Rebecca Hoogs: Learning to juggle

Rebecca Hoogs was thrust into juggling how to work from home, teach and be a parent simultaneously, but challenges soon gave way to surprises. Join the project, add your voice by sharing a video using #IsolationDiaries


Are you interested in sharing your story? Do you know someone whose story you'd like to see shared? We're on the hunt for stories across the PNW that truly speak to issues we're facing during the pandemic, and we need your help in finding those stories.

Post your own video diaries to social media and tag them #IsolationDiaries or email us directly at crosscutaudience@gmail.com. Or tag a friend or neighbor on social media and introduce them to us

Ballard Opera Man’s Socially Distanced Serenades

In the uncertain early days of the pandemic, opera singer and vocal teacher Stephen Wall spent hours in his home office with his window cloaked, creating a musical dungeon where he could continue Zoom calls with his opera students. But as isolation overwhelmed him, he remembered that his passion for music came from the privilege of sharing it with the world. So in March, he began stepping outside to perform daily opera concerts from his lawn in east Ballard. These regular shows provide Wall a sense of normalcy and balance absent since the pandemic began. But for his neighbors and the visitors who make pilgrimages from all over the city to see him sing, it's a way to rejoice and come together — even while 6 feet apart.

An Issaquah church adapts to the pandemic

Prayers streamed on Facebook. Curbside confessions. Parking lot masses. At St. Joseph Catholic Church in Issaquah, as with many other religious organizations around the state, finding ways to worship during the pandemic has required creativity, out-of-the-box thinking and meticulous logistics.