It's the typical jaywalking case we've seen for years: Unsuspecting tourists who come to Seattle from larger, walkable metropolitan cities (i.e., NYC, Chicago, and Boston) think of jaywalking as a healthy, daily practice. On the road, they assume it's okay to do the same in Seattle. Chicago White Sox general manager Kenny Williams found out the hard way last night that it's not, after he was issued a $56 jaywalking ticket outside Safeco Field for illegally crossing the street away from a crosswalk. Apparently, Williams tried to finesse his way out of the ticket, saying Chicagoans cross anywhere. We can practically hear the authoritative chuckle in the SPD officer's response, "Not in Seattle." more ›

Link Light Rail hasn't been open a full two weeks, and sadly we're already passing along news of the first light rail fatality--though it may have been a suicide. The accident took place late last night in the SoDo area, as the rail car was heading southbound, past South Holgate Street and 5th Avenue South. The SPD Blotter reports a man jumped over a barricade and into the path of the train, where he was struck and killed. With no crosswalks in the vicinity, police are still investigating the accident and what the man was doing in a non-pedestrian area. No light rail passengers were witness to the accident, and they were later bused away. more ›

• West Seattle Blog explores the case of the missing swing-set. Thankfully, no one's figured out how to steal a public park swing-set (yet); rather, Lowman Beach's swings are being replaced by a new and improved set.
• Ooh--even better than a monorail: Ballard may get a water taxi.
• Remember how we mentioned that Cleveland High School students faced a daily death trap just getting to school? The Rainier Valley Post wasn't exaggerating about that.

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