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Portland to vote on big investment in affordable housing
The Portland Mercury reports that the tri-county region surrounding Portland will vote on a $650 million bond that would create some 4,000 units in a city facing skyrocketing rents. Meanwhile in Vancouver, The Georgia Straight reports that 40 percent of seniors living in the Chinatown/Downtown Eastside area of Vancouver are below the poverty level. A new affordable housing complex near a Seattle light rail station has failed to come together, but a series of affordable apartments for Indigenous residents are being constructed in Surrey BC. If you’re finding it difficult to get an affordable place in Cascadia, take solace that at least Oprah can afford a new getaway cottage on Orcas Island.
Cascadia high speed rail advocates make a pitch in BC
CBC reports on the Seattle-based group Cascadia Rail making its pitch for a 1-2 hour train ride between Seattle and Vancouver. Both British Columbia and Washington state have funded a $1.3 study of a high-speed rail system connecting Portland, Seattle, Vancouver and other cities across Cascadia.
Ocean Shores, WA considers what to do in tsunami
Northwest News Network reports on what the coastal town of Ocean Shores, WA plans to do in the event of a tsunami — when there’s almost no high ground nearby. The city of 5,000 residents is investigating the design and construction of of a “vertical evacuation tower.”
Yurok tribe fights for fish restoration on Klamath River
Hakai magazine has a detailed, excellent feature (published in cooperation with High Country News) on the Yurok tribe (California’s largest) and their fight to restore salmon runs on the Klamath River of northern California and southern Oregon. Conflicts with federal dam managers have been in the courts for years, and a fish kill of more than 35,000 fish in 2002 galvanized efforts to protect endangered fish.
Pedestrian and bicycles death rate in WA doubles in 4 years
The Seattle Times reports that despite efforts to improve safety, death rates for pedestrians in Washington have doubled in the past four years. “the report blames speed limits of 30 mph or greater on urban arterials, distracted driving, and walkers and bikers impaired by drugs and alcohol as contributing to the fatalities.”
Dance festivals take over Cascadia
Seattle Weekly reports on a series of dance festivals in Seattle this week: On the Boards’ Northwest New Works Festival (NWNW) and the Seattle International Dance Festival (SIDF). Meanwhile, Oregon Arts Watch has a preview of dance events coming to Portland and beyond this summer. And KTVA reports on the biannual Indigenous dance celebration coming to Juneau, Alaska that brought together more than 2,000 traditional dancers from the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures.
Marissa Korbel on poverty and confronting toxic masculinity
In a far-ranging essay for for the Rumpus, Portland-based author Marissa Korbel explores growing up in poverty, the persistent culture of toxic masculinity in the US, and how men can confront the truth about rape. “What I know and don’t know about men matters. What men know and don’t know about themselves matters more.”
That’s a smattering of news, arts, and other stuff from across the Cascadia bioregion. Have a great evening! –Andrew Engelson
Photo credits: bicycle fatality memorial by Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 3.0