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Willows Lodge Named Best Hotel, Rent Increases in West Seattle

The top Seattle news stories you should be reading today

By Lauren Mang January 13, 2015

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When we first discovered Twin Peaks was slated to return with a new season in 2016, it was still unclear whether actor Kyle MacLachlan would reprise his role as Agent Cooper. Now, it’s official that he will indeed star in the revival! Alrighty then! (Sorry, that’s a Trey MacDougal reference.)  

The rents are too dang high, West Seattle edition. Several West Seattle renters are experiencing a whopping 130 percent increase to their monthly rents after new building owners deem the current levels far below market value. 

Congrats to the Willows Lodge! One of my favorite just-outside-of-the-city spots to stay was named best hotel in the state by Business Insider magazine. Its reasoning for the top honors? The magazine calls Willows a “calming spa retreat” and cites the hotel’s close proximity to the various wine tasting rooms and vineyards as a fab perk. Kudos.

Leaping lizards: Firefighters rescued a pet lizard from a fire that started at a home this morning in Northgate. While all four residents were able to get out of the home, King 5 reports, the African spiny-tailed reptile named Princess Diana (omg, love) was left behind. She was found in the basement.

More pets: Have you seen a pup riding the bus all by herself lately? Metro bus commuters in Belltown noticed a 2-year-old black labrador “roaming the aisles, hopping onto seats next to strangers,” according to KOMO News. It’s no big deal, apparently, as Eclipse the dog sometimes takes a solo transit ride to get to the dog park. And her owner is cool with the whole thing.

 

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