The Weekend Wrap Says Yes To Chickens, No To Rats

Apropos of nothing, an angry-looking Redhawk.

This week, video of a Seattle Police officer kicking a suspect on the ground while spewing racial epithets made the rounds. In addition to raising questions over police tactics, the footage, captured by a freelancer inspired to take up true crime videography by a reality show called Stringers: LA, has set off a squabble between two local television stations about ownership of the video. 

While everyone seems to have an opinion about the waterfront tunnel, some of them just have more power, influence, veto power, or lawyers. Where Mayor McGinn promised to veto any City Council plan that would leave the city on the hook for cost overruns, the Gates Foundation raised threats of a lawsuit if the exit ramp gets within disruption distance of their integrated Seattle Center campus.

In business news, Group Health Credit Union is calling itself Salal Credit Union now. TechCrunch's Michael Arrington is moving to the great Pacific Northwest. We've got the socks-and-sandals welcome basket all ready. Commercial real estate is looking at a bumpy year ahead. 

Pride travelers, come to Seattle. You're welcome. Unless you have strong feelings about Viaducts. We've got enough of that already. 

A plague* of rats is infesting downtown and at least one West Seattle toilet. (*Plague not used in any strict numerical sense.) But alleys don't have to be all dark, trash-strewn, and vermin-infested: perhaps if we just named them and applied some tender loving attention, Seattle could have a Melbourne style alleyway renaissance on its hands, starting in Capitol Hill, where the jokes write themselves.

Undeterred by toilet rodents, West Seattleites bravely proceeded with today's community garage sale. Ballard continued Syttende Mai preparedness with highlights of neighborhood's most important Scandinavian Heritage sites and campaign season is reaching fever pitch the U-District, promising to fill the void in novelty electoral spectating now that British elections are over.

The environmentally-minded continue to worry about cruise ships flushing waste into Puget Sound. A feature in this week's Stranger inspired a Montanan doctoral candidate to send along a map of the city's suicides from 1938 to 1942. People magazine worried about whether Grey's Anatomy could survive without Meredith. A guy in Bellingham was arrested on charges of getting sexual with a goat; thankfully no video evidence has surfaced on that story.

Here on TSB, a guest poster detailed the chances of the U.S. (maybe even Seattle!) hosting a future World Cup for soccer, while Seth cried out to the Lord about the Mariners offense (worse than boils or locusts) and wept bitter tears at the prospect of Ken Griffey Jr. going down squibbing.

On the A&E side, tonight's the world premiere of Amelia at Seattle Opera, and how about that one-show Carissa's Wierd reunion? Jeremy looked over next season at On the Boards and read the tea leaves regarding the future of New Century Theatre Co., while Audrey stayed home to watch Maria Hines on Top Chef Masters and stump for the Vera Project fundraiser. (If you missed the NOVA about Mount St. Helens, you can watch it online, by the way.) Morgen tipped you off to the Doe Bay Music Festival, and I told you about Rimini Protokoll at OtB, and a great local book about raising chickens. Also, it was Sweden Week.