My elders and family have relied on The Facts for over 20 years as a trusted source of information…read morewithin the greater Seattle community. It has also served as a source of inspiration, standing as one of the longest-running and most successful Black-owned African American businesses in the city. If you are a Seattle local or a newcomer, this is one of the best resources for business listings, obituaries, and community news.

While the FACTS newspaper has been a staple in the African American community for many years, our…read morerecent experience has left a lot to be desired. After the recent loss of our loved one, we knew where we want to go to post the information. A 6am call from the company to obtain credit card information, for a 307 word obituary, which cost 228.00 proved startling. We had no idea no idea anyone would call at that hour about such matters, but were happy our request to post the obituary was being handled. The individual on the other end seemed confused, as they fumbled the credit card information repeatedly. The obituary was to run front page, in their 3/27/19 issue, as well as on their Facebook page. After emailing Dennis Beaver (publisher) a couple of times, as well as making calls to the business I found locations near our home to pick up copies. What a huge disappoint! While the picture of our loved one looked great, there were several noticeable grammatical errors that stood out and made the entire obituary appear tacky. A call was placed to the company within an hour that day. Speaking to the female on the other end of the telephone, she seemed confused about my frustration. I pointed out the bold header states "in loving memory of for," the word importance 8 lines down is spelled "wimportance," homegoing services is spelled "Homeguoung Serves." She agreed to forward my concerns to Dennis Beaver, he called shortly, apologized, stated the company did not issue refunds ever, and that he would run a new obituary in the next edition. I explained this was pointless as the funeral was occurring that weekend, 3/31/19. we wanted copies for our family that were coming to town, and errors should have been captured. I emailed him a copy to demonstrate no errors were in the original copy sent. Even if there were, the company should have captured and corrected them prior to publication. I was assured corrections would be made on the social media part to bring things up to standard, and spare any embarrassment. A partial refund was asked for, since in our opinion " a half ass job" had occurred. Again, the response was "no." Over the next 24 hours no attempt was made to correct the errors on the social media site. Even up to the day of the funeral nothing was done, and Mr. Beaver no longer responded to our requests to make things look decent on the online page as he said he would. He never did what he promised. We felt this was because payment had been received already. Our family and many friends saw this page run with these errors. The day after the funeral occurred which was April 1st, Mr. Beaver emailed a copy of a FACTS link showing the new obituary that would run without the errors. A little too late. We would have preferred a refund, or partial refund. I would hesitate before doing business with them again. This proved to be a disappointing experience from a paper that always took pride in what they put out there for the community previously.

My "Go-To" Rag for the Haps in Seattle…read more SITREP Jetting in and out of SeaTac for work assignments keeps my head spinning. But when I want to decompress in a cutting-edge environment, THE STRANGER gets me the information I want to see in relationship to the entire scene at once. SETUP Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my iPhone. But what I've discovered is a "weakness" with our tech - or maybe an "insufficiency" - be it iPhones or laptops, tablets, what have you: these cool little devices are great at honing on more specific details of information when you already have a general idea of what you want to do. For example, you know what movie you want to see (maybe "Wrath of the Titans", etc.) and so you can do a quick search on the iPhone and get the 411. Or you might know that Tango has a great happy hour with inexpensive drinks and munchies on Tuesdays going on and you want to confirm these specials, and so you jump on the iPad and get the 411. THE RANDOM But what if you really just want to "see" what random stuff is out there? Expose yourself to the bills and the ads and the what not: "What bands are playing?" Tonight? Tomorrow? "What venues are DJ or Band or Dancing or all combined?" All in a grid matrix on a sheet of paper so you can compare (EASILY) or contrast (EASILY) all the cover charges, the location-neighborhoods? Oh, what's this? A random ad for a cool burlesque night at Noc Noc is going on for Thursday. Oh, what's this? Stumbling Monk is doing a special game night. THE WEAKNESS With my tech, it's not easy for the eye to capture than more than the little "streaming" bursts that are on my little iPhone screen, or even on a tablet. However, with the paper, I can look at a grid-matrix all at once - left-to-right, with my peripheral vision catching just as much as my focus. And until we get to the level of holographic projections (ie. the movie MINORITY REPORT) where we can turn pages of light with our fingers, I think the tech will still be smart, but very truncated and very limited. If I can make this make any sense there is an relevant adage that states, "You don't know, what you don't know." So if you don't enough to ask for information on bands playing in Pioneer square, you aren't going to remember to ask a search in your iPhone to get information on bands playing in Pioneer Square. But if you eye catches the ad placed by Central Saloon that gives the bands for the next 3 days, then you HAVE that information. Bottom Line: for all the tech I have accumulated and use regularly, I STILL find that there sometimes just is not a replacement-tech for the simple act of scanning and turning the pages of a news rag. THE LOWDOWN There are just some things that are tech can not encompass "randomly" that will get my attention as easily as turning the pages of a rag. And so that's why I still rely on THE STRANGER, and why it is still one off the best offerings for the truly random pieces of information that I still enjoy having "my eyes scan over" since I may not always know to search for something specifically on my tech.

This paper has really gone to the dogs over the past couple years. Definitely in need of new…read moreblood, from the editor-in-chief on down the line. Sad to say the only thing of interest these days is "Ombudsman" A. Birch Steen's snarky column on the Table of Contents page. And maybe once in a while David Schmader prints an amusing "Hot Tip" in Last Days. But he's like a Pavlovian dog. Anytime Hizzoner Mayor 5-Cents proposes something idiotic (like say a 20 cent fee on bags or build a tunnel), Schmader is there applauding wildly. He's a loyal soldier on Team Nickels. No longer (well, at least the last two weeks) are Letters to the Editor printed in the paper version. And pretty much, the movie times have disappeared too. And what happened to Lloyd Dangle's "Troubletown" comic strip? The Mercury in Portland still prints it. Miss Matisse and Adrian Ryan's columns have vanished too. And so has Charles Mudede's Police Beat. The Stranger is a shell of its former self. Borrrrrring!

Hit and miss. When its good, its really good, however I am…read morenot a fan of the best doctors, lawyers, dentists, real estate agents, and financial advisers issues. It is obviously just a way to get these categories advertising, which is a sellout. In addition, the editors seam to be bias to advertisers which taints the validity. A city magazine should be about city lifestyle and reflect the local flavor of the area. It should appeal to tourists and residents alike. Tell us what's interesting, worth trying, what happening and basically fabulous about the Seattle area regardless of whether or not they choose to give you their advertising dollars. Do that and the advertisers will choose to be there.

My friends and I paid $55 for the Seattle Magazine Brunch Run and it was terrible. They didn't have…read moreenough food or drinks for the number of people. Took at least 15 minutes to get thru a line. They needed more brunch options or a way to make things go quicker. For the price you pay it was absolutely not worth it.

Seattle's only gay newspaper--unless you count The Stranger--has been publishing its weekly for…read moremore than two decades. Two sections, one devoted to national and local news, the other to arts and entertainment, with classifieds, at the very back, and the happenings, events, and meetings for the upcoming week, included. Despite numerous typos, whole sections of a story left occasionally left dangling, inadvertently, the SGN, as it is usually referred, keeps the GBLT community abreast of events as they occur. As is typical of Seattle newspapers, there is a lot of opinion thrown in and mixed with, for good measure, with the ostensibly "objective" news reporting, with not always a clear way of knowing which is which. Serves as a cheering section for the GLBT community, an approach common to newspapers with a readership in need of reassurance that the Second Coming is coming or about to. Be careful if you open up and read this newspaper on the bus or any other public venue. You may wind up with either a barely disguised look of shock or a bump on the head, depending on who happens to have looked over your shoulder: there are plenty of pretty steamy male advertisements that even I find pretty outre.

Recently there has been some traveling done and Steven and I got a hold of some rags. No, not the…read morerags you use to clean up after your child or dog. Rags meaning free newspapers that the general public can pick up around town at merchants. Seattle Gay News was a rag we came across. Since Seattle is going to be our planned future pad then we wanted to get more familiar with the area and getting newspaper rags sometimes helps as to where to find resources. This news paper covers national LGBT developments around the world including nationally and locally. Not the best newspaper concerning this topic that I have come across but it occasionally lists gay bars in the area so you can get an idea where to go if you want to go bar hopping or see the goings on of various social groups around town. I am glad this newspaper is free though because I am not entirely sure I would pay a subscription for it.

Time passes. In front of my local grocery there are 2…read moreconsistent Real Change salespersons who have changed the ethos and reputation. They are consistently poite, friendly and remain stoic in bed weather with a smile. This is not an easy thing to do -- sellling papers outside a busy grocery where, at times, people sit wiht "help me" signs who at times, are distressing.

This is a great newspaper with a focus on activism and change. Some examples of the articles found…read morein this weeks paper: Wanna Talk Values? - Rhonda Soto attacks a report by the Pew Charitable Trust Economic Mobilty Project where most African Americans polled say that Blacks are responsible for their own economic situations and have "bad values." City Up Penalty for Targeting Homeless - Angie Jones writes about City Council approving a proposal that gives homelessness protected class status under the Malicious Harassment ordinance. Authority Unchecked - An interview with Charlie Savage on the Bush-Cheney Administration's quest for more power. Vendor of the Week - A story about an ex-cab driver who has been attacked and cannot drive a cab anymore. There are so many great, eye opening articles every week in this newspaper. Highly recommend you pick one up. Zipzap Zubidy Bop!