After a year indoors, a writer remembers the joy — and pressures — of a childhood spent in Utah.
Labor
Posted inJuly 1, 2021: An Urban Greenspace Revolution
The incarcerated women battling wildfires
In ‘Breathing Fire,’ Jaime Lowe uncovers the benefits and drawbacks of California’s inmate fire program.
Posted inJuly 1, 2021: An Urban Greenspace Revolution
Farmworker organizing in Washington is undoing discriminatory labor policies
‘The pandemic elevated the fact that farmworkers are killing themselves to keep our food system intact.’
Posted inArticles
The essential — and dangerous — work prisoners do
Incarcerated people respond to pandemics, wildfires, avian flu outbreaks, mudslides and more.
Posted inArticles
What is the pandemic’s lasting impact on first responders?
In Los Angeles County, as COVID-19 surged, EMTs faced the unimaginable, forcing them to take unimaginable measures.
Posted inMarch 1, 2021: The Rough Road Ahead
Foreign-born doctors fill physician shortages in the West
Some find a permanent home; others languish in a visa holding pattern.
Posted inArticles
Bozeman’s sole multicultural enclave faces evictions amid a housing crisis
For some residents, the displacement signals the loss of affordable housing — and the only diverse neighborhood in the Montana city.
Posted inArticles
California farmworkers aren’t staying in free quarantine hotel rooms
Fear, testing barriers and miscalculations have hobbled the statewide program.
Posted inJanuary 1, 2021: No Place Like Home
Through wildland firefighting, finding a space to heal
A grieving daughter encounters solace in an unexpected place.
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 inOctober 1, 2020: Democracy's Frayed Western Front
Former California prisoners may become professional wildfire fighters
Amid a raging fire season and pandemic, the Western U.S. seeks experienced fire crews to battle its conflagrations.
Posted inArticles
Wildish Podcast: The unsexy burro
Episode Five: In Arizona, two incarcerated men rehabilitate wild donkeys for adoption.
Posted inSeptember 1, 2020: The Next West
Marlon’s hustle to survive
The unforgiving economy left by the pandemic leaves many undocumented people without a safety net.
Posted inArticles, En español
Las preocupaciones por el coronavirus reviven la organización de los trabajadores
Los empacadores de fruta de Washington buscan victorias de largo plazo con las huelgas de la pandemia.
Posted inAugust 1, 2020: Infectious Ideologies
Wildland firefighters are risking their mental health
As climate change lengthens fire seasons, will the government do enough to protect them?
Posted inArticles
A Seattle tattoo artist turns to essential work: transporting the dead
After her shop closed, Jessica Henry found a way to be of service during the pandemic helping others with life’s passing.
Posted inJuly 1, 2020: 'I am here fighting for my life and future children'
Coronavirus concerns revive labor organizing
Washington fruit packers seek lasting gains from pandemic strikes.
Posted inJuly 1, 2020: 'I am here fighting for my life and future children'
The Forest Service should embrace a full-time workforce
Permanently investing in firefighters would improve the health of employees and the landscapes we protect.
Posted inJuly 1, 2020: 'I am here fighting for my life and future children'
How a Washington ski patrol learned to unionize
When Vail Resorts added Stevens Pass to its empire, ski patrollers feared becoming fungible parts in a corporate machine. So they organized.
Posted inJuly 1, 2020: 'I am here fighting for my life and future children'
Will COVID-19 help save small slaughterhouses?
As laborers for the Big Four meatpackers fall ill, small slaughterhouses see unprecedented demand.