Good afternoon. From the KUOW Newsroom, this is Seattle Now. I'm Paige Browning. Here are today's top stories. It's Thursday, April 4th.

Just announced today, light rail service from Seattle to Linwood will start on August 30th. Sound Transit says that's when trains will start

taking passengers at four new stations. Here's Joshua McNichols who went to check out the progress

today. The light rail extension serves stations in Shoreline, Mount Lake Terrace, and Linwood.

At Linwood's new station, workers in neon yellow vests apply decorative

panels to the walls. A speaker blares out various test messages. Do not hold train doors

with them. Voters approved this eight-mile light rail extension back in 2008. Construction began

just before the pandemic. Rising costs pushed the total price above $3 billion.

Sound Transit expects that within two years, the extension will carry 50,000 riders per day.

It's one of several major extensions expected to open in the next few years. Joshua McNickles, KOWW News.

The Seattle School Board has filled two vacant positions with a union leader and a district

alumna. Sammy West has more about them. The board unanimously selected Sarah Clark and Joe

Mizrahi. Board member Brandon Hersey says Ms. Rahi will bring a

unique perspective to the board as a district parent and a leader of the state's largest labor union,

and also as someone who came to the U.S. as a refugee. What comes to mind for me are folks that have

experience in what it's like to be an immigrant to this country, people who are

coming in with really important lived experiences. Vice President Michelle Sarju says Clark will

also bring an important outlook as a woman of color who attended Seattle Public Schools from

kindergarten to graduation. That lived experience in this district, which is its own thing, spoke to me.

Clark is a Garfield High graduate who is now the director of policy at the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.

Clark and Ms. Rahi will serve through November 2025.

Sammy West, KUOW News.

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