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Drivers and businesses in Northwest Washington are voicing elation now that there is a firm date for reopening the Interstate 5 bridge over the Skagit River. The Washington Department of Transportation says the temporary replacement bridge will start carrying traffic Wednesday morning.

It took just three and a half weeks to clear the wreckage of the collapsed I-5 bridge and to build a new span across the gap. State transportation secretary Lynn Peterson says the temporary replacement can carry 99 percent of the usual car and truck traffic; no oversize loads will be allowed.

Starbucks will begin posting calorie counts on its menu boards and bakery cases nationwide next week—something it’s already required to do in King County

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has dealt a big blow to environmental groups fighting proposed coal export terminals in the Northwest.

During testimony before Congress, an official with the agency said the Corps is not planning a broad environmental study on the impact of coal exports, meaning the proposed terminals' effects on climate change won’t be considered during the review process.

Humanospherians! This Thursday, starting at 6 pm, is our monthly gathering – ChangeUp – in a New Location. Nickerson Street Saloon – 318 Nickerson St, Seattle, WA 98109. Here’s a Map. Co-sponsored with Global Washington and hosted primarily by polymath Kentaro Toyama and Oxfam’s Seattle point man Jon Scanlon, this is your chance to drink … Continue reading →

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn likely never saw it coming.

While testifying against proposed coal export terminals before a Congressional committee on Tuesday, McGinn found himself at the receiving end of a bizarre—and, at times, personal—attack.

On the offensive was U.S. Rep. David McKinley, R-West Virginia, who boasts taking on “anti-coal zealots” on his website.

More than half of Washington's congressional delegation is asking the U.S. government to respect the state's marijuana legalization effort.

In a letter released Tuesday, seven members of Congress asked the Department of Justice to not pre-empt the new law or prosecute residents acting in compliance with state law. They also asked federal officials to provide guidance on the U.S. government's legal response to a marijuana industry.

A dapper older gentleman spurns his mate of a certain age to take a fresh-faced young lover. You've seen that movie before, right?

Well, this choice of youth may turn out to be more than a Hollywood trope.

President Oscar Arias poses for a photo with Arnold Candray – a former military man who, as part of the Reagan Administration, thought he was on the wrong side of the Cold War The Nobel Peace Prize-winning former President of Costa Rica Oscar Arias was in Seattle the other day and said in a gentle … Continue reading →

Two more polio vaccine workers were shot dead in northwest Pakistan on Sunday. It is the latest attack on polio eradication efforts in Pakistan that extends back to a series of attacks at the end of 2012. The BBC cites 17 polio vaccine worker deaths in the past few months. Polio is down, but not … Continue reading →

Washington’s quarterly revenue forecast is up by more than $200 million, and Tuesday’s news has lawmakers suddenly predicting an end to the weeks-long budget stalemate.

“I expect us to be able to negotiate a budget relatively soon,” said House budget chair Ross Hunter, a Democrat.

Senate Majority Leader Rodney Tom agrees the new revenue projections should break the budget logjam.

“To me that says we should wrap up our business and move on, and get out of town,” Tom said.

State voters will decide on the fate of an initiative that would require labeling of genetically-modified food products. 

Initiative 522 would require food products to bear a label informing the consumer if they contain any genetically-modified organisms, or GMOs.

The public signature-gathering campaign for the bill was successful, and while it allowed the Washington state Legislature an opportunity to decide its fate, its language mandated that if lawmakers took no action, the initiative would automatically to a public vote in November.

The G8 Summit kicked off in Northern Ireland where the major economies in the world will discuss the 3Ts. Here are some news updates and reactions to the proceedings. Continue reading →

Critics of Toms shoes say that the solution does little to address the root causes and problems of poverty at best and at worst can damage local businesses. The online conversations by academics, bloggers (including myself) and NGO workers have continued for years with little response from TOMS. Continue reading →

Last January, Noelle Murphy and her family were on their way to the Please Touch Museum for children in Philadelphia. Right before they arrived, 3-year-old Dylan had an accident.

"He wet himself," Murphy said, "And we were thinking, 'Oh no, how are we going to deal with this?' "

Dylan has autism, and his mom, Noelle, tends to choose at-home activities over unpredictable outings like a day at the museum. If Dylan becomes overwhelmed by his surroundings, he might yell loudly, or drop to the floor and refuse to get up.

The Guardian is providing a podium for author George Monbiot’s rampage against Bono and the ONE campaign. I’m a bit late to this dispute (and confused by it) but it doesn’t seem to be receding. Here’s the latest by Monbiot, who contends Bono and his organization ONE is trying to stifle the voices of the … Continue reading →

So says Donald Kaberuka, president of the African Development Bank. What’s needed to stop the illicit outflow of funds from many African countries, Kaberuka says, is more transparency and better regulation of international trade by wealthy countries. Source: Guardian “The reality is, Africa is being ripped off big time,” was the unusually blunt assessment by … Continue reading →

Africa rising, but who benefits? (BBC) — Many of the fastest growing economies in the world are in Africa. The continent’s future appears to be bright, but do growth figures reflect an improving quality of life? Marketing junk food to kids ‘diastrously effective,’ says WHO (ThinkProgress) — The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday sharply … Continue reading →

 

The financial markets have been roiling lately, a sign that a change of direction might be about to occur, or already is underway. However, crystal balls tend to be more cloudy than clear. No one consistently appraises the markets accurately. 

No matter the market direction, financial advisers are not timid about telling you to rebalance your portfolio. But KPLU financial commentator Greg Heberlein says it's OK to ignore that advice.

Robots are everywhere these days. They’re working in factories, and the focus of student competitions. They’re also teaching us about Nature, especially in the case of robotic fish

It might seem a little Hollywood to talk about "robo-fish," and as an engineering professor, Kristi Morgansen is a little shy about that.

“We usually call them fish robots, or robotic fish,” she says.

  People who are anxious about the possibility of their property taxes going up have a new resource to turn to. King County just launched a web site to allow homeowners to appeal their property valuations electronically. They can use the site to look up comparable sales and submit that information along with the appeal.