What’s in wildfire smoke? A toxicologist warns there are lots of dangerous components

Art Shotwell 5 minutes read
Something unusual happened this year in Idaho. Fire and health officials began issuing warnings about the health risks of wildfire smoke several weeks earlier than normal. With almost the entire U.S. West in drought, it was only a matter of time before the risks became reality.

Senate Democrats’ Plan Boosts Spending on Medicare, ACA Subsidies, Long-Term Care

7 minutes read
The budget package Democrats are assembling in Congress would likely provide the biggest jolt to the American health care system since the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, according to sources familiar with work on the plan.

Police Blotter, July 2 - 8, 2021

Anacortes Police 4 minutes read
The Seven-11 building was damaged after a 58-year-old Wyoming man said his foot slid off the brake as he was stopping and accidentally hit the gas pedal.

Poverty in 2021 looks different than in 1964 – but the US hasn’t changed how it measures who’s poor since LBJ began his war

Art Shotwell 6 minutes read
In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson famously declared war on poverty. “The richest nation on Earth can afford to win it,” he told Congress in his first State of the Union address. “We cannot afford to lose it.”

Skagit Artists Announces Upcoming Northwest Art Beat Studio Tour

Art Shotwell 1 minute read
It’s back and better than ever for 2021. Skagit Artists Northwest Art Beat 17th Annual Studio Tour is happening July 17 and 18. From 10 – 6 on Saturday and Sunday, art lovers of every kind can join this free self-guided tour of twenty-five artists in sixteen studios throughout Skagit County, including several on Fidalgo Island. 

Trump can’t beat Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in court – but the fight might be worth more than a win

Art Shotwell 6 minutes read
From condo salesman to reality TV host to leader of the free world, Donald Trump has occupied several lifetimes’ worth of identities over a remarkable career of reinventions. Even so, the billionaire mogul’s latest metamorphosis – into a consumer-rights plaintiff seeking to regulate big business – is a peculiar one.