Mayor Nickels' speech at a recent holiday fundraiser irked some guests. (The fundraiser, held at Nickels' West Seattle home, honored local environmental group 1000 Friends of Washington.)

Standing near his fireplace and Xmas tree, Nickels cited 1000 Friends' "courage" for campaigning against R-51--the pavement-friendly roads referendum.

While 1000 Friends certainly deserves props, Nickels himself was an absolute wimp on the issue. Initially signaling he was against R-51 last summer, he eventually fell in line and supported the pavement plan.

It's one thing for Nickels to make nice with 1000 Friends after the group succeeded in knocking down the sprawl-friendly referendum--but it would have actually meant something if Nickels had shown "courage" himself and come out against R-51 when it mattered. JOSH FEIT

Where's Cathy Allen?

Seattle City Council Member Margaret Pageler has chosen Cynara Lilly to help run Pageler's 2003 reelection campaign. Lilly (the daughter of former Mayor Schell aide Dick Lilly) is the young woman who did bang-up PR for the anti-monorail campaign last fall, after first pitching her services for the monorail.

Meanwhile, City Council Member Heidi Wills is talking with the hot consultants at Moxie Media about coordinating Wills 2003.

Given that Pageler and Wills are the most prominent female politicians in town, one has to wonder what's become of "women-centered" political consultant Cathy Allen. JOSH FEIT

Punk Is Dead

Sadly, the new Capitol Hill punk bar the Continental--which just opened on November 22--plans to close after New Year's. The Continental, on Olive Way in the old Jack's Roadhouse (and Foxes Restaurant and Lounge) spot, had been letting independent record stores like Fallout book weekend shows. Noise complaints forced the bar to cancel the shows, and owner Marcus Charles says the bar is now for sale. My opinion: If you want quiet suburbs, move to West Seattle, not Olive and Denny. JENNIFER MAERZ

Nickels: Scientologist?

Last Saturday, December 14, Mayor Nickels and his wife paid $19.95 for a used oversized biography of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard at the Elliott Bay Book Company. NANCY DREW

Council Screws UW Neighbors

To the chagrin of University District neighbors, the city council passed a revised UW master plan on December 16 that doesn't call for specifics on proposed building projects, doesn't restrict off-campus acquisitions, and lets UW expand its golf driving range. JOSH FEIT