Body piercer Troy Amundson's bill to regulate the piercing industry is, sadly, dead for this year. "[House Bill] 2090 at this point is no longer a viable bill," said a staffer for the bill's sponsor, Rep. Sherry Appleton (D-Paulsbo). The measure--which would have given the state's Department of Health authority to set age and parental-consent standards for piercings--was supported by most local body piercers ["Piercing Concerns," Feb 3]. So what sank it? Pro-choicers' concerns about a slippery slope: Conservatives, they feared, could latch onto parental consent rules for piercing, and use them to argue for similar laws on abortion. AMY JENNIGES

Blethen

Editorial writers at the Seattle Times are no doubt practicing their puckering-up skills in preparation for the new ass they'll soon have to kiss. On March 11, editorial page editor Jim Vesely announced to staff that Ryan Blethen, son of mercurial family-first Times publisher Frank Blethen, will this summer be joining the paper as associate editorial page editor.

The younger Blethen already appears to be following in the footsteps of dear old dad. Young Ryan left his previous gig, as a regional editor at the Blethen-owned Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram in Portland, Maine, after becoming embroiled in controversy. Specifically, he clashed with veteran reporter Ted Cohen, who after leaving the paper (he says he was fired) described Blethen's alleged bad behavior in detail to the Portland alt-weekly, the Phoenix, claiming that Blethen harassed him, set him up to fail, and threw away his expense reports. SANDEEP KAUSHIK

South Lake Union

New zoning regulations designed to encourage housing development in South Lake Union will include a provision allowing construction of apartment buildings that include no ground-floor retail space, a departure from the street-level retail development the city typically promotes. Council Member Peter Steinbrueck, whose land-use committee will take up the changes April 13, allows that once apartments go in, they're hard to demolish and redevelop for retail purposes. City Planning Supervisor Mike Podowski says the change would acknowledge the fact that "there aren't enough people who would go to stores and restaurants [in South Lake Union] to keep them in business. " NANCY DREW