Planet Seattle

The week of March 14–21 promises an explosion of cultural events — from large-scale Irish celebrations and St. Patrick’s Day parades to major concerts, ballet and a circus show under a big top: street parades and bar crawls, film and music festivals, family Holi celebrations and seafood fests, plus premieres and ongoing exhibitions across the metro area. If you’re up for live music at night — mark concerts at Climate Pledge Arena, Royal Room and Tulalip; dance and theater fans should check...

Overview: the province's housing market is slumping, Taylor Swift fans will get refunds for obstructed-view tickets, and Vancouver's Filipino community prepares for Lapu‑Lapu Day — the first since the 2025 tragedy. British Columbia housing market slips in February Overview: British Columbia's housing market continued to show signs of weakness, according to February 2026 data. Sales fell in nearly every region of the province, and average prices also declined, indicating a continued difficult...

A great white shark has been recorded in British Columbia, indicating shifts in habitat range. A powerful storm left thousands without power. The region has also detected a bat-killing fungus. Great white shark off Vancouver: what does Kara’s visit mean? A unique visitor — a great white shark named Kara — was recorded in waters off the coast of British Columbia, near Vancouver. This is the first documented case of a tracked great white in the region, drawing interest from scientists and marine...

In Vancouver, a man accused of a series of apparently unprovoked attacks on women will face court. At the same time, scientists are tracking a great white shark off the coast of Vancouver Island, emphasizing the scientific value of the sighting rather than reasons for alarm. Suspect in series of attacks on women in Vancouver to appear in court A man has been arrested in Vancouver, accused of a series of seemingly unprovoked attacks on unfamiliar women in the downtown core. Police released a...

Vancouver news: journalist Frances Bula is running for office, authorities are closing problematic SRO hotels, and the region was hit by an unexpected snowfall. Well-known journalist Frances Bula runs for Vancouver city council An interesting development is brewing in Vancouver politics: one of the most respected and well-informed journalists who has covered municipal affairs for decades has decided to run for a seat on city council herself. After more than thirty years of observation, Frances...

News from Vancouver: snowfall forecast, opening of police training centres, and a packed events schedule for the week. New police training centres in Vancouver and Victoria: response to rising demand British Columbia authorities have announced the opening of two new training centres for police recruits in Vancouver and Victoria. The decision was driven by a significant increase in demand for recruits from police services across the province. The initiative is intended to strengthen the staffing...

Vancouver residents are experiencing an escalation in the Middle East, a unique floating home is up for sale off the island’s coast, and the women’s soccer club Rise has received a prestigious award. Fear and hope: how Vancouver’s diaspora is coping with the escalation in the Middle East As the world watches the widening conflict in the Middle East, for Vancouver’s Lebanese and Iranian communities this is more than news — it’s a personal tragedy and deep anxiety for the fate of loved ones. The...

British Columbia authorities have opened new police academies in Vancouver and Victoria to address staffing shortages. The women's soccer club Vancouver Rise FC received the prestigious Best of BC sports award for winning the inaugural season of the Northern Super League. New police academies in Vancouver and Victoria: a response to big-city challenges British Columbia authorities are taking decisive steps to bolster municipal police staffing by approving the creation of two new training...

The sale of an off-grid estate, a warning of a financial crisis for condo owners, and a bright fireball over Vancouver — the region's top stories. Off-grid private family compound in British Columbia for sale for under $4 million In a world where digital connectivity and urban bustle have become the norm, some seek refuge in places where silence speaks louder than words. One such place is the private compound "Safe Harbour" on Charlotte Lake in a remote area of British Columbia, listed for sale...

In Vancouver a meteor flew at roughly 100 times the speed of sound, local metal bands are competing for a slot at Wacken, and Bruno Mars set a record by adding a fifth show at BC Place. Meteor over Vancouver: a cosmic visitor traveling about 100 times the speed of sound A thrilling cosmic show played out over the night sky of British Columbia that had both witnesses and scientists talking. A bright flash lighting the horizon and a booming sonic thump that shook houses turned out to be the...

Three seemingly unrelated stories — the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie in Arizona, the purchase of investment bank Eastdil Secured by Savills, and a U.S. airstrike on Iran’s oil hub Kharg — in fact tell one story. It is a story about how deliberate targeting, complex technologies and competing interests shape a new sense of vulnerability: in private life, in markets and in international politics. These cases show that “security” no longer exists as something separate: it is interwoven with the...

In three news stories that at first glance seem unrelated, a common theme emerges: the idea of security as something both vital and extremely fragile. A terrorist attack at the University of Virginia, the happy return of a missing child after six years, and the crash of a U.S. military refueling plane in Iraq — three different narratives in which the state, security forces, individuals and chance fight for human lives in different ways. Together they form a mosaic yet coherent picture of how...

At first glance, there is nothing linking tensions around Iran, the deaths of U.S. service members, and how the resort city of Miami Beach is reworking rules for students on spring break. But beyond the headlines the same theme runs through all these pieces: how states and local authorities learn to balance hard security with normal life, strength with openness, deterrence of threats with maintaining appeal for allies, residents, tourists and business. This is a story about how the world lives...

In three seemingly unrelated news items — a major takeover in global real estate, the tragic death of a skier in Oregon, and a stark statement by Iran’s new supreme leader — the same underlying narrative repeats: how modern world vulnerability is arranged, when local events instantly become global and vice versa. Financial deals, human tragedies and geopolitical shocks are elements of a single system in which infrastructure, risk and trust play key roles. An article about Savills’ purchase of...

The mosaic of these, at first glance disparate, storylines — Iran’s struggle for influence over the Strait of Hormuz, FBI warnings about possible drone attacks on California, and extreme heat in Southern California — forms one larger narrative. It is a story about how quickly and radically the very nature of vulnerability is changing: cities, states, and entire regions are simultaneously under pressure from geopolitical risks, new military technology, and climatic anomalies. Political decisions...

At first glance, there seems to be nothing in common between the intense US–Israel war against Iran and the seemingly local case of shots fired at Rihanna’s house in Los Angeles. But viewed more broadly, a single key theme runs through all the materials: how modern societies try to protect people's security — and how often that “protection” turns into a threat to the very people it is supposed to safeguard. From massive missile strikes and “black rain” over Tehran to an AR-15 at the gates of a...

In news items that at first glance seem unrelated, a single line emerges: the fragility of human security. A large-scale war capable of destabilizing a whole region and global markets; a private family drama that depends on surveillance cameras and the internet; “just the weather,” which in reality becomes part of an alarming climate trend. Together these stories show how much our everyday life depends on vulnerable systems — political, technological, environmental — and how quickly the...

The stories underlying these news items at first glance seem unrelated: the disappearance of 84‑year‑old Nancy Guthrie in Arizona, the UN’s findings on the forcible deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia, Donald Trump’s remarks about a war with Iran and the resulting oil price fluctuations. Together they form a broader narrative about how fragile security is — personal, national, and global — and how information and power structures affect our ability to feel safe and understand what is...

In all three, at first glance unrelated, news items — about NFL trades, a water main break in New Orleans, and Donald Trump’s comments on the war with Iran — one common theme stands out: how systems of different scales react to strain, aging and crisis, and what we call “control of the situation.” The player market in the league, a city’s infrastructure, and international conflicts are complex networks of interconnections in which any movement, failure or abrupt decision sets off a chain of...

Vice President of Venezuela Delcy Rodríguez and President of Colombia Gustavo Petro have agreed to hold a bilateral summit on April 23–24 in Maracaibo. This will be the second attempt at a meeting after previous talks scheduled in the border city of Cúcuta were canceled due to "insurmountable circumstances." A Colombian delegation led by the ministers of defense, trade, and energy visited Caracas to prepare for this important event, aiming to prevent a breakdown of the renewed bilateral agenda...

Iranian armed forces made a series of loud statements, claiming they put the US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln out of action and forced it to withdraw. At the same time, local sources report tragic consequences from strikes on Iranian territory: an attack on the village of Hezab in the west of the country killed a family of six, including an infant, and wounded seven others. There are also reports of strikes on a residential building in the city of Iwan and on industrial facilities in the...

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran said early Friday that its forces struck the U.S. aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln with missiles and drones, causing the ship "significant damage" and forcing it to return to the United States. However, U.S. military officials immediately and categorically denied the report. A spokesman for U.S. Central Command said the IRGC's claims are false and confirmed that the carrier continues to carry out its mission in the region as part of the...

Acting President of Venezuela Delcy Rodríguez signed strategic agreements with the Spanish energy company Repsol. The aim of these arrangements is to revive the national oil and gas sector and attract foreign investment. Repsol, which has been operating in the country for more than 30 years, confirmed its interest in taking an active role in developing a sector that is key for Venezuela. The agreements are the result of constructive dialogue between the government and energy...

Serious disagreements have arisen in the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump regarding public statements about the conduct of the war with Iran and the definition of "victory." Reuters reports that advisors are engaged in heated debates over when and how to declare the conflict successfully concluded, with discussion centered on whether to expand military operations or present them to the public as a limited campaign. This internal conflict reflects deeper tensions between military,...

According to the latest assessments by U.S. intelligence, Iran’s leadership remains largely cohesive and is not facing an imminent collapse despite nearly two weeks of large-scale American and Israeli strikes. Sources familiar with the reports say numerous intelligence briefings consistently indicate the regime is not in danger and retains control over public sentiment inside the country. These conclusions, including a recent report prepared in the past several days, reflect a steady assessment...

Venezuela officially declared its strong rejection of Guyana's plans to begin three-dimensional seismic surveys in maritime areas whose boundaries between the two countries have not yet been determined. In a communique published on Wednesday, Caracas called Georgetown's actions unilateral and in violation of fundamental principles of international law, as they are being carried out in a zone whose status remains disputed. Venezuela demanded that the government of Guyana refrain from any steps...

The MIRUBS air-defense system is a mobile complex specifically designed for the rapid detection and destruction of small- and medium-sized unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), especially attack drones. Its key features are high mobility — it is mounted on light trucks — and the use of artificial intelligence for precise guidance, enabling it to operate effectively even under GPS-jamming conditions. The development of the system, initially known as the "Oryol" project, was accelerated in 2024...

International reports are increasingly shifting focus from tactical details of conflicts to the broader consequences of Washington's decisions: a possible or ongoing escalation between the US, Israel and Iran is seen as a source of instability around the world — from military uncertainty to oil price spikes and supply-chain disruptions. Analysts emphasize the risk of a protracted war that will be defined not only by geographic fronts but also by the strategic interests of great powers,...

Imagine: the dead of night, the foggy waters of Puget Sound near Seattle, and dozens of fast boats slipping across the dark water. On board are thousands of bottles of whiskey, rum, and gin. The boats follow secret routes, captains exchange coded messages over the radio, and trucks with their headlights off wait on shore. This is not a scene from an adventure film — it's the real story of 1920s Seattle, when one man turned alcohol smuggling into a vast business. And most surprising of all: that...

Imagine your favorite teacher promised to stay at your school forever, then one day simply disappeared because another school offered her more money. That’s roughly how Seattle residents felt in 2008 when their basketball team, the SuperSonics, left town after 41 years together. But the worst part wasn’t just that the team left — it was that the new owner had planned it from the start, despite solemnly promising the opposite. This story of a stolen team still teaches America an important...

Imagine you and your best friend found a clearing full of apple trees. You think, "Let's pick as many apples each year as we need and share with the neighbors!" Your friend says, "Let's cut down all the trees, sell the timber and the apples, buy something of our own with that money, and build a house here just for ourselves!" Who is right? It's not a simple question, is it? Now imagine that such an argument sparked a real battle. That's what happened in Seattle in 1856, and the consequences are...

Imagine you had lost everything: your home, your job, your money. Imagine that this had happened not just to you but to thousands of others around you. What would you do? In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, when many Americans were left without work or shelter, Seattle residents did something remarkable. They built their own city from what they could find, created a government, elected a mayor and set rules. This city was called Hooverville, and its story shows that even when people have...

Imagine you have a favorite mug with a small crack. Your mom says to throw it away and buy a new one. But you know: that crack appeared the day you and your grandmother baked cookies, and the mug fell but didn’t break. The crack is part of the story. In a regular store you couldn’t sell that mug. But there’s one place in Seattle where cracks, scratches, and scuffs make things more expensive, not cheaper. That place is the Fremont Sunday Market, and its story shows how a group of artists and...

Imagine your grandmother can work a kind of magic in the kitchen. She puts cabbage into a jar, adds salt and water, and after a few days tiny bubbles begin to appear. The cabbage turns into something sour and delicious. It's not a trick — it's fermentation, when invisible living beings (bacteria and yeast) turn one food into another. And that very knowledge helped a group of immigrants build what Seattle is most proud of today — its famous small breweries. In the 1970s and 1980s thousands of...

Imagine you want to build a house on a steep hill. Every time you try to set a wall, it starts sliding downhill. The ground is uneven, one side of the house ends up a whole meter higher than the other, and digging out a level building pad is very expensive and time-consuming. What to do? That was exactly the problem Seattle residents faced in the early 1900s, when the city began to grow and flat building lots became increasingly scarce. Then ordinary carpenters and builders came up with a...

Imagine you wake up one morning and the house across the street—the one with the pretty porch and windows that look like kind eyes—is gone. In its place stands a huge box of glass and concrete that blocks the sun from your yard. This is what began happening in Seattle neighborhoods in the early 2000s. Old cozy houses, many a century old, vanished one by one as if someone were erasing them with an eraser. But the people who lived in those neighborhoods refused to just watch their world...

Imagine your job is serving tea to passengers and making up beds on a train. Boring? Now imagine that at the same time you secretly help entire families escape injustice and find a new life. That’s how African American Pullman porters in Seattle lived — people who smiled at passengers by day and changed the history of a whole city by night. In the early 1900s African American men worked as porters in the Pullman sleeping cars. They were called "Pullman porters." They traveled across America...