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The Evergrey and Bridgeliner:
Keeping up on what’s going down in Seattle & Portland
Cascadia is home to two incredible cities: Portland and Seattle. There’s so much going on in these cities that it’s hard to keep up. Thankfully, we’re lucky to have two fantastic options to stay aware of events, issues, and neat stuff going on there: the daily e-mail newsletters The Evergrey (covering Seattle) and Bridgeliner (dedicated to Portland).
The Everygrey and Bridgeline are fun, interactive newsletters designed to be a quick read and dedicated to helping you live like a local. I had the pleasure of speaking with The Everygrey’s co-founder and director Monica Guzman, and Bridgeliner founder and director Ben DeJarnett. We traded interviews about what it means to create e-newsletters dedicated to covering great things in the Pacific Northwest…
So Monica, what’s the primary goal of The Evergrey?
A big goal of The Evergrey is to help Seattleites build awesome local lives here. The daily newsletter gives you the essentials for that in a short morning read: the most interesting stories and conversations in the city, intros to people and communities you could connect to, fun things to do that day and all week. The readers of The Evergrey are its co-creators. We’re not the experts on what it takes to enjoy, explore, and understand Seattle. They are. LOTS of the stories, people, context, and perspectives in The Evergrey come directly from our community.
And Ben, how about Bridgeliner?
In a sentence, our goal is to help Portlanders get connected in the city, both civically and socially.
What’s a big difference you see between Portland and Seattle?
I think Seattle is failing Timothy Egan’s livability test (“Could Kramer still live in my city?”) in a way that seems almost irreversible, whereas in Portland, Seattle and San Francisco are like our canaries in the coal mine. We know we don’t want to end up as expensive and gentrified as those cities, and we feel there’s still a window of opportunity to do something about it.
The tone of both The Everygrey and Bridgeliner is very cheerful, welcoming. What’s behind that, Monica?
A lot of local media assume that readers have been following complex issues and just need an update. But when people who haven’t been following along read those articles, they feel left out, and the city itself is out of reach. A key thing we try to do is pass on in our tone and our content that everyone who’s here — whether they’ve been here a month of their whole lives — is part of the city and can be an active, confident participant in it.
Monica, what’s something that unites people in Seattle?
One reason I fell in love with Seattle is that when people are presented with evidence that they’re not doing right by each other, they sit up, take notice, and try to fix it. We’re a compassionate city where people care about how everyone else is doing.
Ben, tell me what drives you crazy about Portland, and one thing you love about it…
What drives me crazy: The Blazers managing to be just good enough every year to lift my hopes, only to smother them once the playoffs start. But that’s about to change, obviously. This is the year!
One thing I love: When you meet people Portland, they rarely ask what you do for work — at least not right away. That’s so refreshing. In rat-race cities like New York and D.C., that’s often the first thing that comes up. In Portland, it doesn’t really matter to people what you do from 9 to 5. They just want to know what you’re passionate about. I love that.
And Monica, what’s a big difference between Seattle and Portland?
Seattle is the greatest city ever and Portland is just OK. Not that I’m biased or anything. Or driven by an intense rivalry with Bridgeliner. Oh no. Not at all. 😉
If you want subscribe to the free e-newsletter The Everygrey and get a daily taste of all things Seattle, you can sign up here. And if you want to stay up-to-date on what Portland has to offer, sign up for the free Bridgeliner newsletter here.
And of course, tell your friends about another free newsletter, Cascadia Daily. Thanks to Moni and Ben for fun profiles today in The Everygrey and Bridgeliner about Cascadia Magazine and Cascadia Daily. Here’s to learning more about this amazing region we live in! –Andrew Engelson
Cascadia Magazine original:
Coring the Forest
Portland-based writer Paul Lask spent a week with an all-female crew taking core samples of trees in northeast Oregon’s Blue Mountains. in the process he learned a lot about forest ecology, wildflowers, and the ways in which humans are changing the natural cycles of fire and growth in the Inland Northwest…
“I was handed a bark chip and asked if I could smell the vanilla. It smelled as if I was holding a bowl of ice cream. Laura’s description of the smell of a spruce sample was a “thunderstorm mixed with the garden section at Walmart.””
Read the full feature online here at Cascadia Magazine.
Canadian court rejects Trans Mountain pipeline expansion
In a stunning reversal, a Canadian federal court today rejected plans to expand the Trans Mountain pipeline across British Columbia, saying it did not adequately address environmental concerns about a seven-fold increase in tanker traffic in the Salish Sea. First Nations including the Squamish and Tsleil-Wautut, who have been actively opposed to the pipeline, heralded today’s ruling, according to a report at CBC. For more background on First Nations opposition to the pipeline, read Jerome Turner’s feature at Cascadia Magazine.
800,000 salmon to be farmed in WA despite phase-out
Writing for The Seattle Times, Lynda Mapes reports that despite the fact the Washington passed a law phasing out Atlantic salmon fish farms by 2020, companies are set to farm nearly a million fish in Puget Sound. A virus that may infect wild salmon is a concern, she writes. That’s why First Nations in British Columbia have been fighting to ban fish farms, as Mychaylo Pystupa recently reported in a feature for Cascadia Magazine. In related news, Chris Wilke writes for Crosscut that one way to help endangered orcas in the Salish Sea is to improve salmon habitat and reduce pollution that’s still flowing into Puget Sound.
Portland falls short on promise to shelter homeless families
The Seattle Times reports on Portland’s ambitious plan to guarantee shelter to all homeless families with children in the city. The 3-year effort fell short due to lack of funds and high demand from surrounding counties. Meanwhile, Erica C. Barnett writes about an audacious approach to homelessness from a Seattle organization, Facing Homelessness, that aims to help homeowners build backyard cottages in order to provide housing for the homeless.
One in four BC wildfires caused by humans
As Cascadia recovers from a summer of wildfires and choking smoke across the region, The Georgia Straight notes that nearly one in four of the wildfires in BC’s horrible fire year were caused by human negligence. Meanwhile, The Tyee reports on British Columbia’s tepid approach to climate change, and offers 12 steps it should take. Grist has a video about what we all suspected: breathing that wildfire smoke is bad for your health.
Oregon glass artisans facing a shortage
Oregon Arts Watch reports on a crisis facing glassblowing artisans across the state: a shortage of “cullets,” or the recycled raw pellets melted to make glass art — largely caused by stricter new environmental requirements in Oregon.
BC author helps women achieve better sex through mindfulness
BC BookLook reviews of a new book, Better Sex Through Mindfulness by University of British Columbia psychologist and sex researcher Lori A. Brotto. It’s bold and empathetic book dedicated to addressing the issue that nearly 30 percent of women worldwide report some form of sexual difficulty. “When we pay attention to the body in a kind, compassionate, and non-judgmental, and present-oriented way, it offers us a new way of being in the world.”
“Crying in H Mart,” an essay by Eugene native Michelle Zauner
You should really take a moment to read Michelle Zauner’s lovely essay, “Crying in H Mart” now online at the New Yorker. Originally from Eugene, Oregon and now based in Philadelphia, Zauner is a musician also known as Japanese Breakfast. In the essay, she talks about her mother’s death and the comfort she found as a Korean American in a neighborhood Asian food market. You can also hear a great interview with Zauner at OPB.
Poetry by Elisabeth Austen: “Light Engulfs Me Now”
Over at the Seattle Review of Books, you can read Seattle poet Elisabeth Austen’s poem “Light Engulfs Me Now,” a meditation on forests, the body, and bewilderment:
“what drifted down through their branches
what seeped into my roots
was enough”
Read the full poem online here.
That’s today’s roundup of news, arts, culture, and interesting stuff from across the Cascadia bioregion. Have a great day, and enjoy the cooler weather moving in! –Andrew Engelson
Monica Guzman courtesy of The Evergrey