This Week
The Gristle
Outliers and Outlaws
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Outliers and Outlaws: An emerging meme among several of this year’s candidates for county office is the notion that they’re seeking election to protect individual homeowners and property owners from “special interests.” Council President Kathy Kershner declared this as she sought the endorsement of Whatcom Democrats.
“We’re not just protecting developers,” Kershner explained to Democrats. “We’re protecting folks just like you, who’ve worked your whole life, invested in your
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Food
Seasonal Quaffing
The beers of summer
Story and photo by Aubrey Laurence · Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Friday, June 21 marks the beginning of summer and a time when many beer lovers gravitate to lighter and more refreshing beers to match the warmer days.
“Summer beers,” as they’re loosely categorized, include a wide range of beer styles, though they hold the common thread of being light, refreshing, easy to drink and relatively low in alcohol, making them better served for multi-hour barbecues, water activities, outdoor games and sports. Below are some beers to try that are perfectly
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On Stage
Spring Awakening
From Germany, with love
By Amy Kepferle · Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Kaleb Van Rijswijck is well aware of what it’s like to be a teenager—and he’s putting that knowledge to good use. As a member of the newly formed State Street Theatre Company, the Bellingham High School senior spent the last weeks of his BHS tenure helping put the final touches on Spring Awakening, a controversial musical about teens discovering the ups and downs of sexuality opening June 21 at BHS. Although the actor, director and musician will be leaving town for the bright lights of
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News
Corrections
Building a bigger jail in an era of lesser crime
By Tim Johnson · Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Planning the right size jail is guesswork even in the most certain times. It requires a certain pessimism (some might say realism) about the human condition and the capacity to do wrong, offset by optimism (some might say faith) in the power of the judicial system to rehabilitate, educate and seek alternatives to incarceration. It is informed by bubbles moving through time—in particular demographics and population growth based on historic trends—and a deep understanding of the challenges
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Visual
Solstice Stroll
The art of summer
By Amy Kepferle · Wednesday, June 19, 2013
While summer weather in Western Washington doesn’t typically commit to heating up until July 5, there’s another harbinger of the season that doesn’t rely on consistent 80-degree temperatures and cloudless blue skies—the annual Summer Solstice Art Walk in historic Fairhaven.
This year, the event—which will take place from 5-8pm Fri., June 21—coincides precisely with the first day of summer, meaning that even if you’re out strolling until the neighborhood-wide celebration ends,
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Words
Better Homes and Gardens
Putting the ‘eco’ in ‘deco’
By Amy Kepferle · Wednesday, June 19, 2013
If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it 10,000 times: Whatcom County loves to recycle.
And in addition to the practice of reusing everything from building materials to discarded furniture to errant rays of sunshine, the residents of this corner of the globe are prone to pay attention to ecologically sound practices when it comes to maintaining—or building—their homes and gardens.
It’s no surprise, then, that Sustainable Connections’ annual “Imagine This! Home & Landscape Tour”
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Music
Make.Shift in the Park
Al fresco all-ages action
By Carey Ross · Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Recently, I was stopped by someone in the street who wanted to know about any/all upcoming shows that her daughter might be interested in attending. Trouble is, her daughter is not yet 21, which severely limits her options for live music in Bellingham.
For those of us who are of age and love live music, life in Bellingham is an ever-plentiful musical oasis. But for those younger than 21, that oasis is a cruel mirage in a musical desert that stretches as far as the eye can see and the ear can
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Film
World War Z
Brad Pitt will save us all
Reviewed by Stephanie Zacharek · Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Destruction is scary, but not half as scary as the act of rebuilding, the moment of looking at the random, jagged pieces you’ve got left and wondering how the hell you’re going to fit them together. In Marc Forster’s World War Z, the world as we know it—or even as we don’t really know it—is destroyed by a virus that turns people into zombies. Within 12 seconds of being bitten by an infected host, any human will turn into a twisted, soulless creature with cloudy, heroin-addict eyes, motivated
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Film
Much Ado About Nothing
Or What Joss Whedon did on his 12-day vacation
Reviewed by Peter Rainer · Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Much ado is being made over the fact that Joss Whedon directed his modern-dress Shakespeare adaptation Much Ado About Nothing while taking a 12-day break from postproduction on The Avengers. But why should this be so surprising? As superhero franchise palate cleansers go, you can’t do much better than the Bard. Besides, there’s plenty of avenging going on in Much Ado, minus the CGI, of course, and with a bit better dialogue.
I enjoyed Whedon’s film both as a species of stunt and also as
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Outdoors
Freeway Farming
Welcome to an urban oasis
By Amy Kepferle · Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Although the York Farm is quickly becoming an urban oasis full of many green goodies that promise to bear all manner of foodstuffs, some of the trees that abut the garden aren’t exactly real. That’s because they’re etched into the tall concrete barrier that separates the growing space from the busy I-5 corridor.
Mary Loquvam and Byron Bagwell, the York neighborhood residents who are primarily responsible for turning a fallow stretch of land into a place where people can meet, greet and
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Music
Billy Strings
Probably not a robot
By Carey Ross · Wednesday, June 19, 2013
When I was 20 years old, I was exploring my newfound college freedom, weighing the benefits of single life vs. my then-contentious relationship with my then-boyfriend, running up too much credit card debt (sorry, future self), attending just enough classes to make my parents happy yet few enough to make my professors perpetually exasperated and generally having a pretty good time.
A few things I was not doing when I was 20 years old? I was not wowing audiences with my nigh-unbelievable
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