Seattle fashionistas, get ready because your H&M prayers are being answered. According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, in addition to its Southcenter location, ever-popular H&M will open two new stores in Seattle proper next month. A 19,000-square-foot, two-story location will open in University Village on Sept. 12 and a 16,000-square-foot location will open at 520 Pike St. in downtown Seattle one little week later, on Sept. 18.......

Something related to the City Council's recent bag fee and Styrofoam container ban legislation strikes Seattlest as deeply weird and uneven, and actually it's been bugging us since way before the council took action this week. It very odd, to us, that there has been zero movement on the part of diners to deal with Styrofoam containers personally, whereas a lot of shoppers already bring their own bags to the grocery store with or without......

"Here" meaning "Southcenter," but we'll take what we can get. The first (and largest) of three stores planned to open in the Seattle area this year, the Southcenter H&M opens at 10 a.m. today. It's part of the mall's big expansion, which features a whole mess of new stores and restaurants, making the Tukwila shopping center the largest indoor mall in Washington and Oregon. Recession be damned. Employees are anticipating a madhouse at the......

If you didn't get enough of Sub Pop during all the recent twentieth anniversary festivities, tonight's another opportunity to salute the local label. Starting at 8 p.m. tonight, Mudhoney and No Age play a free show in the KEXP parking lot (113 Dexter Avenue N.) as part of the Toyota/Urban Outfitters Free Yr Radio concert series benefiting independent radio stations, including KEXP. The event's free, but you gotta print our your e-ticket at freeyrradio.com.......

Just in case you forgot why you live in Seattle, a photo-refresher course. A rum drink really sets the mood, if you have anything like that handy.......

"9 Block View Up Pine" by Seattle Daily Photo Kim, aka Seattle Daily Photo, shares this gorgeous view of summertime downtown bustle...at 9PM. This remains one of the chief reasons to love this city. Thanks for sharing!......

Downtown Seattle turned into an Old West style stand-off this morning as SPD officers pursued bank robbery suspects driving a gold SUV. Shortly before 11 a.m., SPD officers surrounded the suspect's car on Spring Street between First and Second Avenues. While all the details remain sketchy, at shortly after 10 a.m., a man described as armed and wearing a mask held-up a West Seattle Wells Fargo on the 2300 block of California Street. SPD officers......

"Local Celebrity" by mraaronmorris We couldn't resist this fantastic portrait of a man and his grudge—whatever the hell it is. We've never seen the guy look so serene and still. Thats our Flickr Pool for you—always surprising.......

We love a good drink special, so imagine our delight when we came across a full-page ad in the Weekly for a big ol' happy hour next Wednesday. Join us for a special Seattle Weekly Happy Hour on June 4, when three dozen bars extend their specials to celebrate the release of our new Seattle Weekly Happy Hour Guide! Come celebrate and pick up a copy of your own! Sure, it's a Weekly-sponsored event......

Alley Man by lachance This slightly creepy, very awesome image was plucked from the always awesome Seattlest Flickr Pool - thanks for sharing!......

It's raining and crappy out today, which means it's a work day for the guy who hangs out on the skybridge walkway between 1st Ave and Colman Dock Downtown. He's always up there, but when it rains he makes sure that all of the drains are unclogged and no one has to dance around the huge lakes that form on the walkway en route to the ferries. We're not sure why he does this, but......

"Denny Triangle And First Hill" by Ryan Hadley A 13-acre, $600 million property in the Denny Triangle has been pulled back off the markets for now, thanks to an unfavorable debt economy thwarting similar development deals across the country. According to the Wall Street Journal, the development of the Clise family-owned property was meant to catapult a $7 billion project in downtown Seattle and revitalize the area over the next twenty years. Apparently, the......

"Third and Pine, rain or shine," the bus driver almost sings to his passengers. As the bus approaches each and every stop, our driver offers a whimsical rhyme or at least a lengthy, informative spiel on what you'll find, should you choose to disembark here and now. He is charming, jovial, and more importantly, a great driver. He doesn't feel the need to Top Gun his rig, only to come to a screeching halt fifty......

Still lamenting Seattle’s lack of quality xiao long bao, Seattlest picked up a copy of A World of Dumplings and decided we’d start making them on our own. (Refining the recipe will take time, so don’t hold your breath on a restaurant opening anytime soon.). While thumbing through the book, we stumbled upon a recipe for our old pal, pelmeni. We discovered these Eastern European dumplings a few years ago while traveling in Juneau.......

Downtown's Southern-esque restaurant Sazerac had the misfortune to open in 1997, which meant its decor ten years on -- velvet drapes and cushy banquettes -- looked as dated as a Google-cached snapshot of your homepage. In its review, the Stranger sharpened its claws on the surroundings: "There is some evidence in the tea-dark interior that the decorator was going for a New Orleans-inspired elegance, but somewhere along the way he or she got waylaid at......

As our friend who sent us the info announced this news, so shall we: "GAY GASP! Hillary's coming to town tonight!" Okay, so we were at an event on Saturday, when Maria Cantwell joined longtime local Hillstumpers Jay Inslee and Ron Sims for a chat about Mrs. Clinton's Clean Energy Plan. A young woman who claimed to be a UW student stood up and asked the three if they could do something to get......

Maybe when your club is as steeped in musical history and genetically bound to its host city as the Crocodile Cafe, explaining a sudden shut-down is embarrassing. Maybe a public statement is too daunting a task. Maybe a background in law teaches you to keep your mouth shut. Whatever the reason, Stephanie Dorgan could pick up some PR tips from Matt Feigenbaum, owner of Bellingham's just put-to-rest Nightlight Lounge. Feigenbaum sent a 1500-word "formal......

"As Is" by Arboreality Not only do the seedy shops look charming but the scene as a whole looks like something out of a warm, June evening. Thanks, Arboreality, for dropping this photo into the Seattlest Flickr Pool.......

There's a nice little piece over at Crosscut this morning about Georgetown's Rainier Cold Storage Stock House (and the demise of), but just like the neighborhood opposition to the building's demolition, it's too little too late. To be fair, the building's owners broke their way through many walls (a much beloved building that defines a neighborhood, an official Seattle Landmark) with the wrecking ball of public safety: it's going to collapse onto Airport Way,......

Photo by cory schmitz from the Seattlest Flickr PoolNorth Seattle got snow, West Seattle didn't. Issaquah got snow, Federal Way didn't. The picky snow has made for an odd commute. We were rolling down an iceless hill this morning near Renton, annoyed that the person in front of us was proceeding with such outsized caution. At the bottom of the hill, we saw a Geo that had spun into a ditch. Guess it was icy......

We bring you the news as it happens or a little bit later. This was about 3:50pm today: REDACTED says: Holy shit, the building across the street is on fire. REDACTED says: flames and everything. MvB says: no kidding? REDACTEDsays: the Olive 8 MvB says: what's an Olive 8 REDACTED says: It's under construction but you can see the flames and smoke. MvB says: what street is that? REDACTED says: Olive 8 is the name......

We're working in a building next to Westlake Center, and just heard about a bajillion emergency vehicles go by. Looking out the window, they're all Fire Dept cars and trucks, and smoke seems to be coming from a construction site next to Pacific Place. Not that horrific billowing clouds of black kind of smoke, but disturbing nonetheless. There must be at least 12 emergency vehicles blocking the street. Anyone in the area know what is......

While there is plenty of good beer in Seattle to keep us busy, it is always nice to head out of town to visit some of the brewpubs spread around the Pacific Northwest. We try and do a trip as often as we can, which usually turns out to be one trip every three months or so. Port Townsend is situated in a beautiful spot out on the Olympic peninsula and is about a 2-hour......

Bolstering our faith in the local transit authorities, for the second time this week, the downtown bus tunnel is closed. The official reason is computer problems, as a H.A.L.-like super-brain down in the I.D. station controls the heating and ventillation, traffic signals, and zombie-workers that make possible Seattle's pathetic attempt at a subway. No word on when the tunnel will re-open, but earlier this week it was same-day; as before, tunnel lines are re-directed......

This Seattlest took one look at the weather forecast and headed to sunny Florida yesterday. Now here we are in our hometown of DeLand, population 24,375 (per 2006 census). Our mother doesn't have wireless at the house, and is operating off a 1997 iMac. It's cute and compact, but slow as hell, so we headed out this morning for the one source of public wifi in town: Boston Gourmet Coffeehouse. A couple of things about......

With all of the people that live/work on the Eastside, it is really surprising to not find more beer spots to explore. Granted, we probably haven't found everything worth visiting, but it just seems there is plenty of room for more good beer on the Eastside. Below is a summary of what you can enjoy on the other side of the lake. Breweries: Rock Bottom Bellevue is about the only place if you want......

They buzz, they flit, they fly. They dart, they dash, they zip. Ethan Stowell putt-putts from Union (downtown) to Tavolata (Belltown) to Wolf (Queen Anne). Corino Bonjrada bounces from La Vita e Bella (Belltown) to Mondello (Magnolia). Jim Drohman shuttles between Le Pichet (Belltown/Market) to Café Presse (First Hill/Madison). Scott Staples hops from Zoë (Belltown) to Quinn's (Capitol Hill). Josef Jimenez doesn't ride himself but sends his cooks on a scooter--a Honda, not a......

We showed up to the Westlake area just in time to wedge ourselves onto the 2nd streetcar out of downtown today. There was a smallish crowd out and by our unofficial measurement it was comprised of 10% reporters and photographers, 10% supporters and Vulcan employees and 80% smartasses in S.L.U.T. shirts, including the guy who wrote the S.L.U.T. song who we had the good fortune to ride along with a little later on. These are......

Bellevue is entertaining its crazed shoppers and downtown urbanites with daily holiday drum lines, snowflake lights and snow (yes, fake snow). We have seen it with our own eyes, and it is as if you chasséd on stage of a live performance of the Nutcracker. Snowflake Lane is a Bellevue tradition and is going on now until December 24, beginning at 7 p.m. daily. If shopping under fake snow doesn’t get you excited, you......

As an alumnus of Centralia Community College (out of boredom, we took a Latin class there one fall) and former southwest Washington resident, we've been following the flooding thataway with interest. A friend of ours just passed along two emails from K. in Centralia, and they can't be beat for a you-are-there feel that balances some of the apocalyptic news coverage -- let's face it, if nothing terrible happened to you, you aren't news. On......