Why ferries are keepers of funny money

Hey Johnston: How come the Washington state ferry system is the keeper of the funny money that has been minted in the past few years? The $2 bills and 50-cent pieces are bad enough, but the other day I was given a handful of the $1 coins! What's up with that?

Answer: The ferry system makes a lot of change and happens to be on the top of the banks' list when new coins or bills show up, said Susan Harris-Huether of Washington State Ferries.

"We're not wild about it," Susan said about the honor of trying out every new coin and bill coming out of the U.S. Treasury. "But that's what the banks send us."

These new $1 coins seem to be more successful than the Susan B. Anthony dollar coins that came out two decades ago. She said she hasn't had any complaints about the new coins.

Hey Johnston: We got how to deal with illegally parked or abandoned vehicles only partly correct. King County Code Enforcement said there is a big difference between abandoned and junked vehicles.

Here is the difference and what can be done. . . .

Answer: This follow-up comes from Duncan Fowler, King County ombudsman, who sent us the codes and laws on vehicles that are left in apartment parking lots and other places.

We tried to tell a reader how to get rid of a car that had been parked in her apartment lot for some time and looked abandoned. As it turns out, there are more rules and regulations about these vehicles than we have room to print.

Basically, it's difficult to get a vehicle removed from a parking lot unless you are the owner of that lot. The parking-lot owner has to post signs saying what happens to abandoned or illegally parked vehicles. They can be towed.

A junked vehicle is different. It must be 3 years old or older, extensively damaged (broken windows, missing tires or wheels), apparently inoperable and have a fair-market value equal to the value of the scrap in it.

An officer needs to inspect the vehicle to make sure it meets three of these conditions, and the property owner then has to send a notice to the registered owner. If the vehicle remains for 15 more days, it can be towed away.

Finally, the location of the vehicle determines the agency of authority. If in an unincorporated area, call King County. Otherwise, call the local city's code-enforcement office.

If you need help with any county problem, call Duncan at 206-296-3452.

Hey Johnston: This is in reference to the plastic bags in which the home-delivered Seattle Times arrives. For some years now, I saved the bags and occasionally returned them to our carrier for reuse. With The Times going to mornings, we will never again see our carrier, so we have lost a way to recycle these bags. They say they are recyclable but are rated "4." Where can we recycle these bags?

Answer: Your Times carrier pays for these bags and can reuse them. Call the circulation department at 206-464-2121 and say you want to return the bags to your carrier. Say where you will leave the bags (hanging off the mailbox, fence post, etc.), and they should be picked up.

By the way, plastic bags that come with your groceries can go back to the store, but the stores don't want the long skinny bags used to hold newspapers.

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@seattletimes.com