Tagged: Seattle

With the spring rains descending upon us, ushering in the "June Gloom" a little early, Crosscut.com's Knute Berger has come up with eight simple rules to preserve your sanity while living in Seattle.

"I was so distracted by all the happy people and color," says runner Sofia Jaramillo. "It didn't even feel like a run just an all around good time."

Thousands of excited runners and walkers gathered as a plain white canvas at the Seattle Center Sunday morning awaiting to enter a sea of color.

The first wave of 1,000 participants took off at approximately 8:30am followed by five more waves every five minutes for Seattle’s first Color Run.

President Barack Obama was in Seattle yesterday on a fundraising swing. It was his first trip since the big announcement Wednesday that he now supports the right of same-sex couples to marry, a stance that was celebrated by supporters both inside and outside his speech at the Paramount theater downtown.

At 8th and Pine, a colorful band of demonstrators gathered for a rally near the barricades to say thank you to the President, even though they couldn’t afford the thousand-dollar ticket to see him speak.

Terry McClain wore a sandwich board decorated with rainbow-colored balloons and the words “Thanks for evolving on same-sex marriage.”

Authorities say vandals have destroyed eight recently planted trees in Seattle's Washington Park Arboretum.

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn evoked his emergency powers – during a day of violent protests and six arrests – ordering police to confiscate items from May Day protesters and revelers alike that could be used to damage property.

Some protesters dressed all in black used 3-inch thick sticks, which were disguised as flag poles, and tire irons to break windows in Seattle during rolling protests and marches that paralyzed downtown.

"The police officers will be approaching individuals who’ll be carrying items known to be weapons, confront them and ask them to peacefully give them up.  And if not peacefully given up, they will be confiscated," McGinn said at an afternoon press conference.

Around 4:30 p.m. officers arrested a handful of protesters after one policeman took a pole from a protester at First Avenue and Pike Street. That protester attempted to take the pole back and several others came to his aid, but officers made the arrests and pushed the others back. Both sides then faced off again in the street at the Pike Place Market until the demonstrators migrated back to Westlake Center.

(Photo gallery and videos after jump.)

U.S. postage rates went up again at the start of this year. But the service is still in financial crisis.

And letter carriers say the latest legislative fix about to come before the U.S. Senate could devastate the mail service as we know it.

Construction began Tuesday on a Ferris wheel that will sit on the end of a pier on the Seattle waterfront.

It will stand 175 high and have 42 gondolas, which will have heating and air conditioning. The wheel will extend 40 feet from the end of Pier 57, so riders on that side will be suspended over Elliott Bay.

Developer Hal Griffith told KING-TV the Ferris wheel should be spinning this June.

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn delivered his third State of the City Address today focusing on education, public safety, and the economy – noting that the city was knocked down pretty hard during the recession.

He said Seattle lost 35,000 jobs with unemployment peaking at 8.2 percent. But progress has been made.