Russia to Seattle
Communities
Posted inOctober 26, 2009: The newest Westerners
More than English
At a Denver school, refugees learn American ways as well as language
Posted inWotr
Some people just don’t get it
I gave up driving years ago on a peaceful Sunday morning in downtown Ogden, Utah, when I was T-boned by a truck driven by a drunk driver who abandoned the scene. Our Volkswagen was totaled. My 9-year-old son was in the hospital for a week with a punctured spleen. My left femur was broken and […]
Posted inWotr
The war between bicyclists and motorists
Most motorists courteously and safely share the roads with cyclists, but then there are all the obnoxious others, the ones who fill with rage when they see anybody on a bicycle on the road ahead. They not only think cyclists have no right to use public roadways, they also like to show their anger by […]
Posted inWotr
Stubbornness and the art of riding a bicycle
“I ain’t gonna wear no stinkin’ helmet.” I bet you thought I was going to say a friend of mine said that. Wrong. I said it, and I meant it. Bike helmets are dorky. They make you look like one of those UFO creatures with the bulgy heads who mutilate cattle. No, it’s worse than […]
Posted inHeard Around the West
Religulous love and hate
San Tan Valley in the orbit of Phoenix is foreclosure-central these days, with 863 properties on offer. So it’s probably not surprising that a man’s prayer stand along a busy highway is doing a boffo business with commuters. In fact, Matthew Cordell, 38, is so much in demand that he has backed up traffic for […]
Posted inRange
HCN Reader Photo: Yellowstone Thermal Pool
I’m continually amazed and inspired by the beauty captured and posted in photographic form by High Country News readers at our HCN Flickr Pool. Not only are readers capturing the beauty of the West, they’re cataloging their fascinating explorations and keen observations of the landscape they call home. It’s getting harder and harder to choose […]
Posted inGoat
Resilience, not sustainability
The annual Headwaters Conference at Western State College in Gunnison often presents some concepts worth chewing on, and this year’s gathering (held Oct. 16-18) was no exception. Headwaters, as I’ve come to understand it after 20 years of attending, is something of an idea fair for little mountain towns. For some time I’ve […]
Posted inOctober 12, 2009: Silenced Springs?
A guide to the past — and the future
A 1930s Montana guidebook contains lessons for today
Posted inRange
Native voting rights and the West
Of the many findings presented in a recent American Civil Liberties Union report, which concludes that many Indians face discriminatory policies and actions that deny them their constitutional right to vote, poor circumstances facing western tribal citizens tend to stand out. One of the most shocking cases of disenfranchisement highlighted in the report, titled “Voting Rights […]
Posted inOctober 12, 2009: Silenced Springs?
Parties ‘R’ Some Of Us
Even as many Westerners struggle with layoffs, pay cuts, medical bills and other economic troubles, wealthy people in resort towns are whooping it up. That’s the report from the companies that supply banquet tables and chairs, enormous tents, portable dance floors, sound and lighting systems, antler chandeliers, artificial trees, eruptions of flowers and other party-throwing […]
Posted inOctober 12, 2009: Silenced Springs?
‘Leave no trace’ art
AGE 21 HOMETOWN Whittier, Calif. VOCATION Junior; majoring in sculpture at Brigham Young University, Salt Lake City HCN SUBSCRIBER SINCE 2004 Installation artist Levi Jackson prefers to work early in the morning to catch the best light for photographing his ephemeral, site-specific works. On a May morning, Levi drove to a desert plateau outside Caineville, […]
Posted inOctober 12, 2009: Silenced Springs?
“A blip on the radar screen”
I find the Uncommon Westerners column frustrating at times because it seems like filler with no real rhyme or reason. For instance, the latest personality, Guiseppena Bellandi, certainly had a story as to how she came west, but her life seems like a blip on the radar screen, with no real impact on how she […]
Posted inOctober 12, 2009: Silenced Springs?
Welcome, new HCN employees
In August, Mike Maxwell became our new Web and IT manager. Mike maintains the HCN Web site, analyzes web traffic data, and advises the managers on online marketing strategy. Mike, who has a B.A. in political science from the University of Colorado at Denver, has been in Paonia for three years now with his partner, […]
Posted inWotr
Burning Man was better next year
My collection of silly buttons from the Burning Man festival in Nevada includes one that says, “Burning Man was better last year.” The irony, of course, is that this button is given out every year, and every year thousands of people keep coming back. If you’ve ever been part of an annual event that lasted […]
Posted inWotr
Lament of a cat lady
Recently, my cousin called me with a problem. Her two grown daughters are sharing an apartment. One of them has a 3-year-old cat; the other is allergic to cats. It isn’t working out. The cat has to go. Naturally, the first impulse is to call me. I never intended to become a “cat lady.” In […]
Posted inWotr
Blame it all on my crazy biology teacher
With fall in the air, I get this funny feeling that my homework isn’t done. It is true I was one of “those” students who tested patience, strained policies, broke rules and spent quality time on a chair in the hallway. I guess it was a natural aptitude, like yodeling. My parents urged me to […]
Posted inWotr
Libby is not what you think
Libby, Mont., is a strange place. In the morning, the Cabinet Mountains sparkle, sporting new snow way up on the highest peaks. Folks arrive at work, open the front doors of their businesses and shout out “Mornin’” from across the street. Joggers pass by my house, dodging a stray doe that lingers after a night […]