Cascadia Daily, Feb. 5, 2018

A memorable debut for Cascadia Magazine!

Cascadia Daily is part of the Cascadia Magazine project: we hope to create a non-profit online publication dedicated to featuring great writing from and about the Cascadia bioregion.

It’s been a busy first two weeks, and we’re grateful to the writers who’ve lent their talents to Cascadia Magazine . We’re dedicated to delving deeper into issues that matter to people in the Pacific Northwest–whether it’s longform journalism, arts coverage, essays, photos, fiction or poetry. If you haven’t had a chance to read some these pieces below, be sure to check them out!

The Women Resisting Trump in the Courts

Meet Colleen Melody and Marsha Chien, two lawyers in the Washington Attorney General’s office directing legal challenges against Trump’s controversial orders on immigration.

Scrolling Through the Feed

Seattle writer Anca Szilágyi, author of the novel Daughters of the Air, offers up a darkly funny story of zombies, anxious bus passengers, and general mayhem in the creepy corners of Seattle.

The Uranium Files

In a powerful visual essay, photographer Dan Hawkins and former Washington state poet laureate Kathleen Flenniken team up to offer a haunting portrait of the toxic legacy of nuclear sites across  Washington.

Three cities, one housing crisis

Rents are skyrocketing across Cascadia, and  journalist Casey Jaywork offers a detailed summary of the strategies the three major cities in the region (Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland) are experimenting with to bring down costs.

Lyric for a day like today

Washington’s new poet laureate, Claudia Castro Luna, writes a gorgeous ode to Seattle, a place of love and beauty even in the midst of radical economic changes.

And of course there’s much more online and more to come! Head over to Cascadia Magazine and explore. And if you value this newsletter, and the writing we publish at Cascadia Magazine, please consider making a donation. We’re a reader-supported publication that requires your generous financial support.

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Bipartisan effort in WA legislature to protect net neutrality

The Seattle Times reports on a bi-partisan bill in the Washington legislature that would preserve net neutrality rules that were recently tossed out by the Trump administration. The bill is co-sponsored by a Republican from Bainbridge Island. “Net-neutrality protections help everyone: entrepreneurs, consumers, teachers, everyone.”

Alberta and British Columbia brawl over pipeline

Alberta and British Columbia are at odds over the proposed TransMountain pipeline that would take crude from Alberta’s tar sands to a port near Vancouver. BC premier Horgan has proposed tougher oil spill regulations that could hamper the project. In retaliation, Alberta’s government is threatening to reduce how much electricity it buys from BC. Meanwhile, Canadian prime minister Trudeau repeated his vow to build the pipeline.

Federal tax bill could cost Oregon budget $200 million

OPB reports on how the recent US tax bill could leave Oregon’s state budget with a shortfall of $200 million. In addition, many Oregon taxpayers will feel the bite of new rules limiting how much state income tax can be deducted on IRS returns. Similarly, Idaho is facing the prospect of state income tax hikes of $119 million.

When a ride-share leads to harassment

Seattle writer Kristen Millares Young writes for Crosscut about the time a Lyft ride turned ugly and a driver aggressively hit on her, shattering her trust in the company. “Keep your wits about you, you urge yourself. Show fear, and he’ll maintain the upper hand.” Meanwhile, a bill in the WA legislature would require background checks for ride-share drivers.

Anosh Irani on persistence in the craft of art

In an essay at Granta, Vancouver-based writer Anosh Irani, author of the The Parcel, a nominee for the Governor General’s Award, explores what keeps him going through the creative process. Comparing the writing of a novel to the obsessive protagonist of Werner Herzog’s film Fitzcaraldo, Irani sees art rooted in suffering: “The interiority that we keep speaking of in fiction is built on pain – and the character’s resulting search thereof. The story’s movement is toward healing (not redemption).”

An interview with poet laureate Claudia Castro Luna

At the South Seattle Emerald, Seattle poet Paul Nelson interviews Claudia Castro Luna, the incoming Washington state poet laureate. In the first of a two-part series, Castro Luna talks about her experience as Seattle’s civic poet, and her Seattle Poetic Grid project that matched poems to locations throughout the city. “Everybody’s equal on the map. You can’t see the topography of it, you know? The map is flat, so everybody exists on the same plane…”


That’s all for today from Cascadia Daily world headquarters in Seattle!  –Andrew Engelson

Photo credit: Washington Legislative Building by Wikimedia Commons user Cacophony CC BY-SA 3.0