Dean Kahn's columns on life in Whatcom County appear on Sunday and Monday.

Dean joined The Bellingham Herald in 1986. Before becoming a columnist and Neighbors editor, he was a police and courts reporter, local government reporter and a news editor.

Born in Bremerton, he is a graduate of Western Washington University and the University of Missouri-Columbia. He covered the legislatures in Missouri and Washington for United Press International before joining the Herald.

Dean lives in Bellingham with his wife, Laurie, their two teen-age children, and two cats and two dogs (a sequence the dogs find hard to accept).

You can reach him by calling 360-715-2291 or by e-mail.