"Sexless in Seattle" for felines

Cat call

The Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project's Seattle clinic will be hosting "Sexless in Seattle" this coming weekend. It's a two-day event — Saturday and Sunday — during which the clinic will open its doors to offer free spay and neutering services for 200 cats.

The event is tied to the fifth annual National Feral Cat Day. Since 1997, the nonprofit organization has altered almost 20,000 cats to help reduce the population of homeless cats in this area and curb the increasing number of pets euthanized by area animal shelters.

"By altering homeless cats, we are focusing on prevention, which is the most effective and far reaching in reducing the number of homeless cats," said project executive director Julie White.

Information about the clinic or the "Sexless in Seattle" project is available at 206-528-8125 or check online at www.feralcatproject.org.

South Park Bridge study

King County's Road Services Division will not hold a public meeting on its environmental review of alternatives for fixing up or replacing the South Park Bridge until early next month, but the review is available for public scrutiny.

The county has been working on plans to preserve the South Seattle crossing over the Duwamish River for several years. The condition of the 75-year-old span between Seattle and Tukwila has deteriorated and was made worse during the 2001 Nisqually earthquake, the county said.

So, the county is proceeding with the process that will allow a decision to be made on the future of the bridge. The span is used by about 20,000 vehicles a day and opens as a portal for marine traffic on the waterway. The county's estimated costs for a bridge replacement or upgrade range from $74 million to $90 million. Five alternatives are being studied.

The draft review, in English and Spanish, is online at www.metrokc.gov/roads (click on the South Park Bridge link). Printed copies are at the main public library and also the Delridge, High Point and White Center branch libraries, and the offices of the Environmental Coalition of South Seattle at 8201 10th Ave. S.

A public hearing on the draft review is scheduled at 5 p.m. Nov. 3 in the gymnasium at Concord Elementary School, 723 S. Concord St.

Here & Now is compiled by Seattle Times staff reporter Charles E. Brown and news assistant Suesan Whitney Henderson.

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