Jon Talton

1 week ago | seattletimes.com | Jon Talton

As I wrote last week, downtown is never done. So, despite the progress made in rebuilding Seattle’s central core since the pandemic, a serious problem remains with much unoccupied commercial office space. As my colleague Paul Roberts recently wrote, 19 of famed developer Martin Selig’s 30 office buildings have been placed under outside management or ceded to lenders after COVID-related vacancies left Selig unable to cover more than $850 million in loans.

2 weeks ago | seattletimes.com | Jon Talton

I’ve noticed recently more people safely walking the streets of downtown and Belltown than I’ve seen since before the pandemic. People are talking, smiling and interacting helpfully with tourists. Forget the Seattle Freeze. South Lake Union is crowded with people, and few storefronts are empty. Mello Fellos bicycle shop is now open seven days a week. Among the crowds were dog walkers, people riding scooters, which I never had the agility to ride, and the persistent homeless.

3 weeks ago | seattletimes.com | Jon Talton

The election of a felon to the presidency, who thrives on attention and name recognition, marks the end of American leadership on addressing human-caused climate change. The consequences will be far worse than his damage to NATO, the world economy or even Pax Americana that, despite blunders, lifted billions out of poverty and maintained the peace among major world powers for the longest period in modern history.

4 weeks ago | seattletimes.com | Jon Talton

Imagine a world without the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. For more than a century, and especially after the Allied victory in World War II, America has enjoyed the equivalent of a gold card with an unlimited credit line. Both parties spent decades nurturing the dollar’s dominance. That’s the benefit of having the currency that’s used by central banks and other monetary authorities around the world for international transactions that drive the global economy.

1 month ago | seattletimes.com | Jon Talton

Seattle goes by many nicknames beyond today’s pretentious Emerald City. It was officially the Queen City of the Northwest from 1868 to 1982, City of Flowers in the 1940s, the Jet City because of its connection to Boeing, Rain City — although it rains far less here than most outsiders realize — and Sea-Town among others. But I propose another moniker: City of Loss.