The Weekend Wrap: Srsly the Crime Thing is Nuts

"Hello Kitty Bagged and Tagged" by shawnmebo, found in The SunBreak Flickr pool

Happy still-mostly-New Year! I am not interested in numerical palindromes, so we'll skip past that.

Here's some real news: TechFlash says State Sen. Tracey Eide (D-Federal Way) will try to make texting or talking on your cellphone while driving (except with a hands-free device) a primary offense in the next legislative session. That means police officers could pull you over if they see you with a phone to your ear, as opposed to now, where they have to see you do something illegal first, and can then tack on the cellphone charge.

Speaking of police, earlier this week I posted about our crime wave that won't quit. In the scant days between now and then--and this is not exhaustive--we've had a teen shooting, an adult shooting, an officer assaulted, and strong arm robberies at 3rd and Spring, 5th and Spring, and 5th and University.

If you're at SeaTac late at night and need to get home on transit, let the Seattle Transit Blog guide you. If you're interested in a non-controversial naming option, however, do not let the Parks & Rec Dept. guide you.

How green was our Viaduct replacement? Sightline discovered a dissertation on the subject that damningly noted that "all proposed viaduct replacement scenarios (including three that do not include a highway) were predicted to increase greenhouse gas emissions in the Seattle region to 14-15% above current levels by the year 2015."

Local banks are still the FDIC's doghouse; as Seattle Bubble points out, We're #1! in failed bank assets. The Bubble also has graphs showing a house price plateau in Seattle, which is better than falling into an endless abyss, but not all that heartening given the massive taxpayer spending on house-buying incentives. Oof.

On the bright side, despite all the rain, the Howard Hanson Dam is doing fine.

It was another short week on The SunBreak, but Seth still found time to cover the damage done by Seahawks in a damage-control radio appearance. Don took pictures of the new arson mural in Greenwood. Tony finished up his Dandy Warhols' Zia McCabe interview, and Clint explored the great grunge comeback of '09 in two parts.