Tribes operate their facilities on their lands, where they retain decision-making authority -- despite Gov. Jay Inslee's stay-home order, in place until the end of May.

Amid a national frenzy to buy medical supplies for use in the COVID-19 outbreak, Washington state suspended competitive bidding and recruited help from the private sector. Gov. Inslee connected personal contacts with state buyers.

Since health officials began recommending (but not requiring) that everyone cover their faces in public to reduce the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, a new divide has emerged over who wears a mask and who doesn't.

Brown said that on May 15 she will loosen restrictions statewide on day cares and on retail shops that were previously closed, including furniture stores, boutiques, jewelry stores and art galleries.

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.

Along with a 2018 ruling by the court that the city had reached full compliance with a 2012 consent decree, the request would dissolve virtually all remaining oversight of the police department regarding its use of force and other issues.

Gov. Jay Inslee this week continued lifting restrictions included in his stay-home order meant to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, part of phase one in his four-phase plan to reopen the state. Some outdoor recreation opened earlier this week.

Phase two is expected to begin for most areas on June 1, provided public-health data still looks favorable.

Inslee's stay-home order, initially issued in March, bans church and religious services, but permits one-on-one "religious counseling," state lawyers argued.

In the middle of a pandemic, the subject of the public's health never came up during a 90-minute GOP candidates for governor forum. It's like a metaphor for the alternate realities of our politics — and also why the GOP may be in more trouble than usual in the local elections this year.

As Washington grapples with a tsunami of legitimate unemployment claims — more than 100,000 last week — the state also is seeing a rise in attempts by fraudsters to siphon off a portion of the benefits.

Prosecutor Adam Cornell likened the decision by Sheriff Adam Fortney to publicly question and refuse to enforce the stay-home order "to yelling 'fire' in a crowded theater."

Will private equity boost the Northwest's most important shipbuilder or look for a fast buck? Behind the question is the long and dangerous decline of a vital industry.

The trade war with China is a self-inflicted blow. Only a strong economy is cushioning us against bigger pain — so far.

The rich are employing more people to cater to their desires. But that's only part of a tidal wave of change coming to the workforce.

Immigration is good for the economy — that's the big picture. It doesn't mean some Americans aren't hurt in their paychecks and opportunities.

If a downturn comes, the Seattle area benefits from a diverse economy. But it still has a few weak spots that would ripple out.

One of the most powerful business lobbies says it wants to change the calculus that is giving capitalism a bad name. It's a good idea, but faces tremendous resistance.

Jon Talton | No single source can explain the big decline in union membership. Rebuilding organized labor, and worker bargaining power and rights, will be a hard battle.

The most recent Census numbers show some major metropolitan areas that shone during the post-recession years now are losing population. But that doesn’t mean an equitable spreading of economic assets, much less a halt to the “back to the city” era. At least not yet.

The weekend attack on critical oil facilities rattled the market. No wonder: Spikes in petroleum prices are closely associated with recessions.

Seattle real estate is expected to be a hotspot next year, continuing a long trend of investing and building. But the prospects for housebuilding are more muted.

The technology giants have plenty of advantages in fending off antitrust actions. But that's what the old Bell System's leaders thought, too.

Jon Talton, The Seattle Times economics and business columnist for the past 12 years, says goodbye and offers some parting thoughts.

2020 is here as a new decade, ready or not. But decades as clear political, cultural, social and historical eras are as elusive as centuries.

The pandemic's effects are putting us in unknown territory, but we're already in a recession. It could be the worst of our lifetimes. Columnist Jon Talton explains why.

Behind shortages of masks and ventilators is a staggering disruption of the global system of making, assembling and delivering critical products.

Even President Trump now realizes the need for a prolonged shutdown. But when the economy finally restarts, we have no guarantee it will bounce back quickly. The danger is a "Greater Depression."

Globalization was already unpopular among many Americans. Now it's one of the suspects in the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus. But trashing the world order will make us sicker.

Federal red ink was exploding even before the pandemic required a historic rescue stimulus. But the national debt only becomes dangerous if the United States is seen as an untrustworthy borrower.

Superstar cities bounced back stronger than ever after the Great Recession. But the COVID-19 shutdown is different and the way back will be a challenge unlike any other.

The co-founder of Microsoft is leading our understanding of COVID-19 and the road ahead, backed by one of the world's wealthiest charitable organizations. Columnist Jon Talton takes a closer look at the role of Bill Gates.

What used to be an annual May Day march for workers’ and immigration rights has taken on a different look this year due to coronavirus stay-at-home restrictions. This year, the march from Judkins Park to downtown Seattle has been canceled. Instead, march sponsors El Comité and the May 1st Action Coalition have scheduled a vehicle […]

The driver told police he accelerated toward the skateboarder, intending to “scare him.” But when the driver swerved away, the skateboarder jumped in the same direction.

Seattle police Friday released part of a recording of a mother’s frantic 911 call and footage from an officer’s body camera that includes a brief foot chase and the moment police shot the man suspected of taking the woman’s baby as he still held the child. The child was not hurt, police said, while the […]

Seattle police released portions of a frantic 911 call and a clip from an officer's body camera showing officers chasing and shooting the suspect at a Columbia City construction site. The 1-year-old infant the man had purportedly kidnapped at gunpoint was recovered unharmed from the scene.

Detectives do not believe the women involved are nurses, and posted photos of the suspects and a vehicle in hopes someone could identify them.

King County sheriff's detectives began investigating Bryan Neyers after two boys, ages 7 and 9, reported that the Maple Valley paraeducator had molested them at the child-care center set up to look after the children of essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Neyers has since been charged with child rape and molestation involving a third child.

The high school senior was killed as he tried to flee from three plainclothes sheriff's detectives who sprang from the back of an unmarked van on a darkened Des Moines street the night of Jan. 27, 2017.

The victim, 16, suffered life-threatening injuries and was taken to Harborview Medical Center, where he remains.

Three Eastside Catholic players were under investigation for a parking-lot brawl as the team headed toward a second state championship. Prosecutors ultimately declined to pursue charges.

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — The parents of a black man slain in a pursuit by two white men armed with guns called for immediate arrests Wednesday as they faced the prospect of waiting a month or longer before a Georgia grand jury could consider bringing charges. A swelling outcry over the Feb. 23 shooting of […]

A 31-year-old Seattle man was arrested Tuesday after detectives discovered a body in his Renton hotel room, according to Renton police. Mercer Island detectives arrived at a Renton hotel in the 1800 block of East Valley Road around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday to follow up on a tip regarding a missing 61-year-old Mercer Island man, a […]

Seattle police say Leo Driver, 32, walked into the department's East Precinct and confessed to killing his girlfriend, Elisabeth Wright, in March 2015. Her death had originally been attributed to an accidental overdose.

The chase spanned three counties and ended when troopers rammed the man's car and forced it into a spin.

The shooting occurred near the 10700 block of 14th Avenue Southwest.

Another car had stopped at a crosswalk and, because the woman couldn't stop in time, police said they believe she swerved into an oncoming lane of traffic and hit the cyclist.

According to the police department, the officers who arrived at about 11 p.m. at the complex in the 1100 block of Sunset Boulevard Northeast were confronted by a man with a knife.

A woman called 911 and reported she'd been beaten and shot at by her boyfriend, who fled with their 1-year-old daughter. Seattle police officers chased the man on foot and a SWAT officer shot the man in the head. The man later died at Harborview Medical Center. He has been identified as 24-year-old Shaun Fuhr.

Along with a 2018 ruling by the court that the city had reached full compliance with a 2012 consent decree, the request would dissolve virtually all remaining oversight of the police department regarding its use of force and other issues.