Dave Meyer

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) is proposing a 25 percent hike in drinking water rates spread over the next three years. SPU says the typical monthly household bill is currently $31.70. The proposal would increase that monthly bill by $2.41 in 2012, $2.68 in 2013 and $2.91 in 2014.

The population of the Red Wolf Woods exhibit at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium just tripled in size. A new pair of wolves has arrived from the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, Texas.

The wolves, Wilson and Havana, are a non-breeding pair. They're on display in an area separate from the exhibit's other resident, Graham.

President Barack Obama welcomed the Seattle Storm to the White House Rose Garden today. Obama said the 2010 WNBA champions set a good example for young girls with big dreams. The President is a basketball fan and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, also like to shoot hoops.

Remember when we used to call the Internet the "information superhighway"? Today, that highway is starting to resemble the route Mad Max traveled in The Road Warrior. You can't go out on it without inviting an attack. Hardly a week goes by without seeing news reports about another corporation being sabotaged by hackers ... Sony, Intel, Google, and Lockheed are some of the more high profile victims.

For consumers, the biggest cyber threat is identity theft and stolen credit card numbers. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. This month on The Digital Future, Strategic News Service publisher Mark Anderson looks at the huge increase in Advanced Persistent Threats: efforts by nation-states to steal information and technology.

America's fascination with flying saucers began in Washington state on June 24, 1947. Businessman and pilot Kenneth Arnold was flying his small plane from Chehalis to Yakima when he spotted what appeared to be a formation of nine strange aircraft traveling near Mt. Rainier. Arnold calculated they were flying at supersonic speeds of at least 1,200 miles an hour, something military aircraft of the day were incapable of doing. 

It may look like a toxic "red tide," but don't panic. Scientists with the Washington Department of Ecology say the reddish orange streaks in Puget Sound this week appear to be a harmless algae bloom.

A rising Consumer Price Index (CPI) has caused more doom and gloom on Wall Street. But on this week's Money Matters, financial commentator Greg Heberlein tells KPLU's Dave Meyer it's nothing to worry about. A bane for Wall Street can actually be a boon for Main Street.

Sixty percent or more of American families have 401(k) or 403(b) retirement plans. If you're under the age of 50, you can invest up to $16,500 in tax sheltered dollars each year in your retirement fund (and your employer can put in even more). If you're 50 or older, you can invest $22,000. But how many of us know how to manage these investments? You need to have a plan and stick to it. On this week's Money Matters, financial commentator Greg Heberlein tells you how to do it.

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn has announced the recipients of the 2011 Mayor's Arts Awards. The Seattle Arts Commission chose six winners from a pool of 300 nominees. The honorees are:

• Donald Byrd, choreographer and artistic director of Spectrum Dance Theater
• Jack Straw Productions
• Quinton Morris, DMA, musician and professor
• On the Boards
• Pratt Fine Arts Center
• Tet in Seattle, producer of the annual Tet Festival

If you've just graduated from college are wondering where to go next, The Daily Beast says Seattle is a good choice. The news blog has issued its second annual list of 25 best cities for recent college graduates and Seattle is ranked at number 21. 

Microsoft is appealing a $1.3 billion fine from European antitrust regulators. But its antitrust worries in the United States appear to be over. The consent decree with the US Justice Department expired May 11th. A lot has changed since Microsoft crushed Netscape in the browser wars of the 1990s. This month on The Digital Future, Strategic News Service publisher Mark Anderson says Microsoft has transformed itself into a much better corporate citizen.

LinkedIn's IPO seemed like a flashback to the heyday of the 1990's. The company's stock doubled in value on its first day of trading. On this week's Money Matters, financial commentator Greg Heberlein thinks this will be a good year for IPOs. At least three locally based companies are preparing to go public, and more may be waiting in the wings.

As reported earlier, Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo has been asking the public for help in naming its new reticulated python. The zoo conducted polling on its Facebook page and the top vote getter was Kaa, which was also the name of the snake in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. The 8-year-old, 100-pound male snake was introduced to the community last week and can be seen at the Day Exhibit during zoo hours.

Shareholders often get excited when their companies announce share buyback programs. If a company reduces shares in the marketplace, an investor’s share of the company goes up. So that's good, right? Usually, it is, but sometimes it can be a sign that the company is in trouble.

Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist has charged eleven people with gang-related crimes. The defendants are all alleged to be members or associates of the Tillicum Park Gangsters, also known as the TPG. The Lakewood Police Department says the TPG is a criminal street gang associated with the Tillicum neighborhood of Lakewood.