Cascadia today: WA rural counties hit by ACA cuts + Trump fine with workers dying + visiting 33 bookstores by transit

Good morning! If you haven't read Eugene Weekly's interview with me about the Cascadia autonomy movement, take a few minutes to give it a read. They did a good job covering the start of CDA's campaign for independence for Oregon and Washington:

"Andrew Engelson, CDA organizer, says CDA believes the federal government is eroding the rule of law and President Trump is becoming more and more of a tyrant. “I think long-term it makes sense for this region to go its own way,” he says."

Visit Cascadia Democratic Action for more info. If you're interested in volunteering with our movement, email cascadiademocratic@protonmail.com.

Obamacare cuts hit WA rural counties hardest

Washington State Standard looks at the impact of Republican cuts to Obamacare subsidies in Washington state and finds – surprise, surprise – that rural counties and areas of central and eastern Washington are being hardest hit, including Yakima and Spokane counties. Statewide, 13% of Washington residents getting health care from the ACA dropped their coverage after premiums rose.

It's time for Washington to follow Oregon's lead and move toward statewide universal health care.

Spokane responds with shock to protester convictions

RANGE Media covers the Spokane activist community's shocked and saddened reaction to the conviction of three protesters on conspiracy charges last week.

“We know that these acts of community are not conspiracy. The protest at the ICE office last June was community in action. A true testament to how Spokane shows up.”--hadley morrow, Spokane community organizer

Democracy Now! interviewed Bajun Mavalwalla II about why he protested the illegal seizure of two Venezuelans and why he chose to go to trial rather than take a plea bargain:

"I didn’t assault anybody," says Bajun Mavalwalla, a veteran who was recently convicted of "conspiracy to impede or injure" federal agents after attending an anti-ICE protest in Spokane, Washington. The unprecedented conviction could lead to six years of prison time.

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— Democracy Now! (@democracynow.org) June 1, 2026 at 7:38 AM

Trump fine with plant workers dying

Well, it was inevitable that this news would follow the deaths of 11 people at the Nippon Dynawave paper mill in Longview last week: according to OPB, the Trump administration is seeking to eliminate the U.S. Chemical Safety Board, which is investigating the 900,000-gallon tank failure at the plant last week.

To be clear: this regime doesn't care about the health or safety of the people of Cascadia, but instead enriching themselves and their corrupt corporate friends.

Gates-funded company tries carbon capture in BC

The Tyee reports on a Bill Gates-funded company, Graphyte, that's testing out a plan for carbon capture by converting forestry waste materials into compressed bricks and then burying them. The pilot program is taking place in Valemount in northern interior BC. Count me skeptical.

We know what the solution to climate change is, but we've so far been politically shy about doing it: leaving fossil fuels in the ground and converting our transportation, buildings, and industry to run on renewable energy. Cascadia can do this through innovation, even on a small scale, like the Seattle company Ocean Made, which is creating biodegradable plant pots made from seaweed.

33 bookstores in ten days by transit

A the Urbanist, two lovely transit geeks describe their mission to visit 33 different Seattle-area bookstores by only using transit during Independent Bookstore Challenge this past spring.

"Sound Transit’s blog will tell you that “quite a few participating shops are accessible.” But we’re here to tell you that every single one of these 33 bookstores is ultimately accessible on transit. All you need is an Orca card, OneBusAway, and a borderline unhealthy drive towards completionism." --Nora Sandler & Brian Hoey

Thanks for reading! Keep fighting and keep loving. --Andy