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.

Magic Mountain Time: Incandescent Larches in High Cascade Forests

In the first week in October larch needles backlit by the sun draw thousands of hikers to the east slopes of the Cascades.

Surprise New Poll: Tight Race for Southwest Washington’s 3rd Congressional District

Joe Kent, an ex-Green Beret, eliminated incumbent six-term Republican Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler in Washington’s top-two August primary.

Mr. Ambassador: Biden Taps Seattleite Roger Nyhus

Nyhus helped Biden's campaign in Seattle and is a leader of LBGTQ causes. He has a reputation for knowing what buttons to push.

A Prosecutor’s Book: How Trump Weaponized “Justice”

“I walked the tightrope for two-and-a-half years. Eventually, the rope snapped.”

Gotta Have a Plan: Are State Republicans Ever Going to Get Their Act Together?

Victimhood is not a recommended theme for reaching out. 

Royal Review: Elizabeth and Phillip in the Pacific Northwest

“The Queen held a special place in her heart for British Columbia: We were honored to host the Queen seven times, six as reigning monarch,” B.C. Premier John Horgan said Thursday.

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.

Latest