4402449 b64f1da42b7b8bee0364b5b1104650d7 mercedes1947 http://gravatar.com/mercedes1947 mercedes1947 http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/b64f1da42b7b8bee0364b5b1104650d7 http://0.gravatar.com/avatar/b64f1da42b7b8bee0364b5b1104650d7 thumbnail Diana Mercedes Howell Diana Mercedes Howell mercedes1947 Budding writer, live in Seattle area, miss San Francisco Bay Area ---- am suffocating!! Love writing, have submitted two articles - both have been accepted to local magazines, no pay but I am building a portfolio. Working on a San Francisco City Guides travel article for National Magazine. Moved to Seattle to get away, to slow down for awhile. 12 years is long enough. San Francisco was rebuilt from the ground up in less than 10 years, including the 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition. The only thing of note Seattle has managed to build in the dozen I have been here is a pair of mammoth sports stadiums. Meanwhile infrastructure is brittle and crumbling, we have the second worst traffic in the nation and mass transportation is non-existent. On Friday the Sonics occupied the entire front page of the Seattle Times. I am not exaggerating. Of three articles on the front page each related to losing the Sonics to Oklahoma City. "The Trial", accusing the new owner of never intending to remain in Seattle created major headlines every day. The only way we are ever going to get a transportation bill passed in Washington State is if they turn commuting into a sports competition.