Phinneywood says that those three Greenwood fires in the last two days were set by an arsonist. And so was an earlier fire on June 19, which brings the total to four. Yesterday's fire was the first that involved an injury--a 50-year-old man was burned. Read all about the arson investigation on the SFD's Fire Line. If you see an arsonist, remember to call the Arson Alarm Hotline number at 1-800-55-ARSON. more ›

• "Thousands" of Seattle residents have access to Qwest's superfast VDSL2 already, says TechFlash, with a top speed of 40 mbps download/20 mbps upstream, and all for only $110 per month...when combined with your monthly phone service.
• Don't worry, reassures the Seattle Transit Blog, light rail ridership will grow like kudzu. And then the Seattle Times will write about how crowded it is.

• Belltown People wonders exactly how much the artsy Free Sheep Foundation was involved with Capitol Hill's recent Gamblergate sting operation. What's the vig, capisce?
• Meanwhile, over at MyBallard, the news is that kids are skipping out of Salmon Bay School with the swine flu hot on their heels. We wish could get another animal in this item.

We read over at Phinnywood that Greenwood's Lemon Meringue Boutique is going out of business, and will have a "grand closing" sale. We had no idea it existed, which is lucky because we would have gone there demanding boutique lemon meringue pie, only to be confronted by racks of women’s, maternity, and children’s clothing. It doesn't get much bait-and-switchier than that. Now with High 5 Pie, on the other hand, a division of the Fuel Coffee empire, you get exactly what you expect. (Pie, we mean, not a high five.) And while apple, berry, and cherry are advertised right now, their "seasonal" pie flavors may include "peaches, lemon, blueberries, cloves, salted chocolates, raspberries, and lavender." See that? Lemon! One fake pie door closes, another opens. more ›

The son of former Seattle mayor Charles Royer is running for mayor himself, and that's straight from the HorsesAss. On the plus side, it looks like Jordan Royer is more together than mayor Nickels' son, Jake. West Seattle is sort of freaking out about the snow, while the Rainier Valley Post is freaking out for another reason: the Lakewood Seward Park Community Center is in danger of closing--there's a meeting about it Thursday. But where one door closes, a produce stand is poised to open. MyBallard reports that Top Banana should soon be back in business. And PhinneyWood has the 411 on how to find out when your bus will arrive. more ›

Amanda Knox is teary-eyed after her first day of testimony, and here in Seattle, we're a little worse for wear as well. Richard Branson blasted Boeing and threatened to take his bidness elsewhere. MyBallard is readying for the memorial for Kevin Black, the cyclist killed in an accident Wednesday. PhinneyWood has the deets on the senior center shakedown in which thieves stole three Gs accrued through spaghetti feeds and karaoke bingo. more ›

Jason over at Eat Sleep Publish has a beautiful post on net neutrality and the old vs. new economy. In Greenwood, the Food Network stopped by with cameras and Guy Fieri to film at Georgia's Greek Deli; PhinneyWood has photos. Don't try to pawn off your foreign currency on Washington state ferries, because they're not having it, reports Seattle Metblogs. Even if it is Canadian. Even Canadian quarters. Not allowed. And Slog is thinking about shoplifting, Whole Foods, and sausages in pants. (As are we all.) more ›

• CHS datamined the scoop on the newest new restaurant to hit Odd Fellows Hall, Tin Table: "We believe that food and wine should be an experience for the senses and a festival to spirit."
• Seattle Metblogs realized the hard, concrete fact that we all probably have been trying to avoid stubbing our emotional toe on: a decision on what to do about the Viaduct will never arrive. (In the meantime, Ballard is still holding out for a tunnel.)
• TechFlash reported on Amazon's economy-defying holiday traffic surge--their traffic was up 7 percent compared to December 2007. Though we wonder how much of that was Seattleites checking to see where their snowbound packages were.

• The White Center Blog wants you to remember this is your very last day to register to vote.
• If you live in West Seattle and have a pet door of some sort, you might want to keep a close eye on it. According to West Seattle Blog, burglars have been using cat doors to get inside homes.
• It seems as if those people always sitting outside the Starbucks on 15th Ave have saved their beloved outlet of the coffee giant--for now.

• White Center Now reports that King County Executive Ron Sims has proposed two staggered fare increases for Metro buses on his blog. In other news--Ron Sims writes a blog?!
• Yesterday's late afternoon thunder and lightning struck a little too close to home for a West Seattle Blog reader. A cedar tree in their neighbor's back yard was split in two by a lightning strike, sending cedar chips flying everywhere.
• PhinneyWood wants to let you know that, if you've had trouble with getting a green building permit, there's a meeting scheduled just for you this Wednesday at the Phinney Neighborhood Association.