Skip to content

The Pulse: Berry Season

A hit card game and Venezuelan hot dogs

By Sarah Stackhouse August 8, 2025

A rectangular baking dish filled with fruit crumble sits next to a bowl of whipped cream, a whisk, a spoon, and a small cup of syrup—perfect for enjoying during berry season.
Photo courtesy of PCC Community Markets

It’s time to pick blackberries from that one overgrown corner of the neighborhood — you know the one. Strawberries are bright red and blueberries are fat and sweet, so be sure to hit up your local farmers market. August is doing exactly what it’s supposed to, and we’ve still got a few weeks left to pretend time isn’t real.

Here’s what’s going on around town…

Fido Hot Dogs in Wallingford is serving Venezuelan-style hot dogs out of a tire shop parking lot. Yes, please.

A Seattle teen just sold his homemade card game to a toy giant. He launched it at age 7. Extremely cool.

Two new tiny house villages are opening in Seattle this fall, with space for 100 people experiencing homelessness.

Alaska Airlines is launching nonstop flights to Reykjavik and London next spring, part of its big international expansion out of Seattle.

Here’s a handy PCC guide to summer fruit desserts. Bookmark it.

This Italian espresso bar in Edmonds is so pretty it makes me want to dress up and sip a fancy espresso and pretend I’m much classier than I actually am.

Sea stars are melting and after a decade of mystery, scientists finally figured out why.

Revive I-5 is only halfway done. The traffic, however, is fully cooked.

A Tuscan olive oil startup lost its U.S. market to Trump-era tariffs. (The olive oil is delicious.)

Kraken forward John Hayden and Buoy the mascot were charged by a grizzly bear during a fishing trip in Alaska. All good, no injuries — just another reason to leave the mascots at home.

Wildfire smoke is like smoking half a pack a day.

There was an orange sports car–boat hybrid at Seafair, and the people driving it were clearly having the time of their lives.

And here’s Uwajipedia. Don’t know how I ever lived without it.

Reader Comment of the Week:

On our story about Seattle being named the most walkable city in the U.S. by Travel + Leisure.

Instagram comment from user "dr_3dnut" reads: "most swimmable city," with a small profile image of a puppet character raising its arms.

Thanks for the laugh. Seattle might be walkable for visitors, but swimmers know where the real action is.

Follow Us

Rearview Mirror: World Cup Fervor, New Local Music, and Soccer-Themed Art

Rearview Mirror: World Cup Fervor, New Local Music, and Soccer-Themed Art

Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).

Experience World Cup 2026 fervor in Seattle! From Death Cab for Cutie’s new album to soccer-themed art at Railspur and Seattle Center sand sculptures.

World Cup 26 Is Keeping the Region Busy. So Are Its Recycling Bins.

World Cup 26 Is Keeping the Region Busy. So Are Its Recycling Bins.

A local expert explains what actually happens after a plastic bottle leaves the bin.

Seattle is buzzing right now. In the first 11 days of World Cup 26, Waterfront Park recorded more than 451,000 visits, including nearly 85,000 on June 19 alone. SEA Airport has also seen some of its busiest travel days ever, with match-day crowds and summer travelers moving through the city. That is a lot of…

A New Climate Fund Starts With Indigenous Leadership

A New Climate Fund Starts With Indigenous Leadership

The $5.5 million investment will support seven Tribal governments and Indigenous-led organizations working on climate projects across Greater Seattle and Puget Sound.

As we head into another summer of hotter days, drought, stress on waterways and habitat, and the now-familiar arrival of wildfire smoke, the First Peoples Climate Fund puts city and philanthropic money behind Native communities already doing the work of responding to these pressures, many of them closest to the impacts and with long-held knowledge…

Washington’s Gender Wage Gap is Widening, Study Finds

Washington’s Gender Wage Gap is Widening, Study Finds

Women earned $18,545 less than men in 2024, one of the widest disparities in the country.

The wage gap between men and women in Washington is the second widest in the country. An analysis released in March from the National Partnership for Women and Families found that women in Washington earned a median income $18,545 less than their male counterparts, the largest gap in the country second only to Utah. For…