
Housing
Why choose to remain unhoused?
December 22, 2022
The Lighthouse Mission Ministries’ Base Camp provides shelter, services and support for the houseless yet hundreds opt to shelter on their own. Why?
Kai Uyehara
Public Health
Hamlet House: keeping seniors in the community
December 22, 2022
Is nonprofit Hamlet House a model for maintaining connections and relationships through lifespans?
Gretchen K. Wing
Governance
‘Surprisingly interesting’: local observers do local reporting on local government
December 22, 2022
The League of Women Voters of the San Juans has begun observing and reporting on local government.
Nancy DeVaux
Natural Resources
Tacoutche Tesse, the Northwest’s great ghost river — Part 4: The death of a thousand cut-offs
December 16, 2022
The plight of wild salmon and the waters that support them is about big issues, but also a lot of little, unassuming places: creeks and sloughs and flooded fields and braided side channels.
Eric Scigliano
Commerce
Marijuana 2022: strong market, evolving rules after 10 years of legal pot
December 16, 2022
Ten years after retail legalization, the local cannabis industry continues to grow green, both literally and financially.
Matt Benoit
Housing
By the numbers: wealth gap grows in the San Juan Islands
December 16, 2022
A shortage of affordable housing, increasing affluence and tourism, and loss of island culture top lists of negative trends reported in the San Juan Islands.
Kathryn Wheeler
Community Voices
Hope has arrived
December 14, 2022
Commentary: Constant worries about being attacked or robbed are in the past for a woman who has found housing — for now — in a tiny home village.
John Dunne
Natural Resources
Tacoutche Tesse, the Northwest’s great ghost river — Part 3: Saving wild salmon versus the net pen industry
December 9, 2022
Scores of open-water farms raising nonnative salmon along British Columbia’s west coast straits and channels are facing new challenges from wild-salmon advocates who say the farms endanger Fraser River native fish runs.
Eric Scigliano
Natural Resources
How much of orca decline is in their DNA?
December 9, 2022
Southern Resident killer whales are beset by the threats of diminished prey, chemical pollution, loss of habitat, and underwater noise. Can DNA research help toward their recovery?
Kai Uyehara
Community Voices
Composting as a climate solution
December 8, 2022
Commentary: Proper disposal of food waste is something every household can do to limit climate change, advise teens engaged in climate action.
YEP! of Skagit County
Natural Resources
Does environmental education change behavior?
December 2, 2022
Measuring the effectiveness of environmental education in changing behavior is a source of optimism and inspiration around the Salish Sea.
Rena Kingery
Community Voices
Addressing priorities in public safety
December 2, 2022
Commentary: Bellingham’s challenges are in recruiting and retaining police officers, not lack of funding.
Bellingham City Council Public Safety Committee 2022
Water Supply
Looking ahead in the San Juans: island water planning … 2036
December 1, 2022
How do you plan for the future water supply when you don’t have all the information?
Nancy DeVaux
Commerce
New options change choices for that final resting place
December 1, 2022
A cultural shift is underway from traditional burials and cremations to terramation, a composting process, and aquamation, a water-based process.
Matt Benoit
Culture
East Asian markets bridge cultural gaps—through food
November 22, 2022
There are only a few Asian markets in Whatcom and Skagit counties, but these small stores provide a rich variety of Asian foods—and a taste of cultures as well.
Kai Uyehara
Community Voices
A most interesting job
November 22, 2022
Commentary: Meet Sandy Hart, who may have one of the most interesting jobs in Bellingham.
John Dunne