Skip to content

Orca Death, Bertha Delayed Again & More News

The top Seattle news stories you should be reading today

By Lauren Mang December 5, 2014

0114orcas_0

Earthquake news: Scientists are worried it’s a little too quiet out there where the Cascadia earthquake fault zone, which normally generates signs of grinding and slipping, lies. You know, typical earth-moving noises. Now, scientists are asking for more instruments that could better detect signs a giant 9.0 earthquake is headed our way.

When will Bertha, our SR 99 tunnel boring maching, start drilling again? Not in March as previously estimated. The project is delayed again and is expected to resume in April 2015.

Orca death: Sadly, an 18-year-old female Orca whale was found dead in British Columbia. She was a member of the J pod and was named “Rhapsody.” The West Seattle Blog has all the details here.

Bellevue prides itself on how racially diverse it is. And it’s definitely more diverse than Seattle, with its minority population of 42 percent. (Seattle’s is 34 percent.) However, The Seattle Times reports Bellevue’s city government workforce, boards and commissions are predominately white and male. To help fix the problem, the city is looking to adopt The Bellevue Diversity Initiative, which “makes 60 recommendations, from providing more translation and interpretation services to closing the schools’ achievement gap for minorities and English language learners.”

Expect more downtown construction cranes soon: Developer Urban Visions has secured financing for its planned 39-story tower at the corner of Second Avenue and Pike Street, The Puget Sound Business Journal reports. The luxury apartment tower will take the place of what is currently a surface parking lot.

 

Follow Us

Studio Sessions: Jo Cosme

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

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

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

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…