Other News

A steady drizzle has the infield covered in white plastic, but as the time ticks down, the place is in a high-level state of bustle.

Staffers scurry by carrying armloads of bright red T-shirts, burly young guys wheel stacks of cardboard boxes around. Crews are wiring up the TV and radio booths and the control room for the electronic scoreboard is filled with techies.

At 7:05 this evening, it's showtime for the newly redesigned, redveloped, revamped and renovated Cheney Stadium and the Tacoma Rainiers' home opener against the Sacramento River Cats.

After last month's Japanese tsunami, some coastal Northwest Indian tribes are expressing new urgency about the same danger they face. Two Washington tribes actually have plans to move parts of their villages to higher ground.

Environmental groups say a provision in the compromise budget deal in Congress sets a dangerous precedent for endangered species. Congress expects to vote on the bill today. It includes an amendment to remove gray wolves from the endangered species list in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

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: