SUBSCRIBE TO THE FREE NEWSLETTER
Cascadia Magazine’s first feature is online!
The Women Resisting Trump in Court
Today is an exciting milestone for Cascadia Magazine–we’ve just published our first original feature, a profile of two attorneys in the Washington Attorney General’s office coordinating the legal battle against Trump’s executive orders.
Marsha Chien and Colleen Melody, two attorneys in the WA Attorney General’s civil rights unit, have found themselves at the center of Washington state’s fight against Trump’s executive orders, including the Muslim travel ban, the revoking of DACA, and prohibitions against transgender soldiers in the US military.
Melody, a civil rights attorney from Spokane, began to realize how the law could be used to defend the powerless during a case against a white supremacist in Hayden, Idaho. Chien, who was born to parents from Taiwan, and moved to Seattle in 2015, sees parallels between the administration’s hard-line immigration policies and the exclusive acts of the 19th century:
“When the travel ban came out it really— there’s obviously a lot of parallels to the Chinese Exclusion Act [U.S. federal law in 1882 that prohibited immigration of Chinese laborers]. To think that my dad, who has a framed picture of Ronald Reagan’s family on his wall, is not American, or people similar to my dad were not American, just felt wrong.”
We’re proud of our first feature article, and thankful for the great work of Seattle-based journalist Niki Stojnic, who’s been writing on health care, history, and trends for 17 years. You can follow Niki on Twitter at @NikiStojnic.
Oh, and Cascadia Magazine’s donate page is up and running, so if you’d like to be one of the first to support our efforts to publish quality journalism and creative work, we’d sincerely appreciate it!
Women’s marches bring out thousands across Cascadia
On the first anniversary of Trump’s presidency, women turned out by the thousands across Cascadia to protest the administration’s policies and what many see as the president’s disdain for women. Bolstered by the #MeToo movement drawing attention to sexual harassment, thousands of women in pussy hats and carrying creative signs marched in Seattle, Portland, and Eugene. And it wasn’t limited to the liberal-minded westside: Spokane saw 6,000 marchers, Boise fielded 3,000 protesters, and in Pendelton, Oregon 400 people spoke up for women’s rights.
Will Oregon pass a breakthrough climate bill?
In a detailed report from Sightline Institute, Kristin Eberhard examines a bill in the Oregon state legislature that would create a “cap and invest” plan limiting emissions from large industrial sources (power plants, etc.) as well as importers of fossil fuels. Revenues would fund clean energy projects, sustainable infrastructure, and assistance to low-income residents. OregonLive has more on the bill, which has the backing of governor Kate Brown.
Controversial Chinese firm involved in Site C dam construction
The Tyee’s Andrew Nikiforuk reports in The Tyee on the connection between the proposed $10 billion Site C dam in northeast British Columbia and a Chinese state-owned firm embroiled in bribery and corruption cases worldwide.
What’s harming Cascadia’s marbled murrelets?
Despite decades of protections and attempts to preserve old-growth forests, marbled murrelet populations continue to decline, according to a report at Hakai magazine. “The combined California, Oregon, and Washington population, with fewer than 20,000 individuals, continues to decline by as much as four percent per year.”
Staging a BDSM opera (yes, BDSM!) in Seattle
The Stranger reviews Susanna’s Secret, a kinky adaptation of an obscure 19th century operetta. Staged at the experimental multi-arts space Mount Analogue, the intimate performance is strangely moving, reviewer Rich Smith reports. The costume designer explains her approach: “The kink is that he dresses like a servant, but without a shirt. And he’s covered in glitter. It’s probably going to be pink glitter. Maybe purple. Depends on what we can get at Michaels.”
Celebrating 50 years of the Malahat Review
CBC reports on the fiftieth anniversary of the Victoria-based literary magazine Malahat Review. Founded by two UVic professors, the magazine has been an influential voice promoting Canadian authors to global attention, publishing early work by Margaret Atwood and Yann Martel. You should have a look at their website and subscribe!
That’s all the news and culture for today from the global headquarters of the burgeoning Cascadia Magazine media empire. –Andrew Engelson
Photo credit: Marsha Chien and Colleen Melody courtesy of Washington State office of the Attorney General.