After having a terrible time processing the death of one of my closest friends, I decided to finally try to write about all that grief. It takes the form of an essay about Metallica. What can I say, my brain is weird: leahsottile.substack.com/p/74-letters...

74. Letters I Write to Metallica

Prayers to James, Kirk, Lars, Cliff and someone I loved.

leahsottile.substack.com

Much more to the arrest of Aaron Farinacci, the man accused of arson related to the Spokane wildfires, as reported by @alexdugganreports.bsky.social and Garrett Cabeza: www.spokesman.com/stories/2026...

Suspected Old Trails arsonist Aaron Farinacci contacted over Spokane fires last year, court docs say

The man suspected of setting a fire that destroyed hundreds of Spokane homes and forced 60,000 people to evacuate was contacted by law enforcement last summer for two fires but never arrested, accordi...

spokesman.com

The public doesn't realize that a barrier to every journalist publishing a story are like five editors telling that journalist their idea is dumb, or doesn't make sense, and those editors also aren't willing to help make it better because they are going on vacation.

The 37-person town of Antelope, Oregon has a rich, strange history. I wrote this essay for Portland Monthly about being drawn to its darkness: www.pdxmonthly.com/travel-and-o...

A Dark Sky Escape in Antelope, Oregon

Decades after a cult takeover, the tiny town looks to the stars.

pdxmonthly.com

Banger report from @shaanthx.bsky.social on self-dealing from Oregon's Republican gov. hopeful. Sen. Christine Drazan registered a new consulting business in 2023, then a new nonprofit 3 weeks later, then paid her consulting biz $100k from the nonprofit. oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2026/08/04/h...

How Drazan’s consulting firm pocketed nearly $100k from her nonprofit with little oversight  • Oregon Capital Chronicle

The situation offers insight into how one of Oregon’s most successful recent Republican politicians handled her finances ahead of a campaign.

oregoncapitalchronicle.com

"I don’t believe in God. But I do believe in Metallica. So what if I wrote to them instead?" Wake up babe, a Sottile banger just dropped.

Leah Sottile@leahsottile.bsky.social · 2d ago

About ten years ago, I started experimenting with the idea of writing letters as a storytelling form. This year at Pickathon, I read two letters I've written to Metallica (and never sent) that are about a lot more than just their music. Weird, I know. leahsottile.substack.com/p/74-letters...

It’s true. The Spokesman-Review has been doing incredible work and it's transitioning right now to nonprofit ownership. There’s never been a better time to subscribe: spokesman.com/subscribe

Leah Sottile@leahsottile.bsky.social · 2d ago

I've been asking reporters in Spokane how we can help and everyone says subscribe, subscribe, subscribe. The Spokesman-Review has been doing unreal coverage of the fires: www.spokesman.com

About ten years ago, I started experimenting with the idea of writing letters as a storytelling form. This year at Pickathon, I read two letters I've written to Metallica (and never sent) that are about a lot more than just their music. Weird, I know. leahsottile.substack.com/p/74-letters...

74. Letters I Write to Metallica

Prayers to James, Kirk, Lars, Cliff and someone I loved.

leahsottile.substack.com

Old Metallica fan here. Worth a read to connect with the music that speaks to our emotions and expresses anger and pain for us… it’s just really good and I connected with it

Leah Sottile@leahsottile.bsky.social · 2d ago

About ten years ago, I started experimenting with the idea of writing letters as a storytelling form. This year at Pickathon, I read two letters I've written to Metallica (and never sent) that are about a lot more than just their music. Weird, I know. leahsottile.substack.com/p/74-letters...

Bittersweet, raw, powerful and moving.

Leah Sottile@leahsottile.bsky.social · 2d ago

About ten years ago, I started experimenting with the idea of writing letters as a storytelling form. This year at Pickathon, I read two letters I've written to Metallica (and never sent) that are about a lot more than just their music. Weird, I know. leahsottile.substack.com/p/74-letters...

About ten years ago, I started experimenting with the idea of writing letters as a storytelling form. This year at Pickathon, I read two letters I've written to Metallica (and never sent) that are about a lot more than just their music. Weird, I know. leahsottile.substack.com/p/74-letters...

74. Letters I Write to Metallica

Prayers to James, Kirk, Lars, Cliff and someone I loved.

leahsottile.substack.com

I've been asking reporters in Spokane how we can help and everyone says subscribe, subscribe, subscribe. The Spokesman-Review has been doing unreal coverage of the fires: www.spokesman.com

Alexandra (Alex) Duggan@alexdugganreports.bsky.social · 3d ago

The front page of this morning’s Spokesman-Review, Aug. 2, 2026, the day after one of the worst wildfires in Washington state history. More than 600 structures, mostly homes, have been lost in the #OldTrailsFire. Read local news.

My heart is breaking for Spokane.

Alexandra (Alex) Duggan@alexdugganreports.bsky.social · 3d ago

The devastation is unimaginable. I moved here 3 years ago knowing Spokane would be my home. I can’t explain how horrific this is. “It’s like a war zone,” people told me.

More than 600 (likely homes) burned in and around Spokane County yesterday. The devastation is incomprehensible www.spokesman.com/stories/2026...

Wildfire in northwest Spokane destroys 640 structures

The Old Trails wildfire in northwest Spokane destroyed 640 structures Saturday, according to Cody Rohrbach, Spokane County Fire District 3 fire chief.

spokesman.com

The Spokesman is doing incredible reporting on this story. Follow them for critical info. @alexdugganreports.bsky.social www.spokesman.com/stories/2026...

'Never seen it this bad': Thousands evacuated in north Spokane as wildfire crosses river into city

A wildfire driven by high winds jumped the Spokane River Saturday afternoon, burning homes and quickly moving into the Indian Trail Neighborhood.

spokesman.com

This sreengrab from @alexdugganreports.bsky.social Instagram is wild. She’s firing off as much info as she can as quickly as she can. Our local reporters are amazing.

I have countless loved ones are on the northside of Spokane. Not only is it NOT normal for the west to burn, this is actually fucking insane.

Spokane Rising@spokanerising.com · 4d ago

Holy crap. Level 3 (GO NOW!) zone now includes urban Spokane, south of Francis to Wellesley. Level 2 (GET SET!) zone now extends east of Division. Not to be alarmist, but at this rate, it’s not inconceivable that the Old Trails Fire merges with the Fairview Fire.

Man. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/w...

Renowned Climber Nirmal Purja Is Missing After Avalanche in Pakistan as 4 Bodies Are Found

The body of Nadhira Alharthy, the first Omani woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, was among those recovered. The influential British-Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja was missing.

nytimes.com

Remember back in March when @ryanjhaas.bsky.social and I did a story on St Helens and the drama that started with the police department over Halloweentown? Well, our @thewesternedge.bsky.social story just got more interesting. Gather round: www.thewesternedge.media/p/the-shady-...

The Shady Cop Who Haunts Halloweentown

A porn-texting police chief, a mayor posting through it all and the Oregon town that can’t let go of the 2024 election.

thewesternedge.media

some guy tried to talk to me about anthony fauci and i just said “i don’t know who that is.” total convo ender. dude genuinely short circuited. feel free to use it. can’t recommend enough.

Today I saw a baby rabbit fight off a crow trying to carry it away and this has been a metaphor for my day.

Come say hi at Pickathon this weekend! I'll be reading to the people about Metallica.

Portland Mercury@portlandmercury.com · last wk.

Amongst the many evolutions that Pickathon has proffered across its 26 years has been the introduction of the LIT Sunday sessions in 2022, which feature writers, poets, and storytellers congregating beneath a canopy of trees.

I finished Blazing Eye Sees all by @leahsottile.bsky.social and it was a wild ride. It's a book that illuminates the fringes not only of our current moment but our nation's history.

Review by ihavequalities - Blazing Eye Sees All: Love Has Won, False Prophets and the Fever Dream of the American New Age

Using Amy Carlson (aka Mother God) and the Love Has Won religious movement/cult as an anchor, ...

app.thestorygraph.com

Spring did what a lot of renters wouldn’t do: He went to trial. Read more: https://www.oregonlive.com/business/2026/07/after-refusing-a-287-repair-bill-portland-renter-beat-his-landlord-in-court-wins-32k-verdict.html

Truly one of the best books I have ever read.

John Schwartz@jswatz.bsky.social · 2w ago

If you want to better understand Canadian wildfires — and the causes of the climate change that make conditions for such disasters so much worse — I recommend this wonderful book by @johnvaillant.bsky.social www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/554938...

In the “roaming around the house eating whatever” phase of the writing project I’m working on.

A Portland renter had bankruptcy and the threat of massive legal bills (potentially six-figure legal bills) hanging over him if he went to trial against his landlord. He still did, and he won big. My story today: www.oregonlive.com/business/202...

After refusing a $287 repair bill, Portland renter beats his landlord in court, wins $32K verdict

A lawyer for the landlord warned that he would cause the renter "great harm" if he went to trial.

oregonlive.com

I'm not the only one calling their dogs "Jimothy" now am I

In this story I published a few months ago, I talk about the squishy definition of terrorism, how no federal agency defines it the same, and how, specifically, Mangione is not being tried as a terrorist. www.hcn.org/issues/58-4/...

What a bombing in Nevada reveals about the nation’s appetite for violence - High Country News

There is no definition of domestic terrorism. And the reason why is complicated.

hcn.org

Ken Klippenstein@kenklippenstein.bsky.social · 3w ago

Marco Rubio's speech on political terrorism references Luigi Mangione. "The share of left-wing terrorist attacks and plots has risen to levels not seen in decades ... a healthcare executive executed in cold blood in the streets."

Trump on Bears Ears and Grand Staircase: “You can’t go hunting, you can’t go fishing, you can’t do anything, you can virtually not even walk on it.” Utter lies, as @chrisdangelo.bsky.social knows from personal experience: www.publicdomain.media/p/trump-nati...

The Trump Team Lies To The Public About Utah National Monuments

"You can virtually not even walk on it," Trump falsely claimed before slashing nearly 3 million acres from Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante.

publicdomain.media