Local News

Weather: Look, we’re as tired of it as you are. Forecasts through the weekend and all the way to the end of next week call for rain or showers. Rained like the dickens yesterday, no? For the weekend: On Saturday we’ll see rain, heavy at times with a high of only 48. Rain Sunday, too, with a high of just 47 degrees. Is your furnace still coming on? The National Weather Service forecast.

Traffic: The map and cams.

Access to Seattle officials, departments and services online is very good, according to a study by the University of Illinois at Chicago. Seattle tied for first place with New York City. The study looked at and ranked the online “interactivity, transparency and accessibility” of the country’s 75 largest cities.  New York and Seattle were followed by Virginia Beach, Va.; Portland, Ore.; San Francisco; and Kansas City, Mo.

Mega Millions drawing tonight. Jackpot: $540 million. The largest in the country’s history.

In this photo provided by NOAA, a ribbon seal is seen in January on a dock in Marysville. It may be the same seal recently spotted near Aberdeen. (AP Photo / NOAA, K.Wilkinson)

A seal that’s a long way from home: A ribbon seal that was seen in various spots in Puget Sound in January has turned up near Aberdeen. Folks who saw it there say they thought it was injured because of the ribbon-like pattern on its coat. It’s apparently OK, just far from its home waters in Alaska and Russia.

The 2012 Washington Geographic Bee is scheduled for today at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. The state winner gets a trip to Washington, D.C., for the national finals.

NBA team in Seattle? Never say never: There apparently are still several potential issues in an agreement between the owners of the Sacramento Kings and the city of Sacramento to build a new arena there, reports in The Los Angeles Times and The Sacramento Bee indicate. Seattle is a relocation option if the Kings move.

Most-read stories this morning on seattletimes.com:

1. Food fight at Sea-Tac ‘a bunch of bologna’?
2. Maybe arena isn’t a done deal in Sacramento, after all
3. Proposed tax on meat pies creates a political stew in Britain
4. A touch of gray: Seahawks expected to unveil new logo, alternate jersey
5. McGinn announces broad initiative to improve police force