Ruby de Luna
Reporter
About
Ruby de Luna is a reporter with a focus on food and how it intersects with health, communities, and culture. She has also reported on health care and immigrant communities.
Ruby is a transplant from Taipei, Taiwan. She holds a B.A. in communication from Seattle Pacific University. She is proud to be one of the few old-schoolers who can edit tape with a razor blade.
Location: Seattle
Languages: English, Conversational Mandarin, Tagalog
Pronouns: she/her
Professional Affiliations: Member, AAJA
Stories
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Arts & Life
Food insecurity rates in King County nearly double as pandemic continues
One in 10 residents in King County does not have enough food to eat, according to a new report. Food insecurity, or not having enough food, has been an issue, even before the pandemic. But restrictions to slow the spread of Covid-19 have made it worse.
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Arts & Life
Stranded without a farmers market, local producers find another way to sell their products
The pandemic is prompting some small businesses to come up with creative ways to survive. One local food producer found a new way to reach customers when farmers markets were closed during the statewide lockdown.
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Covid on the Block: The pandemic's impact on Beacon Hill neighbors
Everyone has a story. That was the mantra as KUOW reporters set out to chronicle the lives of people who live and work on a small block in Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighborhood in the time of Covid-19. Read those stories at covidontheblock.com.
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'It's nervous-making to be operating a business in this way, at this time'
When Gov. Jay Inslee issued a statewide lockdown in March, Petite Soif, a wine bar on Beacon Hill, had been open four months. “We were nervous about what was going to happen,” said co-owner Shawn Mead. Like many small businesses, the wine bar is struggling to survive. As a business that relies on people gathering, it has reinvented itself almost monthly since the pandemic started.
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Arts & Life
Report shows racial divide in Seattle restaurants
Seattle might think of itself as a progressive city, but there’s racial segregation in the restaurant workforce. That’s one of the findings in a new report about equity in the industry.
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Health
What some Seattle businesses learned from shutting down because of the coronavirus pandemic
Health officials have shut down Duke’s Chowder House in West Seattle after several employees tested positive for Covid-19. It’s not the first time a business has closed and it’s likely not going to be the last. A Seattle brewing company shares what it learned after it closed.
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Arts & Life
Black-owned businesses have seen increased support amid protests. But will that be enough?
In the aftermath of the protests of George Floyd’s killing, there have been calls to support Black-owned businesses, especially restaurants. Many African American businesses welcome the effort, but say it will take more to fill the deep racial cracks that the protests and the pandemic have exposed.
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Arts & Life
Outdoor space for dining and retail might help businesses, but may impede people with disabilities, advocates worry
Businesses can now temporarily use sidewalks and private parking spaces for outdoor seating and retail. The moves comes after King County loosened some regulations to help businesses during the pandemic.
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Arts & Life
Restaurant workers have mixed feelings about Phase 2 reopening
Even with some restaurants reopening for dining under Phase 2, many customers are still uneasy, according to a recent survey by Seattle Eater. And it goes both ways.
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Arts & Life
To stay afloat, Seattle businesses are turning to social media during the pandemic
Restaurants have been relying more on Facebook or Instagram during the pandemic. They use it to promote specials or to keep customers posted on reopening plans. But there are some who are new to social media, and are learning how it’s an important tool for their survival.