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Thursday morning's headlines

Workers place updated signs outside the remodeled Cinerama in downtown Seattle last month. The movie palace reopens tonight for a midnight showing of the latest Harry Potter sequel.
Gary Davis/KPLU
Workers place updated signs outside the remodeled Cinerama in downtown Seattle last month. The movie palace reopens tonight for a midnight showing of the latest Harry Potter sequel.

Get Ready for Brrrr

Are you ready for snow? There's a possibility you'll see some late Sunday or early Monday in northwest Washington. The north Olympic Peninsula, the San Juan Islands and Whatcom County have the best chance for snow.  Conditions may bring it south to the Seattle area.

UW meteorologist Cliff Mass notes in his blog the cold front will be the chilliest (with lows in the 20's and lower 30's) since last year. Mass writes Seattle and c

...the cold will be brief, the snow light if it comes at all, and normality will return well before people have to travel for Thanksgiving.

The temperature drop arrives on the heels of the system that dumped 10 to 20 inches of snow in the mountains yesterday, according to the National Weather Service in Seattle.

 Get Ready for Grrrr

Driving through Seattle's U District and Montlake neighborhoods could be nearly impossible this evening. There's a football game at Husky Stadium that kicks off at - of all times - rush hour. The UW-UCLA game starts at 5 pm. Many Metro bus routes are affected. Warnings of traffic nightmares are coming from King County and state transportation offices. TheSeattle PI reports:

For fans planning to attend the game, there will be no public parking at or near the stadium because classes will be in session. The university running chartered buses from several park-and-ride locations around Seattle.

It's a big game for UW fans. The Seattle Times reportsthe emotion is running high at Montlake as quarterback Jake Locker prepares for his final game at Husky Stadium.

As one Seattle Theater Reopens, Another to Close

The Cinerama shows off its remodel with a midnight showing of the new Harry Potter sequel tonight.  Paul Allen saved the palace a few years ago.  Now, the theater built in 1963 has the latest digital projection technology, a new sound system and screen.

But as Seattle movie-goers regain the Cinerama,they're about to lose lower Queen Anne's Uptown. The Seattle Times reports its chain owners AMC believe the Uptown "can't compete effectively in the marketplace."

Smoke is Out

Today is the annual Great American Smokeout, and state health officials are pounding the pavement to tell you why smoke is definitely out.  They're offering evidence that state-funded anti-smoking efforts, like the telephone Quit-Line, are saving lives and reducing tobacco-related hospitalizations. KPLU's Keith Seinfeld reports:  

The study has not been peer reviewed yet, although it has been submited to an academic journal. It was conducted by outside researchers in Oregon. It comes as those same anti-smoking programs are getting trimmed to the bone.

TheLos Angeles Times reportsnationwide:

The percentage of men who actively smoke has dropped from 33% in 1980 to 16% last year. The number of cigarettes smoked per day fell from 24 to 14 over those three decades. For women, the percentage of active smokers declined from 33% to 12% over the same period, and the number of cigarettes per day went from 21 to 10.

 

UPS Educator Names State's Top Prof

A beloved educator and Tacoma native is in Washington D.C. today to receive a prestigious Carnegie Foundation award as Washington State's top professor. Mike Veseth is a longtime economics professor at the University of Puget Sound.  The competitive award is partially based on student testomonials, which have poured in over the years. The News Tribune spoke with Veseth, who said:

“It’s a nice recognition of a lifetime of effort,” he said. “Personally, I’m pleased because of what it says about my students. My own mentors helped me so much, it makes me proud to think I contributed that to my students.”

Veseth helped found and directs the school's International Political Economy Program.