How Wall Street is destroying the timber way of life
Posted Fri, Dec 12, 6 a.m.
The pressure for real estate and the short-term perspective of fancy Wall Street financial instruments have changed the old line companies utterly.
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Crosscut articles of the past 10 days with the most clicks.
- Viaduct politicians reach a big moment of truth
- The Metro Bus Blues
- Meet the Pacific albus tree, harbinger of green forestry
- Seattle school closure plan, due Tuesday, still doesn't add up
- Seattle Times Co. still trying to close sale of Maine papers
- Five things that make even a Mossback happy
- Monorails: the idea that will not die
- 2008: Year of Hope, Year of Fear. Essay 2
- Recession, wrecking balls, and history
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Most Commented
Crosscut articles of the past 10 days with the most reader comments.
- Monorails: the idea that will not die
(19 comments) - 2008: Year of Hope, Year of Fear, Essay 7
(17 comments) - 2008: Year of Hope, Year of Fear. Essay 2
(13 comments) - Seattle school closure plan, due Tuesday, still doesn't add up
(11 comments) - Viaduct politicians reach a big moment of truth
(9 comments) - Think before you cut the state auditor's budget
(8 comments) - 2008: Year of Hope, Year of Fear. Essay 5
(6 comments) - 2008: Year of Hope, Year of Fear. Essay 8
(6 comments) - Recession, wrecking balls, and history
(5 comments) - Seattle Times Co. still trying to close sale of Maine papers
(5 comments)
Idaho
Crosscut most recent
Lending for ultra-luxury Western resorts: dumb, dumb, dumb
Posted Wed, Dec 10, 6 a.m.
As resorts for the wealthy such as Yellowstone Club, Tamarack, and Promontory tumble into insolvency, you have to wonder what the lenders such as Credit Suisse and Lehman Bros. were thinking. Here's another tale of toxic assets, poor diligence, and no backup plans.
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Bad news for atheists
Posted Thu, Nov 20, midnight
Electing a black president has caused a rise in hate crimes, but no one is less popular than Godless blowhards.
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The incredible, shrinking Northwest GOP
Posted Fri, Nov 7, midnight
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.
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The state's economic strength helps Gregoire
Posted Fri, Oct 10, 4 p.m.
Some misery is more equal than others, as new figures show. The governor also gains a notch by being able to dole out budget savings.
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Northwest national candidates through the ages
Posted Wed, Sep 3, 6 p.m.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is hardly the first from this corner of the country to run for one of the highest offices, but those who made it to the general election are relatively few.
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An Alaska-sized gamble — and possibly a brilliant one
Posted Fri, Aug 29, 11 a.m.
Our grizzled national political writer, an Obama supporter, found himself rooting for Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin during her coming-out party. Her choice by Sen. John McCain could be a game-changer — if she doesn't make any big mistakes between now and the election.
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Go eastward, young Americans
Posted Tue, Aug 5, 4 a.m.
There's a reverse flow of population in the West, drifting from expensive coastal cities to interior boomtowns. It's definitely changing the politics of the Rockies, while also stirring resentments at "Aspenization."
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Salmon on the Columbia: See you in court
Posted Mon, Jul 7, 4 a.m.
The federal agencies are back for a fifth round in federal court, still cooking up very strained arguments for minimal efforts to save the fish. Two things might change the impasse: a new case for saving dams due to climate change, and the bestirring of Congress. Here's a survey of the high-stakes issues.
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Wilderness redefined
Posted Fri, Jun 20, 8 p.m.
Wild Sky in Washington's Cascades is just one of a number of areas designated for protection that are not, in the strictest sense, primeval environment. But they are wild, and in modern times they're worth preserving, say environmentalists — even if unprecedented compromise is necessary.
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What's wrong with this carbon footprint?
Posted Fri, May 30, midnight
It was, the Brookings Institution admitted, a flawed study. But it's the best data we have on the impact of urban areas on climate. This business of quantifying carbon emissions is as complicated as technological urban life itself.
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A bold plan to turn UW into a Stanford died a quiet death
Posted Tue, May 20, 5 a.m.
State universities have clumsy and stingy masters in state capitols. Is it time for divorce court? Here's the story of how some people advising the University of Washington looked at such a scheme.
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Another Teton Dam
Posted Sat, May 10, midnight
The golden age of dam building has long since passed, capped by the tragic failure in 1976 of the last big dam, an earthen structure on the Teton River of Idaho. Few new dam projects are being proposed these days, and many dams are being purposefully breached. But that hasn't stopped some from resurrecting the possibility of a new Teton Dam.
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Annals of Northwest secession
Posted Tue, May 6, midnight
A primer of regional separatist movements, real and imagined.
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A radical management plan for gray wolves: hunting
Posted Sat, Apr 19, midnight
With healthy numbers, the gray wolf faces de-listing as an endangered species. Introducing trophy hunting into the management plan has arguably worked for other species, such as the mountain lion, and some think it will work for the gray wolf, but the idea is not without its staunch critics.
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So much talk about so few fish
Posted Mon, Apr 14, 11 p.m.
The salmon fisheries of the Northwest have spawned a new industry of bureaucrats, lawyers, environmentalists, sport fishers, commercial interests, scientists, and natives, all focused on the absence of fish. Meanwhile, four sockeye returned last summer to a lake in Idaho once teeming with tens of thousands.
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Hey, what about an Absolut Ecotopia?
Posted Tue, Apr 8, 5 a.m.
A vodka ad stirs anger and nationalism, tapping a history that links to the fight for the Pacific Northwest.
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Sharing a sense of place when change is fast-paced
Posted Sat, Mar 22, midnight
A definition of the Western landscape varies according to individual economic, social, and recreational values. Here's a look at how our Western neighbors foster a shared sense of place across differing perspectives.
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High Tex: A new generation covers the campaign its own way
Posted Sun, Mar 9, 9 p.m.
Sixteen journalism students from the University of Washington descended on Texas during the presidential campaign to see what they could do with few resources and little clout. In hindsight, one might ask, what could they not?
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Do we need guns at Paradise?
Posted Wed, Mar 5, 5 a.m.
Some Northwest lawmakers have pushed the Bush administration to allow visitors to carry loaded guns in our national parks. It gives backpacking a whole new meaning.
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Blog posts
A region in decline
Posted Tue, Jan 6, 6 a.m.
Once known for resilience, the Northwest now seems baffled as regards an economic strategy for the recession.
MOREState by state with NBC's Chuck Todd
Posted Sat, Nov 1, 6:22 p.m. 2008
The network's political director surveys all 50 states for races and trends to watch. Here's what he sees in the Northwest.
MORELooking forward to Tuesday
Posted Sun, Nov 2, 6:12 a.m. 2008
Some links to voting-related Web sites to help you prepare.
MOREWhen the Northwest was red
Posted Thu, Oct 9, 4 a.m. 2008
There's a cool Web site that lets you look at the electoral college results in presidential races since 1789. It features a U.S. map that shows the color of states as they were carried every four years: red for Republican, blue for Democrat, purple for Whig. It's fun to look at the Great Nearby and see the trends.
MORESausage Links, total, complete bummer edition
Posted Mon, Sep 29, 1:31 p.m. 2008
If you've been following coverage of the House of Representatives' rejection of the $700 billion proposal to bail out Wall Street and the subsequent stock plunge, I don't need to tell you what a lousy day it's been for politicians. But for the state's political journalists, it's even worse. Tri-City Herald reporter and rising state political journalism star Chris Mulick announced he was leaving the business today, opting instead to work for the state Senate Democratic caucus. I wrote about Mulick recently, saying that he was part of the next generation of promising political writers sure to take the reigns from the state's elder newsmen. So much for that.
MOREInside the Obama campaign: How he wins
Posted Fri, Sep 12, 5 p.m. 2008
A source "tight in the Obama campaign" has sent out a memo, meant to reassure anxious supporters by deflecting attention from national polls, where McCain is rising, and to the state-by-state electoral tally, where the election will be settled. While there might be some disinformation in such a message, and things are obviously still fluid, it makes for interesting reading. Washington and Oregon remain firmly in the "Obama solid" category, while Montana has joined Idaho in the "McCain solid" group.
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Washington and Idaho score very high as business-friendly states
Posted Sun, Sep 7, 9:31 a.m. 2008
In the governor's race, Gov. Chris Gregoire understandably often cites the state's recent rating by Forbes magazine, which names Washington as the third best state for business. The magazine's annual ranking put Virginia first and Utah second; Idaho retains its high rank, this year as 7th. Oregon finished 16th, Colorado is 6th, Minnesota is 11th, Montana is 24th, California is 40th, and Alaska is 48th.
MORESausage Links, Postman stops ringing edition
Posted Fri, Sep 5, 1 p.m. 2008
It's a sad day for state journalism. Seattle Times chief political reporter David Postman, the author of the ever-popular Postman on Politics, announced today that after some 14 years at the paper, he will leave to join Vulcan Inc., a company founded and run by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. The Capitol press corps appears to be devastated. I sure am. ...
MORESausage Links, partisan hats and T-shirts edition
Posted Wed, Sep 3, noon 2008
Republican presidential candidate John McCain might be the "anti-earmark candidate," but as The Seattle Times reports, McCain's VP pick, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, requested more than $197 million in federal earmarks for her state in 2008. Randy Stapilus at Ridenbaugh Press notes how "Palin employed a lobbying firm to secure $6.1 million in federal earmarks for a town of 6,700 residents while she was its mayor" in 2002. Meanwhile, Boise, Idaho, a town of more than 200,000, received $6.9 million in 2008. ...
MOREMiller times
Posted Mon, Sep 1, 12:13 p.m. 2008
Between national party conventions, I took an advance look at Joseph Miller's upcoming memoirs, The Wicked Wine of Democracy, to be published next month by University of Washington Press. The book provides an almost too-candid portrayal of politics and lobbying in the Northwest and nationally over 50 years and is an intriguing chronicle of some of the main figures in Northwest political life.
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