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Much More Than A Spotted Owl Fight: Northwest ‘Timber Wars’ Of 30 Years Ago Revisited In Podcast

By Scott Leadingham December 3, 2020

A northern spotted owl. CREDIT: Todd Sonflieth/OPB

Here’s a quick game: When you hear, “spotted owl,” what do you think of? If you were in the Northwest in the 1980s and 1990s, you may think of logging and a fight over endangered species versus jobs and lumber towns surviving. But there’s much more background in that fight than you may remember. Read More

U.S. Hits 100,000 COVID-19 Hospitalizations, Breaks Daily Death Record

By NPR News December 3, 2020

The U.S. hit a record high COVID-19 hospitalization rate Wednesday, putting further strain on the nation's already stressed hospitals. Go Nakamura/Getty Images

Data from the COVID Tracking Project show 100,226 people were hospitalized Wednesday, while Johns Hopkins reports a new one-day death toll record.Read More

Washington Lawmakers And Activists Craft Police Reform Bills Ahead Of 2021 Legislative Session

By NWPB News December 2, 2020

In this June 1, 2020, photo, police on motorcycles escort a protest march in Tacoma against police and the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis days earlier. Washington state lawmakers and activists are setting an ambitious agenda for police reform in the upcoming legislative session. They say they hope to make it easier to decertify officers for misconduct, to bar the use of police dogs to make arrests, and to create an independent statewide agency to investigate police. CREDIT: Photo/Ted S. Warren

Washington state lawmakers and activists are setting an ambitious agenda for police reform in the upcoming legislative session, saying they hope to make it easier to decertify officers for misconduct, to bar the use of police dogs to make arrests, and to create an independent statewide agency to investigate police killings.Read More

StoryCorps Northwest: She Became A Counselor After Two Sons Died By Suicide

By Sueann Ramella December 2, 2020

Ali Bretthauer and her mother, Catherine Perusse

Catherine Perusse is a counselor in Sandpoint, Idaho, who knows first-hand about the devastation of suicide: Two of her sons died of self-inflected death six years apart. In this episode of StoryCorps Northwest, Catherine and her daughter, Ali Bretthauer of Moscow, Idaho, share how the deaths changed their lives.Read More

Northwest Bighorn Sheep Could Be In Big Danger — From Close Contact And Respiratory Infection

By Courtney Flatt December 2, 2020

Just outside of Yellowstone National Park a bighorn sheep walks through the snow after nibbling salt from the highway. CREDIT: CLAIRE HARBAGE/NPR

Bighorn sheep in central Washington could be in danger if domestic sheep continue to graze nearby. That’s the concern from two groups suing the U.S. Forest Service. Domestic sheep or goats can pass a deadly bacteria to bighorns. Read More

Washington House Democrats Told To Limit Their Bill Introductions In 2021 Session Due To COVID

By Austin Jenkins December 1, 2020

Because of disruptions wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, majority Democrats in the Washington House have been asked to restrain themselves and introduce no more than seven bills each during the 2021 legislative session -- and then only bills that “are urgently needed.”Read More

New Report Offers Clearest Picture Yet Of Pandemic Impact On Student Learning

By NPR News December 1, 2020

A student raises his hand while attending an online class from home in Miami on Sept. 3. Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images

A new report offers the clearest picture yet of pandemic learning loss among U.S. students. But researchers warn that many of the nation's most vulnerable children aren't represented in the new data.Read More

‘Traverse Talks’ Episode 7: Ross Gay On Tenderness And Finding Delight

By Mia Hunt December 1, 2020

Photo of Ross Gay from a recording of Traverse Talks with Sueann Ramella

In this episode of 'Traverse Talks with Sueann Ramella,' poet and professor Ross Gay discusses ways to recognize and incorporate tenderness into your life. Ramella and Gay cover everything from the benefits of gardening to why he doesn't often give advice.Read More

Care Facility In Small Okanogan County Town Of Tonasket Reports 12 Deaths In COVID Outbreak

By NWPB News November 30, 2020

Tonasket, in Washington's Okanogan County, no longer has a police force after the mayor disbanded it. Courtesy city of Tonasket

The county health department said Monday night that North Valley Extended Care in Tonasket has recorded 11 deaths. That number includes 32 total residents who have contracted COVID-19. Health officials did not disclose a time frame for the cases and deaths. Two staff members there are hospitalized, according to the health department.Read More

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

By Tom Banse November 30, 2020

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

Supreme Court Weighs President’s Plan To Cut Undocumented Immigrants From Census Count

By NPR News November 30, 2020

FILE - This May 4, 2020, file photo shows the Supreme Court building in Washington. Controversial Trump administration policies on the census, asylum seekers and the border wall, held illegal by lower courts, are on the Supreme Court's agenda Friday, Oct. 16, 2020. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

Justices expressed doubts about a plan to cut undocumented immigrants from a key census count — one that would exclude them for purposes of drawing new congressional districts.Read More

National Summit Hosted By Idaho University Leaders To Focus On COVID-Caused Student Struggles

By NWPB News November 30, 2020

On Tuesday, Boise State will host a national digital summit for Project Launchpad — an effort to support students who are struggling during the pandemic.Read More

Dr. Fauci Warns Of ‘Surge Upon A Surge’ As COVID-19 Hospitalizations Hit Yet Another High

By NPR News November 30, 2020

Travelers self-test for the coronavirus at a mobile testing site at New York City's Penn Station in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. The U.S. is currently seeing record hospitalizations for COVID-19, and health experts fear more surges are on their way. CREDIT: Mary Altaffer/AP

More than 91,500 people were hospitalized with the virus on Saturday, with 18,000 in intensive care units. That's according to data compiled by the COVID Tracking Project, which collects and analyzes data from across the United States. Over 6,000 patients were on ventilators.Read More

States Are Preparing To Distribute A Coming COVID Vaccine. Here’s How Washington Is Preparing

By NWPB News November 29, 2020

Many people might not be aware of what types of vaccines they need as they get older. Here, an adult gets a flu shot in Jacksonville, Fla. CREDIT: RICK WILSON/AP IMAGES

Washington’s plan, devised by the state Department of Health, will be implemented by a 25-person Vaccine Planning and Coordination Team consisting of employees from within the department, sourcing from the Offices of Immunization and Child Profile, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Health Promotion and Education and others.Read More

We Can See Clearly Now The Smoke Is Gone: 2020 Fires Greatly Affected Northwest Wildlife Habitat

By Courtney Flatt November 28, 2020

Workers save adult fish at the Rock Creek Hatchery in Oregon during fires that swept through the region in September 2020. CREDIT: Matt Hill

“In this year of, well, exceptions, we’ve been handed an unprecedented level of damage to our wildlife mitigation program,” a Washington state wildlife biologist recently told the Northwest Power and Conservation Council.Read More

From Idaho To South Dakota, Some Hospitals Face Tough Decisions In Caring For Floods Of Patients

By NPR News November 27, 2020

Medical staff prepare for an intubation procedure on a COVID-19 patient in a Houston intensive care unit. In some parts of the U.S., as hospitals get crowded, hospital leaders are worried they may need to implement crisis standards of care. Go Nakamura/Getty Images

Hospitals are getting so crowded with COVID-19 patients that they're having to resort to workarounds to treat them all. Experts warn this may hamper doctors' ability to save lives.Read More

Idaho Chinook Salmon Numbers Rise, For Now…But Extinction Looms

By NWPB News November 27, 2020

Adult fall Chinook salmon in the Priest Rapids Hatchery. CREDIT: PACIFIC NORTHWEST NATIONAL LABORATORY

The number of chinook salmon returning to the Middle Fork of the Salmon River and its tributaries is just a tiny fraction of historic numbers, experts said. “More is better, but it’s still abysmal numbers,” said Russ Thurow, a research fisheries scientist with the U.S. Forest Service based in the small city of Salmon. “We’re bouncing around just above extinction.”Read More

Educators And Native Leaders Recommend Bringing Anti-Racism To The Thanksgiving Table

By NPR News November 26, 2020

Marchers perform a Stomp Dance in Pilgrim Memorial State Park during the 48th National Day of Mourning in Plymouth, Mass., on Nov 23, 2017. Since 1970, Indigenous people have gathered at noon on Cole's Hill in Plymouth to commemorate a National Day of Mourning on Thanksgiving. Boston Globe/Boston Globe via Getty Images

This year Thanksgiving comes as chronically under-resourced Native populations are contracting COVID-19 at record rates. In August, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that Native Americans are 3.5 times more likely to get COVID-19 than white people.Read More

Want To Know Whether You’ve Been Exposed To COVID-19? This App Could Help

By Tom Banse November 25, 2020

Contact tracers may call you if you have been exposed to COVID-19, but with this upcoming app, your smartphone might be able to do it faster.

University students and staff in the Pacific Northwest are giving a trial run to a smartphone app that tells you if you were recently near someone who just tested positive for COVID-19. State health departments are rolling out similar apps across the country to slow the spread of the coronavirus.Read More

Whitman County Fire-Ravaged Farming Town Of Malden In Limbo As It Awaits Aid To Rebuild

By NPR News November 25, 2020

Burned cars from a wildfire that destroyed most of the eastern Washington town of Malden on Labor Day. Kirk Siegler/NPR

After some politicking and tweeting — these are blue states, after all — California and Oregon's major disaster declarations were mostly quickly approved. But it's now been 71 days since Washington Gov. Jay Inslee petitioned the president, and there's been no response, not even a denial.Read More

StoryCorps Northwest: Making College Feel More Inclusive For Students Of Color

By Sueann Ramella November 25, 2020

Dr. Sydney Freeman Jr. and Hannah Snyder

Dr. Sydney Freeman Jr., an associate professor at the University of Idaho, uses his voice and his role to make higher education inclusive. He started the Progressive Black Caucus at Oakwood University in Alabama and brought the mission to Idaho to create a more efficient and welcoming environment for students of color.Read More

Further Proof That 2020 Stinks: More People Are Dying During The Pandemic, Not Just From COVID

By Tom Banse November 25, 2020

Graph showing excess deaths during the pandemic for Oregon and Washington

As the coronavirus pandemic drags on, it's now increasingly apparent that 2020 will be remembered for an unusually high death toll -- not just from COVID-19. In the medical field, deaths above what you would normally expect are called "excess deaths."Read More

As Washington Restaurants Close Indoors Again, Some In Hard-Hit Yakima Say They Won’t

By Scott Leadingham November 24, 2020

Server Luis Velez opens a bottle of wine for customers Mary Graf, left, Sophie Mandel and Andy Peraza, right, shown through a sheet of plastic surrounding the table, on Wednesday, October 21 , 2020, at Spinasse on Capitol Hill in Seattle.

Earlier this year, Yakima County was among the worst-hit places for COVID-19 in Washington and the West Coast. It and the Tri-Cities region were among the last counties to open for indoor bar and restaurant service. Now, with another statewide closure, some restaurant operators are pushing back and refusing to close. Read More

Across The Northwest And Nation, A ‘Steady And Alarming’ Loss Of Health Officials As COVID Surges

By Anna King November 24, 2020

Carolyn Holmes holds a sign in favor of Dr. Anthony Fauci and Health Officer Bob Lutz during a protest against the Spokane Board of Health's ousting of Lutz, held on Nov. 1, 2020 outside the Spokane Regional Health District office. News of the controversial situation broke on Friday, and Lutz has since said that he will not resign and has acquired an attorney in order to keep his employment with the SRHD in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lori Freeman calls the loss of top public health officers across the country “steady and alarming.” Freeman heads the National Association of County and City Health Officials. More than 70 have been fired, left or plan to leave their posts since the pandemic began in the U.S. In fact, so many are leaving, she’s keeping a spreadsheet.Read More

3 Recipes For Cooking Up A Scaled-Down, Low-Key Thanksgiving Meal

By NPR News November 24, 2020

Chef Aarón Sánchez's Brussels sprouts with roasted jalapeño vinaigrette and Chef Sohla El-Waylly's apple (hand) pie

The usual Thanksgiving spreads may be too big for this year's holiday. Instead, Chefs Anita Lo, Aarón Sánchez and Sohla El-Waylly share recipes for a relatively unfussy but still delicious meal.Read More

‘Traverse Talks’ Episode 6: Dior Vargas On Intersectionality And Mental Health

By Mia Hunt November 24, 2020

Photo of Dior Vargas during a recording of Traverse Talks with Sueann Ramella.

In this episode of "Traverse Talks with Sueann Ramella," Latinx feminist and mental health activist Dior Vargas shares her history with mental health and why discussing the topic through an intersectional lens is so important.Read More

COVID Transmission ‘Skyrocketing’ In Washington; Restaurants Warn Of $800M Shutdown Losses

By NWPB News November 23, 2020

Disease transmission is skyrocketing, Washington State Health Officer Kathy Lofy said in a news release Monday. Meanwhile, a four-week shutdown on indoor service at restaurants and bars prompted by an alarming statewide spike in COVID-19 cases is expected to cost the industry some $800 million.Read More

Possible Native American Interior Secretary ‘Would Mean A Lot To Indian Country,’ Rep. Haaland Says

By NPR News November 23, 2020

Dozens of House Democrats have called on President-elect Joe Biden to make the New Mexico congresswoman the first Native American Cabinet secretary in U.S. history.Read More

Annual Apple Cup Rivalry Game Between UW And WSU Canceled Due To Positive COVID-19 Tests

By Scott Leadingham November 22, 2020

Washington State University coach Nick Rolovich walks along the sideline during the first half of the team's football game against Oregon in Pullman, Wash., Nov. 14, 2020. CREDIT: Young Kwak/AP

If you were unaware the Apple Cup was even happening this year, then you’re probably not alone. After all, the Pac-12 football season was canceled. Then it was back, three weeks ago, with a shortened 6-game season and safety protocols. Those required canceling games if a team couldn’t field a minimum number of 53 scholarship players. Read More

U.S. Passes 12 Million Confirmed Coronavirus Cases, Adding 2 Million In Under 2 Weeks

By NPR News November 22, 2020

Farmworkers in Yakima’s fruit-packing industry walked off production lines in May and went on strike, demanding more protections against the coronavirus pandemic. Above, Emmanuel Anguiano-Mendoza (left) and Agustin López hold posters featuring David Cruz, a worker who died on May 30. CREDIT: Enrique Pérez de la Rosa/NWPB

On Friday alone, there were 195,000 new confirmed cases of the virus and 1,878 deaths. The U.S. has been adding 1 million cases every six days.Read More

The Week In Idaho’s COVID-19 Situation: Record Cases And Deaths, Again

By NWPB News November 21, 2020

Gov. Brad Little adjusts his mask during a July 9 press conference at the Statehouse.

New case numbers peaked again, for the seventh consecutive week. Deaths hit another weekly peak. And on Tuesday — the same day Idaho reported single-day peaks in cases and deaths — 404 Idahoans were hospitalized with COVID-19. That too was a single-day peak.Read More

Navy Seeks More SEAL Training Areas In Washington By Sea, Air, Land…And State Parks

By Courtney Flatt November 20, 2020

Deception Pass State Park, on the north end of Whidbey Island. CREDIT: Washington State Parks

You’ve seen the movies: Navy SEALs slowly emerge from the water and walk up a beach. In real life, the Navy is hoping to conduct special operations training exercises at 28 Washington State Parks. But many park users say it ups the “creepiness” factor.Read More

Farmers Are Warming Up To The Fight Against Climate Change

By NPR News November 20, 2020

Del Ficke, a farmer in Pleasant Dale, Neb., has embraced the cause of building carbon-rich soil, capturing carbon dioxide from the air in the process. CREDIT: Dan Charles/NPR

Several big farm groups, traditionally hostile to environmental regulations, are now working with environmental advocates in support of farmer-friendly actions to reduce carbon emissions. Read More

CDC Strongly Recommends Against Traveling For Thanksgiving

By NPR News November 20, 2020

An airport employee walks through Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Va., earlier this year. On Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned that Americans should refrain from traveling for the upcoming holiday. CREDIT: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its recommendations one week before the holiday, advising that Americans be careful amid an explosion in the spread of the coronavirus.Read More

Reversing Course, Health Board For 5-County Idaho Panhandle Region Institutes Mask Mandate

By Doug Nadvornick November 19, 2020

The Idaho Panhandle health board voted 4-2 on Thursday to reinstate a mask mandate, this time covering all five north Idaho counties. CREDIT: Screenshot/Zoom/SPR

The board that governs Idaho’s Panhandle Health District has approved a mask mandate for all five counties of north Idaho. The board had approved a previous mandate for Kootenai County only on July 23, then rescinded it on Oct. 23.Read More

Incumbent’s Advantage: Why Whitman County Votes For Biden And Inslee, But GOP For Congress

By Scott Leadingham November 19, 2020

Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers did well in Whitman County, getting more votes than Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, who won the county in 2020 and 2016. Courtesy of Whitman County Elections

Even in a county that generally supports Democrats for governor and president, Republican Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers won. In fact, she got more votes in Whitman County than Jay Inslee did for governor. Read More

U.S. Reaches 250,000 COVID-19 Deaths: A Long Winter Is Coming As Pandemic Fatigue Sets In

By NPR News November 19, 2020

Dr. Joseph Varon puts on his face shield before entering the COVID-19 intensive care unit at United Memorial Medical Center on Monday in Houston. Texas has recorded more than 1.1 million cases of the virus, with more than 20,000 deaths. Go Nakamura/Getty Images

Medical advances have reduced the infection fatality rate in the U.S. But experts warn that indoor gatherings, cold temperatures and pandemic fatigue augur dark months ahead.Read More

Environmental Groups And Dairy Farmers Unhappy With State’s Regulation In Central Washington

By Courtney Flatt November 18, 2020

Environmental groups and the Washington dairy industry are unhappy with a state permit that regulates pollutants. The groups made their cases before a state appeals court this week. In 2017, the Washington Department of Ecology issued what’s known as a discharge permit for large dairies or other concentrated animal feeding operations. Read More

StoryCorps Northwest: A Grandmother And Granddaughter Share Why They Protest

By Sueann Ramella November 18, 2020

Grandmother with young adult granddaughter talk about protesting.

Lewiston resident Lilienne Shore Kilgore-Brown actively takes part in protests now. So did her grandmother Susan Kilgore in the 1970s. On StoryCorps Northwest, Susan tells Lilienne what she was protesting and what she learned from those experiences.Read More

U.S.-Canada Border Closure Likely To Be ‘With Us For Awhile’ As Pandemic Persists

By Tom Banse November 17, 2020

Peace Arch Park reportedly is the scene of lots of weddings this summer featuring Canadian-American couples seeking to ease their border crossing status.

The most recent extension of the U.S.-Canada border closure expires this Friday, November 21, but no one expects the restrictions to be lifted then. First implemented in March, the closure of the land and sea border to nonessential crossings have been extended monthly by mutual agreement between Ottawa and the Trump administration.Read More

Gov. Jay Inslee Names Texas Doctor Umair Shah As Washington’s Next Health Secretary

By Austin Jenkins November 17, 2020

Since 2013, Shah has been executive director of Harris County Public Health in Houston, Texas. He will replace outgoing Secretary John Wiesman who has served in the position since 2013. Previously, Wiesman announced his plan to leave the post at the end of the year to take a teaching job in North Carolina. Read More

Trump Administration Rushes To Sell Oil Rights In Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

By NPR News November 17, 2020

An airplane flies over caribou on the coastal plain of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, where the Trump administration is moving to sell leases for oil drilling. CREDIT: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/AP

Officials hope to auction off leases before President-elect Joe Biden takes office. He has pledged to protect the pristine landscape that's home to polar bears and migrating caribou. Read More

‘Traverse Talks’ Episode 5: Pulitzer Winner Jericho Brown On The Importance Of Name And Truth

By McKayla Fox November 17, 2020

Photo of Jericho Brown from a recording of Traverse Talks with Sueann Ramella

Pulitzer-winning poet Jericho Brown shares how growing up in a Black church exposed him to the art of performative poetry at a young age and how that propelled him to dedicate his life to poetry starting in his early twenties.Read More

Health Officials Ask 300 Ritzville-Area Attendees To Isolate After COVID Cases Linked To Wedding

By NWPB News November 17, 2020

Washington state health officials shared data during a Nov. 10, 2020 media briefing that shows the uptick in COVID-19 spread across the state. CREDIT: WA Dept. of Health

People who attended a wedding on Nov. 7 near Ritzville, Washington, have tested positive for the coronavirus. Health officials are asking more than 300 people who were in attendance to get tested and quarantine through Nov. 21, the Grant County Health District said Monday in a statement.Read More

Panic Buying, Washington Businesses Close For Good As New COVID Restrictions Loom

By Austin Jenkins November 16, 2020

Toilet paper is sold out at a Safeway store in Tumwater, Washington. A wave of 'panic buying' followed news that Gov. Jay Inslee was instituting tough new restrictions to address a third wave of Covid-19.

Washington Republicans say the Legislature should immediately meet in special session to address the economic fallout from Gov. Jay Inslee’s latest Covid-19 orders – and even consider tapping the state’s “rainy day” fund.Read More

U.S. Hits 11 Million Coronavirus Cases, Adding 1 Million In A Week

By NPR News November 16, 2020

No vaccine available sign - person walking into Walgreens

More than 11 million confirmed coronavirus cases have been recorded in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins University. The country recorded 166,555 new cases in the last day and 1,266 new deaths.Read More

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

By Tom Banse November 15, 2020

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

Washington Governor Announces: Bars, Restaurants Closed Again; Most Indoor Gatherings Banned

By NWPB News November 15, 2020

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced another round of coronavirus closures statewide on Nov. 15, 2020 as case positivity rates and hospitalizations have gone up in recent weeks. CREDIT: TVW/screenshot

"We are today in a more dangerous position than we were in March when our first stay-home order was issued," Gov. Jay Inslee said during a Sunday press conference. "In March, we were heading into the summer months. And we were largely successful relative to other states because of the combination that we acted early we did not wait," he added.Read More

Washington’s First Native American Supreme Court Justice Works So She Won’t Be The Last

By NWPB News November 14, 2020

Washington Supreme Court Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis outside of her Lacey home on Oct. 12, 2020. CREDIT: Dorothy Edwards/Crosscut

Washington Supreme Court Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis didn't meet a lawyer until law school. Now she wants others from underrepresented communities to picture themselves in the legal system.Read More

Coronavirus Third Wave In Washington: Long Lines For Testing, People Turned Away

By Austin Jenkins November 13, 2020

Cars line up for coronavirus testing outside Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. Florida is one of many states reporting spikes in COVID-19 cases in recent days, as the number of confirmed cases worldwide has topped 10 million. Wilfredo Lee/AP

It used to be a busy day at the Providence COVID drive-up test site near Olympia was 100 cars. Recently, the site broke a one-day record with 352 drive ups. It's another sign of the “third wave” now underway.Read More