The summer fire safety burn-ban will be lifted in King, Pierce, Snohomish, and Mason Counties at 8 a.m. this Friday. According to local fire marshalls, the ban is being lifted because area forests have enough moisture to "considerably reduce the risk of fire." That means if you've been partaking in President Bush's one-time favorite summer vacation activity--clearing brush down on the ranch in Crawford--you are now free to burn that brush bonfire style. But no......

Seattle Graffiti by Seattlest Flickr photographer Grundlepuck Capitol Hill Seattle has found the answer to the "graffiti problem"--passive aggressive semi-anonymous notes. Because passive aggressiveness has worked so well at solving everything else in Seattle.If you like mojitos as much as we do, you might be tempted by this Belltowner post. Apparently, the failed Mojito Cafe is selling their big neon sign on Craigslist.Lights & Sirens brings us the sad and disturbing story of a Tacoma......

Not only will you be voting for a new president in November (finally!), but a few new measures have been added to the local ballot. Initiative 1000—the "Death with Dignity" initiative—has made it on the state-wide ballot after amassing 224,880 valid petition signatures. Washington voters will have their say on the controversial topic of assisted suicide and whether or not to allow terminally ill people to obtain a fatal prescription to end their own lives.......

The Tacoma soldier who is accused of killing a fellow army couple and kidnapping their infant has been transferred to the custody of the United States Army. The Army will prosecute Specialist Ivette Gonzalez Davila for the murders of Army medics Timothy and Randi Miller, who were doused in acid after being shot. Davila was transferred yesterday from Pierce County Jail to the brig at Bangor's sub base. The Army is expected to charge......

You recall the other day we were mad as hell at the Washington State Ferries for running their boats until they rusted through, leaving everyone high and dry while new ones can be built. WSF is still dead to us, but Governor Gregoire could make our "holiday card" list if she keeps it up. First the viaduct course correction, now she's scrounged up $100 million to pay for three new ferries. Budget, schmudget! She's......

No. But that doesn't make this factoid from a political campaign article in today's P-I any less disturbing: "If it's OK to notify a political campaign about this guy, what about the neighbors he lived near for months?" said Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, pointing out that [Mitt] Romney's aides were warned about [Daniel Thomas] Tavares's presence here during the candidate's recent campaign swing through Seattle, though Troyer's own office......

Seattlest just got done attending the press conference for the re-opening of the Downtown Bus Tunnel. After two years of work, it's set to reopen next Monday. That's exactly two years (as King County Exec. Ron Sims was fond of repeating over and over today) after it closed. We have to say, we're pretty impressed with what they've done. Needless to say, it's a pretty big achievement in a region not exactly known for making......

Some people like going to the Eatonville Pioneer Farm Museum to see the genuine 1880s cabin. For others, it's the chance to participate in the craft instructions or walk the nature trail. Arthur Lawton, however, goes to fuck the goats. Allegedly. According to court papers, says the Times, witnesses saw 63-year-old Lawton "having sex with a goat in a barn" at the museum. He was booked into Pierce County jail last night, charged with animal......

We're not sure if some airborne lead has made its way into the Tacoma aroma, or if the apocalypse is coming, but this must be a sign of one or the other:The police log entry said it all: "Deceased fawn was dressed up like an infant and abandoned at the Pantages" Theater. Why would anyone dress up a dead newborn deer, lay it in a basket and leave it outside an ornate downtown landmark? "Your......

--We're fucked. --The B&B that Greenlake has been trying to oust will be allowed to stay. Old story. Wallingford has since eclipsed Greenlake as Seattle's NIMBYest. --Some people think Schultz should stop pining for the past and get back to work. Faster. --Hahahahaha, oh man... The homeless voting... What a hoot. --Not sure how to vote on this one... --Someone just bought a Pierce County ferry boat on Ebay. --First Seattle to Paris non-stop and......

In non-holiday tree related Port news, all of the Seattle-Tacoma International Taxicab Association (STITA) taxis will run on compressed natural gas by this summer (the press release says "Aug. 31, 2006" but we're guessing they meant 2007). In fact all of the sedan-style STITA cabs already burn natural gas. The Port had to hunt around for sedans that use the alternative fuel, and purchased a bunch from California fleets that were retiring the cars. Ford......

Ikea is planning a monstrous warehouse and distribution center near the port of Tacoma to handle incoming freight, indicating that the company is confident that every new condominium development built in Seattle requires forty or fifty Billy book and CD shelves from Asia. The first step is an 840,000+ square foot facility in unincorporated Pierce County which should be completed by 2008. Another 220,000 square feet will be added after that's completed. One hundred......

Thirteen teams turned out for Seattlest trivia last night at the Old Pequliar. Want to see how you'd do? Here are all the questions. We'll post answers later today, along with a list of team standings and anything else interesting we find to say about the event. Round 1: Geography 1) What's the largest city in Pierce County, Washington? 2) What is the longest mountain range in the world? 3) What is the largest county......

-Green Tortoise Hostel's time is up. Who won the dead pool on that block going condo? -Defective Yeti figured out the key to effective spam yesterday: brevity. -In some places a Starbucks cup isn't a sign of affluence and excess; rather it's a signifier that the neighborhood's gone to hell. -The Mayor's budget allocates some doubloons to displaying the Wawona, so apparently the city is reneging on that threat to send it to the bottom......

Brown Bear Car Wash is so happy that media and public attention has helped them retrieve 25 of more than 40 bear statues stolen from its Fife location that it's washing cars for free today at these 19 drive-thru locations: Snohomish County\Everett 3523 Broadway Ave, Everett North King County 16032 Aurora Ave N, Seattle Seattle 5111 15th Ave NW, Ballard 1800 15th Ave W, Seattle South & East King County 22706 Marine View Dr., Des......

Festival season is starting, and that's Seattlest's favorite time of year. Elephant ears, funnel cakes, deep fried twinkies, strawberry shortcake, and any number of more savory foods abound, and then there's whatever the festival is actually celebrating. Our neighbors to the south in Tacoma, Puyallup, Sumner, and Orting are having their annual Daffodil Festival this weekend, which looks to provide an interesting mix of activities outside of the flower-gazing. The highlight of the weekend is......

-Smith Tower, Seattle icon and Seattlest logo participant, was sold today for $44M by the Samis Foundation to a Chicago investment group. -A guy weilding a bow and arrow was shot by police in unincorporated Pierce County after a domestic violence call. -There's suddenly lots of action on the JOA front and we'll leave it up to you to decide whether Editor and Publisher will explain it all or not. -The 22 stowaways made......

-The two high school kids who were killed by a train this week in Pierce County were apparently listening to a boom box when they were struck in the back. Man, that thing must go to eleven... -A pair of white-power-type fugitives were picked up near Renton Municipal Airport this morning. They're wanted for a North Carolina homicide. -The AT&T Wireless brand may make a comeback but the 30,000 Redmond jobs that died with it......

Did you know there was passenger ferry service from Kingston to Seattle (and vice versa, of course)? Apparently not enough of you did, or cared, because the private passenger-only ferry service provided by Aqua Express will have a big "Out of Order" sign on it as of October 1 (last day of service is September 30). It was carrying only half the projected ridership, and that combined with ever-rising fuel costs, made it a harder......

Seattle smokers are breathing a little, uh, easier, today after the state Supreme Court struck down a Pierce County smoking ban, stating that banning smoking from Pierce County bars, restaurants, and casinos is in conflict with state law. There is a law at the state level that prohibits smoking in public places, but it exempts bars, restaurants, bowling alleys, and casinos as well as a few other traditional haunts of the smoker. Of course, Pierce......

Election stories are sill finding the front page one week after the election- What? Oh. It's a month later and- Are you kidding me? The year is 2005 and the dalies are still paying homage to our electoral process in the form of front page stories. I'm sure they're very proud of this reporting legwork, but there have got to be some reporters getting dog tired of this material. This is Seattlest's first post and......