Paul Roberts @pauledroberts.bsky.social · 16/06/2025"Some of the rarest & highest-end instruments, like that [$495K] ’59 Les Paul [or] advertised online. Instead, Boone acts as a matchmaker [for the] small group of collectors willing and able to buy them. some nice fret work by by @jimbrunner.bsky.social www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...seattletimes.comSeattle shop attracts top rock stars seeking vintage guitarsEmerald City Guitars has weathered storms in Pioneer Square for nearly three decades to become one of the top vintage guitar sellers in the U.S., a word-of-mouth destination for touring musicians. 020
Paul Roberts @pauledroberts.bsky.social · 18/05/2025Several Seattle school properties that were leased to developers in the 1980s are paying the district below-market rents, and won't expire until the 2080s--or, one case, 2181. “The language…is really in the tenant’s favor, and we’re stuck.” www.seattletimes.com/business/ami...seattletimes.comAmid $94M deficit, SPS leasing land across Seattle at 1980s-style ratesIn the 1980s, the district leased unused properties to local businesses. But the century-plus deals have had unexpected, and not entirely welcome, results. 000
Paul Roberts @pauledroberts.bsky.social · 12/05/2025‘In Seattle, rising interest in co-homeownership is so evident that a new crop of housing developments & real estate companies [now sell] “fractional” homes—private bedroom suites w access to communal kitchens & living rooms.’ www.seattletimes.com/business/rea...seattletimes.comBuying a Seattle home is hard. Some found a friendly solutionPeople in Seattle are choosing to buy homes with friends and family, forging a new way to afford housing in a costly city. 000
Paul Roberts @pauledroberts.bsky.social · 11/05/2025“multiqueen super colonies” sounds like a something Elon Musk might have in for his Mars colony — but, no, it’s part of an earthly invasion— as The Seattle Times’ @pgcornwell.bsky.social reports www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...seattletimes.comOdorous house ants are coming for your sugar. Here’s how to stop themAfter a mild past winter, the ant population here is growing. Here's what you can do before ants come marching in one by one (hurrah, hurrah). 000
Paul Roberts @pauledroberts.bsky.social · 11/05/2025But Peter was a naughty rabbit who gossiped in Maths and had to stay after and write sentences and he missed his dinner. 010
Paul Roberts @pauledroberts.bsky.social · 11/05/2025Methow Valley police blotter is the best police blotter 000
Paul Roberts @pauledroberts.bsky.social · 01/05/2025Historians uncover missing page from 1973 Whole Earth Catalog 000
Paul Roberts @pauledroberts.bsky.social · 13/01/2025After losing a legal battle with a developer, the Washington town of Cle Elum has swung from a potential housing boom to a $22 million bust, and is now contemplating bankruptcy, reports @jimbrunner.bsky.social www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...seattletimes.comCle Elum considers bankruptcy after giant bill leaves town deep in hockThe drastic step is a possibility as the town, with a general fund budget for this year of roughly $5 million, faces a staggering $22 million debt. 010
Paul Roberts @pauledroberts.bsky.social · 13/01/202512 years of Inslee: @jimbrunner.bsky.social with a look back on the wins, losses and draws for one of Washington state's longest-serving governors. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...seattletimes.comJay Inslee’s wins and setbacks during his 12 years as WA governorClimate and clean energy drew Inslee's intense focus, while critics point to the state's troubles in education, homelessness and ferries. 031
Paul Roberts @pauledroberts.bsky.social · 19/12/2024last direct sunlight of 2024!!! Also, until March!!! 000
Paul Roberts @pauledroberts.bsky.social · 04/12/2024After a summer of mixed guest reviews and a $4.6 million loan default in November, the new owner of Orcas Island's Rosario Resort has brought in veteran hotel experts and says he's close to having new financing & will fully reopen in May. www.seattletimes.com/business/str...seattletimes.comStruggling Rosario Resort looks to hotel experts, searches for cashThe vacation property’s new owner has brought in experienced partners and says he’s close to repaying defaulted loans – but still faces major challenges turning this 115-year-old resort around. 000
Paul Roberts @pauledroberts.bsky.social · 02/12/2024Seattle's 'forever home' problem, via @heidigroover.bsky.social www.seattletimes.com/business/rea... 041
Paul Roberts @pauledroberts.bsky.social · 02/12/2024And that, children, is how Crown Hill saved Christmas 130
Reposted by Paul RobertsMary Ann Gwinn @gwinnma.bsky.social · 01/12/2024Good story by biz wiz @pauledroberts.bsky.social on the anti-Tesla backlash in Seattle 031
Paul Roberts @pauledroberts.bsky.social · 01/12/2024“It’s surprising how much more often I get flipped off now.” In liberal Seattle, driving a Tesla, whose maker helped reelect Trump, now can earn its own kind of ‘Seattle freeze’. Some Tesla fans say they won't get another--or have ditched the brand entirely. www.seattletimes.com/business/onc...seattletimes.comOnce a must for wealthy Seattle liberals, Teslas now feel an Elon backlashFor years, Tesla enjoyed a celebrity status among Seattle area progressive and techies. But with the rightward tilt of Tesla's CEO, it's gotten complicated. 000
Reposted by Paul RobertsJournal of Art in Society @artinsociety.bsky.social · 26/11/2024Mid-20th century artist Stanley Roy Badmin had a sharp, almost miniaturist eye for carefully composed detail, and shows a heroic disregard of modern trends in his depictions of an idyllic peacefully-ordered British landscape. Here’s his ‘Cushendall’ seek-unique-co.s3.amazonaws.com/guypeppiatt-... 112414
Paul Roberts @pauledroberts.bsky.social · 25/11/2024Donald Trump’s victory is giving Democrats—or some of them—political cover to rethink the government institutions that have been failing to deliver, argue @ezraklein and guests. www.nytimes.com/2024/11/22/o...nytimes.comOpinion | In This House, We’re Angry When Government Fails (Gift Article)The Democratic Party needs to rethink what it means to be the party of institutions. 010
Paul Roberts @pauledroberts.bsky.social · 24/11/2024“A lot has happened to me…I’m still standing and thriving, but I’m thinking to myself, ‘What’s the next big thing that could hit?’” For Seattle-area residents, Social Security isn't just a retirement income Via Jessica Fu/The Seattle Times www.seattletimes.com/business/eco...seattletimes.comFor Seattle-area residents, Social Security isn’t just a retirement incomeMore than 1.2 million people over the age of 65 in Washington depend on Social Security benefits. 000
Paul Roberts @pauledroberts.bsky.social · 21/11/20249th remaining Sears closes ‘One customer noted the irony of Sears, founded as a mail-order retailer, losing out to abetter version of the same business model. “Everyone blames Amazon for closing brick & mortar stores. But these guys were the original Amazon.”’ www.seattletimes.com/business/at-...seattletimes.comLast Sears in WA is shutting downThe Sears at Southcenter mall, the last in Washington state and one of the last in the US, will close Dec. 15 010
Paul Roberts @pauledroberts.bsky.social · 20/11/2024 The upgrade to a cloud-based system, which affects everything from driver licensing fees to foster care pmts, will now be 4 years late. An outside expert sharply criticized WA's project mgmt & raised pointed questions about how the new system is being tested. www.seattletimes.com/business/yea...seattletimes.comGiant WA project runs millions over budget, years behind scheduleWashington again postponed a major upgrade of state financial systems after a review found the project was so far behind schedule that it risked "catastrophic failure." 000
Reposted by Paul RobertsMike Baker @mikebaker.bsky.social · 20/11/2024This is quite a chart. The median age of a first-time homebuyer is now 38, a record high. 32610
Paul Roberts @pauledroberts.bsky.social · 20/11/2024Oddly, demand is tiny for Seattle’s smallest non-floating home on the market—a 223-sq ft hotel room-turned-condo, w a little kitchenette & shared kitchen/bathroom sink. “We have to wait for the right buyer.” www.seattletimes.com/business/rea...seattletimes.comWhat the tiniest Seattle home for sale tells us about the condo marketAt just 223 square feet, the Capitol Hill studio condo is one example of small living in Seattle. 000
Reposted by Paul RobertsMike Masnick @masnick.com · 19/11/2024My email inbox suggests the ratio is perhaps higher, as I'm pretty sure I've heard from at least 200k PR people. 816621
Paul Roberts @pauledroberts.bsky.social · 18/11/2024Stay Puft Marshmallow Man’s mom came around looking for him and she was pissed 000