Shopping online can be a real time-saver, and you can get some great deals. But skip lollipops that come with the virus that causes chickenpox.

This caution comes after a woman in Nashville, Tenn., advertised lollipops contaminated with the varicella virus on Facebook. The tainted pops were intended for parents who want to expose their children to the disease.

SEATTLE - When it comes to air pollution citations and fines, two companies stand out from the rest in the Northwest. That's according to an investigation by public radio and the non-profit Investigate West. Both penalized companies say they've made major progress in cleaning up their acts.

Over the past five years, a pair of Northwest companies racked up more citations than any other for air pollution and recordkeeping violations. It's around 100 each.

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Six months ago, JPMorgan Chase said it wasn't "technically feasible" to alert Washington welfare clients to an 85-cent ATM fee. But as of last month the bank has now programmed its cash machines to warn of the fee at the time of the transaction.

In May of this year, we reported that JPMorgan Chase was collecting more than $100,000 a month in ATM fees from Washington cash assistance clients. But the 85-cent charge to withdraw cash didn't show up on the ATM screen or the client's receipt.

PORT ANGELES, Wash. — Skiers and snowboarders will have 7-day-a-week access to the Hurricane Ridge area as Olympic National Park keeps the road plowed in the second year of a pilot program to promote more visitors.

Seattle is connected to Rwanda in a number of ways, beginning with the country’s role as a major producer of high quality coffee beans for Starbucks and Costco. A number of local humanitarian organizations, as well as social enterprise business ventures, are active there.

KPLU and Humanosphere blogger Tom Paulson is headed to Rwanda along with a dozen or so other journalists sponsored by the International Reporting Project at Johns Hopkins University. For the next two weeks, he’ll be reporting on the trip and also posting stories on a number of Seattle projects at work there that have helped make Rwanda — despite its horrific recent past history — into what many see as an African success story.

Read more on Humanosphere.

There's been a huge increase in the wealth gap between older Americans and those just entering adulthood, according to a new analysis of Census Bureau data done by the Pew Research Center.

According to Pew's study:

In 2009, "households headed by adults ages 65 and older ... had 47 times as much net wealth as the typical household headed by someone" under 35 years of age. Pew says that "back in 1984, this had been a less lopsided 10-to-1 ratio."

It used to be that aspiring opera singers would live with their voice teachers and practice every day. That was in the 1800s.

Nowadays, the typical track is college followed by graduate school and then professional training at a major opera company.  That’s where Seattle Opera and its Young Artists Program come in.

The U.S. ambassador to China, Gary Locke, went home Friday. He didn't return to Seattle, his old stomping ground, but to his ancestral village in southern China. It was his third trip back, though his first since being appointed ambassador.

At first, Chinese Internet users had criticized him as a "fake foreign devil who can't speak Chinese." But now the tide has turned.

19-year-old saxophonist/singer, Grace Kelly is immensely gifted.  She’s also a lot of fun to hang around with.  Right before this studio session, interviewer Kevin Kniestedt asked her if she had already chosen the songs she would be performing that day. 

She said she might not know what songs she’d be doing until she did them, which prompted someone behind to say (in jest), "Well, that’s just unimaginably inappropriate."

Grace turned around, unleashed one of her disarmingly charming smiles and replied, “That’s me!”  Right then and there knew we were in for a good time. 

The county’s election director, Sherril Huff, has been invited to the Metropolitan King County Council’s Committee of the Whole on Monday to talk about 11,000 unmailed ballots, the council reports in a press release. 

On this first weekend in November, get out for some fall fun! Don’t miss out on great activities like the 2nd Annual Mount Rainier Wine Festival, some fresh local Jazz at the U-District Jazz Festival, or check D-list celebrity and two-time Emmy winner Kathy Griffin.

Consumers are using their phones to do what their computers once did. And that's prompting a major technology company in the Northwest to shift its focus too.

The bread and butter of Micron Technology has been memory for PCs. But the CEO of the Boise chip maker told Bloomberg BusinessWeek the company will expand its base of products for mobile devices.

Fresh hop beers are a big trend with micro breweries right now. That extra dose of wet hops adds a wonderful herbal, grassy aroma and taste that is worth seeking out.

“Some people ask me why I don’t bring my cell phone up on stage with me. It’s because I don’t want to interrupt you.” – Keith Jarrett addressing the crowd after intermission at Tuesday's show at Benaroya Hall.

I had never seen Keith Jarrett perform live before. I had only heard his wonderful recordings and heard some interesting stories about the demands he has on his audience.

Read more on Groove Notes.

Saying he's basing his decision in part on the fact that state government needs more money, Attorney General Rob McKenna says he'll vote for a measure that would privatize liquor sales in Washington.