By mid-July, most Seattleites have clocked the summer clichés: backyard rosé, panic-buying box fans, and chatting with strangers in the grocery store about how nice it is. But here’s something better: bats. Washington is home to 14 species, 10 of which live in western Washington. They’re tiny, nocturnal insectivores that eat thousands of bugs a…

After all those sunny days, the rain came back, and it feels good. The garden’s thriving. Everything smells fresh. It’s nice having to water less. You can feel it elsewhere too. Something’s blooming in bookstores, in community centers, in the way people are showing up for each other. The world still feels heavy, but growth…

June arrives and the city feels like a vacation postcard. Ferries sparkle across Elliott Bay, Mount Rainier shows up in all her majestic beauty, and we locals find ourselves asking, “Do we really live here?” Truth is, Seattle wears all seasons well — but I’ll argue the skyline is never more handsome than on a…

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the hotel’s new name, Populus Seattle. It appeared in print as Hotel Westland. Five  years after the Covid-19 pandemic sent Pioneer Square on a downward spiral — shuttered businesses, closed restaurants, a dearth of people — things are looking up for the city’s first historic district….

It’s a heavy time in the country. ICE raids in L.A. continue. Trump has federalized the National Guard — a move a federal judge has called illegal. A military parade in D.C. this weekend feels more about power than patriotism. The House just passed a bill to defund public broadcasting, targeting NPR, PBS, and local…

The season is starting to turn. Lawnmowers are buzzing, the air smells like barbecue, and suddenly the herbs in the garden are out of control. Here are a few things to love before summer officially begins. Fresh flowers from the farmers market Buckets of peonies, poppies, sweet peas, and snapdragons line the stalls — just…

Seattle and Western Washington are inseparable from the ocean. Maybe you fish or forage from it, kayak or sail on it, surf its swells, hike and camp along its coast, or simply enjoy the sight of the water on a regular basis. The ocean is intertwined with our way of life here. And sometimes it’s…

It’s one of the greatest movies of all time. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, written and directed by John Hughes, gave us the blueprint for playing hooky: a couple of phony phone calls, some light auto theft, a baseball game, a parade with the best lip-syncing scene in cinematic history, and a near mental breakdown. Hughes…

Father’s Day is coming up, and if you’re looking for something local to give or do, we pulled together a few ideas. We know the day can be complicated. Not everyone celebrates, and not every relationship with a father is easy. If you’re honoring someone this year, whether it’s a dad, stepdad, uncle, mentor or…

Is it finally warm enough to leave the house without a backup jacket? Maybe. But this is Seattle, so keep a raincoat crumpled in your bag, just in case. People are digging out camping gear and Googling the least buggy lakes. Summer in the Evergreen State is starting to show up, and not a minute…

Spring’s nearly over, and the birds are making the most of it. Gulls are stealing beach snacks, robins bounce around in the grass, and crows run the block like little mobsters. As the city grows, so do they. Seattle now has 30 to 40 times more crows than it did in the 1960s. We’re lucky….

It’s warm. It’s cold. There’s rain. The sun is out. Spring is strange no matter where you are, but especially here — where the moment the sun blinks at us, we’re in flip-flops at Green Lake. My kids are already in shorts. I’m still turning on the heater every morning and wearing sweaters. Welcome to…