Lake Union by TheQ! from the Seattlest Flickr pool. more ›

Are they smoking something? Who closes bridges, highways and viaducts on the nicest day of the year? more ›

Did you make it over to the boat show this weekend? The normal part was "indoors" at the exhibition center, while the exhibitionist part was "afloat" at Lake Union. Today our old photo from MOHAI kills two waterfowl with one grayscale stone. more ›

Dear Rich Seattlites, more ›

"brightest calm" by chickentender, from the Seattlest Flickr Pool more ›

NOAA has announced that they're hauling anchor away from Lake Union, and relocating their center-Pacific operations to Newport, Oregon. Seattle City Council's Jean Godden has already fired off a response, noting that Seattle has the UW (Newport doesn't), fresh water (Newport 0), and the Duwamish River (Newport FAIL). Godden says Seattle still looks to her like the best choice for NOAA, but that "Clearly the selection committee felt differently, perhaps influenced by millions of dollars in state subsidies offered by the Oregon legislature." ZING! more ›

Last night's Duck Dodge on Lake Union--a proudly tipsy 35-year tradition--was especially busy thanks to the heat wave. More water cannons and water balloons were in evidence than usual, too. more ›

The least visited of the lake's four sides, the western shore of Lake Union was first developed as a trolley line in the 1890s, then largely left alone. We happened upon the line by descending a stairway at the south end of the Fremont Bridge. We then followed the decrepit tracks south, encountering a neat mix of houseboats, marinas, and funny signs. more ›

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Almost three years ago, we walked around Lake Union for your entertainment. That seemed like it took all day, so this time we rode our bike. Much quicker! more ›

Around 8 a.m. today, you may have noticed Lake Union looking a little more weepy than usual--and for good reason. That was when the beloved Wawona, a really old schooner, moved to the dry docks on other side of the lake in order to begin the slow death of dismantlement after some 30 years beautifying the waterfront. Decades-long efforts to raise enough money to renovate the ship finally lost steam in the march towards creating a more perfect Union. (Har, har.) All this shippy hullaballoo reminds us of the Kalakala debacle. Apparently the Kalakala is now scheduled to be restored in 2010, potentially to be converted into a future museum site; has owner Steve Rodrigues considered purchasing the Wawona as well? It could be a really cool, touristy floating bar! more ›

THE LAKE IS CELEBRATING: Summer is when neighborhood pride reaches its zenith here in Seattle, and Lake Union is no exception. LUFest, a festival including a pet parade, live music (Harvey Danger! Local funksters The Staxx Brothers!), and food, happens this Saturday, and we recommend you head down there to experience some classic fun in the sun. To repeat: Harvey Danger will be there. more ›

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. more ›

Has the failing economy not touched you? The housing crunch not gotten you down? Would you enjoy tourists taking photos of your home or even planning sight-seeing trips to see it? Then do we have the home for you! The South Lake Union houseboat made famous by Sleepless in Seattle, is on the market. It could be yours for just $2.5 million. more ›

The second-longest-serving member of the Washington Legislature has confirmed she will not run for re-election. “This is my last session. I’m not going to run again.” Asked why, she laughed and said: “Because I’m 75 years old and I’ll be 76 in a couple weeks. That’s why.”

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Old guy: "I'm sick of this shit!" more ›

It's not that development in itself sucks; it's that our county and city government doesn't believe in development for art's sake, despite all those studies about the half billion the arts return to the community. When we look around, we don't see a lot of public investment in the single most expensive thing that artists and smaller arts organizations have to face: a place to work, rehearse, show, perform. more ›

The South Lake Union Streetcar will begin an eight-week test period soon, according to the Seattle Transit Blog. more ›

#1 on our list of events for the weekend is the Elysian Pumpkin Beer Festival this Saturday up at the Capitol Hill location. There will be 13 different pumpkin beers on tap, including the GABF silver-medal-winning The Great Pumpkin Ale. Festivities begin at noon with the tapping of the Great Pumpkin at 4pm; a huge pumpkin in which a batch of Night Owl carried out its secondary fermentation. Yum. more ›

Sometime this week it's going to be announced that Seattle's soccer team the Seattle Sounders will be entering the MLS. GOALSeattle says tomorrow. Our friend in Chicago who knows about these things says it'll be announced at MLS Cup, which isn't until November 18, so we'll discount that and say tomorrow. It seems pointless, by now, to argue whether or not it will be announced. The Sounders aren't selling 2008 season tickets, Paul Allen is involved, Qwest Field, although not a fan favorite as a MLS venue, is ready and willing. It's happening. Tomorrow. more ›

For those (like Seattlest) who are too lazy to actually visit in person the South Lake Union coffee shop Kapow! to get their S.L.U.T. tee shirts (which they may or may not even have), they are now available online. more ›

Funny picture just turned up in the Seattlest Flickr Pool: more ›

So, yeah, there's been this Russian-Turkish style "urban spa" called Banya5 on Ninth for, like, three years now. It's kind of a giant community sauna, with a central oven providing both wet and dry heat, surrounded by a bunch of fresh- and salt-water pools. The guy who built it, Seattle-born real estate developer John Goodfellow, isn't even Russian; he got hooked on the concept in New Yawk City. You have to know where it is, because it's hard to see along the northbound arterial through the no-man's land connecting Lake Union with downtown. more ›

Can you think of a better way to spend your Saturday than kicking back on the lawn, chowing on a burger and listening to great live music? more ›

Last week we made it out to our first Duck Dodge sailboat race of the year -- there was no theme, but it was hot, the upper-80s, and there was a good breeze which made for an actual race as opposed to beer drinking and chip munching punctuated by the occasional slow-motion tack. Notes on the race from Duck Dodge HQ mention that "Shoot the Moon had a kayak that just couldn't stay away from them," which may explain their mid-race consultation with the Police Boat. We (the crew of the mighty Ig, a Cal 20) spent most of the race jockeying with a boat with a WSU logo on its stern. In Lake Union! By god, they come over here and try to steal our wind! more ›

South Lake Union is currently under water after a 20" main was broken by contractors this morning. Some businesses in the area aren't getting water and the area around Harrison and Dexter is flooded. more ›

The Tacoma News Tribune had their big Seattle cruise season preview a few weeks ago: 191 cruise ship calls, 3,000 busloads of passengers from the airport to the cruise terminals, 14,082 cruise industry jobs created in 2005, 1 article we couldn’t get completely through. Harpers index it ain’t. Unless this is it, we’re still waiting for the Seattle dailies to publish their yearly love poems to the cruise industry. more ›

*mp3: S.O.S. more ›