What Trump’s Hiring Freeze means to our Stressed National Parks

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The Trump resign-or-else message to federal workers is particularly insulting to park employees. Tell that to Mt. Rainier climbing rangers, or search and rescue teams who find lost hikers in the Olympics.

Everyone can see the Potential: But Historic Fort Worden Languishes

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The Fort Worden PDA raised millions from private and public sources, borrowed millions more, hired scores of people and set out to transform the park into a regional venue for “life-long learning.” It didn’t work

100% Beef: Dick’s Drive-In Stand the Test of Time

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Founder Dick Spady believed in keeping it simple. While other hamburger outlets added variations like bacon burgers, fishwiches and chicken burgers, Dick’s stuck to classic hamburger and cheeseburgers.

Peace of Mind in the ‘Attention Economy’

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If the attention economy is new, the inner conflict between what we should do and what we actually do is very old, as old as Scripture.

Proposed New SoDo Housing Revives Vigorous Pushback from the Port

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City Council President Sara Nelson’s proposal would permit about 1,000 housing units just south of T-Mobile Park on two blocks within the special stadium district, reviving an old debate

Those “It Factor” Wines

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Short bottles is a term my wife and I invented some years back, when it became clear that on certain occasions we had to...

Sen. Ron Wyden: Making Noise with Fearless Chutzpah

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“It Takes Chutzpah” has a serious goal, offloading what Wyden has learned and what works. Wyden has lived by the premise that anything worth doing is worth doing with enthusiasm. 

Looking for Surviving Footprints of the Lewis & Clark Expedition

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Historian Bernard DeVoto described this real estate deal (the purchase of western land from Napoleon) as "one of the most important events in world history."  America doubled its size at the stroke of a pen.

British Columbia Goes Hedgehog in Response to Trump Threats

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“We are relatively small compared with south of the border,” Eby said in an interview, discussing his country’s and province’s economy. BC has mapped out a response “as targeted as possible.”

Dishing Out Food in Pioneer Square on A Sweet Snow...

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I made extra rice and chopped everything I had. The lunch at Das Gasthaus was quite wonderful and festive and went on past 2 -- a lovely, deep snow.

Olympia Report: Private Equity Homebuyers, Flavored Cigarettes

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How many homes does private equity own in Washington today? Hard numbers are hard to come by for our neck of the woods, but there’s a wealth of data on the matter at the national level.

Get with the Program: Trump’s Post-DEI Test

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Is the right answer to my promotion exam, Deep State Transgenders, or Illegal War-Mongering Ukrainian Immigrants?

What History Tells Us about the Name of the Gulf...

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The present occupant of the White House has obviously never read history or cares to. Trump and his supporters prefer a puerile chauvinism to histories that more properly define us.

Not Funny: Trump’s Threats to Greenland Would End NATO

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In a menacing ultimatum more befitting a mafioso than a newly empowered world leader, Trump has declared that Greenland will become an American property one way or another.

How to Get More People into Drinking Wine? It Starts with...

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For me the joy of wine discovery was driven by the same self-interest, and just as personal as any compelling hobby or avocation.

The Transactional President: Trump Vs Religion

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Despite three marriages, thousands of lies and countless demeaning of others, our 47th president has acquired a frervent, formidable amen corner among some Christians.

The Gentlelady from Washington Carves Up RFK Jr.

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The onetime preschool teacher from Shoreline was uniquely positioned to press the nominee. Murray is the Senate’s longest serving Democrat.

Olympia Update: Taxing Airbnb Rentals, School Truancy, Lot-Splitting

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Senate Bill 5576 would impose a 6% excise tax on short-term rentals statewide starting in 2026 to pay for local affordable housing programs.

Oh Canada: No 51st State This!

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The late PM Pierre Elliott Trudeau, father of Justin, famously equated living next door to the United States with being in bed with an elephant. Even if the beast is benign, said he, you “feel every twist and grunt.”

New Seattle Social Housing for Seattle? Voters Decide Feb. 11 and...

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There are some in the local political world who believe that lots of Seattle voters think social housing is low-income housing, something they’re used to voting for in large majorities. But social housing is not low-income housing, at least not primarily.

The Case for a Collaborative Approach to Social Housing

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This February 11, Seattle voters will decide whether to accept or reject a continuous funding plan for social housing. Two competing housing plans are on a ballot mailed out on January 22 and must be returned by election day.

Adventures in Writing: Remembering Seattle Journalist Eric Scigliano, 71

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Facts were sacred to Eric, and his writing was crystalline, twinkling with wit and erudition. It’s like living stone – it’s vital, and it lasts.

The Battle for Preserving Hells Canyon

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Happy golden anniversary, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area! Roll on, Snake River, roll on!

Slow Down, Ya Move too Fast! (Solution: Maybe Italy?)

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Italy forces you to slow down and enjoy life, which is one of the many factors of better health.

What Is Elegance in Wine?

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Wine writing, in particular, is a minefield of vague and poorly defined terms. Meander past the usual rundown of fruits and vegetables, obscure soil types and names of barrel makers, and you’re still not out of the woods.

The Writing’s on the Wall: The Debate over getting it off

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Estimates are that the 16 individuals charged have inflicted $100,000 in damages. Prosecutor Manion said, “Dangling from a freeway to tag traffic signs is not art. Tagging buses and sound traffic cars is not art.” 

Review: Seattle Opera’s ‘Trojans’

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Dido’s “mad scene,” her unrestrained rage and the ensuing lament Adieu, fière cité, requires a singer of considerable vocal heft, and while Bridges lacked a steely edge, she brought off the gran scena beautifully.

Threats Multiply to our Free Press

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We’ve entered fraught days for the future of public discourse in the United States. Consider some of the news in the three months or so before Trump’s inauguration.

What will a Marco Rubio-led State Department Look Like?

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Trump’s appointment of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) to helm the State Department infused a note of sobriety into expectations of how to stop the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II. 

Year after Year: How Ichiro did it

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If 10 consecutive seasons of 200-plus hits means anything, Ichiro found a balance better than anyone. Ichiro was a master of himself. That allowed him to find balance, persistence and endurance to be so good for so long.

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Seattle Primaries: A Bad Night for Incumbents

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The state has a new star in King County Executive frontrunner Girmay Zahilay, running well ahead of County Council colleague Claudia Balducci.