Jon Talton

Jan 10, 2025 | seattletimes.com | Jon Talton

The new administration intends to make radical changes to immigration, with consequences that will affect Seattle and Washington, as well as the nation and world. The Seattle region, and especially its technology sector, has long benefited from being a magnet for talent from around the world, best exemplified by the chief executive of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, who immigrated from India.

Dec 27, 2024 | seattletimes.com | Jon Talton

Trade, tech, climate and downtown Seattle are among the markers I’m laying out for the coming year. It’s sobering to contemplate that come January, we will be 25 years into the 21st century. For the past 16 years — my longest tenure at any of the six major metropolitan daily newspapers where I’ve been fortunate to work — my year-end column lays out markers for the coming 12 months. And from Seattle to the world, we’re in for an arduous year.

Dec 6, 2024 | seattletimes.com | Jon Talton

When I arrived here in 2007, downtown Seattle was a treasure box of urban interest: dense, human-scale streets with a variety of retailers, restaurants and inviting public spaces. The central core was filled with people, from employees to visitors to shoppers and those experiencing homelessness, although not yet at the crisis level of the coming years. People walked the streets looking happy with such amenities as Ralph’s Grocery and Deli.

Nov 29, 2024 | seattletimes.com | Jon Talton

The election of Donald Trump to the presidency will bring severe repercussions to the environment and economy of the Pacific Northwest, America and the world. According to the most recent federal National Climate Assessment, the cost of human-caused climate change to the Northwest is substantial. Among them: rising heat, more wildfires and flooding. Temperatures have increased by 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit since 1900, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Nov 22, 2024 | seattletimes.com | Jon Talton

Confronting the problem of affordable housing isn’t new for the Seattle area, but dynamics in the local and national economy are making constructive responses more difficult. Consider Seattle in 1980. This was still largely a middle-class locale then, with jobs from Boeing and local financial institutions such as Seafirst and Rainier banks (Washington Mutual was a relatively small, respected savings and loan), as well as traditional manufacturing companies, retailers, railroads and the seaport.