Rob Smith
Seattle’s Most Influential People
Making a significant difference in our community
Five women fighting Asian hate. The Medical Mythbuster. A woman in charge of revamping Seattle’s waterfront. The Civic Poet of Seattle.
They are just four of Seattle magazine’s Most Influential People of 2024. These extraordinary individuals sometimes (not always) toil in obscurity, but they’re fighting to improve their communities with whatever means available. They are truly heroes working to make our constantly changing city, state, and nation more livable, accessible, and equal.
Hey Seattle, We Like Smoke Shops, Taylor Swift, and The Last of Us
Google search data reveals some interesting trends about the Emerald City.
Google has released its annual “Local Year in Search” data for 2023, for both Seattle and the U.S. The trends reveal some obvious and downright strange interests.
Black Black Friday launches in Seattle
The event is designed to boost Black-owned businesses
An initiative launched in Seattle encourages residents to spend money at Black-owned businesses, starting on Black Friday. Called Black Black Friday, the movement was organized by Laura Clise, founder and CEO of the Intentionalist, an online directory of thousands of small businesses owned by women, people of color, veterans, LBGTQ+, families, and differently abled people,…
Retail Crime in Washington the Worst in U.S.
Forbes Advisor report finds that retailers here are ‘most impacted’
A few years ago, a thief brazenly used a pair of bolt cutters to snip the wires securing several high-end purses at the former Macy’s department store in downtown Seattle. He then calmly left the store. Retail theft remains a driver of numerous store closures throughout the city — Target and Bartell Drugs are two…
The Tinsel is No Longer in a Tangle
Seattle shoppers are ready to spend this holiday season
One iPad pro: $799. One 24” MacBook: $1,599. If those are on your holiday shopping list, chances are you’ve already busted your budget. The 2023 Deloitte Seattle Holiday Retail Survey finds that the “average” holiday spend in Seattle is $2,073, up a whopping 59% from two years ago. That’s not all. That $2,073 is 25%…
Editor’s Note: An Experience That Lives Forever
The world isn't always as it seems
It was Friday night after a long week. I had just arrived home. The red light was flashing on my answering machine (remember those?). I was ready for the weekend. The call crushed me. My first love, my high school sweetheart, my partner in mischief, had passed away due to complications from Multiple Sclerosis. Gwen…
UW Launches Final Phase of Campaign to Restore Historic ASUW Shell House
Effort coincides with release of The Boys in the Boat on Christmas day
The race is on. The University of Washington has launched the final phase of an ambitious campaign to restore the historic shell house where the 1936 Gold-medal winning Olympic rowing team once trained. The “Pull Together” campaign is designed to encourage final gifts toward the renovation of the century-old ASUW Shell House on the Montlake…
‘The Answer is in Us’
Equity expert Erin Jones encourages everyone to ‘show up for one another’
Erin Jones has a unique perspective on race. She was put up for adoption after her white birth mother’s family refused to let the mixed-race child come home. She was adopted by a white couple whose parents also struggled to accept her. She was raised in Minnesota until age 5, and then moved with her…
Back Page: Not Making The Grade
Seattle Public Schools Was Under A Harsh Spotlight In 1968
Before the 2023-2024 school season kicked off, Seattle Public Schools had some big decisions to make regarding a $131 million budget deficit. Back in 1968, SPS faced similar challenges, as detailed in Seattle magazine’s cover story from November of that year. Staff writer Ruth Wolf cited a highly critical report that said students were being…
Love at First Spark
Redmond pizza joint earns another honor
Italy loves Spark Pizza. The venerable Redmond restaurant has been named one of the Top 50 Pizzerias in the United States for the second consecutive year by Italian publication 50topizza.it. The online guide recognizes the best pizzerias in the world and is updated annually. Spark last year finished No. 48. It finished No. 31 this…
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