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HAPPY HALLOWEEN from Cascadia Daily!?
Hope your All Hallow’s Eve is a spooky one and filled with fun costumes, locally-sourced candy, and perhaps a few Corvus corax sightings (AKA common ravens–Cascadia’s most Halloweeny species).
If you’re looking for a fun local Halloween read this evening, check out Samantha Wohlfeil’s great feature at the Inlander in which she hangs out with the very enthusiastic ghost hunters of the Spokane Paranormal Society.
BC should vote “YES” on proportional representation
British Columbians are voting on very important measure between now and November 30 — whether to create a system of proportional representation in the BC provincial legislature. It’s a complicated issue, but in a nutshell, “pro-rep” has the potential to make the outcomes of democratic elections more fair and representative of the population.
As an alternative to “winner-take all” districts and “first-past the post” elections, pro-rep distributes some representation based percentages of the total vote. The Seattle-based Sightline Institute has a great introduction to the pro-rep vote in BC.
In addition to an up-or-down vote on whether to change to pro-rep, BC voters will also choose which of three systems will be put in place if pro-rep prevails:
1. mixed-member proportional ( used in Germany and New Zealand)
2. dual member proportional (in which each riding has a member elected in the traditional method, and one based on a percentage of the total vote)
3. rural-urban (in which more densely-populated districts rank their preferences, while less-dense districts use mixed-member proportional).
If it all sounds too confusing, be sure to read the Tyee’s great series of articles on pro-rep, which includes detailed analysis of the various options.
We’re excited that BC could be the first province in Cascadia to switch to a system of representation that is more fair, better represents the true interests of the voting population, and has the potential to elect more women and people of color.
Cascadia Magazine original reporting: The Fight against Site C
Last week, the BC supreme court refused to grant an injunction that would stop construction of the controversial Site C dam in northern British Columbia. Susan Cox, writing for the Narwhal looks the what’s next (First Nations will still be able to sue, claiming the project violates treaty obligations). For background, check out the feature “Fighting for Peace Valley” online at Cascadia Magzine, in which Vancouver journalist Alison Bate talks with local residents and First Nations members who are fighting the $10 billion hydropower project.
Exposing white supremacists in Cascadia
After a feature in Rolling Stone last week documented the extreme right-wing views of Washington state representative Matt Shea, controversy has erupted over a radical Christian manifesto the Spokane Valley Republican wrote and circulated that called for the complete banning of abortion, prohibition of gay marriage, enacting of biblical law, and the killing of all males who don’t comply.
Meanwhile, the Oregonian has been taking heat for a puff-piece profile of Joey Gibson, a Vancouver, WA-based white supremacist who leads the Patriot Prayer group that has been stoking racial tensions with marches in Portland. Alex Zielinski, writing for the Portland Mercury says we don’t need to give equal coverage to white supremacists. In related news, Willamette Week remember the thirtieth anniversary of one of Portland’s darkest moments — when skinheads beat up and killed Ethiopian immigrant Mulugeta Seraw.
Also this week: people came out in the thousands to vigils in Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, and Spokane to honor victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting over the weekend.
Independent OR governor candidate drops out + more politics news
Patrick Starnes, and independent candidate for Oregon’s governor, has dropped out of the race and thrown his support behind Democratic governor Kate Brown. Meanwhile, the Seattle Times reports on a Washington supreme court race that’s getting little attention, but could potentially give a seat held by a very qualified juror to one who has no legal experience and posts YouTube videos about the “deep state.” And in Bend, OR, there’s a strange race to fill the legislative seat vacated by gubernatorial candidate Knute Buehler.
Victoria council member wants to boost public housing
CBC reports on newly-elected Victoria council member Ben Isitt, who wants the city to convert more public land into affordable housing. Writing for Sightline, Erica Barnett looks at how cities across Cascadia could utilize public land to build subsidized, below-market apartments. In related news, Seattle-area housing is selling below list price for the first time in four years. The Portland Mercury reports that illegal Airbnbs could be taking 1,500 rental units out of Portland’s housing market. And nearly 80 homeless people died on the streets of Portland last year.
A last ride on British Columbia’s Greyhound
Melanie Woods, in a great feature for the Tyee, rides the Greyhound Bus service across British Columbia for the last time. After the company pulled out of BC, rural areas of the province are now left with a patchwork of bus service from smaller companies. It’s an epic travelogue: “My route would take me from Vancouver through Coquitlam, Langley, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Hope, Merritt, an overnight layover in Kelowna, then Vernon, Armstrong, Enderby, Salmon Arm, Sicamous, Revelstoke, Golden, Lake Louise, Banff, Canmore, and finally to Calgary.”
Burrowing owls make a return at Hanford nuclear site
The Tri-City Herald reports on the endangered burrowing owl, a super cute species that thrives in shrub-steppe habitat and is making a comeback in deserts of the former nuclear site at Hanford in central WA. Volunteers are helping establish nesting sites there.
Remembering Cascadia’s worst maritime disaster
At Crosscut, Bob Simmons recalls the sinking of the steamship Princess Sophia en route from Skagway Alaska to Seattle 100 years ago this month. Even though more than 400 passengers and crew members perished, few people these days know about the tragedy. The Juneau Empire reports on a new opera based on the sinking of the Princess Sophia by Emerson Eads and Dave Hunsaker.
Flash fiction from Seattle’s Ruth Joffre
Over at Vestal, you can read “Girl Walks on the Moon,” a work of ultra-short fiction by Seattle writer Ruth Joffre, who’s also an instructor at Hugo House.
“When she first walks on the moon, a breeze is blowing and leaves are rustling all around her. Her father brushes them off the stage, then hands her a small American flag on a stick.”
Read the full story here.
That’s today selection of news, environmental reporting, arts, and culture from across the Cascadia bioregion. Have a great Halloween! ? — Andrew Engelson
Photo credit: burrowing owls by Seth Topham, Bureau of Land Management