A bad joke played on the arts, Sonics

Nick Licata must be joking.

There is no other rational explanation for his $1 billion proposal to upgrade Seattle Center, infuse the arts and the tourism industry with hundreds of millions of dollars and present the SuperSonics a deal to renovate KeyArena that is too easy to refuse.

The nettlesome proposal stinks of hypocrisy. Licata, the Seattle City Council's president, could derail any chance of keeping the Sonics and Storm in Seattle by proposing such a broad funding plan that includes $20 million to upgrade KeyArena, while directing nearly $450 million for the arts, $215 million to improve Seattle Center and $129 million for tourism. Licata could learn something about leadership from Councilman David Della, whose council committee covers KeyArena. From that committee came a council-approved set of common-sense bargaining positions for the city, which rightly calls for the Sonics to pay a significant amount of the $220 million KeyArena remodel.

KeyArena aside, the city does have to figure out a long-range plan for Seattle Center. Licata's sensational proposal does nothing but focus the discussion on his ideas, and not the health of Seattle Center.

Licata contends it is not hypocritical to extend taxes that helped pay for Qwest and Safeco fields, which he opposed, into the arts. He reasons that the arts community makes far less than a basketball player, so it is fine to extend taxes on restaurants and hotels to increase those low art-industry wages.

Since when has it been the taxpayers' responsibility to improve the wages of workers in the art world? Never mind the reason those taxes were grudgingly accepted by restaurant owners and hotel operators was because of sunset provisions. Once in place, try to remove any tax.

Yes, the Sonics have to be more realistic about how much a remodeled KeyArena will cost them. The locally owned team, however, deserves a fair chance to negotiate with the city without the council president undermining the process.