Bellevue makes an attempt at a decent night but ultimately fails miserably. Meanwhile, the feds take down a drug ring (not a medical marijuana clinic!), Terminator vision is more possible than it was before, and toll-geddon approcheth.
Friday Morning Headlines
Weekend Traffic: 520 is Closing (Again)
Now that Viadoom is over, it's back to business as usual. Which means traffic will still be terrible.
Weekend Traffic: 520 is Closed Again
We're still a week away from a full closure of the viaduct, but there will still be plenty of construction and activity to snarl traffic over the weekend. The 520 bridge will be closed in both directions to all traffic (again) beginning on Saturday, which is never pleasant, and we'll also see Husky and Sounders traffic jamming up the southern part of the city. Hooray!
Friday Morning Headlines
A busy, busy Friday! We've got transit studies, violent labor disputes, body cameras for cops, forest fires, paid sick leave, and more. Take a peek.
Plan Ahead: 520 Closure Edition
More than one bridge is looking at closures this weekend. How are you getting where you're going?
Friday Morning Headlines
Quite a busy news night. We've got UW jacking tuition sky high, Wild Waves ownership coming full circle, good news and bad news for the 520 floating bridge, and the Mariners taking part in heart-warming acts of goodwill. Somewhere, Dave Niehaus is smiling.
McGinn Calls Out Microsoft CEO
Mayor Mike McGinn invited Steve Ballmer to a public town hall to discuss the proposed 520 bridge plan in a letter sent to the Microsoft CEO. Microsoft took out a full-page ad in the Seattle Times calling for immediate action on the 520 bridge. We have the full text:
Let's Move: Microsoft Buys Full-Page 520 Bridge Plan Ad
But some people who live near the bridge are ready to keep fighting, to make sure a light rail line is included, which right now isn't part of the Washington Department of Transportation's plan.
WSDOT Simulations, the Tranquil Edition
Accompanied by music we swear we've heard in an acupuncturist's lobby, these depict the new bridge options as efficient, utopian dream.
Prepare For a Hot Mess of Weekend Traffic Closures
Think twice about your weekend road-tripping plan of attack, especially if your map requires you to take either SR 520 or I-90 bridges. The 520 floating bridge will be undergoing its annual bridge inspection this weekend so tonight, WSDOT crews will close down 520 from Montlake Boulevard E. to 92nd Avenue NE at 11 p.m. It is set to re-open on Monday, June 22 at 5 a.m. Now here's the clincher: come Sunday morning, the I-90 express lanes will also be closed from 6:30-9:30 a.m. (Oh, noes!) for the cyclists riding in the LIVESTRONG Challenge. Good luck with any rerouting so you can see dear ol' Dad. And if that's not enough, expect traffic congestion from Mariners games, the All Nations Cup Parade, and the Fremont Summer Solstice Parade Festival and Street Fair.
Tolls? We Love 'em! Toll Booths Not So Much
By a 2-to-1 ratio, area residents have expressed support for using tolls to help fund the 520 Bridge replacement. This according to survey results provided in an e-mail release today by the state-created 520 Tolling Implementation Committee.
Mad Money Big Issue of Governor's Race
Governor Christine Gregoire has admitted Washington is facing a budget deficit for 2009-11 (currently the state has a surplus), after third-party "GOP" candidate (He's what now? A Republican?) Dino Rossi staked out the issue. Now that she's announced cutbacks and a raid on the state's rainy day fund to cut the projected $3.2 billion deficit by half, Rossi can't find anything good to say about that, either. It is thrilling to hear a Republican deride reckless deficit spending; Ronald Reagan was all for it. But besides his time machine which transports tomorrow's deficits to today, Rossi seems to have a magic calculator, too--his 8-lane 520 bridge practically pays for itself.
Seafair Runners Will Be Voting for the Next Transit Prop
Transit in Seattle has its challenges. (Yes, operator of the 554 who thought it would be a good idea on Friday to pull your half-full rig next to another bus at the Eastgate Park-and-Ride and then complain back and forth with the other driver for five minutes about your shifts getting changed due to school being out while Seattlest sweltered a few rows back in the ad-wrapped, ventilation-free, four-wheeled saucepan, yes, we are most certainly talking to YOU. You ran two stops signs later, but we digress.)
Lawmakers Give Official Green Light to Toll 520
In January, Governor Gregoire announced her support to toll the 520 bridge. Today, Gregoire announced lawmakers have approved the aggressive strategy to toll the 520 bridge to help finance the cost of building a new floating bridge across Lake Washington. The toll amounts have not been finalized. The new bridge will cost $4 billion, and commuters will pay for half. According to the Seattle Times, the toll could be as much as $7 each way during rush hour. The idea is good—we need a new bridge.

