The Hanford Site, established in 1943 along the Columbia River as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project, near the present day Tri-Cities area of Richmond, Kennewick and Pasco, was home to the world’s first full-scale, plutonium-producing nuclear reactor (known as B Reactor). This weapons-grade plutonium was used in the first atomic bomb–the bomb that was later dropped on Nagasaki–and also in the vast majority of the U.S. nuclear arsenal, comprising more than 60,000 weapons at its peak. Now decommissioned, the reactors at Hanford also expelled a frightening amount of radioactive waste, resulting in one of the world’s largest ongoing clean-up efforts.

This site, once a symbol of our dark past, is slated to become a part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. The National Park Service and the Department of Energy will hold a meeting at the Richland Library on Friday, February 4, to discuss this initiative. The public is invited and encouraged to come between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. to give comments, feedback and suggestions on what should be included in the park, the stories that visitors ought to hear, the potential issues that locals foresee and to get a sense of what the overall experience should be. 

The new U-Link light rail connection to Husky Stadium is expected to open in March—six months ahead of schedule and at least $100 million under budget, according to Sound Transit. This 3.15 mile extension will connect the UW with Capitol Hill and in a short, eight-minute ride. If only Bertha and Seattle Tunnel Partners (STP) had the same success…

Speaking of Bertha: The tunnel-boring machine and known highway ‘boondoggle‘ has created a sink hole in her wake. It was filled with 250 cubic yards of concrete and STP maintains that neither Bertha nor anything around her was affected in any way. However, it’s certainly raised fears over what will happen once Bertha starts drilling under more buildings.

KPLU, Seattle’s much-loved public radio station from Pacific Lutheran University, is launching a fundraising campaign to buy its autonomy. Amid a threat of purchase and rebranding from the UW, KPLU is fighting to maintain the format that’s made it such a bastion of quality news and programming. Join the fight to keep KPLU alive here.

Alan Rickman, the famous and talented British actor, died at the age of 69 from cancer on Thursday.  Known for his distinctly dour and yet lovely voice, Hans Gruber (Die Hard) and Severus Snape (Harry Potter series) simply wouldn’t have worked without him. His numerous and unforgettable contributions to film and theater will be dearly missed.