Activists in Westlake Park, Snow, Tolls & More
The top Seattle news stories you should be reading today
By Lauren Mang November 21, 2014
It’s Friday. It’s raining. Potentially violent protesters could be mere steps from our offices. Leading off:
Warnings are out for the possibility of violent protests downtown today or over the weekend. The fringe activist group October 22nd Coalition Against Police Brutality, Repression and The Criminalization of a Generation is expected to gather at Westlake Park in response to the grand jury decision whether or not to indict officer Darren Wilson in the shooting of Michael Brown, which happened in Ferguson, Mo. KIRO Radio’s Jason Rantz has the full story here.
When Westlake Park isn’t facing threats from violent anti-cop protesters, expect it to be filled with loads of holiday cheer. The Downtown Seattle Association announced its winter village, including the famed holiday carousel and a heated Holiday Recharge Lounge that is “made up of clear tents and will be filled with trees, foliage and a snowy landscape, bringing nature indoors,” will launch on Friday, November 28, the day after Thanksgiving.
USA Today has published a profile on Matt Ehrlichman, the ceo of Seattle-based startup Porch.com. Ehrlichman is one of several finalists for the newspaper’s Entreprenuer of the Year award. A winner will be selected in December.
Would you pay an extra toll to get out of traffic congestion? Northbound and southbound express lane tolls along I-405 should be popping up in late 2015 and are designed to reduce congestion on the stretch of the I-405 highway from Lynnwood to Bellevue. Crosscut reports that “the amount of the tolls would depend on how fast the main traffic is going.”
Everyone makes a big deal about all the development happening in Seattle, but despite our building boom, there are still areas where development is struggling. Seattle Weekly takes a look at the South End, where land still is in need of buyers.
Follow Us
Studio Sessions: Jo Cosme
The Seattle-based multimedia artist and 2026 Neddy Award winner challenges the postcard version of Puerto Rico and centers the persistence of its people.
Jo Cosme knows how seductive a postcard can be. The Seattle-based Boricua (Puerto Rican) multimedia artist works across photography, installation, video, sound, and interactive elements to examine and pull apart how Puerto Rico is seen, sold, and misunderstood from the outside. Trained in photojournalism, with a BFA in photography from Puerto Rico School of Fine…
Seattle’s Drag Brunch Has History
The city’s Sunday shows started long before the mimosas got bottomless.
There was a time not too long ago, when drag performances—now a mainstay of Seattle’s queer scene—were kept under wraps. And when brunches, complete with singing and dancing queens dressed in dazzling drag as you sipped mimosas, weren’t a Sunday staple. During the 1940s and ‘50s, an era largely shaped by restrictive laws and bias…
Studio Sessions: Sangram Majumdar
Working at the confluence of history, culture, and various painting traditions, UW associate professor Sangram Majumdar is one of this year’s Neddy Artist Award winners.
Discover the art of UW professor Sangram Majumdar, a 2026 Neddy Artist Award winner. Learn about his inspiration and upcoming Seattle exhibition at Cornish.
Rearview Mirror: A Georgian Dinner, Sidewalk Sips, and One-of-a-Kind Clothing
Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).
A new life for old clothes To celebrate one year in its current studio, the FXRY—a clothing repair service available via in-person appointments, home pickup, or mail-in drop off—is dropping its first collection. A small batch of reworked pieces, Second Mark will feature 13 vintage barn jackets, cropped, chain-stitched, and renewed into a completely unique, one-of-one…