Blake Peterson

Seattle

Digital Content Manager at 425 Magazine

Digital content manager Premier Media & movie critic for @425magazine, @SouthSoundMag | Member @seattlecritics | Founder Peterson Reviews | I like dogs

Articles

Sound Legal Aid Wants Justice for All

2 weeks ago | southsoundbiz.com | Blake Peterson

Sound Legal Aid isn’t even a year old, but its impact goes back decades. Put another way: The organization, which provides free legal advice and civil-matter support to low-income people living in Thurston, Mason, Grays Harbor, Lewis, and Pacific counties, rebranded in May 2024 after serving under various monikers over the years.
6 Local Leaders Recognized at UW Tacoma’s Business Leadership Awards

2 weeks ago | southsoundbiz.com | Blake Peterson

The University of Washington Tacoma’s Milgard School of Business is hosting on May 14 its Business Leadership Awards, which are this year honoring six recipients. Since 2001, the awards have commemorated the outstanding work and impact of South Sound-based business leaders. Read on to meet the winners. Business Leader of the Year: Chris Walters, CEO of Gensco, Inc. Chris Walters was appointed the CEO of Gensco, Inc.
Brandon Bird is Inspired Every Day

2 weeks ago | 425magazine.com | Blake Peterson

The theme guiding the Northwest African American Museum in 2025 — which also marks new president and CEO Brandon Bird’s first full year in the position — is “Forward Together,” a tribute and response to the question-posing title of the last book the late Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in his lifetime: 1967’s “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?” “Throughout the remainder of 2025, we’re going to continue to put resources to community-centric activities and events or subject matter we...
Microsoft 50 Event Highlights Company History, Copilot Gains, More

2 weeks ago | 425business.com | Blake Peterson

A mixture of company leaders, employees, media, and others gathered at Redmond's Microsoft campus this morning for Microsoft 50, a multipart event commemorating the tech giant's golden anniversary. "I know there's a lot going on in the world, to put it mildly," said Microsoft's chief communications officer, Frank X. Shaw, at the program's Craft75 Gastropub-hosted check-in.
SIFF 2025 Announces First 6 Titles

4 weeks ago | 425magazine.com | Blake Peterson

The Seattle International Film Festival, which is returning for a 51st year in May, today announced the first six titles that will screen at the event. They are: ‘Cloud,’ dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa‘Dancing Queen in Hollywood,’ dir. Aurora Gossé ‘Diamonds,’ dir. Ferzan Özpetek ‘DJ Ahmet,’ dir. Georgi M. Unkovski‘Sally,’ dir. Cristina Costantini‘Seeds,’ dir.
How the Northwest-Shot ‘Marcie’s’ Meets the Moment

4 weeks ago | 425magazine.com | Blake Peterson

“Marcie’s,” the latest feature from Seattle filmmaker John Helde, is premiering at the Northwest Film Forum on April 4 — nearly six years after the writer-director and his fleet of collaborators began work on it. “I’m thrilled,” Helde said of the long-time-coming release on a joint Zoom call with the movie’s lead actress, Jenn Ruzumna. “We’ve been waiting for this for some time … . So when those pieces actually finally fit together, it’s very exciting to see it get out in the world and get seen.
Lawful Goods: Eastside Legal Assistance Program Leaders Reflect on 35 Years of Impact

1 month ago | 425magazine.com | Blake Peterson

This article originally appeared in our sister publication, 425 Business. When one is in need of legal aid, it can be daunting to figure out what to do or where to turn. The legal system can be labyrinthine to navigate; getting a simple answer can come at a high cost. The Eastside Legal Assistance Program looks to alleviate those stresses.
Mattice Hoyt's Place of Beauty

1 month ago | southsoundmag.com | Blake Peterson

This article originally appeared in our sister publication, South Sound Business. In a different universe, Mattice Hoyt’s namesake beauty-supply store might have opened in March 2020. But the universe in which Mattice Beauty Supply did open, in December 2020, seemed to practically conspire to make things as challenging as possible for Hoyt, a Tacoma resident who, before opening her business, had worked in the corporate sphere and, most recently, at Propel Insurance in her city’s downtown.
The Seductive Spy Games of ‘Black Bag’

1 month ago | southsoundmag.com | Blake Peterson

“I can feel when you’re watching me,” says Kathryn (Cate Blanchett) to her husband, George (Michael Fassbender), early on in “Black Bag.” “I like it.” Akin to their first — January’s “Presence,” a haunted-house movie shot from a lonely ghost’s perspective — writer David Koepp and director Steven Soderbergh’s second collaboration of the year unfurls from the vantage of someone with an unusually piercing gaze.
Mattice Hoyt's Place of Beauty

1 month ago | southsoundbiz.com | Blake Peterson

In a different universe, Mattice Hoyt’s namesake beauty-supply store might have opened in March 2020. But the universe in which Mattice Beauty Supply did open, in December 2020, seemed to practically conspire to make things as challenging as possible for Hoyt, a Tacoma resident who, before opening her business, had worked in the corporate sphere and, most recently, at Propel Insurance in her city’s downtown.