Cascadia today: Ferguson warns of austerity budget + Tofino prepares for tsunami + taking buses to trails
Ferguson warns of cuts to WA budget
Washington State Standard reports that Washington governor Bob Ferguson's budget director sent a memo to state agencies alerting them to plan for "significant shortfalls" in the upcoming biennial budget process and that projected revenue will "not provide sufficient support for the maintenance of current programs, let alone any expansions.”
As the feds slash budgets at the national level, limiting Cascadians' ability to find affordable health care, food, and quality education and childcare, this is not the moment for austerity. As the the legislative session in Oregon and Washington arrives next year, Cascadia Journal and Cascadia Democratic Action will be pushing our elected officials to increase fiscal autonomy and fund the priorities Cascadia demands.
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
Seattle area light rail is #1 in riders
The Seattle Times reports on new data showing that the number of riders on Seattle-area light rail has jumped to 155,000 per day – putting it at the top of light rail lines in the US, above Los Angeles, Boston, and San Diego. The opening of the 2 Line to the suburbs east of Lake Washington in March helped boost those numbers. In related news, the Urbanist takes a deep dive into Seattle mayor Katie Wilson's plan to boost bus service in the the city to pre-pandemic levels.
Yonah Freemark
How can Tofino get ready for a tsunami?
CBC reports on how the coastal Vancouver Island town of Tofino is preparing for a major tsunami in the event of a Cascadia subduction zone earthquake. Massive zone-rupture quakes happen every 500 - 560 years, and the last was in 1700. The article reports that officials are looking at better evacuation routes and potentially constructing vertical evacuation towers. To learn more about how to get ready for a major Cascadia zone quake, visit Oregon State University's Cascadia Earthquake Preparedness site.
Oyster growers turn to non-toxic ways to control shrimp
KNKX reports on how oyster growers in Washington are turning to alternatives to pesticides to control ghost shrimp populations, which bury oysters in mud and kill them. Since the state banned neurotoxin pesticides in 2018, oyster farmers in Gray Harbor and other coastal location have struggled with a rise in ghost shrimp – but a new method involves using vibration to settle out the invasive shrimp.
Shuttle buses to trails from Seattle and Portland
Willamette Week looks at a new free hiking shuttle bus that will take riders from six locations across Portland to three trailheads in the city's massive Forest Park. The shuttle operates Fridays and Saturdays from June 12 to Aug 22. In the Seattle area, Metro's Trailhead Direct service starts its ninth year, providing Seattle area residents with service to trailheads in the Cascades foothills on weekends and holiday May 23 to Aug 30. The buses depart from Capitol Hill and the Mount Baker Transit center and serve trails near Mount Si and in the Issaquah Alps.
