Seattle’s film unions push back against City Hall’s new ‘creative economy’ strategy

A coalition of more than 2,000 film and music professionals say they feel like an afterthought in the city’s plans.

by

Margo Vansynghel

/ November 15

These young activists want Washington and Oregon to be bolder on climate — so they sued their governors

A win could mean more aggressive action to avoid climate disaster. Some environmental leaders think the lawsuit is a distraction from the action Jay Inslee and Kate Brown are pushing for.

by

Carl Segerstrom

/ November 15 November 15, 2019

WA Supreme Court approves Seattle law requiring landlords to accept first qualified applicant

The unanimous ruling has broader implications for future property cases.

by

David Kroman

/ November 14 November 14, 2019 /

Updated Nov. 14 at 3:20 pm

A photo illustration of campaign flyers for and against Kshama Sawant

Seattle PACs spent $4 million on the election. Who got paid?

The committees spent heavily with out-of-state companies, flooding the city with mailers and canvassers.

by

David Kroman

/ November 14 November 14, 2019

12 years and counting: Effort to lock Hanford’s radioactive waste in glass faces more delays

Feds aim to push back the opening of ‘glassification’ plants, while state officials say the Department of Energy has been underfunding the cleanup of America’s most poisoned site.

by

John Stang

/ November 14 November 14, 2019

An actor in Indian-style garb performs on stage

Things to do in Seattle: Nov. 14 - 20

Vets sing with Seattle Opera, an interactive East Indian play/party, a local classical composer pens an ode to artistic freedom and more arts happenings.

by

/ November 14 November 14, 2019

Opinion

The view from The Phinney

November 15

Katie Wilson, a contributing columnist, is the General Secretary of the Transit Riders Union.

Managing an apartment building in the early days of the housing crisis, I got a glimpse of the old Seattle.

Opinion

Can Amazon become a responsible urban citizen?

November 14

Knute “Mossback” Berger is Crosscut's Editor-at-Large.

Historian Margaret O'Mara argues the company needs to become much more broadly civically engaged.

Opinion

Signs of turbulence at Boeing existed long before the 737 Max tragedies

November 13

T.M. Sell is professor of political economy at Highline College.

If the company is serious about reclaiming its position as the world’s leading jetbuilder, it needs to change its approach.

Making sense of climate change through art

Season

1

,

Episode

26

Three artists and a curator explore the connection between art and the environment.

A panelist responds to a question at the Crosscut Festival.

Crosscut Talks

What a future for journalism looks like

Season

1

,

Episode

25

Seattle media leaders discuss another difficult year and their efforts to chart a path forward.

Crosscut Talks

Will women’s professional sports ever get a fair shake?

Season

1

,

Episode

24

Players, coaches and owners discuss the past, present and future of the movement to gain more attention and equal pay for female athletes.

See all podcasts

Features

Focus: Equal Play

Shelter for the Storm: Seattle women’s hoops will finally have a suitable home, but not without sacrifice

As the city's WNBA franchise excelled, the team’s home court crumbled. Now it is looking at a bright future with a new facility.

by

Alex Coffey

/ October 25 /

Updated at 1:15 p.m.

Ames Bros. founders Barry Ament and Coby Schultz in their SoDo studio

Culture

Seahawks draft Seattle artists for new series of game-day posters

With proceeds funding art education in Seattle schools, the limited edition screen prints are a win-win.

by

Brangien Davis

/ October 30

More features

12 years and counting: Effort to lock Hanford’s radioactive waste in glass faces more delays

Feds aim to push back the opening of ‘glassification’ plants, while state officials say the Department of Energy has been underfunding the cleanup of America’s most poisoned site.

by

John Stang

/ November 14, 2019

Culture

Things to do in Seattle: Nov. 14 - 20

Vets sing with Seattle Opera, an interactive East Indian play/party, a local classical composer pens an ode to artistic freedom and more arts happenings.

by

/ November 14, 2019

A person in a crowd holds a sign that reads "We have always existed."

Equity

'Nonbinary genders are valid': Washington state begins issuing licenses with gender marker 'X'

The rule change makes the state the 17th in the country to present an option aside from male or female.

by

Ragini Gupta

/ November 14, 2019

Opinion

Signs of turbulence at Boeing existed long before the 737 Max tragedies

If the company is serious about reclaiming its position as the world’s leading jetbuilder, it needs to change its approach.

by

T.M. Sell

/ November 13, 2019

A plot of land with dry brush and a river

Environment

A small Washington town may build the world's largest methanol plant, but do locals want it?

In Kalama, the promise of jobs and the peril of greenhouse gas emissions are keeping neighbors divided over a proposed methanol plant to be built along the Columbia.

by

Ian Edwards

/ November 13, 2019

Politics

Washington state might have just elected its first two Muslim women to office

Varisha Khan is holding onto a narrow lead in her race for a seat on the Redmond City Council. Zahra Roach has clinched a seat on the Pasco City Council.

by

Lilly Fowler

/ November 13, 2019 /

Updated 9:45 a.m. Thursday

Growth

Does Cascadia High-Speed Rail have a future after Initiative 976?

Voters gutted transportation budgets statewide in this year's election, but supporters of the effort to ease transit between Portland, Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., see a path forward.

by

Gregory Scruggs

/ November 13, 2019

How to die a good, green death

by

Manola Secaira

/ October 31

Focus: Equal Play

Girls hockey is growing in Washington — and it isn’t dependent on boys programs anymore

by

Beatriz Costa Lima

/ October 25

An election worker handles ballots in a red sorting tray.

Politics

Election security will be key in 2020. Washington state is already ahead of the curve

by

Melissa Santos

/ October 10 /

Updated 1:47 p.m. Oct. 11, 2019

Opinion

In Seattle, a tax on big business is now more possible than ever

November 12

Katie Wilson, a contributing columnist, is the General Secretary of the Transit Riders Union.

The passage of Tim Eyman's car-tab initiative underscores the need to right our upside-down tax system. Here's how to enlist Amazon in the cause.

Washington voters rejected greed last week — from both corporations and the government

November 11

John Carlson is a contributing columnist covering politics in Seattle and Washington state.

Plus, what we learned about Amazon, party loyalty, and the perceived liberalism of voters.

Are the rich secretly hoarding their wealth in Seattle’s luxury condos?

November 11

Chuck Collins directs the Program on Inequality at the Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive think tank.

According to a new study, nearly half of units in one downtown building were owned by anonymous entities.

WTO: Did Everyone Lose the Battle of Seattle?

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Twenty years ago this November, the world’s attention turned to Seattle where a meeting of the World Trade Organization was disrupted by thousands of protesters who filled the city’s streets. The conflict that followed shook Seattle and laid bare deep frustrations with the excesses of globalization and fears about the impact of free trade.

While it failed to stop the WTO, the three days of conflict did renew the power of grassroots political protest in the U.S. It set the course for Occupy Wall Street and other populist movements, and helped to shape the dialogue around economic equity in the 21st century.

Joined by prominent figures from the events, historians and today’s political analysts, we look back at the WTO with the benefit of hindsight to revisit those dramatic days, and to consider what the protests, responses and anxieties of those times may have foretold about our economic and political reality today.

More events

Washington state might have just elected its first two Muslim women to office