It's the big regional news. Here's the Seattle Times nut graf about the Feds eying the Port for fraud: The U.S. Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation of the Port of Seattle, following a recent state audit that accused the Port of wasting public money and raised the specter of possible fraud in construction contracts.And our all-time favorite for sleaze, graft, and stupid, all packed into one shotgun-blast of a summary in the P-I:The......

Fall--and yes, we think we can say it's now officially fall--is a great season for concerts. Yet another good one this weekend is an all-ages affair, with Port Angeles' own The Lonely H celebrating their second record release tonight at the Vera Project (7:30pm, with Model Photographer and Don't Tell Sophie, $7). The band's comprised of five teens just outta high school, but don't let that negatively influence your opinion of them. The guys......

The great thing about Switzerland -- we'll tie Seattle in shortly, hang on -- is that there's no convenience too small for the Swiss to consider. Everywhere you go, some Swiss person has already been there and added a neat little touch. Not that we don't show that consideration here in Seattle -- last night at the Hopvine we noticed they have little coat hooks just beneath the bar so you don't have to throw......

Monday A NADER REMEMBERS: Recalling his childhood in Winstead, Connecticut, former presidential candidate and longtime political and social activist Ralph Nader offers 17 values a child should learn to become a conscientious adult. Not helping elect neo-fascists was, unfortunately, #18. 7pm // Third Place Books // FREE Tuesday EROTICA: "One Foot on the Floor: A Reading of Erotica." Jennifer D. Munro (aka Dawn O'Hara) -- whose work has appeared in many collections, including "Best......

Since day one we've said that being a Seattle sports fan is like sneaking up behind Kicky the Paranoid Mule. The past week has reminded us of this all too well. Let's look at the past seven days shall we? Saturday: The Huskies get their nuts smashed in by Gonzaga. Sunday: With a chance to be crowned division champions, the Seahawks lose to the last place Cardinals. Monday: The Mariners sign 36 year old Miguel......

Ah, shit. Two things had to happen today for the U.S. team to finish second in the group, advance to the next round of the tournament and then get destroyed by Brazil in a lackluster showing. Italy had to beat the Czech Republic, which they did, and the U.S. had to beat Ghana, which they did not. Like an idiot Seattlest picked the U.S. to win today in the Seattlest World Cup Challenge. Betting with......

Seattlest joined a subdued crowd of about 80 at Greenlake's Kiwi and Kangaroo for this morning's US-Ghana game. Though we arrived in a red, white, and blue "Git 'er Done" hat and waving a small, plastic U.S. flag, our fellow fans displayed little national pride. A U.S. jersey there, a red and blue shirt here. Pretty pathetic. Ok, the last six years haven't been our best, but come on--first colony to break away from the......

Seattle baseball fans stand at the ledge of a great divide today, which is why the World Baseball Classic is so awesome. Do you love Ichiro, or do you love America? It's a good thing for all of us that it's not 1944. The U.S. team needs the Japanese team to lose to South Korea tonight in order to advance. Well, there's also some crazy scenario where the U.S. could advance if Japan and Korea......

Here in Seattle, it's a slow sports day. The only major local team in action is the Husky women's basketball team, who host Michigan tonight. It's high school basketball night, but there aren't any particularly compelling matchups. It's such a slow day, in fact, that the P-I's Jim Moore decided to fill his column space speculating on who Seattle's Sexiest Athletes are. Included with the article--a staggeringly unflattering picture of the Seattle Storm's Sue Bird......

The Oregon state quarter is now in circulation, featuring an engraving of Crater Lake. But we must wait (with Idaho--the indignity!) until 2007 for ours. What will be on Washington's quarter? The U.S. Mint wants design ideas, but, strangely, only in essay form. The Seattle Times asks readers for their ideas. Using the Times' form, the website Fark.com started their own contest, and the far more irreverant designs of their users can be viewed here.......

Our friend Stacey overheard this while getting her nails done: "There's going to be, like, a bunch of soccer teams from different countries here, and that means that there's going to be, like, a bunch of awesome food for us to try!" The first part of this statement is true. Qwest Field is hosting some opening round games of The CONCACAF Gold Cup, a soccer tournament of the national teams of the Western Hemisphere. The......