Election turnout forecast at 83%

Olympia

Secretary of State Sam Reed is predicting 83 percent voter turnout in November.

If he's right, it would be the best showing for the general election in more than six decades. Ballots will be sent out Friday to most of the state's more than 3.5 million registered voters.

Reed said Monday that the turnout number is based on the high level of interest in the presidential and governor's races and ballot measures, as well as a recent surge in voter registrations. Counties also have predicted high turnout, with six counties saying their turnout could be 90 percent or higher. They are Columbia, Island, Jefferson, Lincoln, San Juan and Wahkiakum.

The statewide general-election turnout average since 1936 is 78.85 percent. The previous record in modern times was 84.5 percent in 1944.

Thirty-seven of the state's 39 counties are voting entirely by mail. King and Pierce counties still have poll sites, though a majority of voters in those counties already vote by mail.

Normandy Park

Missing police bloodhound safe

The Normandy Park police dog who got out of his handler's yard Saturday night in Des Moines is back on duty.

The 2-year-old bloodhound named Rocky was found Sunday night, just eight blocks away.

He's OK. The police records manager, Jean Lindsey, says he was "just out scoping around."

Police and King County sheriff's deputies and a helicopter had searched for the missing dog.

Auburn

Food bank running short, seeking help

With nearly empty shelves, the Auburn Food Bank is asking for food and financial donations.

The number of people served has increased by more than 13,000 this year, and the food bank "is in desperate need," according to a news release from the food bank.

People can bring donations to the food bank at 930 19th Place N.E. in Auburn, inside the Burndale Homes apartment complex, between 9 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on the second Wednesday of the month.

Donations also can be brought to White River Presbyterian Church at 526 12th St. S.E. in Auburn between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday.

Seattle

City to discuss plan for extending trail

The Seattle Department of Transportation will explain the city's plan for an addition to the Burke-Gilman Trail at an open-house meeting Wednesday evening.

The "Missing Link" proposal in Mayor Greg Nickels' budget would provide funding to complete segments of the trail in Ballard by 2010.

The two new trail segments would run along the south side of Northwest 45th Street and Shilshole Avenue Northwest between 11th Avenue Northwest and 17th Avenue Northwest, and from 17th Avenue Northwest to the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks.

Information will be provided at the 6 p.m. open house Wednesday at Adams Elementary School, 6110 28th Ave. N.W., in Seattle, or online at seattle.gov/Transportation/missinglink.htm.

Seattle

Viaduct to close Saturday, Sunday

The Alaskan Way Viaduct will be closed Saturday and Sunday for a semiannual inspection. The state Department of Transportation wants to know that the viaduct is safe for drivers.

Crews will close both decks from 6 a.m. Saturday to 6 p.m. Sunday between South Spokane Street at the south end through the Battery Street Tunnel at the north end. During that time, workers will also repair damaged concrete roadway panels near South Spokane Street, repair expansion joints and damaged bridge rails, apply a protective covering to exposed rebar, and clean the walls of the Battery Street Tunnel.

Traffic may be more congested than usual on all major north-south routes during the closure. Motorists can check traffic conditions at www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic, or by the voice-activated driver-information line, 511.

Seattle

Car plunges into lake; driver unhurt

A car crashed through a fence and over an embankment and landed in Lake Washington around 5:25 p.m. Monday, a Seattle police spokesman said.

The driver of the silver BMW sedan was already out of the car when emergency workers arrived at Rainier Avenue South and South Pilgrim Street, said Seattle fire spokeswoman Helen Fitzpatrick. The man was the only person in the car and was not injured, she said.

Seattle

Top UW officials named to societies

The University of Washington's top two administrators have each been elected to prestigious national societies.

President Mark Emmert has been elected to the National Academy of Public Administration, and Provost Phyllis Wise has been elected to the Institute of Medicine. Another faculty member, Lawrence Corey, has been elected to the Institute of Medicine. Corey heads the UW's virology division and is head of infectious diseases at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Seattle

Gunfire wounds hitchhiking teen

A 17-year-old boy was shot in the thigh by an occupant of a sport-utility vehicle after he tried to thumb a ride, according to Seattle police.

Police said the teen and his 20-year-old girlfriend had left a friend's house on Sunday and were walking on South Spokane Street around 1:30 a.m. when the boy decided to try to hitch a ride.

He stuck out his thumb, police said, and an SUV then drove by the couple slowly. The people in the SUV yelled something to the couple and one of them fired several shots at the victims. The vehicle then sped off east on South Spokane Street.

The girlfriend was not hit. The teen was transported to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

Police homicide detectives are investigating.

Pullman

WSU donations top $143 million

Washington State University received a record $143.6 million in private donations in fiscal 2008, a 56 percent increase over the previous fiscal year.

It was more than $50 million above the previous highest year, $92 million in 2007. The biggest gift was a $25 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation toward the construction of the School for Global Animal Health, which will focus on ways to control infectious diseases that affect both animals and humans.

Olympia

Students to fill out state health survey

Washington middle- and high-school students are sharing information about their health this week in a statewide survey.

Kids in grades six, eight, 10 and 12 will answer questions about smoking, drugs and alcohol, exercise, nutrition and other health issues. The anonymous survey is given every two years. In 2006, 198,000 students participated across the state.

Local results will be sent to school districts next March. They will use the information to guide public-health programs and education.

Times staff and news services