Gird for Gridlock: Freeways are so dumb. Unfortunately, we are stuck in a world where we rely on them. And, in this world, they are old and broken and need a whole lot of fixing. This weekend will kick off 30 days of the northbound lanes on I-5 to repave the Ship Canal Bridge. That’s only the first stage of the project, though. This 30-day closure only fixes a 900-foot-long section. To tackle more construction necessities, the bridge will be closed occasionally for construction until 2027. According to the Seattle Times, the freeway will be closed starting at “the I-90 junction to Northeast 45th Street, from 11:59 p.m. Friday, July 18,

This morning, in front of a small crowd of union members at City Hall, mayoral candidate Katie Wilson stood at a podium to accept an endorsement from PROTEC17. 

“I am so honored to receive the endorsement of PROTEC17, and so grateful to the thousands of city employees who have decided to put their faith in our campaign because they believe in our vision of what Seattle can be,” she said. 

The Working Families Party, the small but mighty progressive political party, spoke about why they were endorsing her. So did reps from UAW 4121 (graduate school workers), WFSE 1495 (state employees), the American Federation of Teachers (obvious,

The sun beat down on the Capitol Hill gatehouse structure as the temperature slunk toward 90 degrees. Pigeon behinds butted over the lip of the building’s roof, pooping with abandon. A person named Bug stood on the small walkway jutting into the park’s reflecting pool and scraped at one of the arched windows, attempting to free Seattle’s new favorite art piece, a guerilla mosaic known as Saint Rat or Hot Rat Summer, from the prison of paint slapped on by the maintenance team at Seattle Public Utilities (SPU). Another person, Cyanasen (the unofficial custodian of the saintly rat), kept watch while smoking a joint. 

“I come here daily. I

Weather: News-wise, I’m not gonna lie to you, it’s gonna suck harder than a Hoover vacuum in a black hole. But while the headlines are a disaster buffet, and no, you can’t skip the sides, thank the maker for small mercies (at least if you live in Seattle): clear skies and a high of 85. Sure, the world spirals into climate collapse and political absurdity, at least the sun’s still pretending everything’s fine.

Not all of Western Washington is catching a break, though. Temps hit the 90s in some areas yesterday, and since we now live in a world where the weather is actively trying to kill us, the

Zumdieck Park

To mark National Park and Recreation Month this July, the City of Bellevue is highlighting the range of parks and playgrounds available across the city. From neighborhood play areas to waterfront destinations, Bellevue offers a variety of outdoor spaces designed to support recreation, community connection, and time in nature. Residents are encouraged to explore both well-known and lesser-visited parks throughout the city.

Featured Parks Across Bellevue: Bridle Trails Valley Creek Park (4432 140th Ave. N.E.): Features adventure play elements, a loop trail, and both hard and soft-surface paths surrounding a protected wetland—built with walkers, wheelchairs, and strollers in mind. Bridle Trails Corner Park (N.E. 24th

I take the Link train to work four days a week, and I’d love to have a place to put my coffee. I mean, we do live in Seattle, we drink lots of coffee—a few cup holders would be so nice. I can set my li’l coffee down and read my book.

P.S. If the train gods do add cup holders and people start leaving trash or their empty coffee cups on the train, I’m sorry. I’ll submit a new rant. We can’t have anything nice. I’ll hold my damn coffee.

Do you need to get something off your chest? Submit an I, Anonymous and we’ll illustrate it!

It’s a Godless 90 degrees. You’ve escaped the inferno of your non-airconditioned apartment and high-tailed it to Madison Beach. The dock is waiting for you to jump off of it into the cool of Lake Washington. You even waited 30 minutes after eating. But there’s a problem: The beach is closed. The water is full of shit. Welcome to hell.

All summer, beaches in King County shut down due to bacteria and toxins in the water.

The issue isn’t with the water quality in the county’s big lakes as a whole, but with certain shorelines (and a few smaller lakes). The bacteria and toxins fluctuate day to day, which

Weather people are predicting that today might be the hottest one of the year. The sun, which will face no opposition from clouds, is set to grill Seattle with temperatures that surpass 90. Yesterday was supposed to be as bad, but, mercifully, it never went beyond the mid-80s. Also the city enjoyed bursts of breezes on Tuesday and Monday (Sunday was just the worst). These breezes were the real deal. Each, though brief, had the power to substantially cool a sweaty body. One such breeze I encountered around 3 pm shook the leaves around me in a way that recalled a famous scene in Andrei Tarkovsky’s masterpiece The Mirror.

I know what you’re thinking: Didn’t we just do this? Yes. Yes, we did. King County has already held two special elections this year, in February and April. But democracy does not rest! It’s the 2025 primary election, bitches! It is time, once again, to put blue or black ink to oblong bubble and make some big choices about our future.

Sure, local primary elections have a reputation for being uneventful snoozefests, but some very vital decisions will be made come August 5. Not only will Seattle voters narrow down the crowded mayoral candidate field—in which there are currently nine contenders—but we also get to decide who’ll take on