The Seattle Times | Local news, sports, business, politics, entertainment, travel, restaurants and opinion for Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.

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
Amazon tests delivery robots in Snohomish County
No surprise for commuters: Washington ranks dead last among lower 48 states for driving
UW Huskies 2019 outlook: Can new cast of characters maintain Huskies’ defensive dominance? Updated 12:55 pm
New study: Cellphone use by Washington state drivers is down, but other distractions are up New 12:52 pm
Boeing pilotless air taxi lifts off the ground, but passenger service is years away WATCH Updated 2:34 pm
Seahawks Mailbag: Free agent rumors and rumblings — Could a few former Seahawks find their way back?

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. Updated 1:56 pm

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.