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Burnaby BC mayor takes pipeline fight to courts

Burnaby, British Columbia mayor, Derrick Corrigan announced that his city will petition Canada’s highest court to block the National Energy Board from approving the Trans Mountain pipeline, which terminates in Burnaby. Meanwhile, Saskatchewan has announced it will join Alberta in punitive measures in response to BC’s attempts to block construction of the $7.4 billion expansion. And at Ricochet, Aaron Saad points out that by arresting protesters fighting the pipeline, Canada is rejecting democracy and failing to meet its commitment to reducing climate impact.

Will Burgerville be first fast food chain to unionize?

Workers at Burgerville, the Vancouver, Washington-based fast food chain have voted to unionize, and have given the company 48 hours to accept or reject the move, and will appeal to the National Labor Relations Board if there’s no response. It would be the first unionized fast food chain in the US. Meanwhile, the South Seattle Emerald reports on the effort to unionize drivers for Amazon’s Flex delivery service.

Redmond WA company aims to mine asteroids

The Redmond, Washington startup Planetary Resources has an ambitious business plan: mining near-earth asteroids. John Stang at Crosscut interviews the company founders and learns about their long-range plan to mine platinum and gold–but for the short term the goal is more prosaic: water for spaceships traveling to Mars.

Oldest footprints in North America in BC

CBC reports that archaeologists have confirmed that the fossilized footprints they uncovered on Calvert Island on the British Columbia coast are the oldest ever recorded in North America. They’re 13,000 years old. “This finding adds to the growing body of evidence that people who used watercraft were able to thrive on the Pacific Coast of Canada at the end of the last ice age.”

Richard Chiem doesn’t want to make eye contact

In “Ten Times Gravity,” an essay for City Arts, Seattle writer Richard Chiem reflects on his difficulty making eye contact, as a result of  emotional and physical abuse from his domineering mother. “My mother, unfortunately, was a cruel person, and my childhood, unfortunately, was her masterpiece.”

An incident at the bus stop, according to Donna Miscolta

In an essay for The Fourth River, writer Donna Miscolta recounts a disturbing incident at a bus stop in Seattle. “When I see another person of color on my streets, there’s a jolt of recognition and a simultaneous urge to suppress it, like maybe we’re not supposed to acknowledge each other too outwardly. Or maybe, I just don’t know the protocol.” You can also read Donna’s story “My Sister Who Flew Away” online at Cascadia Magazine.

That’s today’s news and culture from the heart of Cascadia. –Andrew Engelson