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. more ›

ALL THAT JAZZ!: If your musical soul isn't daring enough to venture to Sasquatch or hippy-dippy enough for the Folklife Festival, you can check out the smooth tunes at the--air conditioned--Bellevue Jazz Festival. Curtains open tonight with the preeminent young male jazz singer Kurt Elling and Grammy winner, Dianne Reeves. Weekend performances include: Mingus Big Band, Mose Allison Trio and the Seattle Rep. Jazz Orchestra. On a budget? The festival has a few free shows, featuring our very own local talented pool of rising jazz stars. Performance times and locations vary, Friday-Sunday // Theatre at Meydenbauer Center, 11100 NE 6th St. // Tickets: Packages $59-149 more ›

The tourists are coming, the tourists are coming(!!), we knew it was going to happen sooner or later, as today marks the opening day of the cruise ship season. This year is a Champagne bottle-breaking moment, for the Port of Seattle as the first ship pulled into the $72 million new Smith Cove terminal on Pier 91 this morning. With an expected 801,000 passengers to filter through Seattle, the new terminal will provide a swanky on-land introduction for over 200 ships. Most importantly, the new terminal will finally stop the hot-mess of traffic congestion in front of the old cruise ship docks at Pier 30. more ›