Cascadia Daily, Aug 2, 2019

by Andrew Engelson

Hike in solitude near Oregon’s Mount Hood

Oregon’s highest peak, Mount Hood, is a popular destination in summer, and finding a hike in the shadow of the glaciated peak that isn’t packed with crowds can be quite a task. But Cascadia Magazine’s hiking columnist, Craig Romano, is on the case and recommends the short, lesser-known Barlow Butte in the Mount Hood Wilderness.

It’s got views of the volcano, a former forest lookout site, and an abundance of wildflowers. And you won’t find hordes of hikers there. Read the full writeup with trail description and directions to the trailhead here, online at Cascadia Magazine.

FAA orders Boeing to fix 737MAX software

After testing software on the 737MAX, the new passenger jet grounded because of two recent crashes, the US Federal Aviation Administration found safety concerns in the plane’s flight-control software and has ordered a fix, the Seattle Times reports. In other airplane news, a longtime fan of Seafair says it’s time to the retire the hydroplanes and Blue Angels as part of Seattle’s big August festival.

Portland area sees 20 percent jump in homeless sleeping outside

The Oregonian reports that while overall homelessness was generally stable in Multnomah county (which includes Portland), the number of people living outside of shelters (in tents, under overpasses, or in vehicles) climbed 20 percent over the past year. Street Roots digs into the numbers from the county’s report and finds that efforts to provide shelter helped 12,480 people— a 50 percent increase.

The tricky balance of creating a national park in BC

Andrew Findlay at The Narwhal looks at the effort to create the South Okanagan-Similkameen National Park Reserve in the grasslands of south-central BC. It’s a complicated process involving buy-in from First Nations, but facing fierce opposition from some local residents. The 300-square kilometer park would protect a variety of wildlife and endangered wildflowers and grasses. If you’re interested in hiking what will be the new park, read Craig Romano’s recent trail writeup of Mount Kobau at Cascadia Magazine.

What’s killing off salal?

Hakai Magazine interviews a botanist who’s concerned about increasing incidence of die-off in salal–the nearly ubiquitous west-side native berry species–across Cascadia. Evidence points to increasing drought, fungus, and climate change. “Salal was one of only 30 or 40 edible plants universally known by Indigenous peoples up and down the coast, from Alaska to Oregon.”

A festival of Cascadia electronic music

Oregon Arts Watch reviews the recent Cacadia Composers All Wired Up festival– a wild assortment of experimental, avant-garde electronic music from all corners of the bioregion that happens in Portland. In related news, longtime Seattle jazz teacher Clarence Acox, who has built a formidable program at Garfield High School, is retiring after 48 years, the Seattle Times reports. 

Seattle Art Fair has questions about its future

Crosscut looks at the future of the Seattle Art Fair, which runs through this weekend, and how the death of founder Paul Allen is changing the feel of one of the region’s largest festivals of visual art (fewer New York galleries, more local focus, generally).

Thanks for reading Cascadia Daily, your curated guide to news, environmental reporting, and arts from across the Pacific Northwest. Enjoy your weekend (and the holiday, if you live in British Columbia). –Andrew Engelson

Photo credit: salal by John Rusk CC BY-SA 2.0