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Girls at an orphanage outside of Nakuru, Kenya, celebrate the arrival of their menstrual kits made by the Days for Girls Ocala Florida Chapter. (Photo courtesy Days for Girls)

Simple feminine-hygiene kits empower girls

by Sarah Stuteville
Days for Girls International provides feminine-hygiene kits for girls in parts of the world without access to commercial products.
May 9, 2014
A guard at the Northwest Detention Center, a private facility owned and operated by the GEO Group, on contract from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (Photo by Alex Stonehill)

Gates Foundation resists pressure to pull private prison investment

by Lael Henterly
Earlier this week detainees at the Northwest Detention Center called an official end to their 56 day hunger strike in protest of conditions at the Tacoma facility. One of their stated victories was that the strike drew international attention to the private prison network operated by Florida-based corrections corporation the GEO Group. The storm of […]
May 8, 2014

2014 GiveBIG Live Variety Show Recap!

by Sara McCaslin
The Seattle Globalist's GiveBig Variety Show on May 6th brought together some of the best talent in our community. If you missed it, catch all the highlights below from travel tips to Ethiopian cooking to DNA experiments.
Two students. (Photo by Allison Reibel)

True tales of teaching English abroad: A strange year in China

by Allison Reibel
Has fierce competition pushed Chinese kids to the brink?
Backpacker enjoying street food at a curbside cafe in Haiphong. (Photo from Flickr by HRamirez)

Sister city travel guide: Haiphong, Vietnam

by Gennie Gebhart
On a bus on my way to Haiphong,  Seattle’s Vietnamese sister city, I chatted with another young American about our travels. He mentioned that it was his “second tour through Vietnam.” Forty years ago, a “tour” in Vietnam meant something entirely different for young Americans. In the space of just one generation, the setting of […]
May 6, 2014

Kids aren’t as dumb as you thought — Canadian researcher touts bilingual potential

by Annaliese Davis
Children are better at language acquisition than was once believed, according to a renowned Canadian psychology professor who gave a talk on Mercer Island last week. Fred Genesee, Professor Emeritus at McGill University in Montreal, has studied bilingualism among children extensively. With dozens of studies to his name, Genesee and his colleagues work to prove […]
May 5, 2014

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo the Mexican-American way

by Izumi Hansen
On Saturday, El Centro de La Raza celebrated Cinco de Mayo by welcoming over 700 people to their Beacon Hill headquarters. A large tent set up outside El Centro’s building housed vendors and community organizations, as well as a stage for dance, demonstrations, and singing. Inside families shared tacos that tasted like they came straight from Mexico. On […]
A protestor’s 15 Now sign sits strapped to his bicycle as marchers cross the Madison St. Bridge, entering downtown. (Photo by Seth Halleran)

Mayor’s plan not enough for May Day marchers

by Seth Halleran
Thousands of marchers wound their way through Seattle Thursday afternoon to advocate for worker and immigrant’s rights — and to protest Mayor Ed Murray’s brand new proposal for a $15/hour minimum wage phased-in over seven years. “Every year of a phase-in is yet another year a worker has to live in poverty!” Socialist City Council member Kshama […]
May 3, 2014
A Salsa night at Waid's back in 2008. (Photo via

Night out at Seattle’s ‘most dangerous’ club casts doubt on cops’ claims

by Forrest Baum
What’s really going down at the beloved immigrant nightspot the SPD wants to shut down?
May 2, 2014

SIFF boasts global lineup for film fest’s 40th

by Annaliese Davis
In a large corner office lined with bookcases at the Seattle International Film Festival’s Film Center, Carl Spence is busy gearing up for the 40th year of the festival. The sun shines in two large glass windows as the artistic director of SIFF furiously types, sending last minute emails to finalize the festival’s lineup. The […]
May 1, 2014
Celia Payen checks on her freshly sprouted radishes, flanked by tulips on her left and a cardoon plant on her right. (Photo by Irina Vodonos)

What’s in your P-Patch? Global flavors sprout for spring

by Irina Vodonos
Slowly, reluctantly, in spurts, spring is coming to Seattle, and P-Patch gardens all over the area are waking up from winter slumber. Each week, a few more gardeners brave the rain to check in on their plots, and when the sun makes an appearance, they turn out in full force to till, fertilize, sow seeds, […]
Apr 30, 2014
A medical interpreter assists a patient in Tonga during an eye exam. (Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joshua Valcarcel / U.S. Navy)

From hospitals to courtrooms, new tools to topple language barriers

by Ashley Walls
Imagine walking into an emergency room or doctor’s office needing medical care, and every sign and piece of paper handed to you is in a different language. You struggle to talk to the front desk clerk, who only speaks a broken version of your language. You take your best guess at how to fill in […]
Apr 29, 2014

Trinidad transplant puts musicians first on new indie label

by Erik Erickson
Former Microsoft programmer Kirt Debique wanted to build a new kind of record label to supported Seattle musicians. So far, so good.
Apr 28, 2014

Obamacare and open heart surgery from Guanajuato to Seattle

by Dale Terasaki
“Endocarditis,” Dr. Gutierrez declares in Spanish. “And you need surgery soon…” His voice grows faint and time seems to slow down. What began as a mild flu-like illness has culminated into this moment of shock in a Mexican hospital room. As a University of Washington medical student, my brain instinctively starts diagramming the disease: an […]
Sonora Jha, journalism professor at Seattle University, shines light on the issue of farmer suicides in India with her first novel, "Foreign." (Photo by Seth Halleran)

Sonora Jha’s “Foreign” shines light on farmer suicide in India

by Seth Halleran
While Seattle has its reputation for suicides, across the globe in India, rain and gloom are hardly to blame for rising suicide rates. Last year Sonora Jha, a journalism professor at Seattle University, released her debut novel, tackling the issue of Indian farmer suicides in a fictional context.
Apr 26, 2014
Enter the Yellow Band on an Everest ascent. (Photo by Lloyd Smith)

Deadliest day on Everest echoes in the Northwest

by Sarah Stuteville
“I was just thinking, ‘that could have been me,’” says AC Sherpa, remembering the moments after he heard of the avalanche that killed 16 people on Mount Everest late last week. He soon discovered that two guides he’d climbed with on a recent expedition were dead.
Apr 25, 2014
The Mixed Plate at Chamaole Pino in Everett. (Photo by Melody T. via Yelp)

Pacific Islander arts showcase this weekend in Everett

by dåko'ta alcantara-camacho
If you’re a Chamorro who’s relocated to Seattle, there’s more to miss about home than the weather. Back home, we get together to eat our food, speak our language, and visit our family, without even thinking about it. So if you’re used to weekly fiestas, the culture here in Washington can feel real cold. “On […]
Apr 24, 2014

The poetics of home with Zubair Ahmed

by Anna Goren
I begin to sleep. My body is music. I will never have a home. – from ‘Concession’. City of Rivers. McSweeny’s (2012). Technically, Zubair Ahmed does have a home — in a shiny apartment complex in Belltown. There, the 25-year-old turns few heads as he goes to and from his job at Boeing, where he […]
Dede Adhanom's son King holding family photo in a still from "Unified Struggle." (Courtesy of Guerrilla Films)

“Unified Struggle” film tackles deportation, justice, and activism

by Atoosa Sonia Moinzadeh
Giday “Dede” Adhanom is a mother of three living in Seattle, who has devoted most of her life to activism. She’s worked on issues of youth violence, housing access, employment, and the juvenile prison expansion. She’s also spent much of her life fighting her own deportation. In an effort to call attention to the persecution […]
Apr 23, 2014
(Photo courtesy PramilaJayapal.com)

Pramila Jayapal racking up endorsements for State Senate run

by Reagan Jackson
Just months after Democrat Adam Kline announced his plans to leave the State Senate, Pramila Jayapal has emerged as the candidate to beat in an already crowded race for the 37th District seat. Jayapal — longtime resident of the Southend district — is most widely known as the founder and former executive director of OneAmerica, the […]