Pike Place thrives while most downtown retail doesn’t; will anyone run against Harrell for re-election?; new orca calf spotted in the Sound; my annual Boxing Day sermonette.

Nordstrom family taking chain ‘private;’ Starbucks strike expands; last Pecos Pit BBQ locations closed; victory in racial-discrimination suit against Seattle Children’s.

Jinkx and DeLa’s annual holiday spectacular; new SPD chief nominee named, while case against ex-chief Diaz deepens; suspect in Metro bus driver killing arrested (while on another bus).

A ‘Deluxe’ Xmas tree ornament; workers strike at 10 scattered Amazon facilities; Olympic Hotel sold; Ferguson says he’ll resist any ‘unconstitutional’ acts from the White House.

Neal Stephenson’s novel ‘Snow Crash’ and its lessons for today; did a ‘Star Wars’ valentine card cost ex-SPD chief Diaz’s job?; cop who ran over Jaahnavi Kandula gets $5,000 fine; feds giving $50 mil toward Cascadia light rail planning.

Harrell cans ex-SPD chief Diaz from non-exec job; Inslee’s last budget includes a ‘small wealth tax;’ another child-sex sting operation nabs another schoolteacher; did Amazon sacrifice worker safety for ‘productivity’?

Local artist’s ‘mysterious’ light sculpture; aftermath of grocery-merger collapse; more Green Hill School workers charged with sexual misconduct; ‘suspicious backpack’ briefly causes East Precinct evacuation.

Remembering Seattle Times music writer Patrick MacDonald (and Kraken co-owner David Bonderman); big grocery-merger plan scrapped amid new lawsuits; an ‘adult cabaret’ (NOT a ‘strip club’) planned for Ballard.

Xmas tree ornaments feed pix to smartphones; two judges nix big grocery-merger plan; Amazon starts selling cars in some US regions; ‘being able to read’ isn’t the same thing as ‘wanting to read books.’

Inside ‘Wyoming’s last abortion clinic;’ downtown street-people scene moves but doesn’t disband; Mayor Harrell will run for re-election; Tammy Morales supporters claim ‘institutional abuse’ drove her to quit.

Cornish College merging into Seattle U; judge rejects Boeing/FAA plea bargain deal; West Seattle teen fatally shot; a ‘strong earthquake’ off the Pacific coast led to a tsunami warning.

Tammy Morales quits City Council; legal-aid lawyer runs for city attorney; Teamsters file union-bashing charges against Costco; HomeStreet Bank merger’s off.

National praise for ‘Seattle Special’ apartment and condo projects; court OKs ICE deportation flights from Boeing Field; Inslee freezes state spending; Seattle’s first Voodoo Doughnuts shop to finally open.

Do the WTO protests have a lesson for today?; Girmay Zahilay confirms run for county exec; Facebook owes WA $24.6 mil over campaign-ad violations; LIHI says banks demand eviction-law concessions.

Retail chains’ shrinkage doesn’t stop shopping-season openers; SAM guards on strike; ex-local band finds its name falsely place on AI-generated music; Sounders edged out of MLS Cup playoffs.