Restaurant newshound Nancy Leson of the Seattle Times broke the surprising news yesterday that The Oceanaire Seafood Room has shut its doors for good. It turns out their parent company--which has already removed Seattle from its website and closed down its blog, Facebook, and Twitter feed on June 30--filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, revealing that their new restructuring plan included shutting down four of the sixteen chain seafood restaurants across the U.S. While we typically don't profess our love for chain restaurants, we do have to admire and appreciate Oceanaire for bringing the talented former executive chefs Kevin Davis, 2001-06 (Steelhead Diner), Eric Donnelly, 2006-08 (Toulouse), and Aaron Valimont, 2008-09, into the Seattle food community. more ›

After 61 years of business, Ballard Camera officially closed their doors on Tuesday. This is just days after other Ballard shops have announced their pending closed-for-good signs. Sadly, we say goodbye to the camera shop, who was a victim not only of the economy but also our impatient obsession with digital photography. more ›

Indeed, we mean bankruptcy. As previously predicted, the 89-year-old Bellevue-based outdoor retailer Eddie Bauer Holdings Inc. has finally thrown in the flannel after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today. For some time, it hadn't been looking good for the "original outdoor outfitter," who lost nearly a half billion dollars over the past three years. Today, they've found themselves with $476.1 million in total assets and $426.7 million in total debt. In part of the filing agreement, the local retailer will sell off its remaining assets to a private equity firm, who plans to keep a majority of the retailer's employees and operate a majority of its stores while under court protection. The bankruptcy of Eddie Bauer makes them the third national retailer and high-profile Washington company to file for bankruptcy.
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Don't plan on getting too comfy next time you're heading to the library or best yet, just bring the snooze of a book home, before you get caught up in one of the newest (and toughest) rule changes approved by the Seattle Public Library Board. A 20 percent increase in recent library traffic and 1,300 plus violations have prompted the board to take a tough-love approach, granting libraries the power to place a two-year ban on repeat offenders. Most common violations include: bringing in extra large luggage, removing clothing or getting naked, and (the biggest culprit) sleeping, aka nodding off, cat napping, dozing off or "resting my eyes." more ›

Board game titan Hasbro said it was officially "game over" yesterday for the Seattle office which created the clay-modeling, tune-humming, backwards-spelling, charades-loving board game company Cranium back in 1998. However, it wasn't until early 2008 that Hasbro decided to purchase the local award-winning game franchise for $77.5 million, adding to their growing portfolio which already included Renton's Wizards of the Coast. The R.I.-based company decided it was best to consolidate the Cranium brand and start leveraging all the bells and whistles Hasbro can provide under their own roof. Eight of the 19 employees will be moving to continue working for Hasbro, while the rest are left to mold a new job out of clay. more ›

Every music cliche could be used right now to describe--but we won't--the financial state of the ailing Bellevue Philharmonic, who was nearly forced to perform their very last show--for good. The donations were not coming in, forcing the hands of the philharmonic to seek any and all options that would prevent the loss of tradition and musical expression for the city. It was then, when the Bellevue City Council came forward, check in hand for $35,000 to help save the Bellevue Philharmonic, giving them a bailout another season of songs. This Sunday, the Bellevue Philharmonic will be playing their season finale concert and hoping that it really won't be their last. more ›

Seattle Public Schools confirmed that they will have to implement an "R.I.F." (Reduction In Force), meaning lay off nearly 200 Seattle school teachers by May 15. First of all, who says "R.I.F."? That acronym is just tacky and screams tombstones. Great last impression, right? So now as the force of teachers dwindle, we're expecting more classroom congestion, chaos, and for the love of it all, who will be left to teach high schoolers math from their brand new Discovering Mathematics textbooks series? more ›

Have we in Washington reached our economic tipping point, yet? The state's Revenue Forecast Council believes that the end of this recession may be in sight. (Shut up!) The council has been keeping a sharp eye on the rise (and fall) of the state's unemployment benefit claims and says (bravely), that as the pace of job losses decline, we will still continue to see more job loss. But, it looks like we have apparently reached our unemployment peak. So we aren't there yet, but the signs are pointing in the right direction. more ›

How and where will we be able to drown our sorrows away when we can't even buy a drink?--if (and when) the State Liquor Control Board jacks up the price of alcohol by nearly $1.05 per liter. That equals a 5.6 percent increase, taxing your wallet an additional $2 per 1.75-liter bottle. Jerks. Lawmakers needed to balance the state's budget, and so they took a good chunk of change from the liquor board's piggy bank. Now the board is pressured to tax the hell out of alcohol and re-fill the gaping $79-million hole. If the board approves the increase today, it will take effect August 1, and is expected to raise $77 million over two years. Meanwhile, industry experts shake their finger and caution that if the taxes keep piling on, the hospitality sector could be in for a whirl of economic double-trouble, potentially costing 1,100 jobs and decreased tax revenue.
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Snohomish City Council has more budget cuts to make and tonight they will decide if the police department's drug-sniffing dog Dixie will have to pack up all her toys, rawhides, and move on to a new home. The crime-fighting Dixie is a 7-year-old shepherd-collie that costs the city $16,000 a year(!) in vet bills, dog food, grooming, kennel, and training costs. For three years, Dixie has been a dedicated "officer" sniffing out drugs and even $25,000 of drug money, but as an older dog with few working years left, she is a prime four-legged candidate to get a pink slip. Her K-9 counterpart Kizar, a young German shepherd trained to track fleeing criminals, will stay on the force for now. more ›

About 3,000 Microsofties, including many from Western Washington were notified this a.m. that they received the pink screen of death slip. In the memo from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer he said, "With this announcement, we are mostly but not all done with the planned 5,000 job eliminations by June 2010." Not sure what's worse, getting the pink slip today (tequila anyone?) or knowing you could be next. This is the second mass lay-off for the company since January. more ›

Man, why does the state gotta hate on education? First 6,000 newbie teachers get axed and now UW unveils the $73 million worth of university budget cuts. How it looks: admin is screwed, but to help academic units, UW will dip into its $10 million "rainy day" reserve fund. Academic priority went to the university's money-making programs, surprisingly, that do the most teaching. Buh-bye law, hello psychology! Now for the five or six remaining faculty and handful of students, it's not great news. Especially for the 300+ freshman not getting into UW this fall. (Curse you, algebra!) Here are the big cuts that academic programs will leave at the guillotine: Arts and Sciences ($10.5 million), Medicine ($5.3 million), Engineering ($4 million), Business ($1.9 million), Law ($1.6 million), and Ocean and Fishery Sciences, Nursing, and UW Graduate School ($0.9 million each). more ›

• Farmers markets make life taste great. We are sure the lucky folks in Columbia City agree, as they welcome the opening of their neighborhood farmers market today (3-7 p.m.). Hold your horses, additional markets opening soon.
• Bank robbing bandit made the rounds this a.m. with a quick grab-and-go at the Banner Bank in First Hill. FBI suspects it may be the same man who robbed a Wells Fargo bank this past Saturday.
• Feel Good Business News: Local bio-tech Dendreon paving the way with new prostate-cancer therapy; The homegrown online restaurant guide Urbanspoon sold to a giant of the Internetz.

Life is not fair for teenagers--this month in particular, as they fear the demise of their favorite mall hangouts, face potential child porn charges for "sexting", and now (omg!) accept the hard reality of finding a summer job. A recent study noted a dip in teen employment and claims that fewer than one million 16- to 19-year-olds will be able to find the perfect summer job. Teenagers are so going to give us the silent treatment if we continue to ruin their social life.
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• Seattle, do you realize what you are finally witnessing? The first baby demolition steps that will (fingers crossed) lead to the demise of the Viaduct.
• It took not even six months for Capitol Hill's defunct organic pizza joint Pizza Fusion to go out of business. Now as they auction off all their equipment and furnishings this Thursday, you'll have one last chance to snag some of the coveted Sunset Bowl memorabilia.
• Ferries are all the rage--Budget Travel Magazine names the Seattle-Bainbridge commute as one of the most beautiful ferry rides in the U.S. They forget to mention the ferry system will be jacking up their summer prices 25 percent this Friday.

Family planning clinics throughout the Northwest are seeing a 50 percent increase in patients, and a noticeable change in economy-driven behavior, with requests for vasectomies and birth control prescriptions on the rise. As the economy sours with more pink slips, the idea of starting or growing a family seems to be the last thing on the minds of the unemployed and uninsured. With more pregnancy prevention alternatives available, Planned Parenthood clinics in the Northwest have seen a seven percent drop in abortion cases, while over the past three months in 2009, there has been a reported sharp increase of 14.6 men (8.6 in late 2008) seeking vasectomies a month. more ›

Mario and Luigi seem to be having a tough economic level to get through, as their coin count and the rest of U.S. video game industry sales have been slipping. The beginning of 2009 looked promising, until March when sales were down 17 percent from last year--which happened to be a big year for local game companies--proving the once booming game world is not immune to the recession or those sneaky Goombas. Eyes are on the falling shares, but no reset button needed--just yet--for local companies, as Nintendo's Wii leads console sales with 601,000 units sold, while Capcom's horror shooter "Resident Evil 5" is a best-selling game for the Xbox 360. more ›

Pioneer Square's Megan Mary Olander Florist wants to turn your recession frown upside down. more ›