Shifting Audiences, Dead Newspapers Change Transportation Engagement

An interesting study recently published in the journal Political Communication studies the level of civic engagement following the closure of daily newspapers in Seattle and Denver.   The paper, Dead Newspapers and Citizens Civic Engagement, by Lee Shaker asserts that civic engagement in Seattle and Denver dropped from 2008 to 2009 after the Seattle PI and Rocky Mountain News closed their doors.

It is an interesting research effort that uses data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) conducted by the United States Census Bureau to analyze year over year participation in activities such as visiting a politician or attending a community organization meeting, such as a PTA or neighborhood watch group.

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Speculation abounds: What’s blocking the $80M TBM Bertha?

If there ever was a time to check in on what’s happening in Seattle, it is now. No, not because the Seattle Seahawks are dominating the National Football League. The massive tunnel boring machine digging a 1.7 mile path under the city is stuck. Nicknamed Bertha, the $80 million TBM is part of a massive project — years in the planning and implementation –designed to replace the elevated double-deck highway that runs along the Seattle waterfront with a tunnel.