Investigations New Washington energy chair’s industry ties raise ethics questions Former energy consultant Kurt Beckett now heads the agency tasked with permitting his ex-clients’ wind and solar plants. by Brandon Block / April 30, 2025
Environment Podcast | It's not easy going green A new Northwest Reports series digs into the tensions, backlash and bureaucracy around building wind and solar energy facilities in Washington. by Sara Bernard & Maleeha Syed & Brandon Block / March 26, 2025
Investigations The obscure state agency that referees WA’s green energy battles The Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council has power to overrule local zoning laws – putting it at the center of a backlash to renewable energy. by Brandon Block / March 4, 2025
Investigations Washington counties, tribes get more than $110M in federal land aid A small part of the American Rescue Plan provides direct, flexible dollars to compensate for untaxable national parks or other federally owned lands. by Brandon Block / June 13, 2023 / Updated at 12:15 p.m.
News Bisected by highways, a Spokane neighborhood shapes what's left The final stretch of North Spokane Corridor construction reopens old wounds in East Central — and sparks a pilot program to address historical damage. by Brandon Block / August 8, 2022
Politics Waterfront development: Will new rules harm fish, Puget Sound? The waterfront in Edmonds: Should it be easier to build by the shore? by Bob Simmons / August 25, 2014
Tech Could BP turn Bellingham into a Northwest oil export capital? The BP docks at Cherry Point by Bob Simmons / July 20, 2014
Environment Northwest glaciers: Wasting away Cold, beauty and loss: An extraordinary Bellingham art exhibit visualizes our region's - and our planet’s - disappearing ice. by Bob Simmons / November 4, 2013
Environment Plan to create major park moves ahead Some of the damage from the 1983 Smith Creek landslide at Lake Whatcom. by Bob Simmons / May 23, 2012
Environment Big Coal meets Cherry Point's tiny herring The site of the proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal by Bob Simmons / October 27, 2011