Mayor Nickels just saved his big, fat bacon by sending the Sonics packing for $45 million plus $30 million potentially.

Who's watchin,' but Greg Nickels and Gregoire's Ministry of Transportation are engineering a Seattle traffic nightmare equivalent to a combined massive stroke and massive heart attack. Yes, they intend to destroy the 110,000 vehicles per day Alaskan Way Viaduct. Hebert Research estimates a $2 billion annual loss to the Puget Sound economy if those lanes are eliminated.

Greg Nickels knows this and Greg Nickels knows that many thousands of Seattle businesses will not survive his 10-year waterfront beautification project targeted to out-of-state tourists and downtown condo developers. Knowing this, Nickels took the $45 Million hush money to kill a court ruling where he, Slade Gorton and henchman Ceis were soon to be filleted alive. He figured the sum of $45 Million plus being tarred and feathered was greater than only being tarred and feathered after he totally destroys Seattle's traffic grid.

Clay Bennett is not stupid. Absolutely no business will survive at Seattle Center once and if Nickel's lifetime ambition of viaduct destruction gets underway. None of us will be able to reach Seattle Center! Poof! Nickels will have achieved magicianhood by transforming the "Mercer Mess" into the regional "Nickel's Mess."

By the way, was any reader stuck in that solid line of cars and buses from Delridge Way to downtown this morning (Thursday, July 3) after a broken-down honey bucket truck blocked only one viaduct lane?

So, hizzoner Nickels' game plan is now to pummel our Statehouse candidates into extracting more and more of our limited wages for a new arena in Renton, Bellevue or some other more car-accessible city. Nickel's legacy will be the permanent banishment of basketball from the City of Seattle.

Of course, he and Gregoire can detour us from such ruination by preserving the Alaskan Way Viaduct.

Craig Keller

Genesee