Never mind the official poll results. The folks who really had a stake in the outcome of the acrimonious contest for Washington State's superintendent of public instruction--the under-18 crowd--held a vote of their own on October 28.

The vote came after 60 high-school and middle-school kids packed into Seattle Center's Children's Theatre for an hour-long Q&A session on Thursday night. Students, and students only, got to question contenders Terry Bergeson and Judith Billings.

The 20-plus kids who lined up at the microphones asked questions about sex ed, drug use, charter schools, inept teachers, and of course, the high-stakes WASL test. Not only did anti-WASL candidate Billings win, she won in a landslide: 76 to 24 percent. Post-election pundits believe that in addition to Billings' popular anti-WASL stance, her advocacy for "comprehensive sexuality information" also rocked the teen vote. JOSH FEIT

Furious Lonely Battle

The Puget Sound Regional Council, a regional planning body that oversees the distribution of public dollars to transportation projects, dumped $4.3 million last week into the apparently unstoppable South Lake Union Streetcar, bringing total funding for the streetcar to $36.5 million--within $10 million of the streetcar's estimated cost.

The decision prompted a furious response from City Council Member Nick Licata, who pointed to $500 million in needed bridge and street repairs. "The bottom line is that we could have asked the PSRC to spend those funds on other transportation projects in the city," says Licata, who admits he's fighting a lonely, and probably losing, battle. "I know I am not going to be able to turn this ship around. But I can make this deal as public as possible so that citizens understand how their money is being spent," Licata says. ERICA C. BARNETT

Not Stationary

Sound Transit's planned Capitol Hill light rail station, which was moved west six months ago to accommodate businesses on Broadway, may relocate yet again. Under a recommendation made by Sound Transit staff last week, the Capitol Hill station, which would have impacted the parking lot of the Bonney-Watson funeral home and part of Cal Anderson Park, would be shifted north, to the current location of several businesses (including Espresso Vivace) and three apartment buildings. Sound Transit spokesman Ric Ilgenfritz emphasized that the proposal, which agency staff made in an effort "to respond to the community's desire... to take care of Bonney-Watson and the park" is still a preliminary recommendation. ERICA C. BARNETT