³ÉÈËXÕ¾

SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Dori: Sound Transit ‘can’t afford’ $30 tabs, but can hire art consultants

Sep 3, 2019, 2:50 PM

light rail, sound transit, STart...

(Sound Transit)

(Sound Transit)

Have you ever wondered what the money for your jacked-up, illegally-calculated car tabs goes to fund at the criminal enterprise that is Sound Transit? Thanks to an email a listener forwarded to me, we know that part of it is going to fund a called STart — ST and art, get it?

STart, the Sound Transit Art Program, is considering producing a recorded music and audio program to build connections between cultures and generations in South King County.

In order to make an informed decision, STart is seeking a consultant to conduct a feasibility study that makes recommendations about options for recording in studios and on-location, digital distribution methodologies, and program structure, along with identifying related costs associated with a music and audio program aimed at people who ride Sound Transit trains.

The Feasibility Study Consultant [sic] could be an individual or a team, artist, arts administrator, program manager, other creative, or an organization.

And they’re telling us they don’t have enough money? They’re telling us that they’re going to suffer if we vote to give ourselves a tax cut with $30 tabs? Yet they have the money to hire consultants to design music and audio programs for “connecting cultures.”

Dori: Sound Transit spent $250K of your money on steel octopus

You’re telling the people of Pierce County, the majority of whom voted no on Sound Transit 3, that one reason they have to pay these outrageous, illegally-calculated car tabs is to hire a consultant for an audio program?

I can already hear people accusing me of being against music and cultural connections. No, I’m not against those things — I just don’t trust a light rail agency to do that sort of thing. Call me old-fashioned, but I actually believe that transportation agencies should, in fact, pay for transportation projects. Bizarre, I know.

And this is only in South King County. What about the people who want to connect cultures and generations in and North King County and Snohomish County and Pierce County?

Sound Transit has clearly got plenty of money. Please, for the love of all that is good and holy, vote for $30 car tabs. And don’t listen when Sound Transit cries poverty.

What an absolute waste of our tax dollars.

Listen to the Dori Monson Show weekday afternoons from 12-3 p.m. on ³ÉÈËXÕ¾ Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

Pickup truck crashed into Parkland house....

Frank Lenzi

Teen girl arrested for DUI after allegedly crashing truck into Pierce County home

A 17-year-old girl was arrested after allegedly crashing a truck into a home in Pierce County while intoxicated.

2 hours ago

watch streaming theaters memorial day weekend...

Frank Sumrall

New on Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, and theaters: Your Memorial Day weekend viewing guide

For those staying in and not traveling this Memorial Day weekend, here’s what to look out for in terms of the best new shows and movies to watch.

2 hours ago

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listens during an event with President Donald Trump to sign executiv...

Associated Press

Defense Secretary Hegseth, bedeviled by leaks, orders more restrictions on press at Pentagon

Bedeviled by leaks to the media during his short tenure, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a series of restrictions on the press late Friday that include banning reporters from entering wide swaths of the Pentagon without a government escort — areas where the press has had access in past administrations as it covers the activities […]

2 hours ago

Associated Press

Kyiv comes under massive Russian drone and missile attack with explosions heard throughout city

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s capital came under a massive combined drone and missile attack late Friday with explosions and machine gun fire heard throughout the city. Many residents of Kyiv are taking shelter in the underground subway stations. The debris of intercepted missiles and drones fell in at least 4 city districts, acting head […]

2 hours ago

FILE - A protester demonstrates in front of a Planned Parenthood on July 12, 2022, in Saint Paul, M...

Associated Press

A Planned Parenthood affiliate plans to close 4 clinics in Iowa and another 4 in Minnesota

Four of the six Planned Parenthood clinics in Iowa and four in Minnesota will shut down in a year, the Midwestern affiliate operating them said Friday, blaming a freeze in federal funds, budget cuts proposed in Congress and state restrictions on abortion. The clinics closing in Iowa include the only Planned Parenthood facility in the […]

3 hours ago

CORRECTS TIME SPENT IN COUNTRY - The UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyer...

Associated Press

UN expert says Guatemalan prosecutor’s office using criminal law to pursue opponents

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — A United Nations expert warned Friday at the conclusion of her two-week visit that Guatemala’s prosecutor’s office is increasingly using criminal law against former prosecutors, judges, defense attorneys, journalists and others. Margaret Satterthwaite, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, traveled the country meeting with judges, lawyers, […]

3 hours ago

Dori: Sound Transit ‘can’t afford’ $30 tabs, but can hire art consultants