In the first three months of this year, lobbyists in Washington state spent more than $200,000 on entertainment. Much of that money was spent to wine and dine state lawmakers during the just-concluded 105-day session.

The spending begs the question: What are lobbyists and their clients getting in exchange for picking up the tab?

City prosecutors have started filing charges against people arrested during a May Day protest in Seattle.

The City Attorney's Office said Thursday six people who spent the night in the King County Jail face misdemeanor charges that include obstructing officers, resisting arrest, property damage and failure to disperse.

Amazon has released an app that makes it easier for the blind to read Kindle electronic books on iPhones. Advocates for blind people say it’s a significant step for a company that’s lagged other technology companies in making accessible products.

Tickets go on sale today for the 39th annual Seattle International Film Festival. SIFF is set to feature more than 300 films, special guests, and film workshops. 

At least 17 protesters were arrested and eight officers injured Wednesday as an "anti-capitalism" May Day march took a violent turn, first on Capitol Hill then in downtown Seattle. 

Vandals shattered the glass door of Sun Liquor, at 512 East Pike, around 7 p.m. before heading downtown, hurling metal pipes and rocks at cars and police, shoving camera crews and setting off flares along the way. 

Thousands of people marched from Seattle's Judkins Park to the federal building downtown on May Day to show support for workers' rights and immigration reform. 

You can view additional photos on our Flickr page. 

A planned rally and march for workers and immigration reform progressed without interruptions by anarchists Wednesday, easing fears of another violent May Day.

Thousands of people gathered at Judkins Park, behind St. Mary's Church, for the Rally for Workers and Immigrant Rights at 1 p.m. Several unions were present, as were some representatives of the Occupy movement. Many people were displaying the flags of U.S. and Mexico, as well as signs urging comprehensive immigration reform. 

Here’s some good news on the first day of National Bike Month: Washington leads the nation as the most bike-friendly state!

This is the sixth straight year Washington has topped the ranking determined by The League of American Bicyclists.

Three more suspects were taken into custody in the Boston Marathon bombing case, including two college friends of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev who came to the U.S. from Kazakhstan, officials said Wednesday.

The allegations against them were not immediately disclosed. Gov. Deval Patrick, who said he was briefed on the investigation, told reporters it's his understanding that the suspects had nothing to do with the bombings but helped the suspect after the fact.

T-Mobile USA, the country's fourth-largest cellphone carrier, says it has completed its acquisition of MetroPCS.

T-Mobile, a subsidiary of Germany's Deutsche Telekom AG, will gain its own U.S. stock listing by merging with Dallas-based MetroPCS Communications Inc.

These look like some nice beans. And there's a story behind them, too. In this week's Food for Thought, Nancy and I chatted about what we're putting into the ground this spring, and what we hope to get out of it—including something I never knew could be grown around here.

The government has lowered to 15 the age at which girls can buy the morning-after pill without a prescription.

And the Food and Drug Administration also says the emergency contraception no longer has to be kept behind pharmacy counters.

Disclosure: Pacific Lutheran University holds the license for KPLU. KPLU’s programming staffers are the university’s only unionized employees.

Pacific Lutheran University is trying to fend off attempts by members of its faculty to unionize, and the outcome could have national implications.

The push is coming from “contingent faculty,” the non-tenure track professors, lecturers and instructors who teach about a third of PLU’s course credits. Those people get paid significantly less than regular faculty, and their employment status is much shakier.

This is the time of year when local farmers count on bees and other insects to pollinate orchards and vegetable and berry fields. The change in the seasons is not the only thing creating a buzz in the world of beekeeping.

This week, the European Commission put a moratorium on the use of three popular pesticides judged to pose high risk to bees.

Beekeepers have started to push Washington State's Department of Agriculture to go in that direction, too. And that could have an effect on what's available at your local garden center.

Boating season opens this weekend and the weather forecast predicts mostly clear skies and temperatures in the upper 70s.

The warming temperatures have authorities concerned about water safety and the potential for deadly drowning incidents. Last year, 32 people died from drowning, and more than a third of them in the spring.

Wade Alonzo with the State Parks Boating Safety Program says Washington certainly sees cold water, even when the weather is fair.