David Brewster, a founding member of Post Alley, has a long career in publishing, having founded Seattle Weekly, Sasquatch Books, and Crosscut.com. His civic ventures have been Town Hall Seattle and FolioSeattle.
Books are a big draw, but the Gronigen Forum also has lots more: movie theaters, exhibition halls, an auditorium, a comics museum, a hip restaurant and bar, and a rooftop "market square" with great views. (And shops.)
Instead of concentrating tech companies and venture capital in a few American cities (Seattle, Bay Area, Boston), we should spread the wealth and invest in once-grand legacy cities such as St. Louis, Cincinnati, Cleveland.
Take away the candidates who captivate the college-educated whites, and suddenly the "wine-track" voters hold the balance of power between Bernie and Joe.
He has wise advice on dealing with the immediate threat as well as the long-term problems. Among the proposals: more investment in health clinics in poor countries; extensive public funding to speed up development of vaccines, so pharmaceutical companies can risk a deep investment; international collaboration and data-sharing.
It's interesting to note that Seattle, not particularly known for its architecture, showcases four famous and influential architects. The Dutchman Koolhaas, a former journalist and compelling writer, has forged a new kind of boldly engineered third-wave, ironic modernism.
We have a replay of the 2016 Republican primary, where one candidate with an unshakeable 25% of the party (Trump) is able to prevail against the crowded field of mainstream candidates, none of whom can dominate the field and few of whom are willing to bow out in time to fend off the putsch.
The Times may be stuffy (less so now), and its socially-liberal/fiscally-conservative editorial page grates against the progressive Seattle groupthink. But it hasn't been snapped up, gutted, or chained. Amazingly, it's still there, proudly independent. That's rare. But for how much longer?