The Weekend Wrap is Investing in Cash Mattresses

Above, a reenactment of the deep-bore tunnel political posturing, on the occasion of bids arriving "on budget." (We have two English actors standing in for Mayor McGinn and Governor Gregoire, to class things up a bit. Their lines are a mixture of quotes and paraphrases from news reports.)

Credit card fraud seems to be sweeping Capitol Hill, CHS reports. In other financial news, a Spokane credit union was closed by regulators Friday afternoon; the Puget Sound Business Journal reports "Washington credit unions are increasingly at risk," and that four Washington banks were told to raise capital, as well. I admit, I got snookered by the "Seattle foreclosure epidemic" story; the Seattle Bubble explains all.

TechFlash profiled the online-only No Depression site, on their transition from magazine to community. Over at PubliCola, the news was that Children's Hospital has joined the war on cars by investing $2 million in pedestrian and bicycle improvements, and that the Seattle City Council approved a $20 vehicle-license fee, which they hope will raise almost $7 million. Sightline noted that Northwest suburbs are more diverse than cities.

Neighborhood Headline News:

• Senator Murray tours small businesses in Ballard (My Ballard)
• Jefferson Park expansion finally opens (Beacon Hill Blog)
• Sound Transit: Broadway construction pit water project means night noise (Capitol Hill Seattle)
• Big changes coming to CDNews (Central District News)
• Friday is last day for five Metro Route 70 bus stops in Eastlake (Eastlake Ave)
• Countdown to closure of Fremont neighborhood service center (Fremont Universe)
• Nickelsville Extends Halloween Invitation to Georgetown (Blogging Georgetown)
• A historical look at Woodland Park and the Woodland Park Zoo (My Green Lake)
• Discovery Park gains 24 acres (Magnolia Voice)
• You don’t have to get dirty to help Thornton Creek (Maple Leaf Life)
• Bill Gates Sr. at Phinney Center Saturday to tout Initiative 1098 (PhinneyWood)
• Gas leak briefly forces evacuations along Elliott Avenue (Queen Anne View)
• Traffic Alert: Just When You Thought Rainier Ave Couldn’t Get Any Worse (Rainier Valley Post)
• 2nd Annual City of Music Awards (Southend Seattle)
• (South Seattle Beacon)
• First Tech First Streetcar Wrap, First Amazon Retail (The Southlake)
• Boaters bump into mystery object in water (U District Daily)
• What happens to liquor store if initiatives pass? (My Wallingford)
• Three home burglaries reported in the neighborhood (Wedgwood View)
• West Seattle Water Taxi adds run for Halloween Sounders game (West Seattle Blog)