Fremont Solstice, once ‘fringe,’ now a familiar comfort in an age of change; Juneteenth’s local past and present; big cutbacks at Seattle Pacific U.; Amazon-contractor drivers strike in Calif.

Bringing the music of pre-Soviet Ukraine into the digital age; judge says city can’t ban anti-police chalk-art slogans; it now takes twice the minimum wage to afford a Seattle apartment; a better way to think of AI chatbots.

Queer artist group of Pacific Island descent has a show at Wing Luke; there’ll be one fewer ‘affordable’ apt. building on Capitol Hill; historic schooner to be dismantled in Everett; Harrell names group to draft revised ‘new war on drugs’ bill.

Seattle Opera’s tale of a young Vietnamese American and her demons; UW researchers, postdocs go on strike; no, illicit drugs aren’t now ‘legal’ in Seattle; thoughts on these newsletters (and me) turning another year older.

Bellevue sixth grader’s contest-winning ‘Google Doodle;’ City Council nixes ‘new war on drugs’ bill; a Catholic high school picks a prom-queen couple; why many Seattleites hate the heat.

Local books cover neon signs, rain, and feminist history; City Council to vote on Neo-War on Drugs bill; ‘swept’ Burien encampment moves locations, will be re-‘swept;’ the death of a businessman and onetime rock promoter.

ChatGPT-written song lyrics are about what you’d expect; SPD killings rose during federal oversight; youth mental-health crisis viewed as a business opportunity; did Jeffrey Epstein try to blackmail Bill Gates?

Showing where the most encampments have been targeted; HoneyHole Sandwiches ex-manager sends a harsh email rant; Harrell could pare down ‘missing middle housing’-allowed zones; Spokane preacher calls for murdering LGBTQ+-accepting teachers.

Thomas A. Doyle nixes a TAD reunion; Alberta wildfire smoke drifts here; new condo tower cuts prices 30 percent; COVID aid programs as an ‘experiment in single-payer care.’

New book semi-fictionalizes Sacajawea and her journey; Kraken come THIS close to moving on in playoffs; Legislators say they have a drug-bill deal; David Brewster disses diversity in the arts as a mere frill.

Club-night promoters try for ‘safer space’ policy; Chinatown-Intl. District declared ‘endangered;’ Weyerhaeuser HQ workers told to come back on-site; what might be behind the big supermarket-takeover plan.

Author Megan Asaka on western WA’s early, nonwhite laboring class; layoffs hit FareStart; Kraken demolishes Dallas; will Redmond pay city council enough to afford to live there?

Rachel’s Ginger Beer founder dies; ‘crisis care centers’ levy passing; gun advocates already challenging WA’s new assault-weapons ban; bacterial outbreak kills four Virginia Mason patients.

Wa Na Wari gallery’s building listed for sale; state, cities, and counties scramble to potentially make up for Legislature’s drug-bill failure; man tries to hijack a Bremerton ferry because ‘revolution;’ it’s ‘Bed Bath and Bye Bye.’

Beloved local artist-designer Carl Smool dies; city employees protest Harrell’s 1-percent pay raise proposal; game hacker owes Nintendo $10 million; REI closing store where workers tried to unionize, but blames ‘crime.’