Seattle Now

An attention-grabbing headline this week warned that the Western U.S. is seeing its worst megadrought in 1200 years. Washington has been mostly spared for now, but that doesn’t mean it won’t impact us eventually. Assistant State Climatologist Karin Bumbaco explains.

Bicycling groups and doctors agree – helmets save lives. But this week the King County Board of Health is expected to repeal the helmet law because it's being disproportionately enforced. KUOW's Gracie Todd explains.

As if buying a house in the Seattle area isn't hard enough already, enter the all-cash offer. These bids are often the ticket to buying a house in the region, and they're getting easier for people without existing wealth to access.

No trouble getting a hold of masks these days. Two years into the pandemic, they're giving them away for free at the drug store, just as we're rolling back the mask mandates. We talk with UW's Ali Mokdad about going maskless, and why you should probably hang on to them anyway.

This week, Washington is reconsidering its mask mandate, Amazon pay and housing prices are soaring and KUOW broke some Mazdas. Seattle Times food writer Tan Vinh and The Everywhereist's Geraldine DeRuiter break it all down.

Prices for everything from gas to food to housing have skyrocketed in the last year. Seattle is being hit harder than the rest of the country — we had the second-highest inflation rate, behind Atlanta. So what's going on?

There was a time when outdoor dining was something everyone could rally around.

Even now, those sidewalk and parking space set ups are a way for people to gather safely and support struggling restaurants.

But, now two years into a pandemic, in cities like Edmonds there’s tension over whether they should stick around.

Seattle Times reporter Jackie Varriano explains why some people and businesses are upset.

How competitive is the tech economy? Amazon announced yesterday that it's doubling maximum base pay for tech and corporate employees to $350,000 a year to stay competitive. Geekwire’s Todd Bishop gives us the backstory.

Doxxing — publishing someone's private information online — is getting more and more common, along with the harassment and intimidation that it can cause. Crosscut's Melissa Santos explains why the state legislature's attempt to outlaw it is trickier than you might expect.

This week Omicron cases dropped, Sound Transit spoke up about people not paying their fare.

And the Capitol Hill Block Party is back.

The Stranger’s Chase Burns and Vanishing Seattle’s Cynthia Brothers are here to break it all down.