Oliver Thompson

Leaves matted over a curb grate leave a rainy-day corner awash in splashes, but water often starts moving again as soon as the visible buildup is cleared.

A couple of free weeks without a built-in circle leaves room for repeat runs, hobby nights and low-key neighborhood events, though getting to know people takes patience.

The key calculation is whether your monthly paid trips reach the break-even point for a PugetPass, and whether an employer transit benefit changes the equation.

If you are mailing a ballot close to the deadline, you can ask a postal worker at the counter to hand-stamp it with the current date.

Apple picking may be fading fast, but ferry walks, wildlife refuges, farm stops, and early holiday events still make an easy seasonal day trip.

From late-night Chinatown-International District crab to waterfront fries after midnight, the city's most-missed dining rooms are tied as much to a moment as to the menu.

Cutting invasive brambles back from a public walkway opened up pedestrian space but also removed a berry patch tied to decades of block-party cobblers.

Long before the web flattened everything into one stream, Seattle's dial-up bulletin boards doubled as hangouts, meetup networks and distinctly local online communities.

Cross-town car-service fares in Seattle can now run high enough to steer riders to taxis, transit, or skipping the trip altogether, sharpening the tradeoff among convenience, driver pay, and what the service really costs.

One Seattle renter's story of delayed repairs, disputed charges and unanswered deposit questions tracks a wider local pattern: even basic housing disputes can drag out when landlords fail to answer clearly or on time.

Initial statewide returns show the measure ahead, but Washington's vote count can shift over several days as more ballots are processed.

Job-seekers heading to Redmond tend to narrow their housing search to the Eastside for a shorter commute, with Seattle staying in the mix mainly for those willing to trade extra travel for a denser social scene.

A rough Halloween night on Capitol Hill can make Seattle seem closed off, but friendships here usually take shape in places that reward showing up again: music scenes, work circles, hobby groups and neighborhood hangouts.