Knute Berger

Sasquatch, Bezos and Seattle's Space Race

Sasquatch, Bezos and Seattle’s Space Race

A UFO sighting near Mount Rainer was the real start of our space age, says Knute Berger, and it fits right in with the Northwest psyche

A spooky model of the disk (UFO?) that Kenneth Arnold reported over the Cascades

Bellevue's University Bookstore to Close, but the East Side Keeps Its Edge

Bellevue’s University Bookstore to Close, but the East Side Keeps Its Edge

Bellevue is in many ways more “urban” than Seattle now—certainly, it’s racially more diverse, which is complete flip from the white-bread suburbs of the ‘60s and ‘70s

Berger supervising a photo shoot of Bill Gates and Brian “The Boz” Bosworth in 1988

Washington's Electors More Faithless Than Any Other State; They Should Pay

Washington’s Electors More Faithless Than Any Other State; They Should Pay

Faithless electors used to be a very rare thing, and this year, Washington’s were more faithless than any other state’s

The Washington Secretary of State’s Office has sent $1,000 fine notices to the four state “faithless electors” who voted for presidential candidates other than the one who won the state, Hillary Clinton. Presidential electors are selected by state parties and their ballots actually determine who is president. They are supposed to vote for the candidate…

Seattle, Island of Blue

Seattle, Island of Blue

The next four years will challenge Seattle, says Knute Berger. Are we up to the task?

On election night 2016, Seattle learned just how much of a national outlier it is. During the past eight years, the uplifting message of hope personified by Barack Obama led us to believe our own PR: that we were a national role model for social justice, the economy, reform and progressive politics in general. Our…

A Win for NIMBYs and YIMBYs

A Win for NIMBYs and YIMBYs

A backyard cottage in Ballard

Filson’s New Ballard Boutique: Bridging Ballard's Cultural Gap

Filson’s New Ballard Boutique: Bridging Ballard’s Cultural Gap

Filson’s new Ballard location on Ballard Avenue at the intersection of NW Dock Street is a historic building that served most recently as a chandlery

Gray Matters: A Short History of Pike Place Market Tiles, Including Barack Obama's

Gray Matters: A Short History of Pike Place Market Tiles, Including Barack Obama’s

Selling tiles to raise funds for the Pike Place Market started in the 1980s. Today, you can buy a steel “charm” to help fund the market’s expansion

Seattle's Hoop Dreams Grow Again, Raising More Arena Questions

Seattle’s Hoop Dreams Grow Again, Raising More Arena Questions

KeyArena, back in play again.

Looking at Gentrification in Seattle

How historic preservation is boosting diversity at a time of gentrification

Seattle’s Central District is a prime example of an area that’s experiencing extreme change

Solutions to Help Small Businesses are a Start

But if your favorite old dive bar is currently struggling, well, drink up

Shocking news that the famous Carnegie Deli is closing in New York. In the late 1990s, when the Village Voice bought Seattle Weekly, my new boss, publisher David Schneiderman, took me to the Carnegie on the (accurate) assumption that a guy from Seattle named “Knute” had never had a real pastrami sandwich. I was polite…

Once a Dime a Dozen, Homes with Views are Now More Valuable than Ever

The need to accelerate efforts to protect and expand public access to views is high

The Escala building in downtown Seattle

8 Ways to Make Seattle Less Appealing

Some ideas for rebooting our defense mechanisms

I have argued that Seattle should deal with growth in two ways: more housing to increase the supply side, and making ourselves less appealing to reduce demand. Some critters in nature exude chemical to make them taste bad. A few species of tropical frogs are covered in a poisonous slime to make them untouchable, and…

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