Recognizing the difficulty in deciding which weekly to read each week, the following table aims to simplify your lives. Maybe you’re a regular reader of only one paper. Maybe you feel compelled to read both for the benefit of weblog readers. This roundup might just be what you need to help you know which one to pick up in the morning.

Sunset over downtown Bellevue with Olympics backdrop.

not in bellingham anymore

Although it’s more than a week away, you might want to start looking at your dayplanner, TiVo, or VCR timer functionality [Ed: do people still have working VCRs?] to make sure it’s ready for next Thursday. Local indie rock heroes, Death Cab For Cutie will be paying a visit to television’s the o.c. [fox] on the 21 April episode.

After seasons of lusting after their poppy goodness on road trip mixtapes, Chrismukkah cover inspirations, and bedroom wall posters, all of Seth Cohen’s rock and roll dreams come true. The band takes the stage at the Bait Shop, Newport’s most improbable venue at 8 pm next week. Lead singer Ben Gibbard has a few words for the fans who loved them since Something About Airplanes [$] who are furious about their mainstream exposure:

“Radio, for the most part, is not so helpful to bands,” says Gibbard. “And, frankly, I don’t see much difference between performing on Letterman and on The OC — you’re just playing your songs. I’m sure it’s not cool to some people who’ve liked us in the past, but I could really give a fuck.” [rollingstone]

Let’s just hope that the band doesn’t get involved with any of the series’s traditional fisticuffs if [/when?] DCFC plays “why you’d want to live here” as their opening number.

(via stereogum [#])

If you are interested in helping to make the Seattle International Film Festival happen, the Annual Volunteer Meeting is scheduled to take place this coming Saturday, April 16th, at 10:00 at the Egyptian Theater (801 East Pine).

“SIFF is searching out an engaged, reliable and sizable crew of volunteers to pull the levers behind the curtain of the 2005 Seattle International Film Festival. With over 450 screenings of 220 features and 80 shorts in 25 days, SIFF requires almost 600 volunteers to fill a wide range of positions. From ushers to special event staff, from drivers to envelope stuffers, from seasoned SIFF volunteer veterans to film fest newbies, we need volunteers with a wide range of skills. Please complete a Volunteer Application available on our website at www.seattlefilm.org INFO: volunteers@seattlefilm.org or call 206.320.1001″

[Posted at www.911media.org]

Volunteering is an honorable thing, but it also earns you free movie passes …

Northbound I-5 is closed until further between exits 165 and 168. A truck is flipped over at Mercer Street. Developing…

the afternoon I-5 backup

update: Northwest Cable News is reporting that the overturned vehicle spilled tar across the freeway. I-5 is expected to be closed until at least 3:30, but the northbound express lanes opened early:

The truck spilled cold tar pitch, a nonflammable substance that steamed as it flowed across all lanes of the highway and into the storm drains, bringing traffic on all northbound lanes to a stop and cloaking the scene for a time in haze. Cleanup and emergency response crews were hosing the goo down in an effort to get it to harden so it can be picked up. [nwcn]

related: watch live video at WSDOT [#]

more harrowing photos behind the jump!
(more…)

Today’s Wall Street Journal profiles Starbucks’s tentative entry into the seedy world of Washington [D.C.] lobbying:

Mr. Schultz’s discomfort offers a glimpse at the uneasy transition a group of cutting-edge entrepreneurs of the 1990s face as they take their first steps into Capitol Hill lobbying. They saw explosive growth in recent years but now realize the road to future prosperity runs through Washington. . . . These newcomers to Washington are caught in a bind: They have the same desires as every other company — tax breaks and trade deals. But they find the horse-trading aspects of lobbying, including political donations and asking for favors, often conflict with their public image as idealists changing the way business is done. [wsj (reg req.)]

The article describes the main motivations for Starbucks to talk to Washington lawmakers — the ability to continue growth overseas (lowering trade barriers) and keeping the tax rate on coffee bean ‘manufacturing’ low (A ‘Starbucks Footnote’ in the 2004 tax bill). It also highlights the benefits of keeping a few Republicans around at Preston Gates: having Senator Gordon as a principal opened the door to many of the power players in the District, an especially nice advantage for a company whose founder tends contribute mostly to Democrats.

An interesting read if you’re passing a newsstand or if it ever goes online.

When I moved to Seattle, I knew that I could expect rain. That

For those of you who at the whim of global oil markets to get around town, there’s a handy site to help you find the best prices when filling up the tank. Turn your web browser to user-powered SeattleGasPrices.com to scope out the best deals on a gallon of gasoline.

While we all know that driving is bad for the planet, driving all over the city looking to save a penny a gallon is bad for your sanity.

If it get’s too be too much for you, there’s always walking and/or Metro [#].

–
(via the seattle livejournal [lj])

image, stranger

On this week’s episode of television’s Grey’s Anatomy a real-life Seattle phenomenon sets the wheels of the plot in motion. The wheels in question belong to the annual “Dead Baby Bike Race” [stranger], which provides not only some gory patients for the residents to fight over, but also sends an innocent bystander into Seattle Grace Hospital.

The victim turns out to be brain dead, and the competitive kids immediately turn him from a tragedy to a learning opportunity. They do their darndest to keep him alive long enough get themselves into the OR, find his wife so that they can grab his organs, and hilarity ensues as non-people-person Sandra Oh runs down the checklist of which parts the hospital can take from brain dead daddy.

Meanwhile, an old pal of the Chief is under the care of dopey non-gay (slash secretly Grey loving) resident George. It turns out that in addition to being hot for long eyelashed doctor boys, Mr. Extra Special Patient needs a new liver. It looks like he showed up on just the right day: patient doctor flirtation plus a body full of organs downstairs. I think you can guess the rest.

This series gets it’s icky medical moment quota, when Meredith’s favorite bike racer to kiss returns after the race with a really nasty-looking wound. His return allowing Meredith to witness him in recovery hanging out with is biker pals, inspiring her to go home and watch videos with her own hyper-competive friends. Being surgery geeks, their choice of entertainment is old tapes of her mom doing extreme surgeries. Happy endings all around: Mr. Special Patient gets a new liver, Grey resolves her roommate issues, and Mr. Braindead gives his organs away. Well, the last part isn’t super happy for his family, but what are you going to do?

Other than the real Bike Race tradition (a nice bit of actual obscurity), not many Seattle details for the producers to flub in this episode. This week’s exteriors included only a few gorgeous cityscapes — the prize-winning view from the South — and avoided embarrassing exterior mistakes. There was one scene about a slow elevator. We’re taking this as a shout out to Harborview.

Finally, our wish for a real live medical opinion on the series has been granted! Soon-to-be MD Ian has been using his weblog to write about what the series gets right and wrong about the lives of medical students. [notrocketsci.blogspot.com] As is the case with most health matters, a second opinion is usually a good idea.