News
Video Game Technology Moves From Recreational to Real-World
Video games leap off the screen and into new tech products that help PTSD patients, drivers and webs
Seems like just yesterday video games were making the clumsy transition from bulky joysticks to sleek, wireless controllers. But youth fades, and the time comes to get a haircut, a real job and contribute something to society. Here in the Northwest, several gaming-inspired projects have done just that by advancing videogames from pixelated playthings to…
Thanks to Budget Cuts, UW Is Turning Away Dozens of Local Students
Local parents are outraged that more out-of-state students are getting accepted—but some say the UW
Words guaranteed to freeze the blood of any local middle-class parent of a teenager: “The University of Washington is now officially a stretch school.” That’s what a high school counselor recently told the Eastside mother of a rising high school senior—and what more and more students are hearing. By “stretch,” the counselor means, “Most kids…
Paddleboard Yoga Offers a New Core Curriculum
Master your lunge (else you take a plunge).
In the beginning, there was yoga. Next, hot yoga caught fire. But for Seattleites, even that wasn’t enough of a mind-body challenge. Now, behold WASUP: Washington Stand-Up Paddleboard Yoga. At last we can execute warrior poses while balancing atop a paddleboard in the middle of Shilshole Bay. Part of the Washington Surf Academy (wasurfacademy.com), which…
Why Seattle’s Tap Water Is So Good
The water-quality expert shares the secrets of Seattle’s delicious tap water.
West Seattleite Ralph Naess, 48, drinks water straight from the faucet. As manager of the public and cultural programs at the Cedar River Watershed—the more than 90,000 acres of natural habitat and protected water near North Bend that is the source of Seattle’s tap water—Naess has been quenching the public’s thirst for knowledge about local…
Local Artists Get a Kick-start
Seattle artists turn to a new social media tool to fund projects.
Seattle-based cartoonists Scott Kurtz and Kris Straub decided last year that they wanted their own reality Web-TV show. They had already proven that their style of “bro-mance” banter attracts a following, and they received the green light from Penny Arcade TV (an online entertainment video channel). The catch: They needed to fund the production themselves….
Lessons from Japan: Is Hanford Ready to Withstand a Big Earthquake?
Anna King Explores why watchdogs are worried about Washington’s only commercial nuclear reactor.
The ongoing nuclear disaster in Japan—triggered by the March 11 earthquake—has federal officials asking tough questions about nuclear safety in our state. Washington’s only commercial nuclear reactor, the Columbia Generating Station, is located on the grounds of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in south-central Washington. But it’s not the reactor that’s stressing experts out; it’s some…
What’s Good About the New Stand-alone Emergency Rooms
Hospitals say these new freestanding ER's meet a critical care need. Critics say it's more about mak
Emergency medical care in Washington is getting a radical makeover: Freestanding, “no wait” emergency centers are cropping up in fast-growing suburbs, providing closer-to-home options to those often dreaded, crowded ER waiting rooms in urban hospitals. These ERs, often in or near trendy shopping centers, tout quick, high-quality treatment for sudden injuries and illnesses. “It’s a…
Explore Seattle’s Urban Architectural Ruins
Eight relics of Seattle’s past are hidden in plain sight.
In this town, we spend a lot of time fretting (and arguing and voting) about what the Seattle of the future will look like. Meanwhile, physical evidence of our city’s forgotten past looms all around us. The Underground Tour is an obvious example, but while historically fascinating, it’s perhaps not where you want to be…
The UW’s Medical Herb Garden is in Full Bloom
The strolling's good (but touching is bad!) at this century-old garden.
Originally planted by the University of Washington School of Pharmacy in 1911, the Medicinal Herb Garden has survived budget cuts and campus expansion, as well as a post–World War II shift in national preference from herbal to synthetic medicines. Now maintained by the UW Department of Biology, under the care of curator and gardener Keith…
A Guide to Seattle Pick-up Games, For When You Feel Like Playing
There are plenty of no-strings-attached sports in Seattle that you can play on a drop-in basis.
In this entrepreneurial town, we like to do things on our own time and that includes being active. Whether there’s one last work project that can’t wait or The Bachelorette conflicts with your Monday night tennis league, having a weekly team sport commitment just doesn’t always jive with our free-spirit attitude. Perhaps that’s why Seattle has such a…
Feature: Seattle School District Watchdogs
With the firing of Seattle Schools Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson and ongoing budget cuts, edu
School’s out this month, but for a group of local education advocates, the homework never ends. With recent leadership and budget crises fueling an environment of mistrust, protecting the interests of the more than 47,000 students served by Seattle Public Schools has never been more difficult—or more crucial. Meet the citizen watchdogs who remain vigilant…
Seattle’s Idea-sharing Explosion
New groups join TEDx in creating events where big thinkers gather.
It’s a sunny Saturday in early March. Nearly 150 media, tech and business professionals, academics and students are squeezed into a meeting room at Adobe’s Fremont campus. The crowd quietly sips bottles of specialty ginger beer and listens intently, many taking notes, as author Eric Liu discusses citizenship and leadership with the host of the…
Washington is a Hotbed for Three Dangerous Diseases
Our state outpaces the nation in rates of three serious diseases—tuberculosis, multiple sclerosis an
We take pride in it: Our state regularly earns top honors as one of the most livable in the country, thanks to our old-growth forests, vast waterways, and our literary and recreational lifestyles. But Washington state also tops a few not-so-pleasant lists: We outpace the nation in debilitating, and sometimes deadly, diseases. Washington is a…
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