Please tell me theyll at least keep that marquee.
Please tell me they'll at least keep that marquee. Matt Baume
Better pick up your dry cleaning. The old dry cleaning place at Olive and Harvard will be going away in a few years (there are no immediate plans to close, according to folks connected to the location), to be eventually replaced by an eight-story mass timber mixed-use building with 70 to 80 new homes and no additional parking, thank God. Sounds good so far! The developers are hosting a site walk and info session at the end of the month.

It’s not all bad news. Washington legislators weren’t able to accomplish much in this session, but they did manage to pass the world’s okayest transportation package. Ryan Packer has a full breakdown, but some highlights include a new requirement that streetscape projects costing over a half-million must plan for all users, not just drivers; there’s money to fix Aurora Ave; transit will be free for riders under 18; and planning will proceed for high-speed rail. Alas, the budget also dumps a bunch of money into projects that will expand traffic jams and worsen pollution, most notably with a new highway monster planned over the Columbia River. But hey, it could be worse: It could be raining.

Daylight saving time started this weekend. If you haven’t already, remember to take down your winter clocks and bring your summer clocks out of storage. Also remember to set your smoke detectors one hour ahead, so they go off an hour before anything catches on fire.

America: Land of the free (to die on the job). Resolve to Save Lives CEO Dr. Tom Frieden wrote a a strongly-worded essay in favor of paid sick leave, something nearly every country in the world offers but the US does not. Most rich Americans have access to paid sick leave; many poor Americans don’t, forcing them to choose between going to work sick or being unable to pay bills. Workers categorized as employees in Washington have paid sick leave, so use your sick days when you're sick!

Do better, Walgreens. One of the bills that legislators failed to pass this session would have required drive-throughs to serve people who come through in non-motorized vehicles, which happens from time to time for various reasons. It’s disappointing that a Seattle pharmacy refused to serve someone this weekend, according to that person, because they didn't own a car.

In other local drugstore news: Rite-Aid took advantage of some unpaid labor this weekend, with nearby residents painting over the graffiti that property owners failed to take care of. It also provided a nice break for KOMO, who must get tired chasing every bleeds/leads story in a three-block downtown radius.

If there’s one thing we’ve got plenty of in Seattle, it’s fungi. The Legislature just approved a proposal to spend $200,000 studying hallucinogenic mushrooms. A ballot measure to legalize psilocybin — as Oregon already has — could be on the ballot in November.

Carbon monoxide? In this economy? A North Seattle apartment was evacuated over the weekend due to a fire and high levels of carbon monoxide. One person was hospitalized, and everyone was able to return within a few hours — I’m not sure I’d actually want to return all that promptly, but, then again, every apartment has its little quirks, like flickering lightbulbs or popcorn ceilings or a deadly poisonous gas.

Wyoming is filthy. That’s according to the EPA, which calculates how much pollution is generated by power plants in each state. Washington is the second-tidiest, after Vermont. Must be all those maple-syrup-powered reactors they’ve got.

There’s new MST3K. But it’s absurdly difficult to stream. If you joined the Kickstarter last year, you’ll have gotten a link to watch now. For everyone else, you’ll have to wait until May 6, but you can buy a 12-month pass to watch the episodes on Backerkit for a cool $135. Or you can buy a 3-month pass for $1,000?!?! There’s also big signs on the website telling you not to buy the $1K pass. What is going on???? I liked it better when we had to trade VHS tapes.

Happy Pi Day. You already know how to celebrate, of course, but if you’re looking for a particularly enticing deal on a pie, look no further:

More special pies.

It’s curtains for William Hurt. The actor, 71, was known for Kiss of the Spider Woman, Children of a Lesser God, The Big Chill, various Marvel films, and for a two-year abusive relationship with Marlee Matlin according to her memoir.

West Seattle doesn’t need your trash. A weekend cleanup hauled nearly 3,000 pounds of trash out of the Duwamish — and if there was any justice in the world, everyone who tossed their junk into the river should have it thrown through the window of their house. It reminds me of how, many years ago when my aunt was pregnant, she saw someone throw a cigarette butt out of their car window; she picked it up, threw it back in, and hissed at him, “I don’t think my unborn child should have to live in a world full of your TRASH.” He was terrified. It was beautiful.

I don’t know what to do about how good Bothell has been looking lately. Bothell! Of all places! Well, I never. And who’s that building a bunch of dense housing — is that Shoreline? What’s going on?

Waaaaah. This weekend someone told me that my drag name should be “Lucille Bald” and I don’t think I’m ever going to recover from that one.