Cascadia today: ACA enrollment drops in WA + OR state police shared data with ICE + a podcast on the AAPI experience
Hey friends! Looking for a feel-good story amidst all the fascism and war and environmental destruction?
I wrote a piece for The Tyee on Ocean Made, a Seattle-based company that invented and sells fully biodegradable plant pots made from kelp. The pots encourage strong root growth, add nutrients and bio-stimulants to the soil, and help sequester carbon.
"As Power proudly points out, when gardeners use the pots she invented, which contain solely plant materials, “it’s literally nature supporting nature.”"
Also, in case you missed it, this week at Cascadia Journal I wrote an essay suggesting that those who live in Cascadia consider calling the volcanic peaks of Washington by more Indigenous-appropriate names. Have thoughts? If you're a paid subscriber, you can leave a comment:
Andrew Engelson
Obamacare enrollment drops in WA
Thanks to massive federal GOP cuts to Obamacare subsidies passed last year and rising premiums, enrollment in the ACA has droppped 13% in Washington, the Seattle Times reports. In related news, rural hospitals in Washington will be hit hard by federal cuts to Medicaid, KUOW reports. A report from KFF estimates Washington state will lose $37 billion in Medicaid funding over the next decade, and Oregon $22 billion thanks to GOP cuts. Oh in other health news, residents of the posh Seattle neighborhood of Laurelhurst have been pushing Seattle Children's hospital to land emergency helicopters somewhere else, the Stranger reports.
Rich people really are the worst people.
Do you appreciate Cascadia Journal's exclusive 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
Lawsuit claims Oregon State Patrol shares data with ICE
OPB reports that an Oregon nonprofit is suing Oregon State Police for breaking the state's longtime sanctuary law forbidding local law enforcement from assisting with civil immigration enforcement. According to the suit filed by the Rural Organizing Project, OSP shared data with the feds more than 1.4 million times.
“Federal agents are storming into our communities, targeting people based on how they look, and disappearing our neighbors. Oregon State Police are helping them do it." --Martha Ortega, Director of Immigrant Centers at Rural Organizing Project
Ex mayor of Spokane suing city council for $10 million
RANGE Media looks at Spokane's ex-mayor, Nadine Woodward and her lawsuit against the city council seeking $10 million in damages. During her 2019 campaign, Woodward attended an event at a white Christian nationalist church led by well-known right wing nutjob Matt Shea. After Shea declared Jesus was cure for “homosexual marriage” and “transgender issues” then-mayor Woodward joined Shea on stage for a hug.
The city council passed a resolution denouncing her actions. And now Woodward says they owe her $10 million for defaming her reputation and violating her first amendment rights. For pointing out something everyone agreed she actually did.
Really, is there anyone in the GOP at this point who isn't a right wing grifter attempting to steal our tax dollars?
Companies beg Mark Carney to restore BC fish farms
The Tyee reports that foreign aquaculture firms are lobbying Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to restore net-pen salmon farming in British Columbia. Canada and BC agreed to phase out fish farms by 2029. The farms introduce disease to native salmon and Washington state banned net-pens in 2025 after the collapse of one farm in Skagit county in 2017 introduced 250,000 non-native Atlantic salmon into the Salish Sea.
Tips for the Seattle International Film Festival
The Stranger has a guide to some of their favorite offerings in the annual Seattle International Film Festival, which runs through May 17. Support SIFF, which is in financial trouble, and see a movie!
Ten Thousand Things podcast explores Asian experience
This week debuts the fifth and final season of Ten Thousand Things, a podcast exploring the Asian and Pacific Islander experience through various objects, and how material things can carry memory, identity, and story within Asian American communities. In season five, host Shin Yu Pai, a Seattle poet and museologist, speaks with American bricolage artist Rob Rhee; Chinese-American author and psychedelic educator Amy Wong Hope; Khmer-American author Putsata Reang; mixed race Okinawan American translator Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma; and Filipina American magician Maritess Zurbano.
The season kicks off with a free, live event at the Wing Luke Museum in Seattle on Saturday, May 9, from 2:30-4 p.m. More info here.
