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 of slavery — put everything on the line in the pursuit of freedom from colonial rule. If the revoluti…
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 the potential exists for a raging wildfire that scorches neighborhoods before anybody can do anything.
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 for a crucial service during this pandemic: A carefully designed place to treat local coronavirus victims.
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 time to start strenuously planning — both for this coming September, and for how to prepare young p…
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 people who pay attention had become a little jaded about it.
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 place, to how obvious it is that Pacific County residents are particularly at risk and must protect …
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 are being shoved to one side. But even while dealing with our own life-and-death issues, we can’t le…
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.
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 upturned day-to-day life in the U.S. — and even on our isolated coastline.
“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 of the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. If wild salmon and steelhead are to avoid the same fate, m…
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 federal managers declared a fishery disaster and closed huge sections of the ocean to further harvest.
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 strategy that gives the same opportunities to all our children.
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 the coast of Washington state.
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 variants of it, have been repeated so often that it has become accepted knowledge.
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 dilemmas of homelessness and mental illness.
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 closed doors.
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.
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…
Public Health policy is all about helping everyone for the greater good.
It’s absurd for Washington taxpayers to pay a large bill for Gov. Jay Inslee’s quixotic campaign for president.
Restorative justice is a trend in some communities whose leaders recognize that addiction often fuels criminal behavior. It is a system of criminal justice which focuses in part on the rehabil…
It’s frustrating whenever political expediency gets in the way of good government, and we citizens would do well to pay attention when it happens and support efforts to put democracy ahead of …
ICE agents pepper spraying people in a Clatsop County Courthouse corridor while sheriff’s deputies look on? Is this really a situation anyone should find acceptable?
Outdoor clothing and gear manufacturer Patagonia recently released "Artifishal," a misguided documentary full of misinformation about the role hatcheries play in salmon recovery.
Ask our brave friends in the U.S. Coast Guard and they will tell you with cool assurance that the people who survive a rescue at sea are wearing lifejackets. Those who fish or sail without wea…
Once in a while — perhaps more often than we realize — we must listen to the young people around us.
I don’t know how you can be against clean water, but some of the industries in our state are.
And now the good news. Anyone who worries about the future of today's young people need not worry if the Ilwaco and Naselle high school teams are an example.
Infrastructure is too boring a word for a set of assets that go to the very core of a functioning civilization.
During Emergency Medical Services Week, it is fitting to salute all those in our Long Beach Peninsula community who are trained and ready to respond to any crisis with skilled professionalism.
For all who care about state history, the Legislature’s decision to build a new combined Library-Archives Building is outstanding news.
In a nation notorious for wasting trillions on wars and welfare for giant corporations, it’s refreshing to learn that Washington state plans to eliminate or reduce college tuition and aid expe…
Each spring for the past 35 years I’ve said the same thing: This was the most challenging North of Falcon process we’ve ever had. Every year that’s true as the tribal and state salmon co-manag…
“Looting” isn’t a word that crops up very often in local news coverage, so it caused a degree of consternation last month when it was applied to a theft inside Lewis and Clark National Histori…
Allowing prosecutors more time to bring sex-crime charges while at the same time increasing funding to test rape kits is righteous news from the Washington State Legislature.
It's been worrying to know Ilwaco's water supply comes from a reservoir surrounded by a forested watershed subject to being clearcut. Though preferable from a water-quality standpoint to havin…
Southern Resident Killer Whales achieve nearly unanimous popularity in the communities surrounding Puget Sound, acquiring folk hero status in the past half century. Their trials and tribulatio…
State Parks
In this normally damp coastal zone where we measure seasonal rainfall in feet rather than inches and where some groves have survived unscathed for centuries, serious forest fires nearly always…
It is in these early months each year when a sense begins to emerge about the condition of forthcoming salmon runs in the Pacific Northwest. Mysterious to the uninitiated, the North of Falcon …
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