During a forum this weekend at Town Hall, a panel sympathetic to the Occupy Seattle movement was shouted down by angry activists. Don't go blaming the Tea Party- the protesters were Occupy Seattle members. more ›

We'll give you three reasons you should buy tickets for this right now: hobnobbing, drinking, and the sense of self-importance you get from attending fundraisers. more ›

Lindy West, film editor of The Stranger and all-around hero for those in the online snark business (and also just humanity in general) is leaving Seattle for Los Angeles. We are crushed. more ›

Capitol Hill nightlife staple Neighbours has come forward as one of the at least 25 clubs the Department of Revenue is hitting up for retroactive sales tax on admissions. They've decided to take legal action which, at the very least, could result in clarification. more ›

Stirring up a recent shitstorm is the recent enforcement of a 1993 tax on admission with an "opportunity to dance." Anonymous bars, clubs and venues told The Stranger that the State Department of Revenue has started hitting them up for back taxes they've never had to pay before -- up to $210,000. The businesses, and the City Department of Film and Music, say they have never seen the tax enforced on music venues before. The Department of Revenue says this has always been a thing, and they have always said that that this is a thing. This leaves bars, clubs and nightlife patrons wondering: what is this tax, what does it apply to, and why has it only recently been enforced? more ›

We’ve got a live one this week! So much to cram into so few days—from drinking and dancing to discussing Rad Dads and enjoying some tunes…get ready for your week in Lit! more ›

- One can purchase a tall can of PBR and a hot dog for a mere eight bones. Not bad! more ›

What's that? You couldn't make it to Pike Place to pet the mini cows? That's ok. We found a video that will make you feel like you were there, kind of. more ›

Personalized search’s implicit promise is to help users avoid the mind-numbing uselessness of the majority of web content. The troubling problem with personalized search is that it only delivers what a user already believes he or she wants, and this contributes to a narrowing of worldview. more ›

Rob McKenna has a reputation for moderation in some quarters, but does he deserve it? Can a centrist still run for statewide office as a Republican? more ›

We're one of the few remaining American cities with two alternative newsweeklies, and they're both on the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies' Top 25. The Pew Research Center examines the state of the American alt-weekly; we take a look at the state of our own. more ›

Yesterday, the Seattle City Council voted to cooperate with the Washington State Department of Transportation on three agreements concerning the tunnel to replace the Highway 99 Viaduct, keeping the ball rolling on the controversial project. This vote is one of two approval votes; this one during the design phase, with one more before groundbreaking. Mike O'Brien was the sole dissenter. Another dissenter, one not on the city council, is Mayor Mike McGinn. more ›

Remember Jiggles, the strip club that opened up in the old Giggles Comedy Club space with a one-letter name change as if nobody would notice -- I came here for comedy, but I guess naked ladies will do? more ›

Have you been running initiatives 1100 and 1105 through your head all month only to have them seem more convoluted, even after Seattlest's handy guide? Are you holding off on sending in that ballot until you hear a moderated, no-holds-barred throwdown between representatives of both sides--preferrably in a bar? more ›

Upon hearing that the illustrious Lindy West was hosting not only a trivia night, but a sex trivia night, I immediately assembled my smartest, smuttiest troops. I once stole her idea of having a Google News Alert for "feces"--I knew there was no way she could steer me wrong here. And, just as I expected, questions included stuff like "Which animal was recently observed by a Dutch scientist engaging in homosexual necrophilia?" (a duck), "True or false, elephants have been known to rape and kill rhinoceroses?" (true). The opening round was Guess-The-Celebrity-Penises, and the round immediately following halftime simply consisted of, with the rest of your team, making up a name for a sexual position and then drawing it. more ›

The Emerald City holds true to its name with a new proposal that would require developers to accumulate "tree credits" in an effort to increase the number of trees in our fair city. [Publicola] more ›

Image from SeaDevi's Flickr stream, used with permission more ›

Stranger writer Dominic Holden does not suggest, but demands today that the local media do their jobs--you know, like, actual journalism--by reporting not only on Referendum 71 by way of deconstructing its meaning, but also by reporting on its creators, pushers, and the true interests behind its hateful and hypocritical beginnings. It's a fascinating and cringe-inducing reminder of how this all got started and we agree completely with Holden that it is an important and relevant part of the story. more ›

Seattle Weekly's Mike Seely has a book on dive bars out. The Weekly's Erika Hobart went to see "Walking with the Dinosaurs" stewed. And now the Stranger has a new Happy Hour iPhone app: Cocktail Compass. Interesting features: searches for "patio" if you want, offers one-touch cab dialing. Competition for GoTime's Happy Hour app. This recession could turn out to be toughest on the liver. more ›

Seattlest's father now knows who Dan Savage is, thanks to the Stranger editorial director's short-lived publicity stunt of a mayoral campaign. We suspect that was kind of the point. Savage isn't running anymore, thanks to the burdensome piles of paperwork associated with a real campaign, and we're grateful that whole shenanigan is done with. Piles of paperwork, we salute you. more ›

Things over at the Slog are currently retarded--and we mean that in the clinical sense of the word. We suggest you avoid the site entirely until further notice. more ›

We've been following the news releases--cleverly disguised as Slog posts--issued by Peter Steinbrueck's stealth campaign manager, ECB, and she's gotten us fired up. Now if they just work on Steinbrueck himself, we'll be all set. Yesterday ECB was publicizing green golden boy Steinbrueck via a "RUN FOR MAYOR" Facebook group that has sprung up--it had 41 members then and this morning we became 99, just like in Get Smart. Today ECB has hit the e-bricks early, quoting an unnamed "recent poll" in which "Steinbrueck wallops Nickels 46.6 percent to 24.1 percent, with 29.4 percent undecided" in a head-to-head match-up. (ECB doesn't mention our equally scientific 5-way poll in which Nickels just edged out Steinbrueck 38 percent to 36.) So all we've really learned so far is that ECB would vote for Peter in a heartbeat--but maybe...just maybe...that's enough? more ›

It's probably too late at night to be writing this sort of piece, but sitting around a lonely house, sipping a glass of Scotch and trying to forget about our more quotidian problems, we found ourselves reading today's (or yesterday's, we suppose) article about the ongoing Amanda Knox trial. In the piece, AP reporter Alessandra Rizzo goes on at length about how Knox didn't seem to show any remorse in the police station following her roommate Meredith Kercher's murder. She quotes three prosecution witnesses (all friends of the victim, apparently), who testified that, "Everybody was upset and she didn't seem to show any emotions," or that she "'made faces,' such as crossing her eyes and sticking her tongue out. She was 'giggling' and kissing [then-boyfriend and co-defendant Raffaele] Sollecito," and finally that, "She didn't show any sadness. She wasn't crying. She seemed quite angry and a bit frustrated and sometimes happy." more ›

Crosscut's Bill Richards has the story on Hearst's signal of disinterest: "Hearst Corp. said today that it won’t make a final $1 million payment to the Times’ majority owners, the Blethen family, for the right to bid first for the Blethens’ 50.5 percent stake in the company." Hearst also said that if they turn P-I into a pixel-only publication, they would do so outside the warm bosom of the JOA. But they haven't decided yet. "What's the big rush? Stop pestering us!" Meanwhile, the Seattle Times is in "survival mode," reports the Stranger--they're asking the unions for 12 percent payroll cuts. This is grim news indeed for Stranger staffers who were hoping to sell out and snag a cushy MSM job one day. more ›

Today is the deadline to mail in your ballot for the King County special election this month. Unless you live in Fall City or Enumclaw, all you'll be voting on is the new county director of elections. Seattlest will be sending ours today, since we didn't bother to look up the candidates until this morning. We're voting for Sherril Huff, the incumbent, who is endorsed by such illustrious organizations as the 43rd District Democrats and the Stranger (she is "competent, sane, and qualified" compared to our other options, says the Stranger Election Control Board). Huff was also one of two candidates recommended as "outstanding" by the Municipal League. It may be ridiculous that we have yet another expensive election to vote on just one position--doesn't it take millions of dollars to send out ballots?--but vote anyway. Just do it. more ›

Oh, Portland! This Seattlest contributor's hometown is currently in the midst of its biggest and juiciest political scandal in years. Turns out, Mayor Sam Adams, the city's first openly gay mayor, had a relationship with a legislative aid intern who , Tim Keck's Portland alt-weekly, has been drawn into the entire mess with accusations she helped cover up the affair. more ›

The Seattle Times says Sound Transit Proposition 1 "retards our economy" and "hurts the poor" by boosting Washington's sales tax to 9.5%, an unconscionable hike when "most people don't want to get out of their cars." The Stranger says Prop. 1 is a great idea, and "If you think $69 is a lot to spend on transit in tough economic times, think about what you've been paying for gas lately." King County Exec Ron Sims is opposed and would prefer that we wait until 2010. But what do you think? Yea or nay to Sound Transit Proposition 1? (More info about Prop. 1 here.) This poll closes at noon tomorrow, and as always, comments are more than welcome. more ›

Tonight, 's theatre critic Brendan Kiley is hosting a forum/shouting match at Seattle Rep at 7:30 (155 Mercer Street at Seattle Center; we confirmed it's for free; there'll be someone at the door to direct you) in response to the debate generated by his Oct. 7 article, "Ten Things Theaters Need to Do Right Now to Save Themselves." Read it here; some of his points are good, some predictable, some are already being done, and still others seem silly. The point is, Kiley touched a nerve: the theatre, particularly here in Seattle, is struggling with its identity, afraid for the future, and confused in its business-model. We work in books in our day job, and the same uncertainty about the future we hear from book publishers we hear from the theatre artists. So we've decided to throw in our own two-cents worth for your consideration before tonight's talk. We'll be there in the audience. Hopefully we'll hear something interesting. more ›

SEE SEE ME RIVER: If you can get yourself to walk beneath the frightening-toothed clown, nothing should stop you from checking out See Me River at The Funhouse tonight. Led by former Das Llamas front man Kerry Zettel, See Me River offers an audial version of American Gothic, crafting haunting acoustic songs that at once drone and soar. more ›

There are plenty of reasons not to hire an escort you spot in a photo in the back pages of The Seattle Weekly or The Stranger. For one, prostitution (yeah, we know, it's for the "company") is still illegal. For two, STDs STDs STDs! And lastly, as an unlucky 80-something-year-old man learned, they might just steal your money without performing for you. Seattle 911 says a man in his early 80s showed up at the West Seattle Police Precinct to report a theft. The man had found a young lady in the back of the Weekly and paid $250 upfront. Before the duo engaged in the paid-for act, the escort ran to her car to grab a condom. Rather than face the prospect of getting boned by an 80-something-year-old, the escort did not return. Thus the self-incriminating, would-be Casanova reported the theft to the SPD, which we think is just classic. more ›