Joel Connelly

I worked for Seattle Post-Intelligencer from 1973 until it ceased print publication in 2009, and SeattlePI.com from 2009 to 6/30/2020. During that time, I wrote about 9 presidential races, 11 Canadian and British Columbia elections‎, four doomed WPPSS nuclear plants, six Washington wilderness battles, creation of two national Monuments (Hanford Reach and San Juan Islands), a 104 million acre Alaska Lands Act, plus the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area.

The Great Midterm Motivator: Abortion

The results so far:  The Democrats have punched above their weight, increasing their vote in five special House races. 

Alaska Elects a Rare Democrat to Congress

Mary Peltola will be the first indigenous Alaskan to represent the Great Land in Congress. 

Justice William O. Douglas and the Wilderness He Saved

The product of Yakima and Whitman College, Douglas was tapped for the high court in 1939 and confirmed at the age of 40.

Denali: On the Frontlines of Climate Change

“There is nothing so American as our National Parks,” Franklin Roosevelt once declared.  Now those parks reflect a country’s warming climate and weather extremes.

Joe Biden, Comeback Kid

With or without his shades, Joe Biden is feeling good about himself.

Trump’s Revenge: Joe Kent Edges Ahead of Jaime Herrera Beutler

Kent has emerged as a right-wing media darling. 

Growl No More? AG Bob Ferguson Barks Back at Whidbey’s Navy Jets (and Judge Agrees)

Protests at Growler overflights have involved not only Coupeville but Port Townsend and towns of the Quimper Peninsula. 

Sleepy No More: A Primer on Tuesday’s Primary

With a lot of “safe” one-party districts, and a wide-open top-two primary shifted to August, many battles pit Democrat against Democrat and Republican vs. Republican.

Pope Francis Pays Penitence in Canada

“I humbly beg forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous peoples,” said Francis, speaking at the site of what was once one of the largest residential schools in the country.

Grumpier and Trumpier: Canadian Politics and the Distemper of our Times

The language of Canadian politics is becoming harsher.  Public officials are targeted for abuse. Confrontations are getting more frequent and intense. 

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