School-closure talks

The Seattle School Board is not done holding public hearings to hear what the public has to say about the school district's plans to close some schools and consolidate others. Another round of public hearings is scheduled next week.

The School Board plans to listen to more public testimony Monday through Wednesday. The following meetings are open, but those wishing to speak should call the School Board office — 206-252-0040 — to sign up:

• Monday, 6:30-8:30 p.m. in Fairmount Park Elementary's cafeteria, 3800 S.W. Findlay St., and in Viewlands Elementary's cafeteria, 10525 Third Ave. N.W., as well as at the New School Commons, 8825 Rainier Ave. S., from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

• Tuesday, 6:30-8:30 p.m. in Graham Hill Elementary's cafeteria, 5149 S. Graham St., and in E.C. Hughes' cafeteria, 7740 34th Ave. S.W., as well as in Martin Luther King Elementary's cafeteria, 3201 E. Republican St.

• Wednesday, 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Pathfinder cafeteria, 5012 S.W. Genesee St., and in the John Marshall auditorium, 520 N.E. Ravenna Blvd., as well as in the Orca cafeteria, 3528 S. Ferdinand St., from 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Weekend watch

• The historic West Point lighthouse in Discovery Park is open to the public on selected weekend days. And this Saturday is one of them. Discovery Park staff will be at the lighthouse from noon to 4 p.m.

The West Point Light Station was the first manned light station in the Puget Sound area, and in 1985 was the last lighthouse to be automated. Seattle's Parks Department acquired the lighthouse from the Coast Guard last year. The lighthouse, built in 1881, also will be open two days next month and three days in August. For information, call 206-386-9110.

• A flaming torch symbolizing world harmony is making its way across the nation in the hands of relay runners, and is scheduled to arrive in the Seattle area on Sunday. A welcoming ceremony will be held at the Ballard Locks on Sunday at 4 p.m. The torch began its cross-country journey April 16 in New York City, and is scheduled to pass through 48 states before returning to New York by Aug. 20. Information is online at www.worldharmonyrun.org/usa.

Can you help?

King County's Parks Department is recruiting volunteers to be trained as parks and trails ambassadors. Volunteers will be asked to commit two hours a week at a designated park or trail, assisting visitors with maps and information.

The ambassador-training program will be explained at three public open houses next week — Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

All open houses will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Tuesday's session will be at REI's Seattle store at 222 Yale Ave. N. Wednesday's will be at the Clise Mansion in Marymoor Park, 6046 W. Lake Sammamish Pkwy. N.E. in Redmond. Thursday's will be at the Weyerhaeuser-King County Aquatic Center, 650 S.W. Campus Drive in Federal Way.

Information about the program and other volunteer openings in the county parks system is online at www.metrokc.gov/parks/stewardship/

Traffic watch

The Fremont Bridge will be closed to vehicle traffic from noon to midnight Sunday for installation of bridge girders. The bridge also will be closed to traffic on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights, starting at 10 p.m., and remain closed overnight, reopening the following mornings at 6 a.m. Boat traffic in the Lake Washington Ship Canal will not be affected by the bridge closures.

Because of the work, North 34th Street will be closed to cars at Fremont Avenue North from 6 a.m. Sunday to 6 a.m. Monday, but will be open to local traffic only between Stone Way North and Fremont Avenue North. Pedestrian and cyclist access westbound on North 34th to Fremont Avenue North will be restricted at times.

During the Fremont Bridge closures, drivers can use the Aurora or Ballard bridges to reach Fremont. The walkways on the Fremont Bridge will be closed at times to cyclists and pedestrians. Alternate routes for cyclists and pedestrians are the Ballard or University bridges.

For the bridge work, a contractor will use cranes to install concrete girders up to 120 feet long for the new roadway approaches to the Fremont Bridge.

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.