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Court rejects challenge to BC pipeline expansion
According to CBC, British Columbia’s supreme court rejected a challenge to the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline by the city of Vancouver and Squamish Nation. The judge ruled that the BC government’s approval of the project met all consultation requirements. Meanwhile, hundreds of First Nations youth walked out of school to protest the new pipeline, and 230 international organizations criticized Justin Trudeau’s support for the pipeline.
How the history of zoning in Seattle crushed affordable housing
Writing for Sightline, Dan Bertolet examines the history of zoning in Seattle, which before the 1920 allowed a mix of of multi-family units everywhere, but now locks up 70 percent of all land for single-family homes. And in Portland, Willamette Week reports on the backlash against the city’s residential infill project (RIP), which would re-zone about half of the city’s land. Also at Willamette Week, read about Portland’s ambitious housing levy that if passed would generate about $600 million to build subsidized housing. And a bunch of Seattle corporations are working on a ballot initiative to repeal the head tax that would generate just $75 million for housing and homeless services.
Oregon citizens will likely get a tax refund
OregonLive reports that because of Oregon’s strong economy, it’s possible a “kicker” will be triggered that results in a state income tax rebate of $555 million in 2020. Meanwhile, Real Change reports on Washington state initiative 1600, which would provide statewide universal health insurance through income and capital gains taxes.
Cascadia farmers worried about lack of federal farm bill
OPB reports that farmers in the Pacific Northwest are worried about Congress’s failure to pass a federal farm bill. Many farmers depend on federal crop insurance to make ends meet. Earlier this month, a court ruled that “piece-rate” wages for farmworkers violated Washington’s minimum wage law, and that farmer owners were responsible for higher wages.
How a schizophrenic man in Idaho slipped through the cracks
Writing for The Inlander, Samantha Wohlfeil has the detailed and sad story of a schizophrenic man in Boise who, when a mental health facility decided to close, was left without much support and was eventually found dead near Winchester Lake. It’s a tragic story of a patchwork mental health system in which Nathan bounced around between 15 different care facilities.
Vanport Mosaic honors a town destroyed by flood 70 years ago
On Memorial Day 1948, a dike on the Columbia failed and wiped out Vanport, at the time the second-largest city in Oregon and home to a substantial Black population. Oregon Arts Watch has the story of the flood and Vanport Mosaic, a four-day festival of exhibits, performances, lectures, and poetry celebrating the legacy of a community built in World War II to house shipyard workers.
That’s today’s selection of news, culture, and arts from this corner of North America. –Andrew Engelson
Photo credits: Klickitat Valley sign by Tony Webster CC BY-SA 2.0