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After a fierce flood, a Fidalgo Island couple raises the bar for resiliency by setting their modern new home on concrete piers


This is quite the elevated living experience: a seriously shiny, brand-new modern-and-maritime home designed to endure nature’s wildest mood swings.




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All sorts of creativity combined to turn this Lake Sammamish home into a light-filled gallery of modern living and meaningful artwork


The architect and the homeowner/artist have this remodel down to a fine art.




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Architectural opportunity knocks more than once for a Washington Park couple


An architect and builder reteam to create a contemporary new home on the lot next door, filled with the couple's favorite things.



  • Home & Decor
  • Life
  • Pacific NW Magazine

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Ring camera installed in a children’s room for ‘peace of mind’ is hacked, 8-year-old daughter harassed


When Alyssa LeMay heard the strange music and sounds coming from her bedroom, she walked in expecting to find one of her sisters. But the room was empty. Then, as the 8-year-old wandered around her room alone, the mysterious song abruptly stopped. “Hello there,” a man’s voice said. It wasn’t Alyssa’s father, who was elsewhere […]




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How ‘What if we turned the playroom into a media room?’ stretched into a high-end, whole-house interior remodel on Snoqualmie Ridge  


THE ORIGINAL THREAD was a single strand — a simple string of vision and possibility. Kenny really wanted to hold a Super Bowl party downstairs. That’s the thing with threads, though. They’re so rarely self-contained. “We decided to take over the playroom, and then we just kind of kept going,” says architect Andrew Patterson, of […]




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Bonnie Berk, an artist and a gardener, honors the architect’s original plan for her 1916 Mount Baker home, but has other ideas with her landscape


THE FIRST THING you notice about Bonnie Berk and Larry Kessler’s property in the Mount Baker neighborhood of Seattle is the formidable retaining wall. Accentuated with terra-cotta tiles and red brick, the wall provides double-sided access to the property via stairs, and was part of the original home design by Arthur Loveless. It’s a grand […]




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Seattle Art Source owner Sarah Hurt brings an artistic touch — 6 of them, actually (so far) — to the remodel of a Madrona home


Sarah Hurt started her International District business two or so years ago, “with two goals in mind,” she says: “to advocate for local artists, and to provide a curated collection of art that was ready for any interior design project.”



  • Home & Decor
  • Life
  • Pacific NW Magazine

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Your Place: With more heartwarming sentimentality than DIY experience, a Kenmore man updates his childhood home for his own family


SO MUCH IS so sweet here — with virtually zero DIY experience, but decades of memories and dreams (and only two trips to the ER), Ty Warren successfully pulled off the lovely-on-many-levels remodel of his childhood home in Kenmore — but the sweetest might be how we learned of this sentimental act of derring-do-it-himself in […]



  • Home & Decor
  • Life
  • Pacific NW Magazine

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CBS reimagines ‘Equalizer’ and ‘The Silence of the Lambs’


NEW YORK (AP) — Queen Latifah, Rebecca Breeds and Thomas Middleditch are set to star in three new CBS shows for the 2020-21 season as the network adds a reimagined “Equalizer,” a show based on “The Silence of the Lambs” and a comedy about organ donation. Queen Latifah steps into the role of a retired […]




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Twitch is developing talk shows and dating programs for gamers


Twitch, the online video site popular among gamers, is looking for its version of “The Bachelor.” The company plans to fund a slate of original, unscripted series that would be live and interactive, airing two to three times a week, according to an internal document seen by Bloomberg. Its preferred genres are game shows, dating […]




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SeaWorld develops plans for reopening; no official date set


ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — SeaWorld guests could be sitting in every other row of the stadium to watch orca shows when the parks eventually reopen, the company’s CEO said Friday. Interim CEO Marc Swanson gave an update Friday on a coronavirus safety plan under development, but no official reopening dates have been announced, the Orlando […]




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Alan Lund, who taught and directed music throughout the Seattle area, dies at 81 from coronavirus complications


Alan Lund taught music in the Bellevue and Highline School Districts, and directed music for the Seattle Opera Chorus, the Eastside’s Cascadian Chorale, the Boeing Chorale and, most notably, the Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society.




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Apple’s value drops below $1 trillion, while Microsoft holds on


Apple’s market value fell below $1 trillion as trading opened Monday, leaving Microsoft as the only U.S. stock above the 13-digit threshold. Apple shares fell as much as 4.9% at 9:40 a.m. in New York, bringing the iPhone maker’s market value to about $960 billion. In the wake of coronavirus, the company has been hampered […]




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Sound Transit sues longtime ally Microsoft in effort to condemn land for Redmond light rail


Sound Transit is suing Microsoft for land and access to build light rail from Overlake to downtown Redmond, and even claimed the software giant was creating risks of missing the agency's August 2024 goal to complete the project. The institutions differ by $17.5 million over how much Sound Transit should pay to buy land next to Highway 520, plus easement rights for worker access and equipment storage.




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Microsoft push brings medical supplies from overseas to aid in state’s coronavirus fight


In arguably the most ambitious and unique procurement effort in company history, technology giant Microsoft is leveraging its global supply chain to bring tens of thousands of badly-needed medical supplies — including 240,000 N-95 surgical masks — to the Puget Sound in anticipation of coronavirus hospitalizations. Supplies began arriving on Monday.




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Microsoft deal values Affirmed Networks at $1.35 billion


Affirmed Networks helps build virtual networks for telecom customers using 5G technology.




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Microsoft exec says coronavirus could spark big shift for AI in health care


The company's chief technology officer says early detection of underlying health conditions could not only help treat patients and prevent the spread of future pandemics, but also reduce care costs for Americans




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Bill Gates, in rebuke of Trump, calls WHO funding cut during pandemic ‘as dangerous as it sounds’


Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend funding to the World Health Organization as “dangerous,” saying the payments should continue particularly during the global coronavirus pandemic. “Halting funding for the World Health Organization during a world health crisis is as dangerous as it sounds,” Gates tweeted early Wednesday. “Their work is […]




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Pentagon: $10B cloud contract that snubbed Amazon was legal


WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s process for awarding a highly lucrative cloud computing contract to Microsoft instead of Amazon was in line with legal and government purchasing standards, a government watchdog agency said Wednesday. The Defense Department inspector general found no evidence of White House interference in the contract award process. But the report said investigators […]




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Tech giants are profiting — and getting more powerful — even as the global economy tanks


As the pandemic wreaks havoc on the economy, tech giants Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft are benefiting enormously from a potentially permanent shift in consumer habits, leveraging their political clout by arguing that they are essential services, and gutting their competition.




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Microsoft is in talks to buy startup Softomotive


Softomotive specializes in robot process automation technology, or software that helps companies save time and money by automating repetitive, manual tasks such as entering data into spreadsheets.




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The Backstory: It’s all hands on deck at ‘Cape D’ — and we’re in very good hands


When the lifeboats aren’t rolling, destructive otters and an unusual hard hat are ‘things you’ve just got to roll with,’ says commanding officer Lt. Jessica Shafer.




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Lt. Jessica Shafer keeps her mind on the bar as the 1st female commanding officer of Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment


She emphasizes teamwork and exudes humility, but Jessica Shafer leads with uncommon courage, dedication and skill.




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The Backstory: Our fictional Nextdoor thread *probably* isn’t about you


How citizen ‘reporters’ and marauding coyotes took over the neighborhood ‘news cycle.




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The Backstory: Tag along to Port Townsend — if you haven’t already moved there


As in many smaller Northwest towns, things are changing rapidly here.




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The Backstory: Why don’t people know all these great products came from Seattle?


NO CITY OR region gets to choose what it’s best known for. That, alas, typically is an artifice assembled over time, often by scribes, compilers of baseless listicles, guidebook authors, societal observers and other self-appointed pundits, usually from far-afield havens of misinformation (such as the East Coast). Those depictions of place — for current purposes, […]



  • Pacific NW Magazine

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Jessica Shafer’s Coast Guard crew continues to thrive, even in challenging conditions


The first female commanding officer of Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment updates us on the challenges of keeping local vessels afloat and off the rocks.



  • Pacific NW Magazine

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ER doctor who criticized Bellingham hospital’s coronavirus protections has been fired


An emergency room physician has been fired after he publicly decried what he called a lack of protective measures against the novel coronavirus at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center. The hospital is the only emergency facility for some 250,000 people in the state’s northwest corner.




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Naturally, Earth Day and the country’s 1st environmental college have strong Northwestern roots


TODAY WE PAUSE briefly to tip the cap to Mother Earth — or, more specifically, to the people plugging away at the day-to-day jobs of saving her life. People in the Northwest have a particular stake in Earth Day, a now-global event celebrating its 50th anniversary this month. The very first one was organized by […]



  • Pacific NW Magazine

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Changing counts reveal inexact science of calorie labels


NEW YORK (AP) — Almonds used to have about 170 calories per serving. Then researchers said it was really more like 130. A little later, they said the nuts may have even less. Calorie counting can be a simple way to help maintain a healthy weight — don’t eat and drink more than you burn. […]




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Weekend Plus adjusts to new realities of coronavirus pandemic


Dear readers: You’re adjusting to new realities introduced by the novel coronavirus, and Weekend Plus is, too. Starting today and in the coming weeks, you’ll find fewer restaurant and entertainment listings in this section and more emphasis on things you can enjoy at home, including: • Recipes and takeout food • Family activities • Recommended […]




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Washington golfers, officials cling to hope that Gov. Inslee will lift coronavirus shutdown order in May


Under normal circumstances, this would be a perfect time to sneak in a round or two (or four), but of course, that’s impossible. All courses in the state have been shut down by virtue of Gov. Inslee’s shelter-at-home order March 23.




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What do zombies, puppies and hills have in common? They can all be part of your coronavirus-era fitness routine


So what if your gym is closed? There are lots of different ways to keep your fitness level up. Just look around your neighborhood and incorporate some of these fun little "games" into your workout routine.




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Activities you can do even while staying home this final weekend of April


Spring is here. No time like the present to take up some gardening. Or just relax at home with a book ... or take The Seattle Times' Kitchen Pantry Challenge! Here are our ideas for things you can do this weekend.




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Analysis: They wore their white hot fury to the State of the Union


The Democrats came into the House chambers jovially. They greeted each other warmly and posed for group pictures before the State of the Union address. They laughed. Civility was evident. But they were angry. And by the end of President Donald Trump’s speech, that conviviality, that decorum had been shredded. Maybe they didn’t “hate” anyone, […]




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Sunday Best: An elegant trio of outfits show off ballet’s rich history, on display in New York City


Ballet and fashion have an undeniable connection — a bond currently on display in the "Ballerine: Fashion's Modern Muse" exhibit at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.




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Sunday Best: A reminder that fashion, and all things joyful, will rise again  


Red carpets might be going on indefinite hiatus as the international events calendar grinds to a halt. For now, enjoy these photos from the "Mulan" premiere. Sigh.




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Sunday Best Greatest Hits: A fairy-tale gown from French designer Sylvie Facon


There aren’t any red carpets right now, no premieres, no movies at the theater — so let’s take a stroll back through Sundays Best past, shall we?




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Hawaii embraces aloha print masks while fighting coronavirus


HONOLULU (AP) — Face masks made with the same colorful prints used for aloha shirts — known as “Hawaiian shirts” elsewhere in the United States — are the latest fashion trend in Hawaii as islanders try to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Disposable surgical masks are in short supply, and people want to preserve […]




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Sunday Best: In honor of the postponed Met Gala, a highlight from 2019


The Met Gala, that Fashion Olympics-y event that takes place every May and celebrates the Costume Institute at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, has been postponed indefinitely from its original May 4 date. So, while we imagine the outfits that might have been, let’s gaze back at a highlight from last year. Gemma Chan […]




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Sunday Best: Finally, some relief in the form of parasols and bonnets from ‘Belgravia’


These costumes, from “Downton Abbey” creator Julian Fellowes’ new EPIX miniseries “Belgravia,” are made by their details — and are the perfect relief, in photo form, for the day/week/month/year’s stresses.




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Rocco Ursino, Italian immigrant who dedicated his life to his seven children, dies of coronavirus disease


Editor’s note: The impact of the coronavirus pandemic is generally expressed in numbers of cases and deaths. But each data point represents a human life whose loss is felt by countless other people. We are chronicling some of them in an obituary series called Lives Remembered. If you know someone who has died of COVID-19, […]




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Cracks halt progress on Sound Transit park-and-ride garage in Redmond


The station next to the Microsoft main campus is being expanded as part of the $3.7 billion Seattle-to-Overlake light-rail line to open in 2023.




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Bellevue College interim president finalists detail how they’ll guide college out of crisis


In all-campus Zoom meetings this week, the three finalists for Bellevue College interim president were asked several questions with a theme: Bellevue College is in a crisis, both internally and externally. The internal crisis referred to the defacement of a mural in February, a controversy that led to the resignations of both the college’s president […]




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As Eastside Catholic rolled to second state football title last winter, three players were under investigation for assault


Three Eastside Catholic players were under investigation for a parking-lot brawl as the team headed toward a second state championship. Prosecutors ultimately declined to pursue charges.




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You can still get Pike Place Market flowers for Mother’s Day, thanks to the Drive-Thru Flower Festival


Twenty of the farmers who sell at Pike Place Market are participating in Saturday's event, with pickup sites in Seattle and Renton.




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Coronavirus Economy daily chart: Health sectors register most first-time unemployment claims


This series of charts provides weekly data on how the Seattle-area economy is doing during the coronavirus crisis.




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Unofficial numbers show $7 billion hit to Washington state revenue through 2023 from coronavirus downturn


In the unofficial forecast numbers, Washington would lose $3.8 billion in revenue this current budget cycle. An additional $3.27 billion would be sheared off the 2021-23 budget cycle.




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Lawmakers, machinists union urge Alcoa, Trump to find a way to avoid closing Ferndale aluminum plant


The Pittsburgh company plans to close its Ferndale aluminum smelter by July, throwing 700 people out of work.




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Mask or no mask? New social tension splits Seattle-area residents in coronavirus era


Since health officials began recommending (but not requiring) that everyone cover their faces in public to reduce the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, a new divide has emerged over who wears a mask and who doesn't.