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.

Biden and Trudeau Agree to Rescue Porcupine Caribou Herd

The coastal plain has been subject to a 40-year struggle. It is vital to existence of the 100,000-plus animals of the Porcupine herd, but Alaska politicians have long sought to drill in the Refuge.

Challenge from the Hard Right: Sen. Murkowski in for another Bruising Election

Murkowski is likely to face off against the far right again, as the lone Republican senator up for reelection in 2022 who voted to impeach President Trump. The state Republican central committee will meet on March 12 to consider revenge.

Pro-Choice Joe Biden and the Catholic Wars

The Catholic right has revived a cause that goes back to the 2004 election, when Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis said he would deny holy communion to Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, a pro-choice Catholic. A South Carolina priest, in 2015, denied the eucharist to Biden.

“Building Homes for Salmon”: Nature Conservancy works to Restore an Old-Growth Forest

The Olympic Peninsula has become a living laboratory of efforts to restore and reestablish fish runs.

Can a Conservative Idaho Republican Bring Sockeyes Back to the Salmon River?

Timothy Egan, in his book The Good Rain, put it best: “The Northwest is anywhere a salmon can get to.” But few can get to Idaho's Salmon River.

Washington’s Jamie Herrera Beutler Stands Up

The lowest-profile lawmaker in Washington’s Congressional Delegation, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., briefly occupied the national spotlight Friday night and Saturday morning. She “outed” an angry exchange between then-President Trump and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy.

Sen. Maria Cantwell inherits Warren Magnuson’s Committee

Maggie was famous for passing major legislation, as well as for his malaprops. He referred to French President Pompidou as "Poopidou."

Impeachment 2.0: Of the Mob, By the Mob, For the Mob

Rep. Ted Lieu: “I’m not afraid of Donald Trump running in four years. I’m afraid he’s going to run again and lose. Because he can do this again.”

Judge to Tim Eyman: Do Something Else with the rest of your Life!

AG Ferguson has been unrelenting in pursuit of Eyman’s initiative empire, brushing off ceaseless hyperbole, self-pity, and baseless attacks from the initiative promoter.

Biden in the Breach: COVID Bill Will Set the Tone

Joe Biden has a lot on his plate at the moment. Hopefully, he has found time to read Obama’s memoirs, A Promised Land, in which the 44th president eloquently describes being repeatedly stymied and snookered when he sought bipartisan compromise.

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