More cities are testing wastewater, but a poor federal response keeps efforts scattered.
Public health
Posted inArticles
The erasure of Indigenous people in U.S. COVID-19 data
‘The United States had no idea what was going on in Indian Country. They have no idea.’
Posted inArticles
The Navajo Nation and White Mountain Apache Tribe chase down a virus
Contact-tracing programs in two areas hit hardest by COVID-19 are working.
Posted inArticles
Seattle is now providing drug treatment over the phone
Experts support the change and hope it will endure past the pandemic.
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
Essential transportation in rural Alaska is up in the air
Since Alaska’s largest regional airline went bankrupt in April, roadless communities have been searching for ways to restore service.
Posted inArticles
Thousands forced from their homes despite California’s eviction moratorium
Without clear state orders, a loophole in the law allows sheriff departments decide whether to evict.
Posted inSeptember 1, 2020: The Next West
The physics of connection and solitude
In the middle of a pandemic, a lifetime of lessons from a parent.
Posted inArticles
Contested water settlements inflamed the Navajo Nation’s health crisis
Colonial laws and federal neglect created a worse-case scenario during a global pandemic.
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Who’s looking out for elders on the Navajo Nation?
A reporter documents lack of food and harsh conditions for many Diné elderly, and few willing to take responsibility.
Posted inArticles
Utah housing advocates take on a cost crisis made worse by COVID-19
A new fund aims to acquire properties and maintain them at affordable rents.
Posted inSeptember 1, 2020: The Next West
The old-school organizers who got it done on Zoom
How the country’s oldest organizing group won COVID-19 relief for undocumented immigrants in California.
Posted inArticles
A Washington town isolated from the U.S. is now cut off from Canada, too
COVID-19 border closures have curtailed the international routines of the tiny town of Point Roberts.
Posted inAugust 1, 2020: Infectious Ideologies
As a plague sweeps the land, zealots see a gift from heaven
Extremist pastors are using the COVID-19 pandemic to push their conservative religious ideologies.
Posted inArticles
How big oil funds big brother
Some of the largest fossil fuel companies in the nation back police foundations that raise money for weapons, equipment and surveillance technology.
Posted inArticles
Celebrating community in the time of coronavirus
Events like the Tanabata Festival in East Los Angeles gave residents a chance to celebrate together. In its absence is something even more profound.
Posted inAugust 1, 2020: Infectious Ideologies
Patriot militia groups mobilize during a deadly pandemic and massive protests
‘That has a real chilling effect on democratic practice.’
Posted inArticles
COVID-19 is complicating Seattle’s response to wildfire smoke
What happens when one public health threat compounds the risks of another?
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 inArticles
Colorado passes limits on dangerous ‘forever’ chemicals
As federal regulations lag, state water officials unanimously pass new PFAS limits.