By Lulu Ramadan Seattle Times staff reporter This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network and The Seattle Times, with support from the Investigative Journalism Fund. Sign up for Seattle Times newsletters and alerts and ProPublica’s Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. Times Watchdog stories dig deep to hold power accountable, right wrongs and
How airlines hide the true cost of travel — and how to avoid hidden fees
By Christopher Elliott Special to The Seattle Times Travel Troubleshooter When Carolyn DiDonato booked her ticket from Trenton, N.J., to Fort Myers, Fla., she says she was hit with a hidden airline fee. On the last screen, concealed behind a drop-down menu, Frontier Airlines revealed that she would have to pay a nonrefundable $23 carrier
Senator wants to reroute flights away from Southwest Boise, where he lives
By KEVIN FIXLER McClatchy Washington Bureau WASHINGTON — Twice each decade, Congress approves a bill to fund and set the policies for the federal agency that oversees the nation’s air travel. This year, one airport was singled out in a standalone section marked “miscellaneous” in the Senate version of the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act.
Return-to-office is a $1.3 trillion problem few have figured out
By Matthew Boyle Bloomberg News In the emerging post-pandemic era, most aspects of life have returned to normal. Moviegoers are flocking to cinemas, vacationers jammed airports for summer travel and kids are returning to classrooms. The one thing that has remained stubbornly fraught: the world of work. Three and a half years after millions of
World’s Climate Report Card Says We’re Trying, but Urgently Need Improvement
By Brad Plumer The New York Times Eight years after world leaders approved a landmark agreement in Paris to fight climate change, countries have made only limited progress in staving off the most dangerous effects of global warming, according to the first official report card on the global climate treaty. Many of the worst-case climate
WA Democrats ask Buttigieg for $200M to plan Canada-Seattle-Portland bullet train
By Mike Lindblom Seattle Times staff reporter In hopes to deliver 250 mph rail service by midcentury, the Democrats in Washington’s congressional delegation are asking the federal government for $198 million to help plan a route between Vancouver, B.C.; Seattle; and Portland. The Cascadia high-speed corridor would be faster than any trains that currently operate
Young environmental activists prevail in first-of-its-kind climate change trial in Montana
By MATTHEW BROWN and AMY BETH HANSON The Associated Press HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Young environmental activists scored what experts described as a ground-breaking legal victory Monday when a Montana judge said state agencies were violating their constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment by allowing fossil fuel development. The ruling in this first-of-its-
Wing walking flights in Sequim draw lawsuit and FAA investigation
By Dominic Gates Seattle Times aerospace reporter In Sequim, on the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula, you can sign up for a daring thrill ride available nowhere else in America: Mason Wing Walking will take you up in an airplane to about 3,500 feet where you can climb out of the open cockpit and
Seattle’s growth is heating up the region — literally. See where
By Alison Saldanha Seattle Times graphics reporter Summers are not what they used to be in Seattle or its suburbs. Around Lake Washington, trees are rapidly being replaced with a growing density of concrete, asphalt and other heat-absorbing surfaces in buildings, roads and other pieces of urban infrastructure. That produces what’s known as an “urban
Seattle is no longer the least air-conditioned major metro area
By Gene Balk / FYI Guy Seattle Times columnist Air conditioning is the new normal in Seattle. For the first time, the majority of homes in our metro area are air-conditioned, according to data from a federal government survey. On top of that, Seattle is no longer the least air-conditioned major metro area in the