Autowraps Attack
Look out: Autowraps, the advertising company that converts cars into moving billboards, is back. The company launched a new campaign last week by paying 10 Seattle drivers $250 a month to put PowerBar logos on their cars. If you're poor and the idea sounds enticing, be careful. The Stranger reported six months ago that Seattle Autowraps customers were having trouble contacting the company, getting copies of their contracts, and getting paid. Auto Wraps has since doubled its staff to help with the problems. PAT KEARNEY
Jumbo Junk
Second Time Around, a 25-year-old used record store, installed a three-by-four-foot JumboTron sign over the sidewalk outside its location on University Way last month. With flashing lights and moving images, cities have considered banning the TV-like signs because of their propensity to distract motorists. Passersby last week called the JumboTron, the first to be installed in a Seattle pedestrian district, "an abomination" and "cheesy." A clerk at a nearby business who asked not to be identified said, "I hope somebody trashes it." GRANT COGSWELL
Mayor #4
Running on the platform "Legalize Adulthood," local artist Caleb Schaber announced his candidacy for mayor on Saturday, May 26. Best known for placing a monolith at Magnuson Park to protest Mayor Paul Schell's cancellation of the city's New Year's Eve celebration, Schaber says he'll decriminalize Sidran's civility laws and build a monorail. His top priority, though, will be amending the local election process by making it easier for unknowns like himself to get elected. LAUREN WALSH
Micro Military
Microsoft announced last week that it's teaming up with military contractor Lockheed Martin to help secure more government contracts. The Microsoft/Lockheed partnership is nothing new. Last year, the software giant teamed up with Lockheed to construct the next generation of nuclear aircraft carriers. PAT KEARNEY
The Golden Years
The late '90s were good years for white and Asian males in King County, according to the latest statistics from the local health department. The department, which recently released average life expectancy statistics for 1997-1999, calculated that white and Asian males can now expect to live 75.1 and 80.1 years respectively, an increase of 1.5 years compared to the department's 1994-1996 figures. Females still outlive males, and Asian females live the longest, at 85.2 years. Once again, black males did not fare so well. Their life expectancies remained at the bottom of the rankings, hovering around 67.2 years. PHIL CAMPBELL
