Other News

Making headlines around the Northwest this morning:

• Boeing Field Air Traffic Controller Suspended
• Seattle Cop Charged With Kicking Teen Suspect
• State Adds Jobs But Unemployment Rate Up Slightly
• Everett Man Accused of Bosnia War Crimes

Sleeping Boeing Field Air Traffic Controller Suspended

[Late breaking news: Official overseeing US air traffic controllers resigns after controllers sleeping on the job.]

Federal officials are boosting overnight staff at more than two dozen airport towers across the country after new instances of air traffic controllers falling asleep on the job - including at Boeing Field in Seattle this week.

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.

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.

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.

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:

NASA says Seattle's Museum of Flight won't get to display one of the retiring space shuttles.

An Olympia budget problem:

• Washington's roads need repair and improvements.
• Gas tax revenues are way down because people are driving less and driving more fuel-efficient cars.
• State voters have made it clear they don't want higher taxes.

What's a lawmaker to do?

Democratic budget writers in the Legislature hoping to plug a $5 billion deficit are proposing to raise a slew of fees on everything from getting a drivers license to riding a ferry. 

They say they're just trying to bring fees -- many of which haven't been raised in years -- in line with current costs. But skeptical Republicans are cool to the proposal.

Here's what's making headlines around the Northwest this morning:

• Will Seattle Get a Space Shuttle? Decision to be Announced This Morning
• 520 Bridge Tolls Delayed Again
• Medical Marijuana Regulation Bill Advances
• Mariners Erase 7-Run Deficit to Win Before Record-Low Crowd

[UPDATE: Seattle was not one of the cities chosen to land a space shuttle. Read the full story here.]

Space Shuttle's Last Stop: Seattle? Announcement Due This A.M.

Officials at Seattle's Museum of Flight have their fingers crossed, waiting for today's 10:00 a.m. announcement of where retiring space shuttles will be displayed. The museum near Boeing Field is one of 21 museum and science centers around the country hoping to land one of the spaceships. A new building called the Space Gallery is being prepared for the display.