The tax on companies with annual payrolls over $7 million would apply to gig-economy companies, such as Uber. But franchises, such as McDonald's, could avoid the 1.3% payroll tax.

The extension raises the prospect that one of Seattle’s busiest neighborhoods could be largely deserted for another five months.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House lawmakers investigating the market dominance of Big Tech are asking Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to testify to address possible misleading statements by the company on its competition practices. In a letter to Bezos on Friday, leaders of the House Judiciary Committee from both parties are holding out the threat of a […]

Business and government insiders say other companies and organizations are contemplating similarly extended time frames as they consider the new realities of the workplace in the COVID-19 era.

Before the pandemic, many brands and wholesalers kept Amazon at arm's length. Now, consultants that help brands navigate Amazon's marketplace say the company is attracting a broad range of vendors that sold at physical stores.

The public back-and-forth about a controversial, high-profile topic is unusual for a company that has lately enforced policies limiting what employees can say publicly without authorization, and for the seniority of those involved.

The decision by Council President M. Lorena González and Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda will stall the big-business tax championed by Councilmembers Kshama Sawant and Tammy Morales, which already faced opposition from Mayor Jenny Durkan.

The most popular online grocery category was packaged foods such as breakfast cereal and pasta; followed by toiletries, personal care products and diapers; household cleaners and paper products; and frozen food.

In a letter sent to Amazon, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a frequent critic of the e-commerce giant, and the eight other senators asked Amazon to provide more information about its policies for firing employees.

IMAGINE IT’S 1683, and you live in England. You might be in the throes of the Age of Enlightenment, but the state of medicine is still downright medieval, so when you or your loved ones are afflicted with sleeplessness, or indigestion, or hangovers, or even low libido, you could make a trip to the barber-surgeon, or […]

ROYALTY FUELED THE roar of the 1920s in Seattle on Nov. 4, 1926. That day, the city welcomed a woman whom The Seattle Times called the “most beautiful and gracious of all Europe’s feminine monarchs,” Queen Marie. For the 51-year-old regal representative of Romania (then spelled Rumania), Seattle was but one destination on a cross-country […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

BEFORE CERTAIN CURRENT events upended all of our lives, a few friends and I had a goal: more old-fashioned game nights, involving old-school boards, mysterious card decks and little plastic figures. There’s something wholesome and cheering about gathering around a table and jointly figuring out the rules of some new game. And you can mix […]

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.

Gov. Jay Inslee has released a four-phase plan to guide the reopening of Washington's economy and amenities. Here's an estimate of when things will start to open back up.

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.

By all accounts, 2020 has been, to put it mildly, a weird year. This week alone has already seen a 5-year-old boy from Utah attempt a solo drive to California on a mission to buy a Lamborghini, a llama named Winter emerge as a potential key player in the race for a treatment targeting the […]

The Seattle rock icons filed a countersuit Wednesday accusing Vicky Cornell of withholding money raised through a star-studded benefit concert held last year in the late singer's honor, instead using it for personal purposes — an accusation Cornell denies.

Between Mother's Day and the expected sunny weather, there's lots to celebrate this weekend! Whether you'll be enjoying nature or continuing to stay inside, here are some things you can do while maintaining social distancing.

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.

Zenith Holland Nursery has seen times like this before — and survived. The Des Moines nursery opened in 1907, survived two world wars and remains open during the coronavirus shutdown.

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.

If you bought a 2019-2020 season pass but didn't use it — or didn't use it as much as you'd hoped to — you may have a credit waiting.

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.

Between Mother's Day and the expected sunny weather, there's lots to celebrate this weekend! Whether you'll be enjoying nature or continuing to stay inside, here are some things you can do while maintaining social distancing.

According to Emerald Downs President Phil Ziegler, impending darkness would have placed horses and riders at risk, and made cancellation a necessity.

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 […]

DEL MAR, Calif. (AP) — A 3-year-old filly has collapsed and died after a workout at Del Mar, while another horse that was injured in a race on Nov. 10 has been euthanized, making it four horses that have died since the track’s fall meet began Nov. 8. Slewgoodtobetrue died in the barn area Sunday. […]

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 […]

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Longtime jockey Richard Gamez died Sunday after falling from his horse and getting trampled by another horse during a race in Tucson. Gamez was leading in the fifth race at Rillito Park Racetrack when his horse stumbled and he was thrown from the saddle, according to the Rillito Park Foundation. Gamez, […]

Change does not come easily to the Kentucky Derby. Fans sip mint juleps, don fancy hats and dress clothes and sing to the melancholy strains of “My Old Kentucky Home” as the thoroughbreds step onto the track on the first Saturday in May. It has always made the Derby as much a piece of Americana […]

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.

Horse racing is quickly learning it is not totally immune to the effects the coronavirus pandemic has had on other sports, and now it’s grappling with the risks of continuing operations. The Louisiana Derby for now is still set for Saturday, the world’s richest day of races is scheduled to go on in late March […]

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 […]

From the godfather of crime fiction to a fresh new voice in the genre, here are three gripping new cases for you to solve from the comfort of your reading chair.

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.