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Local Sharpened spikes at Green Lake

A handful of spikes - metal rods roughly 2 or 3 feet long - were found Sunday night by a man wading near the boating center at the south end of the lake. After he alerted city parks staff, Seattle police divers on Monday found 39 spikes buried in the lake bottom, with sharp points sticking up.

Seattle Mayor and Council Think $1,115 a Month for Rent is Affordable Housing

While the abundance of cranes on the Seattle skyline seems to indicate there remains some profitability in development, the Seattle City Council hesitated Tuesday to actually put some teeth behind infrastructure taxes on this period of growth: To some low-income-housing advocates, spending $1,115 a month to rent a studio apartment in Seattle does not sound affordable. Mayor Greg Nickels and the Seattle City Council say it is. The city defines an affordable place as costing no more than 30 percent of a household's income. Separately, the city now spends $40 million a year in voter-approved levy funds on low-income housing targeted at people who make below 50 percent of median income.

'They can go 40 miles for a dollar,' if cars get made

AFS Trinity's prototype sport utility vehicles can go 40 miles on a single charge from a standard electric outlet, at which point a gas-powered engine takes over. The SUVs reach top speeds of 90 mph on the highway -- and accelerate without a hitch, as Furia demonstrated while speeding Monday on Westlake Avenue North. Gov. Chris Gregoire will take one of the firm's two working prototypes on a test drive Tuesday.

Danny Westneat | Homeless: new growth industry

Something is ragged in the Emerald City. We've had our frenzies, like the dot-coms and real estate. Now it feels like there's an anti-boom, an echo of the others. A week ago Friday wasn't especially cold or windy or any of the other things that drive street people inside. But at Operation Nightwatch, a ministry for the homeless, it was a night for the record books anyway. Near midnight, after finding spots to sleep for 175 people, workers gave bus tickets and blankets to 42 more. Then sent them wandering off down the street.

Crosscut Seattle - The trouble with Green Lake

Crosscut has a major feature today on the history and issues with maintaining water quality in Seattle's most popular park Green Lake. It's also near and dear to my heart as I live near the lake.

Seattle Places Released Sex Offender Under Bridge

Sex offenders are the new lepers. She fitted him with a GPS bracelet and drove him to the 88th Street bridge. "At least we could check on him," she said. "We could keep trying to find him a place. I'm sorry to say it, but it was the best we had to offer." On the fourth night, he cut off his monitor and fled.

Local Retired carpenter offers hot soup, warm smile to homeless on Seattle's Capitol Hill

Bill Pond parks his pickup twice a week on Broadway Avenue East near a boarded-up Jack in the Box. There, he offers chicken soup, egg-salad sandwiches and juice to the homeless. The retired carpenter pays for it out of his own pocket, collecting and recycling aluminum cans to help offset some of the cost.

Medical marijuana patients denied a spot on transplant list

When dying patients need a transplant, should it be held against them if they've used dope with a doctor's blessing? "Most transplant centers struggle with issues of how to deal with people who are known to use marijuana, whether or not it's with a doctor's prescription," said Dr. Robert Sade, director of the Institute of Human Values in Health Care at the Medical University of South Carolina. "Marijuana, unlike alcohol, has no direct effect on the liver. It is however a concern ... in that it's a potential indicator of an addictive personality."

Seattle Public School Teacher Refuses to Administer WASL

A Seattle public school teacher leaves the test behind in protest: "To my mind the measure of successful childhood is that each child learns about who she or he is and how the world works, gains an assertive and confident self image, and feels safe, well fed, and happy. Schools, along with parents and communities, need to contribute wisely to this goal. Unfortunately, the WASL creates panic, insecurity, low self esteem, and sadness for our children."

Four in Seattle-based film group arrested in Nigeria

Four people from a Seattle-based film crew and a Nigerian man accompanying them have been detained for illegally traveling by boat in southern Nigeria's restive oil-rich creeks, officials said.

Oh, humble night: Dalai Lama, Dave Matthews, Death Cab for Cutie

From the Dalai Lama's foam maroon visor to Dave Matthews' everyman demeanor, the stage was rid of ego. Even the popular band Death Cab for Cutie, which made a surprise opening appearance, modestly introduced itself.

Bring on Lama-Palooza

Lama-Palooza's man behind the curtain is a driven entrepreneur named Dan Kranzler, a Charles Foster Kane for children and early learning (better that than, say, politics or yellow journalism). Kranzler is a Bellevue-based wireless executive who founded Mforma, a mobile-entertainment company, in 2001.

Seattle officials propose 20-cent grocery-bag fee

Nickels and City Council President Richard Conlin proposed a 20-cent "green fee" Wednesday on all disposable bags to encourage customers to carry their milk and eggs home in their own bags.

City of Seattle won't buy bottled water

Good move. Shoulda happened a long time ago. We have one of the best municipal water supplies in the country; we should be proud to drink "Seattle's finest, straight from the tap."

Crosscut Seattle - A city's money is better spent on something besides pro sports

Sure, they're entertaining and fun, but the NBA SuperSonics and other franchises are businesses. Why can't they pay their own way? A Seattle neighborhood activist advocates spending taxpayer money instead on essential services — for people in need.