When we think of music in Seattle during the 1990s, some names come handily to mind. Kurt Cobain. Chris Cornell. Eddie Vedder. Layne Staley. So many of us are intimately familiar with their stories. For those of us who grew up then, their musical triumphs gave us the soundtrack to our lives and their tragedies are etched in our hearts.

Lesser known is Mark Lanegan.

Make no mistake: Lanegan’s grunge bona fides are legit. He was a member of Screaming Trees, along with brothers Van and…

With the recent news that Saudi Arabia will soon be offering tourist visas, the publication of Adam Valen Levinson’s new memoir/travelogue, The Abu Dhabi Bar Mitzvah: Fear and Love in the Modern Middle East, is perfectly timed. More than an account of his travels, the book describes both realities and the flavor of life in countries ranging from Syria to Pakistan to Somalia.

Levinson grew up in the shadow of 9/11, and as a young adult recognized how many “fear” messages about the…

By the time this paper hits the streets, only four days will remain of Bellingham Beer Week.

But the pint party is far from over, and even if you forgo adult responsibilities to devote days and nights to attending all of the remaining events highlighting the city’s ever-growing craft beer scene, it’s unlikely you’d be able to cram them all in. That said, it won’t hurt to try. Following are many—but not all—ways to enjoy the frothy festivities.

On Wed., April 25, bring your dog…

This is the story of a madman and a mime.

It’s also the tale of how two actors who spent time living and studying in Whatcom County but left it behind are returning to share some of what they’ve learned since they left.

First up, Robert “Robbie” Bowman will be peforming his award-winning production of Diary of a Madman Sun., April 29 at the Bellingham Theatre Guild.

The showing of the adaptation of Gogol’s comedy about the fantasy world of a low-ranking civil servant will raise…

Our Sunday plan of action centered around visiting relatives in Anacortes, but my suggestion to take advantage of the proximity of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival by adding a couple of events to our itinerary was met with approval by my two fellow day-trippers.

After exiting the freeway and securing directions from a friendly woman at the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce, we set off for Christianson’s Nursery, where we planned to pick up a blooming beauty for our hostess and also…

For years we’ve been hearing that Hedy Lamarr, one of the most beautiful women of Hollywood’s classic era, invented the “frequency hopping” technology that’s integral to modern weaponry and communications. But exactly how that’s the case and the extent to which that is true have not been clear until the release of Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story, a documentary by Alexandra Dean.

For example, if you assumed, as I did, that Lamarr just came up with an idea first, but then…

Most people run from bees, not in support of them.

The latter scenario will be in full effect at BelleWood Acres’ third annual “Run for the Bees 5K” happening Sun., April 29 near and among the 32 acres of blooming fruit tree orchards near Lynden.

With apples at the front of a long list of plants pollinated by honeybees, it’s of particular importance to the powers that be at BelleWood to keep the flying insect on the radar. In just the past 10 years, more than 40 percent of bee…

It’s unfolding in another country, yet also just a few miles from here.

In 2013, Texas-based Kinder Morgan applied to expand the pipeline system from a capacity of 300,000 barrels per day to 890,000 barrels per day. The Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain expansion would include building a new pipeline, constructing 12 new pump stations, 19 new storage tanks and three new marine berths located at the Westridge Marine Terminal in the Burrard Inlet near Vancouver.

The expansion would mean…

It’s tulip time, and the fields are alive with the light and color of spring. The word’s out, and this spectacular time in the Skagit Valley is no longer a secret.

But Skagit still holds a lot of secrets—mist-shrouded valleys, swollen and mighty rivers, and frosty high country thick with dark pines and devil’s club. And there are the hidey holes—the hamlets sprinkled along old forgotten highways, the winding sloughs and channels of the fertile delta, and the coast beyond—dotted with islands pungent from salt and rain. There are the bars and diners and coffeehouses, the playgrounds and trails. And there are the people who fill them, hearty and happy. And though our readers revealed some of these secrets, Skagit remains a treasure undiscovered.

Entries by Tim Johnson, Amy Kepferle, Carey Ross, Stephanie Young, and Trail Rat
Photos by Jessamyn Tuttle and Andy Porter