Another beautiful photo from Seattlest Flickr contributor Tim Willis Yesterday's stormy weather left over 35,000 homes in Western Washington without power. Nearly 20,000 of the homes affected were in Seattle and South King County. The National Weather Service warned of gusts of over 55 mph yesterday and, while it's no scientific measure, the windows of our house were rattling and the power flickered more than once last night. Thankfully, it never went out. The Washington......

Seattlest may be more attuned to these reports, since we spend the greater portion of our day browsing local news sites...but what is going on with the spate of stabbings in Western Washington? Every time we refresh the local news sites, it seems they are reporting a new fatal or near-fatal stabbing. A quick perusal of Komo 4's local news site found the following recent headlines: Roadside Argument Leads to Deadly Stabbing Auburn Teen......

One month from today, Salish Lodge & Spa will host the second annual “The Falls Come to Life” dinner and auction to benefit Food Lifeline--the nonprofit dedicated to ending hunger in Western Washington. Guest chefs Armandino Batali, (Salumi) Holly Smith (Cafe Juanita), Jason Wilson (Crush), Johnathan Sundstrom (Lark), and Matt Costello (The Inn at Langley) will each prepare a signature dish for the menu, as well as contribute a culinary experience as part of the......

The fallout from State Auditor Brian Sonntag's review of past Port of Seattle business practices continues. The P-I reports this morning that:Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines, announced she plans to introduce legislation to repeal the Port of Seattle's property tax authority.We appreciate our legislators noticing that there's a Port of Seattle at long last, and that oversight has been lacking. But cutting off the property tax? Here's what's at issue, again summarized by the P-I:That......

Someone just forwarded Seattlest the coolest Washington State ferry pictures of all time saying they were embedded in an email going around the office. We'll paste them all below, in order and with the authors commentary intact. If you took these or if you know of a place online where we can link to these, please email Seattlest. [UPDATE: We've been directed to the Bitter End blog, although he didn't take them either. Ross Fotheringham......

Don’t you hate when you’re out by the lake sitting on a dock with your best buds, sipping on some mass produced brew, just laughing and having a caucasianly good time, when someone pulls out a guitar and starts strumming until a song breaks out—evening ruined. Well to make matters worse it would appear that not only is that douche an attention hog he (FACT: It’s always a dude) is also an environmental outlaw. Today......

Now that the UW finally picked a commencement speaker (they settled on Congressman Norm Dicks after Doug E. Doug cancelled), we've compiled this list of 2007 grad day yakkers at all local colleges (source: The Chronicle of Higher Education). Please let us know if we're wrong or if we left anyone out. Local colleges Bastyr College: Joycelyn Elders, masturbation proponent City University of Seattle: James Donaldson, ex-NBA player Evergreen State College: Maxine Mimms, education expert......

They can handle uncertainty--it is a professional requirement, in fact--but they tend to avoid speaking about their research unless they are very certain about something. (At least the good ones do.) Increasingly so, the precision and certainty of science are being put on trial on a public scale never before experienced. And to a degree, the admirable tendency of scientists to demand certainty is in conflict with our need as the public to potentially act......

We don't often attend sporting events voluntarily. But when a blood relation is competing, we not only decide to show up, we figure we'll plug the event. Especially because it's free sports for spectators. Of course, the sport in question is fencing, and everything most Americans know about fencing (and we raise our hand here) comes from The Princess Bride and random Jedi moves. No one's going to get their hand cut off or seduced......

8bitjoystick called Seattlest out yesterday (which we love, btw, whether you do it on your random blog you expect us to magically find, or you have at us in the comments or you send us email. Please, tell us what we're missing and we'll consider it internally and then publicly enumerate the reasons why you're wrong.), and, befitting a blog about video games, 8bitjoystick is all over us for our lack of video game coverage.......

For weeks Mike McGavick has seen the same poll standing stiff. The latest Survey USA Election Poll has Maria Cantwell at 54% and Mike!!!!!! at 42%. The poll was taken the weekend after the kick-ass debate on KING-5, and during the release of McGavick’s Seattle Times endorsement. He has been stuck between 37% and 42% since August, and for the next week will just have to suck up that poll and push hard towards the......

We've got a sun hangover after this weekend's heat. It was 97 on Friday (!) and 96 on Saturday. Those were both records. Then it was 95 on Sunday. That's 288 degrees of heat in three days. Seattlest spent Saturday at a pool party, and Sunday was out on a giant inflatable contraption in Green Lake. Here in our office, the air conditioning has said "uncle" and is only cooling 1/2 the building. KOMO says......

DIY isn't just for musicians and craftistas anymore. If the words "artisan cheese" kick your salivary glands into overdrive and and spur your desire to be that artisan, call the Mt. Townsend Creamery in Port Townsend and make plans for an August weekend workshop: Vermont farmstead cheesemaking pioneer and renowned teacher Peter Dixon will be returning to Western Washington Aug 4-6 to teach two cheesemaking courses at the Mt. Townsend Creamery in Port Townsend.......

The Western Washington chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists retreated to their hidden bat cave this weekend, probably performed some elaborate initiation rituals for new members involving chalices, robes and candles and then handed out some lucite. We covered this last year and blah blah blah it costs money to be considered for awards so a lot of people don't submit and it's hardly the Pulitzers anyway. We weren't going to say anything about......

A new biodiesel refinery in Western Washington was announced Tuesday that would dwarf the 5 million gallons a year that local guys Seattle Biodiesel (actually it's the same guys: Imperium Renewables) can currently come up with. Supposedly the new Gray's Harbor plant will be able to produce 100 million gallons of biodiesel fuel a year which there may actually be a market for due to The Energy Freedom legislation passed in the state earlier this......

Two weekends ago, Seattlest took a trip to one of our favorite mountain biking areas, Galbraith Mountain outside Bellingham. Galbraith is a summer staple for us, but we've also found it holds up well even during the winter. One of our favorite aspects of living in Seattle is the ability to ditch the snow for a weekend if we want to--we may not boast Rocky Mountain snow conditions as a result, but we can......

The only reason we’re mentioning Stupid Prices is because we love its irresistibly ridiculous name. But as long as we’re on the subject... Stupid Prices is a local chain of liquidation outlets, selling all manner of merchandise dumped off by big retail stores. The first of its nine no-frills Western Washington stores -- including Woodinville’s Stupid Furniture -- opened in Federal Way in 2003. Stupid Prices has since become a favorite of thrift-minded bargain-hunters, with......

The Harlem Globetrotters return to Western Washington this week, as they have almost yearly since 1936. We first saw their razzle-dazzle, faux-basketball comedy antics at the UPS Fieldhouse during their ‘70s heyday. Back then, Curly Neal, Geese Ausbie, Meadowlark Lemon and the gang starred in multiple Saturday-morning TV shows (in both live-action and animated form), and made regular appearances on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. We loved their shtick, from the cool uniforms to the......

When Seattlest saw that the Northwest Film Forum, in conjunction with Americans for UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) and Planned Parenthood of Western Washington, was hosting a screening of Moolaadé tonight, we nearly shat ourselves with excitement. Simply put, Moolaadé is one of the best films to have been made so far this century. And it's easily the best damn female circumcision film we've ever seen. Seriously, look at these glowing reviews. From A.O.......

In Western Washington, enjoying the water is a huge summer perk. However, one local company forces its employees to relocate to Eastern Washington during the hottest months of the year. What heartless, megalithic corporation could be so cruel? No, not Ticketmaster. But it is another company that Paul Allen owns—the Seattle Seahawks. While you’re basking on the beach, partying at the pool, lounging by the lake, or supinely stretching near the sluice, the Hawks are......

Our friend Erika, a recent transplant from New Jersey, doesn't have trouble making conversation with strangers at Seattle parties. She simply asks: "how's the band?" According to a statistic we just made up, 85% of Seattleites between the ages of 18 and 34 are in a band. And this incredible pressure on our nation's guitar makers may be responsible for a rash of local tree thefts. Western Washington big-leaf maples, prized by guitar and......

It's hot today and it's going to continue through the weekend, but think twice about cranking open a fire hydrant NYC style. Despite assurances from the Seattle Times, all is not well with our region's water supply after the extremely dry winter. Typically we count on mountain snow to melt throughout the summer and provide our rivers and streams with a constant supply of fresh water. This year what snow there was is already gone.......

Seattlest is feeling an amount of motivation to write on this subject that is nearing absolute zero, but we already contacted the editors of various weekly newspapers so we feel committed to posting something. The Western Washington branch of the Society for Professional Journalists recently released an avalanche of awards, a great many of which buried the Seattle Weekly under mounds of lucite. Congratulations Seattle Weekly. Seattle's other alternative weekly paper won one honorable mention.......

Horse racing is known as "The Sport of Kings." Once, perhaps, its fans were mostly royalty. But based on our visits to the track, it seems that the current audience is primarily discontented middle-aged men in pleated pants. Do not mourn the downmarket trend in horse racing. It's one of the great things about visiting Emerald Downs, which begins its six-month season tonight. Just like any gambling venue, it's one place where you can......

Once upon a time lumberjacks and timber money ruled Seattle. Today a flannel paired with an axe or saw are likely to get you chased down the street under a steady rain of mochas and biscotti. Times change, but in this case they may be changing back. Sierra Pacific Industries, a family-owned timber company based in California, has announced plans to open a sawmill twenty miles north of the city. Their website is definitely soft......