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Israel Bayer on how Portland can solve homelessness
Israel Bayer, the executive director of Street Roots, Portland’s newspaper sold by and advocating for homeless people, shares with Willamette Week concrete steps the Rose City can take to reduce the number people living on the streets including a new coffee tax, eliminating some building height limits, and ending the criminalization of those without housing. Meanwhile, 133 people died on the streets in King County in 2017, a dubious new high.
Two leaders who’ll battle in WA’s legislative session
Now that Democrats hold both houses of the Washington legislature and the governor’s office, all eyes will be on Olympia to see if major new legislation on school funding, taxes, gun safety, and environmental protection will be in the works. John Stang at Crosscut profiles the two men who will be battling it out this session: Republican senator Mark Schloeser and House Speaker Frank Chopp, a Democrat. Meanwhile, GeekWire explores the feasibility of a WA state bill protecting net neutrality.
New book on megafires: policy failures + possible solutions
After last summer’s devastating forest fire season in BC and across Cascadia, a new book, Megafire: The Race to Extinguish a Deadly Epidemic of Flame, by Colorado-based journalist Michael Kodas, has immediate relevance. A review for the Tyee notes that the book chronicles a history of mistakes, from over-aggressive fire suppression to climate change.
The decline and recovery of Pacific lingcod
Ranging from southeast Alaska to Baja, California, the Pacific lingcod is an important indicator species for the health of the coastal ecosystem. An alarming decline of populations in the 1990s due to over-fishing led to protections. The ugly, tasty fish has made a comeback, according to a detailed feature at Oceana, though its full recovery is far from assured.
A new sound art gallery debuts in Portland
Sound-based art often gets pigeon-holed into performance, but according to the Portland Mercury, a new gallery called Variform breaks out of that box to present avant-garde experiments in audio you can experience at your own pace. Along with the review, you can listen to an extended clip of Ben Glas’ current exhibit (Music) For A Time and Space.
“Black Courage,” by Seattle’s youth poet laureate
Angel Gardner was Seattle’s youth poet laureate from 2016-17, and at KUOW you can listen to and read “Black Courage,” a poem written for Gardner’s son:
“…There are wolves in wolves clothing
Telling the weak
That the sheep are the ones to fear,
You are that sheep baby boy…”
Happy New Year from the offices of Cascadia Daily. Here’s wishing you personal growth and meaningful experiences in 2018! –Andrew Engelson
Photo credit: Wildfire in Ashcroft Reserve, BC by Shawn Cahill, CC BY-SA 4.0