People

Working full-time while homeless

What does it take to hold down a job while struggling with unstable housing? And, is a job enough to find stability? Joey Pollitt is a longtime Seattleite. He had a place in Belltown for a decade, but lost it in 2005 after he was laid off from his recycling job. After that, Joey picked […]

/ August 5, 2019

Q&A: Can card games can help us understand each other better?

Potlatch the game in action (📸: Jonathan Tomhave) Visit one of our city’s many gaming lounges — like Cafe Mox in Ballard or Raygun in Capitol Hill — and it’s obvious: Card games are hugely popular in Seattle. Playing can offer more than just a chance to unwind and relax. For people like Seattleite Jonathan […]

/ July 31, 2019

Long live the local corner store

Ever seen a prize-winning radish? Back in 1915, a trip to the Cone & Steiner general store in Seattle would have scored you some prodigious produce. Fast forward a hundred years or so, and Dani Cone has revived her great-grandfather’s corner store. These days you probably won’t find many radishes, but Dani has stocked her […]

/ June 20, 2019

Gardening where the high rises grow

The birds are chirping, the sun is shining (sometimes), and JoJo Tran wants you to fall in love. Spring is the perfect time to begin a new romance…with your garden. JoJo has been planting and harvesting vegetables as a community gardener in Seattle’s Cascade P-Patch for 20 years. He’s seen plenty of changes in the […]

/ May 7, 2019

The keeper of UW’s 127-year-old telescope

LOCAL TO KNOW: Adriana Gomez-Buckley remembers the first time she got the chance to look through the University of Washington’s 127-year-old telescope. She first visited the Theodor Jacobsen Observatory the summer after she graduated high school., There, Gomez-Buckley met the head of UW’s Department of Astronomy and peered up into the starry abyss. Four years […]

/ April 15, 2019

Fish, With a Side of Ballard History

Pete Knutson is a 47-year commercial fisherman, a fourth-generation Ballardite, and a college professor. When he’s not up in Alaska catching salmon, you’ll find him down on the dock at Fishermen’s Terminal selling it.

/ March 27, 2019

Broadcasting live from Ballard’s Mox Boarding House

THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Ballard THE PLACE: Mox Boarding House is a board game store and cafe founded in 2011 by two brothers. They have locations in Bellevue, Ballard and plan to open in Portland soon. Mox offers more than 600 games for people to play in the store. THE STORY: When you meet Michael Tessier, the […]

/ March 26, 2019

One fix to Seattle’s housing crisis: Modular housing

MEET THESE CHANGEMAKERS: Aaron Holm and Nelson Del Rio are co-CEOs of Blokable, Inc. WHAT THEY’RE DOING: It’s no secret that housing in Seattle (and across the U.S.) is becoming increasingly unaffordable for many.  And there have been more than a few possible solutions proposed locally – backyard cottages! Big affordable housing investments! Upzoning! This week’s […]

/ March 21, 2019

Meet the guy who runs Ballard’s boat elevator

THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Ballard THE PERSON: Larry Meyer, lockmaster of the Ballard Locks THE STORY: What do you get when you combine a fish ladder, a botanical garden, and a bunch of boats? The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks – also known as the Ballard Locks. And you can find one person at the center of it […]

/ March 19, 2019

Becoming a Ballardite in three steps

THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Ballard THE PERSON: It’s true that Ballard has changed a lot over the years, but there’s one person who has probably seen the neighborhood transform more than anyone. Louis Larsen was born in 1924 and grew up five blocks from downtown Ballard. You may remember that the neighborhood was its own city before […]

/ March 15, 2019