Best wishes to everyone for a happier new year!
When many people look back, it’s possible 2020 will be remembered as the worst year of their lives.
As we prepare to welcome a new year, our entire staff would like to say a special thank-you to our readers and advertisers for your continued support during these troubled times.
It’s Christmas week and we want to wish all our readers, advertisers and staff a Merry Christmas.
In this holiday season like no other, the peninsula community is being challenged to fund its food banks.
There’s a commendable focus on racial, ethnic and gender diversity in appointments to the incoming Biden administration, while one characteristic goes unremarked and possibly neglected. That is geographical diversity.
As the Trump administration wore on, I tired of lengthy letters and rebuttals about the president and his actions. Too often, these veered into personal aspersions, with neither side convincing the other. Nor, I believe, did these letters persuade other readers to alter their positions. As a…
Even as climate change deniers in the Trump administration were blocking a reckoning, a new coalition of farm groups and environmentalists was meeting secretly — building a 40-point climate program to present the incoming Biden government. A Nov. 20 story in our sister publication Capital Pr…
Last week was extraordinarily bad in Pacific County, with newly diagnosed covid infections roughly doubling every day or two — from 26 on Nov. 16, to 55 on Nov. 19, to 94 on Nov. 21. The weekly tally came to 175, more than half the total since the pandemic began.
It’s fun looking at decades-old editions of good newspapers. We’re reminded of school friends, of exactly how important community decisions were made, of mistakes to learn from, and achievements we ought to feel proud about.
Usually at this time of year we publish an exhortation to vote.
I have mixed feelings about making political endorsements. There are several reasons:
On what would have ordinarily been Rod Run weekend, a crowd estimated to be about 40% smaller than usual turned out at the beach for an informal happy celebration of classic cars and pickups. Coupled with a busy Labor Day, how worried should we be about possible spread of out-of-town covid t…
The good news regarding the census is that we’re starting to see census takers walking around area neighborhoods, knocking on doors to locate and count residents who didn’t respond to mailings or invitations to participate online.
As legislators across the nation grapple with revenue shortfalls caused by the shutdown and curtailment of businesses in their states, we would like to issue a plea.
The post office is one of the marvels of America’s economy and culture.
The most powerful actions we can take to recover our region’s salmon are to give our rivers and streams room to breathe while protecting the land and vegetation lining their banks.
A popular cut-and-paste Facebook post has made the rounds among those who continue denying the seriousness of the covid crisis. In essence, it asks whether the poster’s Facebook friends personally know any covid patients. If there isn’t an outpouring of positive responses, the implication is…
Honoring Confederate generals in this day and age might seem to be a peculiarly Southern embarrassment, but there is a prominent example in Washington state.
George Floyd’s death under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer in May forced all of us to examine our attitudes toward institutional racism.
When many people look back, it’s possible 2020 will be remembered as the worst year of their lives.
As we prepare to welcome a new year, our entire staff would like to say a special thank-you to our readers and advertisers for your continued support during these troubled times.
It’s Christmas week and we want to wish all our readers, advertisers and staff a Merry Christmas.
In this holiday season like no other, the peninsula community is being challenged to fund its food banks.
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There’s a commendable focus on racial, ethnic and gender diversity in appointments to the incoming Biden administration, while one characteristic goes unremarked and possibly neglected. That i…
As the Trump administration wore on, I tired of lengthy letters and rebuttals about the president and his actions. Too often, these veered into personal aspersions, with neither side convincin…
Even as climate change deniers in the Trump administration were blocking a reckoning, a new coalition of farm groups and environmentalists was meeting secretly — building a 40-point climate pr…
Last week was extraordinarily bad in Pacific County, with newly diagnosed covid infections roughly doubling every day or two — from 26 on Nov. 16, to 55 on Nov. 19, to 94 on Nov. 21. The weekl…
It’s fun looking at decades-old editions of good newspapers. We’re reminded of school friends, of exactly how important community decisions were made, of mistakes to learn from, and achievemen…
Usually at this time of year we publish an exhortation to vote.
I have mixed feelings about making political endorsements. There are several reasons:
On what would have ordinarily been Rod Run weekend, a crowd estimated to be about 40% smaller than usual turned out at the beach for an informal happy celebration of classic cars and pickups. …
The good news regarding the census is that we’re starting to see census takers walking around area neighborhoods, knocking on doors to locate and count residents who didn’t respond to mailings…
As legislators across the nation grapple with revenue shortfalls caused by the shutdown and curtailment of businesses in their states, we would like to issue a plea.
The post office is one of the marvels of America’s economy and culture.
The most powerful actions we can take to recover our region’s salmon are to give our rivers and streams room to breathe while protecting the land and vegetation lining their banks.
A popular cut-and-paste Facebook post has made the rounds among those who continue denying the seriousness of the covid crisis. In essence, it asks whether the poster’s Facebook friends person…
Honoring Confederate generals in this day and age might seem to be a peculiarly Southern embarrassment, but there is a prominent example in Washington state.
George Floyd’s death under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer in May forced all of us to examine our attitudes toward institutional racism.
Feeding America is a tough job, but U.S. farmers, ranchers, orchardists, dairy operators and food processors rise to the occasion every day. Together, they produce plenty of affordable food fo…
There’s no question that everyone — even most kids, if they’d admit it — want a return to normal pre-pandemic schooling. But there are many questions about exactly how to begin moving in that …
Independence Day is a celebration of the sacrifices that forged a nation. The American founders we honor for courage and inspired leadership — but not for their varying degrees of acceptance o…
When fireworks are set off in dry dune grass, sometimes we luck out and nothing bad happens. More often, a fire starts but emergency responders get there fast and little damage is done. But th…
Ocean Beach Hospital’s ability to serve south Pacific County residents and visitors is critically important both to our physical health and our economy. We all need to step up to help it pay f…
There is no asterisk required for the Class of 2020.
Like most everything else, education is set for transformation on a scale that was unimaginable half a year ago. Exactly where schooling will end up is still unpredictable, but it’s definitely…
Anyone who thinks this pandemic was a big surprise wasn’t paying attention. A bad one was overdue and had been predicted for decades — talked and written about to such an extent that even peop…
We hesitate to invoke a dusty metaphor that politicians love — that the coronavirus pandemic is a “war.”
An analysis the Chinook Observer shared with online readers last week generated 100 comments, ranging across the spectrum from the U.S. shouldn’t have gone into covid-19 lockdown in the first …
In an ordinary time, this year’s predictions of continuing poor salmon returns would get more attention. With the coronavirus pandemic going on, some environmental and conservation priorities …
The coronavirus pandemic and economic pains that come with it are pushing vital American institutions to the brink. They are key to a functioning democracy.
You know things have gotten bad when places like Long Beach and Seaside tell tourists to stay away.
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Wow, what a turn of events. Looking back to January when news about the novel coronavirus began to leak out of China, it’s absolutely astounding to consider how fast this new disease has uptur…
“Hollow regret is all we can offer to the species we’ve hustled off into extinction — from the clouds of passenger pigeons that once filled America’s skies to the faintly ridiculous dodo birds…
Twenty years ago, West Coast groundfish stocks such as sole and rockfish were in serious trouble. Decades of overfishing had brought their populations to the cliff edge of collapse. In 2000 fe…
Passing school levies is one of the essential obligations of citizenship in Washington state, where we treasure high-quality local education but seem unable to come up with a statewide strateg…
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Chinook Observer provides this ongoing report on efforts to address the need for after-school opportunities. It is written by local organizers.
A recent University of Washington study about killer whales could offer another clue to the well-being of the southern resident killer whales that live in Puget Sound and the Salish Sea off th…
In 1869, the Daily Cleveland Herald quoted lawyer John Godfrey Saxe as saying, “Laws, like sausages, cease to inspire respect in proportion as we know how they are made.” That saying, or varia…
Personal freedom, heartbreak, shame, law and order, dignity, cost to taxpayers — this is only some of what we must balance as the Pacific Northwest coast struggles with the interlocking dilemm…
A lot of people in government these days make a real show about the need to be transparent, then turn around and do everything they can to conduct their most controversial business behind clos…
It’s painful to consider how Washington state agencies and some political leaders are risking both Willapa Bay and Pacific County’s economy.
The folks at Washington's Department of Ecology like to write reports. It's as though they are always looking to point a finger somewhere for causing one sort of problem or the other.
The Chinook Observer welcomes letters from readers. They are among our most popular content and provide a way for community members to communicate thoughts and concerns that might not otherwis…
The Billy Frank Jr. Salmon Coalition is looking forward to another year of working together to accomplish responsible management through responsible leadership.
Lack of affordable after-school child care options is a harsh reality for families nationwide, and a source of great frustration and anxiety for many Pacific County residents. Figuring out wha…
On Veterans Day, we salute all those who have served in our armed forces.
Nearly 13 years ago when the chemical imidacloprid was first being considered to combat the burrowing shrimp population explosion in Willapa Bay, it appeared possible it might be licensed by 2…
Columbia Forum is a remarkable cultural asset for the communities of the Lower Columbia River but may be overlooked, particularly by those who have moved here in recent years.
Pacific County’s housing market has been distinctly cyclical for decades. There’s at least some cause to wonder whether ongoing demand for housing by residents might dampen these cycles, and w…
Our coast’s many fanatical razor clam diggers feel whipsawed between news that local sands swarm with delicious bivalves but that a new blob of warm seawater might produce a toxic bloom and ma…
Two recent decisions by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife are enough to generate doubts about the agency’s genuine interest in listening to public feedback concerning certain fish and…
Setting aside for the moment that 2019 coho returns are predicted to be healthy and Buoy 10 fishing was hot over the holiday weekend, this has been another of many troubling years for Columbia…
Labor Day 2019 is Monday. While we celebrate the milestone, and many workers in the United States enjoy a day off, it’s important to remember that there is always more we can do to help the na…
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