Local Letters

A Big Seattle Reading List

An alphabetized list of books—recent releases, stone-cold classics—from Washingtonians past and present.

05/20/2021 By Stefan Milne and Seattle Met Staff

News Wire

Seattle Reacts as Jury Finds Derek Chauvin Guilty of Murder

Statements, silence, and protest all characterized the hours after justice was finally rendered.

04/21/2021 By Benjamin Cassidy

Timeline

Everything That Happened in Seattle This Year, Non-Covid Edition

Covid-19 masked some major, and not so major, happenings in our city. We've got you covered.

12/29/2020 By Benjamin Cassidy

Protest Primer

What to Know About Friday’s Black Lives Matter March and Strike

From free Covid-19 testing sites to where and when to march—here's a guide to participating in the statewide call to action.

06/11/2020 By Stefan Milne

Black Lives Matter

Seattle Portraits of Protest

What drives a person to the streets? We asked.

06/08/2020 Photography by Mike Kane By Benjamin Cassidy

FEATURE

Neon Signs Are Glowing Strong in Seattle

In a world of LEDs, Western Neon illuminates this Seattle legacy for the next generation.

03/02/2020 By Benjamin Cassidy

Feature

Land of Milk and Money: Inside the Wild World of Washington Dairy

Death, disfigurement, sexual harassment allegations, and a years-long labor dispute worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster.

02/26/2019 By Stefan Milne Photography by Mike Kane

Quote Unquote

Death Becomes Jeff Jorgenson

The funeral director looks death in the face—and suggests we do the same.

09/11/2018 By Jessica Voelker

Quote Unquote

Reverend Rick Reynolds Hits the Streets

The executive director of Operation Nightwatch tirelessly tackles Seattle homelessness, one box of pizza at a time.

07/17/2018 By Jessica Voelker

A Better Place

Light a Fire 2018: Honoring Seattle's Best and Brightest Nonprofits and Volunteers

In the following pages, you’ll meet some of the city's most inspiring individuals and nonprofits. They light the fires that encourage others to follow. They make Seattle—and the world—a better place.

05/22/2018 By Seattle Met Staff

Light a Fire 2018: Most With the Least

At Facing Homelessness, Home Is Where the Hope Is

Rex Hohlbein left a successful career as an architect to educate local residents on the struggles of the region’s homeless population.

05/22/2018 By James Ross Gardner

Light a Fire 2018: Lifetime Achievement

King County Sexual Assault Resource Center’s Mary Ellen Stone Has Always Fought for Survivors

To Stone, getting involved in KCSARC was a no-brainer: “I’m going to make our world better for my nieces and my grandnieces.”

05/22/2018 By Hayat Norimine

Light a Fire 2018: Extraordinary Board Member

Rachel Prusynski Is a Catastrophe Survivor with a Mission

One minute she was visiting a college friend who worked for a children’s charity in Port-au-Prince; the next she was semiconscious, buried under rubble.

05/22/2018 By Allison Williams

Light a Fire 2018: Extraordinary Executive Director

Kimerly Rorschach Helps Keep SAM Out of the Red and Into the Infinity Mirrors

Rorschach brought a new vision to the museum at a critical point in time.

05/22/2018 By Stefan Milne

Light a Fire 2018: Game-Changing Action

How Northwest Immigrant Rights Project Stopped a One-Way Ticket to a Death Sentence

“There’s always been this overwhelming need...but then you have the Trump administration upping the ante.”

05/22/2018 By Hayat Norimine

Light a Fire 2018: Extraordinary Volunteer

Ted Neill Is Wise in the Ways of Recovery

Neill found his place at Recovery Cafe in 2015: "At closing time he stacks chairs and mops floors so staff can leave—he remembers nonprofit burnout."

05/22/2018 By Allison Williams

Light a Fire 2018: Emerging Leader

Meet Wing Luke’s People Connector, Christina Shimizu

“I’ve developed a language to learn about my identity—and about my heritage and the history of my family and community here.”

05/22/2018 By James Ross Gardner

Feature

Darren Berg on the Run: Inside the Biggest Ponzi Scheme in Washington State History

He owned yachts and sped around the country in Lear jets—spoils from the more than $100 million he bilked from investors—before he was convicted and sent away to serve an 18-year sentence in federal prison. Then, late last year, Darren Berg disappeared.

03/19/2018 By Ciara O'Rourke

Feature

Ricardo Rios Is an American Dreamer

In 1991, his parents carried him across the U.S. border at four months old. Now, as he awaits a permanent solution, Ricardo Rios fears expulsion from the only country he’s ever known.

02/15/2018 By Hayat Norimine

Fossil Fuels

Seattle Activist Who Shut Off Keystone Pipeline Sentenced to One Year in Prison

Michael Foster traveled to North Dakota in October 2016 to protest the pipeline by turning off one of the valves.

02/06/2018 By Hayat Norimine