Diane Urbani de la Paz

The herb is hot, heavy: Lavender harvest hits peak around Sequim

SEQUIM — The big public party's over, but you'll hear no sighs of relief among the lavender. Three weeks after the Lavender Festival funneled 25,000… Continue reading

Port Angeles city attorney corrects numbers posed to Sequim City Council

SEQUIM — This city's interim city manager and police chief stands corrected by the neighboring town's attorney. Robert Spinks, Sequim's interim manager and chief of… Continue reading

Soldier Support Day on Sunday in Agnew

SEQUIM — A stroke of luck has brought Army Sgt. Andrew Heydon home from Iraq for two weeks' leave, just in time for the birth… Continue reading

Sequim Relay for Life is a trip to Oz

SEQUIM — It's a trip to Oz, fueled by coffee and candlelight. Sequim's third annual Relay for Life has a new theme and location this… Continue reading

Slow down and don’t gawk, workers on U.S. 101 widening project ask

BLYN — After two wrecks in his construction zone on U.S. Highway 101, project manager Sean Coleman is asking drivers to slow down and stop… Continue reading

Woman whose peacock is missing finds only plumes — and fear that a cougar killed bird

CARLSBORG — The screaming started around 2 a.m. Wednesday, Angela Jacobsen said. "It was blood-curdling. I went out in my nightgown," to the woods surrounding… Continue reading

Sequim considers making city attorney full-time — and adding a deputy attorney position

SEQUIM — In an effort to economize on lawyer fees, the Sequim City Council is considering turning its part-time attorney, Craig Ritchie, into a full-timer… Continue reading

Sequim Senior Center planning huge fundraising sale

SEQUIM — Several thousand items — from Crock Pots to sequined gowns — will be up for sale at Sequim's senior center this week. The… Continue reading

Sequim water, sewer rates might rise as much as 20% next year

SEQUIM — The Sequim City Council may need to raise sewer and water rates 10 percent to 20 percent next year to help pay for… Continue reading

1,400 mourn Olympic National Park firefighter from Port Townsend

PORT TOWNSEND — Abby Irwin reminded 1,400 people what a joy it was to be in the presence of Andy Palmer. As the Port Angeles… Continue reading

Winery, U.S. Olympic Committee resolve conflict over use of . . . er . . . the name of our Peninsula

PORT ANGELES — Nine months after her winery's 9/11, Kathy Charlton is celebrating with her trademark joie de vivre. The principal owner of Olympic Cellars… Continue reading

Californian with Sequim kin named new Chamber of Commerce executive director

SEQUIM — A new executive director has been chosen to lead the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce. The chamber board voted unanimously Thursday night to… Continue reading

Comment period for Robin Hill Park disc golf plan ends today

AGNEW — On a summer afternoon, Robin Hill Farm is a hushed haven. Except for the gunfire. This woodsy, trail-rich Clallam County park just north… Continue reading

Sequim lets it all out with its love-hate relationship with elk

SEQUIM — Tracy Blume can smell the elk from her bedroom on Happy Valley Road. They saunter through her yard just about every night, though… Continue reading

‘Looking out at the water, my mind floats freer’: How author Aaron Elkins is inspired to write best-sellers

SEQUIM — A good work day for mystery novelist Aaron Elkins begins at the Sequim Transit Center. Elkins, who's lived on the Olympic Peninsula on… Continue reading

Sequim City Council hires retired city manager as interim recruitment adviser

SEQUIM — For $5,700, plus $60 a night for lodging, the City Council has hired retired city manager Lee Walton to seek a new chief… Continue reading

Someone else might build Sequim’s new City Hall, police station

SEQUIM — After eight years of searches, disappointments and "anguishing" — as interim City Manager Robert Spinks put it — Sequim has stepped in a… Continue reading

Got your goat? At least one billy’s a bully in Olympic National Park

OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Beware the aggressive billy. He roams the Klahhane Ridge vicinity, now and again approaching people and "not backing off," Olympic National… Continue reading

Sequim City Council to hold information meeting on new taxing district

SEQUIM — The Sequim City Council will hold a special meeting on Saturday to provide information about Sequim's newly formed taxing district. The meeting, to… Continue reading

Lawrence made claim against Sequim chamber; sides mum on how much

SEQUIM — Lee Lawrence, who was fired as executive director of the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce after less than six months in the job,… Continue reading