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When coronavirus dealt Seattle record stores their latest blow, Easy Street Records got creative


The COVID-19 pandemic is the latest challenge for Seattle’s independent record stores like Easy Street, but these titans of vinyl continue to rise to the occasion.




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Small businesses band together to sue insurers over coronavirus damage


In many cases, the response from insurers has been: We don't cover viruses.




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Checkered flag nears for pro drivers in virtual racing boom


DOVER, Del (AP) — The moment in the virtual sun has arrived for simulated racing and the thousands of gamers who always wanted to race like Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Jeff Gordon at NASCAR tracks from Dover to Daytona. Sports fans discovered over the last few weeks on national TV a not-so-hidden secret in the […]




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Checkered flag nears for pro drivers in virtual racing boom


DOVER, Del (AP) — The moment in the virtual sun has arrived for simulated racing and the thousands of gamers who always wanted to race like Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Jeff Gordon at NASCAR tracks from Dover to Daytona. Sports fans discovered over the last few weeks on national TV a not-so-hidden secret in the […]




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Scott McLaughlin wins on Indy oval for 2nd virtual victory


CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Scott McLaughlin was supposed to leave Australia for Indianapolis this month to make his IndyCar debut on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. With sports on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, the two-time V8 SuperCars champion saw his IndyCar plans postponed. McLaughlin instead settled for a virtual victory Saturday […]




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What Would Have Been: Red Sox-Yankees, NHL conference finals


With the sports calendar still mostly on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, The Associated Press takes a look at some of the live sporting events that would have taken place the week of May 4-10: MLB: The 162-game regular season would have been about one-fourth complete after the Boston Red Sox played this coming […]




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What Would Have Been: Red Sox-Yankees, NHL conference finals


With the sports calendar still mostly on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic, The Associated Press takes a look at some of the live sporting events that would have taken place the week of May 4-10: MLB: The 162-game regular season would have been about one-fourth complete after the Boston Red Sox played this coming […]




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Baseball fans, players chase their hopes and dreams (and eternal youth) every spring in Arizona


Editor’s note: Larry Stone’s story was reported and written from the early days of this year’s spring training in Arizona. It was sent to press for publication in Pacific NW magazine before Major League Baseball made the decision to cancel the rest of spring training, and delay the start of the regular season in an effort to […]




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The Backstory: Larry Stone has seen it all in 35 years of Arizona spring training — much of it unexpected, and all of it memorable


IT WAS ONE of my first years covering spring training in Arizona, during a stint in the early 1990s as the San Francisco Giants beat writer for the San Francisco Examiner. Every day, after our work was done, Bay Area media members would assemble at a Scottsdale park for a pickup basketball game, spirited affairs […]



  • Pacific NW Magazine

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It’s time to make it official and postpone the Tokyo Olympics due to coronavirus concerns


It is beyond time for the International Olympic Committee to come to the same conclusion that virtually every governing body, and an increasing number of athletes, have wrapped their brains around. Namely, that the Olympics must be postponed.




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The No. 2 UW softball team lost its season to the coronavirus crisis. But as Heather Tarr said, this is not the end.


This week all spring-sport athletes were granted an additional season of competition by the NCAA, a decision that was greeted with relief and jubilation by a Husky team that had legitimate national-title aspirations.




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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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Audacious WrestleMania XIX extravaganza in 2003 remains ballpark’s biggest event


The biggest, gaudiest, craziest — and oh, yeah, the fakest — event ever held at the ballpark on the corner of Edgar Martinez Drive and Dave Niehaus Way took place 17 years ago, on March 30, 2003.




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Chat rewind: Experts talk about marijuana legalization


Times reporter Bob Young and a trio of marijuana experts held a live chat on Friday. State Liquor Control Board Deputy Director Rick Garza, ACLU of Washington drug-policy director Alison Holcomb, and dispensary owner John Davis all answered questions on marijuana legalization. Read their comments below. [do action=”scribblelive” chatid=”110649″ width=”630″ height=”500″/]  




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Saturday Memo: STP … Big road closures … milk-carton madness … royal baby watch


Ten thousand bicyclists: The grand parade of neon and spandex is under way as thousands of bicyclists departed Husky Stadium this morning for the Rose City. It’s an annual classic where the greyhound riders will finish the 200-mile ride in a single day. The big pack will finish Sunday, exhausted but happy to be in […]




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Mars Hill: The rise and fall of a Seattle church and its charismatic leader


After 18 years of explosive growth, officials at Mars Hill Church in Seattle said that financial pressures are forcing staff cuts and elimination of some branches. The announcement follows Pastor Mark Driscoll's decision to step away from the pulpit for six weeks.




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State should partner with tribes on legalized marijuana


Some tribes see potential of legal pot now that the feds have given them a green light to enter the market.




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West Coast voters proved it’s not all doom and gloom


If you pro-Hillary voters can step back from the ledge, know this: There were some truly progressive ballot measures that did pass, not only in Washington but Oregon and California, as well.




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Stop the legal blame game, and fix Seattle’s deadly Aurora Bridge


Seattle and Washington state are fighting each other in court in an attempt to limit their respective liability for their years of dithering over who should fix the safety of the Aurora Bridge.




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Boeing workers’ return after coronavirus closure is a test case for industrial recovery


The initial days of the Boeing experiment as 27,000 workers are asked to return won't be easy to assess, because a significant number of employees chose to stay home this week.




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Sea-Tac’s $192M in federal coronavirus relief won’t be enough to cover losses, officials say


Plummeting passenger traffic and flight cancellations will cost Seattle-Tacoma International Airport an estimated $251 million by the end of 2020.




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With few passengers, Delta gets FAA approval to carry cargo in cabin


ATLANTA — Delta Air Lines says it is the first U.S. carrier to get federal clearance to carry cargo in its overhead bins, as it repurposes passenger planes amid a steep decline in travel due to the coronavirus pandemic. Atlanta-based Delta said it has received Federal Aviation Administration approval to use the overhead bin space […]




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Southwest posts 1st quarterly loss in almost a decade


DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines posted its first quarterly loss in nearly a decade and said Tuesday that the downturn in air travel that began in late February shows no signs of letting up. The airline said trip cancellations have pulled back from a peak in March but remain at levels that Southwest has never […]




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Trump says he won’t extend social distancing guidelines


WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday the federal government will not be extending its coronavirus social distancing guidelines once they expire Thursday, and his son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, predicted that by July the country will be “really rocking again.” To underscore his confidence, Trump said he plans to resume out-of-state travel after […]




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Boeing will cut more than 15% of jobs in commercial jet division, CEO Calhoun says


Boeing will trim its total workforce by 10% to cope with the sharp aviation downturn that pushed it to a $641 million first-quarter loss.




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Boeing rules out federal aid after raising $25 billion of bonds


The planemaker won't seek additional funding through the capital markets or U.S. government aid at this time, according to a company statement late Thursday after the debt sale.




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Boeing’s company debt now larger than New Zealand’s after huge bond sale


Boeing has raised $25 billion in a massive debt sale, allowing it to avoid tapping a $17 billion coronavirus bailout fund meant to shore up businesses critical to national security.




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Alaska Airlines to require passengers to wear masks


Alaska Airlines joins several other major airlines launching mask requirements for passengers.




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FAA nixes proposal to temporarily close Paine Field passenger terminal


The company sent an email inquiry to the Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday about shutting the terminal down, given the minimal passenger traffic amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.




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Cash crunch from coronavirus crisis will force Alaska Air to shrink


The company's cash burn rate peaked at $400 million for the month of March. Management hopes to reduce the cash burn rate to zero by year end and will make whatever cuts are necessary to do so.




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Two White House coronavirus cases raise question of if anyone is really safe


WASHINGTON — In his eagerness to reopen the country, President Donald Trump faces the challenge of convincing Americans that it would be safe to go back to the workplace. But the past few days have demonstrated that even his own workplace may not be safe from the coronavirus. Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary tested […]




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US awards border wall contract in Texas to begin in 2021


HOUSTON (AP) — The U.S. government has awarded a $275 million border wall contract for construction that would begin in South Texas in January, at the start of President Donald Trump’s second term if he is re-elected. Caddell Construction Company, based in Montgomery, Alabama, won the contract to build 14 miles (22.5 kilometers) of barriers […]




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Court halts ban on mass gatherings at Kentucky churches


FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A federal court halted the Kentucky governor’s temporary ban on mass gatherings from applying to in-person religious services, clearing the way for Sunday church services. U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove on Friday issued a temporary restraining order enjoining Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration from enforcing the ban on mass gatherings […]




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Clashes and unity calls at UN on World War II anniversary


UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A U.N. Security Council meeting on the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe on Friday saw a clash between Russia and some Europeans, calls for unity to fight COVID-19, and warnings that the seeds of a new global conflict must be prevented from growing. Nearly 70 […]




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Georgia man’s death raises echoes of US racial terror legacy


BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — Many people saw more than the last moments of Ahmaud Arbery’s life when a video emerged this week of white men armed with guns confronting the black man, a struggle with punches thrown, three shots fired and Arbery collapsing dead. The Feb. 23 shooting in coastal Georgia is drawing comparisons to […]




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Snohomish County will not pay for sheriff’s legal defense in recall effort over his refusal to enforce state’s stay-home order during pandemic


Prosecutor Adam Cornell likened the decision by Sheriff Adam Fortney to publicly question and refuse to enforce the stay-home order "to yelling 'fire' in a crowded theater."




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US governors aim to boost production of medical supplies


JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Frustrated by scarce supplies and a chaotic marketplace amid the coronavirus outbreak, some U.S. governors are seeking to bolster their home-state production of vital medical and protective equipment to ensure a reliable long-term source for state stockpiles. The efforts come as states have been competing against each other, the federal […]




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Small tribes seal borders, push testing to keep out virus


PICURIS PUEBLO, N.M. (AP) — On a dusty plaza in a Native American village that dates back nearly a millennium, a steady trickle of vehicles inched through a pop-up coronavirus testing site. From the bed of a pickup truck and backseats of cars, wide-eyed children stared from behind hand-sewn masks and then sobbed as testing […]




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Sculpting a killer whale: The process behind making an orca infographic


Seattle Times graphic artist Emily M. Eng takes you through the process of making a 3-D model of an orca so we could better explain the animals in an ongoing series about them.




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The orca and the orca catcher: How a generation of killer whales was taken from Puget Sound


HOSTILE WATERS | Namu was Ted Griffin’s greatest prize, a live killer whale, put on display at Seattle’s waterfront. The orca’s journey from wild to captive would spark a worldwide sensation and change everything we knew about "blackfish."




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NO RETURN: The final voyage of the crab boat Destination


The Seattle-based Destination went down without a mayday call two years ago this week, stunning a Bering Sea crabbing industry that appeared to have left its deadly legacy behind. A former crewman is haunted by what may have gone wrong in the sinking that killed his brother and five others.




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For the crew of the Destination, crab fishing on the Bering Sea took ‘a serious emotional toll’


Growing up in Alaska, two brothers understood the grueling work, risks and rewards of fishing on the Bering Sea. Read Chapter 3 of No Return: The final voyage of the Destination.




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‘I always thought our boat was safe’: Former Destination crew member speaks his mind


The Destination is finally discovered lying on its side at the bottom of the Bering Sea. In federal hearings a month later, Dylan Hatfield, who’d lost so much when the crab boat went down, gets to speak his mind. Read the final chapter of No Return: The final voyage of the Destination.





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As Bering Sea ice melts, Alaskans, scientists and Seattle’s fishing fleet witness changes ‘on a massive scale’


With winter ice largely gone for two years, a food chain is at risk. What lies ahead for a body of water that produces some of the world’s biggest seafood harvests and helps sustain communities ranging from Alaska to Seattle, homeport for much of the Bering Sea fleet?




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Public Crisis, Private Toll: Key findings of The Seattle Times’ investigation of private psychiatric hospitals in Washington


Washington state has approved or expanded 10 private psychiatric hospitals since 2012, promising to transform the way mental-health care is delivered in a state with a chronic shortage of treatment options. Yet on the inside, these new institutions have failed patients in ways both known and unknown to regulators and all but invisible to the […]




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Free to check in, but not to leave: Patients seeking mental-health treatment in Washington have been held against their will


In hundreds of cases, patients seeking mental-health treatment in Washington state have been held against their will or threatened with involuntary commitment.




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Why are birds and seals starving in a Bering Sea full of fish?


The animal die-offs offer the world a stark example of the perils of rising ocean temperatures, which already are upending parts of the Bering Sea ecosystem as climate change — driven by greenhouse-gas pollution — unfolds in Alaska at a breakneck pace.




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As climate change melts Alaska’s permafrost, roads sink, bridges tilt and greenhouse gases release


The accelerating melt is a global concern: Permafrost, which mostly lies in the northern reaches of the planet, is a vast carbon storehouse of frozen plants and animals that release greenhouse gases as they warm and decompose.




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Trump ban on fetal tissue research blocks coronavirus treatment effort


A senior scientist at a government biomedical research laboratory has been thwarted in his efforts to conduct experiments on possible treatments for the new coronavirus because of the Trump administration’s restrictions on research with human fetal tissue. The scientist, Kim Hasenkrug, an immunologist at the National Institutes of Health’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Montana, has […]