‘Blue Tides’ Of Sailor Jellies On Northwest Coast Correlate With Warmer Seas In Winter

By Tom Banse
A mass stranding of Velella velella at Fort Stevens State Park, Oregon, in 2015.
New research out of the University of Washington finds a correlation between warmer ocean waters and mass strandings of By-the-wind sailor jellyfish over the past two decades. The brief, widespread beachings of "gazillions" of purplish-blue jellies along the Pacific Northwest coast create a memorable sight for those who chance to be in the right place at the right time. Read More

Couples And Families Separated By U.S.-Canada Border Closure Find Oasis At Peace Arch Park

By Tom Banse
Crossing the border into Peace Arch State Park from Canada, at left, entails stepping across a ditch. CREDIT: Tom Banse/N3
This coming Sunday, March 21, will mark one year since the U.S. and Canada closed their shared border to nonessential crossings due to the pandemic. It's anybody's guess when the border might reopen for discretionary trips. In the meantime, every weekend rain or shine, Peace Arch State Park in Blaine, Washington, becomes a happening meetup point for couples and families Read More

When ‘The Big One’ Hits The Northwest, What Could You Do With A Few Seconds Warning?

By Tom Banse
A cracked road from an earthquake
Smartphone users who opted in to a test of the West Coast earthquake early warning system got an early taste on Thursday of what is to come. Mobile phones from Seattle to Olympia blared with an alarm for imaginary incoming shaking. The earthquake warning system -- already operational in California -- will launch for the general public in Oregon on March 11 and statewide in Read More

Across The Northwest, Teachers, Grocery Workers, Older Adults May Be Next For COVID Vaccine

By Tom Banse
The first shipment of COVID vaccines arriving at the UW Medical Center in Seattle on December 14, 2020. CREDIT: Pool/Courtesy UW Medicine
Western state governors and state health officials are now reviewing a finalized recommendation from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for how to prioritize future vaccination phases. The initial deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines to Oregon, Washington state and Idaho are spoken for — at least well into next month. High-risk health care workers, Read More

Cascadia High-Speed Rail: Will It Finally Happen Or Is It ‘Time To Kill This Thing’?

By Tom Banse
Acela II passes through Halethorpe, MD on its way to Washington DC for the first Amtrak has full rights to this image. New Acela 21 in Testing
A new government report on high speed rail in the Pacific Northwest recommends that Oregon, Washington and British Columbia formalize their interest in a Cascadia bullet train by creating an independent body to plan and eventually build it. But a critic associated with a conservative think tank responded that the region should take heed of California's high speed rail woes Read More

Washington Launches Statewide COVID-19 Exposure App For Phones. But You Need To Turn It On

By Tom Banse
Washington state residents can now enable a smartphone app that sends an alert if the user was potentially exposed to a coronavirus carrier. CREDIT: Derek Wang/N3
The smartphone app sends you an alert if you've had close contact with another user who later tests positive for the coronavirus. The Washington State Department of Health and governor are hoping that at least 15 percent of Washingtonians voluntarily activate the COVID-19 exposure notification tool. Gov. Jay Inslee said even a low level of participation could reduce Read More

Lights, Camera, Action: How Vancouver (AKA ‘Hollywood North’) Revved Up Despite COVID

By Tom Banse
British Columbia film set
The film and TV industry in British Columbia is busier than ever in spite of COVID and partly because of COVID. The place sometimes called Hollywood North is benefiting from high demand for new content from networks and streaming services. The much smaller film industries in next door Washington state and Oregon are rebounding more slowly from the region wide shutdown Read More

Crisis Clinicians Ride Along With Washington Deputies In Latest Example Of Policing Reimagined

By Tom Banse
Compass Health program manager Marla Johns, center, and Skagit County Detective Anne Weed, right, collaborated to embed mental health clinicians with deputies responding to relevant 911 calls.
Skagit County Sheriff's Office Detective Anne Weed broached the idea for a partnership months before the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police ignited the national debate about reform. Weed said two existing mental health clinicians from Compass Health are now being "embedded" with regular patrol deputies. They get assigned the 911 calls involving people acting out Read More

Chehalis Tribe Opens Distillery, After Centuries-Old Nationwide Prohibition Overturned

By Tom Banse
The Talking Cedar brewpub and distillery opened to the public this summer in Grand Mound. CREDIT: Tom Banse/N3
A new distillery will soon begin making whiskey, vodka and gin on Chehalis tribal land in southwest Washington state. It's the first legal, Native-owned distillery to open on tribal land in the nation. The Chehalis Tribe's effort to diversify its economy by joining the craft spirits boom had to first overcome a nearly two century old prohibition on liquor production in Read More

New ‘Twilight’ Book Will Boost Olympic Peninsula Vampire Tourism, If COVID Doesn’t Put A Stake In It

By Tom Banse
Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Robert Pattinson) swooned through five blockbuster movies in the Twilight saga. CREDIT: Kimberley French/Summit Entertainment
The Twilight phenomenon gets an injection of fresh blood this Tuesday with the release of a new installment in the bestselling vampire saga from author Stephenie Meyer. The series of novels and subsequent hit movies spurred legions of fans to visit the fictional story's real-life setting on Washington's Olympic Peninsula. But a predicted "renaissance" in vampire tourism Read More
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