David Brewster

He clearly knew the town's cultural landscape and the groups to help, so his shortchanged career is another reason for the town to miss this effective, buoyant leader.

District elections are touted to help elect minorities and to bind the candidates closer to a district. In fact, they might discourage voting and lock in incumbents.

The original goal of goosing KCTS into a television channel of strong public impact has been lost in the maze of new media opportunities and priorities. 

I'm intrigued by a prediction from a conservative friend in D.C., who suspects a plot by Democrats to hold onto the White House. His three-cushion shot goes this way...

A decade of progressivism and new population has converted the city hall bureaucracy, the media, the arts, and the nonprofits into a Seattle shade of deep blue.

The biggest problem is that the city has come to regard the Center as an orphan.

At City Hall, the balance of power will likely be decided when the council (not voters) picks a replacement for Teresa Mosqueda, settling the split between center-left (led by Sara Nelson) and the retirement-depleted progressives (led by Morales).

The star of the show is Spanish soprano Vanessa Goikoetxea, who as Alcina has two of the best and most-affecting arias and performs well as the manic, maddened center of action.

Did the rebels expect the Democrats once more to save McCarthy's hide?

There ought to be a serious, substantive, energetic candidate entering the mayor's race. Right now. A candidate with strong ideas needs to start early, raising money, getting known, and getting educated about city issues.