Seattle Sketcher

A selection of columns published in The Seattle Times between 2009 and 2021.

August 1, 2021

THE SUN IS beating down hard on Beacon Hill at the start of summer, a prelude to even warmer days ahead in the forecast. But

June 27, 2021

A GLEAMING sailboat named Happy is making a stop at the Port of Edmonds after a speedy sail at 11.2 knots from Bainbridge. It doesn’t

June 13, 2021

“THIS IS GOING to be quick. Just take a deep breath.” HealthPoint worker Bao-Yen Tran must have repeated those words dozens of times today. She

June 11, 2021

THE VULCAN, one of three floating machine shops built for the U.S. Army in the 1950s, still is filled with old tools that were used

March 14, 2021

BACK IN EARLY June, the old building that houses the Seattle Police Department East Precinct on Capitol Hill became a focal point of protests after

January 24, 2021

A TEAM OF ABOUT 20 medical assistants staffs a busy COVID-19 testing site in Renton on a recent soggy morning. Like a fly on the

January 10, 2021

THE TOASTED BUN is slathered with cream cheese, and the hot dog is split in half and covered with sauteed onions. “That’s the Seattle Dog,”

November 15, 2020

THE POOR PINK Elephant. It doesn’t spin all the way around anymore. It just nudges back and forth with the wind. As dusk begins to

November 8, 2020

THE R/V THOMAS G. Thompson has just returned to its home port at the University of Washington School of Oceanography in Portage Bay after a

August 13, 2016

No deposit. No background check. Monthly rent of $350, in cash, for a room within walking distance to work. Back in 2013, Skyler Wister, a