If you want to get creative in the Central District, you might head over to the Pratt Fine Arts Center. But rather than just tell you about the place, we’ve partnered up with Pratt to give you a fun, hands-on way to check it out — through a special edition Evergrey class on screen printing.

This class isn’t just any class. It’s a party. While instructor Nikki Barber walks you through making a print of your own, there’ll be fellow Evergrey readers to meet, neighborhood snacks and refreshments to enjoy, and some Seattle-centric designs for you to work with, created by your friendly neighborhood newsletter. 😘 Print on paper to your heart’s content — or, if you want to bring a white shirt or some other material to print on, do it.

Spots are very limited for this one, so RSVP quick. It’s $35 for non-members, and free for Evergrey members. We’ll see you there.

Like what we bring to your inbox (and beyond) every morning? Support us with a membership. And check out our guide to the Central District — complete with profiles, videos, and an answer to your top question about the CD — here.

MADE POSSIBLE BY THE CITY OF SEATTLE’S OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Yesterday’s vote on your favorite housing questions was neck-and-neck — until this one finally took the lead by just 16 votes.

“Why can’t the City of Seattle just take land that is available or land they already own and just build affordable housing?”

The question comes from a reader named J.J., and we’re getting ready to get to the bottom of it.

Housing affordability is a critical issue a bunch of our local and state lawmakers have on their brains right now. Although rents around Puget Sound have dropped recently, housing costs are still far out of reach for many struggling Seattleites. Seattle leaders are trying to figure out a plan to make the city affordable. One thing they’re considering? Changing zoning laws in 27 neighborhoods so more housing can fit.

To dig into why the city can’t build cheaper housing on the land it already does own, we’ll be looking at how this way of building affordable housing even works, and talking with locals who can flesh out the details.

Why did J.J. ask this kinda-curious, kinda-frustrated question? Because it’s one he’s heard a lot from friends and colleagues who are frustrated with rising rents and our growing homelessness crisis.

“I’m definitely someone who believes it’s the role of the government to create affordable housing,” he told us. “What tools do we have at our disposal to build more? … The problem is complicated, but the solutions themselves seem to be complicated, too.”

Keep an eye on your inbox next week to see what we find out.

Have tips on which housing experts we should talk to to answer this question? Hit reply to let us know. Thanks in advance! 🙏

This furloughed life. It’s no fun to be owed money and not get it. So local businesses are giving a break to the thousands of Washington workers missing paychecks thanks to this longest-ever government shutdown. Know someone who could use it? Point your federal furloughed friends to these restaurants offering discounts, this ski resort offering free lift tickets, this local nonprofit offering free pet food, and this local bank offering — wow — 90-day interest-free loans. (Seattle Met, KIRO, KIRO, The Seattle Times)

Don’t rid poorly. Ridwell. That’s the name of a new Seattle-based business that picks up things you no longer want and recycles them in the extra-correct way most of us don’t make time to do. It grew out of Owen’s List, a project named for the then 6-year-old Ballard kid who started a recycling pick-up service for his neighbors with his dad. For $10-14 a month, Ridwell will pick up and recycle your old clothes, plastic bags, batteries and other tricky things. It promises to help you reach maximum green with minimum hassle, and it’s making Evergrey cofounder Mónica Guzmán want to ask her 6-year-old son about his business ideas… (MyBallard)

Maybe this time? If at first you don’t pass a law, try, try again. That’s basically the motto behind two proposals in our state legislature this month that they have seen — and rejected — several times before. One would raise the minimum age for buying tobacco from 18 to 21 to try to curb an unhealthy habit. And the other would make our winter afternoons more sunny. That’s right: Lawmakers want to keep Washington state in Daylight Saving Time all year, so we trade in that early sunset at 4:20 p.m. … for a late sunrise at 9 a.m. Into it? Keep your eyes on Olympia. ☀️ (The Seattle Times, KREM)

Thank you, HistoryLink. Ever read one of the 7,500 articles from HistoryLink — an encyclopedia of Washington goings-on that’s two years older than Wikipedia and is “arguably the most comprehensive state encyclopedia in the U.S.”? The site marks its twentieth anniversary this year, and considering how dang useful it’s been every time we want to understand where this whole region is coming from, we’ll raise a glass to 20 more. 🍻 (GeekWire)

THAT’S ALL FOR TODAY

We’ll see you tomorrow. — The Evergrey