The company has received a $3 million loan from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, allowing it to cover eight weeks of pay.

Here are a few arts-and-entertainment-y online diversions for the week, from near and far, including Seattle Opera on KING-FM and New York City Ballet.

Earlier this year, clients of the Seattle-based online ticket broker — many of them artists and small-business owners — said they haven't been paid for events, some dating back to last year. Some, still unpaid, have been turning to Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson for help.

ArtsFund on Monday announced new projections about pandemic-related losses in regional arts, cultural and scientific nonprofits, as well as its first round of coronavirus-related relief grants.

COVID-19 has had a devastating effect on workers. The economy has plunged so quickly that official statistics can’t keep up, but the available data suggest that tens of millions of Americans have lost their jobs through no fault of their own, with more job losses to come and full recovery probably years away. But Republicans […]

The high-temperature argument over blame for the coronavirus is rapidly pushing the United States and China into a potentially dangerous new Cold War. President Donald Trump and other administration officials claim that the virus, which many scientists say originally came from a bat, emerged from a Chinese government laboratory in Wuhan. They have offered no […]

Before there was President Donald Trump there was Bibi Netanyahu. I first covered him in 1996 when he was running for prime minister of Israel. He was in his mid-40s then, a not-yet-proven leader, not considered in the same class with the grand old men of the nation, such as his opponent, Shimon Peres, or […]

As Congress bails out airlines, hotels, and cruise lines, it’s disgraceful that a critical public service like the Postal Service would be left out to die.

What do I want for Mother’s Day? I want schools to be back fully operational this fall.

“Coronavirus pushed Seattle to treat homelessness differently. Will those changes last?” [May 3, Project Homeless]: Greater than the fear engendered by exposure to the coronavirus, we are facing our society’s unwillingness to address growing economic inequality. It has taken an extreme crisis for local government to take action that has long been in its grasp. […]

Re: “King County Executive Dow Constantine proposes additional $57 million for coronavirus response” [April 23, Northwest]: While this proposal, expected to be voted on by the Metropolitan King County Council Tuesday, distributes $16 million among small businesses; tourism promotion; homeless-youth programs; and arts and culture groups, it designates no allocation for queer bars and nightclubs. […]

Supporters of local journalism in Congress say a nationwide campaign of public service announcements about COVID-19 would both inform citizens and throw local news outlets a lifeline. But Canada tried the same thing 40 days ago and little of the money has reached news publishers.

Trump claims victory against the virus, but casualties continue to pile up.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee imposed strict measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus and did not flinch from extending them for a second month.

Re: “Pandemic exposes our neglect of children, families” [April 26, Opinion]: Tim Burgess points out that “nowhere are our systemic failures more damaging and longer lasting than in the education of our children,” and he goes on to note research that early learning opportunities in child care and preschool can have a lifetime impact. As […]

Journalists at The Inlander, Spokane's alt-weekly, surprised their boss when they learned a federal loan would put their newsroom back together. Here's why.

Re: “The business of burps: Scientists smell profit in cow emissions” [May 2, Business]: The lengths to which humans will go to subdue and tweak nature and animals for their own whims and profit boggles my mind. When I read that scientist are lending their names and investors money to studies about how to make […]

Gov. Jay Inslee and lawmakers must quickly and transparently cut state spending to get through the virus-induced economic crisis. The urgency of their task is driven home by a new forecast estimating a $7 billion drop in state revenue through 2023. Washington’s chief economist, Steve Lerch, emphasized that’s a preliminary, unofficial prediction, but it should […]

There are no more excuses to use and abuse animals when humankind’s collective minds have conjured up every possible alternative.

Gov. Jay Inslee’s continued lockdown is not giving us transparency on metrics for reopening the state. Even with the so-called “phased approach,” there’s nothing that the public can look for to know whether the next phase is in sight. The governor keeps talking about “data.” The Seattle Times publishes graphs of the daily number of […]

Could this spring be the kick in the pants that finally gets it done?

Re: “How we got here: One country, several nations” [May 3, Opinion]: Thank you to David Horsey for an excellent column that summarized the book “American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America” by Colin Woodard (and also provided a colorful map). It is a book I have shared over […]

Tim Burgess’ Op-Ed “Pandemic exposes our neglect of children, families” [Opinion, April 24] and the letter to the editor “Inequities: Don’t waste opportunity” [May 1, Opinion] demonstrate how low-income people suffer more during a crisis. I agree that a moratorium on evictions and a 15% increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits would help […]

Tell us how you would cut Washington state’s budget, in 200 words or less, at letters@seattletimes.com with “State Budget Cuts” in the subject line. Please include your full name, telephone number and address for verification only.

Re: “Quinault Indian Nation opposes new dam on Chehalis, seeks alternatives” [April 16, Northwest]: As a resident of Lewis County, I appreciate the leadership of the Quinault Nation opposing a massive dam proposed for the Chehalis River. Gratitude should also go to the Chehalis Tribe for its opposition. The Chehalis River is an aquatic artery […]

Re: “Our homelessness crisis is urgent, tragic — and completely solvable” [April 24, Opinion]: The authors, U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Diane Yentel, propose a “Housing is a Human Right Act” taxing and spending $200 billion over 10 years in housing and homelessness services. No details are offered in this solution except block grants that […]

How tragically ironic is it that American farmers are plowing their crops under and dairy farmers are dumping their milk when food banks have more clients than ever before? There must be some way to correct this absurd wastefulness. Chris Syrjala, Seattle

Re: “Seattle will close 6 more miles of street” [April 24, Northwest]: The city’s Stay Healthy Streets initiative provides a safe way to get out and maintain a six-foot perimeter. We need many more of these streets. Seattle is lucky to have a long stretch of public right-of-way that’s ready to become part of the […]

While President Donald Trump pushes for investigation into the possibility of the coronavirus escaping from a lab in Wuhan, China, many scientists are pointing to a live-animal market in that city. Found in many countries around the world but primarily in Southeast Asia, live-animal markets sell domestic, wild and imported animals for human consumption. Conditions […]

Re: “Seattle’s war on employers must end now” [May 3, Opinion]: The solution to the area’s housing problems and its related issues is the creation of more and better paying private-sector jobs. Raising taxes on large employers will only reduce their interest in growing their businesses here when they have options to go to other […]

Re: “Bird-watching soars among bored Americans” [May 3, Nation]: Will Americans learn anything from observing birds? I’ve been birding for years and have learned how much bird populations are changing due to the annihilation of the world’s environment. Will the newest birders begin to understand that we must all take care of the planet as […]

The reintroduction of the business head tax by Seattle City Councilmembers Kshama Sawant and Tammy Morales is the height of irresponsibility. Only an ideologue could survey the current landscape — an economy in induced coma, a downtown deserted and a business climate of unparalleled uncertainty — and think, “Now’s a splendid time to put a […]

Re: “In French fry heartland, spring turns bitter as coronavirus cuts into global demand” [May 1, Northwest]: This made me pause, cringe and empathize with the farmer, Mike Pink. Pink was going to plow millions of pounds of potatoes under, basically making them garbage, because there are no buyers. His usual buyers are french-fry processors. […]

With the extension of Washington state’s stay-at-home order pushed through May 31, I’ve been thinking a lot on whether we have a plan to keep our citizens safe from infection after reopening before a vaccine is developed. Do we all just go about our lives as if there’s not an incredibly contagious disease spreading itself […]

Re: “Seattle Times wins Pulitzer Prize for Boeing 737 MAX coverage” [May 4, Northwest]: Congratulations to aerospace reporter Dominic Gates and the entire staff for this Pulitzer Prize for the Boeing 737 MAX disaster. Some Seattle-based pilots were quick to blame Third World pilots and operators for these terrible events. In my 53 years as […]

Re: “Wear a mask for you and your neighbor” [May 5, Opinion]: We need to establish a new etiquette for hiking our wonderful trails this summer. Tuesday was the first day that some outdoor areas reopened, so I decided to hike. The trail was full of young people, none wearing masks. As an elderly solo […]

Let’s all remember that COVID-19 is a global pandemic. As bad as it is in the U.S., low-income countries are suffering in nightmarish ways. The gains made in child immunization are lost because of a critical shortage of health workers. We have clean water and sanitation not available in many countries. I’m asking our representatives […]

“Coronavirus pushed Seattle to treat homelessness differently. Will those changes last?” [May 3, Project Homeless]: Greater than the fear engendered by exposure to the coronavirus, we are facing our society’s unwillingness to address growing economic inequality. It has taken an extreme crisis for local government to take action that has long been in its grasp. […]

Re: “King County Executive Dow Constantine proposes additional $57 million for coronavirus response” [April 23, Northwest]: While this proposal, expected to be voted on by the Metropolitan King County Council Tuesday, distributes $16 million among small businesses; tourism promotion; homeless-youth programs; and arts and culture groups, it designates no allocation for queer bars and nightclubs. […]

Re: “Pandemic exposes our neglect of children, families” [April 26, Opinion]: Tim Burgess points out that “nowhere are our systemic failures more damaging and longer lasting than in the education of our children,” and he goes on to note research that early learning opportunities in child care and preschool can have a lifetime impact. As […]

Re: “The business of burps: Scientists smell profit in cow emissions” [May 2, Business]: The lengths to which humans will go to subdue and tweak nature and animals for their own whims and profit boggles my mind. When I read that scientist are lending their names and investors money to studies about how to make […]

Gov. Jay Inslee’s continued lockdown is not giving us transparency on metrics for reopening the state. Even with the so-called “phased approach,” there’s nothing that the public can look for to know whether the next phase is in sight. The governor keeps talking about “data.” The Seattle Times publishes graphs of the daily number of […]

Re: “How we got here: One country, several nations” [May 3, Opinion]: Thank you to David Horsey for an excellent column that summarized the book “American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America” by Colin Woodard (and also provided a colorful map). It is a book I have shared over […]

Tim Burgess’ Op-Ed “Pandemic exposes our neglect of children, families” [Opinion, April 24] and the letter to the editor “Inequities: Don’t waste opportunity” [May 1, Opinion] demonstrate how low-income people suffer more during a crisis. I agree that a moratorium on evictions and a 15% increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits would help […]

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Brian Moynihan, the Bank of America CEO, about banks raking in fees from the Paycheck Protection Program.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had celebrations to mark victory in WWII and a constitutional vote to keep him in power till 2036 planned for this spring. But the pandemic has canceled both events.

President Trump and Vice President Pence have made official visits to battleground states this week, while the Biden campaign tries new ways to reach voters in key states virtually.

Some Americans who wear face masks have faced a problem: Their glasses keep fogging up. Optometrist Joseph Allen shares some tips on how to treat spectacles before putting on a mask.

The health care sector has cut 1.4 million jobs in April. And as COVID-19 has consumed health care resources, other essential routine procedures — like screenings for strokes — have gone down.

Immigrants in the U.S. sent an estimated $150 billion to their home countries in 2019 — half to Latin America and the Caribbean. The World Bank is predicting a sharp decline in remittances this year.