Whidbey Island Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

A Group Of Gray Whales Survives Die-Off With An Annual Detour To Puget Sound

By Bellamy Pailthorp June 9, 2021

The gray whale known as Dubknuck has been coming to Puget Sound since 1991. Scientists believe a small pod of these whales has survived several die off events by developing a new feeding strategy. Parker Miles Blohm/KNKX

If you take a beach walk in springtime around Whidbey or Camano Island, north of Seattle, there's a good chance you could spot a 40-foot-long gray whale, feeding in the shallows just offshore. Or you might just see a fin or part of one's tail bobbing along the waterline.Read More

Opinion: A Magical Hike On Whidbey Island At Ebey’s Landing Whitewashes Native History

By NWPB News December 5, 2020

Ferry House at Ebey's Landing. CREDIT: Rspang, CC BY-SA 4.0 bit.ly/2L7w2LH, via Wikimedia Commons

"Despite 'Leave No Trace' ethics, there are so many white fingerprints on public lands that it’s like a setting for a CSI episode. Ebey’s Landing, a national historic reserve, is no exception," Claudia Lawrence writes in this opinion piece first published by Crosscut.Read More

Booked And Buried: After Dehydration Death, Grieving Father And Jail Chief Form Surprising Bond

By Austin Jenkins April 17, 2019

Fred Farris, the father of Keaton Farris, and Island County Jail Chief Jose Briones pose together on the Coupeville Wharf. CREDIT: AUSTIN JENKINS/N3

Four years ago this month, Keaton Farris died naked, dehydrated and malnourished on the floor of an isolation cell in the Island County Jail on Whidbey Island. Farris, who was bipolar and in the throes of a mental health crisis, had been arrested 18 days earlier for failing to appear in court for allegedly stealing and cashing a $355 check. An investigation later found Read More