Gene Balk
The Seattle Times
Seattle, WA, United States
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Past articles by Gene:
Seattle traffic violations are down. Are we driving better?
From 2019 to 2021, the number of traffic infractions issued by Seattle police dropped by 68%, FYI Guy writes. → Read More
Housing shortage has spread across Pacific Northwest, new study shows
A first-of-its-kind report shows housing shortages are worsening throughout the Northwest, not just in the Seattle and Portland areas, FYI Guy writes. → Read More
Wealth without working: King County ranks 8th in U.S. for income from assets
Sure, tech workers' salaries have driven up incomes in King County the past decade. But what about income from other sources? FYI Guy tells us how much people are earning off stocks, bonds and investment properties. → Read More
COVID vaccine hesitancy by King County ZIP code — rates are declining, but pockets of higher resistance remain
COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy declined in recent weeks in King County. But pockets of resistance remain, especially in the south and east. As vaccinated people are increasingly frustrated with those who are not, FYI Guy crunches data. → Read More
Seattle-area Democrats surge in number since Trump was elected in 2016
Since Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, the Seattle area has gotten bluer. Democratic residents surged during his time in office, while the number of Republican residents has dropped, according to new market-research data. → Read More
Nearly half of Seattle-area adults working from home because of pandemic
New data reveals that the rise of telework has had a far greater impact on workers in some parts of the country than in others. Seattle is near the top... → Read More
Coronavirus positive-test rate dips in most of King County, spikes in parts of the Eastside
Good news in the fight against COVID-19: A smaller portion of tests done in King County are coming back positive. However, several parts of the county have moved in the opposite direction — particularly in some of Seattle's Eastside suburbs. → Read More
Women on the front lines: Nearly 2/3 of Seattle-area essential workers are female
While women make up less than half of the total working population in the Seattle metro area, they represent 63% of workers in occupations deemed essential. → Read More
More than 1 in 5 Seattle students are enrolled in private schools, among highest in nation
More than 20% of Seattle K-12 students are enrolled in private schools. How much does that contribute to inequality? → Read More
Why aren’t Seattle schools more racially diverse? Look at the neighborhoods
Taken as a whole, the Seattle School District's enrollment has a very high diversity score. But the enrollment data for individual schools tell a different story. → Read More
New data shows how Seattle residents spent their stimulus checks
What did Seattle residents buy with their stimulus checks? For most, household necessities. → Read More
Where do most die-hard Seattle Seahawks fans live? Not in the city, market data shows.
The love for the Seahawks runs deeper in South King County than anywhere else. But what about in the city of Seattle? Not so much. → Read More
Despite rampant bad driving in Seattle, tickets for traffic violations down more than 40% since 2015
Seattle police are writing far fewer tickets than they used to, according to court data. But it seems traffic violators are as prolific as ever. What's going on? → Read More
Seattle now most expensive city for renters outside California, census data shows
The median rent and utilities in Seattle at the start of the decade ranked outside the top 10 among big U.S. cities. Now the Emerald City is the most expensive place to rent outside of California. → Read More
Washington ranked nation’s best state by U.S. News & World Report
Washington has ranked in the top 10 since the inaugural report three years ago. → Read More
King County population growth hits decade low, census data shows
The growth of population in King County hit a low for this decade, after years of record-breaking increases. → Read More
Is Seattle dying? Not if you look at crime rates from the ’80s and ’90s
Seattle is the fastest-growing big city in the country. People are moving here in droves. And the city's crime rates are half what they were in the '80s and '90s. → Read More
End of the Seattle boom? Flow of new residents to King County on the decline, records show
For the second consecutive year, the number of driver's licenses issued to new King County residents from out of state declined. → Read More
Working from home in Seattle on the rise — even before Viadoom
The number of people working from home has grown at an even faster rate than that of transit ridership. → Read More
New milestone in King County: Immigrant population tops 500,000
Almost half of the county's growth since 2010 is made up of people born outside of the United States. Only two other counties have seen a bigger increase. → Read More