Federal aid for victims of the December floods is picking up a bit of steam, but it’s still not enough to cover the significant levels of damage faced by Washington residents. And now the deadline to apply for a bit of that money is fast approaching. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Sound on! At the West Seattle Bee Festival and a lot of people don’t know that bees actually communicate using a complex series of dance steps as seen here. Now ya know.

Okay folks, I know it's sunny out but we've got to talk about floods because this is the time of year when we can do something about them. Western Washington still isn't remotely recovered from the widespread flooding we saw in December. And we're setting ourselves up for failure once more. 🧵

The December floods across Western Washington destroyed some $182M of public infrastructure. We don't have a fully tally of the damage to homes, businesses, etc. Do you know how much state aid has been handed out in King County so far? $9,262. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

infinite jest mentioned

For months we shadowed families who were devastated when an aging and supposedly temporary levee system broke open and poured the White River into their homes. In five months, there's been effectively no aid. They feel trapped, abandoned. Please read and share: www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

My latest @nytimes.com oped shows that the White House is dramatically understating the cost of the war in Iran. By my calculations—and I show my work—this war will cost the typical American family thousands, and it could cost them tens of thousands. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/o...

The developers of a proposed data center in Utah withdrew their water permit application after nearly 4,000 people filed protests, citing concerns about the Great Salt Lake. @leialarsen.bsky.social @sltrib.com www.sltrib.com/news/environ...

One century of this man isn't enough. We need another. www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

okay donald no need to yell at me

Why grant anonymity to an official who just offers propaganda? Is there some reader benefit to quoting them? www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

BIG SCOOP: Energy industry reps tell me the Trump administration is now extrajudicially blocking all new wind projects in the United States Apparently the Pentagon is refusing to sign off on once routine FAA airspace clearances even when military assets aren’t around My latest for @heatmap.news

In my most GOB voice: HEY! www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

I’ll be damned. The Pulitzer board did it. Good on them

Did you drive your 4Runner into Lake Washington? HMU! www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Spotted a Bald Eagle hunting a Hooded Merganser (small diving duck) at Seward Park in Seattle today, with the world’s first light rail on a floating bridge making a guest appearance in the distance. It was hard to not root for the merganser, but he was sorely outgunned, and eagles have to eat, too.

Hey, did you drop your white SUV into Lake Washington over the weekend? LMK! www.seattletimes.com/latest/how-d...

I'm having a hard time believing my eyes with water data this year. The Colorado River mainstem through Grand Junction was flowing at 54 cfs last night. Not a typo. 54 cfs. Last year on this date it was flowing at 1,420cfs. Even in 2002, the driest year on record, it was at 690cfs on April 22.

The high-end real estate agent who cut more than 140 trees in a King County park last year has now cranked up the asking price of his home by $1.5 million, citing the “once-in-a-lifetime” mountain views it offers, court documents show. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Emails released on Monday by California’s attorney general show Amazon allegedly colluding with other companies to raise the prices of pet treats, khaki pants, eyedrops and other products sold online

King County officials knew the flood barriers in Pacific were temporary measures but left them in place for years. Similarly, they knew a levee in Tukwila was weak but the repairs never came. December flood victims filed a lawsuit over the breaches Monday. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

I keep that thang on me

BREAKING -More than two months before the start of summer, Washington state officials are declaring a statewide drought emergency. This is the fourth drought in a row, which hasn't happened before in state history. It's bad, folks. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Hey! Now that we're not diving headfirst into a nuclear war, why don't you read this piece on South Seattle's Dragon Land, which is also under attack. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Essential piece by @julianborger.bsky.social As Trump ramps up his threats to Iran, will US military officers disobey orders or help commit war crimes? www.theguardian.com/law/2026/apr...

For one brief and beautiful moment, we had Dragon Land. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

The millionaire who tried (and failed) to repeal Washington's Climate Commitment Act now wants to try and repeal the state's new tax on its wealthiest residents

Let’s not dance around the issue: Washington is headed straight for a rough and dry summer. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

That layer of clean, white snow across Western Washington’s lowlands and mountaintops sure was nice while it lasted. But warm temperatures melted much of it away and now, for the fourth year in a row, we're headed into a severe drought. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

I mean this in the most clinical and professional way possible but where are Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s nipples?

Upper Colorado basin snowpack has deteriorated drastically in the week since I wrote this column. This is a massive problem for water availability in the months to come

Since 2021, global media coverage of climate change has dropped 38 percent, Grist reports. In my most Seattle Times Climate Lab Voice: Not around here, partner. plz subscribe: www.seattletimes.com/subscribe/si... grist.org/language/glo...

Straight. Chased with high fives

Linking carbon markets with California and Quebec is a long-sought way to inject stability and predictability into these uncertain times, state officials say.

While Jared Kushner is negotiating on behalf of the United States with governments in the Middle East, he is also soliciting investments in his private business ventures from the same governments www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/b...

This is a good lesson for journalists: Use plain language to state true things clearly.

Gas prices are spiking as the Trump administration escalates its war in Iran But here in Washington, the effort to wean ourselves off fossil fuels is chugging along faster than expected. WA, CA and Quebec have a draft agreement in place to merge carbon markets www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...

Sure, Washington's seeing some snowpack today (hopefully a lot). But that won't do us much good if this heatwave and the warmer-than-normal temps to follow start melting it away. Snowpack's just part of the equation. It's also got to stick around long enough to really be a meaningful event.

Here’s what I posted on Reddit in reply to someone asking if weather models are overdoing next week’s heat. I thought the same thing before the June 2021 heat wave in the Pacific Northwest. Humans have altered atmospheric chemistry, and there is a physical response. www.reddit.com/r/meteorolog...

Breaking: SC newspaper verifies portions of Trump accuser's story. Textbook journalism. Local journalism. Support your local news outlets. www.postandcourier.com/news/epstein...

A trove of nearly 3,200 disclosure records, which ProPublica made public this week, reveals a web of financial ties between Trump officials and the industries they help regulate.

it's preemptively giving

Kristi Noem, while governor of South Dakota, supplemented her roughly $130,000 salary by secretly accepting $80,000 donated to a political nonprofit she was affiliated with, records show. She never disclosed this income on federal ethics forms. (Published June 2025)

A lot of people say AI isn't very good for the world and its outputs are routinely unreliable, but these haters fail to see how it's revolutionizing how we incinerate schoolchildren.

NEW: Clemency for Tina Peters would be unprecedented, based on my analysis of Gov Polis' 25 commutations. Peters hasn't shown remorse, taken accountability, or sought to restore harm. No Polis commutation was for a harsh sentence alone and Peters' would be the shortest by 30+ yrs