News Oct 7, 2020 at 9:30 am

Harborview needs a $1.74 billion facelift.

Comments

1

As a primary care provider treating mainly lgbt folk, I have found that UW and harborview mental health wards the only reliably somewhat queer-aware spaces for those in crisis. That have consistently provided excellent care in an underfunded specialty.

Furthermore Harborview, as the article states, is the regions only level 1 trauma center. It is built, like much of Seattle, on liquifiable soil very near a fault that is capable of generating earthquakes as large as southern chile and anchorage, eg in the mid 9 range. Most powerful earthquake type + liquifiable soil + only trauma center in the northwest. So please, vote to retrofit this vital asset- it is integral to treating those wounded in the earthquake that it needs to withstand!

3

He's right to be worried about tax fatigue especially since there is another sales tax increase on the ballot county wide for homeless support and the city will be putting forth a renewal of the Move Seattle levy. Seattle voters are overly generous however I wouldn't be surprised to see the rest of the county shoot down the homeless services measure. I would also add as a pet peeve I find it really disingenuous that these are always described as a small amount without any acknowledgement of the overall tax burden, $75 may seem like no big deal but when its added onto all the other levies and special taxes property owners are paying it is a big deal.

4

There's no such thing as a "small" property tax increase as all the "small" property tax increases are essentially a HUGE property tax bill for every Seattle property owner.

5

Also, Dow Constantine is a reckless and shortsighted politician, out-of-touch with the needs of King County, and deserves to be voted out of office.

6

Of course, the usual gang of fucknuts don't think it's important to maintain what is literally the MOST IMPORTANT medical facility north of Portland and west of Salt Lake City - because, why? Because they're fucking idiots would be the obvious - and correct answer - but also because, as is typical of RWNJ's THEY don't think they'll ever need to use the services offered at the facility, so why should they have to pay for something only other people will benefit from?

7

@6: Oh grow up.

We're just saying the property tax is the wrong way to do it. There are alternatives.

8

Let's just cancel the bridges and highways for fossil fuel vehicles and pass the Harborview funding.

Win Win.

11

@3 additionally, even if the sales tax passes I believe I read that cities are free to spend their share as they wish OR they can pool it with the county.
Many have already voted to do with the money as they please. For example, Renton are still butthurt about Seattle's decision to ship a bunch of unhoised men with little to no supervision to the Renton Red Lion. The resulting emergency calls to the hotel and surrounding businesses as a direct result of this cost Renton a bunch of money and stressed their emergency response.

12

Many of us (including me) know at least one person who works at Harborview. And we know people who have gone there for treatment. Yes, it is an excellent facility. So I don't have a problem paying for funding.
Given a choice between #10 Dr Nelson Salim and Harborview, I'll pick Harborview.

13

@2:....said a typical MAGA tool, living in mom's basement with the Cocoa Puffs, mice, and spiders.

@6 COMTE for the WIN.

@7: Like what, Rainy, have a bake sale downtown at the Convention Center? Oh, and make sure to post that flammable cargo is prohibited on I-90 from mile 3 to mile 7 so the pearl clutchers on Mercer Island don't go into a panic.

14

@6 I think the real issue here is because local politicians treat property and sales taxes as their own personal venture capitol to indulge their every whim when they actually need that money for something vital like infrastructure (see West Seattle or Magnolia bridges) or hospitals like this it sets a higher pass for passage because people are sick of this shit. That being said I'll vote for this and I think it will pass because as you state this is a critical service to the county and the state but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see the homeless tax get rejected.

15

@13: Yes, a bake sale. You can donate some of that Devils Food Cake you inhale with your cheap red.

17

@Geo -- retrofit to 'withstand' a 9.5 shaker? TEN Billion'$ probably not enough for that. BTW -- how close is Harborview to the (Seattle?) Fault and how may feet of Slippage might we expect?

For the price of Earthquake-'Proofing' an olde building (seems to me a pragmatic Fantasy), why not put it on a giant inflatable donut and let it ride it out -- maybe even float it when the inevitable Tsunami follows The Great Shakeup (although it IS [currently] fairly high, on its hill). A billion for the new Tower (it'll 'float' on its foundation [and on 'liquifying' ground] like most newer skyscrapers) is not gonna leave much for retrofitting a very Key older (brick? uh-oh) building. Not even for an eight point Oh.

18

Too bad we can't defund the police and use some of that money for the hospital.

19

@7:

Okay then, let's hear how YOU would raise nearly $2 BILLION WITHOUT a public bond levy in a state that doesn't even have an income tax? Where are you going to pull that money from - your ass, like you do literally everything else?

20

@17
Better yet, kristofarian for only a few million we could put the Orange One and the White House fascists on a large inflatable donut, so they could float into the Atlantic, and start the Fourth Reich, just like they really really want to.

21

Defund the police, give it to the hospital. It a win win for the hospital. More funding and more business from all the stabbings and shootings.

22

or @21, make cops Culpable

23

Accountable, rather

24

Defund Jeff Bezos your dumbasses

25

You dumbasses.*

You and yours.

26

You can defund the police all you want but then you need to reappropriate that money for whatever replaces the police not some other usage. Providing public safety is in the city charter and if the council fails to fulfill that obligation you can bet there will be lawsuits.

27

although, they could put it on (deep?) pilings ...

28

@1 Geo4242, will do!

@6, very well said.

...and...

Why is this even a ballot measure? This isn't something that should be voted on by the public. The public is too stupid to be left to make these kind of decisions.

And before you say it, I will reply, change the laws and constitution if needed.

29

@kristofarian

There Seattle fault ruptured about 7ft in the late 1700's. Blakely rock is a manifestation of this rupture. As are the wave cut platforms to the east of Bainbridge island. The SFZ is capable of tremendous earthquakes, and the poorly compacted liquifiable soils that cover the vast majority of the puget lowland magnify risk of catastrophic damage to much of this area. At least one set of data from around 2010 suggested that the splay in question runs essentially right under Columbia tower. If this is the case, a rupture may exceed the top tolerance of that structure.

Indeed, significant portions of our infrastructure need seismic retrofitting, including I-5. It makes sense to invest in retrofitting or, as you (maybe?) Suggest, new construction. The magnitude of the seismic hazard was not fully appreciated when core infrastructure was developed here. This said, other developed nations can and do develop much more sense urban settings with seismic hazard in mind. These structures can and do withstand profoundly large earthquakes.

Your tsunami fears are legitimate, but not that high on the hill.

I can't tell if I answered any of your questions as you were a bit incoherent.

30

@15: Trolling isn't contributing, Rainy. You're just pissed that you can't get any of my gluten free Devil's Food cake and Cabernet Sauvignon. I warned you about your high triglyceride level.
Give it up, already.

@17 COMTE for another slam dunk!

31

@7: Trolling isn't contributing, Rainy. You're just pissed because you can't get any of my gluten free Devil's Food cake and Cabernet Sauvignon. I warned you about your high triglyceride level. Give it up, already.

@19: COMTE for another slam dunk! :)

32

@19: Besides taxation, there's cutting spending. It is no more up to me to find a suitable revenue stream than it up to you. Olympia is the answer and, I agree that a state income tax is the better way to go in the long run.

@30: You're not appropriate for Cabernet Sauvignon. I suggest Zinfandel.

35

What about expanding programs like Applecare or Community Health Centers, so they aren't only open when people have to work, instead of a few buildings that collect people across four states? What could the same amount of money and the political acceptance do for those? How much would an adequate subduction zone, not Seattle fault, seismic retrofit cost without HMC building expansion? Odds of a Seattle fault quake look like 1/11 in the next 40 years? How many HMC admissions may be preventable with expanding such programs? What was going on with someone or someone around them right before traumatic injury? Why should construction occur during a pandemic? What if housing was made with 100% instead of 6% of the price tag?

36

@32: And you're not appropriate for commenting in The Stranger! What's your point, Rainy? You don't even know me and wouldn't recognize me in person, you trolling MAGA moron! If you had half a functional brain you'd know that the white and rose wines are among those with the highest sugar levels. Red wine is my one allotted alcohol, and Cabernet Sauvignon is the best red there is. Before you choke on your Zinfandel I suggest you have your triglycerides checked. Otherwise, quit before you draw flies.

37

If you want to convince people to support necessary upgrades & repairs to Harborview, calling it a "facelift" is probably not the way to do it.

38

@3 - you are probably right about the rest of the county shooting down the homelessness measure. The rest of the county (and of the state) has been shirking their responsibilities in this regard for years which is one reason that we have the concentration of homeless people that we do in Seattle. If anyone disputes this, show me the hundreds of shelter beds available in Bellevue and Redmond, and let's discuss the policies about camping in the parks there and the police's response to it. High rents, addiction, and lack of opportunity for low-skilled people are not exclusively Seattle problems and the rest of society has an obligation to help too.

39

@39 KCC decided to ram through the sales tax increase last night. I have little hope they will accomplish anything with the additional monies other than making blight-stricken motels even worse.


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