May/June 2023

Essentials: Brinnon teacher chosen for Scholastic project

Essentials: Brinnon teacher chosen for Scholastic project

Kindergarten teacher chosen to participate in national project

A kindergarten teacher at Jefferson County’s Brinnon School will help shape the professional development of teachers across the United States. Lisa A. Johnston is among 12 teachers from around the country chosen to participate in the inaugural Teacher Fellows Cohort from children’s publishing, education, and media company Scholastic. The effort will help inform product development,…

Essentials: The Meat of the Matter at Baekjeong Lynnwood

Essentials: The Meat of the Matter at Baekjeong Lynnwood

Baekjeong Lynnwood eyes rapid expansion across Seattle

Things have gone so well for popular Korean barbecue restaurant Baekjeong Lynnwood since its opening last fall that owner Michael Chon is planning several more in the Seattle area. The Los Angeles-based chain opened its first West Coast location outside Southern California to much fanfare last September. Two-hour wait times were common. While that’s died…

Book: A tribute to  Northwest Films

Book: A tribute to Northwest Films

New book details a thriving, rich film culture

David Schmader lives in El Paso, Texas, now, but he’s no stranger to Pacific Northwest culture. Schmader is a former staff writer and editor at Seattle alt publication The Stranger, where he wrote the popular column, “Last Days: The Week in Review” for 18 years. He is also a performer, and his solo plays were…

Seattle Police Chief Diaz: A different kind of cop

Seattle Police Chief Diaz: A different kind of cop

Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz is the right person in the right place at the right time as the department rebuilds after years of unrest

Name a job in the Seattle Police Department, and Adrian Diaz has probably done it. Major Bruce Harrell officially named Adrian Diaz as chief of police last fall after he had served as interim chief since the summer of 2020, replacing Carmen Best. Diaz had been deputy chief for only a month when he found…

Essentials: Seattle's Queer/Pride Fest Returns

Essentials: Seattle’s Queer/Pride Fest Returns

Standalone three-day festival begins June 23

Tickets are on sale for the Pacific Northwest’s largest 21 and over music and arts Pride Festival. The Queer/Pride Festival, held from June 23-25 in the heart of the Capitol Hill neighborhood, features national and local artists, musicians, drag queens and burlesque dancers. Tier 1 tickets sold out quickly, but single-day tickets are still available….

Oregon: The neighbor you think you know

Oregon: The neighbor you think you know

Discover Oregon's many charming quirks

Imagine a dinner party in the neighborhood. The invitation looks familiar, but when you arrive, the event is not at all what you expected. There are many rooms with different themes. The guests are intriguing and inviting. An astronomer chats with a master brewer, a ship’s captain extrapolates on weather patterns with a sommelier, and…

Reclaiming Seattle's Central District

Reclaiming Seattle’s Central District

Ambitious moves aim to bring the Black population back to an historic neighborhood

When Ms. Helen’s Soul Bistro owner Jessi Henton brings her family’s Southern cooking back to Seattle’s Central District this fall, she’ll be dishing up liver and onions, gumbo, catfish, black-eyed peas, and all the other dishes that her mama Helen was known for. To Henton, the restaurant will stand for good home cooking, community, and…

Clarity - Exasperated and Exhausted

Clarity – Exasperated and Exhausted

Burnout is more complicated than you may think

I woke up in Florida on a Sunday morning with a hangover and a patch of angry red bumps on the small of my back. I also couldn’t find the Montreal Expos cap I had been wearing the night before. I had a Seattle Seahawks game to cover that afternoon in Tampa, multiple stories to…

Essentials: Hot Girl Walk Thaws Seattle Freeze

Essentials: Hot Girl Walk Thaws Seattle Freeze

Weekend walkers come together for friendship, community

What began as a way for Courtney Byers to meet some friends in a city known for the “Seattle Freeze” has blossomed into a full-on army. Byers, a women’s strength coach and birth doula who recently moved to the area, created the Seattle chapter of Hot Girl Walk last August. Two women showed up. Nine…

Editor's Note: Spirit of the Sonics

Editor’s Note: Spirit of the Sonics

Basketball-crazy Seattle awaits the NBA’s return

  Back in the ’90s, I rented an apartment near Seattle Center. My buddy — a longtime SuperSonics season ticket-holder — took me to dozens of games at the old KeyArena in exchange for a convenient parking spot at my complex (which, sadly, like many things from that time period, is now gone). Those early-to-mid…

Fave Five: Sail, Stream,  Donate, Create

Fave Five: Sail, Stream, Donate, Create

Enjoy the sun and find a new hobby

1 DON’T WAIT to sail off into the Puget Sound horizon on a 70-foot yacht. You don’t need your own boat. Just buy a ticket or two online and head down to Pier 56 off Alaskan Way and join a Sailing Seattle Cruise, a company family owned and operated here for 40 years. Bring a…

Arts: Seattle's Architect of Light

Arts: Seattle’s Architect of Light

Italian-born artist Iole Alessandrini explores the beauty and emotional impact of working with light

How many colors do you see?” Artist and architect Iole Alessandrini asks me this on a cold, windy evening in late February. We’re sitting in an attic-like nook in her apartment at West Seattle’s Cooper Artist Housing, a 36-unit former school that has been transformed into an affordable live/work space specifically for artists. I’m looking…