You may have noticed that The Stranger’s comment section is gone. Some of you hated the comment section. You hated the trolls and chaos, the mean-spirited snark. And some of you loved it, probably for a lot of those same reasons. (One of you told us, “it’s hardly worth reading Slog AM wit hout them.”) We get it. We miss Catalina Vel-DuRay, DOUG., Kristofarian, and Phoebe from Wallingford, too. And even when the comment section seemed to become a bigoted punch-me-clown, it was still a memorable part of our day. But we do have a new way to tell us what you hate (or love?) and why. We’re bringing back Letters to the Editor. Tell us your feelings about the stories you read at The Stranger at [email protected]. Every week, we’ll publish a roundup right here. Feel like making them even more public? You can shout at us @thestranger.com on BlueSky or @thestrangerseattle on Instagram, and maybe we’ll even embed them in the roundup.  This week, our roundup is supersized, covering the two weeks since our comments disappeared, because we wanted to make sure you didn’t miss anything. But you can expect weekly installments from now on. So get out there, be funny, disagree with us, or tell us we’re pretty. Then see if you made the cut. Let’s Start With the Comments About the Comments: From Sophie Peterson:  I understand The Stranger made the decision to get rid of comments on Slog AM. Can I request that you keep the comments, please?  Slog AM and its many commenters (Kristofarian, Comte, Catalina, Ross, the much-missed and highly-despised Raindrop etc.) are a fundamental part of my day. I look forward to hearing what the commenters have to say, and love their often sharp rebuttals to the twatty trolls that also congregate in the Slog AM comments. Please restore. It’s hardly worth reading Slog AM without them. From J. D.:  I’m guessing you’re getting a lot of feedback on this topic today seeing that you’ve apparently eliminated the comment section on Slog articles. I’ve never once left a comment on an article because I’m simply not the kind of person who comments on anything posted online. However, I truly valued reading the comments on about any article that interested me.  In fact I would go back to the same article multiple times just to read the most recent comments. While there are certainly a fair amount of trolls, there was also information or insight offered from commentors that gave greater context to what are typically one sided stories. With the elimination of comments I’ll be visiting Slog less than half as often as I have over the past several years, reducing your valuable page views. Obviously you can run your business as you see fit but I thought I’d send this feedback in case you’re still considering this policy. And now, our recent stories: No union-picked veggies for you. Credit: Thomas Barwick / Getty Images Which Democrats Killed the Bill for Farmworkers Rights?The ‘Who’ Is Opaque, but the ‘Why’ Comes Down to the Ag Industry’s PropagandaIn Washington State, we have a blue trifecta: Democratic control in the House, Senate, and Governor’s office. So when a state bill that would have extended labor rights to farmworkers was three votes shy of passing, we knew that at more than a handful of Democrats had to have turned against it. Stranger news writer Hunter Pauli dug now the why it failed, and how the ag industry’s propaganda pulled one over on urban Dems. What You Had to Say: From soon-to-be former State Senator and current candidate for King County Council, Rebecca Saldaña, on Instagram:  Thank you so much for covering this story. As the daughter of farmworkers who came to this country fleeing violence I will never stop fighting so that everyone has the labor protections and rights we deserve. I was heartbroken that we couldn’t get this bil [sic] done in my last session in the legislature but we will keep fighting no matter how long it takes. From lejeuness on Instagram: Our farm workers deserve these protections. In a time when dems are already on notice that we aren’t ok with the status quo, this was a bad choice. Credit: Billie Winter Why Did the Greenwood Fred Meyer Stop Offering Paper Bags with Handles?Do you know? Because they won’t tell me.By Megan Seling Look, handles are an accessibility issue. How’re you going to carry three or four grocery bags onto a bus without handles? What if you depend on hanging those handles off of your walker or wheelchair? Or just feel like carrying your groceries without looking like one of those people who can’t do basic human tasks in infomercials? So when the Fred Meyer in Greenwood got rid of theres, managing editor Megan Seling was on the case. What You Had to Say: From poorlydrawnhorse on Instagram: The greenwood Fred Meyer is 3 blocks from my house and this shit forced me to do most of my shopping at qfc (EVERYONE BUY THEIR PRODUCE AT LENNYS FUCK KROGER) From plantfaster on Instagram: I shopped at the Ballard Freddys yesterday and a very old man was in line ahead of me with a handle-less paper bag of stuff he already paid for, asking for help because he couldn’t carry it. The checker was kind enough to move his stuff into two reusable bags and cover the cost. It was a nice human moment in a place that feels more and more anti-human From _junebaby__ on Instagram: From tarkalson on Instagram: Just buy a goddamn reusable bag. Save trees, money, and save time to complain about something that actually matters. “Well, these bags don’t have handles, guess I’ll ask AI what to do.” From t.bealer on Instagram: I use to work near there and as I have been working in ballard greenwood shoreline area for many years, my initial thought is theft. Its easier for homeless/drug addicted people or anyone trying to steal, to put all their stuff in bags, not pay for it at self check out and run out the door. Or bringing the bags back to fill up again and again. Thats why theres an armed guard checking receipts now. Its way more difficult to run out with 3 or 4 bags worth of items when theres no handles. It may not be the reason they say they did it, but id bet it had something to do with the influence of switching to bags with no handles. From itsdraculauren on Instagram: Continuing to harass grocery workers like they’re hiding this information is so weird. They’re not decision-makers and they’re just doing their jobs. From cgranez on Instagram: From The Big Bad Wolf on BlueSky: I mean…great way to encourage you to finally learn to bring your own bag into the store. I got sick of paying the 5¢/bag or whatever over her on the Eastside. From justin_benjamin on Instagram: Safeway brought back the handles because to many people complained. Fill out those surveys! Evil worm with bad ideas. Credit: Chip Somodevilla Ahead of World Cup, Homeland Security Secretary Threatens to Stop Processing All International Arrivals in “Sanctuary Cities”Hosting the World Cup under the Trump Administration Continues to Be a NightmareBy Nathalie Graham In the latest chapter of The Trump Administration Tries to Use the World Cup to Manipulate Blue Cities, the head of Homeland Security threatened to stop processing international arrivals in cities like Seattle (and most of the other host cities). It’s very unclear if they’ll actually go through with it, What You Had to Say: From user how_very on Instagram:  From seantheartist on Instagram: Since almost everything tends to happen in blue states, like the World Cup or in the past the Olympics, I don’t think they are aware of how much power blue states can have. As of the end of March, employees say that most of them have not gotten their last paychecks, which they estimate are collectively worth more than $143,000. Credit: Walter Williams What Happened to Teatro ZinZanni? After 28 Years of Fellini-esque Entertainment, Seattle’s Favorite Circus Leaves Their Staff HangingBy Hannah Murphy Winter Teatro ZinZanni ran for nearly three decades on velvet, acrobats, and a whole lot of spectacle. But in January, they closed their doors. Staff say paychecks had already been arriving late for months as audiences thinned out, and concerns to management went nowhere. Ticket buyers are also still waiting on refunds that were supposed to come in February. Employees say they are owed more than $143,000 in unpaid wages, with individual losses ranging from about $1,000 to over $4,000. Vendors are also waiting to be paid, including a caterer owed roughly $300,000. What You Had to Say: From user gg_silverman on Instagram:  “Just read this article and was devastated. Another Seattle arts establishment falling down. 😢” From Instagram: From reader Ellen S.: “Thank you for this interesting story. I hope the employees get what they are owed. I was jarred by the mention of the “Monica Lewinsky scandal” (which was really the Bill Clinton scandal) – seems strange/unnecessary to drag her name in the context of this unrelated story merely as a time reference …” From user waffles_daddy on Instagram: Credit: Billie Winter Passing ThroughSeattle’s Liminal SpacesWriting by Julianne Bell, Photography by Billie Winter In our Spring Arts print issue, we published a huge, multi-page spread of Seattle’s liminal spaces. Stranger writer Julianne Bell described them as “a place, often set between two destinations, that evokes an uncanny, dreamlike mood.” Seattle is full of them, from Pike Place Market after closing time, to Freeway Park, to the cavernous rooms of the Convention Center. “We’re drawn to these spaces for the simultaneous relief and anxiety of feeling utterly alone,” Bell wrote. What You Had to Say: From Johan Liedgren: Delighted to see liminality featured by staff writer Julianne Bell in her April 4 piece Passing Through: Seattle’s Liminal Spaces, and more so the acknowledgment of these in-between spaces’ ability to conjure conflicting emotions simultaneously. The selection of Seattle examples follows a recent trend echoing the anxious zeitgeist: backrooms, Kubrick-like hallways, empty parking garages. The debate over what constitutes a liminal space is as old as philosophy — it touches existential questions of who we are and what we belong to. And one is entitled to ask whether some of these images are not simply parking garages without cars. Liminal spaces do more than unsettle us — they can be sites of genuine personal transformation. They offer a new and challenging perspective on the ordinary that, whether embraced alone or with others, can send us back into the world changed. They are more complex than an aesthetic, and have been intentionally designed into built environments and art for as long as humans have built at all. As we linger in the eeriness Bell so vividly conjures, let us not trivialize their potency as an alternative to daily routine and toil. Scholars have explored in-between spaces for over a century — Van Gennep, Turner, Deleuze — and both Aristotle and Kant grappled with the connection between contradictory emotions, the sublime, and how we create room to become someone new. Or simply call your friendly neighborhood liminalist — Johan Liedgren, Seattle Founder, The Liminal Circle Author, How to Kiss a Cannibal — Writings on Liminality Wanna tell us how you feel? Email us at [email protected]. The post Love Notes, Letters, and Trolls: April 1-April 17, 2026 appeared first on The Stranger. ...read more read less