Ignoring the Nazis

About eight neo-Nazis gathered in full regalia on 36th Street, near Fremont Avenue on Sunday.

"The only people who paid attention to them were the cops," says Jon Hegeman, director of Fremont Sunday Market.

Justin Boyer, who leads the National Socialist Movement arm in Seattle, organized the demonstration. Reached at work Tuesday, he would not elaborate on the gathering where the brown shirts brandished placards that advocated racial purity.

"They wouldn't find anyone here who is sympathetic to them," said Vafa Ghazi, head of the Fremont Neighborhood Council. "I didn't think it was real," he added. "I thought it had to be a prank." THOMAS FRANCIS

Ignoring the Voters

In a presentation before a skeptical city council on Monday morning, Team Nickels tried to convince the council to use city bonding capacity (councilmanic debt) to cover the $67 million increase in fire levy costs—a 40 percent jump over what voters approved in 2003. Spreading the costs over a longer period of time is a prudent way to deal with the problem, Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis argued.

However, council member (and budget chair) Richard McIver argued that if the city had to extend the bonds to cover higher costs, the levy should go back to the voters. "If you can justify councilmanic debt to us, why can't you justify it to voters?" He asked.

Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis responded: "Well, that's a political decision." Yes it is. One that Team Nickels seems scared to take. Ceis recommended against going back to voters with the increased costs. JOSH FEIT