Listening to and watching the devastated residents of Mariupol after the Russians began bombardment of the city in February 2022 in the film “20 Days in Mariupol,” the pain and incomprehension – the entire scene – could have been labeled... Full story

If my parents were alive, they would be stepping through their second century in America. My mom, born in 1920, would be 103. My dad would be 109. They were children of the Depression. I have long called myself a child of children of the Depression,... Full story

Here is a backwards rhetorical question: How do your improve on the town’s Tom Robbins celebration and day? Answer: You can’t. Don’t try. Do more and better by organizing something different. What is the necessary alternative roadside...

This really happened last week, though instead of it being on a TV or movie screen the set was the office of the Weekly News and the players were the real-life Rhonda, design and layout editor, and Kurt, production manager for the Weekly News. The tr... Full story

Memorial Day was May 29th this year. That is John F. Kennedy's birthday. I know that because it is also my mother's birthday, Mary Madeline Nemunis Stern. My mother was born in 1920. She would have been 103. I believe my mother hated war. She never t... Full story

Before Tom Hanks rode through post-Civil War Texas on his rescue mission bringing the 10-years old Johanna to her grandparents south of San Antonio in the film “News of the World,” there was Paulette Jiles’ 2016 novel. Her protagonist, Captain... Full story

Very few of us are racist or know people who are racist. Few of us stay quiet when racist remarks are made. That is what polling and folks discussing race in America or in their community say. Yet I know that I very definitely crossed the street... Full story

What is more American than farmers on their farms? They were the first colonizers, clearing the land, putting down roots, both literal and figurative, forging the future out of the sweat of their brow, the force of their will and the strength of thei... Full story

The coronavirus pandemic roared into 2022 but vaccinations slowed its spread and the story faded from the public consciousness. Fewer people reported their positive tests and infections. People are still getting infected and hospitalized, however....

I had the most surprising and joyful experience Sunday afternoon in St. Petersburg, Florida. I flew down last Thursday for the 25th wedding anniversary celebration of my friends Dick and Lisa. It is because of Dick that I am in La Conner. His August...

By the time Hatfield pushed his way into the bar McCoy was already hard at it, empty beer mugs and shot glasses arrayed in front of him like toy soldiers strategically placed. Hatfield went up to him, but at his touch McCoy turned with more of a...

Something felt odd being outdoors Friday. The hazy heat was tempered mid-afternoon by a sky turned gray with smoke from distant wildfires. That tilted the day away from a typical end of summer northern Puget sound experience. And consider, we would h...