But King County's Harborview, parts of which date back to 1931, is seismically unsound, hospital officials report. A major earthquake would cause initial damage and deaths at the facility and would cripple its ability to handle the expected scores of serious injuries. The balance would come from the hospital through operating expenses, parking revenue and bond interest income. But County Executive Ron Sims and some members of the King County Council have other ideas. Sims wants to hold off a year on the Harborview bond measure and wants to hold out for a state contribution to the project, arguing that plenty of people outside King County depend on the high level of emergency medical care there and should share in the cost.
Politicians like to talk about setting priorities.
This may be one of those times in which we can't have it all so much as decide what we must have most of all. Courthouses, buses and potholes notwithstanding, there is a good case to be made that the highest priority is a top-flight emergency medical center that will still be operational when it is most needed.