A recent King County Metro report on extending the downtown Ride Free Area (RFA) to other neighborhoods condcluded it would be a logistical nightmare, and it would cost the bus agency about $2.8 million in lost revenues every year. More fascinating than the report's condemnation of an extended RFA, though, was information on the impacts of the existing Ride Free Area: According to the report, the RFA costs Metro between $630,000 and $1.26 million a year in lost revenues. The report says the losses are partly offset by lower operating costs because buses that run through the RFA move more quickly. But the report also assumes--without providing substantiation--that of everyone who currently pays cash to ride through the RFA, only 20 to 40 percent would pay the fare without the RFA. ERICA C. BARNETT

Veggie Challenge

Hot Dog Joe's, the yummy hot dog stand at last weekend's July 12 and 13 Capitol Hill Block Party, was forced to deprive neighborhood vegetarians (there's likely a lot of Smiths fans in Capitol Hill) of yummy veggie dogs. The Seattle/King County health department only permits the sale of USDA-approved hot dogs on carts. Meatless veggie dogs don't meet the definition of "hot dogs"--one of the select items, like snow cones, that carts can sell. So, veggie dogs are banned.

Last April, Tania Harrison, owner of the all-vegetarian Cyber-Dogs hot dog/espresso/ Internet cafe, ran afoul of this ludicrous law as well while starting her business from a vending cart. She has since carved out her own meat-free refuge downtown, next to the convention center. AARON JENKINS

Northgate Challenge

On August 4, Citizens for a Livable Northgate, and the Thornton Creek Legal Defense Fund--two community groups that have been advocating for the Northgate--are headed to the city's hearing examiner to challenge Mayor Nickels' new proposals for the neighborhood. Nickels wants to squash development restrictions on the Northgate Mall, allowing the owner to expand. On May 22, the city's Department of Design, Construction and Land Use determined the proposal doesn't have an adverse environmental impact, but the residents disagree. "We found that there were flaws [in the DCLU decision]," says Jan Brucker from Citizens for a Livable Northgate. AMY JENNIGES

Signature Challenge

In response to its ejection from One Reel's Fourth of July festivities in Gas Works Park, Seattle Districts Now has filed a lawsuit against One Reel, alleging the event organizer illegally commandeered a public park for private purposes. ERICA C. BARNETT