I wasn't too surprised when I opened up the Seattle P-I last week and saw an article about declining sales figures at small downtown stores during this Christmas shopping season. It seems that Pacific Place and Nordstrom sucked most suburbanite shoppers away from Pike Place Market, First Avenue, and Pioneer Square. Surprise. We might also expect to find (if anyone bothered to look) that tourists will be spending more time at the new downtown equivalent of a suburban shopping mall and less money at the Market and Pioneer Square in the months to come. Obviously, "trickle down" economics won't work here, either.--Maria Tomchick

Speaking of economics, here's my short list of local econ-related stories we're likely to see in the coming year: layoffs at Boeing will ripple through the regional economy as subcontractors and suppliers also cut jobs, Gov. Locke will cut taxes to high-tech businesses that move to south Puget Sound and rural areas of the state, more farmers will go out of business all across the state, cuts in tax revenues will mean less funding for schools (so long to the best teachers and special education), private insurance will disappear in Washington State, Paul Schell will become the "development mayor" by encouraging construction in the Denny Triangle and First Hill, local labor leaders will line up to support all kinds of frivolous construction in the name of "new jobs," and the Asian flu will begin to work its way through the region's high tech industry. In short, business as usual. But I have another list, too, of things I'd like to see: rent control in Seattle; layoffs at Boeing lead to the formation of mass transit technology start-up companies; the rise of more small, environmentally-sound, organic farms in rural areas of the state; some of the state's tobacco money gets spent on environmental reconstruction throughout the state (including the destruction of a few dams); students, teachers, and parents unite to fight for more spending on school programs and teacher salaries; a state-wide, single-payer healthcare system; more affordable housing in the Denny Triangle and First Hill; and local labor leaders grow a backbone and a social conscience. Wow! I can dream, can't I?--M.T.

Okay, okay. You've probably had enough of my two-bits on economic stuff, but I can't resist giving my predictions for national and international economic highlights in 1999: the new common European currency, the euro, will lead to a shift away from the U.S. dollar as the major currency measure against which all other world currencies rise or fall (and may lead to a run against the dollar); the Middle East and Russia will become more financially tied to the EEC; further economic collapse and debt defaults in Russia will lead to more political unrest there or the rise of right-wing extremists in the Russian government; neo-liberalism will collapse in Latin America, leading to more political unrest and guerrilla warfare there; Southeast Asian nations will establish their own bailout fund independent of the IMF, the World Bank, and other western lending agencies; and, finally, the collapse of neo-liberal economic policies will mean a weakening of the IMF and a corresponding rise in the influence of EEC lending agencies. I also have my own wish-list: all bankers of the world spontaneously convert to liberation theology and follow the advice of the World Council of Churches to abolish the outstanding debt of Third World nations (in celebration of the new millenium), the U.N. sets up a tribunal to try crimes of corruption and economic injustice (which leads to the repatriation of all funds stolen from Third World nations), the collapse of neo-liberalism leads to the outright death of the IMF, the Russian economic collapse brings a second revolution ... whoah. I better stop there, before I get too carried away.--M.T.

Without going too far on the crystal ball thing, look for a couple of local political figures to take a major hit to their good liberal reputations in 1999: Ron Sims and Deborah Senn. Sims is running King County like a staging ground for a Senate race, raising money from Eastside developers for his future in D.C. and selling out the Growth Management Act in the process. The creation of thousands of little boxes on Sammamish Plateau, minus any infrasructure to support them, is Sims' legacy. Between that and his semi- Republican budgets--cut social spending, more cops, and more money for his own office--Sims' credibility as the good Seattle liberal is fading fast. Which is probably just what he wants in his effort to beat Slade.

Also rumored to be interested in that race is State Insurance Commissioner Deborah Senn. Forget about it. The accelerating catastrophe that is this state's health insurance system is finally going to rebound on Senn in 1999. The nasty secret of Senn the crusading consumer activist is that she never has been what her reputation, and the insurance industry, claims; she's quite happy to sell out consumers to the predations of private insurers 98% of the time. It's that other 2% that gets her in trouble (in most states, the post of Insurance Commissioner is 110% industry-owned). As private market costs continue to go up and choices continue to decline, and the state's Basic Health Plan continues to be dramatically underfunded, Senn's policies will have turned out to be the worst of both worlds: pissing off the insurers without having gotten any meaningful concessions in return.--Geov Parrish

Normally, the folding of a pro sports league isn't cause for great civic mourning. But the abrupt Dec. 22 loss of the Seattle Reign women's pro basketball team, along with its entire league, the American Basketball League, was different. The ABL's grass roots approach was deeply political/ Its competitor, the WNBA, is a women's basketball league not just run by men with money from the men's game, but run on exactly the same model that has ruined the men's game and cancelled this season: television contracts, corporate luxury suites and merchandise tie-ins, taxpayer-funded arenas, a few high-profile stars and fans as an afterthought. The WNBA is a marketing ploy; the ABL was a cause. The wrong guys (literally) won. The ABL, by its example, showed exactly what was wrong with the $400 million plus stadium gifts taxpayers are giving the Mariners and Seahawks: far from bringing communities together, these franchises are rich male-only business enterprises run by and for their corporate patrons. They could be, and are, profitable even if no fans (or viewers) showed up at the gates at all.

It's a measure of the loyalty the ABL generated in its two-plus seasons that some fans are hoping to resuscitate the league--by buying it. The scheme, launched by the San Jose Lasers' fan club, is a long shot; it would require thousands of people buying in with $1000 (or more) shares, and then finding a way to create revenue streams where current management failed, all before the players and everyone else scatter. For the sake of all women's sports--all pro sports, period--the ABL is worth saving. Check out the fan group's web site at http:/www.elf.net/abl, or in the Seattle area call 206-405-2130. Updates on efforts to save the league are also at www.freeyellow.com/6/ablagain.--G.P.