This Week
The Gristle
Bottled Up
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
BOTTLED UP: In ways both mirroring and anticipating Whatcom’s debate on coal exports, Skagit County and the City of Anacortes held a series of recent public meetings in response to a proposal to build the largest bottling plant in North America on 38 acres bordering a sensitive salmon estuary near Turner Bay as it empties into Similk Bay on Fidalgo Island south of the city. The proposal would require the annexation and consolidation of 11.15 acres of county land adjacent to Anacortes’ urban
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Words
Grace Notes
Remembering Jack McCarthy
By Ryler Dustin · Wednesday, May 22, 2013
The first time I saw Jack McCarthy, I was in line at Stuart’s Coffee House, then a haven for local artists, Bellingham bohemians, students, loners and poets.
At the time, I didn’t know what the word “poet” meant. I didn’t know much of anything. I knew I needed to write for some reason beyond my control, but I didn’t know what to write, or why, or even how to begin.
All I knew with certainty was that I needed a cup of coffee.
That’s when Jack took the stage. I had stumbled into
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Outdoors
A Harbinger of Summer
Climbing Sauk Mountain
Story and photo by John D'Onofrio · Wednesday, May 22, 2013
At last, after several years in a row of late-lingering snowpack in the North Cascades, it looks like we might just catch a break.
An average snow year, followed by a so far unusually warm and dry spring, are the ingredients that make for an early—and long—hiking season. Keep your fingers crossed, but this could be a banner year for wandering among the peaks.
A good place to start is Sauk Mountain. This strategically placed minor summit rears up above the Skagit River and has what it
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Music
It All Ends Here
Of festivals and block parties
By Carey Ross · Wednesday, May 22, 2013
In some parts of the nation—in fact, across pretty much all of the United States—the weekend culminating in the last Monday in May is known as “Memorial weekend” or “Memorial Day.” It is a federal holiday that exists to remember those who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, and it also enables us to celebrate those veterans who are still with us.
Make no mistake: In these parts, we have a deep respect for and an equivalent amount of gratitude for those who have served at the
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Visual
Island Exploration
Seeking out artistic getaways
By Amy Kepferle · Wednesday, May 22, 2013
This coming Memorial Day weekend, Bellingham will be abuzz with celebrations of many sorts—most of them having to do with the inherent insanity that ensues during the annual Ski to Sea race.
Some residents will embrace the busyness of the seven-leg competition and its accompanying parades and parties, while others will long for an escape from the hullabaloo.
For those looking for an alternate way to celebrate the weekend that unofficially kick-starts the summer season, all that’s needed
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Visual
He Said, She Said
Taking turns at Streat Food
By Amy Kepferle and the Rat · Wednesday, May 22, 2013
He Said: My work shift that day had been an exceedingly long, hot and sweaty one, so when I finally landed back at the ranch that evening, pretty much all I could think to do was open a frosty brew and lump my grimy, bedraggled carcass down on the couch.
But, fortunately, the lady of the house had other plans for me.
I had just cracked a cold one and was doggedly en route to the bedroom—just a few steps away from starting to get my work uniform peeled off—when she emerged from the
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On Stage
Setting the Stage
What’s up with the Commercial Street Theatre Project?
By Amy Kepferle · Wednesday, May 22, 2013
In the first 24 hours of its official fundraising campaign, the folks behind the Commercial Street Theatre Project raised more than $11,000—and the numbers are quickly rising.
This is good news to local dancer and choreographer Pam Kuntz who, along with her husband Mark and a handful of other area movers and shakers, are attempting to raise a total of $638,000 by March of 2014 in order to transform an empty trio of office spaces on Bellingham’s Commercial Street into a 200-seat, multi-use
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Film
Fast & Furious 6
Start your engines
Reviewed by Alan Scherstuhl · Wednesday, May 22, 2013
There’s one key truth that separates the tank-topped gearheads of the Fast and Furious movies from the rest of us. Every problem these lugnuts face can be solved by doing the one thing these lugnuts love most: driving really fast. It’s like if you could deal with your taxes by hunkering down with a season of Justified.
Over the course of six films, now, these heroic outlaws have raced their Hot Wheels for justice, for wealth, for respect, to clear their names, to save the world from
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