With Congress gridlocked and courts restrained, public opinion confronts authoritarian tactics.
Carl Segerstrom
Posted inArticles, En español
Las preocupaciones por el coronavirus reviven la organización de los trabajadores
Los empacadores de fruta de Washington buscan victorias de largo plazo con las huelgas de la pandemia.
Posted inSeptember 1, 2020: The Next West
Is a big win for conservation a blow to climate action?
As extinction and climate crises loom, the Great American Outdoors Act and recreation industry continue to rely on oil money.
Posted inJuly 1, 2020: 'I am here fighting for my life and future children'
Coronavirus concerns revive labor organizing
Washington fruit packers seek lasting gains from pandemic strikes.
Posted inJuly 1, 2020: 'I am here fighting for my life and future children'
Will COVID-19 help save small slaughterhouses?
As laborers for the Big Four meatpackers fall ill, small slaughterhouses see unprecedented demand.
Posted inArticles
Coronavirus takes a heavy economic toll on rural hospitals
A sudden drop in revenue shows how thin margins threaten small town hospitals.
Posted inApril 1, 2020: Land-Grab Universities
Cowboys, Impossible Whoppers and the stories that sell food
Plant-based burger ads offer a new twist on the cowboy icon while perpetuating industrial food culture.
Posted inArticles
Support groups grapple with social distance and isolation
As mental health services and addiction recovery groups move online, a resilient community adapts to COVID-19.
Posted inMay 1, 2020: Lives on Lockdown
Crowded cities and lonely country: See your county’s hospital bed capacity
In the West, nearly 100,000 people over 65 years old live in counties without a hospital bed.
Posted inArticles
A familiar ring: Hell’s Belles keep fans coming back
After two decades of rock, the Seattle-born tribute band can still pack the house.
Posted inMarch 1, 2020: Predator (Mis)perceptions
Billionaires are changing communities and the wild in Wyoming
Sociologist Justin Farrell explores the ways wealth shapes Teton County and the Western U.S.
Posted inFebruary 1, 2020: How One Woman Took a Stand Against Tribal Disenrollment and Paid For It
Can new bus lines chart a course to better travel options in the West?
A European bus company is expanding options for regional travel. High-speed rail could be next.
Posted inDecember 9, 2019: Crossing to Safety
As Spokane grows, is it leaving low-income renters outside?
Proposals to protect tenants and reduce homelessness lack political support.
Posted inDecember 9, 2019: Party Favors
Why are Govs. Inslee and Brown fighting the youth climate cases?
Settling with the young activists could be an important tool for climate action.
Posted inNovember 11, 2019: Storied Landscapes
The West is more than heroes and villains
In ‘This Land,’ Christopher Ketcham roams the West in search of both, and misses a lot in between.
Posted inNovember 25, 2019: Forever Mines
Can a campaign for nature and community rights stop aerial spraying in Oregon?
The push for more local control upends the typical pattern of Westerners fighting against regulation.
Posted inOctober 14, 2019: Severed Ties
Courts can’t keep Columbia and Snake River salmon from the edge of extinction
After decades of court cases have rebuffed federal management, it may take a political fix to restore salmon in the Columbia Basin.
Posted inAugust 19, 2019: 2068: The Speculative Journalism Issue
Will a thirsty Southwest put the Midwest underwater?
In 2068, tensions remain over the Great American Connector pipeline and a weather meddling program isn’t helping.
Posted inSeptember 2, 2019: In Bad Faith
Can Western states afford to break the boom-and-bust cycle?
Climate action on public lands would force a reckoning for fossil fuel dependent states and communities.
Posted inAugust 5, 2019: From Prison to Fireline
With coal in free fall, Wyoming faces an uncertain future
As demand shrinks and the industry retracts, counties and the state are in an untenable situation.