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Dec 20, 2024 | 
seattletimes.com | Melissa Davis
My email inbox, like that of most journalists, contains the funny, the beautifully written, the occasional “get me out of jail” plea and a dose of snark. Emailers want a piece of my time, or occasionally, my hide. But I don’t think I’ve ever received a message as gut-wrenching as the one that dropped last week.
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Dec 6, 2024 | 
seattletimes.com | Melissa Davis
You’ve all seen the headlines, social media posts and letters to the editor. A vast postelection chasm runs through America, and rather than teeter on the edges, pundits say, folks are turning their backs and refusing to try to bridge the political/ideological divide. Or are they? As the new year approaches, we want to hear your ideas and resolutions around encouraging civil discourse and narrowing the gap between blue and red, liberal and conservative, far left and far right. Listening carefully?
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Nov 29, 2024 | 
seattletimes.com | Melissa Davis |Josh Farley
Editor’s note: Got questions about recycling? We’ve got answers. Editorial board members and Opinion columnists Melissa Davis and Josh Farley continue their deep dive into the recyclable, the kind-of recyclable and, in today’s edition, where everything else goes. Josh: I assumed a landfill is a place all garbage goes to die. Boy was I wrong, Melissa. A mountain of trash is quite alive in ways that are … wholly unpleasant. Melissa: It’s not just the smell of rotting everything, Josh.
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Oct 4, 2024 | 
seattletimes.com | Melissa Davis |Josh Farley
Editor’s note: Got questions about recycling? We’ve got answers. Times editorial board members and Opinion columnists Melissa Davis and Josh Farley continue their deep dive into the recyclable, the kind-of recyclable and the not-on-your-life recyclable … and some possible solutions. Josh: Hey, Melissa. As someone who was also born and raised in Oregon, are you as perplexed as I am when you see littered bottles and cans in Washington? Melissa: Perpetually, Josh.
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Aug 28, 2024 | 
faithtoday.ca | Melissa Davis
Fostering unity in congregational worship
Have we lost the “corporate” in corporate worship? Not long ago, the voices of the people were the predominant sounds during church worship. Today the sound coming from the platform has all but silenced the congregation’s voice, leaving many feeling like irrelevant, passive spectators.
How did we get here? We must first realize this is not a new problem.
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Aug 16, 2024 | 
seattletimes.com | Melissa Davis
“It was a great occasion, everyone carried off souvenirs and there are enough splinters of the last tie in museums to make a good bonfire … the engineers shook hands and had their pictures taken and each broke a bottle of Champagne on the pilot of the other’s engine and had their picture taken again.” — Alexander Toponce, Promontory, Utah, May 10, 1869 The next event in Sound Transit Link light rail history might not be quite as big as the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad at...
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Jul 19, 2024 | 
seattletimes.com | Melissa Davis
Almost as shocking as the attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life on July 13 was the speed at which the social media rumor mill started grinding. Within five minutes, speculation was spreading on X about the identity of the shooter and it ricocheted across other platforms as posters jostled for attention. Trying to make sense of a significant event is human nature. We want to know how something happened, and why. An act of violence begs for connection.
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Apr 19, 2024 | 
seattletimes.com | Melissa Davis |Josh Farley
Editor’s note: Got questions about recycling? We’ve got answers. Times editorial board members and Opinion columnists Melissa Davis and Josh Farley visited a Longview mill to see how paper and cardboard are born anew as part of an occasional series on the state’s current mishmash of a recycling system. Josh: In our quest to become better recyclers, Melissa, I found myself pitying the ephemeral life of a pizza box. One minute, it is safeguarding an oven-hot, saliva-inducing pie.
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Apr 12, 2024 | 
sugarcanemag.com | Melissa Davis |Angela N. Carroll |Elaine Gonzalez
Repairs and restoration work continue after a 2020 flood caused more than $500,000 in damage to the historic landmark building of the Marian Anderson Museum & Historical Society. The Society’s building was the home of Marian Anderson, the iconic contralto singer who performed a wide-range of music, from opera to spirituals, from 1924-1965.
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Feb 24, 2024 | 
sugarcanemag.com | Melissa Davis |Sumaiyah Wade |Melissa Davis
Today the nonprofit Sundance Institute announced eight storytellers selected for the 2024 Momentum Fellowship. Now in its sixth year, Momentum continues its mission of fostering professional growth for mid-career artists, emphasizing professional development opportunities during a critical juncture in their creative journey. The fellowship specifically targets mid-career artists hailing from historically marginalized backgrounds, offering them tailored support and resources.
