Cascadia today: Longview paper mill accident + First Nation towers open in Vancouver + a novel by Seattle author Sonora Jha
Good morning. If you appreciate this newsletter rounding up news, environmental reporting, and arts coverage from across the Cascadia bioregion – as well as exclusive articles and essays about how the Pacific Northwest is pushing back against fascism, – please consider becoming a paid subscriber. None of this content is behind a paywall, so I depend on your generosity to keep Cascadia Journal going. And if you're already a paid subscriber, thanks! --Andy
One dead, nine missing in Longview chemical implosion
KUOW reports that one person is dead and nine missing in a chemical tank implosion at a paper mill in Longview. KING-5 reports that the plant, owned by the Nippon Paper Group, has been cited by the state labor and industries department for safety violations four times since 2019 and is currently under investigation for two additional incidents.
Meta lays off 1,400 in Seattle
GeekWire reports that Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, has laid off 1,400 workers in the Seattle area – about 20% of the company's local workforce. The cuts are in response to the company's embrace of AI to replace employees. This, not long after Starbucks sacked 250 workers at its Seattle corporate headquarters. The Tennessee Lookout reports that Tennessee has offered $30 million in tax subsidies to Starbucks in order to encourage it to move much of its corporate operations to a second headquarters in Nashville.
In other labor news, journalists with local newspapers owned by McClatchy went on a one-day strike seeking better pay and limits on AI. And during a boycott of Washington-based outdoor retailer REI during their biggest annual sale, thousands of customers refused to shop there in support of workers attempting to unionize and fight the co-op's union-busting practices.
Don't be fooled by folks who say Seattle is a bad place for business – companies here are thriving, it's a desirable place to live and do business, and the wealthy need to pay their fair of taxes and pay workers a living wage. Read more about Seattle's "K-shaped" economy and why it's important to defend a shrinking middle class.
Meanwhile, a mega yacht owned by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg went through the Ballard locks in Seattle en route to Lake Washington. Great timing, Mark.
First Nations Sen̓áḵw towers open in Vancouver
The Vancouver Sun reports on the opening of the first three residential towers in the Squamish First Nation's innovative Sen̓áḵw development on land in the Kitsilano neighborhood. The development grew out of a decades-long legal fight over an illegal 19th century land sale. The first units will be available to Indigenous tribal members, and when complete, the first three of 11 total towers will offer a mix of 1,400 unites of affordable and market-rate apartments. The stunning project is filled with gorgeous Coast Salish designs and artwork. This is what the land back movement can achieve.
OR won't re-issue undercover plates to feds
Oregon Capital Chronicle reports on a small, but important assertion of autonomy against the Trump regime's mass deportation campaign: refusing to issue new undercover license plates to federal immigration enforcement vehicles. Cascadia needs to continue to assert its sovereignty by enforcing sanctuary laws and arresting ICE agents who defy Oregon and Washington laws preventing agents from hiding their identities with masks.
Celebrating a victory for Skeena river salmon
The Narwhal looks at the ten-year anniversary of First Nations' successful battle to keep an LNG terminal off of Lelu Island, protecting critical habitat for salmon in British Columbia's Skeena river. An agreement signed 2016 prevented construction of an LNG export terminal and placed the land under Indigenous laws of the Gitwilgyoots, one of nine tribes of the Lax Kw’alaams.
A talk with Seattle author Sonora Jha
KUOW's Book Club (in partnership with Seattle Public Library) reads Seattle author Sonora Jha's novel Intemperance, and interviews Jha about her work. The novel describes a 55-year-old woman's decision to hold a "swayamvar" – a traditional custom in which potential suitors compete in feats of strength to win her agreement to marry. It sounds like a fabulous novel threaded with magical realism. Maybe a book for you to read in Cascadia Democratic Action's Summer Book Bingo!
Andrew Engelson
Thanks for reading. And remember to keep loving and keep fighting. --Andy
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
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