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Chuck Watts, the lead concierge at the brand-new Hyatt Regency in Seattle, can point you in the right direction in a city that’s rapidly changing. (Alan Berner / The Seattle Times)

Life

This Seattle concierge has secrets he won’t tell

Chuck Watts is the lead concierge at the brand-new Hyatt Regency, the largest hotel in the Pacific Northwest, and he has some stories to tell. (Though some he prefers to keep secret.)

Could the humble TSA agent save democracy? Increasingly they’re being asked to try | Danny Westneat Updated 6:34 pm
Amazon tests delivery robots in Snohomish County WATCH
King County man may have contracted measles from Southwest Washington outbreak
No surprise for commuters: Washington ranks dead last among lower 48 states for driving
New study: Cellphone use by Washington state drivers is down, but other distractions are up Updated 5:31 pm
Boeing pilotless air taxi lifts off the ground, but there is no rush to catch a ride WATCH Updated 6:18 pm
Seahawks Mailbag: Free agent rumors and rumblings — Could a few former Seahawks find their way back?

Fans watch R&B star Miguel perform at the 2018 Upstream Music Fest. (Erika Schultz)

Music

Upstream Music Fest will be ‘taking a break’ in 2019

After bringing 30,000 fans to Pioneer Square in each of its first two years, the startup festival backed by Paul Allen's Vulcan will not happen this year.

Edgar Martinez and his family after getting the Hall of Fame phone call on June 22, 2019.

Larry Stone

Inside the room: Edgar Martinez brings his trademark cool to Hall of Fame moment

Not even 10 long years of waiting for his Cooperstown call could crack the Mariners DH's stoic facade, but two disparate places — Seattle and Puerto Rico — are doing all the whooping and hollering for him. WATCH

Microsoft President Brad Smith speaks Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019, during a presentation in Bellevue, Wash., to announce a $500 million pledge by Microsoft Corp. to develop affordable housing for low- and middle-income workers in response to the Seattle region’s widening affordability gap and to also to address homelessness. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) OTK OTK

Project Homeless

Eastside mayors view Microsoft’s $500 million housing pledge with enthusiasm, caution

While pledging $500 million for housing affordability, Microsoft also asked nine Eastside mayors to support land use changes to ease development. The mayors are enthusiastic about the money, but realistic about the controversies that sometimes follow affordable housing efforts. Updated 5:17 pm

Don't Miss

Theater

First night of ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre canceled

Ichiro takes batting practice with the Mariners Thursday. The Oakland A’s played the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field in Seattle Thursday, May 3, 2018. 206164

Mariners

As expected, Mariners bring back Ichiro on minor league contract with invitation to spring training

David Horsey cartoon

Independent: Good for coffee shops, not for 2020 candidates

How to give

Fund For The Needy: Here’s how to donate

Viaduct Closure

Cars and a school bus treat the intersection as a four-way-stop after a power outage cut the traffic lights at Martin Luther King Way South and South Alaska Street in the Columbia City neighborhood of Seattle Thursday December 20, 2018. 208814

‘I’m just gonna presume it’s late forever’: Seattle school-bus delays consistent during first week of viadoom

WSDOT – Transportation Management Center in Shoreline watches over the Wednesday morning commute. Bryce Frisher, Transportation management center intern from the UW, monitors traffic flow on Wednesday morning. The center has 112 televisions monitoring 900 roadway cameras from Pierce County to the Canadian Border.
Photographed on January 16, 2019. 209035

Check out WSDOT’s Viadoom nerve center: 900 cameras, 112 TVs and 5 humans, helping to keep traffic moving VIEW

Looking southbound above I-5 and the Seattle skyline during rush hour Friday, January 4, 2019. Road at middle, crossing over I-5, is Olive Way. 208964 208964

Here’s some help getting around Seattle region during Highway 99 closure

Century Link Field and Safeco Fields in downtown Seattle. The Alaskan Way viaduct is seen in front of the stadiums.

Photographed on July 24, 2018. 207141 aerial

Seattle’s big demolition spectacle: How crews plan to pulverize the Alaskan Way Viaduct

Local News

Washington Governor Jay Inslee spoke to the New Hampshire Institute of Politics on the campus of Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH, Tuesday, January 22, 2018 209048

In New Hampshire Inslee talks climate change, bashes Trump, says he’ll decide within weeks on presidential run VIEW

Featured Columnist

Could the humble TSA agent save democracy? Increasingly they’re being asked to try

Education Lab

Join us at the Ignite Education Lab storytelling event on March 11

Student Voices: The stories missing from our history books and textbooks

As STEM majors soar at UW, interest in humanities shrinks — a potentially costly loss

Greater teacher diversity can improve outcomes for students of color. So why are 89% of Washington teachers white?

Puget Sound school districts are trying to recruit — and keep — more teachers of color. Here’s how.

Business & Tech

Boeing on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019, completed the first test flight of its autonomous passenger air vehicle prototype in Manassas, Virginia.

Boeing pilotless air taxi lifts off the ground, but there is no rush to catch a ride WATCH

Avista and Canadian utility drop plans for $5.3 billion merger Updated 5:54 pm
Nordstrom to close two full-line stores in Virginia and Florida Updated 6:20 pm
Hulu ups price for live-TV service, cuts basic package price
Superrich Americans getting younger and multiplying Updated 4:43 pm
Big Tech went big on lobbying spending and privacy advocates are concerned Updated 6:19 pm

Featured Columnist

Pressures pile up, adding worries about U.S. economy’s ability to keep growing

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Explore

Home Improvement

5 quick ways to reduce your heating bills

Produced by Advertising Publications

Home Finance

Stress-free retirement-planning tips for the new year

Provided by BECU

Avoid quitting a job until you have another one or you have a financial backup plan, an expert says. (Getty Images)

Careers

3 steps to quit a job the right way

Produced by Advertising Publications

Seattle Repertory Theatre artistic director Braden Abraham and actor Kevin Anderson discuss his role in “Last of the Boys.” (Angela Nickerson photo)

Entertainment

Playwright Steven Dietz on friendship, fatherhood and finding the story

Provided by Seattle Repertory Theatre

Tech & Gadgets

4 home security systems you can install yourself

Produced by Advertising Publications

Nation & World

They went to Mexico for surgery. They came back with a deadly superbug. VIEW

Maduro foe claims Venezuela presidency amid protests VIEW Updated 6:37 pm
It’s off: Pelosi says no State of Union while govt shut VIEW Updated 6:37 pm
Adoptee deported by U.S. sues South Korea, adoption agency Updated 6:38 pm
Lawyer: No proof nurse raped Arizona patient who had baby WATCH Updated 6:38 pm
Nathan Phillips, Native American in standoff with teens, faces scrutiny of his military past
AP-NORC poll: Shutdown drags Trump approval to yearlong low Updated 6:37 pm

Photography

Atop the Space Needle, former Mariners catcher Dan Wilson makes two fingers into an “11” for teammate Edgar Martinez, while posing for photographers after raising the flag for his teammate who finally made the Baseball Hall of Fame, Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2019 in Seattle. 209076

Sports

Photos: ’11’ flag flies above Space Needle in honor of Edgar Martinez’s Hall of Fame vote

The south station entance is seen as construction continues on Sound Transit’s Link light-rail Roosevelt station, Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019 in Seattle. The station, seen for the first time by the news media during a tour has 150 workers on-site, has notched 450,000 man-hours of work, and is set for completion in September, according to project manager Mark Pickerill. Then, after further prep and train testing, the station, along with two others on the Northgate extension, will open in 2021. This station, as well as the University District one to open, will have stairs going from station street-level entrance to train platform. 209062

Traffic Lab

Take a look as light rail’s Roosevelt Station takes shape VIEW

Traffic was heavier Tuesday morning, the second weekday commute since the closure of the Alaskan Way Viaduct. (Ellen M. Banner / The Seattle Times)

Local News

Seattle commuters feel the pinch with Alaskan Way Viaduct closed for good VIEW

Removal of part of a ramp begins Saturday morning, January 12, 2019, at the southern end of the viaduct at 1st Ave. S. and Railway Ave. S. Traffic will still be able to travel, with occasional delays, on 1st Ave. S., but Railway Ave. S. will be closed to vehicular traffic. The removal continues all day Saturday til 10 p.m. and into Sunday from 9 a.m. – 10 p.m.. The ramp connects northbound SR 99 to the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Crews will use machinery to munch ramp structure and drop concrete to ground.

This is the first demolition to occur after the viaduct closed Friday night.
This is only a targeted removal â€“ not the big viaduct demolition project that begins in late February. 208995

Local News

Viaduct starts coming down bit by bit VIEW

Entertainment

Fans watch R&B star Miguel perform at the 2018 Upstream Music Fest. (Erika Schultz)

Upstream Music Fest will be ‘taking a break’ in 2019

Editorials & Opinion

Sensible next steps on Washington gun regulations | Editorial

Featured Columnist

Has Trump boredom set in?

See all Horsey cartoons

Independent: Good for coffee shops, not for 2020 candidates

Sports

Seahawks linebacker Mychal Kendricks stands by as the Seattle Seahawks take on the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona Sunday September 30, 2018.
207816

Seahawks Mailbag: Free agent rumors and rumblings — Could a few former Seahawks find their way back?

Featured Columnist

Baseball Hall of Fame event turns into Edgar Martinez Appreciation Show

Featured Video Stories

Bounty hunter Scott Gribble recorded video on May 20, 2016, as he attempted to capture Toni Schartow’s son for jumping bail. During the encounter, Gribble shot her in the face with a rubber bullet. (Ellen Banner & Lauren Frohne / The Seattle Times)

"He just started shooting me" (3:48)

The National Archives at Seattle house 50,000 case files from the Chinese Exclusion Act. Files created to discriminate against Chinese laborers now hold value for descendants seeking detailed family information. (Corinne Chin / The Seattle Times)

'It's like reading someone's life': Seattle's Chinese Exclusion... (5:23)

Puget Sound’s orcas were shot and reviled, then caught and sold to aquariums around the world. But an orca capture in Budd Inlet was a turning point, leading to the end of an era.
(Lauren Frohne, Steve Ringman & Ramon Dompor / The Seattle Times)

Hostile Waters: To Catch an Orca (6:41)

Rosenda Strong was last seen on Oct. 2, heading to the Legends Casino in Toppenish. The 31-year-old mother of four is the latest case of a missing indigenous woman on or near the Yakama Nation Reservation. (Lauren Frohne / The Seattle Times)

"We want answers, we want justice": March for a missing mother... (4:06)

Newport High School senior Jenna Martz is a champion power lifter and the first girl at her school to play four years of football. She hopes to inspire and support others in building strength. (Corinne Chin and Ramon Dompor / The Seattle Times)

High School senior wants to 'leave a legacy' with her Newport... (1:58)

Pastor Patrinell “Pat” Wright has spent the past 45 years helping people in Seattle and around the world, of all backgrounds, grasp the meaning of African-American gospel music. (Bettina Hansen and Corinne Chin / The Seattle Times)

Pastor Patrinell “Pat” Wright brings gospel to Seattle (3:42)

Chisato DuBose, 54, and her daughter Sachie DuBose, 18, are world-champion power lifters and competitive bodybuilding athletes. As the women train and compete together, they build each other up. (Erika Schultz and Corinne Chin / The Seattle Times)

Mother-daughter powerlifters 'don't care what people have to say' (5:12)

Experience the sights and sounds of the parade and victory rally for the Seattle Storm, winners of the 2018 WNBA Championship, at Seattle Center on Sunday September 16, 2018. (Corinne Chin, Ramon Dompor and Bettina Hansen / The Seattle Times)

Seattle Storm: WNBA Champions 2018 (2:23)

Life

Food waste expert Jill Lightner, left, discusses what to keep and what to throw away with Bethany, center.
Bethany Jean Clement cleans out her kitchen cupboards with the help of food waste expert Jill Lightner, getting in-depth about what you really should and shouldn’t throw away. Photos taken Friday, January 11, 2019 at Bethany’s home. 208981

Marie Kondo’ing my kitchen: What a food writer learned from a total pantry re-org with a food-waste expert VIEW

Featured Columnist

This Seattle concierge has secrets he won’t tell

Pacific NW Magazine

The legend of Sasquatch won't die. (But if just one Bigfoot would — die, that is — Ron Judd would become a believer.)

Travel

A hunt for old haunts in a gentrifying Denver

‘You can’t go home again’: A one-time Denver local confronts a gentrifying city VIEW

Featured Columnist

Rick Steves' Europe

What’s new in Germany and the Low Countries for 2019