Lack of Snow on Mt. Baker, Dinosaur Bone Found

The top Seattle news stories you should be reading today

By Cassady Coulter May 21, 2015

WSF Tacoma from Clinton to Mukilteo with Mount Baker in the background. Shot from WSF Tokitae from Edmonds to Kingston.

Ski to Sea

There’s not enough snow on Mount Baker for this year’s annual Ski to Sea Race. The race in Bellingham traditionally starts with contestants skiing or snowboarding down the mountain, and ending at Bellingham Bay. This year, they’re doing two mountain bike legs instead to compensate for the lack of snow. According to King 5 News, “The Mount Baker Ski Area said such modifications have been necessary only one other time in the race’s 100-plus years.”

Dinosaur bones in Washington

The Seattle Times reports that the first dinosaur bone has been found in Washington—80 million years later. The bone is believed to be a leg bone from an animal from the T. rex family and is 16.7 inches long, weighing approximately 15 pounds. The article notes that the fossil is such a rare find because 80 million years ago, most of this region was under water. The fossil was found by accident at Sucia Island Park in the San Juans in April 2012. Scientists believe it is a piece of the creature’s femur, and it is still a mystery how it ended up here. The bone is now on display at the Burke Museum at the University of Washington.

Bear makes appearance at Bellevue School

MyNorthwest reports that a bear wandered onto the playground at Eastgate Elementary School Thursday morning. Children were kept indoors during the sighting and the bear continued on East into the greenbelt adjacent to the school.

Seattle 5^th most energy-efficient city

The rankings released by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) put Seattle as the 5^th most energy-efficient city in the U.S.. According to GeekWire, that puts us, “behind Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco respectively.” The ACEEE says the five factors that determine this score are: Local government operations, community-wide initiatives, buildings’ policies, energy and water utilities, and transportation policies. Seattle got rewarded for “tackling efficiency problems” in our water system. And Portland wasn’t far behind us: It ranked 8th overall.

Tomorrowland

According to the West Seattle Blog, West Seattle native Jeff Jensen co-wrote and was the executive producer for the movie Tommorrowland, starring George Clooney, which opened Thursday. Jensen grew up in West Seattle and went to Hope Lutheran School and Seattle Lutheran High School. He is also known for writing Before Tomorrowland, which he calls a “distant prequel to the movie.”

Seattle Investor Makes Strong Statement

According to GeekWire, PicMonkey CEO and Seattle entrepreneur, Jonathan Sposato, says he’ll only back startups with at least one female founder. Speaking at a keynote at the Seattle Angel Conference, Sposato remarked that he has found it’s more difficult for women-led companies to raise money, which he calls a, “disturbing trend” and one he hopes to change. Sposato has invested in companies such as GeekWire, GlamHive, EveryMove and PokitDok.