Here & Now Information to help you survive and thrive

New bonfire rules

The Seattle Parks Department says there have been problems with people making bonfires at West Seattle's Alki Beach Park and Golden Gardens Park in Ballard outside designated fire rings. Parks officials say people also have been burning pallets, treated wood and other materials that are pollutants.

So the Parks Department has come up with a new set of regulations about burning on beaches. The proposed regulations define what's considered legal fuel — basically clean firewood and charcoal.

Those regulations, and proposals for parking revisions at both parks, will be reviewed at an open house from 6 to 8 p.m. tomorrow at the Alki Bathhouse, 2701 Alki Ave. S.W. An open house was to be held last night at Golden Gardens Park.

The new regulations for both beaches are slated to go into effect Tuesday.

However, the Parks Department intends to remove the fire rings from Golden Gardens Park's beach and conduct a beach cleanup Tuesday through June 14. Because fires are restricted to fire rings, no fires will be allowed on Golden Gardens Beach during that week.

The race is on

This year's Seattle Race for the Cure, a fund-raiser for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, will be Saturday at Qwest Field. Several events are scheduled: a 1K kids' race, a one-mile co-ed walk, and five-mile women-only, wheelchair and co-ed events.

At every race event, breast cancer survivors celebrate their survivorship by donning pink caps, buttons or T-shirts. Events, starting with on-site registration as early as 6:30 a.m., should be wrapped up by noon. The race course is a loop along the Seattle waterfront.

Friday is the deadline for online registration — www.SeattleRaceForTheCure.org. Participants also can register Saturday at Qwest Field, or by calling 206-633-0303.

Another freeway delay

The state Department of Transportation and the contractor working on the Interstate 5 repaving project through downtown Seattle have decided to cancel work over the June 10-13 weekend because of graduation ceremonies scheduled at the University of Washington, Seattle University and Seattle Pacific University, and an anticipated increase in freeway traffic.

Construction crews plan to complete the final three weekends of construction in the freeway's southbound lanes between James Street and Olive Way the last two weekends this month and the third weekend next month.

Weekend construction has been postponed five times during the past two months because of wet weather. If work must be postponed again, crews will work a weekend in August.

Traffic watch

Snohomish County: Caution is advised for drivers approaching a state Department of Transportation project site off Highway 530 and Arlington Heights Road near Arlington. For about the next two weeks, archaeologists are working in an area where Native American remains were unearthed from shallow graves two weeks ago. The area is very close to the road.

Work crews have placed a concrete barrier near the excavation site to protect archaeologists. Over the next two weeks, all traffic will be slowed or stopped occasionally in both directions of Highway 530 between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. Closures should not last longer than five minutes.

Crews unearthed the remains while digging to install equipment for a traffic signal at Highway 530 and Arlington Heights Road. Traffic-signal installation is on hold pending the outcome of the excavation work.

Here & Now is compiled by Seattle Times staff reporter Charles E. Brown and news assistant Suesan Whitney Henderson. To submit an item, e-mail herenow@ seattletimes.com or call 206-464-2226.