Cascadia today: WA has a public defender crisis + Trump attacks ranked-choice voting + BC First Nations push for grizzlies in WA
Good morning, friends! I'm leaving Portland this morning and headed south to Eugene as my train + transit tour of western Cascadia continues. Know anything I shouldn't miss while I'm in town? Comment on this post or send me a tip at andyengelson@pm.me. And njoy today's opinionated roundup of news from across the Pacific Northwest.
WA has a public defender crisis
The Stranger has a great, detailed look at the crisis in public defense in Washington state. The state's public defender system is a patchwork funded almost exclusively by counties – which works out pretty well for King county, but not so great for smaller counties. In addition, the state bar set new caseload limits, so some defendants are without representation or their cases are being dropped. Oregon has a similar crisis, with its state supreme court recently ordering defendants released after 60 to 90 days if they aren't provided an attorney.
One additional solution: stop prosecuting people for crimes of poverty.
Student journalists brave tear gas in Eugene
Eugene Weekly talks with student journalists at the University of Oregon's independent student media outlet The Daily Emerald who have been covering regular protests at the Eugene federal building. They've endured tear gas, been hit by pepper balls, and are targeted alongside protesters. Read their coverage here. In related news, this week I wrote about how Portland's protests against ICE can serve as a guide to the next pushback against Trump's fascism:
Andrew Engelson
Trump attacks Alaska ranked choice voting
US leader Donald Trump announced he supports repealing Alaska's ranked voting system, calling it fraudulent. The truth, of course, is much different. It's safe and secure, but the regime doesn't like it because it favors candidates that are more consensus based, plus encourages more voter turnout. It's all part of the GOP's attack on voting, including efforts to derail vote by mail, which is extremely popular with Cascadia voters. Sightline Institute has more on the benefits of ranked choice, which debuted in Portland in 2024 and will launch in Seattle in 2027.
Tacoma - Seattle fast ferry plans delayed
KUOW reports that Pierce county's plans to start passenger ferry service between Tacoma and Seattle won't get rolling until after the World Cup. The plan had been sold in 2025 as a way to move World Cup tourists around Puget Sound. In related news, WSDOT will temporarily boost state ferry service region-wide this summer to deal with the influx of demand from soccer fans.
Longtime Northwest journalist Joel Connelly dies
The Seattle Times reports on the death of longtime journalist and political columnist Joel Connelly at the age of 78. Connelly was a dogged investigative journalist and advocate for wilderness whose career spanned decades and whose reporting included investigations into the Washington Public Power Supply System in the early 1980s – earning him a nomination for Pulitzer. Connelly's friend and editor David Brewster has a tribute at Post Alley.
While I disagreed with many of Connelly's centrist political takes in his later life, I always admired him for the attention he paid to politics in British Columbia. His regional focus was something few news outlets in Washington did then nor do today. Much of his regional reporting was a foundation for my view of Cascadia as a single bioregion.
BC First Nations push for grizzly reintroduction in WA
The Narwhal has a fascinating feature about a coalition of British Columbia First Nations that is pushing for reintroduction of grizzly bears to the North Cascades of Washington state. Of course, prior to colonization, grizzlies roamed both side of the border but have been extirpated from the Washington side. The fate of the plan for reintroduction, which went forward in the Biden administration, is on hold in the Trump regime, which sees anything in support of the environment a threat corporate profits.
“Where we’re at today is rebuilding from 150 years of colonization, of separation and forced removal and isolation from our land itself." – Jordan Coble, Westbank First Nation
Thanks for reading. Keep loving and keep fighting --Andy
Do you appreciate Cascadia Journal's reporting on the ways the Pacific Northwest is pushing back against US fascism? If you have the means, please consider a paid subscription of just $5 per month. Each subscription helps me produce original reporting and opinionated notes on Cascadia's fight to build a more resilient and autonomous bioregion. And to those who already subscribe, thank you! --Andrew
