UNTIL I STARTED working on this week’s story about global challenges that rocked recycling in Washington and beyond, I had no idea what a dirty business it was. People throw all manner of things into their recycling bins: soiled diapers, old blue jeans, hose caddies, leather belts, tubs of spoiled hummus, wadded-up plastic wrap streaked […]

IN 2017, ABOUT three-quarters of the stuff Seattleites dumped in their blue recycling bins — from grocery store ads and crumpled cracker boxes to shampoo bottles and yogurt tubs — was shipped to China. These days, virtually none of it is. The majority of the material is being recycled much closer to home — at […]

The Cottage at Blue Ridge has become a sort of local phenomenon: A bread popup launched last summer in the Edmonds enclave of Perrinville, that typically sells out its weekly goods in less than two hours.

DO NOT PICK your own mushrooms. Not alone, anyway, and I bother to say this because you probably want to. Tromping through the fecund woods, you would see little trumpets and toadstools winking at you from under every dripping leaf and at the base of every moss-covered tree, and you’d want to pick them and […]

IN OUR CORONAVIRAL days of school closures and social distancing, and with May Day here, this week’s “Then” image might be poignant. It depicts 130 people posing for a group photo at West Seattle’s Jefferson Elementary School on Saturday, June 1, 1985, just 17 days before it fell victim to the wrecking ball. As editor […]

CHRISTIN GEALL IS a Victoria-based gardener who arranges flowers, and a floral designer who grows much of what she uses in her designs. She also is the author of “Cultivated: The Elements of Floral Style,” a gorgeous new book from Princeton Architectural Press. “Flowers shape my years now,” she writes. “They are both calendar and […]

KEVIN AND KAREN had lots to look at when they were moving to Seattle from Bellevue. They looked in Madrona. They looked on Queen Anne. But Madison Park looked different. “We were drawn first and foremost to the neighborhood,” Kevin says. “Specifically, the Canterbury neighborhood. It’s really close to the lake, and has longtime residents. […]

LESSON NO. 1 in skipping rocks: the hunt. Searching for the proper stone can be tedious, but it’s the most crucial step. The right rock must be flat; it must be smooth; and it must be just the right size — not too heavy but not too small. You’ll know you’ve found it when you pick […]

THE DEEPER WE got into our isolation, the more I missed the old routines and simplicities of daily life. I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed making the kids’ lunches in the morning, or quiet time in a coffee shop to work alone, or watching baseball, or hands that didn’t crack and bleed from frequent […]

Sara Porkalob, Seattle-based playwright, director, activist and more, is off to Broadway — but before she goes, she shared what she’s been reading and rereading lately.

Like countless others in the arts and beyond, drag performers have been hit hard by venue closures and stay-home orders. But the drag community has always found ways to endure, connect and celebrate — during and after the coronavirus pandemic, that much will remain true.

Seattle indie rock stars Car Seat Headrest get a sonic makeover with its electro-charged new album “Making a Door Less Open,” dropping May 1.

The Sharma brothers, who became interested in music in the fourth grade, have played in bands at Eckstein Middle School and Roosevelt High. So it felt quite natural for them to step out of their house April 9 for their first front-porch performance.

The COVID-19 pandemic is the latest challenge for Seattle’s independent record stores like Easy Street, but these titans of vinyl continue to rise to the occasion.

With social distancing efforts (or just distance) keeping many families apart for Mother's Day, our features staffers share how they'll be celebrating their moms this weekend. Happy Mother's Day!

Seattle banned the use of playgrounds, athletic fields and sports courts weeks ago, taping off playground structures and swings.

Northern elephant seals have a range from Alaska to Mexico. Most of the animals make their way along the coast, but some venture into Puget Sound.

Gov. Inslee announced Monday that golf and recreational fishing could resume on May 5 and many state parks and public lands will reopen as well.

A huge asteroid will make a (relatively) close pass of Earth early Wednesday, but you'll need a telescope to see that; however, an exceptionally bright Venus should be visible to the naked eye at dusk and in the early evenings. Look to the west.

One reader captured this excellent shot of a stunning wood duck wading across the water, showing that self-isolation sometimes really all it’s quacked up to be.

As always, a big “thank you” to our front-line workers for their selfless, tireless service — and, in this instance, for sharing a hopeful image of the Seattle skyline, shot from West Seattle on a recent morning.

Coronavirus canceled their mountain climbing trips and adventure runs, so these Seattleites found creative ways to stay fit, stay sane and conquer their lofty goals — all while maintaining social distancing.

Gov. Kate Brown announced earlier this week that some outdoor recreation activities can resume as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

The Emerald Distaff, the signature race of season for fillies and mares, has been on the same day as the Mile for years. This year, the track added the Muckleshoot Derby and the Washington Oaks.

An overflow field of 13 juveniles was entered in Sunday’s $100,000 Gottstein Futurity at 1 1/16 miles, the last of three stakes scheduled on closing day at Emerald Downs in Auburn.

Track president Phil Ziegler says overall handle increased this season despite 11 fewer races. But he says attendance, the number of horses per race and on-track betting declined.  

DEL MAR, Calif. (AP) — Del Mar is preemptively canceling racing for Nov. 21 because of projected rain from the season’s first storm in Southern California. Track officials said Friday the cancellation is due to “an abundance of caution” because rain forecast from Tuesday through Thursday likely will result in a muddy main track and […]

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The owners of Maximum Security say they will appeal a federal judge’s dismissal of their lawsuit that seeks to challenge the decision to disqualify their horse as winner of the Kentucky Derby. Gary West said in a statement Monday that he has authorized his attorneys to file an appeal. West and […]

ARCADIA, Calif. — A horse broke down in the last race at Santa Anita on Wednesday, the track’s first racing death of the winter-spring meet after a spate of deaths last year. Golden Birthday took a bad step in the stretch and jockey Victor Espinoza fell off while trying to pull up the 4-year-old gelding […]

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The corporate owner of a New Orleans horse racing track appeared before Louisiana’s Racing Commission on Monday to address a surge in horse deaths there. Mike Ziegler, executive director of racing for Kentucky-based Churchill Downs Inc., presented a list of potential reforms for the commission to consider, including restrictions on certain […]

The opening day of racing this year at Emerald Downs is scheduled for April 18, but no one knows when or if the track will open for racing.

Phil Ziegler, president of Emerald Downs, is confident there will be horse racing this season at the Auburn racetrack -- it's just a matter of when.

BALTIMORE (AP) — The Preakness will remain a fixture at timeworn Pimlico Race Course, which will receive a much-needed facelift following the passing of a bill to redevelop Maryland tracks. Gov. Larry Hogan on Thursday permitted a bill to become law that would enable the Maryland Stadium Authority to issue up to $375 million in […]

This is a stressful, frightening and unprecedented time in American history. Nonfiction books can inform us about past disasters in American history, and help guide us as we navigate the coronavirus pandemic.

The plot in Kristen Millares Young’s new novel centers around a history of storytelling in Neah Bay, with a quiet, powerful narrative that shakes readers like an earthquake.

Sara Porkalob, Seattle-based playwright, director, activist and more, is off to Broadway — but before she goes, she shared what she’s been reading and rereading lately.

LONDON (AP) — Freed from the constraints of life as full-time royals — and enmeshed in a feud with Britain’s tabloid press — Prince Harry and his wife Meghan plan to tell their story in a book penned by sympathetic journalists. Harper Collins U.K. announced Monday that it will publish “Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan […]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Celebrities including Daniel Radcliffe, David Beckham and Dakota Fanning will take part in chapter-by-chapter readings of J.K. Rowling’s first “Harry Potter” book. Rowling’s Wizarding World announced Tuesday on Twitter that all 17 chapters of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” will be read in a series of free videos and audio […]

As we move beyond two months of stay-home orders and life under the cloud of pandemic, everyone deserves a carefree laugh. These audiobooks offer guffaws and elicit smiles by the dozen.

Moira’s Seattle Times Book Club will meet online on May 13 to discuss “The House of Broken Angels.” Author Luis Alberto Urrea will speak online in a Seattle Arts & Lectures presentation on May 20.

Reading has taken on a different meaning for a lot of us these days; it’s how we leave our homes while staying rooted in our armchairs, how we travel, how we meet new people and spend time in intimate connection with others.

With social distancing efforts (or just distance) keeping many families apart for Mother's Day, our features staffers share how they'll be celebrating their moms this weekend. Happy Mother's Day!

Mark Few called Corey Kispert Gonzaga’s ‘player of the game’ in their win against Baylor. Here's why the former King's High star is winning over his coach and teammates, and how he's fueling another tournament run for the Bulldogs.

The Zags lead the country by scoring 88.8 points per game. The Red Raiders have one of the best defenses in the country. Something has to give Saturday.

The No. 1 seed Bulldogs took a two-point lead over third-seeded Texas Tech into halftime of their NCAA tournament West Region final. But with 16 turnovers, Gonzaga couldn't hold on and fell just short of its second Final Four in school history.

Sports has always been the escape during times of crisis and collective stress. But now the very act of conducting sports threatens to add exponentially to perpetuating the coronavirus pandemic and growing the stress.

After the cancellation of the spring and winter championships tournaments stemming from concerns over the novel coronavirus pandemic, the NCAA will grant an extra year of eligibility to athletes who participate in spring sports, the organization announced Friday.

Ten years ago Wednesday, the 11th-seeded Huskies played in the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16, a stage they have not returned to since. The run was fueled by Quincy Pondexter, who looks back on the season as the greatest year of his life.