The way Seattlest's routine works out we're afforded precious little time down in Tacoma, so we're particularly unqualified to speak to the panhandling scene there as opposed to here. Maybe someone more familiar with the City of Destiny can explain the need for the panhandling ban there, though? We do spend a significant amount of time downtown Seattle, and there are panhandlers around, but they tend to either be so consistently present as to become familiar (hey "smile" guy) or passive almost to a fault. Or both. Still, hardly ban-worthy. Seattlest does have a slightly different experience whenever we happen to be downtown on a weekend. Around Westlake--particularly now, holiday shoppers--the crush of people makes it hard to identify panhandlers that aren't ringing a bell and standing next to a cauldron of some kind. In Pioneer Square when there aren't many people around, you can get approached somewhat aggressively by people asking for money. more ›

Real Change executive director Tim Harris says on his blog that the Seattle Weekly wants to exposé his street newspaper back to the Gutenberg age. more ›

Seattlest tends to buy Real Change a lot more frequently than Seattlest reads Real Change, and soon we'll have twice as many opportunities to buy it. Real Change is moving from its bi-weekly publishing schedule to weekly, halving the effectiveness of the "I already have this issue" defense and instantly becoming the third-best-written weekly of the city (with a bullet - Look out Stranger and Weekly). more ›