At WSB, we have just one “year in review” tradition – listing the 10 stories that drew the most comments. (That doesn’t mean they were the most-read stories – since we publish in blog format, and it’s possible to read multiple stories by scrolling down the home page without multiple clicks, it’s impossible to break out exactly how many times an individual story’s been seen.) With hours to go in 2021, here goes the countdown:
#10 – PCC ARGUES AGAINST CITY-MANDATED ‘HAZARD PAY’
January 29, 2021 – 142 comments
Less than a week before workers for large grocery companies were set to start receiving $4/hour city-mandated “hazard pay,” PCC‘s then-new CEO Suzy Monford sent city leaders a letter arguing against it. One PCC worker told us it left them and their colleagues feeling “betrayed and belittled.” The company changed its mind shortly thereafter; six months later, Monford left the job she’d had less than a year. PCC has not yet announced a new CEO.
#9 – POWER OUTAGE FOR ALMOST 10,000 CUSTOMERS
December 2, 2021 – 149 comments
This was not only a very large outage, the Seattle City Light map was slow to show it, so more “we’re out in (neighborhood)” comments amassed in the early going.
#8 – CITY-BACKED $14 MILLION OFFER FOR JUNCTION PARKING LOTS
April 30, 2021 – 155 comments
The land that holds the four West Seattle Junction Association-leased parking lots is zoned for tall, dense development. Community Roots Housing offered to buy it. The lots’ owners, Trusteed Properties, have not publicly announced a decision,
#7 – DISTRICT SUDDENLY ADDS A DAY OFF
November 9, 2021 – 165 comments
Seattle Public Schools startled families two days before Veterans Day by announcing that schools would also be closed the day after the holiday, saying too many employees were taking that day off.
#6 – KING COUNTY’S VACCINE-VERIFICATION PLAN
September 16, 2021 – 173 comments
King County announced where, and when, you would soon have to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination (or negative test results).
#5 – JUNCTION’S ‘FREE’ PARKING LOTS TO BE FREE NO MORE
January 4, 2021 – 176 comments
After years of rising taxes and various other attempts at revenue-raising, the West Seattle Junction Association started charging for parking in its four leased lots.
#4 – ELECTION NIGHT RESULTS FOR MAYOR, CITY ATTORNEY, COUNCIL
November 2, 2021 – 190 comments
In three citywide races, the more-moderate candidates won.
#3 – 4 PEOPLE SHOT ON ALKI, 1 KILLED
June 29, 2021 – 205 comments
West Seattle’s only murder of the year happened at the start of summer – 22-year-old Tilorae Shepherd was killed in a quadruple shooting. 19-year-old Milton Arnold is charged and remains in jail awaiting trial, tentatively set for March.
#2 – MURAL FEUD
October 20, 2021 – 307 comments
Three months after a mural was painted on the side of a multi-tenant business building at 35th/Henderson, part of it was painted over, bringing to light a feud between the coffee shop that commissioned it and the salon behind the painted wall. One recent development – the salon has announced it’s moving.)
#1 – FEDERAL ‘CHECKS’ MIGHT ARRIVE AS DEBIT CARDS
January 11, 2021 – 1,912 comments
This story topped the list because of one of those online flukes. We wrote a short item after being surprised to receive our federal “stimulus check” as a debit card, and discovering via subsequent research that it was for real. Nobody had written much about that yet, so people all over the country searching for information landed on the WSB story, and nearly 2,000 comments ensued – many from people desperately wondering when theirs would arrive.
PREVIOUS YEARS: Here are our previous most-commented-stories lists, going back to 2011:
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