Local Life

Civic odds and ends, neighborhood stories, local color, public safety, schools, and daily Boise life.

A dirt path runs the length of a concrete snowshed between rows of tall square concrete columns, with gravel at its left edge, moss at its right, ferns and daylight beyond the columns at right, and heavy roof beams narrowing to a dark far end.

Local Life/October 21, 2026

Wellington avalanche of 1910 and the 96 who died

Wellington avalanche, March 1, 1910: two Great Northern trains swept down a Stevens Pass slope, 96 dead. What happened, who was blamed, and how to visit.

A red neon sign reading PUBLIC MARKET CENTER with a round clock of glowing red numerals and hands at its right, against a purple dusk sky with a thin crescent moon, a building at left and a red FARMERS sign at lower right.

Local Life/October 20, 2026

Daylight saving time in Washington and the 2019 law on hold

Daylight saving time in Washington ends at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. What the 2019 state law says, where Congress stands and why B.C. will not fall back.

A black-and-white photograph of a long suspension bridge crossing a wide stretch of water, with a tall steel tower and thin vertical suspender cables at left, a second tower far off at right, forested shoreline behind the deck and a few shrubs along the bottom edge.

Local Life/October 20, 2026

Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse timeline, November 7, 1940

Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse, November 7, 1940: twisting from 10:03 a.m., final section down at 11:08, by WSDOT's timeline. The only known victim was a dog.

A stone office building with a green copper cornice stands beside a pale, diamond-patterned building, with red, orange and yellow autumn trees in front and glass towers rising behind under a clear blue sky.

Local Life/October 19, 2026

King County property tax due dates, how to pay and appeal

King County property tax due dates: the second half of 2026 is due Monday, November 2. How to pay, what late costs by state law, and how to appeal.

A rain-soaked residential street in Pacific, Washington, with water sheeting across the asphalt, wooden and chain-link fences and small houses on both sides, and bare trees behind.

Local Life/October 19, 2026

Enumclaw flooding: what the White River's 4 phases mean

Enumclaw flooding and the White River: King County's four flood phases (4,000 to 8,000 cfs), the gauge that sets them, SR 410 and who to call.

Mount St. Helens at sundown, its snow-streaked summit broken open into a wide crater facing the camera, above gray, gullied ground cut by a braided stream.

Local Life/October 16, 2026

Volcanoes in Washington state, the 7 on the USGS threat list

Volcanoes in Washington state: the USGS ranks seven, with St. Helens and Rainier 2nd and 3rd in the nation. Last eruptions, heights and miles from Enumclaw.

Broken red brick lies heaped across a Pioneer Square sidewalk in Seattle beneath the punctured green awnings of the Fenix Underground and Fenix Cafe, with yellow caution tape strung at left.

Local Life/October 16, 2026

Biggest earthquakes in Washington state history, ranked

The biggest earthquake in Washington state history was Cascadia's in 1700, near M9. Since then, 1872 and 2001 lead at 6.8; 1949 and 1965 tie at 6.7, per USGS.

A stack of smooth, plate-shaped lenticular clouds lying just above the snow-covered summit of Mount Rainier, over a dark forested ridge and bare winter trees.

Local Life/October 15, 2026

Mount Rainier lenticular clouds, and what the hat means

Mount Rainier lenticular clouds mark a standing wave of moist air. What the hat says about rain, why climbers and pilots heed it, and the 1947 UFO theory.

Two power lines sag across a front yard strewn with branches and a fallen tree in front of a two-level house in King County after the November 2024 bomb cyclone.

Local Life/October 15, 2026

Enumclaw power outage map, who to call and PSE's $50 credit

Enumclaw power outage? PSE's map and number, the city's gas lines, how PSE sets restoration times, generator rules and its $50 credit for long outages.

Rows of small sheared Christmas trees in a field at a tree farm in Oakland, Oregon, in October 2025, with taller trees, a few houses and a concrete bridge behind them under a cloudy sky.

Local Life/October 14, 2026

Christmas tree farms near Enumclaw with dates and prices

Christmas tree farms near Enumclaw: Honeytree opens Nov. 27, 2026 and Coates Nov. 21, both on Green Valley Road. Prices, hours, species and the permit option.

Hereford cattle grazing in a fenced pasture on the Enumclaw plateau in March 2019, with bare trees, the Cascade foothills and snow-covered Mount Rainier behind them.