Lane closures coming on the Spokane Street Viaduct and surface streets, May 14-18

May 11, 2012

press release
There will be lane closures on the Spokane Street Viaduct and on surface streets next week for the viaduct widening project. All westbound lanes on the Spokane Street Viaduct will be closed at SR99 early on Tuesday morning and overnight on Wednesday, with traffic exiting at Harbor Island and continuing over the lower Spokane Street swing bridge to West Seattle. Then overnight on Thursday, westbound lanes of the viaduct will be closed between I-5 and SR99. All week the southbound SR99 off-ramp to West Seattle will remain open, however, providing the opportunity to avoid these westbound closures. On Thursday night, in addition to the westbound closures, the eastbound lanes of the viaduct will be reduced to one lane overnight. There will also be some surface street closures next week. Here are the closure details:

Monday, May 14 – Thursday, May 17

· The intersection of Sixth Avenue S and S Spokane Street will be restricted to one lane in each direction, both for north/south traffic and east/west traffic, from 9 p.m. each night until 5 a.m. the following morning.

Tuesday, May 15

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Tim Eyman, initiative activist, weighs in on our roll-your-own tobacco story

Initiative activist Tim Eyman told the West Seattle Herald that increasing fees on roll-your-own tobacco on new do-it-yourself machines cropping up in area smoke shops is indeed a tax increase on tobacco, and is therefore in violation of Initiative 1053, a bill he co-sponsored that passed statewide in 2010 by 64-percent. We reported on such smoke shops in our recent story here. That initiative passed in every county in the state.

State tobacco taxes, 15 cents per cigarette, don't apply to those produced by these machines, and Olympia wants to collect, and will, beginning in July. They passed a law to collect these fees with a simple majority, not with the two-thirds majority required for a tax increase. Legislators, and Gov. Gregoire, who support the measure, say the fee is not a tax increase, but simply an action that closes a loophole for those who have found a way around paying their fair share with these automated machines to "manufacture" their own cigarettes.

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On the Go -Week of 5-14-12

By Shara Hamby
May 15, 2012

Discovery Shop
4535 California Ave. S.W.
206 971 7169
Finished Spring cleaning? Consider donating your gently used clothing, accessories and household items during store hours. Your donations and patronage help fund cancer research. Yellow tag items are 50% off through May 22nd, then will be priced at $1.00 Wednesday, May 23rd through Thursday, May 31st. All men's wear continues to be 50% off every Sunday. Early bird shoppers get double stamps on their customer cards Mondays 10-noon. Seniors get 20% off their entire purchase Tuesdays, high schoolers get 20% off on Saturdays by showing their student I.D.s. The all volunteer run, non-profit American Cancer Society shop is open Sundays, 11-3 p.m. and all other days from 10-4:30 p.m.

Delridge Ballroom Dancing for Ages 50+
Delridge Community Center
4501 Delridge Way S.W.
206-684-7423
Third Friday of each month (May 18, June 15, July 20, August 17, Sept. 21, Oct. 19, & Nov. 16, 2012), 1:30-3:30 p.m. $4 per person. An afternoon of music and dance with Lauren Petrie for singles and couples ages 50 and above.

Peony Display & Workshops
South Seattle Community College

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