Cascadia Daily, Dec. 5, 2018 | Cascadia Magazine

Portland’s Forest Park is a wilderness oasis

One of the things you’ll find in Cascadia Magazine‘s eclectic mix of articles, fiction, and poetry is hiking expert Craig Romano’s columns on the best trails in the Pacific Northwest. Because let’s face it, hiking is a big part of the culture of Cascadia.

Have you been itching to get out on a trail but don’t want to wander too far from the city? Well Portland, Oregon has one of the most amazing urban parks in North America: 5,000-acre Forest Park. And one of the most fascinating routes in this urban wilderness is the Balch Creek Gulch trail.

In his writeup online now at Cascadia Magazine, Craig describes some of the wonders you’ll find on this easy ramble: old-growth Douglas fir trees, a ravine filled with lovely waterfalls, and a mysterious stone structure.

And an added bonus: you can take public transit to the trailhead!

To find the full trail description, complete with directions and more info read more here.

British Columbia’s prop rep vote deadline is Dec. 7

There are just a few days left in British Columbia’s vote on whether to adopt a system of proportional representation for legislative elections — so if you haven’t already, get those ballots turned in. The Tyee has a great guide to all the various prop-rep system choices.

BC announces ambitious climate plan

According to CBC, British Columbia’s NDP government announced an ambitious climate plan that aims for zero emissions from buildings, transport, and much of its energy generation. Among the most striking goals: eliminating all carbon-emitting car and light-duty truck sales by 2040.

Portland’s mayor is fed up with his job

Willamette Week has a detailed profile of Portland mayor Ted Wheeler and his frustrations halfway into his term. A wonky technocrat who hasn’t accomplished much, he’s not popular with people on both the left and right. Part of the problem: his clumsy efforts to regulate protests and require journalists to check in with the police. Meanwhile Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan is drawing the ire of bike activists who lament the fact the city has only built 4 percent of the city’s 2018 bike lane goals.

Idaho supreme court to hear challenge to Medicaid expansion

According to the Idaho Statesman, the Idaho supreme court will hear a case filed by the Idaho Freedom Foundation challenging the recent expansion of Medicaid in the state, which passed by over a 60 percent margin in November.

Seattle gets an NHL hockey team

After decades of waiting, Seattle will get an NHL hockey team, says KUOW. No word on what the name will be, although in an informal poll at the Seattle Times, readers picked the Seattle Sockeyes as their favorite. Over at Patch, Seattle Kracken got the most votes… although for the record, Cascadia Daily is taking a stand in support of the Seattle Freeze, which epitomizes both the playing surface and the stereotypically frosty character of the city’s residents.

WA poet laureate’s letter to asylum seekers

Over at Yes! magazine, take a moment to read Washington state poet laureate Claudia Castro Luna’s poignant letter to asylum seekers who’ve been met with tear gas at the US-Mexico border. Castro Luna, who fled violence in El Salvador with her family as a youth, offers words of guarded optimism: “That your days may soon change, that the love your parents and relatives feel for you glow inside you to give you strength.”

“Vile as I Am,” short fiction by Richard Chiem

Online at The Nervous Breakdown, read Seattle writer Richard Chiem’s short story, “Vile As I Am,” the first person narrative of a nonprofit office worker in a dsytopian near-future where most of the animals and trees are dead, and chances of having a child with his long-time wife are dim. “Being together in a relationship, after so many years, is a slow time machine. I am transported punch drunk frozen and triggered all the time by the slightest of things sparking my senses, like walking down streets in certain weather in a special kind of light, and it takes me back to another time with Emilie.” Read the full story here.

That’s today’s selection of fiction, fact, and things in-between from across the Pacific Northwest. Hope you stay warm this chilly evening. –Andrew Engelson

Photo credit: Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan announcing NHL will expand to Seattle courtesy of the City of Seattle