On Venice Boulevard, a long-standing encampment populates the sidewalks and median beneath the imposing 405 overpass. Like many of our unhoused neighbors in Los Angeles, the folks living on Venice face relentless scrutiny from much of the surrounding housed community. In 2020, after a series of fires and violent incidents took place in the underpass,…

Off Santa Barbara’s bluff-lined coast, suspended below the surface, an aquatic environment unlike any other hangs on. Bright orange Garibaldi swim unhurriedly, curious sea lions twist their way through kelp acrobatically, sea stars crawl slowly across the ocean floor and sea otters dive for spiky urchins. Amongst this activity, enveloping, protecting and defining California’s coastal…

North Cascades National Park is remote. The expansive park, which sits at the very northern edge of the United States, is a seemingly never ending collection of majestic mountains, alpine meadows, roaring glacial rivers, deep lakes and lung-busting trails. The names of the peaks, Forbidden Peak, Mount Torment, Mount Triumph, tell the story of this…

In the northeast corner of the Golden State, Mt. Lassen rises from thick forests and volcanic geology of titanic proportions. The peak, and surrounding Volcanic National Park reward the intrepid with steaming, multicolored geologic pools, alpine meadows, sweeping vistas of the Trinity Alps and a relative solitude courtesy of the region’s remoteness. It is a…

Beginning at Blue Glacier and draining off the edge of the continent, the Hoh River winds its way through Olympic National Park’s emerald hued mountains and deep, green rainforests. Traditionally, winter’s incessant coastal rain brought a legendary run of wild steelhead trout to the ancient river’s riffles, runs and headwaters. Yet, in 2021, poor runs…

Despite the failure of statewide legislation that would have significantly altered zoning laws in the state of Washington, fierce debate on housing and development policy continues to be a political focal point in Seattle. While public discourse tends to focus on the merits of doing away with single-family zoning, the real question lies in how…

Late on the night of February 20th 1968, flames tore through the Central Area Motivation Program’s Central District headquarters. When fire officials responded to the scene, they quickly discovered the source of the blaze. The ground floor of the Black-led civil rights and anti-poverty organization had been doused in gasoline. Though a striking act in itself,…