I don't know what amazes me more – the number of people who are so well informed about local happenings because they "read it in the paper" or the number of people who don't even subscribe to the Chinook Observer. It's not a new realization, but...
There was frustration, there was anger, there were tears but, understandably, no laughter at last night's ACLU People Power meeting in Long Beach. The group gathered to assess the month's progress with regard to assisting Hispanic neighbors as...
If I were to be known for a particular journalistic style, I would choose to be called "The Queen of the Sidebar." Not the sidecar with a 'c'; the sidebar with a 'b'. The 'c' kind is a drink – made with bourbon, I think, and, not being much for...
“Why do you always look at the dark side?” he asked me. Why, indeed? We were having a discussion. Actually, an argument. Over, of all things, the garage door. After forty-five years of faithful service, it had finally given up. Off its...
It doesn’t pay to relax for a minute. Not for me. Not when my writing is concerned. But, it seems to be a lesson hard to come by and, once again, I am reviewing those same old Words to Live By – “It ain’t over till the fat lady sings.” Or, in...
I was expecting a call from my friend Linda so, when the phone rang, I answered with a little bit of a goofy-sounding “hello-o-o.” (It could have been worse!) Imagine my surprise when a pleasant sounding male voice said, “Sydney Stevens? This is...
I’m not always happy about an editor’s changes to my pearls of thought. In fact, I’ve been known to get quite snarky about word substitutions or adjustments to phrasing. However, the addition of a dozen words to an otherwise dull caption in this...
“If the County is so damned broke, why are they continuing to pursue Dan Driscoll and Oysterville Sea Farms? How much drain is their current court appeal on the county?” We ‘ve been asked that question many times since last week’s banner headline...
I’m so glad my friend Ruth Chamberlin is writing a column in the Observer! And I’m even happier that it is about her amazing family. I love love LOVE reading whatever Ruth writes and I have an almost visceral reaction (in the best of all possible...
Yesterday’s 2016 Community Historian class was everything a culminating event should be – lively discussion, more questions than answers, laughter, and even food! (Make-your-own deli sandwiches, chips, lemonade and cookies! What could be...
Wednesday might be hump-day in some places, but here on the Peninsula it’s paper day and, for four months of the year for a lucky few of us, it’s Community Historian Day. As a long-time retiree, I discount the hump-day part. In fact, the days go...
Last night’s Luau for Nick Wilson-Codega was absolutely spectacular. From the decorations – leis draped on every chair, pineapples marching down the rows of tables, paper parrots and flowers and frou-frou – to the food which was plentiful and...