The state House of Representatives took a big step early Tuesday morning with approval of an amended version of House Bill 2347, which seeks to reduce the risk of catastrophic oil spills from ships and trains. Now it falls to the state Senate, and its Energy, Environment and Telecommunications Committee, to keep this…

The picture on the left illustrates best the lure of the Issaquah Highlands, a master-planned community featured in the Seattle Times Sunday. Dwellers want the retail amenities found in urban centers like Seattle but they also want to be close by trails for their mountain bikes. The Times article called it one of King County’s largest urban villages….

Lake Illiamna, Alaska, in the headwaters of the Bristol Bay salmon run
(Photo by Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times, 2007)

The announcement by Anglo American plc, London, that it is walking away from the Pebble Mine project is great news. The giant open-pit mine would be dug on the edge of the richest group of salmon rivers in the world, which host the Bristol Bay salmon run. This June and July, fishermen—many from Washington—harvested more than 15 million fish there, and that was a disappointing year.

Bristol Bay is America’s mother lode of salmon.

We’re all learning more about the Hotshots, the courageous firefighting crew that lost 19 of its members Sunday fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire near Phoenix, Ariz. The Associated Press compiled bios of the young men, some of whom were fathers and dads-to-be. Most were still in their twenties. The Hotshots are like the military’s Special…

Happy Earth Day!

The Bullitt Center officially opens in Seattle’s Capitol Hill on Monday. The building, which sets a high standard for sustainable design, will house the nonprofit Bullitt Foundation. The organization’s executive director, Denis Hayes, is the founder of Earth Day.

The center will host tours starting at noon. For Monday’s grand opening, the center will also provide free bike repair and bike valets. (There is no parking for cars at the new building.) For more information about Monday’s festivities, check the foundation’s website.

Check out this Instagram slideshow our multimedia editorial writer Thanh Tan made of the Bullitt Center:

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In March, we ran an editorial notebook about the building back. Here is an excerpt:

Cattle Point Lighthouse (Photo by Brian J. Cantwell / The Seattle Times)

The San Juan Islands National Monument, among the newest of the nation’s more than one hundred national monuments, will be celebrated Monday morning with a gathering of dignitaries at the Anacortes Senior Center.

The notables include Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Principal Deputy Director of the Bureau of Land Management Neil Kornze and Rep. Rick Larsen, from Washington 2^nd District. As noted in a Times editorial Saturday, these members of the Washington congressional delegation, and Rep. Suzan DelBene, worked with the local community to make the national monument designation a reality.

President Obama’s signature last week on the executive order creating the San Juan Islands National Monument put another name on the state’s honor roll.

The Bullitt Center, set to become the world’s greenest commercial building, is getting ready to open in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.

ICYMI: here’s a March 3 Seattle Times news story and interactive on the Bullitt Foundation’s new digs.

This weekend, the editorial board is publishing a ‘notebook’ based on my visit to the site last week. What more can I add? It’s a visually stunning, self-sufficient building that I’d like to see become a symbol of Seattle’s ability to embrace and redefine what it means to be environmentally conscious.

I enjoyed snapping some photos during the tour. Here’s one that I took from the lobby. As I peered up, all I could see was a beautiful staircase made of sustainable wood from nearby forests.

Instagram photo by Thanh Tan/The Seattle Times

Scroll down to see 16 more photos from my Instagram feed that showcase the Bullitt Center’s cutting-edge green design features.

Gov. Jay Inslee received a hearty welcome Wednesday when he arrived to testify before the Senate Energy, Environment and Telecommunications Committee. Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, who chairs the committee, noted the rarity of both a gubernatorial appearance and applause. The governor’s climate action legislation, Senate Bill 5802, and companion measure House Bill 1915, would evaluate the…