Quick reminder to all the registered absentee voters among us: your mail-in ballots for this summer's primary need to be postmarked by tomorrow, August 19th, in order to be counted in the vote! More information about the Top Two Primary system can be found at the Secretary of State's website, including the link to an online Voter's Guide. And to those of you who aren't yet registered voters, now would be a great time to......

"Alien Cookie in Ballard" by Seattlest Flickr Pool contributor Cakespy. Goodspaceguy? Is that you? So, who got the 2008 Voters' Pamphlet in the mail this week? There are some weirdos in there this summer, or maybe only in our appropriately zoned edition. This weekend (yes, on a Friday night....what are you trying to say?), we plunked down on the couch to read the more noteworthy parts of the Pamphlet to our housemate. Here are......

Like our esteemed editor, we also acted as a delegate at our precinct caucus yesterday, the 36th District Caucus at Ballard High School. It should be noted that we're one of those political junkies you hear so much about so, hangover not withstanding, we were looking forward to the chance to mill about with a bunch of other rabid Democrats to prepare for the unseating of the worst President ever. As an Obama delegate, we......

We have gathered some of the top political writers in the country and asked them to discuss the presidential race throughout the year. Today they will discuss the Democratic race between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Seattlest-- How do you feel Senator Clinton's recent attacks on Senator Obama are shaping the upcoming Texas and Ohio primaries? Jeff (San Francisco Chronicle)-- I've got to come clean with my dirty secret-- I'm starting to get cold feet......

Archie McPhee's latest bumper stickers, posted in Seattlest's Flickr Pool Ballard residents, tired of seeing their local landmarks and homes swallowed by condos and "multi-use buildings," have taken a stand on one beloved icon of "Old Ballard." The icon? The Denny's on the corner of Market and 15th Ave NW, long a late-night stop for drunk bowlers from the now departed Sunset Bowl, bearded fisherman and other creatures of the night, including Seattlest. The......

Over the weekend we got an email from our friend in Wisconsin asking, "Why does Washington have a caucus and a primary? I don't get it. How does this work?" Uh, it has something to do with a pissing match between the state legislature and the state parties? We really don’t know, so we sent her this article, and changed the subject. No Democratic delegates will be handed out tonight, and the Republican winner will......

We respectfully disagree with our colleagues. Having gone into our second caucus as undecideds, we emerged firmly decided: the caucus stinks. And we weren't even invested in any candidate this time around. The Slog's Erica Barnett makes a good case against it. We'll concede that it was nice to see some neighbors; however, we don't really care to meet our neighbors in this particular context. Block parties, barbeques, chats across the fence, and pleasantries......

We here at Seattlest really wanted to go out and caucus on Saturday, however, HBO is showing Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. So we made some calls, and the DNC gave us permission to hold a special caucus today. They even threw in a couple delegates that Utah wasn’t going to use: Courtney: I'm caucusing for Obama even though it kills me not to be an active part of trying to put the first......

Current Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan is in the middle of a another controversy. This is the same Logan who was in charge of King County Elections before they lost ballots, credibility, and eventually him. Nine percent of the county's completed ballots show no vote for president. Apparently some voters didn't mark a circle at the top of the ballot signifying that they were voting Democratic. Normally we'd be sympathetic with the Election's Department;......

Are you guys watching this race? Incredible! Super Tuesday has officially come and gone, delegates divided, $250 million in campaign money spent, and still no Democratic frontrunner in sight. We at Seattlest are beside ourselves and while we may never understand the logic behind superdelegates we do know this: Washington is going to have a big say in how this race is decided. This Saturday, Washingtonians will caucus with 80 Democratic delegates up for......

We've already heard what the fellas in the house think about the election. Now it's the ladies' turn. Kim: I tried for about five minutes after Iowa to convince myself I could and would get behind an Obama candidacy. I will vote for whomever earns the Democratic nomination, but I just honestly don’t get what the big deal is about Obama. I’ve been a Hillary gal from the beginning, and that hasn’t changed. The......

We have gathered some of the top political writers in the country and asked them to discuss the presidential race throughout the year. Today they review Tuesday's doings in New Hampshire. Seattlest: Thanks for joining us again. We’ll start by asking what do you think made the difference for Senator Clinton in New Hampshire? Jeff (The New York Times): Is what happened in New Hampshire a pro-Hillary movement, or is it a reaction by Stubborn......

Originally ran on January 3, 2007, and updated for January 2008. Since 2002 Seattleites have spent the first week of January asking themselves if this is the year a decision will finally be made on the Viaduct. When the governor announced last in March of 2006 that she would be making a decision by December, it looked like 2006 might finally be the year. Well, it took ten months for her to announce that we......

Turns out Amazon.com's customer service department isn't staffed by computers -- just sarcasm-savvy people who use computers. Consumerist broke the story: Amazon Sends "Best Customer Service E-mail I've Ever Received". We'll summarize: One of Amazon.com's Black Friday deals was the chance to win a $1000 laptop for $299. Many people entered; most of them were unsuccessful. Some theorized that Amazon employees had snatched up all the good deals, since no one they knew had won......

While trolling through today's Floor Proceedings of the U.S. House of Representatives for our other job (it's an exciting one), we noticed something that will probably get no coverage anywhere else. However, we think it is important to note when Congress singles out one faith as important. We think it's doubly important to note when the vote is taken while Congress fights with the Bush Administration over funding the government for the next year, haggles......

It's cool that Drew Carey has been the face of the new Seattle MLS team, appearing at the G&D and showing up in the booth for Monday Night Football to talk about the team's plans in Seattle, but he's kind of a Cleveland guy. Couldn't we get a Seattle name that's about on par with Carey? Like....oh god there is no Seattle name on par with Drew Carey. Long live Seattle guy Drew Carey! And......

When we sat down to do our endorsements we reached a disturbing conclusion. We cannot, in good conscience, vote for anyone. Position 1 Jean Godden: Wrote for the Seattle Times when it endorsed Bush in 2000. Joe Szwaja: Involved in a 1990 domestic dispute in which his then-girlfriend threw a bottle at him and he threw a plate at her. Position 3 Bruce Harrell: Doesn't spend enough time with his 15-year-old son from a previous......

Prop. 1, the roads and transit measure. Supporters say it will help solve our gridlock problem. Anti-tax opponents say"no it won't" and environazi opponents say "roads are killing the planet, it's transit-only or nothing." Tomorrow's election day. Here's how Seattlesters are voting. Dan: I'm not exactly turning cartwheels as I cast my "yes" vote, but I look at it as "which is easier to get passed, roads or transit individually?" I couldn't pass up the......

It's still raining, but that's not stopping us this weekend. As we get ready to head out the door, the Seattlest staff is once again sharing our weekend plans in the hopes that we'll see you along the way. Kim will be burning up the dance floor tonight for Gay Salsa Night at Century Ballroom after eating piles of sushi at Maneki. If she decides it’s worth breaking the bank, she might attend some silly......

City Council candidate Venus Velázquez was arrested for a DUI last night which can't be good for her campaign for Peter Steinbrueck's seat. Apparently, she had "two drinks with her meal" and then hung around for a while to ensure she wasn't impaired. If that's what really happened, bummer. It sounds like she made a better effort than the guys we see "sobering up" at the end of the night by switching to light beer......

It’s been hard for us to admit this, greenie that we are, but a vote for Prop. 1 is in order, at least from this Seattlest's perspective. This has been hard because we're as environmentally friendly as they come. We ride our bike; compost; and we reduce, we reuse and leave the recycling as only as the last step of a long process. So the news we saw when we opened our e-mail this morning,......

Along with the million other words being written on this topic, we at Seattlest thought it was a good time to share some of our thinking on the Roads and Transit bill we're going to have the chance to vote on this November. The crux is this: Voters in the greater Puget Sound region are being asked to approve almost $11 billion for a 50-mile expansion of light rail and $7 billion on highways around......

Former Husky coach Don James--a hero round these parts for leading the Dawgs to the Rose Bowl five times in his reign--is voting in a new college football ranking, the Master Coaches Survey. James and 15 other Hall of Fame coaches get together and rank the top 25 teams (and you can trust them more than those Poindexters at the AP). But these former coaches don't just want to sit in their ivory coaching......

Taking the bus tunnel in to work this morning was pretty cool. Our commute was probably all of four minutes shorter than it's been for the past two years while the tunnel's been closed, but we got to walk a little more and we enjoyed the validity that the undergroundness of it brought to our home>to>work experience (that part might be the Chicago talking...it ain't a commute if you're not underground). It looks exactly the......

Seattlest watches as a S.L.U.T. is born and Seattle Flickr users go nuts over a local art installation. A restaurant critic demands a Diner's Bill of Rights over a gnat next to her drink, and, in lieu of a Portlandist, Seattlest debates with itself over the identity of the Northwest's crown jewel. Seattlest also joins the guys from Fantagraphics for an ill-fated gun party in the woods. LAist saw national headlines soar this week with......

Seattlest just got done attending the press conference for the re-opening of the Downtown Bus Tunnel. After two years of work, it's set to reopen next Monday. That's exactly two years (as King County Exec. Ron Sims was fond of repeating over and over today) after it closed. We have to say, we're pretty impressed with what they've done. Needless to say, it's a pretty big achievement in a region not exactly known for making......

Join the dozens who have already voted in this year's primary and have your voice politely nodded at. Besides port, city, and county races there are two park levies. We like parks, we like giving money to parks, so we're voting yes. Find your polling place here, if you have an absentee ballot put it in the mail by the end of the day, and if you're a King County Elections employee then please focus.......

Position 3 is the most anticipated city council race. It's an open seat, and that seems to be the only way to get new blood on the council. Bruce Harrell and Venus Velazquez will end up in the general, with Tuesday's primary serving as a chance trim the fat (Al Runte, Scott Feldman, John Manning) and give both sides a platform to claim victory. Before we make our November decision, we'll be voting for Scott......

Jean Godden used to write a column where she would point out humorous license plates, as well as the little things that make living in Seattle the silliest. Now she is on the city council and running for re-election. Her main opponent is weightlifting coach Joe Szwaja, who spent some time on the Madison City Council. According to those in the know, "a [Madison] commuter light rail system has been proposed…but has remained on paper......

You may see incumbent councilwoman Sally Clark at a local candidate forum, but you won't see one of her opponents, Bob Brown. Brown doesn't need the hoi polloi telling him what to think, because he formed some pretty strong opinions back in the early 60s and he's sticking to them. He doesn't like all the new fruity town houses, skate parks, and is the only man brave enough to speak out about the city's conspiracy......