What do we sing about when we sing about the body?

The folks at Fleshmap have analyzed 1000’s of songs in 11 genres and found which parts of the body show up most often. It’s not what you’re thinking…at least it’s not what we at Record Bin Roulette were thinking.

The Washington State Climatologist is out with a report card on how the weather phenomenon La Niña treated the Northwest. If you thought it’s been wetter and colder than usual since November, you’re right. But overall, this La Niña was milder than predicted. KPLU's Tom Banse reports:

You may see a new Washington State Ferry on Puget Sound waters this week. The Salish is being put through its sea trials. The vessel, built by Todd Pacific Shipyards in Seattle, is expected to begin service this summer on the Port Townsend-Coupeville route. The run has gone without full two-boat service since 2007.

For the first time, the Seattle Public Library was the venue for a naturalization ceremony.  Eighty-six people from twenty-eight countries were sworn in as American citizens.

Teachers and other public school employees in Washington could face a 3% pay cut. That’s one of the key cost-saving measures contained in the State Senate’s two-year budget proposal. It was unveiled late Tuesday.

The State Senate has approved a controversial proposal to base teacher lay-offs on performance - not seniority. The vote late Tuesday triggered a heated debate on the Senate floor and split majority Democrats. Senator Rodney Tom is a suburban Seattle Democrat. He led the charge for performance-based lay-offs:

“Why in the world would you ever lay-off a second year or third year or fourth year teacher of the year in lieu of maybe an eight or ninth year teacher who is on probation? It just makes no sense.”

When the wind is blowing and the rivers are running high, there's not enough capacity in power lines to handle all the electricity that's generated.

And that could mean that wind-farms have to shutdown for brief periods when there's too much power.

Making headlines around the Northwest this morning:

• Charges Dropped Against Men Charged in Ballard Fight With Cop
• Washington Senate Budget Cuts Teacher Pay by 3 Percent
• Snohomish County Teacher Named to National Teacher Hall of Fame

King County Prosecutors Drop Charges in December Melee Involving Seattle Officer

Charges have been dropped against three men accused of fighting an off-duty Seattle police officer who allegedly was caught on video stomping on the head of one of the men outside a Ballard bar.

What kind of kid prefers crepes to pop tarts for breakfast? 

This week we're taking a look at what police say is a resurgence of gang activity - especially in rural areas. In part three of "Living In Gangland," we profile a mother and daughter and their struggle with gangs.

Across the nation there are an estimated 750,000 gang members. That's according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Some of them are women, but more often, women are impacted as the mothers, sisters and girlfriends of gang memgers. They may not actively choose the gang life, but its perils affect them nonetheless.

Seattle City Light has found another electrified streetlight pole. It was a new pole, which had been installed in January. A dog detected the voltage when it sniffed the pole and its owner called it in. City Light says the streetlight had been improperly installed and had frayed wires.

As a precaution, the utility is inspecting about 60 streetlight poles that were damaged and replaced in the past year. Many of those poles weren’t in place when City Light did comprehensive voltage testing last December and January.

The Associated Press reporters and photographers around the country weren't tweeting or uploading their stories to Facebook today.  They also refrained from using their personal cell phones or cars for business.

It's a day of disappointment in the northwest for fans of US space exploration. 

Seattle's Museum of Flight got official word this morning that it will not be home to one of the three space shuttles NASA is retiring.  And it won't get the prototype Enterprise (which was only used for test flights and never reached space) either.

The shuttles are going to:

The Washington State Patrol is reminding people they should call 9-1-1 only when they need police, fire, or emergency medical services. It may seem like simple common sense advice that everyone knows, but dispatchers frequently get calls asking for road conditions or driving directions. Frivolous calls like that can delay someone from getting the emergency help they need.

Global health is a big deal in Seattle.

As a matter of worldwide significance, it is of course a big deal everywhere — by definition. But what I mean is that global health is today the cause célèbre for Seattle and throughout the region. It’s especially popular among the Millennials.

“Global health is the movement of our generation,” said Kristen Eddings, a program associate at the Washington Global Health Alliance and one of the primary organizers of a big global health shindig in Seattle coming this June known as Party with a Purpose.

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