NEWS This week's news section is filled with fine whine (and of a most shrill vintage). First up: JOSH FEIT squawks like an off-the-meds neighborhood-group marm about a lack of oversight for those paid to oversee the public's investment in Safeco Field—or something equally skull deadening. Then: ERICA C. BARNETT once again pulls the panic alarm about proposed nightlife regulations, ensuring she hits at least one of the "Barnett News Trifecta" for this week (the other two being, of course, the viaduct and strip clubs). ALSO: BRENDAN KILEY takes a leave from the fop beat to scribble—in crayon, presumably—about problems between Bumbershoot and Seattle Center, and ELI SANDERS continues to flog the Pride Parade story with all the enthusiasm of an out-to-pasture dominatrix (#341 in a continuing series). PLUS: CounterIntel, In the Hall, and Police Beat.

FEATURE The Amazing RaceAs you read this, unconscionable slaughter is being waged in Sudan. Iran is coming ever closer to nuclear capabilities. American soldiers are being felled in Iraq. So much is worrisome in the world right now—and what does The Stranger choose to file as its feature story this week? A trifle called the "Seattle Cab Olympics," which finds staffers liquoring themselves up and racing about the city to judge which taxi companies are sufficient. Egads. Is it any wonder the Seattle Weekly is referred to as "The Smart Alternative"?