NYT Magazine profiles Sandpoint Transition Initiative 

When the national media takes notice of Sandpoint, Idaho – my hometown – it’s usually the result of a nearby standoff (armed or otherwise), something to do with white supremacy or it’s a lengthy paean to the area’s outdoorsy-ness.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I noticed that last week’s New York Times Magazine carried an opus by writer Jon Mooallem about the little resort town’s involvement with the UK-based Transition movement – a set of principles which seek to radically alter the community life in advance of environmental and economic meltdown.

There are more than 150 Transition Towns in the world, but Mooallem’s piece – entitled “The End is Near! (Yay!)” – focuses almost exclusively on the Sandpoint Transition Initiative because, apparently, Sandpointians have gotten further in the Transition revolution than anyone else in the country (Sandpoint was the second Transition Town in the U.S., after Boulder, Colo.).

According to The Times, the STI has reached Step 4 of the 12-step Transition process: “The Great Unleashing.” That is to say, they had a coming-out party to share with the general public their goals for a more resilient and self-sufficient community.

Mooallem spoke with scads of local organizers and community members –including my business partner, fellow College of Idaho alum and 24-year-old Sandpoint City Councilman John T. Reuter – but reported that few if any of them could say whether they thought Transition would actually succeed.

But in a town as quirky as Sandpoint – where gun-nut hill folk shop the farmer’s market alongside barefoot kombucha growers – getting people involved with planning for their economic, environmental and social future is sure to result in something news-worthy.

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