Free Republic

Seattle police arrested three suspects Wednesday night after a man was brutally beaten and robbed in Pioneer Square, according to the Seattle Police Department. Around 11 p.m. on August 6, officers responded to a report of an assault near the 300 block of South Main Street. When they arrived, they found a 42-year-old man on the ground with a bleeding head wound. His wallet, phone, and shoes had been taken, police said.

Now that stalled tunnel machine Bertha’s front end is disassembled, the damage looks worse than project experts thought — and contractors will miss their goal to resume digging in August. Not only did grit penetrate the rubber bearing seals, but the steel casings around the seals broke apart, sending fragments into the drive gears. Some teeth are cracked in the giant bull gear, which rotates the circular drill face, as well as several pinion gears that are spun by 24 electric motors. The news was revealed Monday morning by Todd Trepanier, administrator for the state’s Highway 99 replacement project, at...