Featured News

Seattle is advancing safety improvements along Beacon Avenue South, a high-injury corridor with 242 crashes since 2021, by designing central and southern segment upgrades including protected bike lanes. SDOT invites Beacon Hill residents to share input through an online survey, pop-up event, open house and virtual meeting throughout October.

Walter Washington, owner of Wally's NW Soul Experience in Seattle's Central District, starts each day with prayer before cooking scratch-made soul food like smoked turkey, red beans and rice, and candied yams. Beyond the kitchen, he mentors youth through academic incentives and community programs, making his restaurant a gathering place featured in the Pack the House campaign.

Seattle barbers Jabari Hayes and Jameel Shabazz lead Fades of the Future, a free Tuesday program at Garfield Community Center teaching young people barbering skills, professionalism and mentorship. Beyond haircuts, the initiative aims to build confidence and career pathways, with the pair working toward opening a Black-owned barber and cosmetology school in Seattle's Central District.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley announced federal job guarantee legislation at the CBC Foundation's conference, highlighting racial unemployment gaps and financial pressures on Black families. Panelists discussed how Black women's unemployment affects household income, health coverage, and children, while emphasizing community resilience and systemic policy failures requiring urgent action.

Scholar Michael Eric Dyson delivered his inaugural lecture as Livingstone College's new Visiting Scholar in Residence, urging HBCU students to continue the "unfinished fight" for justice. Speaking at the 2026 convocation, Dyson cited civil rights icons like Thurgood Marshall and MLK as examples, emphasizing Black excellence as the norm while launching a four-part series on Black thought, faith, hip-hop and democracy.

Federal officers early on Monday executed a search warrant related to Rep. Ilhan Omar, the Minnesota congresswoman who has been the persistent target of ire from President Donald Trump’s administration.

In appointing New York Attorney General Letitia James as a special prosecutor to investigate sexual assault allegations at Cornell University, Gov. Kathy Hochul asked for a “fresh and thorough” review of all the evidence.

When South African jurist Navi Pillay won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, a large proportion of the human rights community happened to be gathered at a conference at the Nuremberg Court in Germany, where the landmark trial of Nazi leaders almost 80 years ago laid the foundations for modern international law.

Seattle Municipal Court judges have re-elected Anita Crawford-Willis as presiding judge and Damon Shadid as assistant presiding judge for a two-year term through 2028. Judge Pooja Vaddadi joins the Executive Committee, succeeding retiring Judge Willie Gregory. The court highlighted recent growth, including new pro tem judges, an expanded magistrate team, and preparations to onboard three incoming judges in January.

Garfield High School's Reclaiming the Village initiative brings parents, students, alumni and educators together to rebuild community ties strained by the pandemic and gentrification. Led by Principal Dr. Tarance Hart and community leaders Nichelle Page and Arika Townsend, the effort focuses on family engagement, student advocacy, and teacher development to strengthen the historically significant Central District school's culture.