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British Columbia will go forward with $11 billion Site C dam

In an announcement in Victoria, premier John Horgan announced his government will go forward with the controversial $11 billion Site C dam in northeast British Columbia. Desmog Canada has live updates on the decision. Meanwhile, Green Party leader Andrew Weaver suggested he will lead a recall effort against BC’s energy minister in reaction to the decision. The project, now estimated to cost nearly $11 billion, would flood the Peace River Valley, and is opposed by a coalition of 14 First Nations.

Is Seattle under-counting its homeless population?

As the west coast’s homeless crisis continues to spiral out of control, The Seattle Times reports that King County has the third-highest homeless population in the US. But a report in The Stranger indicates federal HUD counts may actually be under-counting homeless populations by factor of up to 10 times. Meanwhile, Seattle Weekly has the news that the city may be cutting up to 300 shelter beds in its new budget, which shifts funds toward more permanent housing solutions.

Interview with Oregon legislator, one of Time’s “Silence Breakers”

In the wake of Time magazine’s choice of women breaking the silence on sexual harassment as the 2017 Person of the Year, you can listen to an interview at OPB with Oregon state legislator Sara Gelser. Gelser was profiled by Time for calling out advances made by her colleague, rep. Jeff Kruse. Kruse has been removed of his committee appointments while an investigation is ongoing.

Trump to cut OR national monument, questions arise about uranium

Ryan Zinke, Trump’s Interior Secretary, announced last week he would recommend scaling back additions made to Oregon’s Cascade-Siskiyou national monument during the Obama administration. Meanwhile, the Denver Post has an investigation into how a uranium company that could profit handsomely pressured the administration to shrink a Utah national monument. What sort of protections do monuments offer? Quite a lot, according to an article at High Country News.

“Chasing Smoke,” firefighter’s bestselling account of BC forest season

BC Booklook has a review of Aaron William’s “Chasing Smoke” a breathtaking account of fighting forest fires in BC’s mountains. The book, which is taking off in the Vancouver bookstore market, details working in the Chicotlin, an area hit hard by beetle infestation, and is now especially timely with record fire seasons raging across North America.

An excerpt from Matthew McIntosh’s 1660-page novel

Matthew McIntosh, who’s from the Seattle suburb of Federal Way, is causing something of a stir in the literary community with his 1,660-page tome the Mystery.doc. It’s a fractured story perfect for the smartphone age, and apparently a quick read since the book is filled with photos and snippets of text. You can read an extended excerpt at LitHub. The Seattle Review of Books’ Paul Constant will be interviewing McIntosh at Elliott Bay Books this Thursday, Dec 14 at 7 pm. That’s all for today from the frosty Northwest! ☃️ –Andrew Engelson Photo credits: homeless encampment by Andrew Engelson, BC premier John Horgan announcing Site C dam plans courtesy  BC provincial government, Sara Gelser courtesy Oregon legislature, Chasing Smoke courtesy Harbour Publishing, theMystery.doc courtesy Grove Atlantic.