Chapter 1. Discovering the New World of Instant News

Mid-June in the far upper corner of the Pacific Northwest is a time of anticipation. Long spells of dreary rain begin to give way to the piercingly bright blue of summer and, when the sun does emerge, the days are long with the sun setting shortly before 9 p.m.

June 10, 1999 was one of those promising days. Two 10-year-old boys were playing in the park right below their homes. Not like most city parks, this park is a typical Northwest rain forest, although right near the heart of a city of almost 70,000 people. Trails cut narrow swaths through a dense and dark forest. Whatcom Creek runs through the center of the park and immediately after it exits the park it flows through downtown Bellingham: past the big car dealership, past a number of office buildings, right below the jail windows, right past City Hall, and past the Whatcom County Courthouse. The stream starts at Lake Whatcom, a 12-mile lake at the eastern edge of the city. After plunging down a beautiful waterfall with a drop of about 30 feet, the 50-foot-wide creek meanders through towering firs and hemlocks, finally exiting into Bellingham Bay right near the Georgia-Pacific pulp and chemical plant.