Cascadia today: Seattle mayor turns on spy cams + saving Cascadia's mountain goats + OR Shakespeare festival opens
Good morning, friends! If you appreciate this daily newsletter about the Pacific Northwest and our pushback against fascism, please consider a paid subscription. All of this content about Cascadia's steps toward autonomy – including an op-ed on why Oregon and Washington need to more forward on an independence initiative by 2028 – is available without a paywall. I can't do it without your help. And to my existing supporters, thank you! --Andy
Andrew Engelson
Seattle mayor flips on surveillance, turns on cams
PubliCola reports that Seattle mayor Katie Wilson has flipped her position on surveillance cameras installed in the stadium district, and will turn on the cameras during the FIFA World Cup later this month. According to the same article, an official with the mayor's office insists they'll be turned off once the global soccer championship ends.
New York City should be a warning to Cascadia. As the New York Times reports, the city (also led by a socialist) is under a $3 billion network of police surveillance cameras – and this can and has been used to spy on protests, and NYPD handed over data it had to the feds regarding a Palestinian woman who attended a protest. Oh, but we have sanctuary laws and other protections, you say? A recent report from the University of Washington says the Washington State Patrol continues to share data with ICE. Wilson needs to hear the message loud and clear: shut the cameras down.
Seattle data center vote is tomorrow
The Seattle city council will vote on whether to ban new data centers in the city at a general meeting the council at 2 pm Tues, June 9. Show up to comment in public, or sign up to make a public comment online. It's time to stop these climate-killing AI centers. What's a risk: Geek Wire wrote that a Texas developer is looking to demolish a building that houses the amazing art center Cannonball in downtown Seattle and develop it into a data center that will help everyone create more AI slop.
Will BC's fossil fuel exports expose it to climate lawsuits?
The Tyee has a sobering article about British Columbia's massive rise in fossil fuel exports – both oil and fossil gas – more than 220 million metric tonnes of climate-killing CO2 equivalent is being exported each year. That contribution to climate change may open BC to liability from various climate-based lawsuits, including La Rose v. Canada, a youth climate lawsuit against the Canadian government, and Misdzi Yikh v. Canada, a lawsuit brought by the Wet’suwet’en Nation.
How a land tax could address the housing crisis
The Urbanist has a great essay by Aaron Schechter making the case for a land tax versus property tax in Seattle (and which I believe should be Cascadia-wide). By shifting to land versus buildings, it would increase revenues, and push vacant lots and inefficient uses of property (such as parking lots) to be redeveloped for the best use (housing). In addition, movement is building for a municipal public bank in Seattle, which could help finance social housing and reduce massive amounts of interest the city pays global banks on infrastructure projects.
Saving mountain goats in the Cascades
Salish Current reports that mountain goat populations in the Mount Baker Wilderness of Washington are in steep decline, going from 345 animals to just 63 since 2019. The Stillaguamish Tribe is monitoring the decline and urging the state and feds to join them in taking action to restore mountain goats. Salish Current also reported on a movement to ban hunting of mountain goats in Washington due to statewide declines.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival gets underway
Oregon Arts Watch reports on the opening of Ashland, Oregon's internationally-acclaimed outdoor Shakespeare Festival, which will stage three plays this summer: The Taming of the Shrew, Henry IV Part One (which a theater critic with the Guardian recently named as Shakespeare's best play) and a stage adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Emma by Kate Hamill. Find tickets and more info here.
Thanks for reading. Keep loving and keep fighting. --Andy
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