Like everyone in the city, Greg Nickels is tired of gridlocked regional transportation projects. Gearing up for a re-election campaign, he’s starting to think outside the box. Or outside of the country. Goodbye USA, hello Independent Republic of Pugetopolis:

The Puget Sound regional economy makes up 67 percent of the state’s economic activity, he said. “If we were a country, [our economy] would be just a little smaller than Thailand. We would be larger than Colombia, Venezuela. We are held back because our state and federal government still believe our economies are driven by wheat farms and timber logging.” [times ^[1]]

While Seattle prepares to leave the Union (ed: in addition to better transit, does this also mean more hookers, blow, and oil reserves?), the 5 Spot ^[2] is preparing to spiritually sever itself from the city of Seattle in simultaneous celebration of the twenty-six-year anniversary of the Florida Keys’s secession (the theme of their new menu) and in protest of the Sonics skipping town. It’s all very complicated; you’ll need to read the press release for yourself to ponder all of the details. [chow ^[3]]