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Voting on Oregon ballot measures…
Elections are underway in Cascadia, and in an effort to provide you with suggestions for how to vote on ballot measures, today we turn to Oregon Center for Public Policy, a non-partisan organization dedicated to policies that advance economic justice, good government, equity, and inclusion. Here are their recommendations on the five statewide ballot measures on the ballot in Oregon this November:
Measure 102: YES
Measure 102 will help Oregon confront the housing affordability crisis by expanding the ability for local governments to partner with non-profit and local businesses in building more affordable housing.
Measure 103: NO
Measure 103 threatens to embed into the Oregon Constitution a special-interest tax carve out for the grocery and beverage industries. It would even exempt some corporations from any increase in the corporate minimum tax.
Measure 104: NO
If Measure 104 were to become law, it would still take a simple majority to create a tax break, but it would take a supermajority (3/5ths) of lawmakers to eliminate a tax break. This would allow a minority of lawmakers beholden to special interests to block the repeal of wasteful tax breaks, further rigging taxes in favor of the rich and corporations.
Measure 105: NO
Measure 105 repeals Oregon’s so-called “sanctuary law,” which helps protect Oregonians from being targeted by law enforcement based on race, ethnicity, and language. The measure would limit economic opportunity for lower income Oregonians. It would have greatest impact on people of color, who already experience greater obstacles to getting ahead.
Measure 106: NO
Measure 106 undermines economic security for over 325,000 Oregon women and their families. The measure would restrict access to health care for lower income Oregonians and public employees by prohibiting public funding for abortion services. As a consequence, the measure would shift health care costs to lower income households. The impact of the measure would fall hardest on lower income women and women of color.
Cascadia Magazine: Get Outside! Twin Lakes/Palmateer Point
In this week’s hiking column by Craig Romano, he recommends the Twin Lakes/Palmateer Point trail in Oregon’s Mount Hood Wilderness. You’ll find placid lakes, a hike through forests of mountain hemlock, noble fir, and silver fir — plus the views of Mount Hood are fantastic! Read the full write-up online here at Cascadia Magazine.
BREAKING: BC court rules against First Nations on Site C dam
There are reports on Twitter that the BC Supreme Court has ruled against the West Moberly First Nation’s attempt to block continued construction of the Site C dam in northern BC. We’ll be reporting more on this tomorrow. In his ruling, justice Warren Milman seems open to the West Moberly’s complaints, but in the end found no reason to issue an injunction to stop construction. For more background on First Nations’ and local resident’s opposition to Site C read Alison Bate’s feature at Cascadia Magazine.
A radical, right-wing legislator in Eastern Washington
After the US was rattled by bombs sent to various Democratic politicians today, attention was focused on the radical right wing that has peddled in conspiracy theories and stoked violence among supporters. One especially outspoken elected official is Spokane-area Washington legislator Matt Shea, who is the subject of a scary profile by Leah Sottile at Rolling Stone. Shea has actively worked with the Bundys in their occupation of a wildlife refuge in southern Oregon, associated with white nationalists, and called for eastern Washington to create its own 51st state.
Looking for new option for the homeless in Seattle
Crosscut reports on a new proposal to create huge tent shelters for homeless people in the Seattle area. Meanwhile, the Sooke News Mirror reports on a Victoria, BC tent city that has moved around 20 locations on Vancouver Island.
Independents sick of Trump & wary of Dems run in Eastern WA
KUOW reports on the campaign of Ann Diamond, of Mazama, Washington — who’s running for a spot in the legislature as an independent. She’s finding common ground with residents fed up with Trump policies on tariffs and immigration, but very skeptical of Democrats, who they associate with liberal Seattle. Meanwhile, the Bend Bulletin reports on the candidacy of Patrick Starnes, who’s running for Oregon governor as an independent, but can’t seem to get much media attention.
New pest threatens Cascadia’s subalpine firs
The Spokesman-Review reports on the spread of Balsam woolly adelgid, a bug that has the potential to wreak havoc on the subalpine firs found high in the Cascades. Meanwhile, the Tyee looks that the necessity of fire in forest ecosystems, and interviews Diana Beresford-Kroeger, a wildlife biologist who says fire suppression and climate change are creating disastrous conditions in British Columbia.
A fraught migration captured in dance
Seattle Dances has a review of a fascinating new production at Karin Stevens Dance company called lily [bloom in my darkness], the story of a woman pioneer who came to the Pacific Northwest in 1915. The music is from an electro-acoustic operetta by Seattle-based composer Kaley Lane Eaton.
Two poems by Idaho’s Jim Richards
Over at Empty Mirror, you can read two poems online by Jim Richards, who lives in Idaho’s Snake River valley. The poems include “Buffalo Magic:”
“What if . . .
a buffalo, I chanted. And then appeared
in the darkness a few feet before me
a conjure of brown fur, hulking, breathing.”
Read the full poem online here.
That’s today’s selection of news & arts from across the Cascadia bioregion. –Andrew Engelson
Photo credit: WA state legislator Matt Shea by Wikimedia Commons user Thestevo CC BY-SA 3.0