Seattle Times, "Seattle's Legendary J.P. Patches Dies"
Chris Wedes, better known as J.P. Patches, passed away Sunday morning after a long battle with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer. Seattle Times staff reporter Jack Broom gives a long, detailed and loving obituary.
Many people in the Puget Sound area grew up watching J.P. Patches on his whimsical kid's show, and took his lessons to heart. "He also reminded his tiny viewers, known as 'Patches Pals,' to follow the rules, which included minding Mommy and Daddy, saying your prayers and sharing your toys," Broom writes.
In an interview with the Ballard News-Tribune, fellow entertainer and friend of Swedes, Stan Boreson, said that Swedes could be a quiet person. But when Swedes put on his makeup, he transformed almost instantly into J.P. Patches, and even in his old age was the same bright and exuberant clown, Boreson said.
We here at the BNT also mourn Wedes' passing, and offer his surviving friends and family, as well as the Patches Pals that loved him so dearly, the deepest of condolences.
West Seattle Herald, "Boo who! a poem about J.P. Patches"
Over at the West Seattle Herald, West Seattle resident and "Patches Pal Emeritus" Carol Smith writes a poem in honor of the passing of J.P. Patches. It is nostalgic, fun and sad all at the same time.
The Herald, "Fathoming the Fathomless"
In his new role as the editorial page editor of The Herald, Peter Jackson reflects on the theater shooting in Aurora, Colo. and other seemingly senseless acts of violence here in the Pacific Northwest, including the World Café Racer shooting in University District.
Jackson takes a bold look at these shootings and the people behind them, several who were diagnosed as having a mental illness, at least to some extent. He prescribes that the region look at it's mental health infrastructure and try to do better:
"Remedies could include amending the Involuntary Treatment Act to ensure that those patients not taking their medications are appropriately treated; the establishment of a local mental-health court; and a tweak to the state's 'shall issue' law to prevent future Ian Stawicki's from qualifying for a concealed weapons' permit."
Crosscut, "The greenest commercial building on earth rises in Seattle"
On Capitol Hill, a new building touted as the greenest commercial building in the world is under construction. Crosscut Associate Editor Berit Anderson reports on the building, called the Bullitt Center, which is so far the only project in Seattle's Living Building Pilot Program.
