​What a fine mess this old hulk of a ship has become. If the darn decrepit thing sinks at its moorings in Tacoma's Hylebos Waterway -- and the betting odds are strongly in favor it will -- the Kalakala could trigger an economic disaster. The Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers have bleakly concluded that if the vessel goes down it would block the busy waterway, resulting in another fine mess.

More >>

​Bill Gates, the second richest person on the planet -- trailing only Mexico's Carlos Slim Helu -- with a piggy bank worth $59 billion when last tallied by Forbes magazine, said today that the U.S. needs to raise taxes and that the wealthy should bear a greater burden of the increase. At the same time, Microsoft's founder rejected the Holy Grail of many conservatives who insist there is a connection between job creation and the level of taxes.

More >>

​As Ellis Conklin reported yesterday, a new effort to abolish the death penalty is underway in the legislature. The debate over the ultimate punishment has been going on for decades, but it's not just about morality any more. Like so many things, it's also about the economy.

More >>

​This week, the U.S. House will vote on a jobs bill for veterans. Want to know why it's necessary? Read this week's feature story about the apparent suicide of Jared Hagemann, who was unable to find a job outside the military. You could also ask Owen McCurty.

More >>

​Making ends meet in Seattle has never been easy.

But as of now, it's never been harder.

More >>

​Washington's apple growers are getting desperate. Harvest season is here, but the workers needed to pick the state's signature crop are nowhere to be found. Idaho faced a similar crisis with its potatoes, as did Georgia, where blueberries, onions, and melons "rotted in the fields" because many migrant laborers fled the state following the enactment of a strict new immigration law. Both of those states turned to convicts as an emergency stopgap measure, but here in the Northwest there are already thousands of people demanding equal employment opportunities and jobs that pay a decent wage: Occupy Seattle protesters.

More >>

Sam Odio, villain.

​Last week, Jonathan Stark embarked on a social experiment of sorts. After putting $30 on his Starbucks card, he made the use of it public and encouraged people to charge their caffeine fix to it, but also to replenish it so that others could benefit similarly. Hundreds of people added thousands of dollars to the card.

It was a little trite, to be sure, but it brightened the days of those who felt like they were part of something happy and hopeful in these sad and hope-scarce times. That was until some guy named Sam Odio, who thinks he is better than everybody, turned the whole thing to shit.

More >>

​After a year of build-up and a string of ancillary indictments, the feds finally arrested alleged loan fraudster Shawn Portmann this morning and slammed him with a 30-count indictment. Three former co-workers of Portmann, all once employed by now-closed Pierce Commercial Bank, are also named in the the 23-page charging document. It's clearly a showpiece of a case, brought not only by the local U.S. Attorney's office but a financial fraud task force convened by President Obama.

More >>

​Christine Gregoire may be a lame-duck governor forced into making horrendous budget cuts, but she's receiving some flashy positive press--from the Chinese.

More >>

​As we've previously reported, starting Friday it's going to cost you to park at a state park. What you might not know is that if you buy the new Discover Pass online, by phone or from a retailer, your $30 annual pass will be Ticketmastered with a $5 convenience fee. Here's how to avoid the fee atop the fee.

More >>