News

The Mariners are firing on all cylinders these days, with great starting pitching, clutch hitting and good fielding. They enter this weekend's big series with the Yankees on a hot streak. But how long can it last?

Bellingham Mayor Dan Pike has issued a formal apology to the Chinese community for the expulsion of their people,125 years ago.

Pike says the apology is meant to make it clear: authorities now see the racist actions by regional governments and their supporters more than a century ago were wrong.

In 1885 and 1886, thousands of Chinese immigrants were driven out of Puget Sound towns during an economic downturn. Civic leaders and town newspapers argued the new residents were taking jobs away from white people.

The apology and related events this week in Bellingham are part of a year-long Chinese Expulsion Remembrance Project. Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia and Mount Vernon are also taking part. The project also has a Facebook page.

Clouds and showers through Memorial Day, except mostly sunny Sunday. Highs near 60. Latest forecast here.

Making headlines around the Northwest this morning:

• Key Investor Wants Balmer Ousted from Microsoft
• Federal Way Theatens to Sue Sound Transit to Get Light Rail
• Seattle Wants to Name Problem Cops; Will Appeal Arbitrator's Ruling
• Woman Seriously Hurt in Everett Car-Train Collision

Balmer Should Go, Says Key Microsoft Investor

A key investor says it's time for Microsoft's board to replace Steve Ballmer as CEO.

Grays Harbor Paper has shut down its mill in Hoquiam, putting a dour end to what had been a success story for 18 years. 

240 workers are losing their jobs. Many were shocked by the announcement, according to King-5 news.

“I thought this place was going to be in for the long haul,” said Tony Harris, who had worked for Grays Harbor Paper for two years.

The Washington state budget plan released Tuesday will cut funding for in-home health care workers. In reaction, one health care workers' union has already filed an initiative aiming to mitigate the effects of some of those reductions.

Commerce Secretary – and former Washington governor - Gary Locke is a step closer to becoming the next U.S. ambassador to China. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee completed his confirmation hearing in just
an hour and a half this morning. 

Miles Davis would have been 85 years old today, and the birth of the legendary trumpeter is being celebrated in several ways and places around the country today.

LIFE.com just posted never-before-seen photos of Miles from 1958.

Read more:

One of the largest clergy sex abuse cases in the country has turned into the case of a lifetime for one Northwest attorney.

The settlement between the Northwest Jesuits and abuse victims will soon go before a federal judge in Portland for confirmation. The north Idaho attorney who helped negotiate this $166 million deal says he was a small town “nobody” before the case.

KPLU’s Jessica Robinson tells the story of how going up against the Catholic church shook up his own long-held beliefs.

Scattered showers today, partly sunny - high 58. Latest forecast here.

Making headlines around the Northwest this morning:

• Seattle Police Dept. Told to Stop ID'ing Misbehaving Officers
• Gregoire Says Session Was Most Difficult in Memory
• Body Found in Snoqualmie River Near Where Man Vanished
• Lake Washington High School Backs Off Prom Alcohol Tests

Arbitrator's Ruling Shields Disciplined Seattle Officers

A labor arbitrator has ordered the Seattle Police Department to stop releasing the names of officers found to have engaged in misconduct.

This week’s show takes us from Gomer Pyle to Puffed Wheat cereal in the space of 3 minutes, and it’s a twisted road between the two. In between we hear from The Andrews Sisters,  Enrico Caruso and General George Patton.
Here are some interesting tidbits we found: 

A new industry is emerging in the Pacific Northwest – for development, production and distribution of aviation biofuels.

A consortium called Sustainable Aviation Fuels Northwest has just spent ten months producing an exhaustive study.  They've identified the four-state region of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana as a serious contender in the race to produce environmentally friendly jet fuels.

The Northwest egg industry is changing the way it houses chickens. But animal rights activists in Oregon and Washington say the change isn't going far enough.

Lawmakers in both Olympia and Salem debated the welfare of egg-laying hens this year. Washington Governor Chris Gregoire has already signed one bill. A similar measure has been approved by the Oregon Senate and is awaiting action in the House.

Regardless, opponents in both states are launching ballot initiatives aimed at giving hens even more space.

A ninth Somali man has pleaded guilty to piracy for his role in the hijacking of a yacht that left four Americans - including two from Seattle - dead.

Ahmed Sala Ali Burale pleaded guilty in federal court in Norfolk on Wednesday. Muhidin Salad Omar also pleaded guilty earlier in the day.

They are among 14 people from Somalia and one from Yemen charged in connection with the February hijacking of the yacht Quest.

Northwest winemakers are holding out hope for a good 2011 vintage despite this being the coldest spring they can remember in decades. Growers say they’re plants are about three weeks behind their usual growth for this time of year.

Unless a lawsuit derails the process, a new 520 bridge will soon be built across Lake Washington. 

A company in Aberdeen is already constructing the huge pontoons that will keep the new, 6-lane structure afloat.

And the state is widening the highway on the east side of the lake. 

But exactly what the project will look like on the Seattle side is still being worked out.

Seattle's Board of Park Commissioners will get a briefing on impacts to the Washington Park Arboretum tomorrow night (Thursday).