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Heritage Turkey Watch

Posted Fri, Jan 27, 2 a.m.

By Knute Berger

The Kalakala still floats, for now, plus Seattle's plywood "space shuttle," demolition fight in Spokane, and other preservation news.

Heritage Turkeys of the year

Posted Mon, Jan 9, 2 a.m.

By Knute Berger

Who did most to raze, wreck, uproot, neglect, and generally trash our historic treasures in 2011? The envelopes, please...

Losing ground in the research race

Posted Wed, Sep 28, 2 a.m.

By Bill Stafford

A survey of our assets and their funding shows that we do not have a clear strategy and some key programs are being defunded. Here's a wake-up call about this most critical sector of our modern global economy.

The wildly unfettered imagination of NW artist Harold Balazs

Posted Fri, Jul 8, 2 a.m.

By Robin Lindley

The artist riffs on his lifelong desire to "create wonder." An exhibition of his work has just opened at the Northwest Museum of Art in La Conner, where Balazs will give a talk on Saturday afternoon (July 9), reception following.

The Governor's race: Tough times, solid candidates

Posted Wed, Jul 6, 2 a.m.

By Knute Berger

Rob McKenna and Jay Inlsee bring skill, broad knowledge, and smarts to a gubernatorial campaign that will hinge on independent voters both appeal to.

The budget axe slices heritage

Posted Fri, Jun 3, 2 a.m.

By Knute Berger

Olympia took its whacks at arts and heritage programs, but with the chips still falling, there are victories too. Big questions loom about future funding for many programs and institutions.

Heritage equals jobs

Posted Thu, Jan 20, 2 a.m.

By Knute Berger

That was the message down in Olympia as heritage groups caucus to keep their programs alive and prove their worth.

Heritage Turkeys of the Year

Posted Tue, Jan 4, 2 a.m.

By Knute Berger

The worst developments in Northwest heritage and historic preservation for 2010.

Saving Pioneer Square by teaching it some old tricks

Posted Thu, Apr 22, 2 a.m.

By Knute Berger

Pioneer Square needs to get organized to revitalize itself. The Main Street program, which barely survived Olympia budget cuts, offers a tested approach that could bring small-town techniques to Seattle's historic urban district.

Cascadia, where moral hand-wringing is an Olympic sport

Posted Mon, Mar 1, 9:09 p.m.

By Knute Berger

The Vancouver Olympics captured nicely the two opposing impulses of the Pacific Northwest: the desire to extol our green virtues, and to exploit our future.

What's Obama got against historic preservation?

Posted Tue, Feb 16, 2 a.m.

By Knute Berger

The Great Recession and federal and state budget cuts are creating hurdles for heritage advocates who see historic preservation and urban revitalization as a way out of the economic doldrums. Obama's budget is a major setback because it slashes cherished programs.

Heritage Turkeys of the Year

Posted Tue, Dec 29, 2 a.m.

By Knute Berger

Awards for the worst setbacks in Northwest historic preservation for 2009.

A big week for the cottage cult

Posted Mon, Sep 21, 6 a.m.

By Knute Berger

Backyard cottage housing is a benefit, not a threat, to single family neighborhoods, and in keeping with the values that shaped Seattle. Let's have more.

Isolation for sale

Posted Mon, May 18, 6 a.m.

By Knute Berger

Mining towns like Metaline Falls are struggling as auto sales slump, but across the border in British Columbia there is evidence that other places have found a future with another valuable resource.

Shot down in Shanghai?

Posted Fri, Dec 12, 6 a.m.

By Knute Berger

Another task Obama inherits is trying to bail out America's botched effort to have a pavilion at Shanghai's Expo 2010, the largest world's fair in history. There are reasons to hope that "yes, he can."

Up yours, Virginia

Posted Tue, Dec 2, 6 a.m.

By Knute Berger

Dispatch from the War on Christmas: Atheists make fools of themselves in Olympia while violence breaks out at Wal-Mart. The sacred season is now a very, very sick season.

Spokane: what Seattle used to be

Posted Fri, Sep 19, 4 a.m.

By Knute Berger

Mossback becomes enamored with a city he once regarded with disdain and considers what it would be like to move there. It reminds him of pre-1970s Seattle, before the yuppies ruined it.

On the fire line

Posted Tue, Aug 26, 4 a.m.

By Bob Simmons

The U.S. Forest Service considers changing its firefighting protocol in the wake of sentencing over handling of the Thirtymile Fire, which claimed the lives of four firefighters.

After a late start, MSM blogs are everywhere

Posted Wed, Aug 13, 5 a.m.

By Clark Fredricksen

The Northwest's mainstream newspapers are reporting political news on the Web first. Part 3 of 3

More fun than Deliverance!

Posted Fri, Jul 18, 5 a.m.

By Knute Berger

Spend your summer vacation in Eastern Washington, an exotic locale where lakes are slippery, the Scablands surprising, and wheat farmers are smashing stuff for fun.

Spokane Blog posts

Hate groups on the upswing

Posted Thu, Feb 24, 6 a.m. 2011

by Joe Copeland

The Northwest has always had its share of racist groups, and the latest Southern Poverty Law Center report identifies 13 in Washington state alone.

Spokane skates on some thick ice

Posted Fri, Feb 5, 1:28 p.m. 2010

by Sue Frause

The Lilac City hosts the U.S. Figure Skating Championships for the second time in four years.

What were they thinking?

Posted Tue, Sep 22, 6 a.m. 2009

by Knute Berger

Spokane's "criminally insane escapee" raises big questions.

A Lincoln Portrait for today

Posted Thu, Feb 5, 1 p.m. 2009

by Thomas May

Spokane Symphony commissions a modern work by Michael Daugherty, whose Letters from Lincoln was composed to honor baritone Thomas Hampson, who grew up in Spokane and will give the work's world premiere on Feb. 28

Sausage Links, townhall debate edition

Posted Tue, Oct 7, 3 p.m. 2008

by Clark Fredricksen

Tonight is the second presidential debate between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, and it represents what could be a knock-out punch for the Democrats. That is, if you're still convinced the election isn't over. (Hint: It is.) If the current polls are any indication, McCain's only chance of winning this election are if Obama walks onto stage tonight wearing an Arab headdress and an Irani lapel pin, and after giving a shout-out to Reverend Wright and Bill Ayers, tells the television audience that Sarah Palin is a trollop.

Sausage Links, HOV lane endorsement edition

Posted Mon, Oct 6, 1 p.m. 2008

by Clark Fredricksen

The Seattle Times is recommending voters reject Initiative 985, the Tim Eyman-sponsored measure that would create a statewide "traffic congestion relief" fund, eliminate localized revenues for devices such as red-light cameras, and open HOV lanes during non-peak hours. The paper's editorial board writes, "I-985 is a poorly-packaged jumble of different agendas that will – please, listen carefully – worsen traffic in certain areas. It makes no sense to design a functioning, complicated traffic system by initiative." ...

Sausage Links, pork barrel edition

Posted Fri, Oct 3, 5:29 p.m. 2008

by Clark Fredricksen

What's the most important news of the day? It's not the passage of the Wall Street bailout bill. It's not the pundits' reactions to last night's vice-presidential debate. No. The most important news item of the day is that Saturday, Oct. 4, is the last day to register to vote. So if you haven't already, do it. ...

Sausage Links, the big debate edition

Posted Thu, Oct 2, 1 p.m. 2008

by Clark Fredricksen

So. Tonight's the big vice-presidential debate between Republican Gov. Sarah Palin and Democratic Sen. Joe Biden. Which Palin will show up? Will we see the pitbull with lipstick or the incoherent Couric interviewee? It's anybody's guess. But with expectations already at rock-bottom, it's fair to assume she'll look better than many liberals think. What about Biden? As former Gore advisor Michael Feldman wrote in the Washington Post this morning, Biden's mission is not to screw it up. ...

Sausage Links, Buildergate edition

Posted Wed, Oct 1, 2:21 p.m. 2008

by Clark Fredricksen

Liberal bloggers are delirious with joy about Buildergate, the series of allegations announced yesterday accusing Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi of directly and illegally soliciting funds from the Master Builder's Association in May 2007 to fund the Building Industry Association of Washington's "war chest." Both David Goldstein at Horse's Ass and Aaron Ostrom at FUSE call the memo a "smoking gun" and a game-changer for the hotly contested gubernatorial race.

Sausage Links, cheap shot edition

Posted Tue, Sep 30, 2:10 p.m. 2008

by Clark Fredricksen

The folks at Horse's Ass report that while state Attorney General Rob McKenna has already filed suit against the Building Industry Association of Washington for multiple campaign finance violations, new evidence suggests that Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi may have "actively solicited funds" on behalf of the BIAW. If it's true it would be a deadly blow to Rossi's campaign. While the big papers haven't yet caught on, I guarantee you'll be reading about "buildergate" tomorrow. ...