Lummi Nation taking a new totem pole to DC; new WA COVID cases on the decline; (some) businesses relax mask mandates; gastrointestinal diseases spreading among local homeless.

The Olympic Hotel’s quasi-steampunk new bar; the Java Jive will survive; county, state launch programs to help renters stay housed; did rowdy football fans turn Amazon’s HQ2 search away from Philly?

A ‘burlesque cabaret co-op’ takes over a Ballard theater space; more allegations about Bill Gates’ past (he denies ’em); a triple-win Seattle sports weekend; ‘the day the pandemic changed in Washington.’

The ‘office of the future’ may have an alone-time tent; we can go maskless now (sometimes), while the whole state reopens on 6/30; more criticism about Durkan’s missing texts and Diaz’s non-disciplinary action.

‘Oregon Trail’ computer game updated (and made more historically accurate); younger vaccinations about to start; SPD chief won’t discipline the officer who ordered tear gas and blast bombs on June protesters; a $1.5 million settlement for Che Taylor’s family.

A local Indigenous writer on Coast Salish songs and the CHOP protests; teens can get the jab now (and should); a proposal to help prevent future mayoral text-message disappearances; a classic, closed downtown hotel and dive bar may get boutique-ified.

Graphic novel depicts three people who fought WWII internment; more Gates divorce news, and why it IS news; Sawant admits a fundraising violation; Boeing’s offshoring a major jet-conversion project to Costa Rica.

Pop-up galleries in the mostly empty Pacific Place; UW report says world COVID deaths are greatly undercounted; 10 months of Mayor Durkan’s text messages have gone missing; when will you believe the pandemic’s over?

Annex Theatre’s double-miracle of survival; who gets the Gates mansion?; the ranch land of the ‘phantom cows’ is up for auction; a pitcher has a career milestone at an Ms’ game (alas, not our pitcher).

Local art-gallery vet takes on the ‘NFT’ craze; we don’t have to go back to ‘Phase 2’ restrictions (yet); more Gates divorce speculation; Durkan’s deputy mayor now wants her job.

A stationary, giant record player honors old Jackson St. jazz greats; the Gateses make Seattle’s second billionaire divorce; getting ready to move ‘back a phase;’ higher-capacity ‘vaccinated sections’ to be allowed at public events.

Ginormous solar-power farms ‘crop up’ in eastern WA; waiting for the ‘Phase 2’ relegation; very different May Day marches with different messages; Boeing wants its workforce to be more ‘pro-diversity’ if not actually more diverse.

Kill Rock Stars, still misunderstood after 30 years; legislature’s sprint to the finish line; Bumbershoot canceled again, buying more time for a reboot; KC sheriff offered to kill internal-watchdog office to placate deputies’ union.

Boeing abandons part of its ex-787 facilities in Everett; Auburn re-criminalizes street tents; are democracy vouchers enough to ‘keep elections local’?; Walter Mondale’s ’84 presidential defeat as a tragic harbinger.

Old Seattle ‘redlining’ map and neighborhood descriptions reveal housing racism’s continued legacy; 30 years of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit;’ WA COVID cases keep surging; excessive-force complaints against SPD are up 170 percent.