James Apa

Want to Turn Lemons Into Lemonade? Get a Permit

Want to Turn Lemons Into Lemonade? Not In Seattle

AP Photo/Torsten Kjellstrand - The OregonianJulie Murphy, hardened child criminal​This morning, our news blog the Daily Weekly brought you the tale of a 7-year-old who got on the wrong side of the Portland health department. Pint-sized Julie Murphy's crime? Selling lemonade without a permit. T ... More >>

Are Lemonade Stands Illegal In Seattle?

​This morning we brought you the story of Julie Murphy, the seven-year-old girl who had her lemonade stand shut down by inspectors from Portland's health department. This got me thinking: would our local authorities be so cruel as to crush the dreams of a similarly innocent little child here i ... More >>

Pigheaded Strategy

When it comes to swine—or at least swine flu—Tacoma and Pierce County are a step ahead.

Black, White, and Bled All Over

The murder of a biracial teen in Leschi led to incendiary assumptions on all sides.

Sims Loses His Budget Gamble in Olympia

Just in time for swine flu, the county’s left without money for communicable-disease investigations.

Sims' Lifeboat Sinks

As swine flu takes over the front pages of newspapers and sends hypochondriacs into a panic every time they sneeze, King County politicians and department heads are scrambling to find a way to save more than $3.5 million worth of public health programs after Ron Sims' attempt to save the budget thro ... More >>

Drug Policy Goes Around, Comes Around

(Updated below) With our former police chief off to DC to be the "Drug Czar", there's been a lot of speculation about what we'll end up doing for federal drug policy. (Not much, says Norm Stamper, in his inaugural turn as a P-I columnist.) But then there's the question of what federal drug policy wi ... More >>

No Resting in Peace

There’s drama in every workplace. Even the King County morgue.

Another Dubious Death at the King County Jail

Details of the incident, based on public records and interviews, fit into a three-year pattern of preventable deaths at the jail.

Death Sentence

The feds throw the book at King County's jail as inmate fatalities skyrocket.

Let’s Goat Crazy!

Pygmy goats are awfully cute, but is the City Council’s bid to equate them with cats and dogs such a good idea in a modern metropolis?

Complaint-Based Enforcement

Pygmy goats are awfully cute, but is the City Council’s bid to equate them with cats and dogs such a good idea in a modern metropolis?

See More Butts

Thanks to the smoking ban, city sidewalks are littered with cigarettes. Whose job is it to clean them up?

Bacterial Mystery

A spike in deaths due to flesh-eating disease puzzles health officials.

Contagion in the Jail

Inmates, their families, and even elected officials wonder if the county health department is taking the presence of flesh-eating disease seriously enough.

A Jail Shakedown

More information comes to light about inmate deaths as King County plans changes.

Fatal Flu

A historic pandemic like that of 1918 is likely, perhaps as soon as this winter, and unless you're a health or government worker, no one's planning to save you.

Death and Lapses

A fired medical-examiner employee sues, claiming things stink at the morgue.

Where Is Baby Perry?

His body went missing from the morgue a year ago, and the most obvious suspect says he didn't do it.

Street Asylum

Budget cuts are leaving a homeless, mentally ill population with few options.