on the 10/26 11am news broadcast komo did a story on the latest poll results concerning I-695. the graphic and the news anchor told viewers that support for I-695 had dropped to 51%.

i called the news department right away and made them aware of the error in fact. they acknowledged the error to me and i requested that a correction me made before the end of the broadcast, which was still 20+ minutes away. the correction was not made, which causes me to wonder - was it really a mistake at all?

perhaps you would like to call komo and ask for yourself. the number is 206.443.4000. if you do call please let me know what response you recieve.

-- (forliberty@hotmail.com), October 26, 1999

Answers

If you ever believed that the press had any semblance of disinterested impartiality you had only to listen to NPR giving the election results in 94, when the Republicans took Congress. Everyone reporting was positively devastated, and making no pretende at hiding it. Since the KOMO editorial staff recommended a "no" vote, it would surprise me not at all that they are upset about the result. The 51% figure actually refers to the support in KING COUNTY, where I-695 does have a narrow lead. I'm not sure it was ever any different in King County which, after all, get's the lions share of the tax money from the MVET.

-- Mark Stilson (mark842@hotmail.com), October 26, 1999.

Correct me if I'm wrong Mark, but didn't I already mention that King County actually pays in more MVET money into the system than it gets back? For every dollar that King County pays in MVET it averages about $0.88 back in funding (and yes, that does include ferry money).

Face it, without the Puget Sound region supporting the rest of the state Washington would have about the same demographics as a poor southern state. You can be as envious as you want about our unemployment rate and our average personal income, but trying to claim that we're living off of your tax dollars is simply a false claim without a shred of evidence. In almost every way possible, we in the Puget Sound region are subsidizing almost everyone else in their choice to live somewhere else in the state.

-- Patrick (patrick1142@yahoo.com), October 27, 1999.

"In almost every way possible, we in the Puget Sound region are subsidizing almost everyone else in their choice to live somewhere else in the state. " Well Patrick, HERE'S YOUR CHANCE to show those ungrateful SOBs who live outside the Puget Sound region that, I'M MAD AS HELL AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!" Vote for I-695 and deprive those non-Pungent Sound cretins of your alleged twelve cents. That'll fix the uppity slobs.

-- Mark Stilson (mark842@hotmail.com), October 27, 1999.

"Correct me if I'm wrong Mark, but didn't I already mention that King County actually pays in more MVET money into the system than it gets back? " Heck, EVERYONE pays more into the MVET than we get back, that's WHY we are going to pass I-695!

-- zowie (zowie@hotmail.com), October 27, 1999.