Northwest briefly

South Lake Union trolley has maiden run

SEATTLE — Seattle’s south Lake Union trolley is now in service, making its maiden run Wednesday between the downtown retail core and the developing area where the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center is located.

The 1.3-mile line has 11 stops where the streetcar passes every 15 minutes. Rides are free this month; afterward the fare will be $1.50. The line cost $52 million for the city to build and it will cost $1.7 million a year for Metro to operate.

Among those at the noon-hour send-off were people wearing T-shirts with the acronym for South Lake Union Trolley or SLUT.

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels said, “I don’t care what you call it as long as you ride it.”

On I-90, it’s a long way between bathrooms

It’s a long way between public restrooms along the western stretch of Interstate 90 in Washington state this week.

The Indian John Hill rest areas for eastbound and westbound traffic have been closed since Monday for a plumbing overhaul.

According to the state Transportation Department, those are the two most popular potty stops along the approximately 300-mile freeway between Seattle and the Idaho border.

The shutdown leaves a 130-mile stretch without public restrooms between the Ryegrass Summit rest area, west of Vantage, and Seattle.

The water and sewer renovation follows a series of shorter closures for temporary repairs. Transportation officials expect to complete the work in time to reopen it on Monday.

Associated Press

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