RECENT ARTICLES

If you’ve ever walked through downtown Portland, Oregon, and wondered about the origin and meaning of the “Rip City” signs and banners, the answer is rooted in the city’s professional basketball team, the Portland Trailblazers. The term was reportedly coined by local broadcasting legend Bill Schonely during the team’s inaugural 1970-71 season.

Ken Burns remembers sitting in a tiny editing room, sobbing, as he put together his latest documentary, Country Music. In fact, the acclaimed filmmaker says, there are often a half-dozen boxes of tissues in the office for him and his staff to use as they pore through old photographs and emotional testimonials—content they choose from to tell intimate stories about impactful time periods, iconic structures and significant cultural movements in American history.

Seattle music producer Ryan Lewis, one half of the Grammy-winning rap duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, remembers telling his elementary school class that his mother was HIV-positive. Julie Lewis, now a 35-year survivor, contracted the virus in 1984 from a blood transfusion during the complicated birth of her first daughter, Teresa.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed knows the importance of community support at the right time.

A native of the Bay Area, Breed grew up in the Western Addition housing project in San Francisco. However, an internship with the nonprofit Family School when she was a teenager helped change her life.

WHEN BEN HAGGERTY WAS 7 YEARS OLD, he already knew what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. The Seattle-based emcee/rapper, now better known as Macklemore, was aware even at this young age that he wanted to be onstage with a microphone, hearing his voice boom through speakers as he shared his music with an audience. Now, 28 years later, in the midst of his Grammy-winning career, Macklemore is helping to make similar dreams come true for young musicians through The Residency, a music-education program born in the city where he made a name for himself. Macklemore’s work with this program, which is supported by Alaska Airlines and other local organizations, reflects his broader interests in giving back to his community and providing opportunities for aspiring musical artists.