Charlotte Alden

I am a reporter at Cascadia Daily News in Bellingham, WA, covering education and social issues.

Born in Toronto, Canada and raised in the Washington, D.C. area, I earned an honors bachelor's degree in political science at the University of British Columbia. I spent five years as a reporter and then editor of UBC’s student newspaper; in my final year, I was named Student Journalist of the Year by the Canadian University Press. For my work as an intern at Broadview Magazine in 2023, I was a finalist for Best Emerging Writer at the 2024 Canadian National Magazine Awards.


Selected clips

Cascadia Daily •

Attendance dropped after COVID-19. Bellingham schools got creative to keep kids in class

Olga Tsakhniv, 14, spends most of her time at Shuksan Middle School in class with her peers. But for the last period every day, she goes to the school office, sits on a couch and completes her language arts class online.  


For Tsakhniv, it’s “calming” to complete her final class in a quiet space with no distractions. Previously, she felt overwhelmed by a full day of classes in a building of nearly 700 people and would often leave school before the day was up, said Principal Alli Chryst. 


N...
Cascadia Daily •

District sued, family of student who was sexually harassed calls response ‘catastrophically broken’

The family of a student who was sexually harassed at Options High School in 2022 filed a federal lawsuit Monday against Bellingham Public Schools, alleging Title IX violations and negligence.


The lawsuit comes two and a half years after the student, who was 15 at the time, reported to administrators that she was repeatedly sexually harassed by a fellow student in person and through text messages. When she told her peer to stop, the student allegedly physically assaulted her in a classroom....
Cascadia Daily •

As Bellingham weighs whether to replace a bridge, residents left in limbo

Wayne Gerner grew up in a house accessed by a bridge in Chuckanut Village. That’s where he wants to die, too.


“This is where my grandparents passed away. This is where my parents passed away,” the 71-year-old said. “We almost feel like it’s legacy that I need to do that, too.”


Gerner’s house that he shares with wife Laura Mackenzie, 73, is his family’s original homestead, purchased by his grandfather in 1917.


But the City of Bellingham’s decision to replace, or not replace, the single-l...
Cascadia Daily •

WWU draws heat for sale of two properties, records show one was never to be sold

Controversy has emerged around two waterfront properties Western Washington University has targeted to sell amid an ongoing budget deficit.


The decision has generated complaints, with questions raised about the university’s right to sell one property on San Juan Island, and concerns about the environmental and social impact of selling a historical parcel on Sinclair Island.


The San Juan Island property on the northwest side of the island, donated to the university in 1996, was never to be...
Cascadia Daily •

‘There’s a chance to take back your life’: Mental Health Court provides alternative to jail

The courtroom was packed on a recent Tuesday, with dozens of people lining the aisle as Amber Black walked amid cheers, music and applause to receive her diploma during graduation from Mental Health Court.

In addition to Black’s support circle of friends and family, Bellingham City Council members, members of the Opportunity Council’s Homeless Outreach Team and police officers looked on, smiling.

Then, Commissioner Nicholas Henery said the words that had been nearly two years in the making: “T
Broadview Magazine •

How Lytton, B.C., is preserving its history after a devastating wildfire

Two years and four days after wildfire incinerated most of Lytton, a village in the Fraser Canyon of British Columbia, I drove into its barren downtown. The breath caught in my throat. So little was left that I looked around, wondering if I’d driven right past. The area was free of debris, but what remained was mainly construction fences, imprints of buildings and a scattering of small flowers bursting out of the dirt.

The air smelled dusty and dry. Scorched trees rose up from the great Thompso
Cascadia Daily •

Partisan politics are infiltrating school boards — Whatcom County isn't spared

From book bans to protests over critical race theory and sex education curricula, local school boards across the country have become heightened political battlegrounds.

While officially nonpartisan positions, Whatcom County's open or contested board positions illustrate a greater political divide, as shown in recent candidate forums and interviews.

Between conversations about low academic performance post-pandemic and the need for upgraded facilities and balanced budgets, some candidates are d

Follow Me