The Alaskan Way Viaduct will be closed this weekend for semiannual inspection and repairs and open Saturday morning for public walking tours.
State Route 99, between the Battery Street Tunnel and Spokane Street, will be closed to traffic from 6 a.m. Saturday through 6 p.m. Sunday.
Walking tours of the upper deck are scheduled between 9:30 a.m. and noon on Saturday, starting at the Seneca off-ramp.
Seattle mayor Greg Nickels presented his proposed 2009-2010 budget to the city council with a distinct focus on human services and public safety.
The proposed general budget totals $920 million in 2009 and $952 million in 2010. The Seattle City Council will spend the next two months reviewing the budget to determine if any funds should be cut or reallocated.
A Regence Health Insurance survey shows steep health plan learning curve with confusing terms that may keep people from getting full benefit of coverage.
"Almost nine out of 10 people in this country have some kind of health insurance coverage," said Robert Harris, who oversees Regence's market research. "But our focus groups show they don't understand the language and that makes them afraid to use it.
More doses than ever of influenza vaccine will be available this fall. Some vaccine has already arrived in Washington and shipments will continue in the coming weeks. The challenge is to use it all and everyone can do their part by getting vaccinated.
Flu immunization rates are very low for young children aged 6-23 months (about 16 percent). Adults get vaccinated at a higher rate - 74 percent for adults in Washington over age 65, which is slightly above the national average.
Jacobsen's Marine, which has been selling and servicing salt water sport-fishing boats on the corner of 24th Avenue Northwest and Market Street since 1951, is staying in Ballard after a deal with the Port of Edmonds fell through.
In June 2007 the Ballard News-Tribune reported that Jacobsen's would be selling its property in Ballard to build a new home at the Port of Edmonds because the Ballard property was getting too valuable and was ill suited to the larger sport-fishing boats that have become the norm.
The deal, which was close to being finalized last June, fell throug
The success of Seattle's water conservation programs has been recognized with an award from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Seattle Public Utilities has won a 2008 Environmental Protection Agency WaterSense Partner of the Year award.
Benjamin H.
Team bests Bothell, Roosevelt
By Michael Harthorne
The Ballard High School girls soccer team halted a four-game losing streak by defeating Bothell High School 2-0 on Oct. 7 and used the momentum from the win to beat Roosevelt High School 3-2 on Oct.
Day of seconds
Second was the word of the day as three of Ballard's four teams finished in the runner-up positions as the Beavers hosted Garfield, Inglemoor, Juanita and Mercer Island in a five-team meet at Lower Woodland Park.
Ballard finished second behind Mercer Island as the Islanders won the boys' team race with 42, while the Beavers had 63, followed by Inglemoor's 67, Garfield 68, and Juanita at 112.
The varsity girls was more of the same as Mercer Island scored 30, with Ballard at 69, Inglemoor 76, Juanita 85, and Garfield at 101.
In the girls
Beavers have bad season
By Michael Harthorne
One year after going 5-3 and making the playoffs - the first Seattle team to accomplish that feat in four years - the Ballard High School football team is sitting at 0-6 with two games remaining and has not been competitive with another team this season.
The Beavers have been outscored by their opponents 239-45 and have lost by an average of more than 32 points per game.
Ballard consistently puts itself in holes this season that it can't dig itself out of.
Just about everyone at the City Council hearing last week on the proposal to rework the so-called "Mercer Mess" seemed to oppose the idea, except the city transportation director and a council member.
Loud opposition came from State Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, a member of the House Transportation Committee who said she would work to see that "not a cent" is in the state budget for the project as it is now.
The current Two-Way Mercer Project would widen Mercer Street between I-5 and Dexter Avenue North to include three travel lanes in both directions.
