Dorley Rainey, 83, tells the council that an Environmental Impact Statement is :sorely needed at this point.
  • Dorley Rainey, 83, tells the council that an Environmental Impact Statement is "sorely needed at this point." The council should wait until the state finishes its environmental study this summer, she says, before decided to proceed.

In a set of two meetings today, the first starting now, the Seattle City Council is taking one part of the plunge today to approve three contracts with the state for a deep-bore tunnel to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct. You can hear a committee hearing live on the Seattle Channel, which is expected to conclude later this morning with the council forwarding those contracts to the full council for a vote at the council's 2:00 p.m. meeting.

A shorter version of some of the pro-tunnel testimony so far from business types, Governor Gregoire, and the state transportation department: All industry in Seattle will cease unless we spend $4.2 billion on a four-lane bypass highway.

(By way of background, this political hot potato will stay in the council's hands for several more months, despite today's vote.)