A Monster Of A Road In Renton

Hey Johnston: There's a street in Renton called Monster Road. Why is it named that? I hear that there are animal sacrifices and that a half-man, half-alligator was spotted there.

Answer: Wrong on both counts. When you call Renton City Hall and say you have a question about some obscure fact, everyone agrees that Dee Beedle in the Public Works Department is the person with the answers.

Dee said Monster Road was, indeed, named after a Monster. But it was Charles A. Monster who had a farm along the road years ago. She said the road inspired a scaffolding company to name their business Spider Staging on Monster Road.

Of course Monster jokes don't stop there. Mr. Johnston's sidekick in the office, Jill, said she wished she was married to a Monster so she could name one of her children Biggen Scary Monster. Cheap laughs are hard to come by in our office.

Hey Johnston: Who writes those little blips under the four-day forecast for The Seattle Times' weather page? A recent forecast read, "Mostly cloudy with leftover showers." I asked everyone I know, and no one seems to know what leftover showers are. Is it an extra serving from the day before that nobody wanted?

Answer: Ken Reeves, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather, which supplies those blips, said a leftover shower is the tail end of a weather system. When you have to sum up a day's weather in a few words, you try to be creative.

Hey Johnston: Isn't there a law about quick removal of political signs after the election? On Interstate 405, just before the Northeast 160th Street exit, there is a sign for Ellen Craswell for governor. It's up a very tall tree. Will it ever be removed?

Answer: Those signs are supposed to be removed within a week after an election. So the Craswell sign should have been removed last year, but apparently it was overlooked. It probably was put up there by an overly enthusiastic Craswell supporter with a talent for climbing poles.

We wouldn't hold our breath waiting for that guy to return to the scene to remove the sign.

All those signs for and against the football stadium also should be removed by next week. If you want to report an illegal sign, call 206-296-8100 and give the location of the sign.

Hey Johnston: Now that Metro buses have those signs warning motorists to yield to them, what happens if you don't let them hog their way into traffic?

Answer: Did you notice the buses are a lot bigger than you? If you don't yield, two things will happen. First, you could get a $66 ticket. The second thing that could happen is that your tiny car could be run over.

Dear readers: Sometimes readers ask questions that Mr. Johnston cannot find an answer to. Or he doesn't know whom to ask. So he asks his many readers, and they always know.

Here is the question: What is the deal with the blinking lights on the telephone poles on Redmond-Fall City Road? Are they connected with the strobe light near Union Hill?

How to Just Ask Johnston: This column appears Mondays and Wednesdays in the Eastside edition. Leave your questions on Steve Johnston's voice mail at 206-464-8475. Or write: Just Ask Johnston, c/o The Seattle Times, 10777 Main St., Suite 100, Bellevue, WA 98004. The e-mail address is east@seatimes.com