Seattle Post-Intelligencer back issues from April 2009:
Steele to GOP: Be more like me.(Politics)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is urging the party faithful to follow his own "unpredictable" footsteps. Speaking at a Republican fundraiser in Maryland Tuesday night, Steele said the GOP needs to emulate him and be "unconventional, unpredictable to do ...
RealtyTrac launches renter alerts.(Seattle Real Estate News)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Foreclosure information company RealtyTrac just launched a new service that will tell people if the home they're renting goes into default or is about to be foreclosed on by a lender. "More than 2.3 million U.S. households received a foreclosure notice in 2008 an 81 percent ...
No practical joke: Snow.(The Big Blog)
Apr 01, 2009 ... April seems a lot like December. The National Weather Service says there is a chance of snow at elevations as low as 300 feet Wednesday morning and rain through the rest of the day and especially at night. ...
Renton teacher gets national post.(The Big Blog)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Tracey Edou, a math teacher at Dimmitt Middle School in Renton, is one of 15 teachers across the country who will serve a one-year position with the U.S. Energy Department. She will help draft legislation to improve K-12 and higher education; design science, math and technology ...
David Horsey does stand-up?(The Big Blog)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Think David Horsey is funny in his drawings? Wait 'til you see him do stand-up tonight. Seattlepi.com's editorial cartoonist will join comedians Cathy Sorbo, Brad Upton and Rod Long and former Seattle P-I music critic Gene Stout on stage at the Comedy Underground for "Yes We ...
Arctic hotel to become a Doubletree.(Seattle Real Estate News)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Arctic Club The Arctic Club ballroom. Joshua Trujillo/Seattle P-I file Downtown Seattle's Arctic Club Hotel will become a Doubletree, the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce reports. The historic Arctic Club building, at Third Avenue and Cherry Street, ...
Poll: Obama approval rating at 58 percent.(Strange Bedfellows)
Apr 01, 2009 ... A new Quinnipiac University poll puts President Barack Obama's approval rating at 58 percent. However the same survey shows that 68 percent of ...
Enviros, plastic industry ready to battle over bag fee.(Local)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Can the "Greens" compete against some serious green -- as in cash? On Aug. 18 Seattle voters will decide whether they want to impose a 20 cent-per-bag fee on plastic and paper grocery bags sold in the city. Backers say the fee will help the environment. Industry opponents say it ...
Area home prices seen as more likely to fall.(Real Estate)
Apr 01, 2009 ... The risk of sustained declines in Seattle-area home prices jumped at the end of last year, according to a new report. PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. said prices in King and Snohomish counties had a 30.3-percent risk of being lower in the final quarter of 2010 than they were in the ...
Peter Donnelly: An appreciation.(Strange Bedfellows)
Apr 01, 2009 ... As Seattle cultural folk celebrate the life of arts fundraiser Peter Donnelly, who died earlier this week, we should not forget Donnelly's big, backstage role in rescuing the National Endowment for the Arts. Donnelly was executive director of the Corporate Council for the Arts ...
Catholics' abortion, stem cell attitudes.(Strange Bedfellows)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Despite the Roman Catholic hierarchy's intense opposition to abortion and embryonic stem-cell research, the Gallup Poll finds little difference between rank-and-file American Catholics and non-Catholics in terms of what is morally acceptable. On several moral issues, according ...
Microsoft asks for fewer visas, still supports lifting cap.(Microsoft Blog)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Microsoft Corp. still supports a lift on immigration caps so that it can import human talent, though it plans on importing fewer new hires this year in light of company layoffs. Microsoft has applied for fewer H-1B visas for 2010 than in previous years, and of those ...
Conficker spawns an anti-climactic April Fool's Day.(Microsoft Blog)
Apr 01, 2009 ... The effects of Conficker on Wednesday were muted. Here's a round up of tech reports. Writers are having fun with this one: PC World: Conficker D-Day Arrives; Worm Phones Home (Quietly) "The Conficker worm today has begun to phone home for instructions but ...
Decision on prisoner releases rests with Legislature, prisons chief says.(Local)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Responding to competing budget proposals from the House and Senate, Department of Corrections Secretary Eldon Vail said Wednesday that either proposal would likely lead to the release of hundreds of prisoners. Earlier this week, leaders with the corrections officers' union ...
Cool and wet for March and maybe April, too.(Local)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Mark Twain is supposed to have said that the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. But then he never spent a spring in Seattle. We have, and, it seems, we might as well grab the Gore-Tex and get used to it. It might be this way for awhile. ...
Medicaid charges filed against family.(Seattle 911)
Apr 01, 2009 ... The state Attorney General's Office has filed felony fraud charges against three members of an Auburn family accused of bilking the state Medicaid system out of $11,400 during a long-running scheme. According to court documents, Sarah Matovu, 48, was working for the Department ...
Police: Soccer game turns ugly at Queen Anne Bowl.(Seattle 911)
Apr 01, 2009 ... A police report released Wednesday details a Sunday soccer game in Queen Anne that turned ugly. Two teams from the Washington Soccer Association were playing at the Queen Anne Bowl Playfield and agreed to play even despite one team having seven players four fewer than normal. ...
Deaf actress moves Seattle crowd with message of courage.(Local)
Apr 01, 2009 ... For some people, the tears came during the story of a deaf girl who hit the big time in Hollywood. Others grabbed for tissues as teachers were thanked for speaking up on behalf of those who can't speak themselves. Related content View a gallery of photos from ...
The tax discussion begins in earnest...(Strange Bedfellows)
Apr 01, 2009 ... There's nothing like a good $9 billion state budget deficit to focus the mind. For months now observers have said Washington ...
Sheriff's deputies looking for missing Spanaway man.(Seattle 911)
Apr 01, 2009 ... A Pierce County man failed to return from a road trip last week and the Pierce County Sheriff's Department is investigating his disappearance. Picture Smart Gordon C. Smart, 61, was last seen March 21 when he left his Spanaway residence in his 1975 Dodge ...
Police release video of panhandler assaulting man Suspect still at large.(Local)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Seattle police released a security camera video Wednesday that shows a panhandler striking a man in Pioneer Square, causing him to fall and slam his head against the ground. The 25-year-old victim, who was visiting from Oregon, was unconscious and bleeding from the ear and mouth ...
Accident on I-5 cleared.(Seattle 911)
Apr 01, 2009 ... An accident that closed two lanes of southbound Interstate 5 through ...
Three Sheets: From research vessel to luxury yacht.(The Big Blog)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Former P-I reporter Deborah Bach writes in the online boating magazine Three Sheets Northwest about a former NOAA research vessel that will soon become a $50 million luxury vessel. The deal may be Seattle's most expensive used boat transaction, ever: Stabbert Yacht & Ship in ...
Man wanted in California homicide caught in Seattle.(Seattle 911)
Apr 01, 2009 ... A man wanted for a California homicide was arrested Tuesday night at a Seattle homeless shelter. Seattle police received word this week that the 55-year-old man might have fled here from Richmond, Calif. Homicide detectives learned he was at ...
Consumers may be impacted by big City Light budget cuts.(Strange Bedfellows)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Seattle City Light customers may notice longer times to complete electrical service connections and street light repairs and longer wait times at the utility's call center due to budget cuts announced Wednesday. City Light's revenue is declining because the money it makes from ...
Teenager rushed to Harborview after rollover crash.(Seattle 911)
Apr 01, 2009 ... A 17-year-old Black Diamond teen was flown to Harborview Medical Center on Tuesday night after a rollover crash. The accident occurred in the 31000 block of the Southeast Black Diamond-Ravensdale Road. The teen was driving a 2000 Dodge Neon westbound where the road curves left, ...
Will budget leave elderly and disabled out in cold?(Joel Connelly)
Apr 01, 2009 ... A spirited chorus of "When the Saints Go Marching In" wafted from a class of patients with physical disabilities, head injuries and Alzheimers' at Elderhealth Northwest's downtown adult day health center. If the signers had known what the fate legislative Democrats were ...
State fire marshal releases 2008 annual report.(Seattle 911)
Apr 01, 2009 ... The State fire marshal's 2008 annual report was released Wednesday morning. There were more than 24,000 fires last year, resulting in 45 deaths and more than $227 million in damage ...
Few likely staying at Gonzaga; Porter linked to WSU job.(Seattle Sports Blog)
Apr 01, 2009 ... In what has become a rite of spring, Gonzaga basketball coach Mark Few has been mentioned in connection with a couple of high-profile coaching jobs since the Zags lost to North Carolina on Friday in the Sweet 16, but it looks like he'll stick around Spokane one more year. ...
Watch Kerlikowske's drug czar hearing at 11:30 a.m.(Seattle 911)
Apr 01, 2009 ... A confirmation hearing for former Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m., and you can watch it online here. Kerlikowske, President Obama's pick for director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, will be questioned by the ...
Life as a Microsoft child & wife: No iPod or iPhone.(Microsoft Blog)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Vogue's latest issue has a thorough profile of Melinda Gates, wife of the Microsoft founder. The story focuses mostly on her work with The Gates Foundation, but it also touches upon her courtship with Bill and her family life. Michael Specter writes: ...
Go 2 Guy: Donaldson seeks new heights with mayoral run.(NBA)
Apr 01, 2009 ... The first time I saw James Donaldson, I was at the Rotunda, the dining hall for those of us who lived at Gannon and Goldsworthy Halls at WSU. I remember him with his tray of food, ducking so his head wouldn't hit a ceiling beam. Then I saw him at the Coliseum as an uncoordinated ...
Gaddy, Smith, Siva earn Parade All-America honors.(Seattle Sports Blog)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Three Seattle-area basketball players have been selected to the Parade All-America high school team that will be announced in this Sunday's issue of the national publication. Abdul Gaddy, a 6-3 senior guard from Bellarmine Prep in Tacoma, and Josh Smith, 6-10 junior center from ...
UW Daily publishes April Fool's edition.(The Big Blog)
Apr 01, 2009 ... On the lookout for local April Fool's pranks? The Daily of the University of Washington delivered. The student publication's home page features headlines ...
Sounders: Why Seattle loves soccer.(The Big Blog)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Picture Mike Leifur cheers for his team at the start of the Sounders FC game against Real Salt Lake on Saturday, March 28, 2009, at Qwest Field in Seattle. (Josh Trujillo/seattlepi.com) In case you missed it ... William Yardley, who covers the Emerald City for The ...
Clerical error costs Marysville couple $7,000.(Local)
Apr 01, 2009 ... MARYSVILLE -- A big money mix-up has cost a Snohomish County couple close to $7,000. It's their money from their 2007 tax refund and stimulus money. Rebecca Stewart has spent more than a year constantly on the phone and writing letters, to get her IRS tax refund and ...
Guilty verdict in Auburn slaying.(Local)
Apr 01, 2009 ... A King County jury has convicted a 24-year-old man accused of killing another man during an attempted drug robbery. After a day's deliberation, jurors found Kirk Ricardo Saintcalle guilty of first-degree murder and three counts of second-degree assault in the Feb. 9, 2007, ...
What's the best way to handle speeders who tailgate?(Seattle 911)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Q: I often drive in the carpool lane and just as often a speeding vehicle races up to me, then tailgates me I am going the speed limit or slightly above and they flash their brights to get me out of the lane. Am I supposed to change lanes to let them proceed with their ...
Man killed when his van rolls over him.(Seattle 911)
Apr 01, 2009 ... A 68-year-old man working on his van at a Lakewood gas station in Pierce County was killed ...
Mr. Scott goes to Washington.(Seattle Real Estate News)
Apr 01, 2009 ... J. Lennox Scott, chairman and chief executive of John L. Scott Real Estate, and Mia Vermillion, of Guild Mortgage, are scheduled to testify about the state's housing market in the other Washington Thursday. U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-WA, who chairs the Senate Appropriations ...
Speier seeks women's commission.(Politics)
Apr 01, 2009 ... A California congresswoman is pressing forward with legislation to set up a permanent federal commission on women just weeks after President Barack Obama created an interagency council to focus the government's policies towards women and girls. "I don't see them at all in ...
Know a good Seattle artist?(The Big Blog)
Apr 01, 2009 ... With one week to deadline, the Mayor's Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs is looking for more nominations from Seattle residents for the 2009 Mayor's Arts Awards. Two-hundred twenty-nine local artists, arts and cultural organizations and community art supporters were nominated ...
Study: Seattle home for alcoholics saved taxpayers $4 million.(Local)
Apr 01, 2009 ... For years, Nathaniel Porter began his day with a pint of vodka or whiskey, which often made him throw up, which made him reach for a beer. He was off his schizophrenia medication, going to the sobering center a lot, and living in shelters, which made him want to start the next day the same ...
Big backup on Interstate 5 southbound in Seattle.(Seattle 911)
Apr 01, 2009 ... An accident has blocked the two left lanes of southbound Interstate 5 near Pine Street ...
Bailey-Boushay survives Senate and House budgets.(The Big Blog)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Funding for the Bailey-Boushay House survived both the Senate and House budgets released this week. "So far, so good," said Brian Knowles, executive director of the Madison Valley facility. Funding for the prominent facility -- renowned as the country's first skilled ...
Seattle Chamber offers 'Extreme Office Makeover'.(The Big Blog)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Before the dot-com bubble burst in the late-1990s, Seattle start-ups famously splurged on office luxuries like gourmet food and $800 Aeron chairs. Today's bleak economy means they might have to settle for granola bars and Bic pens. But thanks to the Greater Seattle Chamber of ...
Volcano watch: Alaska Airlines flights to Anchorage resume.(The Big Blog)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Alaska Airlines said fights in and out of Anchorage will resume Wednesday morning. You should check the status of your flight before going to the airport and be at the airport at least one hour before your flight leaves. ...
Starbucks April Fool's: Coffee from your USB port.(The Big Blog)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Starbucks' Twitter account has gone live with a message introducing Starbucks' new product: "Starbucks PlugPour, Coffee through your USB port." The company created a Twitter account called SBUXPlugPour and it already has more than 100 followers. The company also ...
Bellevue football to kick it off big.(Seattle Sports Blog)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Leave it to the Bellevue High football team to start the season out in style. The defending Class 3A state champions will travel to Texas to meet Katy High on Sept. 12. The news release announcing the game called the teams "arguably the top two programs west of the Mississippi ...
Sullivan named president emeritus at Seattle U.(The Big Blog)
Apr 01, 2009 ... The trustees at Seattle University have named the William Sullivan, the school's former president and chancellor, president emeritus. It's a first for Seattle University, and, the college says it is one of the few universities in the country with a president emeritus. ...
Prison cuts would free hundreds of felons, critics contend.(Local)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Proposed cuts to the Department of Corrections budget could see hundreds of felons released into the community early, corrections officers and victim advocates argued Tuesday in response to legislative proposals. In separate plans, both legislative houses and Gov. Chris Gregoire ...
Partnerships a solution for transportation funding?(Strange Bedfellows)
Apr 01, 2009 ... The state's budget crunch might be a new opening for trying public-private partnerships to fund transportation projects, according to Matt Rosenberg, a senior fellow at Seattle's Cascadia Center For Regional Development. "When California recently resolved its mammoth budget ...
Amazon's prank: Air ships, or clouds, that come to you.(Andrea on Amazon (Online retail))
Apr 01, 2009 ... In case you missed it on The Big Blog: Amazon.com riffs on its own cloud computing platform on Wednesday. For a while the cloud was simply a metaphor meaning "a bunch of computers somewhere else." Until now, somewhere else meant good old terra firma, the Earth itself ....
Prefab Kirkand home gets national press.(Seattle Real Estate News)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Monica and Sam Guckenheimer's 2,800-square-foot house, assembled from prefabricated panels on their Kirkland property, is featured in the latest issue of Metropolitan Home magazine. The house, by PLACE Houses, was erected on-site using structural insulated panels, which are ...
Why didn't Obama get the Queen a Zune?(The Big Blog)
Apr 01, 2009 ... You don't get a headline like this every day, so let's have some fun with it. British Queen gets personalized iPod from Obama Three questions here: * What songs should be on ...
Passenger traffic to dip; Boeing deliveries on track.(Aerospace News)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Because of economic turbulence around the globe, U.S. airlines will see passenger traffic dip by 9 percent this year, the Federal Aviation Administration forecasts. Despite the lag, the FAA continues to work on a new air traffic control system that has the goal of reducing wait ...
Sapling of historic tree joins Capitol landscape.(Local)
Apr 01, 2009 ... OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The legacy of Tumwater black pioneer George Bush and his beloved butternut tree has a new life on the Capitol Campus. After years of lobbying by South Sound historians, including state Supreme Court Justice Gerry Alexander, state officials Tuesday planted a ...
Panhandler assaults man after asking for money Suspect still at large.(Local)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Seattle police are searching for a panhandler who hit a man early Tuesday in Pioneer Square, causing the man to fall and slam his head against the ground. The 25-year-old victim, who was visiting from Oregon, was unconscious and bleeding from the ear and mouth when police ...
Microsoft asks for fewer visas, still supports lifting cap.(Microsoft Blog)
Apr 01, 2009 ... Microsoft Corp. still supports a lift on immigration caps so that it can import human talent, though it plans on importing fewer new hires this year in light of company layoffs. Microsoft has applied for fewer H-1B visas for 2010 than in previous years, and of those ...
The G-20 summit: The New Macho comes out swinging.(Bronstein at Large)
Apr 01, 2009 ... George Bush on the flight deck in a snug fighter pilot suit was decent theater. Just not the theater of the actual war. But it's the rough-and-tough, no nonsense swagger of John Wayne/Ronald Reagan that seems to be bathing world leader contestants in its orange sunset Western ...
Royal Enfield -- a welcome step back in time.(Top Down (Cars))
Apr 01, 2009 ... When I was a lad, the second bike I owned was a 1953 Royal Enfield 350 Bullet. It was a single-cylinder thumper, with the gearshift on the right, and first gear was up instead of down -- everything was the opposite of how it is now. The other thing that was different from the ...
Lawmakers pass 'Washington' wine labeling bill.(Strange Bedfellows)
Apr 02, 2009 ... UPDATE AND CORRECTION The state Senate passed a bill Thursday to ensure that wines that claim to be made in Washington actually are made from grapes grown in Washington. House Bill 1812 requires that if a wine label claims or implies that the appellation of origin is ...
Decision on prisoner releases rests with Legislature, prisons chief says.(Local)
Apr 02, 2009 ... (Editor's Note: This story has been modified since it was first posted to clarify that competing Legislative budget proposals would result in reductions to the total prisons population, not all of which would be accomplished through early releases of prisoners.) Responding to ...
Where's the web 2.0 freedom of information (and Al Gore) for the journalists captured in North Korea?(Bronstein at Large)
Apr 02, 2009 ... I know we're enmeshed in the drama of newspaper necropsy lately, with friends who are also valuable professional contributors to the fabric of society walking out the door of newsrooms. But we must have at least enough gumption left over for some collective journalistic interest, concern ...
Agents find $2.5 million worth of Ecstasy at Canadian border.(Seattle 911)
Apr 02, 2009 ... Picture Border patrol agents found 126 pounds of Ecstasy at the Sumas border Wednesday night. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection photos) Nearly 200,000 doses of Ecstasy a quantity worth about $2.5 million was seized Wednesday evening by border patrol ...