This week we sent to press the Methow Valley Summer 2019 magazine, our largest special publication of the year. And this year it’s bigger than ever. We added 16 pages to the magazine to accommodate more information, more graphics and more photography (and, thank you, more advertising as well). It will arrive in the newspaper […]
No Bad Days
The Barn bash
The Winthrop Auditorium Association is throwing a party for itself this weekend — and why not? The nonprofit group that operates the Winthrop Barn thinks it’s about time for the community to pay some overt attention to the history, value and future of that venerable building. Might as well accomplish that with a great dinner, music, prizes […]
Life on the shoulder
The other day, a local person I was talking to noted that when spring finally arrives in the Methow Valley and things start to get breathtakingly beautiful around here, people leave. Spring break for the school district (this week) has a lot to do with that, as does cabin fever (see Erika Kar’s column from […]
Saying goodbye — but not entirely
It’s a bittersweet week for us at the Methow Valley News. Ann McCreary, a longtime News reporter, is retiring at the end of the month. We’re happy for her, but sad to see her go. Ann has been a reliable, prolific producer of high-quality news and feature stories since before I arrived here nearly eight […]
The real Olympia
“Olympia” is a utilitarian word in Washington state. It’s shorthand for all things governmental. When someone starts a news report with “in Olympia today,” we know it’s probably going to be about the Legislature or the governor or some state agency taking action (or not). “I’m going to Olympia” suggests something purposeful. It can be […]
Hiring is a tough job
If you pay attention to our classified ads, you may have noticed under “Employment” that the Methow Valley News is looking for candidates to fill a vital role at the paper: reporter. That single word connotes a lot at a small weekly newspaper. The job usually requires not only news reporting skills and a clear […]
Liberty lunacy
From the Hopeless Ideas That Just Won’t Die department comes, one more tiresome time, a proposal to split off the eastern half of Washington to create a new state. This year’s photo-op grandstanding effort originated with Rep. Matt Shea, R-Spokane Valley, in the form of House Bill 1509 — a proposal to divide Washington at the […]
Mined out
It’s been a long haul. February 2013 — six years ago — was the beginning of the extended saga of how pristine public lands in the upper Methow Valley came to be on the verge of a permanent commercial mining ban. That’s when a Canadian mining company calling itself Blue River Resources Ltd. acquired an option to “earn a […]
Moving on over
I’ve occasionally quipped (fancying myself a quipper) that there are two things which qualify you to claim grown-up living status: You don’t have to ask your friends to help you move because you can hire professionals to do that, and you don’t have to go the Laundromat because you have a washer and dryer in […]
A promising partnership
These days, few daily newspapers in America have the resources or ambition to take on in-depth stories that require extensive reporting and research. Weekly newspapers, particularly those in rural areas, seldom can afford to devote time, energy and money to major projects when they are focused on coverage of events and news vital to the […]
