The Weekend Wrap Will Stomp the Piss Out of You, Homey

View from SAM's Sculpture Park.

As a civilization, we have come to a strange pass. The Q13 news director who delayed airing the infamous Mexican-head-stomping video handed in his resignation this week; but so far none of the actual head-stompers (or head-stomp abetters) have bothered with such a strong statement. (Rainier Valley Post, though, has this impassioned comment from a police officer about perspective.)

Interim police chief John Diaz--one of the three finalists for Seattle's top cop--says the internal review process is working, despite the fact that the officers involved were not taken off the street until the video surfaced, twelve days after he was informed about the incident.

The area's terrible year for law enforcement continued with the news yesterday that a Pierce County deputy killed both his in-laws. The deputy, 49, is dead as well, after shooting himself. 

We made it onto all sorts of lists this week. Chief Executive magazine polled over 600 CEOs and found Washington improved its spot on the best state to do business rankings, jumping 10 to #30. Florida's Policom Corp. determined Seattle had the nation's best economy (okay, the MSA, Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma); we were twelfth last year. Forbes declared Seattle America's most miserable sports city for the second straight year.

We also have the most consumer debt, though we seem to be handling it fine. Zillow says 25 percent of Puget Sound homeowners are underwater. (Seattle foreclosures were "highly elevated in April" says the Seattle Bubble.) TechFlash wrapped up coverage on the Great MLS Outage of 2010.

The big political news is that State AG Rob McKenna's daughter Madeleine was elected president of the ASUW. Also, Brad Owen might get to be governor. Publicola also dug up this video of Maria Cantwell grilling BP exec Lamar McKay about BP's liability. KING 5 reported on Washington State Ferries proving the old saying that "a boat is a hole in the water you pour money into."

Hey, the Seattle Times liked my McGinn-on-cost-overruns post from last week so much, they ran their own version today! The city's DPD and Vulcan, among others, are going head-to-head over updating the energy code. I know, but building codes are a big deal, as my conversation with a seismologist about the Seattle Fault (and others) should convince you. ALERT: the North 45th Street Viaduct (or bridge) that connects the U District to the University Village is closing June 14 for three months. Seattle Transit Blog covered the Mayor's Walk. Bike. Ride. initiative.

From around town--it's officially a bad idea to walk around with your smartphone visible. Period. King County's Larry Phillips popped into CHS to explain about the fate of electric trolley buses. The Central District's Coca Cola bottling plant was designated a landmark, along with nine other historic Seattle spots. Town Hall "won" $125,000 from Partners in Preservation. It's spring, and Magnolia is beset by raccoons and cruise ships. MyBallard was beaming about Café Besalu's mention in the New York Times. 

The UW decided to build its new stadium its ownself, without public monies. PhinneyWood was looking forward to a run-in with the floppy-eared staff of Rent-a-Ruminant. The power may have gone out in Wallingford, but everyone there goes to sleep so early, no one noticed. West Seattle Blog covered the citywide story on the parks funding crisis. If your light rail is delayed, it's because they're getting switch heaters installed.

On TSB, a tale of how two teams deal with setbacks: the Sounders offer season-ticket holders credit, the Mariners scapegoat a hapless reporter for reporting what players told him. In the arts, we reviewed Seattle Opera's Amelia, NCTC's On the Nature of Dust, and Marya Sea Kaminsky's Condo Millennium. Morgen previewed the 48 Hour Film Project, Tony took you on a tour of Lucha VaVoom, Audrey caught you up on Top Chef Masters and this week's DVD releases, James inspected SAM's Warhol show, and Jeremy pointed out Washington Hall's accepting proposals for use of their space, and looked for the lesson in Seattle's dance review brouhaha.