Irate drivers in four Washington cities are filing ballot initiative paperwork this week to unplug automated traffic enforcement cameras.

So far, driver rebellions have ignited in Longview, Bellingham, Monroe and Wenatchee. Signature drives have started in those cities to unplug their red light cameras. Professional initiative promoter Tim Eyman is involved in all four of the nascent municipal campaigns.

Mukilteo ferry commuters need to make alternate plans for traveling to and from Whidbey Island on three weekends (Friday through Sunday) this spring. The dates are March 18-20, March 25-27 and April 1-3. The Mukilteo terminal is closing for a $2.6 million overhaul of the dock. Commuters will have to either drive around or take special sailings between Edmonds and Clinton.

Seattle Public Schools' latest plan to shore up its budget deficit could mean some students won't have bus service next year and most will have to get up earlier. Families can get more details and voice concerns on these changes and more at a series of meetings starting tonight:

It's a sign of the times for the lowly CD: Sony closes a huge CD manufacturing plant, and the same week the band Cake sells a dismal 44,000 copies, the lowest ever for a number one album.

Downloads and file sharing are undeniably edging out the Compact Disc. So, in memoriam, we offer a retrospective of the short but flashy career of the venerable CD.

A man who says he was upset over losing state benefits has been arrested and charged with making threats against Governor Chris Gregoire and her family. 51-year-old Robert Ray Locke was arraigned on one count of felony threat and pleaded not guilty.

Making headlines this morning:

• Boeing Windfall for Thousands of Workers
• Seattle Reconsiders Parking Rate Hikes
• Another Effort to Legalize Marijuana
• Sports "Star" Winners Announced
  
   

Bonuses for Boeing workers

More than 48,000 Boeing workers be handed incentive bonuses next month. The windfall, averaging about $5,000 per employee, is the result of solid profit gains last year, according to The Seattle Times' Dominic Gates:

In President Obama’s State of the Union speech, he got the biggest laugh of the night when – to illustrate the need to simplify government – he made a crack about salmon management.

"The Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they're in fresh water, but the Commerce Department handles them when they're in saltwater ... I hear it gets even more complicated once they're smoked."

See it here, along with a shot of Commerce Secretary (and former Washington Governor) Gary Locke trying to be a good sport.

Starbucks has done it again. The coffee giant says its global revenues reached a record: $3 billion in the first quarter. Profits were up 44 percent compared to a year ago, thanks in part to the chain's growing popularity with coffee drinkers around the world.

The popular TED Talks series is sprouting a new arm: TED Books.  Seattle-based Amazon began selling the short (10,000 to 20,000 word) digital books today. They are available on the Kindle platform.

The first three ebooks with the new imprint are based on materials from popular Talks series speakers:

A Pierce County man is in custody for allegedly making an online threat to Governor Chris Gregoire. The Washington State Patrol picked up Robert R. Locke, of the Graham area, on Tuesday afternoon. 

In a statement, the patrol reports Gregoire's office received the still unspecified threat early Tuesday morning. The message was traced to Locke, and he was picked up while walking on a Pierce County street about six hours later. 

Detectives reported their arrest took place without incident. 

Locke was booked into Pierce County jail, where he's charged with one felony count of threatening the governor or the governor's family.