Two sea lions make their voices heard on a pier in Ballard. The marine mammals have become a noisy spectacle as they bark and lie about next to Ray’s Boathouse. (Steve Ringman / The Seattle Times)
Two sea lions make their voices heard on a pier next to Ray’s Boathouse in Ballard. (Steve Ringman / The Seattle Times)
Environment

‘Hey, boys, you’ve got to keep it down’: In Ballard, noisy sea lions are a real scene

A crew of sea lions has taken up residence on a floating pier in Shilshole Bay. They are bouncy. They are noisy. They are ebullient. They lounge, they frolic, they float, they bark. WATCH

Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart (30) reacts during a time out as forward Stephanie Talbot, left, looks on in the second half of a WNBA basketball game, Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, in Everett, Wash. The Storm won 85-75.
Matt Calkins

Superstar Breanna Stewart leaving Seattle in free agency would send the Storm back to mediocrity Updated

Angela Petersen combs her husband Chris’s hair in the bathroom of the Tukwila home they share before the two head out to attend a women’s basketball game at Seattle University where their daughter Lexi is an assistant coach Monday, January 10, 2022. Angela is a caregiver for her husband who suffers with dementia. They live off disability and social security. She quit her job to become a full-time caregiver for him because paid caregiving was too expensive. As the legislature debates WA Cares Fund, unpaid caregiving and long-term care is taking a toll on women. 219282
Health

The real-life heartbreak behind the talk about Washington long-term care insurance VIEW

House Republican Leader J.T. Wilcox, R-Yelm, is displayed on video screens as he speaks remotely following opening remarks from House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, during the opening session of the Washington state House, Monday, Jan. 10, 2022, at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Lawmakers started the new legislative session Monday during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and much of their work will be done remotely as leaders try to limit the possibility of exposure. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) WATW101 WATW101
Danny Westneat

Missing Trump? Democrats seem lost without him, while the local GOP surges back from the dead

Don't Miss

Washington acting head coach Will Conroy calls out to players during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Oregon State on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022, in Corvallis, Ore. Washington won 82-72. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman) ORAL113 ORAL113
Husky Basketball

Will Conroy showcases coaching transformation by guiding UW men to win as acting head coach

A coffee shop meets wine bar meets little market, Mainstay Provisions is a cozy little spot in Ballard with the best vibe. My favorite order here is the soft serve affogato and any one of their rotating focaccias. The garage door, which opens to the street, gives the best balance of indoor-outdoor dining.
Food & Drink

Try these 5 Seattle coffee shops where you can enjoy a cuppa in the open air VIEW

The Gunnera manicata, also known as a Brazilian giant-rhubarb, are starting to come out of a hibernation state at the Volunteer Park Conservatory, reaching out of “crowns” which had been protected for the winter by staff here, Wednesday, March 14, 2018 in Seattle. Looking a bit like hands belonging to the “Creature From the Black Lagoon” or “The Shape of Water,” the tropical perennial plants can grow huge leaves, sometimes spanning seven feet or more. 205624
Pacific NW Magazine

For a really big show in your garden, plant these giant perennials — and then stand back 

Editorial

Hold leadership accountable for disastrous Boeing ethos

Politics

FILE—Protesters opposing vaccine mandates gather at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021. State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, is introducing, Friday, Jan. 21, 2022 a bill that would allow children age 12 and up to be vaccinated without their parents consent. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File) SC406 SC406

Anti-vaccine activists, reveling in their pandemic successes, will rally in D.C. against mandates

FILE – A convoy of Russian armored vehicles moves along a highway in Crimea, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. With tens of thousands of Russian troops positioned near Ukraine, the Kremlin has kept the U.S. and its allies guessing about its next moves in the worst Russia-West security crisis since the Cold War. (AP Photo, File) XAZ905 XAZ905
Britain says Russia seeking to replace Ukraine government VIEW Updated
Downtown Helen, Ga., is shown Friday, Jan. 21, 2022. Helen is located in White County, lin the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in northeast Georgia, where officials were stunned when the 2020 census said the county had 28,003 residents. A Census Bureau estimate from 2019 had put the county’s population at 30,798 people. (AP Photo/John Bazemore) GAJB504 GAJB504
‘Whoa, that’s not right’: Georgia towns lead census appeals Updated
Defend Chernobyl during an invasion? Why bother, some Ukrainians ask
Black Americans respond to McConnell’s comments on voting
With new AG, Virginia takes new position on abortion case
U.S. blocks flights by Chinese airlines in escalating dispute
University revokes honorary degrees for Giuliani and Flynn

Local News

Des Moines city councilmember Anthony Martinelli is subject to multiple allegations of domestic abuse.

Des Moines council member accused of domestic violence resigns

Featured Columnist

Missing Trump? Democrats seem lost without him, while the local GOP surges back from the dead

Project Homeless

Woodland Park homeless encampment is Harrell’s first target, but shelter issues may stymie him

She didn’t want to die homeless. But in Seattle, there were few places to turn.

Seattle has struggled to care for sick and homeless people since the 1800s; now programs are trying something different

Disturbing allegations emerge about nonprofit hired to end Bitter Lake encampment in Seattle

A night in a Seattle severe weather shelter, with snow outside but threat of COVID inside

Business & Tech

Shake Shack hamburgers in New York on Jan. 15, 2022. The pandemic has led to the largest price spikes at fast-food restaurants in two decades. (Amy Lombard for The New York Times) XNYT43 XNYT43

How much are you willing to pay for a burger or burrito?

Featured Columnist

Microsoft’s blockbuster deal faces big obstacles

PRODUCED BY ST CONTENT STUDIO

Sponsored

Nation & World

Jacques Fatal, near his home in Salem, Mass. on Jan. 14, 2022. Some volunteers for biobanks, which collect genetic information to study health across populations, have been surprised to be informed they carry risky mutations. (Kayana Szymczak/The New York Times) XNYT5 XNYT5

Their DNA hides a warning, but they don’t want to know what it says

Most Read Stories

Coronavirus

A nurse brings a COVID-19 patient into the ICU from another floor of the hospital at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. (Leila Navidi/Minneapolis Star Tribune/TNS) 37525287W

Court battle over a ventilator takes a COVID patient from Minnesota to Texas

Food & Drink

A coffee shop meets wine bar meets little market, Mainstay Provisions is a cozy little spot in Ballard with the best vibe. My favorite order here is the soft serve affogato and any one of their rotating focaccias. The garage door, which opens to the street, gives the best balance of indoor-outdoor dining.

Try these 5 Seattle coffee shops where you can enjoy a cuppa in the open air VIEW

Pacific NW Magazine

Daniel J. Evans, Seattle, State Representative; Republican nominee for governor Evans Prefers ‘Gov. Dan’ Washington’s governor-elect Thursday solved one of his weightier problems: It will be Gov. Dan Evans, not Gov. Daniel J. Evans said he preferred use of the less formal name in the news media. Credit: Robert Heilman,. 1964

In his new book, former Washington Gov. Daniel J. Evans recalls an era of turbulence, political scandals and the influence of the trailblazing ‘Action Team’

Editorials & Opinion

When violence is targeted at Jewish people, anywhere, it is targeted at us everywhere | Op-Ed

Featured Columnist

Microsoft backs new approach to save local news in Yakima

Horsey Cartoon

COVID kids behind the eight ball

Sports

Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart (30) reacts during a time out as forward Stephanie Talbot, left, looks on in the second half of a WNBA basketball game, Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, in Everett, Wash. The Storm won 85-75.

Superstar Breanna Stewart leaving Seattle in free agency would send the Storm back to mediocrity | Matt Calkins

Featured Columnist

Superstar Breanna Stewart leaving Seattle in free agency would send the Storm back to mediocrity

Arts & Life

A man walks his dog with a backdrop of Mt. Rainier at Seward Park Wednesday, January 12, 2022. Rain is expected Thursday, but Friday and the weekend should be dry. 219316

10 things to do in the Seattle area this weekend

Feeling a post-holiday slump? Get back on track with these 6 brand-new paperbacks

From our publisher

A year-end message on saving our country’s local free press system

Photography

Washington Huskies forward Lauren Schwartz tries to go for the steal as Oregon Ducks guard Sydney Parrish, left, passes the ball to forward Sedona Prince during the second quarter. Friday, Jan. 21, 2022 in Seattle, Wash. 219370
Sports

Photos: Oregon at UW in NCAA women’s basketball VIEW

Mark Giordano lays into Adam Raska, and draws the 5-minute penalty for fighting in the 2nd period. The San Jose Sharks played the Seattle Kraken Thursday, January 20, 2022 at Climate Pledge Arena, in Seattle, WA. 219271
Sports

Photos: Kraken sink the Sharks VIEW

First time on skis, Sujal Bhandari gets instructions in bending and learning control from John Thomsen at the Mini Mountain Indoor Ski Center in Bellevue. They’re on an angled moving carpet controlled by Thomsen. Sujal is seven. Ref to more photos online Indoor ski lessons on a moving carpet at Mini Mountain in Bellevue. LO linesonly Saturday January 8, 2020 219275
Local News

Not as easy as it looks VIEW

Washington’s Nate Roberts puts on the emphatic jam as the Huskies become the aggressors to strt the game against Cal. The bucket gave Washington a quick 4-0 lead on the Golden Bears. The California Golden Bears played the University of Washington in NCAA Men’s basketball Wednesday, January 12, 2022 at Alaska Airlines Arena, in Seattle, WA. 219287
Sports

Photos: UW hangs on to beat Cal VIEW