter with some very angry air.


Mayor of Cannes Has Banned Full-Body Swimsuits Known as "Burkinis" From a Public Beach: Why? Because they are a "symbol of Islamic extremism." Anyone caught wearing these terror items can be fined 38 euros.

Trump Teaches Nation Lesson on Sarcasm: After spending two full days insisting over and over that Obama is literally the founder of ISIS, Trump informed the public by Twitter that he was being sarcastic. In truth, Obama isn't the founder of that terror organization. Trump wants us to know when he is being funny and not, when he is being sarcastic and not. It is up to us to get him right every time.

I Did It My Way: Trump says that he wont stop, that he can't stop being Trump, even if it means taking “a very, very nice long vacation” after Nov. 8.

As for Hillary: