Money

As new residential development around the region is completed, rents will likely start to level out by 2010, according to Mike Scott of Dupre and Scott Apartment Advisors. But it's still cheaper to rent in the south end, where there haven't been a lot of new rentals built.

For example, just 200 new apartment units have been built in West Seattle during the last 10 years, said Scott.

West Seattle's vacancy rate is also better compared to the rest of the city.

As new residential development around Ballard and the rest of the Puget Sound region is completed, rents will likely start to level out by 2010, according to Mike Scott of Dupre and Scott Apartment Advisors.

But it's not all good news for Seattle's rental market.

Vacancy rates in the north end and downtown are about 2.75 percent, down a full percentage point from last year. Scott expects it will continue to decline to around 2.5 to 2.25 percent.

Seattle's vacancy rate and rental behavior is similar to that in the late 1990s when the economy was strong.

Ballard's Kvichak Marine and Nichols Brothers Boat Builders of Whidbey Island have joined forces to build two149-passenger ferries that will be 85 percent cleaner than the 2007 Environmental Protection Agency regulations require.

The first of the two boats, destined for the San Francisco Bay Area, will be completed this summer, with each boat taking seven months to build at a cost of $8 million each.

The San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority is a regional agency with a mandate to create a comprehensive public water transit system of ferries, feeder buses an

Last Sunday Boeing rolled out its new 787 Dreamliner in true "Oscar-esque" style befitting the showmanship of the Academy Awards. The event was beamed around the world from Everett's Paine Field, signaling Boeing's return to the forefront of commercial airplane innovation and production.

Boeing's 787 order book is approaching 650 aircrafts, worth well over $100 billion. Later this year, the new composite bird will take to the air on its maiden flight. The first Dreamliner is scheduled for delivery next May.

The 787's success is pivotal to both Boeing and Washington.

When will we face reality? Maybe never if we continue to be duped by those who have more power to control our economy and our tax system. Our own 34th District senator states that "Washington state has some 503 tax breaks on the books representing around $13.6 billion a year of lost revenue to the state."

I tried to research the corporations that get these tax breaks and was told by one state agency that this was private tax information.

When Seattle decided to brace and prepare for becoming a much larger city, it decided that more of us needed to live more closely in proximity with each other. Urban villages were to be created where mid-rise apartments and condominiums would be permited to facilitate this human density. It was a good plan then, and it is a good plan now.

But, like all plans, there needs to be some fine tuning.

Lumber mills build the area

By Kay F. Reinartz

The heavy forests of Shilshole Bay, together with the ease of water transportation via Salmon Bay, a natural inlet of Puget Sound, naturally inspired men of an entrepreneurial bent to think of sawmills.

J. Sinclair led the way in constructing the first mill on Salmon Bay in a single month in 1887. Shortly thereafter, A. W. Hight opened the first shingle mill. In 1888 two brothers, James L.

TIMES/NEWS

A billion here and a billion there and pretty soon you're talking about real money.

Former Sen. Everett Dirksen

R-Illinois

Washington taxpayers can breathe easier now that the Legislature has gone home for the year. The damage, which is bad enough, could have been worse.

Even so, we are saddled with a two-year state operating budget that increases spending by 15 percent above this biennium.

After reading Ralph Nichols' April 11 opinion piece, I had a real hankering for some Flock of Seagulls music.

You may remember the band as a one-hit wonder from the 1980s, with the song "I Ran So Far Away." In my circle, they were known more for the lead singer's poofy hair than for their music.

I had the 80s flashback because it seemed like Ralph was quoting 1980s Republican rhetoric, instead of clearly seeing the reality in 2007. He quotes only conservative think tanks and GOP party leaders.

Choosing an option for the Viaduct that permanently removes freeway capacity will increase congestion on I-5. This will likely have a negative influence on the economy, endanger public safety and further restrict freedom of movement.