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After a fierce flood, a Fidalgo Island couple raises the bar for resiliency by setting their modern new home on concrete piers


This is quite the elevated living experience: a seriously shiny, brand-new modern-and-maritime home designed to endure nature’s wildest mood swings.




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Bonnie Berk, an artist and a gardener, honors the architect’s original plan for her 1916 Mount Baker home, but has other ideas with her landscape


THE FIRST THING you notice about Bonnie Berk and Larry Kessler’s property in the Mount Baker neighborhood of Seattle is the formidable retaining wall. Accentuated with terra-cotta tiles and red brick, the wall provides double-sided access to the property via stairs, and was part of the original home design by Arthur Loveless. It’s a grand […]




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Idris Elba lends his voice to a song helping relief efforts


NEW YORK (AP) — Idris Elba, who battled the coronavirus this year, has lent his voice to a new song about black men and mental health that will benefit pandemic relief efforts. Elba is featured on the song “Kings” by Kosine, a singer-songwriter-producer best known for crafting hits for Big Sean, Nicki Minaj and Rihanna. […]




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What’s that behind you? On virus-era TV, home backdrops star


Those who saw conservative commentator Bill Kristol on television one recent night may not remember what he said. But they’ll never forget the magnificent mess of a bookcase behind him. And there’s a growing army of viewers with just one question after tuning into any number of interviews that political commentator John Heilemann has given […]




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Tech giants are profiting — and getting more powerful — even as the global economy tanks


As the pandemic wreaks havoc on the economy, tech giants Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft are benefiting enormously from a potentially permanent shift in consumer habits, leveraging their political clout by arguing that they are essential services, and gutting their competition.




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The Backstory: It’s all hands on deck at ‘Cape D’ — and we’re in very good hands


When the lifeboats aren’t rolling, destructive otters and an unusual hard hat are ‘things you’ve just got to roll with,’ says commanding officer Lt. Jessica Shafer.




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Lt. Jessica Shafer keeps her mind on the bar as the 1st female commanding officer of Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment


She emphasizes teamwork and exudes humility, but Jessica Shafer leads with uncommon courage, dedication and skill.




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The Backstory: Our fictional Nextdoor thread *probably* isn’t about you


How citizen ‘reporters’ and marauding coyotes took over the neighborhood ‘news cycle.




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The Backstory: Tag along to Port Townsend — if you haven’t already moved there


As in many smaller Northwest towns, things are changing rapidly here.




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The Backstory: Thankfully, this turkey-centered tradition can take a little ribbing


This year’s ode to the Thanksgiving feast is a tribute to folks for whom the mere thought of baking from scratch prompts a violent itch.




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The Backstory: Why don’t people know all these great products came from Seattle?


NO CITY OR region gets to choose what it’s best known for. That, alas, typically is an artifice assembled over time, often by scribes, compilers of baseless listicles, guidebook authors, societal observers and other self-appointed pundits, usually from far-afield havens of misinformation (such as the East Coast). Those depictions of place — for current purposes, […]



  • Pacific NW Magazine

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The Backstory: Let’s hope we learn from the lessons of the last ’20s decade


HISTORICAL RESEARCH at times truly feels like a time warp. For me, that’s been the case for almost five years, since I launched a thesis-level study of what at first seemed a small, never-fully-explained outbreak of arch-conservative political radicalism in a Northwest town (the Charles H. Fisher affair in Bellingham, at what’s now Western Washington […]



  • Pacific NW Magazine

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The Backstory: The Road to Hana should be a road less traveled


ONE BIT OF ADVICE that didn’t make it into this week’s decidedly smart-aleck primer for Northwesterners who throw up their hands and flee our lovely gray for a Hawaii vacation: If several friends who qualify as repeat island visitors say: “Did that. Never again!” … well, maybe listen to them. Such was the case on […]



  • Pacific NW Magazine

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Save a buck on your lunch break by packing your own ‘brown bag’


Packing your own lunch is an excellent way to guarantee a fulfilling meal that benefits both your health and your wallet.




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Coronavirus pushed spin, barre, yoga and other fitness classes online. Here’s how Seattle-area fitness studios have adapted


In these coronavirus pandemic times, online yoga has become as ubiquitous as online dating. But for some other kinds of fitness classes, the switch to virtual instruction has been more challenging.




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For his first debate, Mike Bloomberg wore a nice suit and a look of boredom


Deep into the two-hour Nevada Democratic debate, co-moderator Chuck Todd of NBC asked former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg if he should have made so much money that it allowed him to become a billionaire many times over. Bloomberg looked at Todd with an expression that was a combination of boredom and annoyance before replying, […]




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Sunday Best: An elegant trio of outfits show off ballet’s rich history, on display in New York City


Ballet and fashion have an undeniable connection — a bond currently on display in the "Ballerine: Fashion's Modern Muse" exhibit at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.




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As Eastside Catholic rolled to second state football title last winter, three players were under investigation for assault


Three Eastside Catholic players were under investigation for a parking-lot brawl as the team headed toward a second state championship. Prosecutors ultimately declined to pursue charges.




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‘Like I was getting Taylor Swift tickets’: Washington golfers thrilled to be back on links after coronavirus shutdown


Folks were teeming with joy Tuesday at Bellevue Golf Course, which booked out within minutes of Gov. Jay Inslee's announcement last week that it was OK to play golf after a two-month shutdown because of the coronavirus pandemic.




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Small businesses band together to sue insurers over coronavirus damage


In many cases, the response from insurers has been: We don't cover viruses.




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Indianapolis could welcome back fans for Brickyard weekend


INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis Motor Speedway could be the first major sporting venue to have fans back in the stands this summer. Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb announced a five-stage plan Friday to reopen the state with the final phase tentatively scheduled to include a return to sporting venues on July 4 — the very day […]




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Baseball fans, players chase their hopes and dreams (and eternal youth) every spring in Arizona


Editor’s note: Larry Stone’s story was reported and written from the early days of this year’s spring training in Arizona. It was sent to press for publication in Pacific NW magazine before Major League Baseball made the decision to cancel the rest of spring training, and delay the start of the regular season in an effort to […]




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The Backstory: Larry Stone has seen it all in 35 years of Arizona spring training — much of it unexpected, and all of it memorable


IT WAS ONE of my first years covering spring training in Arizona, during a stint in the early 1990s as the San Francisco Giants beat writer for the San Francisco Examiner. Every day, after our work was done, Bay Area media members would assemble at a Scottsdale park for a pickup basketball game, spirited affairs […]



  • Pacific NW Magazine

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The No. 2 UW softball team lost its season to the coronavirus crisis. But as Heather Tarr said, this is not the end.


This week all spring-sport athletes were granted an additional season of competition by the NCAA, a decision that was greeted with relief and jubilation by a Husky team that had legitimate national-title aspirations.




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Audacious WrestleMania XIX extravaganza in 2003 remains ballpark’s biggest event


The biggest, gaudiest, craziest — and oh, yeah, the fakest — event ever held at the ballpark on the corner of Edgar Martinez Drive and Dave Niehaus Way took place 17 years ago, on March 30, 2003.




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Led by ex-Husky Tanner Swanson, Northwest-based MLB coaches band together for ‘Coaches vs. COVID’ program


The idea is to impart the baseball knowledge of himself and others he recruited to the cause — many of whom are part of the wave of Northwest-based coaches who have infiltrated professional baseball — while raising money for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center to support COVID-19 research.




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Saturday Memo: STP … Big road closures … milk-carton madness … royal baby watch


Ten thousand bicyclists: The grand parade of neon and spandex is under way as thousands of bicyclists departed Husky Stadium this morning for the Rose City. It’s an annual classic where the greyhound riders will finish the 200-mile ride in a single day. The big pack will finish Sunday, exhausted but happy to be in […]




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Playoff fever has 520 and Bay Area bridges trading tweets


Could it be all the smack talk between Seattle and San Francisco football fans has spread to our bridges? If you believe in the Twittersphere, then yes. The Bay Bridge tweeted that it’s happy the Seahawks vaunted fans will be on hand to console the team when it loses on Sunday. Ouch! The 520 suggested […]




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49er coach Jim Harbaugh’s wife says the khakis have to go


You can forgive a lot of things about Jim Harbaugh, coach of the San Francisco 49ers, but even his wife gets critical when it comes to his long-standing love affair of pleated khakis. Turns out even his wife thinks the pleats have to go. Sarah Harbaugh reportedly called Bay Area radio station 99.7 Now and […]




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As Boeing goes back to work, employees who got sick earlier are confirmed coronavirus cases


Confirmed positive coronavirus tests were reported for two Boeing Everett employees on Tuesday — the day employees returned to work at the factory. This raised fears and rumors among the workforce. However, the two had become ill in mid-March.




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Court halts ban on mass gatherings at Kentucky churches


FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A federal court halted the Kentucky governor’s temporary ban on mass gatherings from applying to in-person religious services, clearing the way for Sunday church services. U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove on Friday issued a temporary restraining order enjoining Gov. Andy Beshear’s administration from enforcing the ban on mass gatherings […]




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Trump ban on fetal tissue research blocks coronavirus treatment effort


A senior scientist at a government biomedical research laboratory has been thwarted in his efforts to conduct experiments on possible treatments for the new coronavirus because of the Trump administration’s restrictions on research with human fetal tissue. The scientist, Kim Hasenkrug, an immunologist at the National Institutes of Health’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Montana, has […]




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Watchdog faults SBA on minority-owned and rural small business PPP lending


WASHINGTON — The Small Business Administration did not direct private lenders to prioritize minority and women-owned businesses as Congress intended when they started implementing a $669 billion loan program under the CARES Act, a federal watchdog concluded in a report released Friday. The findings from the SBA Office of the Inspector General add to growing […]




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Small businesses band together to sue insurers over coronavirus damage


In many cases, the response from insurers has been: We don't cover viruses.




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Tech giants are profiting — and getting more powerful — even as the global economy tanks


As the pandemic wreaks havoc on the economy, tech giants Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft are benefiting enormously from a potentially permanent shift in consumer habits, leveraging their political clout by arguing that they are essential services, and gutting their competition.




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Amazon engineering elites engage in rare public debate over company’s coronavirus safety response, worker treatment


The public back-and-forth about a controversial, high-profile topic is unusual for a company that has lately enforced policies limiting what employees can say publicly without authorization, and for the seniority of those involved.




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The Backstory: A global premiere of Earth Day art, and a collection of rare, local talent   


ON APRIL 22, 202o, a billion people around the world will mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day — except, this year, likely not together. Ironically, a small forest of trees will be sacrificed for print publications around the globe to analyze the lasting impact of Earth Day, deep-dive into a half-century of environmental activism […]



  • Pacific NW Magazine

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Chunky, curdled possets once were a popular remedy for minor ailments. Nowadays — well … it might be fun to mix up a batch, anyway.


IMAGINE IT’S 1683, and you live in England. You might be in the throes of the Age of Enlightenment, but the state of medicine is still downright medieval, so when you or your loved ones are afflicted with sleeplessness, or indigestion, or hangovers, or even low libido, you could make a trip to the barber-surgeon, or […]



  • Pacific NW Magazine

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The Backstory: I’ve cleaned up my act — but the system needs to be cleaned up, too


UNTIL I STARTED working on this week’s story about global challenges that rocked recycling in Washington and beyond, I had no idea what a dirty business it was. People throw all manner of things into their recycling bins: soiled diapers, old blue jeans, hose caddies, leather belts, tubs of spoiled hummus, wadded-up plastic wrap streaked […]



  • Pacific NW Magazine

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A rising star: For Conor O’Neill and The Cottage at Blue Ridge, baking bread is all about creating community


The Cottage at Blue Ridge has become a sort of local phenomenon: A bread popup launched last summer in the Edmonds enclave of Perrinville, that typically sells out its weekly goods in less than two hours.



  • Food & Drink
  • Pacific NW Magazine

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The Backstory: The more we’re indoors, the more powerful the appeal, and the hope, of the great outdoors


THE DEEPER WE got into our isolation, the more I missed the old routines and simplicities of daily life. I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed making the kids’ lunches in the morning, or quiet time in a coffee shop to work alone, or watching baseball, or hands that didn’t crack and bleed from frequent […]



  • Pacific NW Magazine

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Sara Naftaly of Amandine Bakeshop shares her perfected recipe for a very British, very comforting malt loaf 


British baked goods are known to be soothing; there’s a whole afternoon-tea tradition built around them, not to mention a more-recent cult-favorite TV series. Here is a recipe for malt loaf, studded with sultanas and tiny currants.



  • Food & Drink
  • Pacific NW Magazine

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Dave Matthews Band will skip its annual Labor Day weekend Gorge run due to coronavirus pandemic


Dave Matthews Band announced it's rescheduling its entire summer concert slate — including the annual Labor Day weekend bash the band's hosted at the Gorge Amphitheatre for years — due to COVID-19.




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Buju Banton calls new single with John Legend ‘special’


LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’s been over a decade since reggae king Buju Banton and R&B star John Legend collaborated on a song, and the Grammy winners have reunited for a new track. Banton and Legend released the easygoing love song “Memories” on Friday. It is the first single from Banton’s upcoming album “Upside Down,” […]




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Day trips. Hiking with bandanas. What you should keep in mind as Washington’s outdoors spaces reopen


Gov. Jay Inslee on Monday announced the easing of restrictions on outdoor recreation in Washington state, starting May 5 with the opening of golf courses, state parks, fishing and hunting. Here’s some of what will be different as our state reopens the outdoors.




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Gather ’round the (virtual) campfire: Mount Baker Council Boy Scouts is hosting an online campout


With campouts in the outdoors currently not allowed, the Mount Baker Council, which has troops in Island, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish, and Whatcom counties, is hosting a virtual campout this weekend for Boy Scouts and their families.




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Reader’s Lens | Seattle skyline reflects onto Elliott Bay during a stunning sunrise


As always, a big “thank you” to our front-line workers for their selfless, tireless service — and, in this instance, for sharing a hopeful image of the Seattle skyline, shot from West Seattle on a recent morning.




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Race Home wins Gottstein Futurity on final day of a mixed-bag Emerald Downs season


Track president Phil Ziegler says overall handle increased this season despite 11 fewer races. But he says attendance, the number of horses per race and on-track betting declined.  




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Breeders’ Cup bans Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer


ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) — Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer is banned from entering horses in the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita, where he was barred earlier this year. Fred Hertrich, chairman of the Breeders’ Cup board, said Friday that it would honor Santa Anita’s house rule and not allow Hollendorfer to enter horses in […]




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Storytelling in Neah Bay forms the fault line in brilliant debut ‘Subduction’ from Seattle’s Kristen Millares Young


The plot in Kristen Millares Young’s new novel centers around a history of storytelling in Neah Bay, with a quiet, powerful narrative that shakes readers like an earthquake.