The population of Washington state prison inmates has become whiter, older and more violent in the past decade. That's according to an Associated Press review of Department of Corrections records.

These links to the major Puget Sound area transit agencies provide quick information about services and routes, schedule changes, and severe-weather disruptions and emergency operating information.

Metro Transit

Sound Transit

Pierce County Transit

Community Transit (Snohomish County)

Intercity Transit (Thurston County)

Kitsap Transit

Bipolar disorder has been the inspiration for many artists and many works of art…from the movie A Beautiful Mind to Sylvia Plath's autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar. 

Now it's showing up in a musical, called "Next to Normal." 

Ten years ago, the production had its genesis at The Village Theater in Issaquah.  Now, after numerous revisions, it's back in the Seattle area at the 5th Avenue Theatre.  For the latest in our series ARTSCAPE, KPLU's Bellamy Pailthorp caught up with Bryan Yorkey, the writer of the show, who together with the composer, Tom Kitt, was the surprise winner of last year's Pulitzer Prize for drama.

So now you’ve seen the Jazz 100 list selected by our listeners, and you’ve got some introductory analysis on by Kirsten Kendrick and myself.

I felt that it was appropriate for the next step to be getting some thoughts from a fresh pair of eyes…and who better than two of the best in the business, KPLU’s Midday Jazz host Robin Lloyd and Evening Jazz host Abe Beeson?

See their thoughts on the Groove Notes blog

Two of the state's passenger-only ferries, the Skagit and the Kalama, have been sold to Scope Community Consultants of Coquitlam, B.C., for $400,000. The boats have been tied up at the dock since the state ended passenger-only service in 2009. Their new owner is loading them onto a cargo ship and sending them to Tanzania, where they'll ferry passengers between the mainland and the Zanzibar archipelago.

It was an emotional scene in a King County courtroom as the man known as the Green River killer pleaded guilty to his 49th murder.  Gary Ridgway is already serving 48 consecutive life terms. The latest plea is for murdering Becky Marrero in 1982, whose remains were found last December.

If you walked into the dimly lit, wood-paneled room and listened to the fast-paced talk by Cynthia Koenig, you might be forgiven for thinking she just sounded like another one of those young, profit-oriented entrepreneurs looking for money from venture capitalists or other kinds of investors.

Koenig is, actually, one of those money-seeking young business types, except that the primary goal of her proposal is to make life a lot easier and safer for millions of poor women around the world.

Hence the Wello, a kind of goofy looking water-carrying wheel-barrel (no, that’s not a typo) that she and her colleague, Colm Fay, at the University of Michigan’s business school want to sell to poor people.

Read more

February 22 is the 17th annual "Spay Day", and you can get your pet spayed or neutered for free at the Seattle Animal Shelter's Spay and Neuter Clinic. The free offer is good for licensed Seattle pets scheduled for surgery at the clinic February 22, 23, 24, 25, or 28. It includes vaccinations and a microchip and is valued between $135 and $195. The appointment number is 386-4260. If your pet doesn't have a license, you can buy it on the day of the surgery. 

Nordstrom has jumped deeper into the luxury online retailing world by acquiring the "flash sale" website HauteLook for $270 million. The Seattle-based chain made the announcement on the heels of a report citing regular-price sales of "historically high levels."

When you leave home for work, you probably assume you’ll live to come back at the end of the day.  For 86 workers, that didn’t happen last year.