Coronavirus Chronicles: Edmonds singer pivots around COVID  

Dinner and a show are back on the menu, according to Edmonds resident Elizabeth Galafa, who is doing her best to return to a normal life after a year when singing on a public stage has been difficult if not impossible. Now, as things are beginning to open up, the singer is eager to show…

Coronavirus Chronicles: Amid pandemic, local opioid overdoses accelerate

While COVID-19’s devastating toll has taken center stage over the past year, another health crisis has quietly raged on. Nationally, opioid overdoses have accelerated amid the pandemic’s daily life disruptions. In Washington state, overdose deaths increased by 38% in the first half of 2020 compared to the same period the previous year, according to the…

Coronavirus Chronicles: For health care workers, vaccination brings some relief, hope

Edmonds resident Peter Zyniewicz received his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine last week, a milestone of hope after witnessing so much tragedy. “It’s a little like when you’re younger and you wake up to find Christmas presents under the tree,” said Zyniewicz, an emergency room nurse. “I can’t believe it’s finally here.” Over the…

Coronavirus Chronicles: Jazz performer won’t let the pandemic silence her music

Musician Marina Christopher had her 2020 all planned. In January, she was in New York City playing bass with a touring group. She had other stops scheduled and was ready to drop in at a favorite spot, Vito’s in Seattle, for another gig. But, 2020 had other plans for the Mountlake Terrace-born-and-raised artist. She has not let…

Coronavirus Chronicles: Alley Bell pivots from in-person classes to virtual music-making

Making music in the time of COVID has called for inordinate creativity. Social distancing restrictions have made life especially difficult for performing artists whose life work—and livelihoods—normally depend on gathering crowds of people in ways that are severely restricted, if not totally out of the question, in these unprecedented circumstances. Notwithstanding the above challenges, Sarah…

Coronavirus Chronicles: Pandemic prompts unexpected film industry role

Long before the pandemic grew the ranks of the germaphobes, Edmonds resident Christine Cossu was meticulous about cleanliness. Film production coworkers knew Cossu as someone who always had disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer at the ready. So when the film production industry restarted after the spring shutdown, Cossu was the first person a former colleague…

Coronavirus Chronicles: UW student helps seniors go digital for health and connection

When she was 15, Nhu Nguyen came with her family to the Northwest from Vietnam, settling first in South Seattle then moving to Edmonds, where she attended Edmonds-Woodway High School and Edmonds College. Now, at 22, she’s a University of Washington senior, double majoring in public and global health and biology– a relevant education in…

Coronavirus Chronicles: Out of work and out of diapers  

When Edmonds resident Cordy Harris got furloughed from her movie theater job in March, she worried about providing food for her young family — and diapers for her infant. At one point — before the stimulus check came through and unemployment benefits kicked in — she used dish towels because her supply had run out….

Edmonds salon owners join forces to develop reopening protocols

While Edmonds’ beauty businesses are eager to restart services, it isn’t as simple as hanging an “open” sign on the door. Amid the COVID-19 reality, there’s a long list of new guidelines on everything from sanitizing standards to the number of clients allowed in a space. These lengthy and sometimes ambiguous new requirements led Ombu…

Coronavirus Chronicles: Pregnancy during a pandemic brings change, resilience

Edmonds resident Makayla Jones had planned to deliver her sixth baby —  like all her other children — in a hospital setting. But then a worldwide pandemic changed everything. As hospitals in the area prepared for a surge of COVID-19 patients, Swedish Edmonds Family Birth Center temporarily closed in late March, directing expecting women to…