First Nations vowed to keep their fight against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion going, despite losing what appears to be the last known legal option to overturn Canada’s approval of the project.

The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed an appeal from Squamish Nation, Tsleil-Waututh Nation, and Coldwater Indian Band that tribes had not been properly consulted about the expansion proposal. The ruling, which arrived last week with no explanation from the judges, effectively upholds a…

The unforgettable oil paintings of Skagit scenes by Alfred Currier may be viewed at his studio in Anacortes during the month of July.

Currier learned “straightforward traditional landscape and figurative work” while a student at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. This is the style to which he remains dedicated, and his art enjoys a wide, even international, following. But it was only when he settled in the Skagit Valley in his mid 40s that he found the land and the people that…

The last time I ate fish and chips was from a takeout container precariously placed on the dashboard of my car, which was parked near the boat launch in Bayview.

My date and I had gotten takeout from the Old Edison Inn—battered cod, fries and coleslaw for me, and half a pound of clam strips with the works for him—but hadn’t thought ahead about where we’d enjoy our repast. Bayview State Park was days away from opening for camping or day use, so we risked making a mess in our vehicle in…

One of the things I’ve enjoyed about being home so much during Washington’s Stay Home, Stay Healthy directive is setting up bird feeders and spending time birdwatching.

Resulting questions about bird behavior, nesting practices and communication led me to David Allen Sibley’s new book, What It’s Like to Be a Bird: From Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing: What Birds are Doing, and Why.

When Sibley’s first bird guide was published in 2000, the birding world snapped to…

If all had gone according to plan, Lummi Islanders could’ve turned out in spades this summer to watch theater camp students in grades K-12 explore the age-old rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks during showings of the high school version of the musical West Side Story.

The eighth annual camp that would’ve preceded the performances was scheduled to run from June 29-July 11, and there’s little doubt the finished product would’ve made for a memorable night at the theater. Kuntz and…

As the summer of 2020 is teaching us, even a global pandemic won’t stop Americans from rallying against this country’s many inequities—preferably with a mask covering their mouth and nose, hand sanitizer at the ready and a handmade sign pointing the way to the changes they want to see.

If you’re one of the countless brave souls that has been taking to the streets lately to demand that it’s way past time to pay attention to the ongoing horrors that centuries of systemic racism has…

Since we seem to be going backward in terms of Gov. Inslee’s Safe Start phased reopening plan—wear your damn masks and stay six feet away from each other, people!—and COVID-19 continues to be a wily beast, the reopening of music venues is getting further and further out on the horizon.

As I have mentioned a time or 10, this is troubling, not just for venues themselves, but also for every business, most of them small, that rely on venues for customers and revenue. Insert my heartfelt…