It’s been more than a year since “Beautiful Things” singer Benson Boone skyrocketed up the charts with his breakout hit — one of the biggest songs of 2024 — and his star only continues to rise On Monday, Boone announced his first headlining arena tour, including an Oct. 5 homecoming concert at Climate Pledge Arena. Tickets go on sale to the general public 10 a.m. Friday, May 9, through Ticketmaster Various presales through American Express and the venues begin Wednesday and Thursday The Seattle show will mark the penultimate date of the Monroe-raised pop star’s American Heart Tour “American Heart” is set to arrive June 20 through Night Street Records imprint helmed by Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds After turning heads on “American Idol” in 2021 Boone dropped out of the competition show and eventually signed with Reynolds’ label The 23-year-old heartthrob was among a particularly strong class of pop newcomers to have breakout years in 2024, releasing his debut album “Rollerblades & Fireworks” a month before a spring date at Showbox SoDo last May The flamboyant, back-flipping showman has already made a splash this year with several high-profile performances, bringing out Queen guitarist Brian May for a “Bohemian Rhapsody” cover at Coachella and knocking out “Beautiful Things” at the Grammys Boone made has “Saturday Night Live” debut over the weekend performing his new singles “Sorry I’m Here for Someone Else” and “Mystical Magical.” He also found his way into a skit playing an Applebee’s waiter during the Weekend Update segment The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times Stay secure and make sure you have the best reading experience possible by upgrading your browser SEATTLE (KOMO) — An inmate escaped custody at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Sunday morning Port of Seattle Police reported that the incident occurred around 11 a.m when a contracted agent was attempting to transport 28-year-old Sedrick T During the check-in process at a ticket counter Stevenson managed to flee toward the light rail station Despite efforts by the agents to capture him Stevenson successfully boarded a northbound light rail train Sound Transit security confirmed that he was seen departing the Capitol Hill station In one photo provided by the Port of Seattle Stevenson's hands were cuffed in front of him KOMO's ABC affiliate in Nashville was at the scene after Stevenson reportedly ran away from a traffic stop accused of shooting at a Tennessee police officer following a robbery Anyone who sees Stevenson is asked to call 911 immediately Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Things you buy through our links may earn Vox Media a commission government and its military did not vanish with the onset of the Cordyceps outbreak it’s still the dominant force in much of the East Coast So it’s kind of a shock that this episode opens with a group of FEDRA soldiers yucking it up inside an armored vehicle where a seasoned soldier (Josh Peck) is holding court as he recounts a story of confronting “voters” with the help of a brutish slow-witted comrade-in-arms named Greenberg who does not understand the word disseminating Why do they call them “voters,” Burton (Ben Ahlers) It’s here that a previously unheard voice of authority pipes up to clarify “It’s because we took away their rights,” Isaac (Jeffrey Wright) But all that’s in the future as this scene unfolds the FEDRA forces find themselves surrounded by voters Isaac tells them he’s heading out alone to talk to them Isaac first walks up to the leader of the citizens then casually tosses a grenade in the back of the vehicle “Now make your choice,” Isaac tells him shortly before the opening credits kick in The Last of Us’s fourth second-season episode leaves Burton’s choice unresolved until later it flashes forward 11 years to the season’s main timeline where Dina and Ellie scavenge an already ravaged pharmacy for anything that might be useful but Dina spies something that might be useful (though what remains unclear at the moment) Wilderness has already reclaimed much of the city (the parts spared from bombing and there’s little that appears ominous as they enter Capitol Hill a neighborhood filled with rainbow flags and Pride symbols that Ellie and Dina don’t understand and other signs that the area once served as a battlefield Ellie likens the burned corpses inside the tank to the doomed astronauts of Apollo 1 a reminder of her fascination with the space program (evident by the posters in her room back in Jackson) and that she has interests beyond revenge and survival revenge remains pretty high on Ellie’s to-do list and when Dina spots the letters WLF painted on the satellite dish of a local TV station Dina suggests they exercise caution rather than rushing in so they stash Shimmer and wait until dark inside a music store Ellie tunes it and plays a lovely acoustic rendition of A-ha’s “Take on Me” while Dina looks on tearfully It’s a tender moment during a break in the action; it seemingly never occurs to either that they could walk away and leave this quest behind the Seraphite refuses to divulge any information about his people’s whereabouts now 11 years older and a hardened WLF soldier Though they don’t yet know it as they scope out the TV station this is what Ellie and Dina are up against Or at least part of what they’re up against all hung from the ceiling and disemboweled Ellie finds a strange rune and the words “Feel Her Love” etched in blood but she stumbled upon the aftermath of a confrontation between the Wolves and Seraphites Now here’s an example of what their enemies can do “What the fuck is wrong with Seattle?” Dina asks But Ellie and Dina barely have time to consider this before trouble starts to arrive in the form of Wolves responding to a call for backup forcing Ellie and Dina to fight Wolves and then flee in the rain where they again have to evade the Wolves searching for them When the soldiers find themselves fighting infected they turn this chaos to their advantage and escape There’s one other issue: Ellie is bitten in full view of Dina as she attempts to save Dina’s life After they take shelter in a nearby theater Dina pulls a gun on her best friend with every intention of putting her down then promises she will wake up unchanged and that Dina can hold a gun on her for as long as she feels is necessary and when it becomes clear that Ellie is telling the truth two dramatic events happen back to back: Dina reveals she’s pregnant each eats some jerky to counteract morning breath before kissing again Postapocalyptic life clearly has its downsides about how she’d been bitten before and why she covered the bite with tattoos Then Dina makes her own confession: She has wanted to be with Ellie for a long time she’s imagined a future in which the two make a life together despite the complicated relationship with Jesse that led to her pregnancy “We’re all having a baby,” Ellie concludes Then a message on the WLF walkie-talkie they’ve stolen prompts both Dina and Ellie to leave these thoughts aside They know where to find WLF headquarters and Abby The episode ends with her saying a single word to define their situation: “Together.” That’s a heavy topic for a zombie show to take on but the series so far seems to be following the example of the game which attempts to immerse players in the middle of morally knotty situations We see that both the Wolves and the Seraphites are capable of atrocities We also see that each side has its own reasons for what it does it’s an expansion of themes that the series has already introduced but it’s just as easy to see why Abby would think him a monster That Ellie and Dina repeatedly put their feelings for each other to the side in the interest of vengeance is one of this episode’s saddest details Sometimes hate takes precedence over everything else • Ellie is too young to remember “Take on Me” being a hit the first time around she’s too young to remember anything being a hit the first time around it’s the biggest song ever recorded by the Norwegian pop group A-ha but A-ha enjoyed a long career after that breakthrough they’ve become one of those bands whose members don’t really interact with one another when not onstage • If you put money on Josh Peck (a) showing up in an episode of The Last of Us and (b) playing a huge jerk He’s reprising the role he played in The Last of Us Part II (the game By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us Password must be at least 8 characters and contain: you’ll receive occasional updates and offers from New York CRIME BLOTTER 8:36 AM | Updated: 10:23 am BY FRANK SUMRALL The Seattle Police Department (SPD) is investigating a fatal car accident in downtown Seattle that occurred Monday morning and is rerouting traffic An 83-year-old woman was walking west in the crosswalk when an SUV made a right turn onto Spokane Street from Fourth Avenue and ran her over When police arrived at the scene of the crash Seattle police are investigating a fatality collision at 4th Avenue South and South Spokane Street — Seattle Police Department (@SeattlePD) May 5, 2025 SPD detectives with the Traffic Collision Investigation Squad (TCIS) are at the scene collecting evidence Morning commuters should look for alternate routes “We are definitely seeing the impact of this crash in SODO at Fourth Ave “This is a fatal crash investigation that’s only about 15 minutes old right as it goes underneath the Spokane Street viaduct This has basically backed up Fourth (Street) all the way back to Dawson Airport Way is going to be your best option because First Ave Airport Way is the way to go to get around this.” Follow Frank Sumrall on X. Send news tips here by Colleen West SEATTLE — A driver who hit and killed an elderly woman as she crossed a south Seattle street left the scene after running her over in a crosswalk Officers were called to the busy intersection of 4th Ave S and South Spokane Street around 7:45 a.m Seattle police and medics arrived to find an 83-year-old woman dead in the road Investigators said the woman was walking west in the crosswalk when an SUV making a right turn onto Spokane from 4th ran her down and kept going Seattle Police Department detectives with the Traffic Collision Investigation Squad(TCIS) arrived and collected evidence Multiple lanes were blocked during the investigation If you have any information about the incident you're asked to call TCIS at 206-684-8923 ARLINGTON, Texas — Mariners right-hander George Kirby touched 97.8 mph and needed just 42 pitches to get through three innings in his first rehab start with Triple-A Tacoma on Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas who was shut down in early March with shoulder inflammation, threw 33 strikes He allowed a solo homer with one out in the third inning The Mariners have not announced a definitive plan for Kirby’s rehab assignment but he’s expected to make at least one more start for Tacoma with a potential return to the Mariners rotation sometime in the second half of May Randy Arozarena left Sunday’s game against the Texas Rangers in with “a little bit of a hamstring thing,” manager Dan Wilson said But Wilson quickly added he’s not concerned “It’s nothing serious,” he said A Root Sports camera caught Arozarena trying to stretch out his leg near first base after he singled in the sixth inning Rookie Rhylan Thomas replaced Arozarena in left field in the bottom half of the inning The Mariners have been hammered with injuries early in the season They’re effectively down to their fourth- and fifth-string right fielders with Victor Robles (shoulder) Luke Raley (oblique) and Dylan Moore (hip) on the injured list Robles is not expected back until sometime after the All-Star break Moore has gone through pregame workouts with trainers at Globe Life Field in each of the past two days and he sounded optimistic that he’ll be able to return from the IL when he’s eligible on Tuesday SEATTLE MARINERS but the Seattle Mariners’ string of series wins continued The Mariners’ secured their eighth consecutive series victory by taking two of three games from the Texas Rangers over the weekend at Globe Life Field They improved to 20-13 and now hold a two-game lead over the second-place Athletics in the AL West AL West Standings The A’s are up next for three games as Seattle makes its first trip to Sutter Health Park in Sacramento here’s three observations after another series win The Mariners’ strong start has come despite a slew of injuries to key players A big reason they’ve been able to not only stay afloat is the reinforcements to the roster have provided contributions They got more impact from those players in Texas Utility infielder Leo Rivas continued to make an impact in his starts during the final two games of the series. He went 2 for 3 with a double Saturday, and he worked a 10-pitch single, stole a base and came around to score during the third inning for the M’s only run in Sunday’s 8-1 loss Rookie outfielder Rhylan Thomas, who was called up when Luke Raley went on the injured list Wednesday also got in on the action during his major league debut Friday He doubled to leadoff the M’s seven-run fifth inning and drove in a pair of runs Some of the best news that came out of the weekend for the Mariners was the return of hard-throwing reliever Matt Brash pitched a scoreless frame Saturday in his first MLB game in 581 days It wasn’t a soft landing spot for the right-hander as he came in during the seventh inning of a 1-1 game The Mariners followed Brash with left-hander Gabe Speier in the eighth and closer Andrés Muñoz to shut the door in the ninth for his AL-best 12th save That seems to be the first glimpse of the team’s top high-leverage combination moving forward How much of that combo will we see in the near future Some of that depends on how games play out but it will also depend on how much the M’s want to use Brash early on The final box he checked during his rehab appearance with Tacoma was pitching two games in three days It seems like that would be most Brash would be used early on and it could be a while before he is used in back-to-back outings Maybe the Mariners should have saved some of those runs from Friday for the rest of the series but the offense did sputter with just three runs over the final two games of this series Considering the M’s struggles on offense in recent seasons it’s fair to wonder if this is the moment the lineup starts to come back down to earth it feels like more like a minor blip on the radar The Mariners still had 10 hits and 13 hard-hit balls (exit velocity of 95 mph or higher) on Saturday They struck out just three times and had nine at-bats with runners in scoring position So the offense was still doing what it’s done all season the lineup ran into two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom who was coming off three straight strong starts Tommy John surgery in 2023 has limited deGrom to just 16 starts since signing with the Rangers Follow @ZacHereth The Seattle Mariners already had luck on their side for the 2025 MLB Draft Seattle Mariners Minors Report: 8 prospects who shined in April MLB recently released slot values for draft picks and bonus pools for teams during the upcoming draft The Mariners have the highest bonus pool of any team in the league at $17,074,400 that’s the fourth-highest amount since the bonus pool era started in 2012 This comes after the M’s were one of the big winners in December during the draft lottery Seattle had the second-worst odds of any of the 16 lottery eligible teams to land the No 1 pick and ended up jumping 12 spots to the third overall selection The club also has a competitive balance round A pick at No The Mariners received $9,504,400 slot value for the No They’re the only team with a winning record last season to be in the top four for bonus pool allotments in the 2025 draft The numbers assigned for slot values aren’t necessarily what those picks will receive upon signing Teams can offers players over the slot value a tactic oftentimes used to convince players to forgo their college commitments and go straight to pro baseball And teams can offer draftees under the slot value in an effort to save extra bonus pool money for others picks The Mariners used that strategy in 2023 when they had three first-round picks They allocated more money to first-rounders Colt Emerson and Jonny Farmelo (both high school bats) while signing second-rounder Ben Williamson under his slot value Related: Top Seattle Mariners prospect goes yard in return from injury You can find the full 2025 bonus pool list and draft slot allocations here here’s a look at the top five prospects in the 2025 draft Ethan Holliday is the son seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday and the younger brother of Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday, who was the No. 1 overall prospect in baseball at the start of last season. Ethan’s skill set is highlighted by 65-grade power on the 20-80 scale and he is thought to have an even higher ceiling than his brother He’s projected to eventually land at third base Seth Hernandez is widely considered the top high school pitching prospect in the country and has a shot of becoming just the fourth high school arm to be taken No The 6-foot-4 right-hander’s 65-grade fastball touches the high 90s and rates as his best pitch a 12-6 curveball that has reached 3,000 rpms and a slider Jamie Arnold has been a popular pick for the Mariners in mock drafts and is considered to be the best college pitching prospect in the draft The 6-foot-1 left-hander throws a fastball in the mid-90s and a plus slider from his low arm slot which has helped him drawn comparisons to eight-time All-Star southpaw Chris Sale He finished third in the country in strikeouts last season 73 strikeouts and 55 innings pitched in 10 starts for Florida State this year Eli Willits is another high school prospect with MLB pedigree was an outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels with his 60-grade hit and speed tools topping the list He reclassified from the 2026 class and is still just 17 years old Mike Macdonald’s first season as the franchise’s head coach The club finished 14th in the league in fewest yards allowed That latter number actually improved after the midseason acquisition of linebacker Ernest Jones IV Seattle surrendered 37 offensive touchdowns Macdonald’s squad racked up a respectable 45 sacks The Seahawks forced only 18 turnovers in 17 games but returned four of those opponent miscues for touchdowns Now that the 2025 NFL draft is in the books, Matt Johnson of Sportsnaut took the time to ranks all 32 defensive units in the league he lists Mike Macdonald’s squad based partly on a key re-signing as well as the addition of a talented prospect at safety the Seahawks defense ranked fifth in EPA per Play (-0.064) and held opponents to 205 passing yards per game with an 84.8 QB rating…” the second year of Macdonald’s defensive scheme is historically when things click for the players.” The Seahawks were the only team in the league in 2024 to win at least 10 games and not make the playoffs What’s also interesting is while the Los Angeles Rams won the NFC West Seattle allowed fewer points (368) than any team in the division NFL draft expert ranks Seahawks’ 2025 class second behind Patriots Seattle Seahawks announce they have signed 17 undrafted free agents Utah edge rusher named UDFA most likely to make Seahawks roster Seahawks get insulting ranking from CBS following strong draft class The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Sports Illustrated or its affiliates All picks and predictions are suggestions only and not a guarantee of success or profit If you or someone you know has a gambling problem crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 9:47 AM | Updated: 6:56 pm It’s been roughly 16 months since Mike Macdonald took over as the Seattle Seahawks’ head coach News, notes and observations from Seahawks rookie minicamp the blockbuster Geno Smith and DK Metcalf trades how is the roster and team-building approach coming along on each side of the ball And what are reasonable expectations for the 2025 season NFL Network’s Gregg Rosenthal was posed those questions during an appearance last week on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy The Seahawks’ defense is on the rise After some initial growing pains last year, the unit underwent a dramatic midseason turnaround Spurred by a midseason trade for linebacker Ernest Jones IV – along with other personnel changes a return to health from several key players and a growing sense of trust in Macdonald’s cutting-edge scheme – the Seahawks’ defense evolved into one of the league’s best units over the final nine weeks Seattle ranked fifth in scoring defense (18.4 points per game) tied for third in actual scoring defense (17.5 points per game excluding opponents’ non-offensive scores) fifth in defensive EPA and fourth in total defense (304.8 yards per game) “I think the approach on defense is obvious,” Rosenthal said You saw the vision of it down the stretch last year And that’s the thing that makes me the most excited about the Seahawks this year “They have a baseline of going into a second year with a really creative good defensive coach and a good defensive roster that you can have high expectations.” It’s a much different story on offense They let go of offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and replaced him with Klint Kubiak They brought in longtime NFL assistants John Benton and Rick Dennison Seattle will have at least four new starters on offense along with a brand-new offensive coaching staff and system “It’s a lot of new talent trying to cohere together,” Rosenthal said because you are asking a lot of people that were not on the Seahawks last year to come together and make a cohesive group Listen to the full conversation with NFL Network’s Gregg Rosenthal at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story Tune in to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app Follow @CameronVanTil RENTON — Quarterback Jalen Milroe’s first appearance on a practice field as a Seahawk may have gotten the most attention as the team held its rookie minicamp this weekend Here are six other notes and observations: the nature of minicamp — no pads or contact and what is obviously a bare-bones playbook considering everyone having just arrived — makes it tough for sweeping assessments But he said he liked what he saw of the three offensive linemen Seattle took in the draft — first-rounder Grey Zabel sixth-rounder Bryce Cabeldue and seventh-rounder Mason Richman Zabel played throughout at left guard with Cabeldue at right guard and Richman at right tackle Hard to give it a fair evaluation right now We will work the finish and all that stuff when it becomes time but really good first step with those guys.’’ UDFA signee Amari Kight of Central Florida played left tackle with the starting offense and UDFA signee Federico Maranges of Florida Atlantic played center Maranges in particular could prove one to watch He is one of just three centers on the roster behind holdovers Olu Oluwatimi and Jalen Sundell The $250,000 guarantee the team gave Maranges suggests the Seahawks view him as at least being on the practice squad this year where he could be the de facto third center on the depth chart and available when needed There was some question about the health of second-round pick tight end Elijah Arroyo of Miami after he did not run a 40-yard dash at the combine after hurting his knee at the Senior Bowl He said after Friday’s practice the knee is not an issue and he appeared to take part in everything during minicamp Does a great job taking what we’re trying to teach him fundamentally and then taking that to his position Seattle drafted just two defensive players and only one was on the field — second-round safety Nick Emmanwori — with fifth-round defensive lineman Rylie Mills still recovering from an ACL injury in December Emmanwori played both safety and in the slot in nickel/dime packages “You see the movement skills,’’ Macdonald said of the 35th overall pick out of South Carolina which is a fun characteristic to work with there is a lot of fundamentals that we’ll be working on.’’ Depth at nose tackle loomed as something of a question following the draft with the Seahawks having not made any additions to that position this offseason the Seahawks took steps to address it over the past week Seattle agreed to a deal with veteran Johnathan Hankins who was the team’s primary starter at that spot in run-down situations last season The Seahawks also signed three undrafted free agent nose tackles: DeMeco Roland (6-foot-3 The expected signing of Hankins has yet to become official and the Seahawks will need to make a roster move when it does Macdonald said he likes the overall depth at that spot “I wouldn’t say it (fills) a major void because we have guys that can play in the A gap I think whether or not you watch tape last year he played some pretty dang good football for us.’’ Jamie Sheriff became one of the feel-good stories of Seattle’s 2024 preseason when he led the Seahawks in sacks with three despite having not signed until the first week of August Sheriff had first gotten on the team’s radar with a good performance as a tryout player at rookie minicamp in 2024 but was not on a roster until the Seahawks signed him doing so in part to fill out the depth after a few injuries hit After being waived and claimed by Carolina at the roster cutdown date he returned after the Panthers waived him following one game and spent the rest of the season on Seattle’s practice squad He played in one game as a practice squad elevation on special teams After spending last season working primarily as an edge player the team is now toying with moving him to inside linebacker Sheriff was one of two veterans taking part in rookie minicamp — receiver John Rhys Plumlee was the other the rules allowed for each to be on the field this weekend Sheriff appeared to spend most of his time working with the inside linebackers and mostly at weakside backer with UDFA signee Jackson Woodard of UNLV typically working as the middle linebacker (former Husky Alphonzo Tuputala Macdonald indicated it may not be a permanent shift but that the Seahawks wanted to see how Sheriff looked playing inside linebacker in minicamp — a spot where the team could be looking for some depth we’re looking at moving his position to off the ball ‘backer and SAM (strongside) for some more position flexibility something he hasn’t really had a lot of reps doing,’’ Macdonald said “Felt like it was a great opportunity for him to see those more live and in color before we got to OTAs (Organized Team Activities minicamp allowed him to get even more work at receiver the spot he has played since signing with the Seahawks last November Plumlee played primarily quarterback at Ole Miss and Central Florida but did see some time as a receiver during his final season at Ole Miss in 2021 He then transferred to UCF where he started 23 games at quarterback throwing for 29 touchdowns while also running for 16 more His initial hope was to keep playing QB in the NFL But after being waived by the Steelers at the end of training camp last August — he’d signed as an undrafted free agent — and then Jacksonville where he spent a couple months on their practice squad he signed with Seattle and moved to receiver The Seahawks were impressed enough that they signed him to the active roster before the final game of the season against the Rams 200-pounder made a handful of catches Friday and Saturday appearing increasingly comfortable at his new position “Just more reps at receiver,’’ Macdonald said of why the team wanted him to take part in rookie minicamp “Just kind of be a part of it and felt like that (was a) great opportunity for him.’’ 12:38 PM | Updated: 2:51 pm Ben Williamson has only been on the Seattle Mariners’ roster for three weeks Why ESPN’s Buster Olney believes in Edgar’s impact on M’s That’s owed to how well Williamson has done so far in at the big league level belying his full pro experience of 166 games – including in the minors – that just recently passed what covers a full MLB season The 24-year-old third baseman has fit right in with the Mariners hitting .242 with a home run and three doubles in 16 games – and that’s only after a few hitless games over the last week drove his average down from .310 through his first 11 contests Williamson is also a very capable third baseman defensively to the point that it’s not rare to read his name and the words “Gold Glove potential” next to each other Mariners rookie Ben Williamson makes jaw-dropping catch Maturity seems to an important element of Williamson’s personality and his even-keel nature was on display right from the moment that the Mariners picked him in the third round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of Virginia’s College of William and Mary On an episode of The Wheelhouse podcast released on Saturday Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto detailed the humorous conversation that Mariners director of amateur scouting Scott Hunter had on a video call with Williamson to tell him he had been taken with one of the last picks on the first night of that draft Here’s a summation of how Dipoto said the conversation went with Williamson speaking in a hushed tone while sitting in the dark while the Mariners’ draft room was abuzz following three first-round picks its Scott Hunter with the Seattle Mariners • Hunter: “We just took you in the second round • Hunter: “Are you sitting in the dark?” I’m at my parents’ – they’re upstairs sleeping.” • Hunter: “You might want to go wake them up.” they’ve got work in the morning.” they do say in sports to act live you’re been there before While the Mariners were the team to take Williamson with the 57th overall pick, his status as a college senior who could be signed “under slot” – less than the assigned bonus for their slot in the draft – apparently made him a popular name around the league “We got a lot of angry texts after we popped him in the second round,” Dipoto said “because there were a number of teams that that had their sights set on him in order to do creative things in the draft … We actually had him in a pretty prominent place on our board and hopefully time tells us that we had him in the right place but we had some people in the room arguing that they thought he was a first-round talent on his own (who) just so happened to be a senior.” Dipoto pointed to a few other things that speak to why Williamson was able to hit the ground running with the Mariners after getting called up with just 14 games at Triple-A under his belt “Since the day he stepped out on a field (after signing with the Mariners)… he has been one of the most consistent people that we’ve had in our organization,” Dipoto said If he’s not out on the field or in the cages “We saw it in spring training – he had a really good spring and he just absorbed as much as he could.” What the Mariners saw from Williamson this spring included him running in a different kind of circle than most players with his level of experience tend to he was always hovering around the veteran hitters trying to pull whatever he could from them,” Dipoto continued “And more often with guys who are in their first big league camp or they’re coming in (from the minors) they’ll pool up with the other guys who are in their circumstance And Ben didn’t do that in the spring he spent a lot of time around the veteran hitters… And it gave him a level of comfort when he got his call up.” Click here for the full episode of The Wheelhouse with Jerry Dipoto. Follow @BrentStecker Our monthly rundown of the new places opening throughout the Seattle area Here’s a list of notable openings we’ve clocked in the Seattle area in the last month. If we missed something, please email us: seattle@eater.com PIKE PLACE — Restaurateur Tom Douglas has switched up his market-adjacent seafood restaurant. What was once Seatown Rub Shack and FishFry is now Mr. Fish (that name again is Mr and serving the classics you’d expect from a tourist-friendly downtown restaurant: fish and chips FREMONT — Model Restaurant Group, which opened Greenwood American Bistro less than a year ago, now has a second restaurant in Robin’s Restaurant and Market which is in the Fremont space that used to be home to Art of the Table and dinner (a rarity in Seattle) and serves dishes like a bacon and cheese sandwich on Brazilian pao de queijo (gluten-free cheese bread) BELLEVUE — Upscale Chinese chain Jiang Nan has opened its first West Coast location inside the upscale mall Bravern. The Seattle Times reports that the Bellevue spot The Times also recommends the deep-fried battered bullfrog which is served with rice cakes and sounds tight BALLARD — Take 5 Urban Market, a corner shop that has built a fanbase for its sandwiches, has reopened following a yearlong closure due to an explosion GREENWOOD — Delightful new chocolate factory/live music cafe Cocoa Legato has opened on Greenwood Avenue. A mini profile in Seattle Met says it’s owned by Aaron Lindstrom a former manager at Theo Chocolate; in the space you’ll be able to sample chocolate while watching the chocolate-making process BALLARD — The space that used to house the now-shuttered bar Pour Decisions is now home to another bar called Schooner Street, according to MyBallard The new spot is reportedly owned by Liz Nielsen who owned neighborhood bar Stepping Stone until it closed late last year WEST SEATTLE — A new Italian restaurant called the Neighborhood has opened on California Avenue in the former Peel & Press space. According to West Seattle Blog the centerpiece of the place might be a “New York-style pizza oven,” but the owners intend to do a lot more than pizza WEDGWOOD — A new Japanese restaurant focused on fish (donburi etc.) called Akebono has opened in a strip mall on 35th Avenue NE and 75th Street BELLEVUE — The owners of Sushi Nori have a new restaurant over in Bellevue called Ramen Nori that serves PIONEER SQUARE — Joining the bevy of restaurants that have recently opened in Pioneer Suqare is 4 Diamonds a Vietnamese place serving clasic dishes like banh mi and pho CAPITOL HILL — 8 at Ping Yang is a new Thai restaurant centered around a charcoal grill It also has a lunch menu with a bunch of different varieties of congee and khao soi plus an intriguing burger with khao soi–braised beef FREMONT — New gelato shop Marmalade has already attracted some rave reviews, with the Infatuation calling it “Seattle’s best gelato.” BALLARD — Speaking of gelato, gelato mini chain Nutty Squirrel now has another branch after taking over the former home of D’Ambrosio Gelato on Ballard Avenue, reports MyBallard EDMONDS — Longtime Pike Place Market crumpet shop the Crumpet Shop has expanded north to Edmonds and is now open on Main Street BELLEVUE — Speaking of expansions, the doughnut shop Doce now has a third location marking a rapid expansion since the brioche specialist opened in 2023 FREMONT — Just down the road from the original Doce the folks behind acclaimed Midnite Ramen have opened a new counter called Nanking Ramen You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience Seattle police are investigating a double stabbing that followed an altercation Saturday night near Hing Hay Park in the Chinatown-International District officers responded to reports of a disturbance in the 500 block of South Jackson Street and found a 32-year-old man with a stab wound to the neck Witnesses told police the victim got into an altercation with a suspect shortly before the stabbing Officers provided aid until Seattle Fire Department medics arrived and began life-saving efforts Medics transported the man to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition Medics treated him at the scene and released him with non-life-threatening injuries The Seattle Police Departments Homicide and Assault Unit will lead the investigation and determine what led up to the stabbings Police ask anyone with information to call the SPD Violent Crimes Tip Line at (206) 233-5000 Incident Number 2025-118938/ West Precinct/ K3 The Seattle Police Department (SPD) prevents crime and supports quality public safety by delivering respectful SPD operates within a framework that divides the city into five geographical areas called "precincts" By Chris S. Nishiwaki May 3 With Cinco de Mayo upon us May 5, thoughts turn to Mexican cuisine. What is “authentic” Mexican cuisine, anyways? Gino Garcia who grew up California’s Central Valley and traces his family roots to Mexico going back more than a century says it’s a futile exercise to search for “real” Mexican cuisine in Seattle “I don’t bother much with authenticity,” says Garcia culinary instructor and cookbook author specializing in Mexican cuisine “I describe myself as unauthentically authentic The food that I grew up with is so much different than the food that my friends in Mexico grew up with That version of the culinary game of telephone has transformed the foods that I grew up with It changes generation to generation as recipes are passed on.” Chefs such as Gino Garcia and Vicky Garcia (no relation) have turned their family recipes into thriving professions. Vicky, who was born in Northern Mexico and was raised in Texas, founded Rice, Beans and Happiness, a catering, meal kit and pop-up cooking business. Find her on Instagram for her next pop-up date and location “The Mexican food in Seattle is quite lacking,” she says because nobody offered the food I grew up with Mexican food is not monolithic. Mexico is a diverse country, ethnically (native populations as well as historic migrations), topographically, as well as by weather, crops raised, and in traditions, which is often expressed in its regional cuisines. The country can be divided into seven major regions that expressed their cuisines in unique ways.  “I heard a lot of people moan and groan about Mexican food in Seattle,” Vicky Garcia says “I recommend places that make a very specific dish “When I go to a Mexican restaurant I go for a specific reason.” Here are some of our favorite places to find Mexican food in Seattle: Tutta Bella ramps up production after deal with Kroger Seattle’s Tutta Bella pizza has signed a deal with Kroger and will now serve its Neopolitan-style pies in 1,200 stores in 40 states Kroger’s first order of 85,000 pizzas generated more than $1 million in sales “We didn’t set out to become a national food manufacturer — it happened organically Remember when hot honey burst onto the dining scene last year But if the temperature has turned down a bit for you on this trendy condiment let Queen Bee’s Hot Honey — made and served up with Caribbean… Here’s what was served up recently in the Emerald City Seattle is a special place to eat — you know it we know it — so it’s not exactly a surprise when local culinary talent makes the headlines it’s always worth throwing a little more shine to the spotlight — take a peek to find out which star gained some national acclaim this week,… Cozy Mountlake Terrace gem delivers every time has been serving up delicious comfort food since 2004 Founded by Emmanuel and Georgia Flemetakis this family-owned restaurant is now run by the next generation of the Flemetakis family The menu is packed with classic Greek comfort food Sign up and get Seattle's best events delivered to your inbox every week Learn how to describe the purpose of the image (opens in a new tab) Leave empty if the image is purely decorative Ready to get out on the water and go paddling or rowing? Your next watercraft awaits you at this weekend’s West Seattle Boat Swap, just under way at Mountain to Sound Outfitters (3602 SW Alaska; WSB sponsor) whose proprietor Greg Whittaker sent the photo “Lotta great boats to get people out on Puget Sound.” You can shop the Boat Swap until 4 pm today and again 11 am-4 pm Sunday Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Please enter your username or e-mail address You will receive a new password via e-mail Voice your thoughts on three of the most intriguing picks and if you would make a different choice than John Schneider With the new rookies in camp, and the NFL draft only 10 days past, the buzz of Spring football is still strong. Let’s reflect on the Seattle Seahawks rookie class and take the opportunity to play armchair General Manager for a moment Not the predictive version that John Gilbert runs and announces the winners but put the entire draft in a vacuum and tell us if you’d have done things differently I lay before you three options. This has been a wildly heralded draft, replete with huge upside in the top of the draft and strong possibility of big steals in the late rounds. Therefore, it’s not as easy as “L.J. Collier or Literally Anyone Else”, but we’ve got some options nevertheless Seattle’s always interested in trading down but nothing came through the lines that warranted pulling the trigger Jihaad Campbell or one of the top wide receivers (Matthew Golden?) would have been available The value of guard and center continues to get pounded in draft coverage but looking at how the rest of the round progressed do you like the value there or does something else catch your eye We know from Schneider that they had a first round grade on Emmanwori what FOUR picks between 50 and 92 had promised Are you ok with losing 82 and landing TE Elijah Arroyo at 50 but some of the best receivers of the draft were still around even in the 80s they could have stuck in a couple of places and almost anyone from the back end of the fourth would have been available they hadn’t moved down so far and ended up with a player who’ll be converted to fullback in the fifth round Ranked the 6th best guard in the entire draft Mbow was taken with the 18th pick in the fifth round while Mel Kiper was losing his mind on set a cornerback from the same school as Riq Woolen who was a mild surprise to be still available at that point Seattle could have walked out of that round with guaranteed solid competition for the final guard spot or third corner days after declaring Brady Russell was officially converting to fullback Tell us your different selection in the comments Join the comments by scrolling below! You can sign up for a commenting account here and we have full-time moderators to enforce the Community Guidelines This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page New episodes of season 2 of The Last of Us are premiering on HBO every Sunday night, and Ars' Kyle Orland (who's played the games) and Andrew Cunningham (who hasn't) will be talking about them here after they air While these recaps don't delve into every single plot point of the episode there are obviously heavy spoilers contained within so go watch the episode first if you want to go in fresh Kyle: We start this episode from the perspective of a band of highly armed FEDRA agents in 2018 Seattle shooting the shit in a transport that somehow still has usable gasoline Maybe it's just the political moment we're in but I was not quite emotionally prepared for these militarized characters in my post-apocalyptic escape show to start casually using "voters" as an ironic signifier for regular people Andrew: We've spent so little time with FEDRA—the post-collapse remnant of what had once been the US government—since the very opening episodes of the show that you can forget exactly why nearly every other individual and organization in the show's world hates it and wants nothing to do with it But here's a reminder for us: casual cruelty Of course as soon as you see and hear Jeffrey Wright you know he's going to be A Guy (he's an HBO alum from Boardwalk Empire and Westworld He just as casually betrays and blows up the transport full of jumped-up FEDRA jarheads which is a clear prestige TV storytelling signifier Isaac's backstory was only broadly hinted at in the games so getting to see this big "Who This Character Is" moment in the show was pretty effective What I found less effective was Ellie playing a very able A-Ha cover when she discovers the abandoned guitar room In the game it serves as a welcome change of pace from a lot of frenetic action and a good excuse for an endearing guitar-playing mini-game Here it felt like it just kind of dragged on with a lot of awkward dwelling on close-ups of Dina's creepily enamored face I do appreciate that the show at least made an effort to explain why this 30-year-old guitar was still in pristine condition I don't instantly buy that the silica gel packets (which Ellie does not eat) in the guitar case would have lasted for that long but at least she didn't pull a mossy guitar straight off the wall and start tuning it up I do also think the show (and the game, I guess, picking up your context clues) got away with picking one of the goofiest songs they possibly could that would still read as "soulful and emotionally resonant" when played solo on acoustic guitar. But I suppose that's always been the power of that particular instrument Kyle: Not to cut short "Guitar Talk," but the show cuts it off with a creepy scene of Isaac talking about high-end cookware to an initially unseen companion on the floor way worse than most anything we're exposed to in the games—and these are games that are not exactly squeamish about showing scenes of torture and extreme violence Felt to me like they're taking advantage of HBO's reputation for graphic content just because they could But not totally without storytelling utility if you're setting Isaac up to be a mid-season miniboss on the road to the Dramatic Confrontation with Abby that you've got to make it especially clear that he is capable of really nasty things but they were guys that we as viewers are all supposed to hate Torturing a defenseless man reinforces the perception of him as someone that Ellie and Dina do not want to meet especially now that they've popped a couple of his guys Because Ellie and Dina have unwittingly wandered into the middle of a Seattle civil war of sorts between Isaac and his militarized WLF members and the face-cutting cultists we briefly met in the middle of last episode And while the WLF types do seem to have the cult outgunned we are told here that WLF members are slowly defecting to the cult (rather than the other way around) Kyle: I will say I appreciated the surprisingly cogent history of the "chicken and egg games" beef between the two factions as discussed between torturer and torture victim Definitely a memorable bit of world-building But then we're quickly back to the kind of infected attack scene that now seems practically contractually obligated to happen at least once an episode I think these kinds of massive setpiece zombie battles would work better as a light seasoning than a thick sauce that just gets dumped on us almost every week Andrew: People in and from Seattle seem to have a unique gift for kicking up otherwise dormant swarms of infected but I was more intrigued by the first episode's reveal of more strategic infected that seemed to be retaining more of their human traits than I am by these screaming mindless hordes I think the tension is also ratcheted up artificially by Ellie's weird escape strategy which is to lead the two of them through a series of dead ends and cul-de-sacs before finally And it does finally make the "Dina finds out that Ellie is immune" shoe drop though Dina doesn't seem ready to think through any of the other implications of that reveal just yet Andrew: It does explain a couple of things It does seem like a bit of a narrative shortcut to make Ellie extremely invested in Dina and whether she lives or dies and given this show I am worried that this zygote is only going to be used to create more trauma for Ellie rather than giving us a nuanced look at parenting during an apocalypse But it is sweet to see how enthusiastically and immediately Ellie gets invested A question for you, while spoiling as little as you can: Are we still mostly just adapting the game at this point? You'd mentioned getting more Isaac backstory (sometimes the show expands on backstories well and sometimes it doesn't) and some things have happened a bit out of order But my impression is that we haven't gotten a full departure a la the Nick Offerman episode from last season yet Kyle: At this point it's kind of like a jazz riff on what happens in the game some remixed and thrown into entirely different temporal locations and some fresh new improv thrown in for good measure I'm definitely not a "the game is canon and you must interpret it literally" type of person but the loose treatment is giving me a bit of whiplash is not greeted with nearly as much immediate joy in the games the moment of joy Ellie and Dina do share here feels transplanted (in tone if nothing else) from an earlier game scene that the show had mostly skipped thus far The show also spends an inordinate amount of time discussing how pregnancy tests work in the post-apocalypse which for me pushed past world-building and into overexplaining I can still tell I'm watching a video game adaptation because there are stealth kills and because important information is conveyed via messages and logos scrawled in blood on the walls and doing slightly less minute-to-minute missing of Joel than I did last episode The episode ends with Ellie and Dina hearing the name of someone who has the same name as someone who knew Abby over a WLF walkie-talkie they nabbed which gives them their next objective marker for Abby Quest But they've got to cross an active war zone to get where they're going (though I couldn't tell from that distance whether we're meant to be able to tell exactly who is fighting who at the moment) The Sounders started off strong when Paul Rothrock played Rusnák inside the eighteen yard box where he had space to take a near post shot in the 6th minute Louis goalkeeper Ben Lundt was there to prevent the ball from going in Then in the 9th minute, an attempted clearance from Seattle found Hartel at the top of the box to take a one-time shot, but it was blocked by Yeimar Louis got the initial lead in the 26th minute after Cedric Teuchert drew a foul in the eighteen placing the ball toward the right side of the net the Sounders earned the same opportunity on the other side of the pitch after Rothrock drew a foul of his own in the penalty area Rusnák tied up the score with a driven PK down the center of the goal the Sounders took over the match with three more goals to secure the win Seattle’s second goal of the night came in the 61st minute when a give-and-go combination between Vargas and Ryan Kent pushed Vargas inside the box for a shot attempt that deflected a St a Nouhou cross from the left flank found Musovski with his back to goal but the Nevada native was able to turn his body just enough to rocket the ball forward and make it three for the Sounders Nouhou came up clutch with the final goal of the night one minute into stoppage time Kent laid the ball back to the defender who sent a one-timer toward the top of the net The Sounders will return to action on May 10 when they travel to Shell Energy Stadium to take on Houston Dynamo (5:30 PT; Watch on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV) The second half substitute was incredibly influential during his limited minutes of playing time with his first coming just four minutes into him entering the match Tacoma Defiance forward Osaze De Rosario signed a short-term agreement with the Sounders squad for Saturday night's fixture where he earned the opportunity to make his First Team debut when he subbed in for Musovski in the second half Musovski collected his fourth goal in a row for the Rave Green on Saturday night This is the first time since Jordan Morris in 2016 where a Sounders player has been able to achieve four goals in four consecutive matches Join Sounders FC for an unforgettable year Unlock exclusive perks and be part of the action as we enter a new era The biggest club soccer event in history is coming to Seattle With a Sounders FC Flex Membership you select which matches you want in the seats (or suites!) of your choosing Enjoy the view from our elevated Club seats for one match and then for your next one sit close pitch to catch all the action - all with preferred member pricing Seattle Storm forward Katie Lou Samuelson is expected to miss this WNBA season after tearing the ACL in her right knee in practice Thursday She also spent the 2021 season with Seattle The Storm also have two other players out this season with ACL injuries: guards Jordan Horston and Nika Muhl Both were injured playing in other leagues: Muhl in October while competing in Turkey and Horston in February in Athletes Unlimited in Nashville She missed the 2023 season while on maternity leave and spent last season with the Fever Her overall best season was 2022 with the Sparks She won a national championship at UConn in 2016, her freshman season. Samuelson was on the United States' 3x3 team for the Olympics in Tokyo in 2021 but was not able to compete due to COVID-19 and was replaced on the roster by the Las Vegas Aces' Jackie Young. Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Residents of a Seattle neighborhood are pushing for the city to do something to stop alleged criminal acts — including "rampant public masturbation" — at their local park A community group, Denny Blaine for All, has sued the city over what it says is ongoing and unaddressed illegal activity at the park - which is an unofficial nude beach Sophie Amity Debs, the co-leader of the Friends of Denny Blaine community group — which partners with the city to maintain the park and to deal with issues in the space — agreed that there were ongoing problems, including the masturbation, but also noted that park is a special place for members of the city's LGBT+ community and is cautioning against too drastic of changes. "Denny Blaine means a lot to a lot of different folks," Sophie Amity Debs, the co-leader of the Friends of Denny Blaine community group, told King 5 News. "I think it's one of relatively few beaches that are pretty actively inclusive space." Debs said that the park had long been a safe place for people in the LGBT+ community to gather and enjoy the beach. "A lot of folks who want to be out in their bodies, so for a lot queer and trans folks who might face harassment at other types of beaches,” Debs said. “Denny Blaine is just a really safe place." Debs expressed some concerns that the lawsuit would ban nude use of the beach altogether. “I think if you look at the neighbor's lawsuit, it becomes very clear that it involves removing nude use of the beach entirely," the group leader said. Keller disagreed with Debs' concerns, saying the group's lawsuit was focused solely on stopping criminal activity. "This is not anything about getting rid of nudity,” Keller said. “Nudity is legal in Washington state. That's not what this lawsuit says. We're talking about getting rid of illegal and illicit activities, that include masturbation, inappropriate come-ons to people on the neighborhood, men pulling their parts out and asking women if they want to touch them. That is not legal nudity, that's illegal, and that's what we're asking the city to take care of." Both Debs and Keller agreed that working together to improve the park will yield the best results. "What we need to do is make sure that the illegal activity stops,” Keller said. “We're not talking about activities that are legal. I'm sure there's common ground between the two groups." Friends of Denny Blaine hopes that Seattle police officers and park rangers will agree to take part in a training that includes reminders that nudity is not illegal in Washington. The group is planning to host a free "bystander intervention training" on May 18. 0);width:1px;height:1px;margin:-1px;padding:0px;overflow:hidden;white-space:nowrap;position:absolute;}Loading....css-1kym0z8{padding-top:var(--chakra-space-4);border-top-style:solid;border-top-width:1px;border-top-color:var(--components-article-header-hero-divider-border-color 0.15));}@media screen and (min-width: 80em){.css-1kym0z8{padding-top:var(--chakra-space-6);}}.css-1kym0z8 time{color:var(--semantics-text-paragraph-primary-color #494a4e);font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-xs);font-weight:700;}@media screen and (min-width: 80em){.css-1kym0z8 time{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-lg);}}Apr 30 [href^="www"]):not(.jrte-img)::after,.css-7mka76 a[data-hover]:is([target="_blank"] [href^="www"]):not(.jrte-img)::after,.css-7mka76 a[data-active]:is([target="_blank"] 0);border:0;}.css-7mka76 tr{margin:0 0 1rem 0;border-bottom:1px solid rgb(0 playing home games at Climate Pledge ArenaNEW YORK AND TORONTO (April 30 2025) – The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) today announced its expansion to Seattle with the new team set to begin play in the 2025-26 season. The team will play its home games at Climate Pledge Arena and train at the Kraken Community Iceplex the team revealed that its primary color will be Emerald Green and its secondary color will be Cream The team will operate as PWHL Seattle until the permanent brand identity is announced.    A press conference will be held today at 11 a.m. PT/2 p.m. ET at Climate Pledge Arena, with a livestream available on thepwhl.com and the PWHL’s YouTube channel. Further details here.  Seattle joins Vancouver as the PWHL’s first two expansion teams alongside the inaugural six markets (Boston extending the league's footprint to the Pacific Northwest ahead of its third season The new team will join the league’s single-entity ownership structure under The Walter Group and how Seattle and Vancouver will be integrated into the 2025 PWHL Draft on June 24 will be announced in the coming weeks.   The decision to expand to Seattle follows an extensive Request for Proposal (RFP) process and reflects the initial stages of the league’s long-term vision for strategic growth the developers and operators of Climate Pledge Arena Seattle emerged as a natural fit for PWHL expansion for several reasons The city delivered an enthusiastic response to the launch of the PWHL Takeover Tour drawing a crowd of 12,608 at Climate Pledge Arena on January 5 Growing its presence in the Pacific Northwest not only broadens the league’s national reach with Seattle’s proximity to Vancouver creating natural competitive energy Partnering with the NHL’s Seattle Kraken further solidifies a strong foundation for success in this vibrant sports market The PWHL will build on this momentum by extending grassroots efforts across the Seattle area through camps and community events designed to grow the game and foster deep local connections Threads @pwhl__seattle and Bluesky @pwhl--seattle.    “We are looking forward to returning the love energy and excitement the Seattle sports community shared with us during the PWHL Takeover Tour,” said Amy Scheer PWHL Executive Vice President of Business Operations “The opportunity to start a new chapter of women’s hockey in the Pacific Northwest combined with calling the world-class Climate Pledge Arena home has so much meaning for our league The Kraken already have been unbelievably supportive and it’s a joy to have PWHL Seattle join the WNBA’s Storm and the NWSL’s Reign who are skyscrapers in the city’s towering sports landscape.” “There is so much passion from women’s and girls’ hockey organizations in Seattle and our players thrived on that energy during their Takeover Tour visit,” said Jayna Hefford PWHL Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations “Women’s teams from Seattle and Vancouver played against each other as early as 1921 and given the proximity of our two newest cities – Vancouver is barely 140 miles away – I cannot wait for the first game in what I’m sure will be one of our fiercest rivalries We also look forward to making an impact in Seattle off the ice––from grassroots hockey to community initiatives we're committed to building meaningful connections throughout our newest home city.” “On behalf of the Seattle Kraken and Climate Pledge Arena I am proud to welcome the Professional Women’s Hockey League to Seattle,” said Samantha Holloway “Seattle is an incredible sports city and we’ve seen firsthand the passion for the women’s game – at both the US v Canada Rivalry game and the PWHL Takeover Tour We’re also proud to grow the game of hockey at Kraken Community Iceplex and together we’ll continue to inspire the next generation of hockey players and fans alike.” “Seattle is thrilled to be the home of the newest Professional Women’s Hockey League team!” said Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell “This new team will build on Seattle’s legacy of excellence in women’s professional sports uniting our communities and inspiring big dreams and civic pride I’m confident our city will embrace the team and the opportunity to enjoy even more world-class sporting events at Climate Pledge Arena.” is the complete redevelopment of an historic landmark originally built for the 1962 Seattle World's Fair The arena is home to the NHL’s Seattle Kraken and the world's biggest performers of live music and events About the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL)        PWHL, the PWHL Logo, and PWHL team names and logos are trademarks of the PWHL. © PWHL 2025. All Rights Reserved.  Like many of his neighbors near the Seattle waterfront Alex Smith keeps a close eye on the big container ships crossing Elliott Bay to and from the terminals at the Port of Seattle a retired marine components industry professional noticed fewer vessels coming through starting in mid-April he worried it was an “early warning system” for the effects of the widening U.S.-China trade dispute said of the possible economic costs as the two countries’ escalating tariffs have made trade much more expensive Retailers and consumers can’t get products Farmers and manufacturers lose foreign markets Smith is hardly alone in worrying about the economy in and around trade-reliant Puget Sound ever since new tariffs rolled out by President Donald Trump quickly escalated into a full-blown trade war Experts think it won’t be until May that the full impacts of a U.S.-China tariff tit-for-tat hit the ports of Seattle and Tacoma given the weekslong transit times between the sparring nations But port officials and port-dependent businesses are already feeling the early effects They’re also bracing for what could be a substantial decline not only in import and export activity That includes longshoremen who handle the cargo and truckers who haul goods into and out of the ports.  “One of my fears is that the local trucking community is going to be the first to be impacted by these changes” in cargo volumes chief operating officer at the Northwest Seaport Alliance which oversees marine cargo operations at both ports fears of a slowdown have been masked by a surge in so-called forward buying companies began importing extra inventory or shipping extra products overseas out of concern that then-candidate Trump would win reelection and make good on his campaign promises of high tariffs.  That forward buying continued in the first three months of this year the ports of Tacoma and Seattle handled nearly 666,000 inbound and outbound containers While it’s unclear how much of that extra volume was tied to forward buying “a significant portion of that is likely due to folks advancing orders with concerns about potential tariffs,” said Steve Balaski director of business development at the Northwest Seaport Alliance the period of forward buying appears to be giving way to a period of slow or even no buying especially since Trump raised tariffs on some Chinese goods to 145% earlier this month even as he has cut tariffs on many other countries Tariffs are essentially a tax on imported goods that is paid by importers which often pass along some or all of that cost to consumers Port officials said they were still analyzing vessel data and couldn’t yet say whether April had seen a marked decrease in vessel traffic Data from the Marine Exchange of Puget Sound shows the number of arriving container ships berthing at Seattle and Tacoma terminals from April 1 to April 24 was down 12% compared with the same period in 2024 Arrivals of ships carrying automobiles in April was down 36% the number of container vessels arriving or departing from Seattle and Tacoma between April 1 and April 15 was down around 27% compared with the first half of March and by around 24% from April 1-15 according to a Seattle-area marine services industry insider who asked to remain anonymous because they weren’t authorized to speak for the company says the drop is pretty clear to anyone actually looking at Elliott Bay Other factors that could reduce container traffic in Puget Sound include congestion-related delays at the port of Vancouver where many vessels stop before or after coming to Seattle and Tacoma the rise of larger container vessels is also lowering the number of sailings as is the industry’s “alliance” strategy where rivals share vessels to avoid half-full ships But April’s apparent lull on Puget Sound could foreshadow even steeper falls in traffic as the trade war continues.  many scheduled sailings by container vessels bound from other nations to U.S importers are deciding they can’t afford to pay the tariffs Media accounts have reported a 30% decline in scheduled sailings out of China for the U.S. which the alliance’s Balaski says is “a fair estimate for what we’re going to see” in terms of impacts on alliance operations which count on China for around 40% of imported volume a freight market data platform: from March 30 to April 21 ocean bookings for containers from international ports to Seattle or Tacoma fell around 29% Bookings into the two ports “took a big step down the week of March 30 beginning April 20 and continuing to the present day,” said JP Hampstead which owns the trade publication FreightWaves Because cargo vessels take several weeks to reach Seattle from Asia the major effects of that missing cargo won’t materialize until mid-May when the port expects volume to go “soft.” But some early ripples have already arrived.  a Seattle-based baby clothes company that relies heavily on imports from China paused a container shipment due this month after realizing the 145% tariff would add roughly $300,000 to the shipment’s original $200,000 cost we just don’t have that money sitting around,” Damir said Exporters are also feeling the chill of tariffs Seattle-Tacoma is one of the largest gateways for exports of hay and the largest for apples and frozen french fries All are vulnerable to China’s retaliatory tariffs which have made Chinese buyers less interested in U.S “We’ve had exporters actually coming to our terminals to pick up containers of product that they’d already delivered to be exported to China and they’re not going to ship them” due to the Chinese tariffs ”They’re just picking them up and taking them back and trying to find another home for them.” Adding to the pain is the uncertainty over how long the tariffs could last Trump has a pattern of suspending or lowering tariffs and media reports indicated he is also considering lowering tariffs on China he knows how global supply chains work and how hard they are to restart Even if the White House rolled back the tariffs tomorrow it would take weeks or months before flow of goods returns to normal “This pipeline has been shut off and it’s not like you can turn it back on and it starts up again in a day,” Smith said the Seattle Kraken announced that they have relieved head coach Dan Bylsma of his duties “We thank Dan for his commitment and the energy he brought to our organization over the past four years at the NHL and AHL levels,” said Kraken General Manager Ron Francis “After a thorough review of the season and our expectations for next year and beyond we’ve made the difficult decision to move in a different direction behind the bench Dan is a great person and a respected coach He played an important role in the development of many of our young prospects and was a big part of our early success in Coachella Valley We sincerely wish him and his family nothing but success moving forward.” Bylsma was named the second head coach in franchise history on May 28 and guided the Kraken to a 35-41-6 record during the 2024-25 season Bylsma joined the Kraken after spending the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons as the head coach of the Coachella Valley Firebirds Seattle’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate He guided the Firebirds to a combined regular-season record of 94-32-18 over those two years He was also an assistant coach with the Charlotte Checkers Seattle’s AHL affiliate in the Kraken’s first year as an NHL team Francis will be available to media at the Kraken Community Iceplex on Tuesday LOS ANGELES — Tesla facilities worldwide have been the target of protests objecting to Tesla CEO Elon Musk's influential role in the Trump administration anti-Musk protesters gathered again in what were their most ambitious and widespread rallies yet nonviolent demonstrations took place across the U.S Organizers called it a "global day of action" and said protests occurred in at least 253 cities around the world the movement's organizers have been encouraging people to boycott the EV maker by selling their Tesla cars and stocks thousands of grassroots groups and individuals worldwide are driving the decentralized effort Musk and the White House did not respond to NPR's request for comment said he felt compelled to join because he believes President Trump and Musk pose a threat to democracy "I want to do everything possible to protect democracy in this country," he said Ansell added that he was especially excited to participate seeing how far and wide the protest movement had spread Many people at the Los Angeles rally voiced deep concern over the devastating effect that the Trump administration's cuts and proposed changes could have on Social Security said she showed up because she has a 37-year-old daughter with special needs who relies on Social Security benefits "It's what allows her to live independently and to be able to pay rent and pay [for] food," she said "She's literally existing and living thanks to Social Security." demonstrations took place across small and major cities In Dallas, demonstrators held up a banner reading "Store closing. Everything must go!" outside of a Tesla dealership, according to a photo from an attendee posted on Facebook On a busy street in St. Louis County, Mo., protesters waved signs that read "No one elected Musk" and "Drive Tesla out of Biz" as cars passed by, FOX 2 reported And in New York City, near a Tesla showroom, a massive crowd chanted "Elon Musk shame on you. We deserve a future too," according to a video on Facebook Organizers say the Tesla Takedown movement is fueled by anger over Musk's slashing of the federal government and that it aims to hit the billionaire where it hurts — the electric vehicle company that's become his main source of wealth who has been helping lead Tesla Takedown protests in Los Angeles says Musk's work to dismantle government agencies and workforce through the unofficially named DOGE initiative is the primary motivator for the movement's members which is spearheading our country's destruction — literally destroying our country's infrastructure," Lava said Tesla will be the least impacted by the tariffs Some of the anti-Musk backlash has been violent. Tesla vehicles, dealerships and charging stations across the U.S. and in Europe have been the target of arson and vandalism Some have taken to spray-painting swastikas on Tesla sedans and Cybertrucks Tesla Takedown organizers say its participants are exercising their right to peacefully protest and that they oppose violence and property destruction But Musk did not make that distinction when he went after Valerie Costa a community activist who has helped organize recent peaceful protests in the Seattle area as part of the Tesla Takedown demonstrations accused Costa of "committing crimes," without giving evidence or specific allegations That was after he claimed that an environmental activist group she cofounded was backed by the ActBlue Costa told NPR that the accusations were false and that Musk supporters subsequently targeted her in direct messages that included threats of physical violence if not the most powerful person in the world is saying you've committed a crime it doesn't matter what the truth is," Costa said Tesla Takedown organizers say they want to chip away at Musk's power and that starts with tarnishing Tesla's brand "Trump only likes [Musk] because he's rich," Lava "If suddenly Musk becomes just another boring and that will also show the power we have as people to effect change." Become an NPR sponsor JASON RANTZ 1:29 PM | Updated: 2:16 pm Neighbors are suing over public masturbation at a local Seattle park that they say has been allowed to continue BY JASON RANTZ Seattle neighbors who live near a park favored by LGBT nudists are suing the city over a rash of sex perverts who are allegedly driving to the park in order to publicly masturbate It’s gotten so bad that the city of Seattle is seeking Requests for Proposals (RFPs) with initial consideration to build “public masturbation deterrent infrastructure.” The neighborhood group Denny Blaine Park for All is filing a complaint against the city of Seattle and its Department of Parks and Recreation “to abate public nuisance and for breach of fiduciary duty” in King County Superior Court The legal complaint hits the city for its “failure and refusal…to protect the public interest.” The park drew attention statewide after neighbors were angered that the park has become a nudist attraction But it was politically tricky for the city because it became favored by Seattle’s LGBT community the city announced a plan to build a playground at the park as a way to deter the nudity that upset local neighbors After the city was accused of targeting the LGBT community by seeking to alter the park from what it had become Mayor Bruce Harrell backtracked and did not intervene Neighbors said there’s a new problem: because of all the news coverage have come by to stare at the nude beach and parkgoers while masturbating publicly “It is now a regional venue for criminal and uncivil behavior that includes public masturbation public sex and other types of indecent exposure and scofflaw parking that prevents fire trucks and ambulances from reaching neighborhood homes,” the legal complaint obtained by “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH The city of Seattle has been aware of the complaints from neighbors for at least the last year In May 2024, the Parks Department requested RFPs for “Access improvements and Plan for Denny Blaine Park.” According to the city document it asked for plans to build “public masturbation deterrent infrastructure.” It’s unclear what that means “We have scoped the project from the initial Park CommUNITY Fund submission and will begin broader public engagement effort for the project in late 2025 We anticipate improvements occurring in 2027,” a Seattle Parks spokesperson explained in a statement there is a stair improvement project at the park which involves installing a railing and landings on the south stairs.” The spokesperson says the city removed the “public masturbation deterrent infrastructure” from city project documents but left on the submission online “to show how the projects developed into more informed scoped proposals.” The complaint details several incidents—caught on video—of “public masturbation and other acts of indecent exposure (that) are happening not just in good weather but year-round.” It also says a naked man repeatedly visits the park to masturbate with his car door open a woman who works near the Park has witnessed 13 different men masturbating in the Park with several of these men repeatedly visiting the park to do so,” the complaint reads before detailing several incidents in March 2025 showing that public masturbation is “increasing in frequency as the weather improves.” “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH obtained video evidence compiled by neighbors It includes nine minutes of footage and photos of indecent exposures The faces of the people in the video and photos have been blurred “Nudity at the Park is often aggressively directed at other Park users and neighbors so that it constitutes the crime of indecent exposure a naked man was seen confronting and attempting to intimidate a middle-aged woman who was collecting garbage after a busy weekend,” the complaint alleges “A man was seen alternatively lying naked on his back and kneeling naked on the hood of his car exposing his genitals to passersby for at least six hours.” The complaint says the behavior is conducted in front of kids It says two teen girls who live with their family nearby “were accosted by a man coming from the Park who exposed himself and started to urinate on the street in front of them.” which was illegally parked so as to block the driveway of this family he spit in the face of a family friend who had seen his behavior and attempted to talk to him about it,” the complaint alleges The complaint alleges the city and Seattle Parks have known about the issue since 2017 but have declined to act forcing the group of neighbors to file the complaint They are represented by Foster Garvey PC in Seattle Follow @https://twitter.com/jasonrantz As marriage becomes less popular among younger generations Seattle men have hit a milestone of singledom: For the first time half of the men living in the city have never been married shows a record 173,700 Seattle men aged 15 and older had never been hitched That represents 50.4% of the 344,700 Seattle men in that age group This marks the first time Seattle’s never-married men have crossed the 50% threshold there were an estimated 165,600 never-married men here making up 49.1% of the city’s 15-and-older male population of 337,400 The data comes from the Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey The marital status data is tabulated for the population age 15 and older which I’m sure many readers will feel seems far too young as a baseline age for marriage The minimum marriage age varies from state to state, with most allowing marriage at 16 with parental consent, but there are states where the threshold for marriage is 15 or younger. Washington had no minimum age for marriage until the law was changed last year the share of the population married at such a young age is tiny never-married singles remain a sizable minority 138,600 never-married women aged 15 and older lived in the city representing 43.3% of the total 319,900 women in this age group This gender gap among never-married singles isn’t unique to Seattle — it’s consistent across the nation the median age of first marriage for men was 30.4 years in 2023 because men tend to have a shorter life expectancy than women there are more widows than widowers in the total population The larger number of widows lowers the share of women who are never-married singles Seattle was one of 14 in which the majority of men had never been married followed by Boston at around 57% and Atlanta at 56% The lowest percentage of never-married men was in Colorado Springs at around 34%; followed by Virginia Springs 48% of Seattle men were never-married singles It might seem like a surprisingly small movement in the number from then to 2023 but there’s one important development to keep in mind: the legalization of same-sex marriage More people than ever can get married now Supreme Court decision requiring all states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples several states had extended marriage rights to same-sex couples there were nearly 3,800 men in same-sex relationships in Seattle But even with the extension of marriage rights the share of men who have never been married increased in Seattle over the past decade This is also true of most other major cities Seattle was one of 37 that saw an increase from 2010 to 2023 in the share of men who were never married Among the 13 cities that saw a drop in the share of men who had never wed Both of these cities have large gay populations and it’s likely the legalization of same-sex marriage is one reason behind the drops playJalen Milroe's NFL draft profile (1:10)Check out some of the top highlights from Alabama's Jalen Milroe He doesn't have to make a Pro Bowl to justify his selection but Zabel's explosiveness -- he has a 36.5-inch vertical jump -- gives him that kind of upside He also seems like a Seahawks-type personality having turned down lucrative offers from Power 5 schools to remain at NDSU The Seahawks' interior offensive linemen ranked ranked 25th last season in pass block win rate An NDSU reunion in Seattle: Zabel was college teammates with Seahawks offensive lineman Jalen Sundell He called Sundell a good friend and knew the exact pick his sister was selected at by the Seattle Storm in the recent WNBA draft (26th overall) "So cool," Zabel said of reuniting with Sundell adding: "To have a familiar face in the locker room I'll lean on him heavily." Speaking of Seattle Zabel relayed to reporters that his mother once told him he was named after the TV show Grey's Anatomy -- only to later find out that he was born three years before the show debuted play1:01Nick Emmanwori's NFL draft profileCheck out some of the top highlights from South Carolina's Nick Emmanwori Schneider had the flexibility to move up for someone they love Schneider said the Seahawks considered moving back into the first round to take Emmanwori on Thursday night he took him at 35 overall after trading up in Round 2 giving the Titans their 52nd and 82nd overall picks This feels less like filling a need and more like a swing on a gifted player -- Emmanwori lit up the NFL combine by running a 4.38-second 40-yard dash at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds -- who has the upside to help Mike Macdonald's defense go from good to great. As the Ravens' defensive coordinator, Macdonald helped turn Kyle Hamilton into an All-Pro safety Emmanwori should play extensively early on but it may be as the third safety as opposed to an every-down starting role Coach Mike Macdonald gave that impression while answering a question about whether Hamilton or former Seahawks Pro Bowl safety Kam Chancellor entered his mind while evaluating Emmanwori "I think what we found with Kyle is that the system allows for us to get multiple safeties on the field and also be in the slot kind of with enhanced coverage responsibilities," Macdonald said Macdonald's comments about Emmanwori suggest that he may not immediately usurp Coby Bryant, who emerged as a solid starter last season alongside Julian Love that's a strong safety trio that will give a creative coach in Macdonald plenty of flexibility -- especially if Emmanwori shows he can play in the post and not just in the box Arroyo scored seven touchdowns and averaged 16.9 yards per catch in 13 games last season He's known as a willing blocker at 6-5 and 254 pounds something he'll have to do while playing in an offense that plans to run the ball you know exactly what you're going to get with me That depends on what Seattle does with Fant who is set to make $9 million next season while counting over $13 million against the cap That's a lot of money for someone who has scored only one touchdown over the last two years despite his 4.5 speed and first-round talent they can use the offseason program and perhaps training camp to gauge Arroyo's readiness to fill a significant role right away and then make a decision from there Barner will also factor into that equation Last year's fourth-round pick was billed more as a blocker but he scored four touchdowns during a strong rookie season Adding a fifth quarterback makes it even more difficult to imagine Howell remaining in the mix My take: Mills has something Macdonald and his defensive staff covet -- positional versatility. Listed at 6-5 and 296 pounds, Mills played both end and tackle in college, giving Seattle another player who can move up and down the line of scrimmage a la Leonard Williams Assistant general manager Nolan Teasley described Mills as someone who can handle the dirty work up front but also get to the quarterback on his own including 7.5 sacks in 13 games last year before he tore his ACL in the College Football Playoff Mills said he's ahead of schedule in his recovery though it doesn't sound like the Seahawks are expecting him to be able to play until midseason at the earliest which allowed them to take a close look at how he was recovering My take: After trading DK Metcalf in March, the Seahawks signed veteran Marquez Valdes-Scantling to try to replace some of Metcalf's size and speed in their receiver corps Drafting Horton is another attempt to do the same thing Horton had a time of 4.41 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the scouting combine That was shortly after he resumed running following surgery for a knee/hamstring injury that sidelined him most of last season He said he ran in the 4.3s during training around the same time That kind of speed could also help him factor as a punt returner He returned three punts for touchdowns in college to go along with 27 receiving scores over five seasons the Seahawks were able to check on his recovery when they brought him in for a visit My take: The Seahawks plan to use a fullback in what they hope will be a physical run game under new coordinator Klint Kubiak. Ouzts gives them another option to fill that role along with Brady Russell Ouzts is switching positions from tight end He's been used as an H-back but he doesn't have much experience as a traditional fullback so the Seahawks may want him and Russell to compete for that role But drafting him in the fifth round suggests they think he'll be a good enough special teams player to stick on the roster even if he isn't their primary fullback An unmistakable theme with the Seahawks' selections this year is that almost all of them have above average physical traits he was graded as "elite" in terms of both explosion and speed My take: By closing out their draft with another receiver in White nine of the Seahawks' 11 picks were on offensive players Not to sell White short on how he could make an impact right away as a seventh-round pick In addition to leading UNLV in receiving for three straight seasons White blocked four punts and was named Mountain West special teams player of the year in 2024 That may be his ticket to a roster spot in Seattle's crowded receiver corps White ran a sluggish 4.61 40 at the combine then improved that time with a 4.44 at his pro day after training with a speed coach Seattle police are searching for a man who escaped custody Sunday morning at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport before fleeing in handcuffs by light rail Stevenson — described as a 5-foot-8 Black man with dreadlocks — was wanted out of Bowling Green He was being transported there by a “contracted agent,” according to the port Sunday during the check-in process at a ticket counter Stevenson fled toward the light rail station just outside the airport Stevenson was able to board a northbound train according to video seen by Port of Seattle police Sound Transit security later confirmed he walked out of Capitol Hill station more than a dozen stops north of the airport The footage showed Stevenson wearing white shoes light gray pants and a white hooded sweatshirt over a white T-shirt Stevenson is now wanted for escape in the second degree It’s at least the second time in three years he has reportedly fled from authorities in handcuffs. In November 2022, Stevenson led police on vehicle chase exceeding 100 mph and faced a list of charges, including driving on a suspended license and illegally possessing with a firearm, according to a local news report A Tennessee state trooper detained him on Interstate 65 The trooper was trying to put Stevenson in his patrol car when Stevenson ran across the interstate and into the woods Port police said airport operations were not affected by Sunday’s escape Seattle police did not immediately respond to a reporter’s inquiry Another billion dollars of highway construction to restore salmon habitat will likely be coming to Western Washington over the next six years The state Legislature approved an additional $1.1 billion for court-ordered Department of Transportation culvert replacement projects bringing the program’s roughly two-decade total to $5.2 billion Bob Ferguson still has until May 20 to review and veto items in the budget Representatives from the state and tribal nations are also expected to begin mediation over the program’s schedule and scope part of a tribal treaty fishing rights case will determine how much more the vast habitat restoration will cost the state Allen said the additional funding shows legislators are prioritizing this salmon restoration work under difficult fiscal conditions it’s not enough.’ But relative to the challenge that the state has with its revenues,” Allen said and that the state can’t rely on federal funding and that they want to live up to the obligation of the court case and the court mandate.” A Senate proposal that would have set up a new $5 billion fund never made it out of committee after facing opposition from Ferguson and others In the end, the chambers agreed on a $15.6 billion transportation budget for the 2025-27 biennium $120 million of new funding was pegged for the culvert replacements The Washington State Department of Transportation is under a federal court order to replace hundreds of fish-blocking culverts in Western Washington Culverts are typically metal or concrete pipes that carry streams under state highways but some — because of their design or lack of maintenance — block salmon and steelhead trout migration A group of 21 tribal nations sued to replace state-owned problem culverts a federal judge ordered the state to replace most of them by 2030 A Seattle Times investigation last year highlighted WSDOT fish passage projects — some costing more than $100 million each — that are essentially useless without further large investments Some tribal leaders and state legislators have been questioning the effectiveness of restoration projects especially as the state faced a multibillion-dollar shortfall Sen. Yasmin Trudeau, D-Tacoma, introduced a bill in late March that would have diverted tax revenue that currently funds local public works projects to instead pay for culvert replacements it was expected to generate $5 billion using an unusual bond scheme Trudeau hoped the $5 billion fund would send a strong signal to the tribes that the state was committed to the work But it hit opposition from Ferguson and local governments The governor’s office expressed concern about bond market volatility and representatives from cities and counties said a reliable and critical source of public works funding was at risk Ferguson’s office did not respond to a request for comment Friday “We’re encouraged that the Legislature ultimately recognized that it’s important to maintain local infrastructure funding,” said Carl Schroeder a lobbyist for the Association of Washington Cities Lawmakers in the House didn’t take up the bill partly out of concern for the impact on local governments chair of the House Capital Budget Committee “It would be pretty devastating” to city and county public works budgets he hopes the state and tribes can come to an agreement that will balance WSDOT culvert replacements with other salmon habitat restoration The budget includes an additional $450,000, Tharinger said, to finish a long-awaited state strategy to replace fish passage barriers across the state “You can’t look at this obligation in a very purist approach,” said Allen “You have to look at it with a little more open-mindedness and flexibility because there might be better ways to accomplish the goal And the goal is to restore the salmon species — and stocks of those species — to sustainable levels.” one thing I’ve noticed is that nothing hacks some people off more than good news This is especially true of good news about crime Reports of falling crime are uniquely narrative-upsetting and denial-triggering People who regularly cite police data when crime is rising simply do not accept this same data when it goes the other way It’s odd when these are the police themselves But this is how I ended up in a Seattle police union video wearing an acorn on my head A few weeks ago, I wrote about how crime finally appeared to be dropping this year I said that the Seattle Police Officers Guild ought to stop portraying Seattle as a lawless hellhole on its social media feed The head of the union didn’t appreciate the suggestion “It’s disgraceful,” said Mike Solan, president of the guild, during a segment directed at me on his YouTube show “Hold the Line.” “It’s not journalism … It’s sloppy reporting … because crime is through the roof.” He dubbed me “Danny Westnut,” displaying a photo mashup of me wearing an acorn on my head The fifth graders who first called me that back in ’76 would be pleased He did make an argument that crime isn’t really down it only appears to be down due to a drop in calls People aren’t calling because they don’t think an officer will come “Overall 911 calls from the community for public safety services are dropping that’s completely opposite to what the reality is.” “The stats are going to be manipulated,” he went on it doesn’t take rocket science to see that public safety is still a major problem in this city But is it right that 911 call volume is masking the truth about crime who has testified before the state Legislature about Washington crime problems He said it’s possible call volume could affect rates for some property crimes “Most 911 calls aren’t reporting crimes anyway,” he said He suggested focusing on four crimes with the highest report rates These are homicide (which is reported near 100% of the time because there’s a body); shootings that cause injury or death; car theft; and robbery So, through four months of 2025 in Seattle, homicide is down 25%. Shootings are down 22%, car theft is down 32% and robbery is down 26%, according to police data Compared to the year Seattle hit a 30-year high for violent crime the declines are eye-popping: Homicide is -50% Also: Call volume from the Seattle public is down compared to prepandemic. But it’s actually up through four months this year compared to high-crime 2022, according to the city’s dispatch dashboard pretty much everywhere around the country,” Asher said “King County just experienced the safest start to a year that we’ve had in five years,” says King County Prosecutor Leesa Manion. She announced a 35% drop in gun violence countywide last Tuesday and so big they’d be impossible to mask “We still don’t know why crime fell in the 1990s and that’s one of the most studied periods in all of crime.” He cautioned that these comparisons are backward-looking and across short time frames we might no longer be talking about 35% improvements It also doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be events that shock the senses, such as this past week when someone sprayed bullets into a public park in Rainier Beach I did see, though, that the mayor of Baltimore was tweeting about how they had only five murders in April — the fewest in a single month in that city’s recorded history The mayor credited the work of the Baltimore Police Department That means we went the next 28 days of April with zero Five makes the national news out of Baltimore Asher said police unions have “an obvious incentive to highlight rising crime” — to push the city to hire more officers But I’d think there’d also be reason to cheer when crime falls we’re doing a great job.” Rather than what they are saying The narrative that crime only goes up is one of the most potent in politics President Donald Trump issued an executive order to “unleash high-impact police forces” in America’s cities The order alleged that there is such an urban crime crisis that “excess military and national security assets” need to be deployed to the cities “Millions of Americans live in fear, worried that surging crime will destroy their lives, homes or businesses,” the White House said Trump could be taking credit for what are record-breaking crime declines But that doesn’t get the right-wing blood pumping Nor would it further the continued demonization of left-wing cities like Seattle (I counted.) For that I got called a right-winger by the progressive left and being denounced as an “activist” and “a pretty staunch cop-hater” by the head of the police union who flew from France and arrived in time for the Storm’s exhibition opener drew a thunderous applause from the Climate Pledge Arena crowd when she appeared on the giant screens above the court watched in street clothes at the end of the bench while Nneka Ogwumike scored a game-high 18 points and Li Yueru added 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Storm to a comfortable 79-59 victory against the Connecticut Sun Sunday’s game was the lone exhibition for the Storm and provided the first look at a retooled roster that returns four starters and brought in 12 newcomers the Storm were without projected starters Ezi Magbegor and Gabby Williams which forced coach Noelle Quinn to roll out a makeshift lineup that began the game with Ogwumike appeared unstoppable in spurts while scoring nine points in the first quarter against a short-handed Sun team that was missing Marina Mabrey The Storm acquired Yueru in a blockbuster three-team trade that included Jewell Loyd and Kelsey Plum but the relatively unheralded third-year veteran from China could prove to be a steal if Sunday’s Storm debut is any indication “We wanted her because we knew what she had to offer,” Quinn said “Coming into camp and seeing her on the floor and getting her in our environment I think it’s good to see that she complements the pieces that we do have.” With Yueru providing staunch rim protection Seattle also held Connecticut to 32.3% shooting from the field while connecting on 48.3% of its field goals “I just try to do some easy things,” Yueru said “Sometimes I feel nervous and my teammates tell me ‘Just do what you want to do and do easy things.’ That made me feel better.” Yueru made it look easy while converting 6 of 9 attempts and dominating inside Ogwumike had the hot hand from outside and saved the Storm from a miserable perimeter shooting performance She converted 4 of 5 three-point attempts while the rest of the team sank 1 of 11 “Noey has labeled me a hybrid,” Ogwumike said A point of emphasis for me this year was shooting of course so I put up a lot of shots in the offseason And it matches the aspects of the system that Noey wants to see me in But kind of really tapping into her offensive mind of spacing and understanding where I am in space but just more recognition in terms of where I can be a threat in the flow of the system that Noey has.” The Storm led 24-12 in the first quarter and pulled away late in the second quarter when Clark forced a turnover that allowed Ogwumike to collect a loose ball and pass to Diggins for a highlight fast-break layup and a 39-23 lead Ogwumike sank a couple of free throws that gave the Storm their biggest lead in the first half at 41-23 with 3:57 left before the break Zia Cooke converted a difficult midrange jumper and made the ensuing free throw for a three-point play that put Seattle up 45-30 at halftime who received a team-high 13 points from Tina Charles Cooke (eight points) and rookie forward Mackenzie Holmes (nine points and eight rebounds) had notable Storm debuts but Quinn was pleased with the team’s 21 assists on 29 field goals “Early on we were super disruptive to start the basketball game,” Quinn said “There’s synergy between our defense and our offense Just getting out and playing early is very important was there because they are committed to making sure we’re staying locked into what we’ve been emphasizing in camp.” The Storm resume training camp Tuesday before traveling to Los Angeles for a private scrimmage on Saturday against the Sparks at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion BOX SCORE On his Skagit Valley dairy farm bordering tulip and daffodil fields Jason Vander Kooy called President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown a touchy subject “I support Trump,” said Vander Kooy “I respect him.” As a volunteer firefighter he sees fentanyl overdoses he believes stem from drugs brought across the border as a record number of migrants arrived during the Biden administration While Vander Kooy supports deporting immigrants who have committed crimes he’d like to see workers with a clean record given a path to staying legally in the U.S The son of a Dutch immigrant and father of three children adopted from China he intimately knows how much immigration policy affects people and families he’s “kind of surrounded by immigrants.” They constitute most of his workforce Sharing that same reliance on immigrants are farmers throughout the state and indeed the country, who tend to lean right. In largely agricultural Grant County the agriculture industry could not continue operating as it does now As the president’s immigration crackdown ramps up and spring kicks off labor-intensive work on many farms owners and employees are trying to figure out what vast changes in immigration policies mean for them and an industry that in Washington produces goods valued most recently at $14 billion a year Calm prevails on the surface in some quarters while anything but can be seen in others — along with stirrings of dissent “While farmers applaud the federal government’s efforts to protect Americans from anyone perpetrating criminal acts the current crackdown threatens the future of our farms and our entire food system and fails to provide meaningful reform,” read a February statement by the advocacy organization Save Family Farming “The mishandling of deportation policies has created an atmosphere of fear silencing voices and stripping away the dignity of those who contribute daily to our nation’s food supply.” “Even those with papers are concerned about being wrongly targeted,” elaborated Dillon Honcoop characterizing the federal government’s approach as “arrest first one can discern the seeds of immigration reform that have failed to take root for decades these conversations help explain support for a president that makes such reform seem further away than ever There’s a dual way of thinking among some farmers that puts recent migrants and those who have committed crimes in one camp and agricultural workers — even if undocumented — in another Farmers interviewed by The Seattle Times focused on Trump’s tough stance toward the former and hoped for the best regarding the latter filling schools and taking physically demanding jobs that are out of favor with many Americans The president doesn’t seem to be as popular among these workers as their employers judging by interviews throughout the region on farms at homes and in a business located amid Central Washington’s orchards foreman on a dairy in Central Washington’s Sunnyside remarked upon “a lot of people coming and coming and coming.” “We need hands here,” he added but maybe not enough to provide jobs for everyone citizen who immigrated from Mexico decades ago sees them as getting support unavailable to those coming to the U.S “We work hard and never receive help,” said Madera Madera the foreman knows other hardworking immigrants so afraid of being arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement that they are avoiding grocery stores where officers might lie in wait Other farmworkers tell of curtailing visits to parks locking a church door and stationing a U.S calling in sick when hearing of ICE sightings and sensing hate directed even at immigrants who are legally in the U.S “They don’t want you here,” one farmworker Another is giving up on the American dream “He’s practically forcing us to leave,” said the worker, who is undocumented and The sounds of Spanish are everywhere on Washington’s farms Some Anglo employers have picked it up too It found 68% of those the department interviewed were immigrants Forty-two percent of farmworkers participating in the survey said they were undocumented some local farmworkers estimated the percentage of those who are undocumented runs as high as 60% or 70% Farmers say they ask prospective hires for documents showing their legal status but have limited ability and authority to investigate paperwork that might be false Some employers are trying to cultivate more American-born workers executive director of Washington Growers League are a tough sell when there is low unemployment and year-round opportunities that don’t involve physical labor Some see farmers as taking advantage of workers who have few options One undocumented worker interviewed in Central Washington said he earns roughly the state’s minimum wage The Skagit Valley’s Vander Kooy objects to the idea that farmers exploit cheap labor provide jobs offering more than $20 an hour without health insurance but with paid time off and free housing the brothers bought a little more than a dozen houses around their dairy’s two parcels for employees and their families “We depend on each other,” Vander Kooy said the brothers’ operate on a 24-hour cycle during which their 1,400 cows are milked three times where cows poked their heads through grates Vander Kooy showed off one of the dairy’s milking barns walked down a floor continually hosed down to clean it of muck Sánchez cleaned the cows’ teats and attached the contraptions cleaned their pens and pushed feed within their reach Reliability of workers is essential to keep the place running “I can’t shut down for one hour,” he said If the cows aren’t milked on schedule His immigrant workers have not let him down we might have a sick cow or something to take care of,” he said “They’ll get out of their beds and help me.” The Sunnyside dairy where foreman Madera Madera works has twice the number of cows as Vander Kooy’s producing more than 30,000 gallons of milk a day Owner Jason Sheehan’s dairy boasts a maternity wing for pregnant cows house between 12 and 15 calves born each day Sheehan said he heavily depends on his workers He called them “the face of who we are,” particularly Madera Madera who also came from Mexico long ago and whom Sheehan calls “the best equipment operator you will ever have in your life.” Sheehan laughed when he recalled going into town and not being recognized at hardware and auto parts stores which know the names “Dario” and “Javier,” not his “You’ve got some of the hardest-working people who are immigrants,” Sheehan said during a recent visit to his dairy whose barns and fields for cow feed and a couple of other crops are within sight of gently rising hills we need to figure out how to get immigration working so we can bring people here who want to work,” he continued An open border brings more people than there are jobs to be filled means “we don’t have the amount of workers we need to get the job done.” Sheehan said he agrees with Save Family Farming’s highly critical statement about Trump’s crackdown as raids and highly publicized ICE arrests began around the country Sheehan said he told his workers “Trump is going after the problems” and that as long as they keep their nose clean “Work is the safest and best place to be,” he added An April raid of a Bellingham roofing company didn’t shake him from those sentiments workplace raids hadn’t hit agriculture though he allowed: “I don’t know what’s going to happen.” Only three months into Trump’s presidency there’s a sense of collective waiting in farm country “I’m not at all worried,” said Kent Karstetter taking a break amid pruning season on his 450-acre orchard of apples the Biden administration let so many “bad people” across the border that Trump “has to be tougher,” he said “or he at least has to give the perception of being tougher.” Which leads Karstetter to ask another question: “Why would he go against the people who are working for him?” seems to percolate in the back of Karstetter’s mind Asked what message he wants to get out about immigration he said: “Don’t bother anyone who’s done nothing wrong.” It would be unfair for ICE to arrest an undocumented worker who has been living here for Karstetter is following new instructions for workers with H-2A visas As advised by agencies that work with his orchard he is making sure the temporary foreign workers carry their passports and a form that verifies their immigration status and work authorization Gempler, of the growers league, is less sanguine than some farmers appear to be. Trump clearly seems frustrated that deportations have not moved as fast as he would like, Gempler noted. An analysis released last month by the bipartisan Migration Policy Institute shows the administration is on track to deport roughly half a million people this year half its stated goal and fewer than under the final year of former President Joe Biden’s presidency Gempler expects worksite actions on farms as Trump pushes to speed things along will be the kind of efficient and “silent” raids practiced under former President Barack Obama consisting of audits looking for suspect employee documents Those who keep their noses clean may not be let off the hook judging by an array of aggressive immigration arrests made so far under Trump Some of those detained have committed crimes Others have been taken in for minor infractions like driving without a license an analyst at the Migration Policy Institute Incomplete data released by the Trump administration does not offer a full picture of what crimes those arrested have committed said in a recent webinar that many may simply amount to entering or reentering the U.S ICE came to Ramon Rodriguez Vazquez’s door a 15-minute drive away from Sheehan’s dairy in the town of Grandview He was preparing lunch for the day’s work at a local orchard He had been laboring on farms since he came to the U.S When Trump was elected for the second time promising even more vigorous immigrant enforcement than during his first administration Rodriguez Vazquez thought the risk to him was small Living in a trailer he was proud of buying for his family “I was being quiet,” Rodriguez Vazquez said in Spanish He was arrested along with two family members the Border Patrol and the Drug Enforcement Administration executed a search warrant on his family’s home which were claimed by one of the family members The agents asked Rodriguez Vazquez if he was living illegally in the U.S He was taken to the jail-like Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma from where he talked recently about his case by phone Rodriguez Vazquez’s arrest caused a stir among his co-workers “He’s been here for many years,” said Cipriano Rodriguez Cortes a foreman at the orchard where Rodriguez Vazquez transported apples to be sold He doesn’t cause any problems.” Rodriguez Cortes has been taking stock of other ICE arrests He was near Sunnyside’s Fiesta Foods in late January when ICE detained a couple in the parking lot Some left groceries they had paid for behind Rodriguez Cortes has seen news reports of ICE arrests in which officers wore masks as if they were encountering terrorists requiring extreme measures citizen who has lived and worked in the country since 1974 But he worries that ICE officers might stop him and fail to believe his declaration of citizenship he began carrying a license-size passport card in his wallet Rodriguez Cortes says it’s too soon to tell whether Washington’s farm country will begin to see large-scale arrests and raids Two people were stabbed Saturday night in Seattle’s Hing Hay Park with a 32-year-old man transported to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition after being slashed in the neck The suspect was at large and police advised people to stay away from the area Seattle police received a call about the stabbing and arrived on the scene at 8:42 p.m Police said the suspect was a man who got into a fight with the other two men before the stabbing but investigators released no other identifying information The Seattle Mariners’ starting rotation is without two of its horses but one hit an important mark in his return from injury Sunday Seattle Mariners’ Dipoto shares great news about injured starting pitchers George Kirby pitched three strong innings for the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers in his first rehab start since being shut down with right shoulder inflammation during spring training The right-hander allowed just one run on a solo homer struck out four and walked none while tossing 42 pitches against the Las Vegas Aviators Kirby’s fastball and sinker regularly sat at 96-97 mph and he topped out at 97.8 mph in the first inning sat down the side in order on strikeouts in the first He was his usual strike-throwing self with 33 of his 42 pitches going for strikes including 18 of 21 through the first two innings His lone blemish came on a 3-2 sinker that Las Vegas right fielder Carlos Cortes took out to center field with out one in the third The Mariners shut down Kirby after he threw one inning in his first start during spring training It marked the first time the former first-round pick had hit the IL since making his big league debut on May 8 Opening day starter Logan Gilbert also went on the injured list for the first time in his career on April 26 with a flexor strain in his right elbow President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto on Friday told MLB Network’s MLB Now both All-Star pitchers could return this month “We’re hopeful that we’re gonna see both this month which is a little better we had thought initially,” Dipoto said at the end of his conversation with host Brian Kenny On Wednesday, general manger Justin Hollander said there wasn’t a hard pitch count Kirby needs to hit before he makes his big league return but he likely wouldn’t be back until he reaches around 75 to 80 pitches 1.07 WHIP and 179 strikeouts over 191 innings pitched in 33 starts last season The right-hander is 35-26 with a 3.43 ERA in 89 starts over three MLB seasons He was an All-Star and finished eighth in AL Cy Young voting in 2023 RENTON — As the Seahawks got their first look at their 11 draft picks and 17 undrafted rookie free agents during rookie minicamp this weekend, they also delivered a glimpse of what they hope is a major personality shift in their offense in 2025. During an 11-on-11 session near the end of Saturday’s workout at the VMAC, fifth-round pick Robbie Ouzts lined up as a fullback in front of seventh-round pick Damien Martinez and behind quarterback Jalen Milroe. Milroe took the snap from under center and handed the ball to Martinez, who followed Ouzts through a hole and into daylight. “Just smash-mouth football,’’ Martinez said after practice of his initial impression of Seattle’s new offensive scheme. Of course, this was a no-pads, no-contact practice, so daylight wasn’t hard to find. More important was the statement the play made simply by being called — that the Seahawks want to get back to being able to play some good old-fashioned power running this season under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak. “We want to be a physical unit,’’ coach Mike Macdonald said after practice, repeating something he’s said often this offseason since the decision was made to fire Ryan Grubb and bring in Kubiak to install an outside zone running scheme. The drafting of Ouzts — a tight end the last four years at Alabama — and then announcing he will be converted to fullback indicated there is substance to Macdonald’s words. Ouzts was the only player of the 257 drafted listed as a fullback. After Seattle went the 2024 season without any fullbacks on its roster, the Seahawks now have two: Ouzts and Brady Russell, a tight end the past two seasons who is now being moved to fullback. Seattle did run some plays last year with a player lined up as a fullback — Russell had 18 snaps in the backfield 2024, according to Pro Football Focus. But officially declaring two players as fullbacks and using a draft pick on one indicates two-back sets will be a bigger part of the offense this year as the Seahawks attempt to revive an anemic running game. Seattle ranked 28th in rushing yards in 2024, which played a role in the Seahawks ranking just 21st in third-down conversion percentage. Shortly after he was hired, Kubiak made clear the Seahawks need to run better to make his scheme work — and that a fullback would be a key part of it. “Certainly love playing with a fullback,’’ Kubiak said. “… You’ve got to be a balanced team. I think balance is important and sometimes you’ve got to drop back 50 times to win the game and sometimes you’ve got to run it 50 times. But when it all comes through, we want to be balanced, and we want to be able to win multiple ways.” Seattle was one of 17 teams in the NFL without a player listed as a fullback on its roster in 2024. The Seahawks had one from 2020-23 in Nick Bellore. But Bellore was also a backup linebacker and special teams captain and played just 40 offensive snaps his last three seasons in Seattle before not being re-signed following the 2023 season. “There is not a lot of true fullbacks in the league right now,’’ Macdonald said. “Hopefully they’re making a comeback. But we got a couple on our roster right now that I’m really excited about.’’ Macdonald has seen how well a fullback can work as the Ravens had one of the best in the NFL during his time as the team’s defensive coordinator in Patrick Ricard, a five-time Pro Bowler. “It allows you to get into two-back sets and break the formation, try to dictate some terms to the defense, regulate them certain ways,’’ Macdonald said of why he likes using a fullback. “Some of the schemes that you’re able to do with two backs are definitely different than a one-back operation. It diversifies you.’’ Just as important may be the tone it sets being able to line up in two backs and get a few yards when most needed. “It lets you play a level of physicality that we’re hunting up,’’ Macdonald said. Playing at the necessary level of physicality will be the key to making it work as there is little subtlety or confusing the defense involved in lining up in a two-back set and running between the tackles. The Seahawks will be counting on improved play up front to make it work as well, something the team made a big investment in getting done by drafting left guard Grey Zabel with the 18th overall pick. They’ll also need one or both of Ouzts and Russell to quickly adapt to the role. While tight end obviously requires a lot of in-line blocking, Ouzts said there are some significant differences in blocking out of the backfield. “It’s definitely a different world,’’ Ouzts said after Saturday’s practice and two days working with running backs, saying that “there’s a lot’’ he has to learn. “Coming from the tight end position, it’s a lot of different leverage,’’ he said. “So, really changing my footwork up, kind of changing my attack angle on defenders, and learning to make decisions on the go instead of letting the defender come to me.’’ Also vital, he said, is working in tandem with the running back playing behind or alongside him. “It’s really seeing what the running back is seeing and learning that he is going to trust me and it’s up to me to give him a little window of an opening,’’ he said. The Seahawks are obviously confident the 6-foot-3, 274-pound Ouzts can handle it. Certainly, Ouzts has proven versatile in his athletic career. He was a competitive swimmer for he said “eight to 10 years’’ growing up in Rock Hill, S.C. and still holds the team record for the Baxter Barracudas swim team for 13-14 boys in the 100-yard individual medley at 1:02.83. He also played power forward on the Rock Hill High basketball team. Also critical will be special teams — Russell was one of Seattle’s best special teams’ players last year and Ouzts was at Alabama, playing 537 special teams snaps there. The Seahawks could keep both on the 53-man roster if each proves valuable enough. After the longtime former swimmer finally got his feet wet in stepping on an NFL field this weekend, he sounds like he’s willing to do whatever it takes to stay around a while. “Honestly, just not taking the moment for granted,’’ he said of his emotions this weekend. “It really didn’t hit me when I got the phone call on draft day. Going out on that field yesterday, it finally sunk in. So, just taking it all in and just giving it everything I’ve got and, just trying to go 1-0 every rep.” The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times. Stay secure and make sure you have the best reading experience possible by upgrading your browser! Armstrong Williams takes on the news of the week and asks the questions you want answered. Don’t miss our weekly town hall. Police investigate 2nd double stabbing in Seattle in 2 daysby KOMO News Staff SEATTLE — The Seattle Police Department is investigating a second double stabbing in the city over the weekend The stabbing happened on the 300 block of 2nd Avenue around 7:30 p.m Sunday during a private event at a nightclub in Pioneer Square which is the same time police were called to the scene Witnesses said the victims got into an altercation with the suspect shortly before the stabbings, according to the SPD. RELATED | Man stabbed in neck at Seattle's Hing Hay park, police search for suspect had left the scene and drove themselves to Harborview Medical Center when officers arrived Both are reported to be in stable condition Authorities have not identified any suspects The double stabbing happened a day after two others were stabbed near Hing Hay Park in the Chinatown-International District Anyone with information is asked to call the SPD Violent Crimes Tip Line at (206) 233-5000 Tuyen Than usually walks home from her office on South Weller Street commuting through Little Saigon to a one-bedroom condo on South Jackson Street.  cheek by jowl with the noise and pollution of Interstate 5 is a far cry from Seattle’s shiny new high-rises The building’s Asian businesses are a perk also considers her address a form of activism As a second-generation Vietnamese American living on Jackson is a vote of confidence in the future of Little Saigon the historical home of Seattle’s Vietnamese community — and a neighborhood that is struggling to control its own destiny amid rapid growth and persistent crime “The idea of just being connected to the neighborhood was really important to me — community and identity and feeling at home,” said Than who grew up in Rainier Valley and has memories from her childhood of visiting Little Saigon “There’s just something about living and working in a place where you feel immediately comfortable representing about 1.3% of Washington’s population housing has boomed recently in the downtown-adjacent neighborhood That residential growth creates the opportunity for a thriving neighborhood but also risks diluting the area’s Vietnamese character.  Daily life persists all the while, and neighborhood leaders insist that Little Saigon is worth fighting for. They want to ensure the neighborhood still feels Vietnamese, reflected in its residents and businesses — and they doubled down on that vision by purchasing a parcel in October 2023 on Jackson where they’ll open the region’s first Vietnamese cultural center “The first wave of immigrants wanted the traditional American dream of a house and material wealth,” said Quynh Pham executive director of Friends of Little Sài Gòn “Now we see our elders in isolation and our youth disconnected from their culture Pham and other neighborhood advocates say those intangibles are something that only Little Saigon can offer — and that’s why it’s worth the investment.  who came to California in 1987 as refugees and later moved to Washington found recognizable ingredients and a familiar language in the neighborhood.  “It was a place where my mom felt at home,” Than said She was drawn to living in Little Saigon a decade ago because it feels familiar: Than’s apartment sits above the Pacific Rim shopping mall Until Vietnamese bakery Lan Hue Sandwich and Bakery closed in 2023 she could pick up a banh mi in her slippers Than, who’ll begin a new job as executive director of the CID Business Improvement Area in May understands the neighborhood’s issues better than most She sees the plight and promise of Little Saigon every day — commerce social services and cultural life reflecting the Vietnamese American experience Shopping at Lam’s Seafood Asian Market for dinner ingredients she’ll pick up fresh catfish or soup packets to make tamarind-flavored canh chua She passes bustling grocers selling Southeast Asian produce and storefront signs for jewelry repair and tax preparation There are also apartment buildings that didn’t exist when Than moved to the neighborhood a decade ago The city of Seattle upzoned Little Saigon in the 2000s and at least 700 new apartments have been built since Pham notes that this new construction is not displacement; rather there weren’t many residents of Little Saigon before the advent of new apartments But that has created urgency around Friends of Little Sài Gòn’s mission “The majority are non-Asian folks coming in wanting to be part of this multicultural community,” Pham said “But because it was founded as a Vietnamese community hub One way to do so is to encourage more residents with Vietnamese heritage Friends of Little Sài Gòn has raised roughly $60 million to build the Landmark Project a development that will bring 71 units of family-sized affordable housing to the neighborhood will be affirmatively marketed to the Vietnamese American community though anyone who qualifies can live there The rest of the Landmark Project focuses on the street level as “the best way to hone into the cultural identity of this neighborhood is through the commercial ground floor,” Pham said a dessert shop and another restaurant — but also spaces for small-business incubation and a community kitchen for cooking events The project has become a microcosm of debates in the local Vietnamese community “Pre-1975 is what a lot of older folks want,” Quynh Pham said referring to the first wave of Vietnamese immigration after the fall of Saigon on April 30 “but we’re trying to build this for the next generation.” That debate extends to where Seattle’s first Vietnamese cultural center should be located.  Between crime and the still-high cost of land in Little Saigon there were some calls to uproot to Martin Luther King Way near Othello home to a cluster of Vietnamese businesses arguing that the past 50 years have imbued this neighborhood of concrete buildings and low-slung strip malls with a patina of history that’s worth preserving “we’re essentially displacing ourselves.”  The community has built that identity over decades A colonnade topped with a conical hat design has proclaimed “Little Saigon” on Jackson since 1998 Vietnamese language street signs were rolled out in 2016 and crosswalks with a Vietnamese heritage motif were installed in 2017 nine utility boxes were decorated with vinyl wraps depicting Vietnamese scenes and the city also inaugurated the neighborhood’s first green space dozens of people were visibly using drugs in the public park.) a park and a cultural center can accentuate the identity of a place but “there’s got to be something more,” said Marie Wong urban planning professor emerita at Seattle University who has written extensively on the Chinatown International District “What happens with successive generations — do they continue to live and buy in the neighborhood?” Wong said the Landmark Project is “is no small feat,” but she “wouldn’t go so far as to say the project will save Little Saigon.” stressing that Friends of Little Sài Gòn does not want to create a “Disney” version of a Vietnamese immigrant hub “We don’t want to be a faux neighborhood,” she said We want opportunities for employment to be here All of the components that go into building an actual authentic community.” But some have already left Little Saigon.  Friends of Little Sài Gòn tallied nine new openings compared with 21 small businesses that have closed or left the neighborhood since 2022, including longtime Asian grocer Viet-Wah, which shuttered in 2022 and burned down last year (The site is for sale with no active development plans; “we’re anxious to see the area cleaned up,” said property owner Dennis Chinn Viet-Wah’s predicament speaks to a primary challenge for maintaining a Vietnamese business core: ownership.  but a core Vietnamese business hub is likely to remain in Little Saigon as several long-established businesses own their property new tenants are not always Vietnamese.  Conspagna Ethiopian Restaurant opened on South King Street in December replacing Vietnamese restaurant Bun & Oc Owner Tesfaye Gebrekidan cited the central location convenient to both North and South Seattle Angolan immigrant Laurenda Madidilo Andre opened Africanita Market on Jackson last summer selling produce and dry goods to fellow immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa — a newer immigrant community finding a hub on Jackson 50 years after Seattle’s nascent Vietnamese population did the same Little Saigon remains a beacon for Vietnamese American entrepreneurs He was losing money running a business in Kent so he jumped at the opportunity two years ago when a Vietnamese signmaker offered to sell him Bubble Tea Fresh Fruit Juice in a shopping center at 12th and South Jackson Duong said through a translator last month that business has been “not too good but not too bad.” He’s had a front-row seat though much of that activity now concentrates a block away on King which suffered its worst-ever sales month in February Duong is in the process of moving across the half-vacant plaza into a larger space with a kitchen where he can begin serving street food like bánh tráng trộn he’d still try to find a location in the neighborhood named for his hometown.