The National Weather Service had released a high wind warning for Seattle. It hasn't gotten quite that bad yet. KOMO's weather page reports that there was a 47 mph gust at Sea-Tac at noon, and 57 mph at Alki (winds are always worst on the coast, of course). There were some power outages this morning in Burien and in Monroe, but no more reported yet. Beware of falling trees, a Redmond driver is in the......

We're sure a lot of people bought tickets to Friday night's Symphony Legacy concert strictly to see Ann and Nancy Wilson or Alice in Chains. We were there primarily to see how the rejuvenated grunge band would sound with a new singer and backing orchestra at Benaroya Hall. But the symphony, written by Mateo Messina, benefited Children's Hospital, and we like to think that by the end of the evening, everyone appreciated the composer's philanthropic......

Mateo Messina, a Seattle native, has been composing television and film scores and penning symphonies for 10 years. His most recent score is for the upcoming, buzz-magnet comedy Juno. His latest symphony will be heard tonight at Benaroya Hall's (sold out) Symphony Legacy concert. (That's him above, at last year's show.) Messina's Symphony--a benefit for Seattle Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center--features the combined musical talents of the Northwest Symphony Orchestra and the Northwest......

There are a lot of synth-pop bands out there today -- too many perhaps -- so it can be an arduous task, to muck through it all and find the ones that actually have something more to say than, "Check out this keyboard my mom bought me!" See, we don't mind the synthesizers when they're used to good effect and without a shred of irony. Throw in pulse-pounding guitar rhythms and compelling lyrics sang by......

he 1960 Huskies, who will be honored en masse Saturday when the Dawgs play #1 USC, lost only one game and beat #1 Minnesota in the Rose Bowl, the only time the UW's beaten a #1 team. Husky historian W. Thomas Porter recently finished a book about that 1960 team, A Football Band of Brothers: Forging the University of Washington's First National Championship. It's quite a tale--Husky coach Jim Owens, who'd coached under legendary taskmaster......

PORTLAND, Ore. - Portland snake enthusiast, Matt Williamson was rushed to the hospital after a recent assault by an unnamed rattlesnake. "She kept whipping her tongue at me, like, you know, she wanted it," Williamson said. "Plus my girlfriend was being kind of a bitch and I wanted to make her jealous." But Williamson's lust-filled plan backfired. "I walked over, made small talk with her. She wouldn't tell me her name, but the way she......

As of this morning, queer couples in the state of Washington have about three new rights, which include, but are not limited to: 1. The right to spend time together. 2. The right to talk to each other's doctor. 3. The right to call each other "partner." Whoopdeedoo. We're not as excited about the new domestic partnership law that goes into effect today, as we are that, when you sign up, you get a......

We asked our fellow Seattlests: What's the last good book you read? And what's coming up on your summer reading list? James: I just finished Songs of Innocence, Richard Aleas's second book about ex-PI John Blake. Like Aleas's first book, it's a noir mystery where you're a little ahead of the hero; the tension comes from wondering how the hero will handle the truth. On deck: another dead woman and the detective obsessed with her,......

In the wake of Hansa the Elephant's death from herpes, many Seattleites are understandably concerned about whether they, too, could contract this fatal disease. Board-certified veterinarian Dr. Ophelia Roberson-Sykes, DVM, graciously agreed to answer a few of our questions. Seattlest: So how likely is it that I could have elephant herpes? Dr. Roberson-Sykes: Not likely. Herpes can only be transmitted through direct contact, like through kissing an infected elephant. Seattlest: Well I was dating this......

We had an AHA! moment last night when we first started hearing about the Veggie-Booty-and-salmonella mash-up. The P-I reports:More than 50 people in 17 states, mostly children age 3 and younger, were infected with salmonella bacteria after eating Veggie Booty, according the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Web site.Why age 3 and younger? As a Salon story puts it: "Veggie Booty is basically crack for babies. Which is exactly why parents buy it." A couple......

Last Thursday, Seattlest reported on (with much thanks to Seattle Times health reporter Carol Ostrom) new emergency medicine studies being conducted through the UW that submit emergency patients to experimental treatments outside of a hospital or a doctor's direction, without regard for consent. Finding this a little fishy sounding, we forwarded some questions about the program to the UW, and Dr. Peter Kudenchuk, the lead investigator in the study, was kind enough to respond in......

Holy smokes! Giant fish on the MTA, Paris Hilton in jail, then out, then in again, Al Gore, goatses, blumpkins, Matt Damon, and baby art critics! It's been a busy week across the Ist-A-Verse, and here's a smattering of what's been going on. In Gothamist's neck of the woods, they found out that many things are possible: A man caught a 40+ pound fish off the Rockaways and took it home on the subway. Graffiti......

On Saturday, Frank Hughes of the Tacoma News-Tribune reported that local real estate developer Dave Sabey had offered to buy the Sonics from Clay Bennett and make them the centerpiece of a development he's planning south of Boeing Field. By Sunday, Percy Allen of the Seattle Times had interviewed Clay Bennett, who said "I am a friend of Dave Sabey and I respect him as a businessman ... but there's nothing there." Now, today, Gary......

Kurt Vonnegut, up there with Twain and Melville and Kesey as the most original American novelists ever in the history of writing stuff, died tonight. He was 84. He'd been in the hospital since a fall a couple of weeks ago. Attention kids: this is what happens if you chain-smoke for 73 years. Based on our cursory search of local newspaper archives, Vonnegut's last local appearance would seem to be at Eastern Washington University's GET......

We knew that Carlos Guillen's 2001 bout with tuberculosis was serious, but until we read this feature by Jon Paul Morosi (formerly of the P-I, now with the Detroit Free Press), we never knew that Guillen was so close to death:He could barely sleep. He had a fever every night. He battled headaches and weakness. He lost almost 20 pounds. He coughed up blood. Yet, Carlos Guillen continued to play shortstop for the Seattle Mariners.......

When Seattlest was a starving college student in Portland, we visited the Taste of Portland festival on the river during a particularly hot day. We got a cheeseburger from McCormick and Schmick's--the next day, we were so sick we went to the hospital, where we found out we had salmonella. We were sick for over a week, approaching two. It was the most miserable illness we've ever had, save for an ear infection 8 years......

"Quick, Marge, get my gun! There's one of them nutria swimmin' in the river over there!" Oh wait, it was actually a person snorkeling. You know, probably about a 5' 10" dude, with flippers, and a snorkel sticking out of the water. As opposed to say, a two foot long, sometimes aquatic rodent. In case you were too busy reliving Anna Nicole's glory days with Guess?, some guy down in Reedsport, OR just shot some......

Blood guts and ferryboats. It's the Grey's you've all been waiting for. But first, Grey's girls are using some questionable coping methods. Meredith submerges herself in the bathtub; Izzy cops to eating a whole tub of butter. Hold the drama, mamas, cause we got some trauma! As promised, this Grey's "event" produces major carnage after a ferryboat smashes into a dock. Yeah, you know, ferryboats? The ones McDreamy loves so much? Well, he's got the......

Charges against Marie Robinson have been dropped and she'll probably be turned over to a state mental hospital. Marie Robinson was facing murder charges after authorities arrived at her apartment to find her drunk with two of her three children starved to death - a 6-week-old and a 16-month-old died (although she believes they were "kidnapped by a secret police agency that wants to stop her from doing scientific research"). Her 2-year-old lived by eating......

Just two weeks ago, Steve Huling announced that the family is selling their auto dealership, which they've owned for 60 years. One thing the new owners might consider doing is including this question on employment applications: "Are you a soulless, immoral asshole?" Because a sales manager and ten other Huling Bros. employees are accused of ripping off--to the tune of $100K--a mentally-ill man who accessorizes with his own poo.Investigators say the men first took advantage......

No press release or newspaper article could do justice to the questions anyone naturally has when they hear about a family who chooses to intervene with the growth and sexual maturation of their severely disabled daugher. But the blog by the girl's family most certainly helps. As far as we could tell, there is no exact precedent for this, though cases of clearly merited hysterectomies (surgical removal of the uterus) in severely retarded women laid......

There is no doubt that the reports of a family that intentionally stunted the growth of their disabled daughter so she would be easier to care for are bizarre and surprising. But what Seattlest finds even more bizarre and surprising is that the P-I, known of late for finding one small, boozy detail of a story and then blowing it up to inappropriately Herculean proportions, chose to entirely omit the detail that the condition the......

When Snohomish High student Brett Karch nearly got his leg blown off firing the traditional pre-football-game cannon, he probably expected a card, maybe some flowers...Not so much:According to Karch's medical records, security guards notified police after Karch received disturbing phone calls and visits from parents and students, some of whom threatened to "break his other leg" or worse, if he didn't keep quiet about the accident. Hospital staff had to move him to a secure......

Those new signs sure don't seem to be doing the trick. Tatsuo Nakata, chief of staff for council member David Della, was killed by a West Seattle motorist while walking in a marked crosswalk. He sustained major head injuries as a result of being run down, and died in the hospital Tuesday afternoon. This morning, an 11-year-old boy was hit in a crosswalk on his way to West Seattle's Madison Middle School. "It appears......

Episode six settles a longstanding real estate debate: Where would Burke and Cristina's minimalist condo exist in "real" life? When Derek picks up Burke for a camping trip, we learn Burke/Yang reside in Pioneer Square, which is a little off, if you ask us. That condo is totally Belltown. McDreamy's planned man-cation gets supersized when Burke invites most of the male SGH staff. Even the chief is invited, which makes for a nice shot as......

A largish Albertson's employee had an upset tummy on Saturday, but she's all better now that doctors extracted a baby from her. From the P-I: Amanda Brisendine, 26, of Maple Valley went to a Group Health clinic Saturday night, complaining of "intense, sharp pains" that would fade after a while. She was sent to a specialist who ordered a pregnancy test. Her pains turned out to be contractions, and 36 hours later an emergency Caesarean......

Ep 4's credo is first do no harm. Its the Hippocratic oath, but surgeons, Meredith opines, are hippocrites. In a guilt-fueled turn at the griddle, Izzy contemplates her $8.7 mil. While manically making breakfast, she nearly pours OJ over the check. (Note the 5 Spot menu on the fridge). She's more than OK, she's rich, she says. And she's going to cash that check just as soon as she cleans out her hospital locker. Uh-huh.......

Last night a record 450 teams packed into the Old Pequliar for Seattlest Trivia. Sadly we had to disqualify 432 of the squads when they would not participate in the mandatory drug testing. The remaining 18 team answered questions on tragic romances, the World Series, John C. Reilly movies, and Project Runway. Funny story, Trivia Master David didn't know how many seasons of Project Runway there were, and was shouted down when he announced......

Episode Three finds Meredith in the morning, musing on fantasy. Most surgeons fantasize about performing heroic operations, but Meredith imagines being the filling in a Finn/Mcdreamy sandwich. Instead, it's a rude awakening at Chez Grey, as George whines about Callie, whose temporary stay has stretched into a week. When George complains that Callie is wrapped in his towel, she drops it, giving both Meredith and George a nudie wakeup call. Passive aggressive? Exhibitionist? Bi-curious?......

Could've been the groaning, could've been the bleeding--the article doesn't say. But passengers on a Metro bus rolling through Kent Monday afternoon somehow noticed that a fellow rider had been stabbed. The boy had apparently gotten into an argument with his 16-year-old girlfriend shortly before he got on the bus near the intersection of Fourth Avenue and West James Street in downtown Kent. Both teenagers are Kent residents. Police learned the girl had cuts......