Viva La Cola!

Founded in January 2009, PubliCola is a blog about Seattle written by journalists who are dedicated to non-partisan, original daily reporting that prioritizes a balanced approach to news. Started by longtime local editor and award-winning reporter Josh Feit, PubliCola is the first online-only news site in state history to get media credentials to cover the state capitol.

PubliCola was off and running. In June 2009, PubliCola hired another award-winning journalist, super-sourced Seattle city hall reporter Erica C. Barnett.

People were afraid that blogging would change journalism. Instead, we believe journalism can change blogging. Twenty-first century journalism may look and feel different, and yes Erica isn't afraid to get cranky, but we're committed to making sure online news still delivers independent, reliable, even-keeled coverage. And most of all, we're committed to making sure the coverage sparks honest civic debate.

Bringing you cola for the people, PubliCola is named after Publius Valerius PubliCola, the alias for the authors of the Federalist Papers—the original bloggers.

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The first online-only news site in state history to get media credentials to cover the state capitol and Seattle city hall, PubliCola has been called a “must-read” by the Seattle Post Intelligencer and a hot “New Media Mover and Shaker” by Seattle Magazine—which also cited our own Erica C. Barnett as the city's No. 1 news nerd.

Extra Fizz: Local App Named One of Time's Top 10 for 2009

News   December 9, 2009 at 10:54 am Erica C. Barnett

Locavore, a local-food app created by Seattle’s own Buster Benson (of the late, lamented McLeod Residence), has been named one of the top 10 iPhone apps of 2009 by Time magazine.

As I wrote when I first hyped Locavore earlier this year, it’s super-intuitive (and well worth the couple of bucks it costs). First, you let it detect where you are. Then, it tells you what’s in season, and where and when you can buy it.  You can also find out what’s in season all over the country, get information about unfamiliar ingredients, browse by ingredient to find out when specific produce will be in season, and access recipes from Epicurious and Foodista, a local open-source cooking encyclopedia, that use the local ingredients you’re buying.

According to Benson, Locavore has sold about 30,000 copies since it launched March 17.