KPLU News Staff

Rains expected to cause flooding, high-speed rail in Washington gets a windfall, lawmakers convene for a day. 

The Washington Supreme Court has dealt a blow to a dozen school districts across the state that sought more money for special education.  Today, the court said the districts did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the state underfunds the programs, a violation of its constitution. 

King County says it now has a glut of jail space and must consider cutting the rate it charges to cities to house offenders.  That comes after years of dire warnings about jail over-crowding.  Cities in south King County are building a new jail (which opens next year) for $56 million in Des Moines. 

It was a mistake that led to misinforming the public, says Seattle schools chief Maria Goodloe-Johnson.  She apologized at last night’s Seattle School Board meeting.  Goodloe-Johnson says she wants to assure the public that changes have been made to ensure it doesn’t happen again. 

 Get ready for changes in health insurance for kids next week, a Tacoma historic preservation project takes shape, Bremerton welcomes the USS Nimitz, and a hospital lockdown in Mt. Vernon following a man's death.

The state will investigate Seattle police actions; a faster 520 for commuters; and bridge toll plan under fire.

As King County makes massive cuts to help balance its budget, the union representing King County sheriff’s deputies has, for months, refused to consider a wage freeze next year.  Even as other unions in the county have agreed to do so.  But deputies are voting on a proposal to reduce their upcoming pay increase. 

Local vets remember Pearl Harbor attack; guilty verdicts for some accused of helping Maurice Clemmons avoid police; vandalism punctures more than car tires in Bremerton; and questions remain over how a dog was electrocuted on a Seattle sidewalk. 

KPLU Staff update at 4:32 pm, Monday

The light are on again for more than 9,000 Orcas Power and Light customers in the San Juan Islands. A late morning outage was caused by a problem at a substation operated by the Bonneville Power Administration.

In a short statement from Orcas Power and Light's website:

Power has been restored to all members with the exception of scattered areas of San Juan Island. Outage was caused by equipment failure at the BPA transmission station. 

Former Seattle Mariner general manager Pat Gillick has been elected to baseball's Hall of Fame. Gillick won three World Series titles during his 27 years as general manager of Toronto, Baltimore, Seattle and Philadelphia.

Eyes turn to Olympia on eve of budget talks, Bellevue takes a hit, Pierce County plans protections against nature's hits,  and the Huskies fight their way to a Holiday. 

The drug-resistant strain of staph infection MRSA is known to be a problem for many hospitals.  A pioneering study from the University of Washington shows that it's also resilient enough to spread from medic units all the way into the living quarters of firefighters. 

Apple Cup weekend for football rivals, tough travel expected for game road-trippers,  and allegations of Army spying on an Olympia anti-war group lead today's news headlines.

Apple Cup in White

Snow covers the stands in Pullman today, but the field has been cleared in preparation for tomorrow's renewal of the rivalry between WSU and the UW. If the Huskies win, they'll finish the season at 6 and 6, and earn their first trip to a bowl game since 2002.  

Seattle is considering yet another school closure, along with re-assigning some students away from popular but overcrowded schools. Closures and assignment changes caused conflict within the city’s public schools over the past few years.  That was supposed to be finished last year. 

But the Seattle Times reports some schools are under-enrolled and some are over-enrolled.  Alternative School #1 is battling to stay open. 

The planned  tunnel to replace Seattle’s Alaskan Way viaduct will include tolls, and that will push traffic onto nearby streets and I-5, according to Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn.  So, he’s hiring a consultant to look at ways to handle extra traffic.