Watch the water. Emergency responders gathered on Colman Dock this afternoon in response to reports that someone had fallen overboard from the Bainbridge-to-Seattle ferry. So far, nothing has turned up. In other unsettling maritime news, earlier today a woman’s torso was found washed up along the Dungeness Spit near Port Angeles.

Adnan Syed is free, for now. The subject of the 2014 podcast Serial was released from jail today after a judge vacated his conviction, citing improper procedures during his first trial. Prosecutors have 30 days to decide whether to move ahead with a new trial or dismiss the case. Syed has been imprisoned for 23 years.

What’s that smell? Seattle is getting a little more smoke from the Bolt Creek Fire to our east, the same area that sent heavy smoke our way last week. You may also have detected smoke from an early-morning blaze over a 7-11 in Pioneer Square. Current air quality is hovering in the mid-double-digits, just shy of entering the "moderate" zone.

How’s your Week Without Driving going so far? WSDOT isn’t exactly making it easy, with a closure of the 520 trail that asks bikes and pedestrians to cross a busy unmarked crosswalk. According to frequent commuters, the dangerous detour has been in place since at least May. 

Child care subsidies are available to low-income families. Applications are now open for Best Starts for Kids, a new King County program that will provide $20 million per year in subsidies for child care. You do not have to be a US citizen or documented resident to apply.

Happy 27th anniversary to the death of the Seattle Commons. On this date in 1995, Seattle voters voiced their opposition to a plan that would have turned the gross warehouses of South Lake Union into a park, surrounded by transit and bike infrastructure. Among the reasons: Voters feared that it would enrich developers. Good thing SLU was spared from that fate! Our next best chance at getting something like it is the Lid I-5 project.

More sand, please. The Navy will spend about $2.4 million to mitigate the impact of a hull-scraping that environmental advocates say dropped “truckloads” of hazardous chemicals into the Sinclair Inlet (close to Bremerton across Puget Sound). As part of the work, they’ll dump 10,000 yards of sand on top of the affected area.

Mexico was hit by an earthquake. The western coast of Mexico was hit by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake today, with one person reported killed. Authorities warned of tsunamis along the coast, but Seattle is well outside the danger zone.

This is Sea Otter Awareness Week. Are you aware of sea otters? Yes, probably. But ask yourself: Is there anything you can do to be more aware of them?

Officer Snidely Whiplash strikes again. Police north of Denver pulled over a 20-year-old driver during a road rage investigation on Friday and placed her in a patrol car. Unfortunately, the patrol car was parked on railroad tracks. A train struck the car, and the 20-year-old woman, who was trapped inside, was sent to the hospital with unspecified serious injuries. Various law enforcement agencies are investigating, and the officer involved has been placed on leave.

There’ll be pork in the treetops come morning. How many of these 1968 Best Costume nominees can you identify based on outfit alone? (The ones with the balls may confound you.)

Quite a lot of mayhem in Bremerton. There was a fire at Bremerton’s Midway Inn this weekend, just days after the fire department visited and removed illegal locks on the emergency exits. A person is in custody for suspected arson. While authorities were investigating the hotel fire, a truck struck a pedestrian nearby and tried to drive off but became wedged in a ditch. There were no injuries in either incident.

Also in Bremerton: A year after major cuts to ferry service, a group of local leaders has sent a letter to Governor Inslee asking for service levels to be restored. They’d like to see the expansion of more budget-friendly passenger-only service.

Joe Kent takes his best Wakiacum shot. The Trump-aligned candidate for District 3 apparently has things on his mind besides learning how to spell the counties in the district he wants to serve. To be fair, he only just moved to Washington recently.

Charles Nelson Reilly: Too gay for television. In 1950, a nineteen-year-old aspiring actor showed up at NBC hoping for an audition, but he was turned away because “they don’t let queers on television.” Within two decades, Charles Nelson Reilly had become one of the most in-demand actors on TV. Here’s the story of how he managed to beat NBC at their own game: