After an astronomical rise in COVID-19 cases, the state is no longer contact tracing — but some counties and tribes continue their own programs.
Communities
Posted inArticles
Will a multimillion-dollar dock help a remote Alaska community get more services?
Alaska’s marine highway still faces uncertainty under severe budget cuts.
Posted inJanuary 1, 2021: No Place Like Home
From boxes of memorabilia, sifting out a life
In her debut memoir, Danielle Geller researches her elusive mother — and the meaning of family.
Posted inJanuary 1, 2021: No Place Like Home
Tracking the seasons of pandemic response in Seattle
Disaster researchers take a Prius-eye view of how COVID-19 is changing the city.
Posted inArticles
Pandemic restrictions follow state lines. The spreading virus doesn’t.
Cross-border COVID-19 contamination underscores the pitfalls of not having national standards.
Posted inJanuary 1, 2021: No Place Like Home
A high school football team’s wartime resistance
In ‘The Eagles of Heart Mountain,’ Bradford Pearson renders the lives of incarcerated Japanese Americans during World War II in three dimensions.
Posted inJanuary 1, 2021: No Place Like Home
Mustafa Santiago Ali describes the path forward for environmental justice
Former EPA program leader shares ideas for federal action in the Biden administration.
Posted inDecember 1, 2020: A Community Divided
Divided prospects: The fight over an immigration detention center
When a private prison company came to Evanston, Wyoming, local officials believed an economic revival was at hand. Instead, it unleashed a bitter debate.
Posted inDecember 1, 2020: A Community Divided
A helpline connects Indigenous immigrants to crucial COVID-19 information
For communities who speak Indigenous Mayan languages like Mam, the Oregon program is a vital resource.
Posted inArticles
The dust-up over California’s off-road beach
COVID highlights conflicts over air pollution, crime and accidents on California’s Central Coast.
Posted inArticles
Latina community health workers combat COVID-19 in the West
Promotoras de salud work to build trust and improve health outcomes with people on their own turf.
Posted inArticles
What it took to investigate a suspicious town in the Mojave Desert
The creator of the 2020 podcast California City reflects on how she exposed deceptive desert land sales — from the outside.
Posted inDecember 1, 2020: A Community Divided
A whistleblower speaks out over excavation of Native sites
In California, archaeologists unearthed Indigenous burials 11 years ago, but the remains have yet to be repatriated.
Posted inDecember 1, 2020: A Community Divided
Climate change intensifies tsunami threat in Alaska
As glaciers retreat and permafrost thaws, massive landslides threaten coastal communities.
Posted inNovember 1, 2020: When the Smoke Clears
Maskless in Montana; stuck in a rut; hot pronghorn
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inDecember 1, 2020: A Community Divided
How conservation groups confront distrust from communities of color
In order to attract a broader constituency, organizations must first address a history of missteps and exclusion.
Posted inNovember 1, 2020: When the Smoke Clears
In the face of #MMIWG, Indigenous women fight back
On the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, girls and women box, march and continue searching for those lost.
Posted inNovember 1, 2020: When the Smoke Clears
Between California and Colombia, the internet becomes home
In ‘Aphasia,’ Mauro Javier Cárdenas explores the liminal spaces of divided language, place and family.
Posted inArticles
How residents rallied to get their post office back
In rural Arizona, the postal service is a literal lifeline.
Posted inArticles
How Portland’s mutual aid supports local Indigenous communities
In a time of crisis, communities come together to engineer their own response.