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King County Program Aims to Help Students’ Mental Health
More and more students are stressed, depressed and even suicidal. Can a new King County program make a difference?
This article appears in print in the May 2019 issue. Click here to subscribe. It’s a small but alarming statistic. Among kids ages 10–24, suicide is the second-leading cause of death in King County. “We used to have a kid that we needed to hospitalize for suicidality at Seattle Children’s, maybe one kid every three months,” says David Downing,…
Will Congestion Pricing Help Seattle’s Traffic Mess?
The ‘period of maximum constraint’ is just around the corner, and even when it’s over, traffic downtown is likely to be worse than it is today. Can we toll our way out of this mess?
STOPPED UP: Today, traffic barely moves through downtown on Fifth Avenue during rush hour. Could congestion pricing help?
With Affordable Housing Dwindling, These Home Owners Are Fighting Back
In a booming economy, it’s no surprise that developers are eyeing mobile home parks, which house dozens of families, as prime properties for redevelopment. But some residents are finding ways to secure their home
GROUP BUY: In 2016, Steve Aitchison, with other residents of a Lakewood mobile home park, bought the land where 48 homes are located
Underneath Amazon’s Shadow, Local Retail Is Reinventing Itself in Seattle
Retailers throughout the city are getting creative in their fight for survival—and many are thriving
GETTING EXPERIENCE: The new SoDo Starbucks Reserve store is tapping into a consumer demand for experiences, sometimes called “retail-tainment”
Why the Fort Lawton Development in Magnolia Is a Tipping Point in Seattle’s Housing Debate
The city has revived its plans for a mixed-income development at Fort Lawton. But surprisingly, not everyone is opposed
Some Magnolia residents are now in favor of removing these old military buildings at Fort Lawton to make way for a mixed-income development
Why Seattle Schools Can’t Keep a Superintendent
Since 2000, Seattle Public Schools has had eight superintendents. Why aren’t they sticking around— and should they?
When a superintendent has to deal with a domineering or micromanaging board that lacks confidence in him or her, that’s a recipe for dysfunction.
Seattle Renters on Skyrocketing Housing Costs: “You May Love Seattle, But It May Not Love You”
Rents keep going up and up. What are stressed-out Seattleites doing about it?
May Nguyen and Jon Lee, who rent an apartment in Othello, are finding that wage increases aren’t keeping pace with rent increases
Value-Based Health Plans: Healing Medicine?
Our medical costs are out of control. Some local companies are trying value-based health plans. Are they the answer?
Sabrina McKinney faced an important decision two years ago. It was Boeing’s annual open enrollment period, when employees choose a health plan for the following year. McKinney, now in her 39th year with the company, chose something new: a “value-based” health plan. It meant a small monthly health insurance deduction from her paycheck and access…
City Council Office Hours Invite Constituents to Voice Concerns
City Council members are now holding neighborhood office hours. Is it an effective way to govern?
On a bright afternoon at the Ballard library, constituents arrive in a steady stream for their chance to speak for 10–15 minutes with Seattle City Council member Mike O’Brien, who represents northwest Seattle’s District 6. He’s holding his in-district “office hours” for constituents. On this day, they include grizzled baby boomer guys in cargo pants,…
A Disturbing Trend: Evidence in Rape Cases Often Goes Untested
The backlog of untested rape kits goes back years, and it's hindering the justice process
The night she was at a Seattle bar and left her seat to visit the restroom, Leah didn’t expect the man sitting next to her would spike her drink while she was away. Nor did she expect him to rape her later at his apartment. She has only flashes of memory about how she got…