Our diets lay bound, gagged and locked in the trunk as Nancy and I sped toward our date with Wretched Excess.

Several thousand mourners, many of them uniformed law  enforcement officers, gathered in Everett Tuesday to pay tribute to Corrections Officer Jayme Biendl.

Biendl was killed January 29th while on duty at the state prison in Monroe. She was the first corrections officer killed in a Washington prison in over 30 years.

One of the big news stories in the malaria world recently is the discovery, announced last week in the journal Science, of a previously unknown type of mosquito that some reports said could threaten malaria control efforts in Africa.

Here’s the problem: Most malaria control efforts in Africa — bednets, spraying — are aimed at preventing mosquitoes from biting humans indoors at night. This newly discovered mosquito, dubbed “Goundry” (after the community in Burkina Faso where it was identified), appears to operate outdoors.

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It was webbed-footed on the left side, sneaker-footed on the right at the Green Lake path this afternoon. A chill wind didn't deter sun-seekers at the popular Seattle park. More sunny - and cool - weather is in the forecast for western Washington through Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

In Washington state, if someone dies under suspicious circumstances or suddenly with no obvious cause, an investigation is required. But just how that investigation is conducted depends on where the person dies. It varies county by county.

In King County, Medical Examiner Dr. Richard Harruff has a full staff of forensic pathologists who respond quickly to conduct autopsies and other post mortem investigations.  On a recent morning, he described the bodies that had been brought in over night.

Which Washington town is the most romantic? Port Townsend? La Conner? Leavenworth? Guess again.

Human activity has taken a heavy toll on the Salish Sea. And efforts are underway across the region to restore depleted stocks of everything from salmon to eelgrass.

This week, as part of our series “Reflections on the Water,” KPLU environment reporter Liam Moriarty visits a project in the little town of Bowser, British Columbia. He sits on a beach with Ken Kirkby, who heads an innovative community nonprofit that’s been restoring a crucial type of habitat : underwater forests of bull kelp. 

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Making headlines around the Northwest this morning:

• Feds Need to Help I-5 Mess near Lewis-McChord Base
• Bellevue Business Giant Resigns Over Eastside Light Rail
• Election Day for Pierce Transit, Some Schools

Pentagon Should Help Fix JBLM Traffic Mess: Report

A new report on the impact of military bases to their local communities recommends the Pentagon pony up for traffic improvements - including I-5 upgrades - along Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The National Research Council study is detailed by reporter Adam Ashton in The News Tribune:

The report shows that the U.S. military is spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year to improve Lewis-McChord, but not on off-base roadwork. The military spent $1.8 billion on capital projects at the base over the past three years, and it plans to spend another $2 billion over the next five.

On this week's Money Matters, financial commentator Greg Heberlein and KPLU's Dave Meyer look at a couple of oddball stock market indicators: the Super Bowl and the Hindenburg Omen. These indicators (especially the Super Bowl) have received a lot of attention over the years, but both Greg and Dave say they should be for novelty use only.

The Super Bowl indicator

A public memorial procession and service for Officer Jayme Biendl, the Monroe Correctional Center guard killed two weeks ago at the prison, is expected to attract thousands of mourners in Snohomish County today. 

A motorcade will carry Biendl's body through Monroe beginning at 10:30 a.m., then along Highway 2 into Everett, culminating at the Comcast Center downtown around noon. The public memorial service is set to start at 1 p.m,