April 2022 vs. April 2026
Homepage of @cascadiadaily.com

What a wild ride it's been ...

Tickets are going fast!

Oh, and a great column by Ron to wrap up the coverage.

Whittaker Family Photo Collection

In case you missed it, here's the obit, outside our paywall. I never met Jim, but I sure feel like I have after this week!

bit.ly/cdn-whittaker

Famed mountaineer Jim Whittaker, first American atop Mount Everest, dies at 97 YouTube video by Cascadia Daily News

I also want to shout out @ronjudd.bsky.social for writing excellent cutlines and @finnwendt.com for one of my favorite videos he has made for CDN to date, linked below.

Because Elliott is TOO good a reporter, he had extra quotes from Jim's family and friends. We decided to feature some of our favorites on a third page (and as a sidebar online).

Thanks to the Whittaker family, we had tons of photos to choose from. Historical moments, family memories and nature. This made for a delightful two-page spread in our print paper today.

This week I had the privilege of laying out a truly beautiful news obituary written by contributor Elliott Almond for @cascadiadaily.com.

I-5 south of Bellingham expected to reopen next Thursday | Cascadia Daily News The 4-mile stretch of interstate has been closed since March 19 due to a landslide

Drivers rejoice: WSDOT has announced a reopening date for northbound I-5 south of Bellingham. The interstate is expected to reopen April 16, nearly a month after a landslide blocked both lanes and forced a closure as crews cleaned up debris and stabilized the slope.

Famed mountaineer Jim Whittaker, first American atop Mount Everest, dies at 97 | Cascadia Daily News Longtime Port Townsend resident inspired generations of alpinists, defined an active NW outdoor lifestyle

An American hero passes: Jim Whittaker, a Northwest icon and climbing legend who in 1963 became the first American to stand atop Mount Everest, has died in Port Townsend at the age of 97.

Baby Jaya!

Thank you Frank and welcome back!

Don’t have much time to write anymore, but I’m so glad I got to snag this piece for the living section. Chatting with Jayne I was able to ask all the questions I am curious about while listening to an audiobook.

And the WCLS librarians … chef’s kiss 📚

Excited to share this news! And congrats to my partner in crime, Audra 😎

Doubling down on our commitment: CDN starts '26 with same focus, new leaders | Cascadia Daily News Two managing editors and a new exec position lead your local news org forward

CDN kicks off 2026 with new purpose and new leadership in three key positions. Read about the changes in Executive Editor Ron Judd's weekly column.

I don't get to design doubletrucks often. This week, I made a map of Whatcom and Skagit counties, with their respective rivers, and reporter @annietodd.bsky.social put together a timeline of the flooding below that correlates with the four river gauges Cascadia Daily News was tracking last week.

Nerded out a bit with this story. Pitched it when I learned that the same guy designed all these logos of popular places downtown Bellingham.

Read about Bradley and graphic design in my story for @cascadiadaily.com ⬇️

How to support us:
cascadiadaily.com/subscribe
cascadiadaily.com/donate

Learn more about us:
cascadiadaily.com/meet-the-news-staff

First cut of this was half the length and made me cry. Finn did a great job adapting to the many changes we’ve had at CDN during the production of this video!

As one of the few original staff members, seeing how far we’ve come really hits home.

Field reporting… Can confirm there are bees…

(See story below @cascadiadaily.com)

Ski to Sea team bonds in memory of loved one who died by suicide | Cascadia Daily News Team TydalWave has raised over $6K for crisis support organization

Jesse Ericksen dreamed of finishing the final leg of Ski to Sea, but he never got the chance.
As @jayaflanary.bsky.social reports, the Ski to Sea team, TydalWave, is competing in honor of Ericksen, who died by suicide in 2023.

CDN news site, feature writing, photography earn National Headliner Awards | Cascadia Daily News Cascadiadaily.com, journalists Cocoa Laney and Hailey Hoffman honored

Cascadia Daily News has earned three awards in the 2025 National Headliner Awards, including national honors for overall journalistic excellence in a local news site. The contest honored the best American journalism in 2024.

Heard in the newsroom while headline writing: Is there a shorter word than ‘was’?

@annietodd.bsky.social

Since 2007, the border has changed … mostly the last few months. But “Non Sign II” still stands, just down the road from the Peace Arch.

In today’s political climate, where does art at the border fit in? What if the piece was not meant to be political at all?

For @cascadiadaily.com

“I wanted it to be something that people come from either side of and see something striking,” Han told me. “So you remember the crossing of the border is something actually exciting and positive, not stressful and something that you’re afraid of.”

Artists Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo sent me tons of photos of them building the piece in Blaine. This one of Annie welding stood out — it’s so badass!

A simple “What’s the deal with?” turned into this story about the first piece of art Canadians see when they enter the U.S., and the two Seattle artists who created it in 2007.

Got to put together a 2020 timeline with Annie this week.

I’ve done five escape rooms, the most recent one was at Cryptid Escapes. While there, I realized how much time I focus on the details, like set design and wondering how things work. “Where do you think they bought that lamp?” clouds my head while playing.

So, I asked the owners. And wrote about it!

I saw the Bookmobile when I was at WCLS writing a different story. Immediately messaged Cocoa, knowing this would be a great story but not knowing how many awesome historical photos would be available.

My favorite is the girl picking up a book on her horse!

Hard to believe it’s been 5 years.

2020 was wild: a break up, the pandemic, switched jobs, new relationship, lost my childhood cat, got a kitten. I even dyed my hair purple and then red.

CDN rounded up some memories, including when I got my first vaccine, for the anniversary of COVID-19.