Charlotte Alden

Hello! I'm Charlotte, an education reporter at Cascadia Daily News, covering a two-county region in Northwest Washington.

A dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada, I spent five years writing and then editing at my university newspaper, The Ubyssey, in Vancouver, BC. I also spent time at Broadview Magazine, a publication based in Toronto. Since 2023, I've worked at Cascadia Daily News, a startup newspaper based in Bellingham, Washington. I've received honors and recognition for my work from the Canadian University Press, Canada's National Magazine Awards, and Washington Newspaper Publishers Association's Better Newspaper Contest. My work has also been published in the Washington State Standard, the Yakima Herald-Republic and the Everett Herald.

Selected clips

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 •

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 •

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...

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