Are you a teensy bit ashamed of the overdue library book fines that have incrementally accrued over the months and thus managed to worm their way into your guilty conscience? If you’re too embarrassed to go into your local branch of the Seattle Public Library wearing a scarlet “O” to pay your fines, you can now clear your account from the comfort of your own home with the SPL’s new online payment system. (In fact, you can only pay your overdue fines if they’ve piled up to be worth at least $1.) more ›

The word at work is there’s like a $250 fine for not shoveling the snow in front of your business but for the purpose of motivating employees the fine has now been exaggerated to $700 a day. more ›

Seattle pedestrians and bikers are fed up with it too. Over 70 Seattle sidewalks are closed due to private construction. A recently completed audit on sidewalk closures and pedestrian access concluded that the city wasn't doing enough to help pedestrians navigate the ever-changing sidewalk closures. In hopes of changing that, the audit proposes that construction projects be coordinated to avoid conflicting closures and that the city begin enforcing rules about pedestrian violations of sidewalk closures. Since the rising cost of gas makes walking more of a necessity for some of us than a leisure activity, we hope the sidewalk situation gets sorted out soon.
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Courtesy of Seattle crime blog extraordinaire, Seattle 911, comes an infuriating answer to a reader question about cops and hand-held cell phones. While the rest of us face fines of $124 for driving while operating a hand-held cell phone, the officer writing that ticket and pulling you over just might be using theirs, completely legally. It turns out the recently enacted law does not apply to police officers or ambulance drivers when they are operating emergency vehicles. more ›