Well, besides the roar from Qwest Field, the other noise you may have heard yesterday percolating in the air was the sound of some liberal heads exploding while reading the Seattle Times editorial board's opposition to I-937, the renewable energy initiative.

The initiative itself may be somewhat benign given that some major Western Washington utilities aren't spending much time, if any, trying to defeat it, seemingly because they feel comfortable being on track to meet the initiative's goals anyway. Yet, as the Times editorial notes, I-937 is considerably flawed, and now prudently opposed by the Association of Washington Business (AWB).

The promise of I-937 has some appeal, even to non-liberal voices. The Everett Herald endorsed the idea yesterday as the Times opposed it, though I suspect the Snohomish County PUD's non-opposition to the initiative probably tipped the Herald's scales.

Benign or not, long-time readers will know this writer rarely likes government by initiative unless it serves as a truly necessary safety valve for citizens to overcome an obstinate state government. I-937 certainly doesn't meet that threshold, even before you get into the particular mandates of the policy it advances. Voting "no" would be an excellent choice.