Bill Gates, in rebuke of Trump, calls WHO funding cut during pandemic ‘as dangerous as it sounds’
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend funding to the World Health Organization as “dangerous,” saying the payments should continue particularly during the global coronavirus pandemic. “Halting funding for the World Health Organization during a world health crisis is as dangerous as it sounds,” Gates tweeted early Wednesday. “Their work is […]
Microsoft hires ex-Apple exec in charge of wireless for hardware
Microsoft hired Ruben Caballero, Apple's former executive in charge of wireless technologies, to work on mixed reality hardware and artificial intelligence technology.
Microsoft exec says coronavirus could spark big shift for AI in health care
The company's chief technology officer says early detection of underlying health conditions could not only help treat patients and prevent the spread of future pandemics, but also reduce care costs for Americans
Dow Average, bracketed by Boeing and Microsoft, suffers worst quarter since 1987 as coronavirus pummels economy
As March ends, the first quarter's results include the biggest plunge ever in West Texas oil prices and the Dow's worst performance since 1987.
Microsoft deal values Affirmed Networks at $1.35 billion
Affirmed Networks helps build virtual networks for telecom customers using 5G technology.
Microsoft push brings medical supplies from overseas to aid in state’s coronavirus fight
In arguably the most ambitious and unique procurement effort in company history, technology giant Microsoft is leveraging its global supply chain to bring tens of thousands of badly-needed medical supplies — including 240,000 N-95 surgical masks — to the Puget Sound in anticipation of coronavirus hospitalizations. Supplies began arriving on Monday.
Sound Transit sues longtime ally Microsoft in effort to condemn land for Redmond light rail
Sound Transit is suing Microsoft for land and access to build light rail from Overlake to downtown Redmond, and even claimed the software giant was creating risks of missing the agency's August 2024 goal to complete the project.
The institutions differ by $17.5 million over how much Sound Transit should pay to buy land next to Highway 520, plus easement rights for worker access and equipment storage.
Apple’s value drops below $1 trillion, while Microsoft holds on
Apple’s market value fell below $1 trillion as trading opened Monday, leaving Microsoft as the only U.S. stock above the 13-digit threshold. Apple shares fell as much as 4.9% at 9:40 a.m. in New York, bringing the iPhone maker’s market value to about $960 billion. In the wake of coronavirus, the company has been hampered […]
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to employees on coronavirus crisis: ‘There is no playbook for this’
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella sent an email Saturday to his 140,000-plus employees, telling them he shares their personal anxieties over the coronavirus and asking each to make a "small difference" to help others. In a Seattle Times interview beforehand, he detailed his emotions the past week steering the company while caring for his family.
Ahead of the pack, how Microsoft told workers to stay home amid coronavirus outbreak
Microsoft's executives, with headquarters just a few miles from one of the country’s worst coronavirus outbreaks, were among the first to confront the impact.
Some key Seattle-area public companies hit hard by coronavirus-induced stock market crash
It was a rocky week on Wall Street, as most securities fell and some saw record declines. Seattle-area companies felt the pain as sharply as any.
Bill Gates leaves Microsoft and Berkshire Hathaway boards to prioritize his philanthropic work
Bill Gates is stepping down from the board of Microsoft Corp., the company he co-founded in 1975.
Pentagon asks to reconsider part of JEDI cloud decision after Amazon protest
The Pentagon has asked a federal court to give it 120 days to “reconsider certain aspects” of a controversial decision to award an important cloud computing contract known as JEDI to Microsoft, according to a court document made public Thursday. Amazon is suing the Defense Department over the decision, which it claims fell in Microsoft’s […]
A new home in Madison Park creates 3 levels of elevated living without towering over its neighbors
KEVIN AND KAREN had lots to look at when they were moving to Seattle from Bellevue. They looked in Madrona. They looked on Queen Anne. But Madison Park looked different. “We were drawn first and foremost to the neighborhood,” Kevin says. “Specifically, the Canterbury neighborhood. It’s really close to the lake, and has longtime residents. […]
Connections come together in the whole-house remodel of a 1958 Tacoma home that retains and respects its midcentury roots
THERE ARE FAMILY HOMES … and then there is Mark and Gayle’s beautifully remodeled home in Tacoma’s Proctor District — which could have turned out much, much differently, if not for the way several unrelated family connections came into play: — Right up until the couple bought it, this was Gloria’s house — designed and […]
A brand-new floating home on the edge of Lake Union is buoyed by amazing views, protected privacy and a multihued exterior inspired by the Great Blue Heron
GREAT BLUE HERONS alight — a lot — along this glistening stretch of Lake Union. Could be the impressive fishers simply have landed on the perfect, protected perch for that statue-standing thing they do — right up until they lightning-strike. Could be they’re doing that inquisitive-bird “Are You My Mother?” thing, imprinting on the mesmerizing […]
7 skills Seattle Times features staffers learned from YouTube videos while home due to coronavirus
From baking a Japanese-style souffle cheesecake to making trivets out of wine corks, here's what our features staffers recently learned from YouTube videos.
Your Place: With more heartwarming sentimentality than DIY experience, a Kenmore man updates his childhood home for his own family
SO MUCH IS so sweet here — with virtually zero DIY experience, but decades of memories and dreams (and only two trips to the ER), Ty Warren successfully pulled off the lovely-on-many-levels remodel of his childhood home in Kenmore — but the sweetest might be how we learned of this sentimental act of derring-do-it-himself in […]
Seattle Art Source owner Sarah Hurt brings an artistic touch — 6 of them, actually (so far) — to the remodel of a Madrona home
Sarah Hurt started her International District business two or so years ago, “with two goals in mind,” she says: “to advocate for local artists, and to provide a curated collection of art that was ready for any interior design project.”
Bonnie Berk, an artist and a gardener, honors the architect’s original plan for her 1916 Mount Baker home, but has other ideas with her landscape
THE FIRST THING you notice about Bonnie Berk and Larry Kessler’s property in the Mount Baker neighborhood of Seattle is the formidable retaining wall. Accentuated with terra-cotta tiles and red brick, the wall provides double-sided access to the property via stairs, and was part of the original home design by Arthur Loveless. It’s a grand […]
How a modern home in West Seattle evolved, and improved, over time and through redesign
“OUR STORY WITH this house is kind of a long one,” says Megan, standing in the warm, wide-open kitchen of the modern new home she shares with her husband, Will; their two young daughters; and their 80-pound Labrador doggy, Steve. The fact that Megan is standing, smiling, in this warm, wide-open kitchen pretty clearly telegraphs […]
How ‘What if we turned the playroom into a media room?’ stretched into a high-end, whole-house interior remodel on Snoqualmie Ridge
THE ORIGINAL THREAD was a single strand — a simple string of vision and possibility. Kenny really wanted to hold a Super Bowl party downstairs. That’s the thing with threads, though. They’re so rarely self-contained. “We decided to take over the playroom, and then we just kind of kept going,” says architect Andrew Patterson, of […]
Why Harry and Meghan moved to Frogmore Cottage and now will repay the cost of renovations
Prince Harry and wife Meghan have agreed to give up their royal titles and repay several million in housing expenses, stirring up another sensation in Britain. It wasn’t so long ago that some in the United Kingdom were upset about the renovations of the residence in question: Frogmore Cottage. On Saturday, Buckingham Palace announced the […]
A first-time homeowner’s custom houseboat makes waves on HGTV, and in its Seattle marina
Armed with a $450,000 budget and a dream that wouldn’t sink, Sarah J. Haggard joined the HGTV show “Home Afloat” and shared her water-life wishlist.
A Country Christmas Q&A with Julie Thomas of ‘Little Farmstead Living’
The Snohomish blogger and Instagram influencer shares warm and cozy holiday decorating tips from her new book.
Ring camera installed in a children’s room for ‘peace of mind’ is hacked, 8-year-old daughter harassed
When Alyssa LeMay heard the strange music and sounds coming from her bedroom, she walked in expecting to find one of her sisters. But the room was empty. Then, as the 8-year-old wandered around her room alone, the mysterious song abruptly stopped. “Hello there,” a man’s voice said. It wasn’t Alyssa’s father, who was elsewhere […]
Architectural opportunity knocks more than once for a Washington Park couple
An architect and builder reteam to create a contemporary new home on the lot next door, filled with the couple's favorite things.
All sorts of creativity combined to turn this Lake Sammamish home into a light-filled gallery of modern living and meaningful artwork
The architect and the homeowner/artist have this remodel down to a fine art.
Frozen in place: Americans are moving at the lowest rate on record
People move far less than they used to: Just 9.8% of Americans moved in the year ending in March, according to newly released data. That was the smallest share since the Census Bureau started tracking it in 1947.
Interesting intersections drive the design of a new home in Clyde Hill
At the corner of public and private, a new home sinks down to limit its exposure.
How to get rid of stuff after 45 years in the same house? This couple threw a ‘downsizing party’
Who needs a yard sale? In an effort to get rid of stuff before moving to a smaller house, this couple came up with a novel way to purge: let people in and tell them to take whatever they want.
After a fierce flood, a Fidalgo Island couple raises the bar for resiliency by setting their modern new home on concrete piers
This is quite the elevated living experience: a seriously shiny, brand-new modern-and-maritime home designed to endure nature’s wildest mood swings.
Artist/glassmaker/lighting designer Julie Conway crafts award-winning works of architectural illumination
THE CREATORS: Through the elegant, artistic lights she designs, creates and installs, Conway transforms places, perceptions and experiences.
Zillow, Redfin will start flipping houses again as homebuying demand rebounds from coronavirus slump
The rival Seattle-based digital brokerages reported stronger-than-expected revenue in the first three months of the year, but ended the quarter sunk in the red.
Coronavirus wallops Seattle-area housing market; see what’s happening in your neighborhood
Typically, housing market activity strengthens through the spring before peaking in May. But last month, nearly every metric of housing market activity fell by double digits.
Seattle to provide eviction protection for 6 months after coronavirus moratorium expires
The city council, however, rejected a proposal to exempt landlords with four or fewer housing units.
Everything you should know about mortgage forbearance
Here's what homeowners who are having trouble paying the mortgage need to know before seeking forbearance, a pause in payments.
Real-estate world wracked by coronavirus impacts as corporate giants, mom-and-pop firms struggle to pay rent
Zumiez withholds rent for 718 stores. Small restaurants bargain with landlords. Deals to buy properties are called off. The ripple effects of the coronavirus crisis are shaking the commercial real-estate industry.
Seattle-area mortgage delinquencies rose three times faster than U.S. average as coronavirus crisis grew
The rise in delinquencies, during a month when the opposite usually happens, is troubling to housing market watchers, but it doesn't yet spell a foreclosure boom like during the Great Recession.
US pending home sales sank 20.8% in March
BALTIMORE (AP) — U.S. home sales showed signs of collapsing in March, as the number of contract signs plunged sharply because of the coronavirus outbreak. The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that its pending home sales index, which measures signed buyer contracts, plummeted a seasonally adjusted 20.8% in March from the prior month to […]
Before coronavirus, rise in Seattle-area housing prices was outpaced by only one major U.S. city
In February, home prices in Seattle were increasing at 6%, year-over-year. But all bets are off as the coronavirus pandemic hit.
With May rent looming, some Seattle tenants eye ‘rent strikes’ as coronavirus continues to upend lives
As May rent deadlines approach, Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant and some other activists have added their voices to nationwide calls urging tenants to use tactics like rent strikes to push landlords and the government to cancel rent payments and provide other help.
Inslee navigates the coronavirus pandemic, weighing public safety vs. growing economic, political fallout
Amid sickness, deaths and frustrations among some who are clamoring to return to life before the COVID-19 outbreak, Gov. Jay Inslee finds himself tested politically like never before.
Mortgage borrowers face stricter qualifications as the coronavirus roils economy | Natalie Campisi
Stricter requirements, including larger down payments and higher credit scores, will make it difficult for some folks to qualify for a mortgage, particularly first-time homebuyers.
Reaction mixed to Inslee’s order to allow some construction work amid coronavirus pandemic
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced Friday he will allow the return of some work on building projects in progress that were halted by his stay-at-home order issued on March 23.
Inslee allows some construction projects to reopen with safety rules to protect against the coronavirus
Inslee's 30-point plan calls for keeping workers 6 feet apart at all times and making sure contractors provide protective equipment like masks, gloves and goggles, if needed.
US long-term mortgage rates edge higher; 30-year at 3.33%
WASHINGTON (AP) — Long-term mortgage rates rose slightly this week, continuing to hover near all-time lows amid anxiety over the economy and housing market gut-punched by the shutdown spurred by the coronavirus pandemic. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan edged up to 3.33% this week […]
New home sales plunge 15.4% in March as virus hits
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. new home sales plunged 15.4% in March as a winding down in the middle of the month due to the coronavirus began to rattle the housing market. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that sales of new single-family homes dropped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 627,000 last month after sales […]
U.S. existing-home sales could fall ‘30% or even 40%’ in coming months, realty group says
In March, contract closings declined 8.5% from the prior month to an annualized 5.27 million, according to National Association of Realtors data released Tuesday.
US home sales plunge 8.5% in March, and it may grow worse
BALTIMORE (AP) — U.S. sales of existing homes cratered 8.5% in March with real estate activity stalled by the coronavirus outbreak. The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday that 5.27 million homes sold last month, down from 5.76 million in February. The decrease was the steepest since November 2015. The situation will likely get worse, […]