1. Earlier this week, Seattle Transit Blog urged its pro-transit readers to attend a Thursday-night meeting in Kirkland; STB provided several bus route recommendations to get to Kirkland, of course.

Kirkland is considering a few north-south transit options along the former BNSF heavy rail Eastside Rail Corridor (ERC) between Kirkland's Totem Lake Business district to the north and the Yarrow Bay business district to the south that could be included in next year’s Sound Transit Three package. Kirkland’s Houghton business district is in the center of the north-south corridor.

Specifically, the options under consideration are: bus rapid transit running along the ERC, which runs directly through all three business districts, and running light rail along the ERC. The Kirkland portion of the 42-mile ERC is a 5.75 segment known as the Cross Kirkland Corridor. Currently there’s a pedestrian trail along the CKC.

Kirkland is also considering a third option— bus rapid transit running along I-405 to the east of the CKC.

Transit fans prefer the two CKC options because they would connect the business districts and build a network of bus transfers for Kirkland. Conversely, the I-405 option would bypass Kirkland, nullifying the transit oriented development possibilities that make ST3 such a smart investment for the region.

Seattle Transit Blog had good reason to urge its bus-riding readers to attend the meeting, which was held at the Kirkland Performance Center: Opponents of bringing rapid transit infrastructure to the CKC—wearing green leis—were organized themselves.

And to STB’s likely chagrin, the antitransit contingent in the packed auditorium (people were sitting in the aisles of the 400-seat theater) dominated the evening.

For example, when a patient Kirkland city staffer told the crowd that bus lines were likely to raise property values not decrease them, the audience burst into derisive laughter. No pot-smoking transit riders for them! See below. Some of the notes left on the butcher paper out in the foyer included this hysteria about transit riders: "We already have to smoke the cigarettes & now pot of others at the bus stops. I don't want to inhale these toxins on the trail!"

2. Governor Jay Inslee has an op-ed in today's New York Times denouncing the call by the U.S House of Representatives (and other governors) to close American doors to Syrian refugees. The xenophobic reaction came in the wake of the ISIS attack on Paris.

Inslee writes this morning:

The House bill, which President Obama has said he will veto, would essentially halt the resettlement of refugees fleeing Syria. That’s a mistake driven by fear, not sound policy making. It doesn’t offer meaningful improvement to what is already a rigorous screening process, but would effectively close our borders to the victims of the Islamic State.

I have called for a different approach. I told Washingtonians that I wouldn’t join those who wanted to demonize people because of the country they flee or the religion they practice. I will uphold our reputation as a place that embraces compassion and equality and eschews fear-mongering.

Like many states, we have long kept an open door for people fleeing violence and repression. In 1975, Daniel J. Evans, a Republican governor, welcomed Vietnamese refugees to our state, even as other states turned their backs, along the lines of what we hear today about Syrians. Governor Evans’s initial invitation to accept 500 of these refugees became the basis for a successful resettlement program that continues to this day, helping those fleeing war and persecution rebuild their lives. Today, nearly 70,000 Vietnamese-Americans live in Washington, and they have added to our quality of life in countless ways.

The house passed the measure 289 to 137, with 47 Democrats joining the GOP. Washington state's delegation split along party line with only the Republicans supporting the measure.

3. A followup to yesterday's item about charter schools: The Washington State Supreme Court announced that they will not revisit their ruling against 2012's successful charter schools measure. 

Washington state attorney general Bob Ferguson, who had asked the court to reconsider its September ruling, has now said the issue is in the legislature's hands. Ferguson had said the court's original ruling "goes beyond what is necessary to resolve this case...and calls into question programs far beyond charter schools." Ferguson has said the court's reasoning that all school programming needs to be under the purview of local school boards could jeopardize tribal school programs and running start. Given the court's refusal to reconsider, it's now up to the legislature to bring charters (or other programs?) into sync with state law.

Ferguson said:

The court acknowledged that its opinion was broader than necessary.  Specifically, by removing footnote 10, the court eliminated a significant threat to programs like Running Start, tribal compact schools, and vocational education.
 
While the court declined to revisit its holding regarding charter school funding, it is now up to the legislature to decide whether to adopt a different mechanism to fund charter schools.