Seattle blaze damages more than a cafe

SEATTLE — A fire that damaged the Speakeasy Cafe in the city’s downtown Belltown neighborhood took no lives, but many mourned the loss of a local hangout that offered a unique blend of the arts, music and the Internet.

"Whatever the damage, it’s certainly the end of a chapter for the Speakeasy," said Mike Apgar, who co-owns both the cafe and the separate Speakeasy Network, an Internet-service provider housed across the street.

The Speakeasy building’s second floor, which was being renovated for the business’ technical-support staff and had formerly housed the noted 211 Club pool hall, suffered fire damage. The first floor, where the cafe was located, suffered mainly water damage. No cause or damage estimate had been determined as of Sunday.

Some 60 firefighters and 30 fire units battled the two-alarm blaze late Friday that also damaged the neighboring Marvin Gardens Inn.

"It’s a horrible, horrible loss," said Constance Dorgan, manager of the Crocodile Cafe down the street. "It was a central meeting place for the neighborhood."

Cruise ship autopilot goes berserk: Autopilot failure caused the sudden turn and list of a cruise ship that sent plates and glassware crashing and injured more than 70 people, the Coast Guard said. The autopilot on the 853-foot Norwegian Sky malfunctioned near the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca on Saturday. A crew member had to disengage the autopilot, which caused the ship’s rudders to swing and turned the ship hard to the left, Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Scott Casad said Sunday. "It was like the Titanic. People were flying around in chairs, The gift shop was destroyed," said Sharon Suttle, a travel-consultant manager from Greensboro, N.C., interviewed in Seattle Sunday. A total of 78 people reported injuries, and 13 were treated when the ship docked in Victoria, British Columbia on Saturday, Casad said. Two passengers stayed behind in Victoria for precautionary medical care, but all others boarded the ship to Seattle on Saturday evening, the cruise line said. One other person was treated in Seattle on Sunday, Casad said.

Baby otter is a boy: When a human baby is born, it’s usually pretty easy to tell whether it’s a boy or a girl. Not so with otters. And so it took a few days for staff at the Seattle Aquarium to determine the gender of its latest baby otter. The verdict — it’s a boy. The pup was born May 13 to Lootas, a 4-year-old Alaska sea otter who was hand-raised at the aquarium. Aquarium officials say it took a while to determine the pup’s gender because the pup is basically just a ball of indefinable fur, and they didn’t want to interfere with Lootas as she cared for her newborn.

Lesbian prom king jolts community: It’s not clear whether lesbian Krystal Bennett’s election as Ferndale High’s prom king was intended as a joke or a political statement. But it’s prompted a change in school policy — future prom kings must be male and queens female — and a lot of consternation among adults in this community of 8,000. The vote "imposes something on society that, if truth be known, our society is not yet ready to accept," said parent Tina Mauler. "These types of things ultimately will lead to chaos." The prom queen, whose boyfriend was runner-up for king, has a more laid-back take on the April 28 election. "It’s high school," said Kara Johnson. "Let it go." Everybody who attended the prom was handed a ballot and told to write in their candidates for king and queen. Bennett says she voted for herself as king partly as a lark and partly because she wanted the title. Friends voted for her, too — and she won.