PAT NEAL: How’s the fishing?

“HOW’S THE FISHING?” If I had a dollar for every time I heard that, I wouldn’t be floundering in the mud-filled journalistic trenches as our… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: A bee-utiful autumn

IF THE FEEDBACK from last week’s episode is any indication, we are having a “bee-utiful” autumn on the Olympic Peninsula. People are getting stung by… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: Bee careful in autumn woods

Thank you for reading this. Sometimes, I think if you didn’t read this, no one would. But you do. A sharp-eyed reader suggested that, in… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: Time to play fall sports

AUTUMN MUST BE my favorite time of year. It’s all about the sports. Baseball is building tension as we head toward the World Series. The… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: Disaster preparedness month

SEPTEMBER IS NATIONAL Disaster Preparedness Month. It’s time to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies. As you read this, the… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: The blue-tarp campers

THE BLUE-TARP CAMPER is named for a particular shade of inexpensive, blue plastic tarp that comes in various shapes and sizes. Blue-tarp campers celebrate our… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: The law of the sea

And so, another rafting season passes astern. The glaciers in the high Olympics are shrinking at an increasing rate, which is reflected in the low… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: A short history of fire

IT WAS ANOTHER tough week in the news, but we still have plenty of fresh air. Washed by the ocean, the rain and the trees,… Continue reading

POINT OF VIEW: No community should be left behind in our economy

By U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer I WAS A student at Port Angeles High School when the timber industry took it on the chin. Our community… Continue reading

  • Aug 20, 2022
  • By U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer

PAT NEAL: Real questions from real tourists

THIS MUST BE one of the busiest tourist seasons ever. It has the locals hoping that school will hurry up and start so everyone will… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: The bug sacrifice

OF THE MANY phobias I cultivate, such as the fear of the government, fear of the mailbox and the fear of work, to name a… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: Safety first on vacation

There’s no doubt about it. I’ve got to stop picking up women at the bar. It’s not safe. The last one put a lump on… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: Voyage of the Doomed

There are no mental wellness days here at Hoh River Rafters, because you’d have to be crazy to work here. We are in the trenches… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: The hunt for blackberries

THERE ARE FEW outdoor activities more enjoyable than picking wild blackberries. By wild blackberries, I don’t mean the exotic berries that ripen along every roadside… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: A profitable extinction

In last week’s episode, we traced a cause for the degradation of our ecosystem to the elimination of spawning salmon from our creeks and rivers.… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: The rivers’ babies are disappearing

Looking at a baby salmon, it’s hard to believe that something not much bigger than a mosquito larvae could have such a tremendous impact on… Continue reading

POINT OF VIEW: Religious freedom ignored in abortion debate

ALONG WITH THE belief that Judaism does not claim to have the ultimate “truth” about God, the almost fanatical pursuit of justice is a fundamental… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: A very berry Fourth

This is the season wild creatures wait for all year. When we can walk in the woods and meadows stuffing our gullets with free food.… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: Jefferson County’s resiliency plan bad for Hoh River, salmon

In last week’s episode, we followed the extinction of the salmon from Europe to the Eastern shore of the New World and across the Continent… Continue reading

PAT NEAL: A short history of extinction

FOR SOME, THE new year begins in January. Out on our rivers, the new year begins now with the warming temperatures and the emergence of… Continue reading