Alaska

What are the public policy implications of living in the None Zone, where religious affiliations are limited? A comparison between New England and the Northwest offers hints.

Are we happier in the West?

Posted Sat, Mar 14, 6 a.m.

A new poll suggests Western states report a better sense of well-being, but neither prosperity not recession seem to be making most Americans happier.

Is Seattle's growth unstoppable?

Posted Mon, Feb 23, 6 a.m.

Walling off migration is not possible. But there are ways to downsize our ambitions to a Lesser Seattle, which might be good for America and the environment.

Mr. Mayor: Can we afford our city payroll?

Posted Wed, Feb 18, 6 a.m.

By Kent Kammerer

It's time to face the facts about coming cuts at City Hall. And will the high-earners suffer, or just the folks who tend the parks and fix the potholes?

Redistricting in God's Country

Posted Tue, Feb 10, 6 a.m.

God is making a slight comeback in the Pacific Northwest, no longer the most church-averse region in the U.S. Meanwhile, Big-Tent Obama is playing footsie with the seculars.

A few kind words for earmarks

Posted Mon, Feb 9, 6 a.m.

By T.M. Sell

Congress is damned if (as in earmarks) it directs where the money goes , and berated if (as in the new stimulus package) it doesn't. Sober up, government bashers!

Setting sail for the Salish Sea

Posted Fri, Jan 23, 6 a.m.

Forget cleaning up Puget Sound: we have bigger waters to take care of. A new name for the Pacific Northwest's inland sea challenges us to rethink the region and its identity.

A court blocks an Arctic Ocean drilling plan by Shell

Posted Mon, Nov 24, 11 a.m.

By Daniel Jack Chasan

A coalition of environmental groups just won a court decision, blocking Shell from drilling exploration wells in the Beaufort Sea. The ruling bears on the impacts of noise on bowhead whales.

Joe the Bigfoot Hunter

Posted Mon, Nov 10, 6:46 p.m.

The campaign symbol that got away. Plus: tales of ravenous locusts, obese bears, Bigfoot's B.C. invasion, and more animal news.

The incredible, shrinking Northwest GOP

Posted Fri, Nov 7, midnight

By Floyd McKay

As Washington and Oregon become increasingly urban, Republicans are increasingly scarce. They remain in control of isolated, rural counties, but their numbers are no match for Democrats.

New media, old media, and the Palin defect

Posted Fri, Oct 31, midnight

By Lisa Albers

The Alaska governor's vetting in the media was abetted by new forms of journalism and polished by old.

Sarah Palin, comic book heroine

Posted Tue, Oct 28, 4:33 p.m.

By Bob Simmons

A Bellingham publishing entrepreneur sees force and fortune in the Palin story, no matter how it turns out.

The Alaska and Oregon races could be filibuster busters

Posted Sun, Oct 26, 10:45 a.m.

By Floyd McKay

The fierce struggle over the 60-vote barrier in the U.S. Senate could be decided by a third-party candidate in Oregon.

Gov. Sarah Palin, Democrat

Posted Wed, Oct 22, 4:03 p.m.

By John Carlson

For a moment, enter a parallel universe. How would the news media treat her?

The 'crazy pills' election

Posted Fri, Oct 17, midnight

How democracy expresses its irrationality, from McCain and Palin to Dinocrats to Obama's audacity of hope.

(Historical) context is everything

Posted Tue, Oct 7, 3 a.m.

Making arrowheads, tossing spears, wandering old homesteads, and studying petroglyphs: All are part of a Washington state program designed to ensure that material progress doesn't completely obliterate the past. Part 1

Populism is back, but will it work?

Posted Tue, Sep 23, 3 a.m.